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    heatherlew
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    "We left with our minds sufficiently blown and still peaking..."

    We're headed back to that peak with the newly returned tapes from Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, 11/6/77. The Grateful Dead's last touring show of 1977 finds them going for broke, taking chances on fan favorites like "Jack Straw," "Friend Of The Devil," and "The Music Never Stopped," carving out righteous grooves on a one-of-kind "Scarlet>Fire" and a tremendous "Truckin'." An ultra high energy show, with a first set that rivals the second? Not unheard of, but definitely rare. Hear for yourself...

    DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 25 features liner notes by Rob Bleetstein, photos by Bob Minkin, and original art by our 2018 Dave's Picks Artist-In-Residence Tim McDonagh. As always, it has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and it is limited to 18,000 individually numbered copies*.

    *Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

    Get one before they are gone, gone, gone.

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  • alvarhanso
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    Re: setlists
    I think a lot of the Furthur, FTW, and Dead & Co. setlist writing comes from Phil's extensive use of setlists to tell stories over given night, or run, and once, over an entire tour in the various Phil and Friends iterations. I take the Dead of the 70s and 80s at their word that outside of a few songs, and maybe the big sequence, it was mostly improvised, or somebody gets an idea and tosses it out. I agree with Thin that it is overly mythologized that they never knew what would happen next, and good evidence has been pointed out, with certain sequences being known and planned and whether this night in Europe would feature Dark Star or The Other One. I have yet to see a written setlist onstage in any of the pics of any of the shows from the 60s or 70s. Given that they were often on a different astral plane, it is amazing how much they had to have figured it out on the fly. I personally like a setlist that's written in advance, I think it allows everybody to be on the same page. When the arrows are thrown in, that's when the real fun begins. String Cheese is a band that uses fairly rigid setlists, down to a pretty set number of songs per set (normally 7), but there's no such thing as a first or second set song, and all sorts of segues can occur, almost any song could be jammed (some of the more traditional bluegrass songs not so much, but many have still been taken out for a ride). They've experimented with playing without a setlist, and each of those shows I know did not have a setlist are stilted and just not as cohesive. I like the way Phil constructed his setlists and incorporated new covers, JGB songs and covers, old retired songs like Golden Road, New Potato, Pride of Cucamonga, The Eleven(!!!), Blues For Allah, and wove them all together. I like that JRAD and others including Dead & Co, even without Phil, have continued writing setlists like that that give the audience the chance to hear Alligator and Terrapin in the same show.
  • stoltzfus
    Joined:
    80s fluff time
    7/4/84 a good, solid show. disc three awaits. I like the 84 sound 7/13/84 :)))
  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Pre-planned setlists
    By 94 they were using teleprompters so they could ‘remember’ the lyrics. So, the setlist had to be known ahead of time. For FTW the setlist was printed in large black letters on white paper, and the paper was taped to Jeff’s piano. At one point during the 1st set of 6/27 the camera shot was from behind Jeff and you could clearly read the setlist. During intermission someone posted the set 2 setlist and the internet exploded because someone ‘leaked’ the setlist. At 7/3 a guy sitting by me was still talking about how the setlist had been leaked.
  • hbob1995
    Joined:
    30 Trips
    This is awesome. I look at it lovingly everyday. A thing of beauty for the eyes & ears Rock on
  • KeithFan2112
    Joined:
    I like that born x-eyed
    "Legacy band". I knew cover band wasn't quite what I was looking for. Lovethegirls - I'm looking forward to reading the Weir interview tonight I'm on the road now so I can tap into it. Thanks for the link. When are they going to announce this effing box set?!?! Darkstar - I've had that Floyd song in my head all day because of you. What's the significance anyway? Speaking of Dark Star, we need a lot more officially released 1973 versions. Smithers...release the hounds.
  • Lovemygirl
    Joined:
    Set list / improvisation
    ...bob weir - interview, :) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.guitarplayer.com/.amp/miscellaneous/bo…
  • Born Cross Eye…
    Joined:
    Dead &Co.
    Are a legacy band, KF.Bobby Weir, Billy Kreutzmann & Mickey Hart. Their own cure for *old-age* for themselves. Still, a great band.
  • daverock
    Joined:
    Dark-Star poems
    That's a yes, then.
  • daverock
    Joined:
    setlists
    They always seemed to have an agreed upon group of songs that they played in any one era-certainly in the 1960s and 70s. The choice of songs fit with the style of music they were playing at the time. There was no way, for example, that the Eleven, or New Potato Caboose ever seemed likely to turn up in 1972 set lists. Or that Dark Star would have cropped up in 1977. The extent to which they decided in advance which of those given songs to play on any one night is a mystery. Listening to those shows from FW1969, it seems very clear that they had planned in advance to go from Dark Star-St. Stephen-The Eleven. Partly because they were recording the shows, but maybe also because the material was so open ended and strong that they were able to re-interpret the same songs every night and keep the music interesting. It occurred to me last week that part of the strength of those shows was due to the limited amount of songs played-which allowed room to develop them.
  • Thin
    Joined:
    Pre-planned setlists
    This was discussed recently. That's the biggest romanticized myth, imho: "They NEVER plan a show, just get up there and then decide!" First of all, Furthur and every post-Dead project has absolutely used prepared setlists, probably a necessity as Warren/Jimmy/Trey and now John Mayer/Oteil got up to speed with the material. A friend of mine was in the the owners box at a Dead and Co show at Fenway last summer and the setlist was printed and sitting on their table before the show - he was shocked and sent me a picture. Jill Lesh wrote up the Furthur setlists pre-show, and unconfirmed rumors indicate that may have caused a little friction with the drummers.... (cue the sarcastic Yoko jokes). As for the Good Old GD, every era was different - I believe '67-'70 was more loose-y goose-y based on all dead air and "we're gonna decide what to do next" dialogue on the tapes, while late 90-91 was fairly rigid setlists as Vince came up to speed. But no matter the era, they generally had a rough plan of the arc of the night - opening and closing sequences and "the big jam" for each set, etc. Did they call audibles and change it up on-the-fly a lot? Yup, a ton.. especially in the middle of the first set, or going into (or especially out of) Space. Sometimes it depends how good everyone feels... some nights when they were "off" I think they bailed out of some songs in favor of safer fare like Women are Smarter or Deal or Don't Ease or Promised Land. And if they were "on like Donkey Kong" someone would lay a finger aside his nose and POOF!.... a 7/13/84 Dark Star. Jerry rolling over in his grave over prepared setlists? He wasn't that uptight. Heck, one of the JGB '70's releases includes a reprint of Jerry's hand-written setlist! The no-setlist notion has been waaaay over-romanticized, imo.
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8 years 1 month

"We left with our minds sufficiently blown and still peaking..."

We're headed back to that peak with the newly returned tapes from Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, 11/6/77. The Grateful Dead's last touring show of 1977 finds them going for broke, taking chances on fan favorites like "Jack Straw," "Friend Of The Devil," and "The Music Never Stopped," carving out righteous grooves on a one-of-kind "Scarlet>Fire" and a tremendous "Truckin'." An ultra high energy show, with a first set that rivals the second? Not unheard of, but definitely rare. Hear for yourself...

DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 25 features liner notes by Rob Bleetstein, photos by Bob Minkin, and original art by our 2018 Dave's Picks Artist-In-Residence Tim McDonagh. As always, it has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and it is limited to 18,000 individually numbered copies*.

*Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

Get one before they are gone, gone, gone.

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6 years 9 months
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Your comment is right on, and I know others have said it. We are so so so so so fortunate to have all of these recordings. I can't believe this is the only band who did this, but so be it, I don't think too many other bands of the 70s switched it up as much, improvised as much, or had as many nuances as the Grateful Dead. So it's truly worth it for Deadheads. I can't imagine I would want to hear the Stones doing the same set list every night
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Dave’s 25 Arrived today in NY... Woo-Hoo Top 10, always tough to nail down Hard to Handle Eyes Shakedown Bertha Music Never Stopped Dark Star Caution Other One Sugar Mags Scarlet Keep on Keepin it on ;)
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11 years 4 months
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Sound stunning - upgrade significant. High/low balance good. Cover art is in the top 4 of the DaP series. Not a skeleton art fan, but this is gorgeous. Is this the last show Jerry played the white Travis Bean?
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8 years 9 months
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EyesEstimated Crazy Fingers Row Jimmy Shakedown M. Half Step T. Jed Help>Slip>Frank U.S. Blues Something about those slower tempos and the GoGD that really does it for me. Other Rock bands rarely to never even try to go there. Never as successfully as the GoGD. Billy is a in-the-pocket player.
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Funny to see what people don't really enjoy as well haha, the ones that come to my mind are 'Never Trust a Woman', 'Man Smart Women Smarter', and Samson and Delilah. Those are pretty much the only songs I will skip. Though I have heard some nice reggae sounding jams arounf Man Smart Women Smarter, 3-16-90 is an example. DaP 25 arrived this evening here in Washington State, for anyone wondering if they've made it this far yet.
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7 years
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As mentioned by others, superb sound quality. Just a real treat to have these shows sound this good. One thing I’ve not heard mentioned is the incredibly dynamic Wharf Rat from this show. This has always been one of my favorites songs but this one is truly unlike any I remember. A tad shaky going back into St. Stephen but this will remain one of my favorites.
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10 years 6 months
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Cool post on Jerry’s guitars!
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17 years 5 months
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the shipping direction makes no sense. I live in Indiana. it shipped out from Illinois, then to TN (which makes no sense cuz TN and IL don't connect at all so it went through KY as well) then back up to Ohio. it pretty much went through every fucking state around me. instead of going straight from Illinois to Indiana. the u.s. postal service fucks me every which way everytime and doesn't bother to kiss me first....GOD DAMMNIT I HATE THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE!
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9 years 3 months
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Alright i'm convincing myself this is the best Mississippi Uptown i've heard. Wow right out the gate. I went through the first CD, and then decided to bookend it, Mississippi Uptown followed by The Music Never Stopped. Indeed! Got that feeling that i've had at many shows, everything's gonna be alright. Pull all three CDs out, and check out the tree. Warren, there's fresh dry powder for you. Ski on and thank you for the skiing thrills. Slow Dog Noodle, I've skied the bumps like that, kinda happy lazy. Libertycaps, Nice to see your source...dynaco mk III's et al. i'm playin' through some '59 el34 Ampex monoblocs into some same-era Wharfedale SFB-3s. :-) Delivery was first quoted Wednesday next week, then Saturday but the USPS delivered it tonight! My mind was happy to drop work for this...peace to those waiting
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17 years 4 months
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....that is/was my safe word also when I get/got too high at shows. It works. Believe me. It works like the Dupree's from Binghamton. They tuned that song all tour and expelled its drippiness that evening in all it's glory. Wonderful! Donna's in tune. The world was alright that night.
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I guess I'll play along. Like a few others, I cheated a little by including well-known combos as one song: 1) Bird Song 2) Scarlet>Fire 3) Chinacat>Rider 4) Help>Slip>Franklins 5) Brokedown Palace 6) Estimated>Eyes 7) Here Comes Sunshine 8) Stella Blue 9) Loser 10) Jack Straw 11) Morning Dew 12) Wharf Rat 13) Brown Eyed Women 14) Bertha 15) Dark Star 16) Mountains of the Moon 17) Playing in the Band 18) Mississippi Half Step 19) Crazy Fingers 20) Truckin’ 21) The Other One 22) Terrapin 23) Easy Wind 24) Comes a Time 25) Sugaree 26) Black-Throated Wind 27) St. Stephen 28) New Speedway Boogie 29) Sugar Magnolia 30) West LA Fadeaway 31) Dire Wolf 32) U.S. Blues 33) Friend of the Devil 34) Touch of Grey 35) Ripple 36) Black Peter 37) Candyman 38) Throwin’ Stones 39) Shakedown St. 40) Cassidy 41) High Time 42) Alabama Getaway 43) Althea 44) Music Never Stopped 45) Big Railroad Blues 46) Mr. Charlie 47) Weather Report Suite 48) Two Souls in Communion 49) Lost Sailor>Saint of Circumstance 50) Dupree’s Diamond Blues
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"Sitting around a tank or two of nitrous oxide one day at Pacific Recording, they all donned earphones and inserted from the tank into their mouths. All sound was fed through multichannel delay, so what ever was said would come back many times." Barbed Wire Whipping Party https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvaUKdwobSg&ab_channel=thewheel73 Oh yeah Stay in the general area (area, area, area) Stay in the general area etc What's the name of his stuff? Meat, meat, gimme my meat Meat, meat, gimme my meat Meat, meat, gimme my meat etc Hello, talk Talk, talk, talk Stay in the general area The barbed wire whipping party in the razor blade forest ?Sweet five me? my fangs could unravel you , mister ?? Give me cold blood, barbed wire, naked on the table, laughing No ? is permitted There's more here than you could choke down in ten thousand years The other day I went to Mars and talked to God And he told me to tell you to hang tight and don't worry 'Cause the solution to everything is death What's Become Of The Baby Aoxomoxoa - Original Mix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6P7eev95es&ab_channel=kengorski Grateful Dead Live at the Electric Theater 4/26/69 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpzPxsPAL0U&ab_channel=Larryal-Shiva Robert Hunter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qew_8Lhg9E0&ab_channel=AlligatorWhine Phil Lesh And Friends 12/17/04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvPdI0USSPk&ab_channel=smolderingmilage Waves of violet go crashing and laughing Rainbow winged singing birds fly round the sun Sunbells rain down in a liquid profusion Mermaids on porpoises draw up the dawn What's become of the baby This cold December morning? Songbirds frozen in their flight drifting to the earth remnants of forgotten dreaming Calling... answer comes there none Go to sleep you child Dream of never ending always Panes of crystal Eyes sparkle like waterfalls lighting the polished ice caverns of Khan But where in the looking-glass fields of illusion wandered the child who was perfect as dawn? What's become of the Baby this cold December morning? Racing rhythms of the sun all the world revolves captured in the eye of Odin Allah Pray where are you now? All Mohammed's men blinded by the sparkling water Sheherazade gathering stories to tell from primal gold fantasy petals that fall But where is the child who played with the sun chimes and chased the cloud sheep to the regions of rhyme? Stranded cries the south wind Lost in the regions of lead Shackled by chains of illusion Delusions of living and dead
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....I bet they were really high. Pulling it all together while letting it all loose at the same time. Amazing. Sounds awesome too. Fuckin' Norman. Doing his Norman wizard magic. I tip my pipe....
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9 years
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It made the 3 hour drive from La Vergne in 4 hours 6 min, and is now at the local distribution facility. Just needs to make it to my local post office, onto the truck, into my mailbox, and into my hand before tomorrow night..... Calm down Kyle, your CD was never in IL, it was in TN and is now headed your way. The shipping label was generated in IL and electronically transferred to TN. Speaking of which, ABCD Enterprises is located in IL, and the shipping labels are generated in IL, coincidence......?
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7 years 9 months
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Good lord, that Mississippi Half Step! Back in the day I had ~600 tapes and '77 was very well represented. But looking over the tour dates now, I realize that I never had any of the shows from November. So this is my first time hearing this Binghamton gig. It's going on 11:00pm and Jack Straw is just underway. It's going to be a long and rip-roaring night! Peace, everybody...
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9 years
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That’s about the only way I can do moguls these days.....my knees are getting old....Powder is so much easier. Ski on Warren.....
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17 years 4 months
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....is nothing like I expected, but everything I wanted it to be. Good night.
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14 years
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Yow!! a cool slower Passenger!! Number 6444 has landed!! So cool on a Friday night after a big production day. I'm exhausted and just happy with this grate new music. So far just the first set. Maybe this has already been said, Kieth is really up in the mix, almost too much, but he is playing so good so creatively. I'm having a hard time hearing Bobby, maybe needs some EQ. I love all years/periods/keyboards and prefer complete shows although I'll still dig a cool compilation like with road trips. Hey all in deadland, enjoy!!
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6 years 10 months
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Really sweet show, great freakin’ sound.
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17 years
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Jerry was back on Wolf not the Travis, it says in the liner notes. Thank god too, both are nice but that Wolf is something else! LOVE this show! Wharf rat.
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17 years 5 months
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Just finished my first listen through... I was at Rochester and Binghamton (Syracuse University grad) and of course that weekend was and always will be my most memorable music event. These releases I say are produced and delivered to us with perfection intended from you guys.. I can't thank you folks enough, with much gratitude, Neil Glotzer, Visalia, California...
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10 years 5 months
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"THE PINK FLOYD EXHIBITION: Their Mortal Remains" just re-opened in Rome: https://www.pinkfloydexhibition.com/ Thanks DavidD for the tasty history of What's Become of the Baby? from Aoxomoxoa to PLF. Still digesting the Barbed Wire Whipping Party hors d'oeuvre. Nice to see WBOTB? on a couple of favorites lists. Looks like my Dave's 25 will drop here in west Texas on Monday after pin-balling around the Mail Innovations maze for over a week.
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9 years 9 months
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I don't have mine yet, but I am surpised at the post indicating the liner notes say Jerry played the Wolf at Binghamton. The DP 10 liner notes say he switched over for Tha Winterland show in late December.
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9 years 7 months
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Sounds great , great energy. It's so worth it to have these in the best quality possible. We are lucky in that respect, I appreciate the job Dave & Co. are doing! Thanks man!'77 was a great year! Was there a bad show that year? lol
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9 years
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Mine departed Mail Innovations enroute to my local post office. I generally get my mail around 7 pm so hopefully it gets on the mail truck today.......Fingers crossed....
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10 years 6 months
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I got a rock
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17 years 5 months
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china>rider 9/2/80help>slip!>franklin's 10/11/77 terrapin 4/25/77 estimated>eyes 7/8/78 (w/ O1 after estimated) bertha 4/19/78 dark star '69 thru '74 playing in the band 1/15/78 uncle john's band 5/19/77 wharf rat 11/14/71 the other one 5/25/77 p.s. my DaP 25 is 'out for delivery' a day early, yay! -edit- there's no way Shakedown or Scarlet>Fire can't be on the top 10 for me, so I'll add those... shakedown 3/24/81 scarlet>fire 2/5/78
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Wait a minuteMr. Postman (Please Mr. Postman look and see) Oh yeah (If there's a Dave's Pick in your bag for me) Please, please, Mr. Postman (Why's it takin' such a long time) Oh yeah (For me to hear that Band of mine) There must be some word today From Dead.Net so far away Please Mr. Postman look and see If there's a package of CD's for me I've been standin' here Waitin' Mr. Postman so patiently For just a card or just a letter Sayin' DaP25's been sent to me Mister Postman (Mister Postman look and see) Oh yeah (If there's a miracle in your bag for me) Please, please, Mr. Postman (Why's it takin' such a long time) Oh yeah So many days you passed me by See the tears standin' in my eyes You didn't stop to make me feel better By leavin' me a miracle or better Mister Postman (Mister Postman look and see) Oh yeah (If there's a letter in your bag for me) Please, please, Mr. Postman (Why's it takin' such a long time) Why don't you check it and see one more time for me???
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7 years 1 month
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My pc reads the disc’s as Dave’s picks 24 he, he, he I don’t care
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10 years
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...In my hot little hands...that is all
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9 years 1 month
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Arrived in MT yesterday, just finishing up a first listen this afternoon. Sounds good, some cool slower tempo versions of a few songs with a nice jammy feel, great Scarlet-Fire with a great transition. The whole thing is really hitting the spot for me this afternoon.
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I got mine in Raleigh NC today. I have a question, as this is my first time doing the subscription. Is the bonus disk sent separately (today's delivery was only the 3 disk V25)? And is it one disc for the year, or one bonus for each of the four releases?Thanks
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10 years 9 months
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iGrateful you definitely deserve a delivery after reworking those lyrics! Hope it reaches you soon.
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10 years 9 months
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The bonus disc is released with the second volume of the year. This year 11/17/71 is the Pick, with filler from 12/14/71, and the bonus disc completes 12/14. Unknown at this point which set is on which disc, but I'd predict the bonus disc is set 2. Though, if I bought a la carte, and missed out on the second set, I'd be bummed. But it always pays to subscribe!
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9 years
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:( Made it to the post office but not out for delivery today. I need a miracle. Sometimes the post office delivers packages, but not letters, on Sunday.....
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7 years 11 months
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Walked down the driveway to get DaP25. Fell flat on my f'n back.(didn't tell Jenn)If you plant ice...
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