Dick's Picks Vol. 16 Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA 11/8/69

Reputedly one of Dead archivist Dick Latvala's favorite concerts, and the first of the Dick's Picks series to present a 60s show, Vol. 16 or, more specifically, disc one of Vol. 16, captures a crucial turning point in the band's history. There you will find embryonic versions of the songs that were to form Workingman's Dead, as the group begins to steer away from the psychedelic, blues-based jamming of their early years towards the country-rock pole star that was to guide much of their early 70s music (and the friendly hometown crowd at the Fillmore proves the ideal audience for the premiere of the new material).