Dead Show/podcast for 5/8/26

The Deadpod

John Henrikson

Music, Arts, Performing Arts

4.7 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 May 2026

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Dead have a long history of great Spring performances, and 1980 was no exception. This week we go to Nassau for the May 14, 1980 show at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. This was the first night of a three‑show run, with the last two nights later compiled on the 2002 "Go To Nassau" release, leaving this opening show as the odd one out from the official catalog.

This show comes shortly after the "Go To Heaven" release, so they open with "Alabama Getaway." Jerry gives us a fine reading of "Candyman," and the arrangements on Weir's "country" tunes—"Mexicali Blues" and "El Paso"—are rockin'. "Tennessee Jed" follows, with Brent providing a lovely counterpoint to Garcia's leads. "Let It Grow" then leads into a still‑new "Althea." Another "Go To Heaven" tune follows, Brent's "Easy to Love You," which leads into a rocking, set‑closing "Music Never Stopped."

Let's settle in at Nassau Coliseum, May 14, 1980, on this week's Deadpod.

Grateful Dead
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Uniondale, NY 5/14/1980 - Wednesday

One

Alabama Getaway [4:10] >
The Promised Land [4:08] ;
Candyman [7:32] ;
Mexicali Blues [4:33] >
El Paso [4:22] ;
Tennessee Jed [9:25] ;
Let It Grow [9:00] >
Althea [8:15] ;
Easy To Love You [3:49] >
The Music Never Stopped [7:38]

You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:

https://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod050826.mp3

As always my sincere thanks for your kind support.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello, and welcome to Dead Pod for the week of May the 8th, 2006.
0:03.8	This is a professor, so glad he could pick us up this week.
0:07.7	May, of course, was a great month for the Grateful Dead, especially back in 77,
0:11.9	but of course those shows have all been played or released commercially.
0:15.9	But I've got one here from 1980 that I really enjoy.
0:19.0	This comes to us from May the 14th, 1980. Nassau Veterans Memorial
0:23.9	Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. This was a fine run. The following two nights were
0:29.4	sort of cobbled together on the release go to Nassau, but the 14th was not on that release,
0:35.2	but yet it's a fine show, and I think you'll enjoy it.
0:37.9	The first set is really full of classic tunes.
0:42.6	They start out with Alabama Getaway.
0:44.4	Of course, Go to Heaven had just been released, so they're kind of presenting that album.
0:49.7	A nice version of that into a smoke and promised land.
0:52.5	Candyland follows.
0:54.0	Then we go into Mexicali into El Paso, a great Tennessee Jed.
0:59.4	Let it grow. A nice version here. Into Althea. The Althea is fine. I think you'll enjoy that one.
1:06.2	Brent does easy to love you. It's an early version.
1:10.3	Into the set closing music never stops. Always a fine way to end the set.
1:15.1	So great first set. I hope you enjoy it. And the band's together and sounding pretty darn good. So I hope you enjoy this one.
1:23.7	Thanks for picking us up this week and for your support of the deadpot. I couldn't do it without you.
1:27.7	And I hope to see you back here next week.
1:31.5	Enjoy Spring.
	...

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