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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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  • David Duryea
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    3/19/73 - Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
    Grateful Dead Live at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on 1973-03-19by Grateful Dead https://archive.org/details/gd1973-03-19.141309.patched.sbd.mr.miller.f… Publication date 1973-03-19 Topics Soundboard, Charlie Miller Collection GratefulDead Band/Artist Grateful Dead Resource DeadLists Project Set 1 Promised Land, He's Gone, Mexicali Blues, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Wave That Flag, Box Of Rain, The Race is On, Row Jimmy, El Paso, China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Around & Around, Tennessee Jed, Playin' In The Band Set 2 Loose Lucy, Me & My Uncle, Brown Eyed Women, Big River, Mississippi Half Step, Stella Blue, Jack Straw, Truckin'-> The Other One-> Eyes Of The World-> China Doll, Johnny B. Goode, E: Casey Jones Notes Notes: -- Nobody's Fault But Mine jam in Truckin' -- Two sets of masters were used to make this show complete -- Thanks to Rob Eaton, Matt Smith and Dick Latvala for the recordings -- There's a 2 second patch in PITB (13:09 - 13:13) patched with shnid=123987 -- All reels were Dolby decoded -- This file set is 16 bit Performance: The Grateful Dead Dead send off Pigpen (September 8, 1945 – March 8, 1973) LENNY KAYE Posted Apr 26, 1973 12:00 AM It had to happen: even the Dead have gone glitter. Resplendently suave in Nudie-type sequined suits, the group appeared on the stage of this comfortably-sized Long Island arena as formal gentlemen, playing before a sold out and devoutly clamoring Monday crowd who nonetheless held true to their flannel shirt and dungaree colors. The music was consistently superb and was delivered with a professionalism and class that might even be taken for granted were it not so historically precarious, caught as it is in the double bind of massive anticipations and internal complexities, good nights mixing inevitably over the bad. Still, instead of wrestling with the hyper-reactions of their audience -- as was once the case -- the Dead have resigned themselves to that unquenchable factor, even to the point of enjoying it, learning ways in which it might be manipulated and controlled. Their technique here involved pacing -- stretching out the four hours of their pair of sets so that the crowd moved with, rather than against them. The long breaks between songs served the dual purpose of relaxing the audience as well as the band. The audience had been warmed early in the evening by the pedal steel dominated sound of the New Riders (replacing the Sons of Champlin who opened the first two nights of the stand), high-pointing with "Willie and the Hand-Jive" and a lovely country version of Billy Joe Royal's "Down in the Boondocks." Producer Bill Graham also was on hand, nostalgically tussling with the crowd. "I know this is Long Island," he said at one point, attempting to gain breathing room for those unlucky souls piled up in front of the stage, "but let's try it anyway." No one budged and, of course, Graham threw up his arms and stalked out. The Dead came on to the usual mass eruptions, played a quick western shuffle and closed it off before Garcia took even the glimmerings of an extended lead. They moved deliberately into "He's Gone," Jerry leaning to the microphone in the evening's only apparent reference to the recent death of Ron (Pigpen) McKernan, reeling out the final chorus: "Ooooh, nothin's gonna bring him back . . ." The improvement and strength of the group's vocal harmonies was readily apparent; no more do their voices quaver up and down the scale trying to find the right series of notes. Joined by Donna Godchaux, the blend registered chorally near-perfect, if a shade eccentric. The group then opened into their repertoire, which has become so large as to be in the main unrecognizable. Alternating between Bob Weir and Garcia, the band offered such things as a sharp clicking rendition of "Mexicali Blues," matched by "Looks like Rain" (perhaps Weir's finest composition), "The Race Is On," Marty Robbins' "El Paso," and finally, the first semi-oldie of the night "Box Of Rain." Instrumentally, they were in high form, Phil Lesh bottoming well, Bill Kreutzmann hale and hearty, Keith Godchaux wrapping piano fills around Weir's and Garcia's tone-perfect guitars. It was the longer songs that got them into trouble, but not by much. "China Cat Sunflower" began the launch into what has become the Dead's extended trademark, and as they took it in a roundabout way to "I Know You Rider," it seemed as if the night was sure to be tinged golden. But later, over the hump of "Around And Around" and "Tennessee Jed"'s sing-a-long chorus, it proved to be a false start. The big song of the set, "Playin' in the Band," never quite caught the handle they were searching for, gears touching but never completely in mesh. The rest of the night belonged to Garcia. Returning from a short intermission and several filial descendants of "Cumberland Blues," he forcibly led the band through a combination of old and new material, capped by a beauteous ode to a woman named Stella Green. A long jam around "Truckin'" was successful in parts, as was a follow-up slice from "The Other One," and with the band now beginning to group around Kreutzmann in a semicircle, concentrating on making contact, they finally got what they wanted in a long, jazz-oriented piece I'd never heard before, the sound very free, gunning and spooking each other in a continuous upchurned spiral. They left the stage after "Johnny B. Goode," all those hours of playing not diminishing its strength. To call them back, the audience set off a few matches in the orchestra, a few more responding along the balconies, expanding outward until the whole inside of the arena was lit by matchpower. The Dead returned with "Casey Jones," responsive puffs of smoke rising from the banks of amplifiers, the band chugging along as a revolving mirror-ball refracted minispots around the audience. [From Rolling Stone Issue 133 ó April 26, 1973]
  • David Duryea
    Joined:
    3/19/66 Pico Acid Test?
    March 19, 1966http://gratefuldeadoftheday.com/03-19-1966 Carthay Studios Los Angeles, California Grateful Dead at the Pico Acid Test - 3/19/66 From http://gdlistening.blogspot.com Track List: 1. Viola Lee Blues 2. One Kind Favor 3. I Know You Rider 4. You See A Broken Broken Heart 5. It's A Sin 6. PA Complaints 7. Beat It On Down The Line 8. PA, Etc. - Stage Banter 9. Heads Up (Instrumental) 10. PA, Etc. - Stage Banter 11. Next Time You See Me 12. Ice Cream Break 13. Stormy Monday Jam 14. //Death Don't Have No Mercy 15. In The Midnite Hour// Total Time: 66:20 The next installment of the Merry Pranksters trip was the Pico Acid Test held at Carthay Studios in Los Angeles. Their house band, the Grateful Dead, were of course on hand for the event. The actual date of the recording is, like much of 1966, up to some speculation. The tracks circulate as both 3/12 and 3/19. For lack of an exact date and with the stage banter and PA problems, I felt as though the show is probably 3/19 at the Acid Test. Listen for yourself and let me know your opinion! The Dead on this night were on. The "Viola Lee Blues" to begin the set is intense, and is a great introduction to live versions. If it is a harbinger intense jamming, I am quite excited to experience more of Viola Lee's! Jerry's roving guitar riffs during the song reminded me of Bear Stanley's initial reaction to hearing Jerry play. He said that he felt overwhelmed by the experience because of, "Garcia's guitar, which seemed to come out of the universe and try to eat me alive" (McNally 118). The quick, wild quality with which he plays brings to mind a bridge to another universe. Another interesting note of the show is that it contains the only known performance of Pigpen's song "You See A Broken Heart," according to David Dodd (Dodd 12). Download as 3/12/66 at https://themidnightcafe.org/2016/10/31/lossless-bootleg-bonanza-gratefu… Grateful Dead Pico Acid Test Danish Center Los Angeles, CA 03/12/66 Download: FLAC/MP3 Source: ??? > CD > EAC > CDWave > SHN This is flac encoded & tagged version of shnid: 1593
  • Old Chief Smokem
    Joined:
    Daverock
    One From the Vault can be had at around $60- a damn good price for vinyl. Volumes 2 and 3 run around $80-100 each. I just found the Houston 11/18/72 show (a Bear recording of most of the second set) for $35 on Barnes and Noble's website, but if it's out of stock, you can also grab that from discogs for about $50 +shipping. I love vinyl, but it gets expensive and fast. Anyway, happy listening. Just finished 3/19/77- just love it.
  • daverock
    Joined:
    Hampton 79-Cousins
    Thanks for the heads up on the Hampton 79 show. Your own comments, combined with everyone else's silence, suggest that this is one show to avoid. I like the idea of those FTV shows on vinyl, too. The reviews on Amazon for the first are really good, so I will have a look and see how available it is. And how much it costs.
  • JimInMD
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    Re: Choose Carefully
    Very good point thin.. First, I find myself mostly in agreement with danc.. it is one of the last truly great/epic songs coming out of the cannon. As for tedious.. I always used the term 'strung-out' to describe your point. When it was on, it could be spellbinding or more simply put great. I have seen a few versions where it just went on forever without achieving lift-off, Garcia stuck in a transfixed stare at Persian carpet during the jams, barely lifting his head to rest his nose on the microphone for the lyrics, than back to the same transfixed stare and repeat for the next 19 1/2 minutes. Still.. my overall opinion is it's a great song and usually a treat or a high point of the show so take this as a mostly positive comment with some dark edges between the layers. I hope that's fair enough to say. It's been a while since I listened to 3/19/77.. so I am taking some good advice and getting my daily medicine from the wise Old Chief Smokem.
  • Old Chief Smokem
    Joined:
    3/19/77
    I know many might have a bit of '77 fatigue after the GSTL box and Dave's 25 (which I love), but this one is worth a listen today. Great show from start to finish. A unique jam out of Eyes and the same with Dancin' in the Streets. Just a beautiful listening experience. Enjoy! https://archive.org/details/gd77-03-19.sbd.chinacat.255.sbeok.shnf/GD77…
  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Enjoy
    https://www.youtube.com/embed/XlyCLbt3Thk?rel=0
  • danc
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    Fire On The Mountain
    ...is derived from the I Ching, yes? Mercy, the punishment must fit the offense, or.... what? I regard the song as a voice (Hunter's?) speaking about values, rewards, maybe particularly American but maybe not. Could Hunter have been alienated by the band's evolution to arena scale music act to the point of calling out "playin' cold music on the barroom floor". Regardless, for me it was the last A+ Grateful Dead song, as great as any.
  • KeithFan2112
    Joined:
    FOTM
    Ah, 9/2/78 - Dick says that's the best Scarlet Fire ever. He must have been wowed by the new verse. Mercy's in mercy's a - this voice translator's been dogging me all week.Thanks for the feedback guys.
  • direwulf
    Joined:
    FOTM Lyrics
    Not to be persnickety but the FOTM lyrics are not "if mercy is a business, I wish it for you", they are "if Mercy's in business, I wish it for you." May seem small but it chnages the meaning completely. I always thought it was a comment on the dualities of the music business when you become successful enough at a business to have clout/income but comes at the cost of potentially losing tru musical/personal freedom. Those sentiments always came up with the Dead as they got bigger into the 80's especially with Jerry having to carry the weight of the organization. I remember at one point people close to him said he hated being 'that' guy. The one whose shoulders the yoke always fell on, I always got the impression Jerry knew he benefited from the success but certainly found no mercy.
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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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Thanks for this post space! Great insight to a critical time in Dead history. Grateful as always...
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Feel very lucky and blessed to have seen the Boys @ Autzen Stadium 8/22/93 and again in '94. But like spacebro mentioned, the dip from '93 to '94 was tangible. Had the opportunity to see a '95 Portland show, but decided to pass. TBH, i wasn't nearly the rabid fan then i am now. So much amazing music happening in the mid-90's. I was much more into warehouse raves and disco biscuits at the time. Heh.
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If you have not already heard, leave here at once, it's 4/23/77 ROLL AWAY THE DEW! I think it vanishes in a few hours!! FEATURES>JAM OF THE WEEK at least an hour of one of the top ten all time shows
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My Dave's Picks vol. 25 has finally arrived here (original order was MIA, thanks to Brazil's awful customs/mail services), and I'm totally amazed with the "Mississippi..." version here! Can someone recommend another version as fantastic as this one, please??
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That half-step is possibly the best one. Glad you finally got your DaP25. Hope 26 didn’t go missing.
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download series volume 1 - April 30 1977 with a few highlights from previous night, maybe available on itunes ? hopefully you can access these from Brasil. I remember traveling through the nordeste of Brasil and this was one I enjoyed a bunch. Especially Peggy-O" "Looks Like Rain" "Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo" all 3 in a row. "Brave the Storm to come" Others were "Friend Of The Devil" St. Stephen -> Not Fade Away > Stella Blue > St. Stephen !!!! "I've stayed in every blue-light cheap hotel" ~ One of the best https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grateful_Dead_Download_Series_Volume_1 its a great download. May 1977 has quite a few of the other top tier performances 5.7.77 5.12.77 5.17.77 9.3.77 11.5.77 , all of these dates have been released, the only one that maybe easy to find and purchase is 9.3.77 aka Dicks Picks 15 a couple from other years are 8.5.74 aka Dicks Picks 31 and 7.12.89 RFK Summer 1989 Box set. I was just commenting on Daves Picks 26 page about this one and the Half-Step you mention and then I saw your post. what part of brasil are you at ?
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Finally after much delay...15039 is on the player as I type. On 1st listen, Set 1 is great, I now 'ave a deeper appreciation for 1/2 Step - killer!
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Is that a replacement, or was it ‘lost in the mail’?If replacement, does it have a number?
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17 years 5 months
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BCE got it off of Amazon from recently discovered overstock...
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16 years 2 months
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At first, thanks to all who have been visited my mirrors, mostly XL 'Cats under the stars' mirror listed in cat shop. The mirror is ready for shipping worldwide, you can find it here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/595957100/cats-under-the-stars-mirror-jerr… I'm working currently on another mirror dedicated to Jerry. It's 'The Wheel' mirror, with the lyrics applied on the back side of the mirror. Hasn't been listed yet, but for Jerrys's birthday I listed psychedelic Jerry's hand made as a wall mirror: https://www.etsy.com/listing/632494283/psychedelic-jerry-garcia-hand-de…
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It was lost in the United States Postal Service system.Much frustration with the delay, now turned to joy. The only date I think I see on the label is in the lower section under the 2nd bar code and above the description, which reads: 01/2018. There is also the 3rd of 4 bar codes on the label in that box.
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While it's not surprising that tix to the P&F Headcount Benefit Friday at the Apollo tumbled down several echelons of the firm's socioeconomic caste without claim, I still consider their availability a great fortune. Having never visited, attending any performance at that historically significant venue for the (my) first time would have been cause for a bucketlist deduction, but this was clearly special. Though tired, I returned home to discover that 2018's stellar - and costly - box set run would continue with the wish-list-topping (now that Szell is out) release of BOTT material for Dylan's 14th Bootleg installment. Because the amazon.uk page appears to address a Japanese import edition, I shouldn't imagine that the price quoted for this (purportedly) 6-disc release will be as exorbitant for the conventional Euro & US versions./K https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Blood-Tracks-Bob-Dylan/dp/B07GVXL5DQ/ref=… Shout out to the old Eleven - I miss you guys! :)
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Rather wondering when someone was going to mention it; I thought it was just ephemera that bore some metaphysical correlation to page 5 of the accompanying text.
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Technology fosters a certain audiologic pedantry that discounts the practical difficulties of archival transfers. Still, while a bit of the 2-track blues is understandable, Plangent alchemy has affected significant sonic upgrades to existing sources. Portland 74 is a well-known quantity to most, but the Truckin' Jam is a luminescent passage that defies contempt for even acute familiarity. While my favourite GDTRFBs tend to grind like roughly upshifted semi gears in transition from the preceding track, this strong rendition ascends from NFA with deliberate fluidity; also, Keith's bubbly, assertive, sometimes catalystic play makes many first-set standards remarkable. The daughter of the woman who cleans house for me**, age 10, was so entranced by the PNW outer & small wood boxes - suggesting it would make for good jewelry storage - that I gifted it immediately; heck, I was only going to shelve it for the next 50 years (according to actuarial tables), but it's become the center of focus for child - if only for a short bit - who exhibits more enthusiasm than I'll ever muster after unboxing. Still, it's easily the most aesthetically pleasing musical release from top-to-bottom that I've ever seen. Couple disks heading back, but that's been par for the course since the beginning, and I've never had a problem with speedy replacement. **This really isn't saying much in-and-of-itself: in Appalachia, if you've got something then it's implied that you will try to help others, and the most dignified way to do is offering work that you might otherwise undertake yourself. You'd be surprised the difference even a little makes here at altitude. :)
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...she's what's yer life's been missing. Caution: the related video library is quite nearly addictive as the ETOH in Billy's 64 oz., genetically attached megathermos.
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Phish tix in the po'box this p.m.; unlike Lockn where I at least feign roughing it in rolling 4 **** accommodations, I've decided my Outback and bricknmortar lodgings will do just fine on what should be an adventurous run from Hampton to Vegas between 10/19 and Halloween Night in Sin City. I'm only taking one show in Rosemont to facilitate a leisurely slog west, to include a one-night cabin rental in Grand Teton before spending another night in SLC (never visited either!). Near-universal wifi and a mobile workstation have revolutionized my quality of life more than quilted toilet paper, hot water heaters, and Trader Joe's Cookie Butter (though none are indispensable at this point). I've got trail running routes mapped along the way in addition to having identified a couple Y's where I can day pass into lap swimming. Happy.
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If anyone is looking for this or any of this year's Dave's Picks, shoot me a PM. $25 plus shipping. The bonus disk is an additional $25.

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