Grateful Dead

In my opinion, this box is uneven; some shows are truly great, while others are just average.The ones I listen to the most: 1967 through 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993(yes, I actually like the 90s better than the late 80s...) 1971 & 1972 are disappointing, considering other shows from that year. 1982 is kinda' hissy, 1980 kinda' muddy, compared to what's on the Archive, 1983 is a good show, but post-drums is from an audience source. $1200 is a lot of money, you could wait for an auction instead of a Buy It Now, you should be able to get it under $900.

I missed out on FW69, but I did get E72, and I would say its my favourite Dead release. Incredibly, every show is essential. True, there is a uniformity of sound, and a finite number of songs are played, which do crop up again and again. But the actual playing means that they are never boring or mundane. While the first sets are good, the second sets are out of this world-the energy and jamming! There is no other band in so called "rock music" that can improvise as effectively as this. I suppose it depends on whether you like the signature sound of the year or not, so, as AJS says, the best bet is probably to buy a few 72 shows first to see if you like them. Funnily enough, I was never that crazy about the triple album "Europe 72". I liked sides 5 and 6, and the China Cat-Rider, but overall, I was a bit underwhelmed.

I think it's a great box and well worth having because of the following... 11/10/67 Shrine Auditorium - Multi-track recording with some source material used for anthem of the Sun 10/20/68 Greek Theater - It's the Greek Theater and with Pigpen. A must have. 10/22/69 Dream Bowl - shows the preceded the famous FW'69 run. If you like Live Dead, you'll like this. 9/24/72 Palace Theater - Great show from a great tour in a great year. Another must have. 9/18/74 Parc Des Expositions - They seemed to really deleiver on the few occasions they played in France. 9/28/75 Golden Gate Park - A little rough around the edges, but a must have none-the-less. 10/27/79 Cape Cod - One of the "all-time" must have shows. The second set is a monster. 11/28/80 Lakeland Civic Center - A great run of shows, including 11/30/80 Fox Theater (one of the very best Dave's Picks and one of the fastest to sell out) and the often requested 11/29/80 Gainesville. I would place this run in the same caliber as 5/7-9/77 for the trifecta. Just awesome. Absolutely must have. 11/21/83 The Centrum - prior to it's release, I never heard this show. Now it's one of my favorites. 11/12/84 Augusta - An absolutely must have show. Right out of the gate, Feel Like A Stranger will have you grinning from ear to ear. Gotta have it. 6/24/85 Riverbend Music Center - A monster second set. The "Comes a Time" and "Wharf Rat" and Cryptical sandwich are very nice. 9/18/87 MSG - One of the all time great Morning Dews. A must have show. 7/3/88 Oxford Plains Speedway - Awesome first set, and awesome second set. This would probably see a lot of time in your CD player. Perfect summertime music. Possibly a definitve Hell In A Bucket. Jerry is just killing it in this show. Absolute must have. 10/26/89 Miami - A multi-track recording of one of the more heavily requested '89 shows. If you like the '89 Warlocks box (10/8-9/89), Nightfall of Diamonds (10/16/89) the two Spring '90 boxes and Without a Net, this is up there with the very best of this era. Every deadhead MUST have this one. A wicked awesome second set. 10/27/90 Le Zénith - Another example of the band playing a great show in France. I've neglected a lot of the Europe '90 fall tour shows, and this one really piqued my interest. I like it. 9/10/91 MSG - One of those shows that should have been released in wide cirulation. Much like the run from the FW '69 box, why they made this limited edition makes no sense. I don't care what someones favorite era is...if they don't have this in their collection, they need to get it. Possibly the biggest "must have" of the entire box. 3/20/92 Copps Coliseum - Probably definitive for a '92 show. I attended this one, so the incentive for me to obtain this was pretty high. It's not to say that the shows from '66, '70, '71, '73, '76-'78, '81, '82, '86 and '93-'95 are in any way bad. They are all great as well. For me, as someone who likes to venture into every era of the Dead, 30 Trips was the perfect release for varieties sake. If you're a big fan of all era's, like I am, you'll love it. If you hate everything they played after the Keith & Donna era, not so much. I would say get it if you can afford it. So much to discover. I was listening to a couple of these shows recently from my buddies USB version of this set, and now I kind of wish I would have went that route over the CD set.

It's actually the '81 show with the big second set patch. The '83 show is all soundboard. Lots of alternate source patches on the '70 show as well. The '82 selection is a solid "B+" recording of an "A-" show in my opinion. The source tape isn't quite as crispy as, say the '82 Greek run, but still pretty good. After my ears adjusted to the fidelity of the Manor Downs recording, I found it to be an enjoyable listen. I find that with the E'72 box, from the time it first came out, there is so much music there that too this day I still haven't spent a lot of time on any one particular show. All great perfromances and recordings, yet an overload of information. I tend to pull that set out on the anniversary dates, so by the next day or so, I'm already onto the next show. This set certainly deserves an "in-depth" analysis. Some people here have broken down ceratin aspects, like the various Dark Stars and Other Ones. I don't you'll find much, if any dissatisfaction with this set, except for maybe some of the mixing decisions where some thought it felt rushed. The only "off" thing I can recall from the set is that 4/11/72 Newcastle, Jerry's guitar sounds a little more distorted than the two Wembly shows that preceded it and the rest of the shows afterwards. Something like a blown tube sound, that seemed to be fixed by the next show. The slight muddiness of his guitar tone doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of listening to it though. There will always be an occasional glitch when an entire tour is released, even during their best tours. Speaking of anniversaries, March 14th is tomorrow. Time to break out 3/14/90 Cap Center from Spring '90 (TOO). If you don't have these two boxes yet and have the spare money, you won't be disappointed. Like E'72 and May '77, every show is epic.

Thanks so much for your responses everyone. Not that my decision has been made even a little bit easier, lol. Spacebrother, a special shout out to you for your enthusiasm... I appreciate the time it must have taken to give me both your lengthy responses. BTW, I know you lobby a lot for '80s and '90s releases. A few in the Download Series fit that description (#s 5, 7, 9, 11). I don't have any of those yet. Are there any that you're especially keen on? Cheers everybody. Lots of snow here in New England. Hops everyone is staying warm & dry...

Good summing up of 30 Trips. I am definitely going to give those November 1980 shows you mentioned another listen. After March 14th 1990, of course.

Check your PM.

Stay warm brother. Winter doesn't seem to want to let go of it's grips yet up here in the Great lakes region, but we were spared any serious snowfall this year. You guys get it pretty bad up there. I don't have all of the "Download Series" releases, but do have Vol. 5. Highly recomended. Lots of energy, a few rarities and a monster 2nd set. Vol. 7 I don't have yet, should probably get it. Vol. 9 is good. Two shows for the price of one, and the first night (4/2/89) in particular has some nice highlights. The Shakedown Street is worth the price of admission alone. For Vol. 11, from Pine Knob, is from two show run I attended. Between the odd song placements in the second set (for the era), the Birdsong and the Scarlet>Fire, it's really good. If you get this one, I suggest listening to the Drums>Space>Wheel with headphones on or between a set of speakers. I think this is a show where Mickey was karate kicking the Beam. I wish they would have included the "Victim" that preceded Scarlet>Fire. It could have been the jam in between Victim and Scarlet where Micket went crazy kicking the beam. A good way to test how much a set of speakers can handle. I've only recently gotten over my fears of purchasing digital downloads, so will eventually get the rest. There's still a few holes in my collection, but I'm slowly catching up. I did regrettably miss out on the one Road Trips Full Show download of 11/5-6/79, that has since been pulled. Wouldn't mind getting that one.

EUROPE 72 box. Get that. Get THAT.

Maine Dave - Yes, must get E'72 box, or at least of few key "pairs", like 5/3&4 Paris or 5/10-11 Holland. Or if you start with just one, get Bickershaw 5/7/72 which is the only show with both Dark Star AND The Other One. Getting the ENTIRE box not necessary since the difference between most shows is very minor (though that's what I said, and year later I had bought them all! It's a slippery slope....) Spacebro re: TTATS box - Funny how favs from that box vary. I certainly would have put '70, '73, '75 and '93 as top years from the box, and would have omitted '72 and '88 (great stuff but Jerry's guitar a tad low on 9/24/72). TOTALLY agree that 9/10/91 is in its own league. Every note of that show is magic, and they never even practiced with Branford or even told him what songs they would do. Jazzy Dead.... I was there and it was SO different and SO special. I had already been proud that the GD were playing with Hornsby (recently mentioned) and shaking off the sad heroin junky/methadone clinic vibe they wallowed in throughout the 80's, but when Branford joined them it just felt even more... mature? grown-up? credible? sober? Suddenly they were damn respectable! I was puffing my chest and telling my GD--hating friends "Guess who sat in with MY fav band last night?!!!" 9/10/91 is absolutely a high-water mark in their history. I missed a lot of legendary shows, but caught that one!!!

Yes, should have been a stand alone, unlimited release so that everyone could experience the splendor.It’s better than 3-29-90 which was released unlimited. 10-31-91 should have been in the 30Trips Box.

Thin said it, you don't want to miss it. If you end up going piece meal on the set, this is one of the best official offerings from 1970. And 1975 changed my life. Be careful of the sound on some of the early 80s shows, a couple were really bad, I forget which ones, but you might want to see if you can get a sample before committing. 1974 also has a couple tunes with no vocals, Loose Lucy I think, and the one near it.

For my money, the best shows in the box are: '67, '68, '69, '70, '72, '75, '77, and '78 (with '72, '75, '77' and '78 getting regular play since they landed in Tripville). Everything else is -- well, everything else. Not saying any of the later shows are particularly bad, they just aren't my proverbial cup of Ayahuasca tea. Though the '87 show has a certain magic to it. Must've been the MSG...

You can listen to all of them here. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=grateful+dead+30+trips+aro…

For anyone not versed in the Fillmore West 1969 box, I would add that while the sound is generally exceptional, there are a few very harsh patches in there. I wish Jeff Norman could get a second crack at mixing those moments because he seems to have honed his skills in that regard as time has gone on.

Time to remaster and reissue the FW69 Box (unlimited so everyone can wallow in the bliss). I guess the question is, is the 2-27-69 vinyl made from a new master?

From 2007 interview with Jeffrey Norman: "And I wish I’d known about it [Plangent Processes] when I did the Fillmore West, because as much as I like that Fillmore West box set, it would’ve sounded even better." http://www.dead.net/features/interviews/mixing-and-mastering-dead-s-arc…

....the Golden Gate '75 Boxilla offering raised both my eyebrows when they announced that monster. It did not disappoint. Cobo as well. The '86 and '94 selections surprised me the most. Augusta is fire. To each their own....

TTAS, Oh the highlights: '67 is maybe THE highlight. Pure psychadelic energy. Love love love it. 69 has everything you would want in a '69 show. Lovely spacey Dark Star, amazing Eleven, lots and lots of Jerry (Death Don't, Mountains, etc.). '72 show has one of my favorite Dark Stars of all time...and into China Rider! Great show! '74 has one of the best first sets i've ever heard. Dreamy show. '75 Acidy and delicious '76 Unbeatable jam sequence. One of the best ever. Seriously. '78 a very solid show front to back '79 unique, fun show, highlighted by that Dancin'>Franklin's '80 see '78 '82 hissy and bad recodring but really kick-ass show '84 best show of the 80s? it's up there. '85 most fun set list of the 80s? maybe. makes you smile. '87 (see '78/'80 + '84 + if that spontaneous La Bamba doesn't make your smile, consider anti-depressant medication) '89 gloriously creepy, from the Victim to the Dark Star to the angry Rooster and the always welcome Stagger Lee '91 ditto everything that has been said. a jazzy masterpiece. '94 is this really '94? Well, yes, but one of the best of the 90s for sure. Those ballads will break your heart. And those are just the best of the best (see the "threes" '73, '83 and '93 for more joy). ...and Europe '72? Every show a highlight. My personal subjective faves: 4/8, 4/11, 4/14, 4/24, 4/26, 5/3, 5/7, 5/13, 5/25, 5/26.

....spent the last twenty minutes troubleshooting it to no avail. Oh well. Golden Gate '75 will have to do. I'll get back to the task tomorrow. Lifes full of choices. And I choose you, Grateful Dead!

Famed professor Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76, Reuters reports. A spokesman for his family confirmed his death to the UK’s Press Association. In a statement, Hawking’s children praised their father’s “brilliance and humor.” “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today,” his children Lucy, Robert and Tim said. “He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world.” “He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love,'” they added. “We will miss him for ever.”

Stephen Hawking. I was lucky enough to see him when he visited Seattle a few years ago. Here's to you, SH.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

....he believed in alien existence. I'd pick him to be on my team. But that's another topic for another day? Godspeed Stephen. Smart guy.....I bet he could've figured out my Chromecast.

you know you've been listening to too much post brent when you put on the '76 bonus material from dave's 18 and think its just amazing shit. and god damnit! king solomons marbles wasn't included!

Agree 10/31/91 would have been cool to include, as well as 4/1/91. 9/26/91 is another monster show. Attending that 9/10/91 show must have been an incredible experience. The only show I caught with guests sitting in was 6/25/92 with James Cotton and Steve Miller in Chicago. Fitting for being a city known for being a home of the blues. I did see Jerry sit in with Sting on a song during one of his opening sets the following year at Soldier Field. Wasn't a big Sting fan prior to that, but seeing him from the 5th row two shows back to back, and with the backing band he had on that tour (Vinnie Colaiuta, Dominic Miller and David Sancious), I was sold. Seemed like an odd pairing at the time, but it worked, much like how John Mayer seems to oddly fit now-a-days. Never would have seen that coming a few years ago. But yeah, TTATS and the E'72 boxes are both essential releases in my opinion, if you can swing them. Expensive, but 54 gosh darn fine shows. Can't say I'll ever spend that kind of money on releases again anytime soon, as they were way out of my budget, but at least the buyers remorse disappeared the moment I gave that '84 show a spin. Same with those two '72 L'Olympia shows in France. Something about France really brought out the best of the Dead the few occasions they played there. Perhaps it was the artistic atmosphere, the fine wine and cheese, or something else. Don't know.

Troll boy sat on a split rail fence,Cast his line of disparaging offence, No one bit like he thought they would, So he packed it in and said something good.

Does this mean that your next post will have something good in it?

I was thinking the same thing.. no good comes from gazing at shadows in the rear view mirror. Been a bit busy and am enjoying switching up Portchester 71 and FW69.. Explored a nice diversion by Gaelic Park 71 tossed in for good measure. Looking at the calendar today, 3/14 marks the beginning of perhaps the last great tour, Spring 1990. 3/14/90 has become one of my favorite shows of the tour.. not sure why, but the first listen when I got Spring 1990 TOO was late at night, working, listening to headphones. Needless to say I did not get much work done after I started spinning that one.. a great show. We keep getting hit with good, fresh powder by the day here in the mountains East, and having a bit of a drop off in my schedule.. I am taking a half day, gearing up a device and getting ready to do some listening and skiing today.. with a bit of 3/2/69 left that will drift right into the bonus disc material it should be a grand day.. 4/8 is right around the corner too, which marks another epic anniversary. So much music, so little time.. good problems to have.

Irony alert - I guess not everyone has taken their self-awareness pill today.... Spacebro, I had totally forgotten about the Sting/Dead '93 shows - I went to Giants and Jerry came out for Walking on the Moon - not a musical highlight, but fun. An odd pairing indeed. I went though a Sting-solo-career phase - "Ten Summoner's Tales" was one of those CD's I put on when I wanted to hear something a little more "uptown", like Steely Dan. Saw Sting on a late-night talk show recently and he could not have acted any more haughty or pretentious - such a turn-off when you realize some of your musical heroes are.... how to say nicely? ... is "douchebags" too harsh? I met Leslie West of Mountain at a NYC club once - I've almost never met more of an abrasive personality. Chuck Berry, Don Henley and so many others have similar reputations. (How'd I suddenly get so negative? Maybe I need to take my self-awareness pill too.) And I had also almost forgotten about 10/31/91 - one of the Italian bootlegs I reluctantly bought in like '93? - had to have it - haven't listened to that in at least a decade. A pretty good show with the emotional Billy Graham tribute during space: "How do you like your blue-eyed boy now, Mr Death?!!" I have to dust that one off.....

I always heard that the Grateful Dead only planned the first one or two songs of each set and the rest were improvised. So I was at the Dead and Co. concert here in Orlando and was texting with an old friend back home playing a "guess the second set opener" to which I said China Cat. My friend replied that I was right because he had seen the setlist online somewhere (before the concert was played). An entirely planned setlist seems a little like "cheating" to me. What are your thoughts? Would Jerry roll over in his grave over a pre-planned setlist?

...headed back to the Europe ’72 tour – not a bad place to be – for the show at Newcastle City Hall. The Dead are absolutely on throughout the night – minus a false start in Beat It on Down the Line – and put together a monstrous 18-song first set. There is so much good stuff in that long first half. Take the Big Boss Man, which, on this night, is phenomenal and a microcosm of what was going on with the band the whole evening. Pig delivers some deeply felt vocals, Jerry tears it up through a few jams, Keith is like a god on keys, Billy is dishing out some serious beats, and Phil drops some absolute bombs. Other first set highlights include the incredible China> Rider and a stout Big Railroad Blues. But the Looks Like Rain might take the cake in the first half with Jerry on pedal steel and just a sick performance by everyone. If the first 18 songs did not impress, do not worry; the second half is even more mind-blowing. A fat and funky Good Lovin’ opens things with both Pig’s relentless vocals and the rest of the band’s groovy, loaded jams. But just wait for that 20-minute Truckin’, which devolves (evolves?) into some epic psychedelic insanity before segueing into Drums. Out of Drums they come out with an even more monumental effort on a 26-minute Other One with an out of sight, Lewis and Clark type exploratory jam that plays around with the Feeling Groovy jam for a few minutes in the middle. The Brokedown closer is just about the best way to send off such an intrepid, colossal show. Fare you well indeed.Newcastle City Hall is a formidable place to play, but also an incredibly famous one. It was a major stop on European tours, and everyone who was anyone had played there at one point or another. The building was opened in 1927 and was in a rather poor state when the Dead came there in 1972. But the real problem with the venue is that it is, as Rosie McGee describes in the liner notes for the official release, "a dour concrete building in the midst of a grim industrial town," with "the warmth of a witch's teat.” Or, as Rock Scully noted in Living With the Dead, the Newcastle City Hall was “an all-around shit gig. A municipal concrete dump, with a balcony all the way round and big, fucking, concrete pillars that interfere with the sight lines.” But the Dead quickly electrified the venue and transformed the place. Again in the words of Rosie McGee, “the concrete walls somehow turned into green pastures.” ... imho- Primo! If you haven’t experienced this show audio wise , I would recommend it to anyone, both new & old fans of the Grateful Dead!..... ;)

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.

On a day-to-day basis, I think the Dead used to decide ahead of time what not to play more than what to play. For example most of May 77, you rarely if at all so Scarlet fire played two nights in a row. Obviously not an accident. They seem to rotate big jams like that, including estimated prophet / eyes of the world and to some extent help slip Franklin. Same thing with the set openers. On Europe 72 they pretty much alternated Darkstar and the other one , with a couple of minor exceptions . And I think other than that it was pretty wide open. You can hear them talking about what to play next a lot of times, like Dick's Picks 29 and Dave's Picks 12. I don't know how much improvising in the setlist they did by 1995. I imagine with the issues Jerry had that knowing what songs were going to be played ahead of time would have helped his ability to stay as much in the game as possible. Nowadays I don't know, with the stage lighting and that sort of thing if there's a need to know what's coming next for the lighting people. Also I wonder about the general synergy of this new band. I happen to think that making it up as they went along was a huge synergistic Talent of the Grateful Dead's, that's got to be difficult to reproduce. I think of the Dead in their heyday as one unit that was able to do very special things musically, particularly in the way of improvisation on stage.. dead and Company is essentially a cover band. Wait that didn't sound right. What I'm trying to say is they did not forum out of 5 musicians who integrated improvisation into there development as musicians and as a group. I don't think Jerry would care, maybe they just can't remember anymore and need to write it down. I can't remember Jack schitt anymore myself. I apologize about all of the grammar mistakes in here, I am driving and using the voice translator to type this. I guess my last thought on possibilities Ama is that dead and Company know that their fan base comes out to see multiple shows, and they want to make sure they are mixing it up every night.

I stumbled on this recent Clapton interview where he talks about Mayer cutting three tracks with him for a JJ Cale tribute album - don't think I've shared it yet. The tremendous respect that Clapton has for Mayer as a guitarist is clearly visible: "I don't think he even knows how good he is..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzfrXiD1_Rg

Money get backI'm alright Jack Keep your hands off my stack

extra sensory perceptionplayen in tha band if tha bobby dont brent ya then jerry phil

47 years ago today. Give it a listen. March 14, 1971 http://gratefuldeadoftheday.com/03-14-1971 Camp Randall Field House Madison, Wisconsin

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.

That's a yes, then.

Are a legacy band, KF.Bobby Weir, Billy Kreutzmann & Mickey Hart. Their own cure for *old-age* for themselves. Still, a great band.

...bob weir - interview, :) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.guitarplayer.com/.amp/miscellaneous/bo…

"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.

This is awesome. I look at it lovingly everyday. A thing of beauty for the eyes & ears Rock on

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.

7/4/84 a good, solid show. disc three awaits. I like the 84 sound 7/13/84 :)))

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.

Madison Square Garden, 10/19/94. The Dead's last show on the East Coast leg of their Fall tour. My last show seeing Jerry. The atmosphere that night was electric and so was the band. Wonderful from start to finish. Both "Bertha" and "Sugar Magnolia" refuse to stop, and "So Many Roads" is as uplifting as it is heart-wrenching. Charlie Miller's mastering of Rob Eaton's DATs make it sound like being there all over again: https://archive.org/details/gd1994-10-19.137089.sbd.miller.flac1648/02B… Stick this one in your ear sockets and smile, smile, smile... (Afterward, we slipped our way into the Ritz Carlton, where the Dead were staying, and hung out at the bar with the band for about an hour. No one talked to us directly, but they didn't kick us out either. We watched, we listened, we counted our lucky stars. I still do.)

Pulled out 10/20/68 the other day and was listening on headphones. Not typically a "primal dead" guy, usually opting for the Americana of '71 and beyond, and definitely never held the Dead's Good Morning Little Schoolgirl in that high regard. But man oh man, almost from note 1 and for the first few minutes, Phil's bass totally dominates the right side/ear and does not let go. So this one's a gem when you want a dose of Phil, early primal Phil. And today, 50 years on from 1968, happy 78th Phil. In addition to this one, I think I will cue up other Phil moments I love - the Eyes of the World from the Movie Soundtrack; the Bertha from 12/31/76 - trust me on that one - and maybe the great Music / Tom Thumb's combo from 6/28/85. What are some other great Phil moments?