Ryan Adams Covers Grateful Dead In San Francisco On This Date In 2004

Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams is a well-known fan of the Grateful Dead. The guitarist has performed with Phil Lesh & Friends and covered Dead favorites for many years. Full Show Friday today revisits a Ryan Adams & The Cardinals show in the Dead’s hometown of San Francisco on this date in 2004.

One of the Grateful Dead songs Adams has regularly covered is the Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter classic “Wharf Rat.” On September 22, 2004 Adams and The Cardinals offered up take on “Wharf Rat” during their show at The Warfield. The cover came at the close of their main set and included a take on Adams’ “New York, New York” played within. The return to “Wharf Rat” saw Adams improvising lyrics as the song rose to a climactic peak.

The night at The Warfield also saw performances on Adams’ “To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High),” “Love Is Hell,” “When The Stars Go Blue,” “Oh My Sweet Carolina,” “Dear Chicago,” “Sylvia Plath” and others. The show ended with an encore composed of “Come Pick Me Up” and “I See Monsters.”

Captured by taper CS, stream Adams covering the Dead and more below:

Setlist

Set: To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High), Anybody Wanna Take Me Home, Love Is Hell, When the Stars Go Blue, In My Time of Need, Chin Up, Cheer Up, La Cienega Just Smiled, Don’t Even Know Her Name, Please Do Not Let Me Go, My Winding Wheel, Oh My Sweet Carolina, I Will Learn to Love, Dear Chicago, Sylvia Plath, Wharf Rat > New York, New York > Wharf Rat

Encore: Come Pick Me Up, I See Monsters