Grateful Dead

Welcome back to the Tapers' Section, where this week we'll close out August and begin September with music from two decades of Dead, 1969-1989

Our first stop is from the Family Dog in San Francisco, where we have Lovelight, Casey Jones, Midnight Hour. The first track, the big Lovelight, is from 8/29/69, and the next two are from 9/6/69, all the vault has from this 9/6/69 show. Grateful Dead shows at the Family Dog always sound a little looser than shows at the Fillmore West or the Fillmore Auditorium.

Next is up is a batch of tines from the first set of 11/15/72 in Oklahoma City: Bertha, BIODTL, Bird Song, Jack Straw, Candyman, Big River, Sugaree, El Paso. Please note that there are mix issues on the master recording during Bertha, but the sound settles down nicely after that.

Lastly this week we have the entire first set of 12/27/89 in Oakland, CA, the first of a four night run to celebrate the end of the '80s: Cold Rain And Snow , Greatest Story Ever Told ,Never Trust A Woman ,Althea, Me And My Uncle > Big River , Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues ,Bird Song, The Promised Land. A personal anecdote: I flew in from the east coast for these shows earlier in the day on 12/27, and all was going well. I secured great seats (the Oakland Coliseum Arena was entirely GA) around center ice, 10 rows up, usually great sound. Throughout the first set, I was shocked at how muddy the show sounded. Just terrible. Right at the start of Bird Song, I decided to plug my nose and pop my ears, and poof! The sound was clear as a bell! I had forgotten to pop my ears after a day of flying. So, remember kids, if you fly the day of a concert, pop your ears!

Tune in next week for more great music here at the Tapers' Section.

David Lemieux
vault@dead.net