Now Streaming: Grateful Dead, “Bird Song” (PACIFIC NORTHWEST – 6/22/73)

It doesn’t exactly count as breaking news to learn that the Grateful Dead had a tendency to tour, which means it’s far from a shock to find that those tours often took them to the Pacific Northwest, but it might well be a surprise for you to learn that Dead.net is on the cusp of releasing a full set of the band’s performances in that region during 1973 and 1974.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS will be released on September 7, and it contains 19 discs worth of live performances – that’s six shows, in case you’re curious – that were recorded at the Grateful Dead’s shows at P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C. (6/22/73); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (6/24/73); Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA (6/26/73); P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada (5/17/74); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (5/19/74); and Hec Edmundson Pavilion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (5/21/74).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this will be a limited-edition set – only 15,000 individually numbered copies will be released – and it’s only available from Dead.net, but fear not, Dead fans on a budget: Rhino is stepping in to save the day as well as your wallet by releasing PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: BELIEVE IT IF YOU NEED IT, a three-CD set which spotlights some of the best material from the complete recordings. There’s also going to be a 180-gram vinyl release of the complete 5/19/74 Portland Memorial Coliseum show, but that’s another one of those limited-edition situations, so only 7,500 fortunate folks will be able to pick up a copy.

Want a sneak preview of what to expect? We can deliver: here’s the band’s performance of “Bird Song” from 6/22/73.

And just so you know what to expect, here’s the track listing of BELIEVE IT IF YOU NEED IT – which, if you’re a Dead fan, you already know that you do need it, so you’d better believe it – as well as that aforementioned Portland Memorial Coliseum show.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST '73-'74: BELIEVE IT IF YOU NEED IT

Disc One
"China Cat Sunflower" (5/19/74)
"I Know You Rider" (5/19/74)
"Bird Song" (6/22/73)
"Box Of Rain" (6/24/73)
"Brown-Eyed Women" (5/21/74)
"Truckin'" (5/19/74)
Jam (5/19/74)
"Not Fade Away" (5/19/74)
"Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad" (5/19/74)
"One More Saturday Night" (5/19/74)

Disc Two
"Here Comes Sunshine" (6/22/73)
"Eyes Of The World" (5/17/74)
"China Doll" (5/21/74)
"Playing In The Band" (5/21/74)

Disc Three
"Sugaree" (5/17/74)
"He's Gone" (6/22/73)
"Truckin'" (6/22/73)
"The Other One" (6/22/73)
"Wharf Rat" (6/22/73)
"Sugar Magnolia" (6/22/73)

PORTLAND MEMORIAL COLISEUM, PORTLAND, OR, 5/19/74
LP Track Listing
Side A
"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo"
"Mexicali Blues"
"Big Railroad Blues"
"Black-Throated Wind"
Side B
"Scarlet Begonias"
"Beat It On Down The Line"
"Tennessee Jed"
"Me And Bobby McGee"
Side C
"Sugaree"
"Jack Straw"
"It Must Have Been The Roses"
"El Paso"
Side D
"Loose Lucy"
"Money Money"
Side E
"China Cat Sunflower"
"I Know You Rider"
Side F
"Promised Land"
"Bertha"
"Greatest Story Ever Told"
"Ship Of Fools"
Side G  
"Weather Report Suite (Prelude/Part I/Part II -            
Let It Grow)"
Side H
"Wharf Rat"
"Big River"
Side I
"Peggy-O"
Side J
"Truckin'"
Jam
Side K
"Not Fade Away"
"Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad"
"One More Saturday Night"
Side L
"U.S. Blues"