This week we have some music from 1968, 1982 and 1984

First up this week, from 9/23/82 in New Haven, we have the magnificent closing twosome of Althea-Let It Grow. This space is getting hot, indeed. Drawn from the cassette master on the final big tour before Healy began recording to Beta PCM digital tapes in December, 1982.

Next we’ll jump back a little ways to 1968, to the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. This would be the Grateful Dead’s final show at the Greek until 1981, but thankfully they made a habit of it throughout the 1980s. From this cool little show in 1968, we have the opening Pigpen twofer, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl-Lovelight. You’ll notice we faded out early in the third song, but worry not, as we plan to have more of this show later in the year on the Tapers Section. There’s a bit of a buzz on the right channel which mostly disappears by Lovelight. Regardless, the music’s certainly worth a listen.

Moving ahead 15 years to 1983, we have the second-set opener from 10/21/83 in Worcester, Mass. This is a nice Scarlet Begonias>Fire On The Mountain. Drawn from the Beta PCM digital masters, the tape does exhibit some signs of the limitations of this format, specifically some minor distortion on the low end stuff.

Lastly this week, we’ll stop into 1984 to the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY on October 20. From the end of the first set, we have the trio of My Brother Esau-Bird Song-Jack Straw, and from the start of the second set, Shakedown Street>Samson and Delilah. We’ve had a lot of requests to hear some moments from this show, so here you go.

Be sure to check back in next week, when we really don’t know what we’ll be playing, but hopefully something from 1971. Feel free to get in touch with questions or comments.

David Lemieux
vault[at]dead.net