Grateful Dead at Troupers Hall, Los Angeles - 3/25/66

Grateful Dead performing at Trouper's Hall 3/25/66

Troupers Hall
Los Angeles, CA
03/25/66

1. Stealin' [#1:37]
2. Jam [7:41]
3. Hey Little One [4:46]
4. Hog For You Baby [2:49]
5. You Don't Have To Ask [5:56]
6. Cold Rain And Snow [3:24]
7. Next Time You See Me [2:30#]

The last recording I have of the Dead's sojourn to Los Angeles is of the show they played at Trouper's Hall in Los Angeles on 3/25/66. Trouper's Hall was the meeting room for a retired actors club in Hollywood, and was possibly the location of the Sunset Acid Test, which also occurred on 3/25.

McNally relates an interesting story from this show:

"At their last show at Trouper's hall, Weir managed to rip out the seat of his pants. Lacking underwear or a replacement for his trousers, he spent the night facing the audience, sidestepping over to Tim Scully to tell him how to adjust his sound. It turned out not to be so bad. That night he also met a Playboy Playmate, a cordial redhead, and she didn't seem to mind the state of his wardrobe. Finally Rock lined up a booking back home at the Longshoreman's Hall that would pay them the respectable sum of $375. It required no persuasion for everyone to pack up and flee Los Angeles" (McNally 138).

Soon after this show, the Dead headed back to San Francisco.

The show seems typical of the '66 stuff I've listened to so far. It's interesting and inconsistent at the same time. One song that stood out in particular was, "You Don't Have To Ask," sung with Weir as lead. It was chock-full of young, inspired energy. It sounds as though Jerry and Co. are trying to physically blast the walls of Trouper's Hall right out. Jerry is quick on his riffs, and takes the time to just play! The lyrics themselves evoke the image and events of the Acid Tests:

"If you wanna leave just close your eyes, you don't have to ask
If you wanna go and lose your mind, you don't have to ask
If it's peace that you're looking for
You got the key to every door, you already know"

I've always been particularly interested in songs and lyrics in which the Dead tell their own tale. A biography within a song adds something interesting and unique to the music. This song, which I had never heard before, will certainly be a "replay" on my IPOD. I highly suggest that you give that song, if not the whole show, a listen!!

Stream the show here:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd66-03-25.sbd.unknown.38.sbeok.shnf