Grateful Dead

BITD, the days of USENet, I looked over my list of tapes and realized I was really hurting on '80-'81-'82. I had started trading with some guy in Canada, and I saw on his list that he had a bunch of early 80s boards. So I asked him to select some of the very best. I remember one was the '82 "Raven Space" show; the second escapes me entirely now; and the third was 12/9/81 Boulder, CO.

Back then, tracking info wasn't what it was today, and in this case it was taking even longer since it wasn't a domestic mailpiece. I kept waiting for the tapes to arrive, but to no avail. Finally one morning a couple of neighborhood kids came to my porch as I was standing there looking at the day's mail delivery, a delivery that once again contained no packages. The kids said something like, "are you looking for your cassettes?" and with a sinking feeling I asked them how they could know that. Well, it came out that their sometime friend, a boy maybe 10-11 years old, had porch-pirated me and had stolen my package!

So I walked down to his house, one of the first McMansions on our block, and knocked on the door. His parents were sympathetic, and the kid was made to confess and apologize, but for some of the tapes it was too late - he'd found the music uninspiring, apparently, and had set about destroying the tapes by unspooling them and throwing them around. One was actually visible hanging from a nearby utility line.

The now-unremembered show was one of the casualties. So was tape II of the Raven Space show. I seem to recall that tape I survived with only minor damage (I was able to re-spool it). However, both sets of 12/9/81 were untouched. And what a show!

There are some good shows from this date - the Fox in '71; Kiel 8 years later; the LA Forum in '89. But this is my go-to show on December 9th. Thanks, Dave, for releasing this one! (And thanks to those kids for ratting out their 'friend')

Probably one of my top DaP and another neglected, underplayed show.
Nothing like a proper matrix!

Then fresh meat, 12/6/80!

And another new for me: 12/12/80, Sshwinngg!

Fun story OBEAH!

J918 - I hear ya - passions run high re Fall '79 - lots of fine shows to choose from. This week's Tapers Section has Set II opener from Indy 12/7/79 (show between Uptown run and St. Louis). Phil dialed up, could use a little more Jerry(?). Very nice slice regardless.

Energy galore

#31 12/3/79 Uptown Theatre, Chicago, with 12/4/79 filler

#47 12/8/79 Kiel Auditorium, ST. Louis, with 12/4/79 filler

I'm amazed these shows don't more praise, as I find them to be top-tier releases

Full-blast GD!!!

Rock on, gang

It's in the queue for next week 👍

11.01.1973 ... What an amazing WR Suite and Morning Dew on this!! So sweet, w/ Phil bombs galore & then gently (and ultra smooth) into Playin - UJB sandwich.

Sound quality is Phenomenal !!! = Bliss ... 😉
GBtGD

11 17 71

Albuquerque

Finishing up this stellar bit, after feasting on DP 36 Philadelphia the other day ...

Four before that:
Miles Smiles (It had been a LONG time)
Bob - Blood on the Tracks
The Very Best of Jackson Browne
Santana - Abraxas (still flippin' great)

5-8-77 vinyl before that.

Hockey starting in about an hour.