Summer Jam at Watkins Glen 1973

[MikeyFresh]

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of what many contend is the largest gathering of people in U.S. history.



Summer Jam at Watkins Glen 1973 is also considered to be the largest paid concert ever held, Ticketron sold 150,000 tickets, though eventually it is thought that over 600,000 people made it to the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Raceway to see the triple bill of The Allman Brothers Band, The Band, and The Grateful Dead.

Many of the attendees were already there the day before the concert and watched the soundchecks for each act. The Allman Brothers and the The Band each did a few songs, but the Grateful Dead's idea of a soundcheck turned into a 3-hour long 2-set concert, one full day prior to the official event.

One pioneering aspect of this concert's live sound was the use of several Eventide DDL 1745 digital delay units to sync the sound coming from the PA speakers situated on 4 towers located near the rear of the crowd with the stage sound, solving the problem of equal volume and timing of the sound coming from the front of the stage to the very rear of the crowd. Beyond cutting edge for 1973.

This would be the last concert held at Watkins Glen until Phish did a 3-day festival there in 2011.

 

[geoff]

Sorry I missed it - went to the F1 race there in the fall that year.

 

[Andyman]

 

[doglv]

$10 well spent!

Parking and Camping included.

 

[adaug]

"there will only be a iimited number of tickets available"

 

[captainbeefheart]

I actually attended both, the original and Phish in 2011 called "Superball" and 2015 called "magnaball".

All 3 were fun, weird, and crazy all at the same time. I'd say the latest phish shows sounded great. It's amazing how far we have come in live sound production.

 

[MrEd]

I lived 40 minutes from there, didn't get to go because I took a summer job in Chapiguaw NY and missed it.
I heard all kinds of stories from my friends that were there.

 

[doglv]

The Jerry solos are so Jerry.

That rhythm section is the perfect canvas for guitar noodling. Duane created a vehicle to serve him perfectly.

I wonder who the pianist is?

 

[Fran604g]

I lived 40 minutes from there, didn't get to go because I took a summer job in Chapiguaw NY and missed it.
I heard all kinds of stories from my friends that were there.

Same here! I recall something about a bus and guys shouting "show us your t*ts!" as women walked by. And they obliged. Try that these days...

 

[MrEd]

Same here! I recall something about a bus and guys shouting "show us your t*ts!" as women walked by. And they obliged. Try that these days...

One of my buddies had a VW beetle at the time, he ended up shuttling over dose people to the med tent because it was small enough to drive though the crowds.
Also told me about guy with giant cylinder of nitrous oxide and people lining for a dollar blast , taking a hit and falling down, getting up and pulling out another dollar...

 

[Fran604g]

One of my buddies had a VW beetle at the time, he ended up shuttling over dose people to the med tent because it was small enough to drive though the crowds.
Also told me about guy with giant cylinder of nitrous oxide and people lining for a dollar blast , taking a hit and falling down, getting up and pulling out another dollar...

The 70s were insane. Everyone talks about the 60s, but the 70s crushed the 60s imnsho.

 

[MrEd]

The 70s were insane. Everyone talks about the 60s, but the 70s crushed the 60s imnsho.

Agreed, every concert I went to people just lit up a smoked pot like it legal and no one ever cared.

 

[captainbeefheart]

One of my buddies had a VW beetle at the time, he ended up shuttling over dose people to the med tent because it was small enough to drive though the crowds.
Also told me about guy with giant cylinder of nitrous oxide and people lining for a dollar blast , taking a hit and falling down, getting up and pulling out another dollar...

I remember over the loudspeaker at Woodstock "don't eat the brown acid". That stuff was not made right, I was lucky enough to get some of Owsley's fantastic liquid.

Ahhh the days of $1 Nitrous Balloons, that last Phish festival I attended at Watkins Glen in 2015 had tanks and the guys were asking for $10 a balloon!! The wife talked them into giving us 4 for $25. Those groups selling Nitrous now aren't there for the music, they are literally called the Nitrous mafia and they have lookouts walking around with walkie-talkies to let the guys with the tank know if they need to pack up shop real quick.

Every Dead show or Phish show I have ever attended has a "shakedown street" where people walk around to look for their party favors. You can literally find anything if you know what to listen for.

 

[Fran604g]

I remember over the loudspeaker at Woodstock "don't eat the brown acid". That stuff was not made right, I was lucky enough to get some of Owsley's fantastic liquid.

Ahhh the days of $1 Nitrous Balloons, that last Phish festival I attended at Watkins Glen in 2015 had tanks and the guys were asking for $10 a balloon!! The wife talked them into giving us 4 for $25. Those groups selling Nitrous now aren't there for the music, they are literally called the Nitrous mafia and they have lookouts walking around with walkie-talkies to let the guys with the tank know if they need to pack up shop real quick.

Every Dead show or Phish show I have ever attended has a "shakedown street" where people walk around to look for their party favors. You can literally find anything if you know what to listen for.

In 1977 I hitchhiked from Henrietta, NY to a "Summerfest" concert at Rich Stadium outside Buffalo to see YES and other bands and it was like an open air pharmacy. I recall one very large black guy who wore a big overcoat with a bunch of small pockets sewn on the inside filled with various drugs. The crazy local college guys who had picked me up at the NYS Thruway entrance and provided my transportation were going to deal LSD and other illicit goods. I watched them trade that guy for other "goods" they would peddle throughout the day. I was no prude but, watching all that was kind of a shock. Crazy, crazy experience.

 

[doglv]

"don't eat the brown acid"

I have twin boys headed into College as Freshman this Fall. Great kids and did what it takes to get themselves into elite schools with full ride scholastic scholarships, BUT...

Fentanyl is terrifying! One drunken mistake and your dead.