(Review from dead.net)

Grateful Dead played at a rock festival known as the Big Rock Pow Wow, May 23-25, 1969. They headlined the first two days of the festival and their complete sets are spread across the three discs of this archival release.

The Dead provided their own very psychedelic soundtrack for the weekend with two fiery sets that show the group at their exploratory best. The first show was built around what would become known as the Live Dead sequence: “Dark Star” > “St. Stephen” > “The Eleven” > “Turn On Your Lovelight”, each piece jammed powerfully and with purpose, flowing like electric lava—bubbling and spurting and occasionally exploding as it erupts out of the speakers and into the crowd. There are all sorts of fascinating twists and turns in the jams (including a couple prompted by Garcia breaking strings!) and the “Lovelight” has Pigpen leading the charge for a very funky half-hour rock’n'soul romp. Also notable from the first show is a superb “Morning Dew” (which appears on Disc 3 due to the timing limitations of the CD format).

The next night (beginning Disc 2 here) the Dead open with another excursion through “Lovelight”, this one has its own unique feeling—same song, different vibe. From there it’s a tour through some of the other chestnuts of the era, including the then-new “Doin’ That Rag”, the wonderful ballad “He Was a Friend of Mine,” which eases into “China Cat Sunflower”, followed by another slammin’ “Eleven”, before arriving at a haunting and potent “Death Don’t Have No Mercy”.

The reminder of the second show (on Disc 3) includes “Alligator”, a drum duel with Mickey and Bill calling on the native spirits, a version of “St. Stephen” that begins unlike any other version from this era and ends in eerie feedback before a final “We Bid You Goodnight”.

Line-up:
- Tom Constanten / keyboards
- Jerry Garcia / lead guitar, vocals
- Mickey Hart / drums
- Bill Kreutzmann / drums
- Phil Lesh / electric bass, vocals
- Ron “Pigpen” McKernan / vocals, percussion
- Bob Weir / rhythm guitar, vocals

Track List:
CD1
01. Hard To Handle – 5:46
02. Dark Star > – 18:55
03. St. Stephen > – 9:00
04. The Eleven > – 10:38
05. Turn On Your Lovelight – 30:58
CD2
01. Introduction – 4:26
02. Turn On Your Lovelight – 27:25
03. Doin’ That Rag > – 6:43
04. He Was A Friend Of Mine (Just A Hand To Hold) > – 8:49
05. China Cat Sunflower > – 5:24
06. The Eleven > – 8:17
07. Death Don’t Have No Mercy – 6:59
CD3
01. Morning Dew – 9:43
02. Me & My Uncle – 3:17
03. Yellow Dog Story – 3:11
04. Alligator > – 3:59
05. Drums > – 7:33
06. St. Stephen > – 5:58
07. Feedback > – 4:16
08. We Bid You Goodnight – 3:22

Link in comments.