The Grateful Dead, 5/20/73 at the Univ. of California-Santa Barbara

I couldn't quite believe it, but 1973 is the year in the 70s that I have most neglected in my broadcasts (excluding 1975 and tied with 1979). So today, I'm going to make some amends by featuring a great show, one often overlooked because it sits in between two widely known and revered shows, 5-13-73 at the Iowa State Fair and 5-26-73 at Kezar Stadium.

However on 5-20-73 The Grateful Dead played another huge show at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Taken together, these three shows stand in between the end of Spring tour and their next gigs, the two nights at RFK in June. Interestingly the UCSB show is the only May gig reviewed at Dead Listening, something worth exploring especially if you've never visited that site. I won't get to all of it, but will include many highlights.