Admit one · Venue No. 0451212
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park
Written on the way home
What people wrote about nights here
Islesfan was there for Grateful Dead · Sat, 03 Sep 1977
After a long day of heat and great music by NRPS & The Marshall Tucker Band. The band that everyone came to see took the stage as nightfall had set in on the festival grounds. The show was broadcast live across WNEW-FM 102.7 in New York City. It has become one of the most cherished bootlegs for any Grateful dead fan. This show captured them at their finest both musically and vocally.
I got to see them several times after this show. But none of those shows came close to capturing the Dead's sound the way that this one did. Here is a link to the setlist
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/grateful-dead/1977/raceway-park-englishtown-nj-6bd7c22e.htmlIslesfan was there for Marshall Tucker Band · Sat, 03 Sep 1977
Here is a link to some pics from that day to put my story in more perspective. I do not own these and none of these are me or the group of friends I was with. Just wanted to share them here to anyone else who was at this epic show
http://www.vintag.es/2015/09/historical-photos-of-fans-in-grateful.htmlIslesfan was there for Marshall Tucker Band · Sat, 03 Sep 1977
This was my second concert ever.A very memorable one at that. MTB was also my first back in June of 77. So seeing them again in this festival type setting was amazing. They were much looser and they extended several songs with Toy Caldwell's lead guitar jams.
By the time they hit the stage the heat of day was in full force. It was very humid after the early morning thunderstorms had passed through. The crowd of over 100,000 (estimated) were all looking for water or anything to quench their thirst. Since this was an outdoor show on an abandoned raceway. There was no concessions to go get anything. The promoters set up water hoses were people could go full up there juggs or bottles with water. Problem was. That area was a sea of mudI You had to wade through knee deep mud to get over to the water stations. It was something this then 15 year old concert goer still remembers. Even as high as I was that day.
But Tucker were phenomenal this day. Playing hit after hit to a very supportive and enthusiastic crowd. They Rocked!
Only a portion of their show was broadcast on NY radio station WNEW 102.7. The setlist is made up of what is on that bootleg recording of the broadcast. I remember (or not) them playing much longer. But who knows. Either way it was great.
Here's a link to their setlist
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-marshall-tucker-band/1977/raceway-park-englishtown-nj-4bd73f9a.htmlIslesfan was there for New Riders of the Purple Sage · Sat, 03 Sep 1977
This was an epic day of music to say the least. Drove down to the venue the night before from Long Island. Partied all the way there. I remember parking in a field and all of us just sleeping on the grass outside the car.
We awoke the next morning to a sea of cars and people all around us. To make matters worse. That morning before they opened the gates. Late summer thunderstorm rolled through dumping tons of water on the area.
NRPS started off this long day of music and sounded great vocally. This incarnation was right after Spencer Dryden had left the band. He was replaced by Patrick Shanahan, Steven Love was the bass player along with the 3 founding members. John Dawson, Dave Nelson and Buddy Cage,
Highlight for me was their cover of Jerry Jeff Walker's "Up Against the Wall,Redneck Mother". Was a great set to start the day. Here's a link to the setlist
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/new-riders-of-the-purple-sage/1977/raceway-park-englishtown-nj-5bd73f98.html
Five questions about the building, not the gig
What this room is like
Nobody has said what this room sounds like
109 concerts logged here and not one answer yet. Five taps - the place itself, then the sound, the sightlines, getting in and out and what the bar charges - and this page starts telling people what Old Bridge Township Raceway Park is actually like to stand in. There's room to write about it as well - one entry each, added to over the years.
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Islesfan was there 100% for Grateful Dead · Sat, 03 Sep 1977
Here is a link to a blog with some nice pictures from that day
http://rockindownthehighway.blogspot.com/2008/02/really-rockin-grateful-dead-concert-at.html
Here is a link to the FM broadcast bootleg
https://archive.org/details/gd77-09-03.sbd.unk.276.sbefixed.shnf/gd77-09-03d1t102.shn
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