1978/09/16 The Pyramids, Giza, Egypt [Grateful Dead]

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I have always had mixed feelings about the Grateful Dead's Egypt concerts. I think it is an incredibly cool location to perform, but the band members were generally not very happy with it. For instance, Bill Kreutzmann had broken his wrist, meaning he could only play with one hand, and he called the 3 shows in his biography one of the worst concerts the group had ever played. And yet... A concert like that in front of the Pyramids of Giza, while there was a solar eclipse on the last day. It sounds like something I would have wanted to be there for. And that is (partly) possible, by the way, because the video accompanying the CD/DVD album Rocking the Cradle shows footage of the concert on September 16 1978.

Originally, the intention was to release the 3 complete shows, but as usual with the Dead, there were quite a few technical problems, rendering the tapes of the first 2 shows (largely) unusable. So, Rocking the Cradle isn't a complete concert either (the audio is a mix of September 15 and 16, while the DVD contains snippets of the September 16 show that aren't even in the correct order), but Archive always provides the solution if you're looking for a Grateful Dead show. It is an interesting show featuring the very last time they played Sunrise (it's a shame they played that song so little, but considering it's a typical Donna song and she called it quits with her husband, Keith, in 1979... it's not that surprising), but it does indeed all feel a bit messy. Bertha gets to open the set, but it doesn't flow together very well yet, and Bob Weir's rambling during Good Lovin’ (something about polygamy and donkeys) is also rather odd. Still, there is a lot of fun in it too, such as someone (my guess is Phil Lesh) who, during the verse “Did you ever waken to the sound of street cats making love?” imitates cat meowing in Looks Like Rain.

It was also nice to hear the full version of Ollin Arageed for a change. It is the set opener of set 2, and the song actually consists of two parts: one part without the Grateful Dead as backing band and one part where the group does play along. That second part can be found as a bonus track on the Shakedown Street album, among others (this show was actually only the second time they played the title track from that album, which isn't surprising considering it hadn't been released yet), but there is a 21-minute set preceding it. Not entirely my cup of tea, but it was cool that they tried to involve the local culture. In any case, the entire ticket sales were donated to the local Department of Antiquities. Furthermore, it is a show that has quite a lot to offer, but it was indeed not played very tightly and was rather messy. That probably has something to do with the fact that Kreutzmann had broken his wrist, but Keith Godchaux is also fairly colorless at this show. 

Following Shakedown Stream, they also broadcast The Vacation Tapes, a 15-minute 8mm clip where you see the band and crew (and fans who traveled along, like Bill Walton, who happens to be on crutches) wandering through Egypt. A nice little extra, but I fear the group was actually a bit too impressed by the location. A number of good songs, but there is little that really stands out, although this is perhaps one of the best versions of Deal I have heard. I am curious about those other shows, though. Let's see if they can be found in good quality.

Tracklist:
  1. Bertha
  2. Good Lovin'
  3. Candyman
  4. Looks Like Rain
  5. Row Jimmy
  6. El Paso
  7. Ramble On Rose
  8. Minglewood Blues
  9. Deal
  10. Ollin Arageed
  11. Fire on the Mountain
  12. Iko Iko
  13. I Need a Miracle
  14. It's All Over Now
  15. Sunrise
  16. Shakedown Street
  17. Drums
  18. Space
  19. Truckin'
  20. Stella Blue
  21. Around and Around
  22. One More Saturday Night


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