Watch Grateful Dead Play ‘Dark Star’ & More At Fillmore East On Valentine’s Day 1970

Regularly cited among the top Grateful Dead runs of shows in the legendary band’s storied history are their February 1970 concerts at New York City’s Fillmore East. The shows on the 11th, 13th and 14th contained some of the most exploratory and interesting sequences of psychedelic improvisation the Dead would perform before their adoring fans.

Official live releases Bear’s Choice and Dick’s Picks Vol. 4 were culled from the famed Fillmore run that featured a lineup of guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. The Fillmore hosted an early and late show on February 14, 1970 and thankfully for Deadheads there’s black and white video footage of portions of the Valentine’s Day concerts captured by a lucky audience member.

Posted below, the video includes partial footage of “Dark Star” from the early show on the 14th, the start of Pigpen leading “Hard To Handle” from the late show’s first set and Garcia and Weir going acoustic for “I’ve Been All Around This World.” There’s also footage of Bobby leading a late show second set electric cover of “Me And My Uncle” that segues into partial video of Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away.”

Watch the rare footage of vintage Grateful Dead performing live on Valentine’s Day 1970 below:

[Originally Published: February 14, 2021]