The Dead spent so many magical nights at the Capitol Theater, their beloved haunt just north of NYC. It was one of their favorite rooms; the last time Bob Dylan played there, in 2023, he sang “Stella Blue” as a tribute. But tonight was something special. For one thing, it was Mickey Hart’s last gig before quitting the band. For another, they debuted a slew of jaw-droppingly great new songs, including “Bertha,” “Playing in the Band,” “Loser,” and “Greatest Story Ever Told.” But this “Dark Star” is where they really kissed the sky. Garcia hits painfully beautiful guitar chimes, with avant-garde pal Ned Lagin joining on clavichord. When the band slides into a new tune, the segue makes the crowd erupt, even though it’s a new song none of them have heard yet — the premiere of “Wharf Rat.” Even if they stopped here, this version would still be an all-timer.
But the best is yet to come, as they return to “Dark Star” and Garcia strikes up a riff that leads them into a jam they only played once, a gorgeously lilting seven-minute fantasy that’s gone down in history as the “Beautiful Jam.” (It was released as a stand-alone track on the So Many Roads box.) Virtuoso keyboardist Holly Bowling even arranged it as a solo piano piece. They never played it again, but it’s the Dead at their most exquisite.
Decades later, Phil Lesh heard this jam for the first time since playing it, on the radio show of legendary Dead scholar David Gans. “Oh…that’s just gorgeous,” Lesh said, for once at a loss for words. “That’s…I’m sorry…that just, that brought tears to my eyes.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hzZc8-s4So] He’s not the only one.
