Grateful Dead’s Europe ‘72 Tour 50th Anniversary: April 16 – Aarhus, Denmark

In April 1972, the Grateful Dead embarked on their now-legendary Europe ’72 Tour. The band performed 22 times between April 7 and May 26, resulting in the landmark triple live LP, Europe ’72 that was released in October of that year. To celebrate the legacy of the band’s historic tour abroad, JamBase presents a retrospective look back at each of the Europe 1972 Grateful Dead performances.

April 15, 1972, was a day off for the Grateful Dead on their Europe ‘72 Tour. The band and their approximately 50-person entourage of crew, family and friends did not have far to travel for their concert on Sunday, April 16 at Stakladen on the Aarhus University campus in Aarhus, Denmark.

The less than 200 miles between Copenhagen and Aarhus would be traversed back and forth as the band would return on April 17 to Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, where they performed on April 14, in order to tape an appearance for Danish television.

Held at the intimate Stakladen, which opened in 1964 and currently operates as Stakladen Live, the Dead’s concert on April 16 was the only performance on the tour played without vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux, who likely opted to remain in Copenhagen for the TV gig. Along with Donna, also absent from the show was an encore, making it one of five encore-less performances in Europe.

For the third time on the tour, guitarist Bob Weir led a show-opening run through “Greatest Story Ever Told,” which would occur once more in Europe.
Weir’s co-write with John Perry Barlow, “Mexicali Blues,” made its first setlist of the tour. The song was recorded by Weir and the other members of the Dead before heading overseas for Bobby’s Ace solo album that came out in May 1972. “Mexicali Blues” was played only five additional times while the band was in Europe. The Ace recording was selected for the Grateful Dead’s 1974 “best of” compilation, Skeletons From The Closet.

Donna’s absence is perhaps most noticeable in the first set “Playing In The Band.” Played every night of the tour and previously started with Weir introducing Donna, the Aarhus “PITB” again proved to be fertile jamming ground as Weir, guitarist Jerry Garcia and keyboardist (and Donna’s husband) Keith Godchaux worked through an inspired progression anchored by bassist Phil Lesh and drummer Bill Kreutzmann.

Garcia’s “Dire Wolf” made its first Europe ‘72 appearance as the first set’s closer (ending a four-show streak set by “Casey Jones”). The song, co-written with lyricist Robert Hunter, would make only three more setlists that tour.

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The second of the tour’s three “Good Lovin’” second set openers saw Ron “Pigpen” McKernan follow his standout rap from the previous show, with another captivating monologue that repeated themes like “Let me jump in your saddle and ride” and “Turn your damper down.” At one point, Pigpen entered into a bit of a call and response back and forth with Keith responding to his rap with piano hits. Featuring excellent “lead bass” from Lesh and clocking in at 20:09, it was the second-longest continuous version of “Good Lovin’” played on the tour.

The exceptionally jammed-out, funky “Good Lovin’” was followed by “Cumberland Blues,” “El Paso” and “Deal.” After “Cumberland,” the official recording picks up what sounds like Danish audience members singing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”

More jamming was in store via the subsequent “Truckin’” that led to the tour’s only officially released track labeled “Jam.” The 16-minute improvisation, again frequently steered by Lesh’s primary bass playing, twists and turns through the organically evolving and dissolving jam. Lesh eventually begins to suggest the thumping introduction of “The Other One,” leading to rolling through a loosely implied version of the frequent jam vehicle ahead of a segue into “My And My Uncle” and another quick circling back to “The Other One,” with Weir finally delivering the song’s forceful lyrics.

Closing the second set and show was the often called upon pairing of “Not Fade Away” into “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad” back into “Not Fade Away.” Listen to the return to “NFA” for Garcia injecting a bit of The Allman Brothers Band’s “Mountain Jam,” in a similar fashion – though perhaps less overtly – to the version played on opening night in Wembley, England.

There were no songs chosen from the Grateful Dead’s April 16, 1972 concert for the original Europe ‘72 live album.

Here are additional statistics and information regarding the fifth show of the Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 tour:

Below, stream the official recording of the Grateful Dead’s April 16, 1972 concert at Aarhus University in Aarhus, Denmark or check out audience recordings via Archive.org:

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Source: JamBase.com