Grateful Dead RFK Stadium 1989 Box

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July 10, 2017 - 12:03pm

1,823 replies

heatherlew

Joined:
October 12, 2016

RFK Stadium 1989 Box

LESS THAN 5000 LEFT

The Grateful Dead battled the elements in July 1989, enduring drenching rains and stifling humidity during back-to-back shows at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in the nation’s capital. In spite of the bleak weather, the band thrilled the massive crowds both nights with triumphant performances that rank among the very best of a busy year that included 74 shows and the release of the group’s final studio album, BUILT TO LAST.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY STADIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 12 & 13, 1989 includes two previously unreleased concerts taken from the band’s master 24-track analog recordings, which have been mixed by Jeffrey Norman at TRI Studios and mastered in HDCD by David Glasser. The collection’s colorful slip case features original artwork by Justin Helton and a perfect-bound book with in-depth liner notes written by Dean Budnick, editor-in-chief of Relix magazine. The set will also be available as a digital download in Apple Lossless and FLAC 192/24.

When Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Brent Mydland, and Bob Weir rolled into D.C. in July 1989 for the Dead’s two-night stand at RFK, the band hit the stage running with a stellar rendition of “Touch Of Grey,” the group’s biggest hit from its only Top 10 album In The Dark, which was released in 1987. The following night, the band returned to its double-platinum commercial breakthrough when it opened the show with a fiery version of “Hell In A Bucket.”

“RFK Stadium '89 fell right in the middle of one of the best tours of the last 15 years of Grateful Dead performances, with these shows being the sixth and seventh of an 11-show tour. This tour is widely considered the start of a nine month period of sustained excellence, which ran from Summer '89 through Spring '90. The RFK shows are as good as any of the more famous shows from this period, including July 4 in Buffalo, July 7 in Philadelphia, and the Alpine run,” says David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and the set’s producer. “When Bob Weir has asked me to provide copies of Grateful Dead songs to give to his bandmates to learn and rehearse, he almost always requests Summer '89, and I've often drawn upon the RFK shows for this purpose. It's really that good!”

Both shows feature standout moments, but the July 12 show is notable for a few reasons. Perhaps the biggest is that the first set featured at least one song sung by each of the band’s four lead singers – Garcia, Weir, Lesh and Mydland – something that rarely happened. Another surprise came when the band opened the second set with “Sugaree,” a song that almost always appeared during the first set.

Pianist Bruce Hornsby — who briefly joined the band between 1990 and 1992 — is featured on both shows. He played accordion during “Sugaree” and “Man Smart (Woman Smarter),” with a touch of keyboard-tinkling, on July 12, and then played more accordion the following night for “Tennessee Jed” and “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again.”

For fans of Mydland’s tenure with the Dead – which began in 1979 and ended in 1990 with the keyboardist’s tragic death – these stellar shows capture that incarnation in peak form. Among the long list of highlights are performances of live staples such as “Eyes Of The World,” “Wharf Rat” and “I Need A Miracle,” along with rarities like “To Lay Me Down,” which was played only a few times in 1989. The July 13 show also features the band road-testing “I Will Take You Home,” a track Mydland wrote with Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow that would appear later that fall on Built To Last.

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April 10, 2018 - 6:02am

#41

icecrmcnkd

Joined:
October 20, 2015

Berkeleyboy

You see how many the site will allow you to put in the cart. You can only put in the cart up to the number that is available.
April 9, 2018 - 10:41am

#42

berkeleyboy

Joined:
April 23, 2011

Number of CD's Left

Friendly question: You say there are 2824 left. I presume you mean copies of this CD left to purchase. How do you know? Is there a site somewhere that tells you how many are available?
April 4, 2018 - 6:21pm

#43

icecrmcnkd

Joined:
October 20, 2015

David

You sure do have a lot of time on your hands.....You must be retired. I’m confident that you spend that time listening to GOGD.
April 3, 2018 - 1:18pm

#44

David Duryea

Joined:
September 28, 2009

2824 left

Episode 2824 Sesame Street Plot Elmo and the Beanstalk Air date February 28, 1991 Season Season 22 (1990-1991) Sponsors G, L, 6 COLD OPEN Elmo (And The Beanstalk) announces he will be climbing a beanstalk today, as well as taking to some string beans (who make sure they're mentioned). SCENE 1 Elmo welcomes the viewer and Mike begins to read the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk," but Elmo tells more of the story than Mike does. After Mike finishes "reading", Elmo runs off to find some magic beans, so he can climb a beanstalk and get some "gooolllden eggs." SCENE 2 Big Bird helps Elmo plant the beans he got from Gina so he can climb to the sky and get 6 golden eggs (and split the spoils with Mike and Gina). Big Bird puts the beans in the pot and waters them and they both move away to let it grow, but nothing happens. Since it's a cloudy day, the sun won't shine on the beans to make them grow. Elmo is disappointed, until Big Bird suggests he imagine climbing a beanstalk. SCENE 2 cont'd Elmo imagines the beanstalk fully grown and begins to climb it. SCENE 2 cont'd Meanwhile, in reality, Big Bird watches Elmo moving his arms and chanting "Climb" in a daze and hopes he has enough energy to make it to the top. SCENE 3 Still imagining, Elmo continues to climb and wishes there were an easier way to get to the top. He gets an idea he could fly... SCENE 3 cont'd Elmo begins to soar through the sky singing "Elmo Can Fly" with two birds, who tell him the stalk's too high to fly up. SCENE 3 cont'd Back on the street, Big Bird continues watching Elmo climb and wonders if he ever considered flying up the stalk. SCENE 4 Oscar discovers Elmo panting in front of his can and tells him to go away, but he doesn't respond. He blares his (broken) horn, rattles his noisemaker and plays his bongos, but with no success. Once he learns from Big Bird what he's doing, he hangs up some signs that forbid imagination and beanstalks, but they do nothing too. Oscar gives up, while Elmo snickers to the camera. SCENE 5 Elmo is still "climbing". Big Bird is sure he's near the top by now. SCENE 5 cont'd Elmo runs into some string beans, who tell him he's close to the top. Once he is gone, one bean wonders if they should have mentioned the giant. Imagination Rain SCENE 6 Elmo finally makes it to the top of the stalk, where a sleeping giant (Mike) lays. He finds the chicken and and has her lay one more egg so that her carton will have the six "gooolllden eggs" he needs. The chicken's squawking awakes the giant. Elmo flees without learning the giant wanted to say "Hi." SCENE 6 cont'd Elmo slides down the side of the crate, which Big Bird interprets as him sliding down the beanstalk. SCENE 7 In Hooper's Store, Elmo shares his story with everyone. He then orders some string beans with "gooolllden eggs". SCENE 7 cont'd Oscar's upset to see the pot is still there, so he tries imagining the sponsors in its place, with no luck.
March 31, 2018 - 11:37am

#45

Seth Hollander

Joined:
August 27, 2009

Awesome Other One!

I keep my iPod on shuffle and usually hear it while driving. The other day this Other One was chosen for my ears and just blew me away. Superb sound/mix and the boys just RAGE...Wow!
March 23, 2018 - 8:51am

#46

fourwindsblow

Joined:
October 13, 2008

RFK 89 Box

I'm glad to see this box getting some love looks like only a few thousand left. I's nice when boxes don't sellout right away in case you don't have the funds, gives you time to save up some dough. Hoping Spectrum 89 is in the works for this years release.
February 22, 2018 - 6:35pm

#47

icecrmcnkd

Joined:
October 20, 2015

wgscott

The wrong files usually download. Standard operating procedure for this site.Contact customer service.
February 22, 2018 - 6:23pm

#48

wgscott

Joined:
January 21, 2016

192 kHz sampled files appear to be upsampled 44.1 kHz

I just purchased the high-resolution downloads, and checked the files. Although they occupy larger containers, there is little to no information beyond 44.1 kHz sampling frequency. In other words, you don't seem to get anything more for the extra $10.00. This is a bit frustrating, because the possibility of getting HD files was what made me purchase this set in the first place.
February 21, 2018 - 3:08pm

#49

Thin

Joined:
June 21, 2013

unnumbered RFK Box?

That's odd... Regardless, the music in this release is wonderful - multi-track precision! So glad these '89 shows are finally getting out. If you haven't heard these shows, you'll love 'em.
February 15, 2018 - 1:07pm

#50

David Duryea

Joined:
September 28, 2009

2983 left

THE ECLIPSE IN 2983 BC By LUDOVIC MCLELLAN MANN. (Written 1930). A few days ago Mr. J. C. McCrindle, Shawlands, took me to see a flat sandstone rock on Cleuch Farm, now Cathcart Castle golf course, Whitecraigs. He:had discovered cut upon the stone certain markings known to the antiquary as “cups and rings”. These had also been noticed by Mr. A. W. Barclay. The designs have been delicately pecked out and are unusually shallow. They are well preserved, as the surface has until now been protected by a growth of vegetation. The writer was struck at once by the similarity of the design to that on a carved boulder found some time ago in the Bluebell Wood, Langside, about 2¾ miles distant. Closer examination showed that the designs, although not identical, had many points in common, and that in fact they record the same event. Cupmarks on the Langside and Cleuch stones The meaning of such designs has long been an outstanding problem of archaeology. For some years the writer has been engaged on its solution, and the markings can now be interpreted according to principles recovered after the closest examination of full-sized drawings of some hundreds of examples from this country and from abroad. The cupped stones are registers made by prehistoric astronomers who reckoned time by hours, days, years, and long cycles of years. The happening of eclipses punctuated their cycles. A cup-marked stone furnishes the index marks of invisible geometric dials or clock faces. The markings, indicating certain days, hours, and years, usually take the form of small cup-like hollows. To read the markings we must first find the centre of the scheme, and then restore the framework of the dials and the position of their “clock hands”. Each long cycle checks the reading given by the others. They involve the periodicities of Sun, Moon, nodes, and five planets. The Langside and Cleuch stones commemorate chiefly – one and the same event – an eclipse of the Sun seen in Glasgow district in the year 2983 BC, at three o’clock in the afternoon of the sixth day after the spring equinox (March 27 in our modern reckoning). One must dismiss the conventional notion that the pre-Roman Briton was a barbarian. The stones referred to bear records made 50 centuries ago by men who were by no means savage, but were possessed of considerable scientific knowledge. For many thousands of years even before that remote time, similar carvings were being made in all parts of the habitable world. The language used by the sculptor was one of measures and geometry. It was a.medium of expression which overstepped the limitations of race, speech,, time, and space. To detail the method of reading the Langside stone and its corroborative witness, the Cleuch stone, is here impossible, but certain features may be outlined. It should be noted that the date 2983 BC March 27 was obtained from the Langside stone before it was possible to ascertain from independent computors that an eclipse had actually been seen in Glasgow on that date. This is nearly 2000 years before the earliest published eclipse recorded by the Viennese astronomer Oppolzer, and the visibility of the eclipse had to be specially computed in Berlin, after the data had been supplied from Glasgow.}

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Dead Store Products

RFK Stadium 1989 Box

LESS THAN 5000 LEFT

The Grateful Dead battled the elements in July 1989, enduring drenching rains and stifling humidity during back-to-back shows at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in the nation’s capital. In spite of the bleak weather, the band thrilled the massive crowds both nights with triumphant performances that rank among the very best of a busy year that included 74 shows and the release of the group’s final studio album, BUILT TO LAST.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY STADIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 12 & 13, 1989 includes two previously unreleased concerts taken from the band’s master 24-track analog recordings, which have been mixed by Jeffrey Norman at TRI Studios and mastered in HDCD by David Glasser. The collection’s colorful slip case features original artwork by Justin Helton and a perfect-bound book with in-depth liner notes written by Dean Budnick, editor-in-chief of Relix magazine. The set will also be available as a digital download in Apple Lossless and FLAC 192/24.

When Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Brent Mydland, and Bob Weir rolled into D.C. in July 1989 for the Dead’s two-night stand at RFK, the band hit the stage running with a stellar rendition of “Touch Of Grey,” the group’s biggest hit from its only Top 10 album In The Dark, which was released in 1987. The following night, the band returned to its double-platinum commercial breakthrough when it opened the show with a fiery version of “Hell In A Bucket.”

“RFK Stadium '89 fell right in the middle of one of the best tours of the last 15 years of Grateful Dead performances, with these shows being the sixth and seventh of an 11-show tour. This tour is widely considered the start of a nine month period of sustained excellence, which ran from Summer '89 through Spring '90. The RFK shows are as good as any of the more famous shows from this period, including July 4 in Buffalo, July 7 in Philadelphia, and the Alpine run,” says David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and the set’s producer. “When Bob Weir has asked me to provide copies of Grateful Dead songs to give to his bandmates to learn and rehearse, he almost always requests Summer '89, and I've often drawn upon the RFK shows for this purpose. It's really that good!”

Both shows feature standout moments, but the July 12 show is notable for a few reasons. Perhaps the biggest is that the first set featured at least one song sung by each of the band’s four lead singers – Garcia, Weir, Lesh and Mydland – something that rarely happened. Another surprise came when the band opened the second set with “Sugaree,” a song that almost always appeared during the first set.

Pianist Bruce Hornsby — who briefly joined the band between 1990 and 1992 — is featured on both shows. He played accordion during “Sugaree” and “Man Smart (Woman Smarter),” with a touch of keyboard-tinkling, on July 12, and then played more accordion the following night for “Tennessee Jed” and “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again.”

For fans of Mydland’s tenure with the Dead – which began in 1979 and ended in 1990 with the keyboardist’s tragic death – these stellar shows capture that incarnation in peak form. Among the long list of highlights are performances of live staples such as “Eyes Of The World,” “Wharf Rat” and “I Need A Miracle,” along with rarities like “To Lay Me Down,” which was played only a few times in 1989. The July 13 show also features the band road-testing “I Will Take You Home,” a track Mydland wrote with Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow that would appear later that fall on Built To Last.

Slow sales on box sets

I don't think it's any secret at all on why sales are slow on the boxed sets for Summer 1978 and the RFK 1989 shows. Summer 1978 was slow because, well...it was Summer 1978. The highs were great but the overall playing wasn't nearly as good as 1977 or even the winter of 1978. I was at the St. Paul show and it was OK, nothing special. It had a few special moments but that was it. With the RFK shows, I love love love Summer 1989. Combined with Spring 1990 I agree this was the greatest 9 months of the Brent era. And I enjoyed the Brent era a great deal. That said, they screwed up with two major decisions...1) They didn't include DVDs (in which case, I would buy even at an increased cost) and 2) They picked the RFK shows, the worst two shows of the Summer 1989 tour. Bad decision. Better luck next time I guess.

5/21/74 PITB

Man, this version SMOKES! Thanks for the heads up, bob t! Here's a link for those too lazy to look it up themselves: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KbPiw6nF0qk I'm all about an 80s release for the next Dave's pick, but I love me some Wall of Sound! I'll never complain about a 1974 release. Always good setlists and solid playing throughout. That 1973 Seattle show also kicks ass! Thanks, mbarilla!

Bestsmeller

I finally got to the Cornell '77 hardcover that came with "Light." I must say, this book smells amazing. I've been smelling books (ok, only clean-looking, newish well-made ones) since the 70's. From the ink to the wonderful paper, the binding and the glue, this is one of the best-smelling books I've read in ages. A friend is in town from New York for a few days. I got to spend a couple hours with him, and he was inexplicably traveling in a rental with a cd player - and no cds! I hastily burned a brother a 13-song compilation on the spot to get him back on the road. As I go back now, for a listen, I'm pretty happy with it - from '69 to '81. What I didn't realize as I threw the thing together was there are 11 Jerry songs and two featuring Pigpen on lead vocals. Sorry, Bob - I'll make a conscious effort to at least rip a cowboy song or two next time.

Re: LedDed

Ha.. I will forever remember you as my good friend Ying. I have yet to meet your significant other, but I hope.. for the sake of a humanity.. that I will comfortably refer to her as my good friend Yang. On a related note.. my main show buddy (shoutout to Pitts Mike) is a Phil guy (as am I). I did a series of shows with him perhaps 8 or nine years ago with his ex wife.. we all shared a suite.. he's basically a wharf rat, but man she could twist some fatties.. so we all got along nicely. ..but she's a big Bobby fan. After the weekend I expressed my admiration for a great time and clearly understood why they divorced. Now.. everytime I meet his new GF.. my first question is, where are we standing, Phil side or Bobby side. (btw, Oteil side = Phil side). His last gf had no idea what I was talking about and we wandered over to the Bobby side of things at her discretion. I told them both.. I give this relationship two weeks, tops.. without any explanation. He laughed.. she was appalled. I just smiled. Two weeks later I got this telling text. :D I hope that story didn't offend anyone.. I guess that makes me a Ying too. Anyone know any cool Yangs? Nevermind.. a Phil side ying would be just fine with me.

Slow sale of box sets

I don't think the "content" is what slows down the sale of the box sets. July '78 is SMOKIN' and look at the Spring '90 TOO box. Great quality there. What slows down the sales is the fact that these are all available as downloads. Some folks just don't want cds any longer for a variety of reasons. I am in the cd crowd, but I realize that some prefer downloads. I bet that if these boxes were only available physically, they would have sold out a whole lot quicker Rock on

Summer 89 set ~ release date , just in time

hope this arrives on time , so i can hit the road and check out Dead and Company Fall Tour 2017 !!!!! i think Dead net has got this one just exactly perfect BRING ON THE AUGUST 1980 SKULL SPILTTER SHOWS !!!!! JimInMD , that is a nice list of shows with the Passenger ; Sugaree , i was really hoping for a back to back performance , a good portion of those shows are or will be official releases. 12.30.78 would be a nice compliment to some of the other recent releases along with this night years ago RED ROCKS 1978 !!!!! 8.30.78 included in Jeebs Stash , what a show with super rare performance "If I Had the World To Give" my favorite of the few https://archive.org/details/gd78-08-30.set2-sbd.barbella.8038.sbeok.shn…

Random thoughts

Hey Now - don't post a lot, but try to keep up with all that goes on here. Thanks for entertaining me everyone!! What a great year of releases. Love daves 21 especially. The latest daves is very good, disc 3 is obviously smokin! I find this RFK box a little dissapointing. Decent shows I suppose,but a classic case of milking the vault. How can those Alpine shows waste away in the vault while these very average shows get released? I attended every show from Foxboro thru Alpine and the RFK shows were probably the weakest of the tour. I know they release this tour because the sound quality is there, if we have to have 80s released, Iwould much rather have a rippin early 80s show with inferior sound, but that's just my opinion. Have been spending my nights this week with two from the vault, amazing stuff. Would love 68 - 70 or fall 72 for the next release.

Random thoughts

I think this release is a good one for the 1st year of a new 10 year deal with Rhino. By getting it out of the way, they are testing the waters. it makes the releases of other summer 1989 multitracks by popular demand in the future more likely and satisfying to the customers. It would be better with A Dead.net Exclusive bonus DVD of the Meet Up At The Movie mix ;) Meanwhile here they are on their way to Egypt after 2 months recording Shakedown St album with Lowell George. Grateful Dead Live at Red Rocks Ampitheatre on 1978-08-31 Set 1 Mississippi Half Step-> El Paso, Peggy-O, Minglewood Blues, Candyman, From The Heart Of Me, Jack Straw Set 2 Shakedown Street-> Good Lovin', Ship of Fools, Samson & Delilah, Terrapin Station-> Playin' In The Band-> Drums-> Not Fade Away-> Nobody's Fault But Mine-> Not Fade Away-> Black Peter-> Sugar Magnolia, E: Johnny B. Goode https://archive.org/details/gd1978-08-31.sbd.miller.125882.flac16 Grateful Dead Live at Giants Stadium on 1978-09-02 Set 1: Jack Straw Friend Of The Devil New Minglewood Blues Dire Wolf Looks Like Rain Stagger Lee I Need A Miracle Peggy-O Lazy Lightnin' -> Supplication Set 2: Good Lovin' Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain Estimated Prophet -> Eyes Of The World -> Drums -> Space -> Sugar Magnolia Encore: One More Saturday Night https://archive.org/details/gd1978-09-02.sbd.miller.106818.flac16

Dead & Company Summer Tour box...Poster Booklet???

Hello, If any of you have ordered the Dead & Co. Summer cd box set I was curious "exactly" what is the poster booklet which is included. Is it small copies of all the posters that were put out during the tour? Thanks for your insight(s). Mr. Pete-----------------> aging hippie

Re: Slow sales (particularly Summer 1978)

I was perhaps a little too critical in my analysis of Summer 1978.Red Rocks 7/8/78 does indeed rock. It rocks big time. But if 7/8/78 is the only show you listen to or purchase, you're nicely covered for this time frame. The July 1978 shows may have been a great find for the vault fairly recently, and be important to the overall Grateful Dead catalog, but it still did not warrant a boxed set release. Agree strongly with other comments that suggest they prefer performance over sound quality. Couldn't agree more. I'll even take a total screw up in a release, as long as the overall spirit and performance is strong. Agree wholeheartedly with Annalee's comments...How does RFK get released but Alpine sits ? Alpine was a monster...and should definitely include a DVD release of each show.

About DVD's and RFK

I am gonna chime in here on this and we will see next year if I am right. I was on this tour. The only show I missed was Buffalo. Sold grilled cheese sandwiches to get by. Toured in a VW bus. Was the last official camping and vending tour. So we were allowed for the last time to show up the night before and sell grilled cheese sandwiches after the show and leave the next morning. Except for Deer Creek. It was fantastic. Now I always thought and still maybe do today that I was the guy who jumped up on his seat after Stranger in the video Downhill From Here. I bought the DVD recently to take a better look and I cant tell for sure. Anyway, My favorite show of the tour was the Giants Stadium show with the Shakedown Opener it was a fantastic show all around. During the Brokedown Encore it was crazy to see such a large crowd enjoying such a wonderful night and a intimate closer. Now Lucas Film did all the work on this tour. When I watched the DVD from Alpine the other day the resolution and technology was not up to today's level. But when remastered it can be. Now as we all know they have been playing these at some of the meet up at the movies. So they are been remastered. My prediction on the DVD's is that they are maybe gonna release the tour on DVD as a box set the summer of 30th anniversary of the 1989 tour. Much of the work is done and it would be another historic release for The Dead. A whole tour filmed be the best company in film remastered.

re: About DVD's and RFK

I sure hope you're right Midway. I sure hope you're right !!!

DVD's

On 8-2-17 marye posted the following: DVD, the official word Not now. Maybe in the future. The 30th anniversary is part of the future, so maybe.......?

somebody get me a doctor

In memory of a good MD I see too rarely here these daysSpinning From the Vault 3 today...........1971.

how it is an tha rest

suns out bayous goin downgrateful thanks alot Aladdin Theater, Las Vegas, NV (8/31/81) Feel Like a Stranger Jack-a-Roe El Paso Candyman Little Red Rooster Loser Cassidy Althea Let it Grow Deal Lost Sailor Saint of Circumstance Scarlet Begonias Fire on the Mountain Playin' in the Band drums Good Time Blues Morning Dew Playin' in the Band Around and Around Johnny B. Goode U.S. Blues https://archive.org/details/gd1981-08-31.aud.unknown.91893.sbeok.flac16…

Longest song, Vince :\, '78 and '89 boxes VERY worthy of release

the longest Dead song played is actually Wave to the Wind. I used to think it was Samba in the Rain, but it's definitely Wave to the Wind. I know there are 45 minute PITB"s and Dark Stars, but those aren't long enough. And someone recently commented about a show where Vince was too high in the mix, and I kinda chuckled. That was every single 90's show I attended. Never got used to the shreaky voice or the tone he got out of his keys. Regarding the '78 box and this '89 box.... totally disagree that these aren't worthy of release, and glad to see Mr. Happy recanted his previous shaded comments. The '78 box has a some REALLY great moments throughout, and the Betty mix IS glorious. No, it doesn't come close to the sonic splendor and musical precision of May '77, but only E'72 and Fillmore '69 do. Ya can't eat filet mignon EVERY night, and you can't throw shade at every woman who ain't quite Michelle Pfeiffer... And yes Alpine is a great run, but they already released the best show from that run. These RFK's are damn good shows - at least wait till you HEAR the Norman-ized SBD recordings before dumping on them.... Precious few '89 have been released - let 'em out in peace. I continue to think they will release video once they decide on an optimal, ubiquitous medium (DVD is too low-def for today's hi-def screens, and BlueRay players exist in only 40% of U.S. homes, and that number is shrinking, not growing). WOW! Am I in an East-Coast pissy mood or what? That's 4 snarky, sarcastic, or dissenting comments in a row. I'll stop. Somebody tell a joke....

Re: thin

How many Deadheads does it take to screw in a light bulb? It takes at least two, but Deadheads don't screw in a lightbulb, they screw in a dirty sleeping bag.

Blu Ray players, 40%

Thin, does that 40% include video game consoles (which play Blu Rays), or just stand alone players? My house has 2 Blu Ray players, 4 BD-R burners, and no video game consoles. Yeah, I'm not your typical American household. Nor am I the typical American music listener: I don't stream and I listen to Grateful Dead about 99% of the time. Fortunately, Dead-net doesn't concern themselves with the typical American household but instead focuses on us freaks. Bring on the Blu Rays..... Yes, people felt the same way about letting go of their VCR's in the '90's because DVD was too expensive.

1976

Currently grooving big time to Dick's Picks 20, 9/25 & 9/28, Crapital Centre Landover MD. Though much maligned, I love this set. To go against the grain, I want the next release to be from 1976 as well. A good year, IMHO. And not too much (officially) released to show for it. We have one blu-ray player, three dvd players, and a VCR stashed down in the basement for very rare late-night viewing of grainy old porn tapes. Hey, it's about content, not quality. And around 37 guitars, two basses, a ukelele, a drum set, various percussion, countless effects pedals and around a dozen amps. That's about it. No video game consoles. The kids aren't old enough; their kindles provide all the gaming they need.

LedDed

37 guitars? DAMN. nice collection. Ive gently added a pair of mandolins to my stable. If I had more guitars I think my wife might have some unpleasant statements for me. But hey we have no basements in Fla!!!!!!!!!I kinda feel guilty with the ones I have thou cause I don't play each one nearly as much as they all deserve.

I have an Xbox One....

....which has a blu-ray player built in. Plus, it plays Red Dead Redemption and every Halo game ever made. Good enough for me! I also have a tv in the bedroom with a built in DVD player. Do they still make those?

Funny, Blu-ray death knell

Dirty sleeping bag - funny. I like the "how many lead singers does it take to change a bulb?" "One - the lead singer just holds the bulb still and the world revolves around him/her" re: Blu-ray - I found a more recent source that says 44% of homes have a Blu-ray player, and that number does include video game consoles. DVD and Blu-ray disc sales fell 11% in 2014, 12% in 2015 (sales shrinkage ACCELERATING double-digits = death spiral) while digital/streaming sales grew 18% in 2015. http://fortune.com/2016/01/08/blu-ray-struggles-in-the-streaming-age/ No way would the GD start a new release series into a small and rapidly collapsing market like that. I think their best bet would be to release a shiny CD box with a simultaneous "Meet Up at the Movies", or one-week only hi-def streaming release to create buzz and boost sales of the CD box. Of course costs would be high given the video AND CD production costs... There's just no clean commercial solution for video releases yet... Wait for it - they just need the streaming business models to mature. (I also found an article that is a comical industry-planted cheerleader for Blu-ray - a bar chart trumpets Blu-ray ADDRESSABLE MARKET growing 13% but NO mention of the imploding unit sales despite that addressable-market growth! Duh, Yes the addressable market is growing - "Streaming" is growing 18%/year and crushing Blu-ray! This wordplay trickery is akin to T-Mobile/Sprint saying their "reliability is now within 1% of Verizon", while the main thing people care about is the COVERAGE MAP, where the competition is still laughable compared to Verizon. As Churchill said, there are 3 kinds of lies: Lies, Damned lies, and Statistics. https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/blu-ray-players-market-3850)

Red Dead

VGuy, you had me at Red Dead. But you knew this already. You dropped some crumbs right into Sixtus' path. Greatest game of all time - almost. I cherish that game. Get on my horse and ride the wild west, at whim. It is so effing liberating on the 70" screen (since I'm stuck on my couch on the East Coast...and no horse). Funny, we also have one of those TVs with a DVD built-in, in the bedroom. Have used it all about....once. Maybe. With the DVR, it almost becomes redundant. But the XBOX One indeed serves for all things audio/video in our house, so it's a nice little unit. Sixtus

numbered and limited to 15,000

Slow sales- me thinks?

Yep

Slow sales

You were right

Mr Morgul, the CDs will be limited and numbered. It's official! ROBERT F. KENNEDY STADIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 12 & 13, 1989 will be individually numbered and limited to 15,000 copies. The set features two previously unreleased concerts taken from the band's master 24-track analog recordings, which have been mixed by Jeffrey Norman at TRI Studios and mastered in HDCD by David Glasser.

ltd ed 15k

The comments regarding these shows have been rather underwhelming, and I felt no particular reason to pull the trigger. But now they got my money!

Remaining

Somewhere between 4 and 5 thousand of the set. I could add 4k to the cart, but not 5k. So, we shall see.

Blu-ray

Blu-ray is dieing because people stream movies and tv series but it's an excellent format for music. I don't mind streaming movies and tv series (don't watch much anyway) but for music played through high end systems I prefer physical product.

Now to be numbered, 15,000 units - THANK YOU

Just got the e-mail that these shows will now be numbered, at 15,000. Numbered = smart. $65 +shipping ain't cheap, but the limited sets maintain their value which helps justify the cost, especially to spouses. (Will probably be available for download cheaper, but the downloads have zero residual value). It's not about trying to flip it for profit - it's about knowing they will maintain their value. Again, my wife used to complain when I'd spend $ on these releases until she saw they maintain their value, and might even appreciate. Now she doesn't even look at me twice when they arrive on the doorstep. 15,000 count may be aggressive, but what do I know? The important thing is that they are FINALLY releasing more of these awesome '89 shows - can't wait to get it in my hands and give it a good listen. Bring more HQ Summer/Fall 89's! A nice complement to the Spring '90 boxes.

a little ditty

Came across this today. Loved as a kid, bought Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 when I was about 18/19 based on memory of this cartoon. Enjoy http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1glhp

Numbered

Numbering them might mean something if they made any effort whatsoever to put numbers with when you bought them. But as any experienced buyer knows you can buy the Dave sub 30 min from going up for sale and still end up with # 14356. I guess I shouldn't complain. I just received my 3 framed lithos ltd to 500 fron Jerry. They were unnumbered wtf?.

Llimited Edition 15k

Now that we know it is limited and numbered, and that there are around or between 4k to 5k left, that means sales have been more brisk than some here have eluded to. I'm glad to see that because even an average show from '89 is at a high bar. There are even Sunshine Daydream 8/27/72 CD/blu-ray sets still available out of 12,500, and that's THEE holy grail release, and that one came out 4 years ago. Don't know if anybodies checked the cart to see how many of those are still available.

Presale Question

How does the presale work? Do they charge at time of order or when it ships?

Super Mikey

If you use a credit card you get charged now. Don't know how a debit card works.

Re: super milkey

I think that they put a "hold" on your charge account, but bill for real at the time of realece.

SpaceBro, 8-27-72

Guess that confirms what Thin was saying. DVD's sold out, Blu Rays still available. People don't want to upgrade to Blu Ray.I bought the DVD upon release because I didn't have a Blu Ray player at the time. A few weeks ago I decided that I would buy the Blu Ray to see if it was better quality than the DVD. Not sure if there can be a difference for a movie from 1972 (there is an amazing difference with the FTW Blu Rays which are 1080p and the live stream recordings which are 720p). But I never got around to ordering it. I better do that before it sells out. As for Blu Ray being a dying format? Isn't that what people said about vinyl? Same for CD's. Taylor Swift sets records for downloads, Dead-net sells CD's to people who gobble them up and bitch if they miss out. Have to know your clientele and the format they want. Probably safe to say that 8-track and cassettes aren't coming back. Streaming is not the solution, it's slow, especially when a lot of people in the area are playing video games. Sometimes it doesn't work at all. A few days ago I didn't have cable or internet because Comcast was having and outage. But my CD player and Blu Ray player worked flawlessly.

Can't order online

Is anyone else having problems ordering online? I select add to my cart, but when I go to my shopping cart, it says there is nothing in it. Tried on a couple of different computers, same thing. I'm logged in so I'm not sure what could be causing the problem??

I beg to differ on cassettes.

I don't know about the US of A, but here in Europe cassettes are making something of a comeback, something which I find to be totally bizarre. The obvious first question is "Why?".

ivhs72

Try enabling cookies, if only for the duration of the ordering process. Others have had the same problem (see earlier posts) and this seemed to be the solution.

Spacebro re: 8/27/72 - makes my Blu-ray point

Spacebro - Thanks for helping make my Blu-ray point. 8/27/72 is indeed still available after 4 years sitting on the shelf despite only producing 12,500 copies, but I find your conclusion that this means 80's is more popular than '72 laughable (respectfully) - it is rather a reflection on Blu-ray, per my previous post. 8/27/72 was a single show plus Blu-ray for $55. That is the only release I have never purchased because I don't have Blu-ray and I didn't want to blow $55 + shipping for 3 CD's I already have (from my DAT days) in pretty darn good quality. (And Mr. Polesitter guy in hi-def NOT a draw) I also doubt they have sold as much of this '89 box as you think - when they plugged the initial number into "inventory" they hadn't yet decided the final production #. Probably input a nice round 10k, not the current 15k you are using in your math. But I could be wrong. We'll find out the next time they update the site. But going numbered/limited edition should boost sales of this box. So ALL the other releases/boxes have sold out or are close to it - most at 15k units or more - while the relatively low 12,500-unit EPIC Veneta show released 4 YEARS AGO on Blu-ray still sits on the shelf... this is why they aren't releasing more Blu-ray.... edit: icecrmkid I just saw your post. I'm not saying Blu-ray is going away forever (though Betamax, Laserdisc, Selectavision, and DIVX did), but the dream of Blu-ray becoming the universal video standard, like CD is for audio, is dead. Again, I think they are waiting for a ubiquitous video format relevant to ALL before releasing more video. Veneta teaches us that Blu-ray is not the answer.

cassettes

Very strange but yes here in the US they are also gaining a little steam. The local record stores are starting to carry them as well as some releases are coming cd/vinyl/tape.

Re: ivh72

I have a samsung 8+I enabled "allow third-party cookies" in the browser settings after getting advise on this very board. Worked like a charm.

Era popularity contests

I didn't imply that '89 was more popular than '72. They did sell out the 12,500 CD/DVD copies and the 5k run of vinyl of the 8/27/72 show. The non-exclusive version sold everywhere (Amazon, Best Buy ect) else probably did well (for GD sales in this day and age). Part of my point was that some downplay the demand for '80's releases. If they've sold roughly 10k out of the 15k they will produce of these RFK '89 sets since the announcement, that's about on par with the number of people who buy subscriptions for Dave's Picks and not too shabby. I do agree with your point that physical media such as blu-ray, DVD, CD and everything else is taking a hit because of downloadable and streaming media. Kids these days are becoming more interested in listening and watching on their smart phones.

Space - you are correct

Spacebro - You are correct, sir. I forgot there was a DVD/Blu-ray segmentation in the Veneta release. How many Blu-rays did they produce? I don't recall how fast the DVD's sold out. I guess I passed on that because I didn't have Blu-ray AND I'm not enthralled with DVD vid quality, which is like a 720 vs 1080 pixel format (if someones previous post was accurate). I didn't really want to see Polesitter dude in 1080 OR 720 pixels - LOL. As I said earlier, I hope for both our sakes that they continue with the '89 releases. There's a ton of great stuff from that era sitting in the vault. Once the video format gets sorted out, I think we'll see a LOT of '89-'90's releases. re: Cassettes - I've heard they ARE making a comeback. Martin Sexton was on "Above the Basement" recently (highly recommended Boston-area music podcast) and he mentioned that he recently issued his recent release "Mixtape from the Road" on cassette as a novelty item and said they sold out of 1,000 of these in just a week or two, to his amazement. I blame the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie series for romanticizing the format. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/above-the-basement-boston-music-and-co…

Makes NO difference to me

Numbered or Limited sets don't sound any different to me. Fact is that has nothing to do with my motivation on buying GD stuff. Actually I think I might offer a swap of my GSTL Limited box to someone who really must have it in exchange for a music only set.For the amount of bother to try and turn one of these things for the little profit, just wouldn't be worth my time. Yes I know some sets bring big pricing. Theres the moral thing as has been discussed too. All n All Im after the music. Weekend is HERE!!! 24th Anniversary is the biggie in my trailer park. Taking the wife out for Bar-B-Que and a night at the Shooting Range! Woo-Hoo!!! 9/3/93

Packaging Size

Dead.net, please put the packaging dimensions in the description. I'd like to buy this but I need to know if it will fit on a CD shelf. I've been burned too many times on oversized packaging to blind buy a Grateful Dead box set ever again without knowing he packaging dimensions first. Thanks!

cassettes

I was about to guess it's a hipster thing, but apparently Justin Bieber had something to do with it.Which doesn't make sense either way...

Blue Ray, DVD, etc.

I have two Blue Ray and a DVD in the living room.. I found myself nodding to what the Ice Cream Kid had to say.. mhammond too. Thin is clearly correct in what he wrote.. but I have one subtle comment to add. I got into a back and forth email chain with Lemieux a few years ago about DVD's, etc. I think it was when the other Alpine show came out, and I missed it due to work.. so there was a little bite in my initial outreach. He did reply.. at length. Keeping in mind.. he was hired as the video archivist as Dick was still alive and well back then. His comment was layered, he was clearly keeping certain things close to his chest, but it was revealing nonetheless. I think the issue with video in general is the market is more segmented and aggregate demand has not justified all the costs involved getting this to market (my words, not his..). The 16,500 number (soon to be higher) is a magic number for vault releases in 2017. Keep in mind Terrapin Limited is still for sale, I'm quite sure it is limited and it has been for sale since 1997. There are tons of deadheads but not everyone has to have the 150 or shows that have already been officially released (what is that number again?). At this point, it is a numbers game for them and contrary to popular believe, once everyone (including the band) gets their cut I doubt if there are mountains of money left over. So back to the video topic.. Dave is all in with video releases. The hesitancy is not on his part. Rhino sells CD's and records.. DVD and Blue Ray is more like an after dinner mint for them.. if they sell and they make a ton of money on them, they'd do more. Reading between the lines from the correspondence all those years ago, there simply is not a terrific demand for GD DVD's. I can't get enough myself, but I say the same thing about the official CD releases too. Another factor is very few were recorded on film, most (the 89 and go forward material) was recorded on the crappy 4" tape common at the time. Find your favorite 1989 sitcom, go to YouTube and watch it.. it's grainy and has the same limitations as the stuff directed (recorded) by Len Dell'Amico during the late 80's. The video will not get better regardless of the medium as the source tapes are subpar. The sound, on the other hand, can benefit from the better mediums... depending on a few things... But look at this another way.. they do have a good bit of video recorded, some of it is pretty damned good. Most of it does have those distracting special affects baked right in. It will get released one day, perhaps they are just keeping their powder dry for when demand picks up a bit. If there are still some SSDD left and I bet they have a ton of the Fare Thee Well left (back to the numbers thing...) my guess is they are just biding their time and will begin releasing them when demand exceeds their magic number. I do prefer Blue Ray, it could be a dying medium, probably because it costs more and people are streaming a lot these days. Us hard-core, especially the audiophiles, will want DVD or probably Blue Ray. I really don't see that changing, streaming is not going to take precedent over the physical product for the person that just shelled out $12,000 for their new surround sound system. ..but who knows for sure what the future will bring except that quack Ray Kurzweil (yes.. I said that). If you made it through this post.. congrats and accept my apologies.. dry stuff.. but we like the GOGD and there's nothing boring about being there, front row center in the comforts of your own living room.

Eight-track Renaissance

I hear eight-track is on the rebound. Might want to fish around the yard sales for one of those Panasonic boom boxes with 8-track, AM/FM and a cool shoulder strap for rocking the 'hood. At least they still make D-cells. Glad to see the RFK '89 box going limited. Why not? I like physical product. Blu-ray's, cd's, more than just download. That being said I fleshed out my missing Dick's Picks off iTunes for a fraction of the cost of what the cd's have gone up to now. There's something reassuring about the certainty of a tangible, physical product on my shelf, should (God forbid) my laptop get stolen/destroyed, hard drive crash, etc. I have so much music from so many sources - friends who have kindly loaned things, items from the public library, iTunes and other downloadable sources, etc. It would be impossible to remember it all, were it to be lost or corrupted, however I know those cd's sitting on the shelves aren't going anywhere and as much of a pain in the ass it is to burn them all in, it's a 100% backup. I have Carbonite cloud backup as well as a portable hard drive but I don't trust it. That pole freak on Veneta is the ultimate acid casualty. Most people made it through but some of them just fried. If that dude is still breathing, he's drooling right now.

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