Grateful Dead

I present this.....https://imgur.com/5JrDrkC

....I still have like 4 or 5 to frame. People will pay big $$$ for some. I have a Phish poster from the '98 Vegas Halloween show that was going for over $800 the last time I saw one for sale around four years ago. The Dead & Co Vegas show print from last year is going for around $250. Crazy. Widespread Panic had some awesome ones from Vegas a couple of years ago. I totally forget to stop at the merch station then. Got a little too high in the parking lot prior. This is your brain on drugs.....edit. Depending on where you live, it's hatch chili season. Yummmm.

That was the only thing that cross my mind. Poster collecting can be a neat thing, but lord knows I don't need more shit. Will have to look for some pictures of these combined images.

if you were lucky enough to see the Grateful Dead and didn't have a bad trip while there, chances are you had an entertaining to life changing event. this became formulaic in the late 70s when Drum>Space got locked into a feature of the 2nd set. as tours went on songs became 1st or 2nd set tunes and eventually became limited to slots within their respective sets, with very little deviance until the end. to see the song you wanted meant going to many shows in a row to get it, Morning Dew had a 10 show rotation, Way to Go Home had a 2 show rotation, Bobby tunes had a 4 to 5 day rotation.this made the shows almost ritualistic for those that got it and to some people dancing at a Dead show was the ultimate experience in life. the shows became events and the best party in town where ever they were and worth traveling for. it might take over a thousand miles of touring to get that Dew you wanted. by the time Keith was all used up, Bobby had a keyboardist from his solo band he thought might be a good fit, Jerry saw some Bobby shows, Keith & Donna retired and the rehearsals with Brent started in spring 1979. the fact that Clive Davis the head of Arista records also was lobbying for Brent as a good fit might have helped also. by summer 1979 they were locked into the format, had new tunes, and a keyboard/vocalist that wasn't just part of the rhythm section, but an organist that had an electronic keyboard sound that was going to be big in the 1980s. the band had reinvented itself and was ready to get that hit album that Clive knew was in them. Go To Heaven was not that album. yes Clive Davis was a deadhead before he was their boss and gave them the room they needed. Betty and Brent became involved together and when that went south around the time of Brent's failed solo album, Betty became an Ex and the era of Betty boards was over. from here on it was Healy's PA SBDs that became the reference copies and had the PA mix with Drums, Keyboards and Vocals out front, not to mention Healy's additional effects, and the amplified instruments lower in the mix so they wouldn't feed back. after the return of the acoustic sets and the Dead Set & Reckoning came out they started the 5 years it took to get the material for a new album and the new tunes came at a slower rate. instead the band kept up the tour schedule, the bad habits and added cover tunes to keep the new fans they were getting coming back for more. there was nothing like a Grateful Dead concert and word got out. by this time some amazing AUD tapes were being recorded on customized tape decks with shot gun mics on poles to get them above the crowd. these capture how it sounded in the hall and were more realistic than the SBDs from the PA. as the tours went on it was obvious Jerry wasn't doing well, but he was trying, and the tours continued until he physically couldn't anymore. the worse Jerry's voice got, the louder the crowd singing along got, so gaffs and croaks were less noticed as everyone else was singing the right lyrics. his guitar playing though developed a shreddy quality and the Tiger years has such a sweet sound. what it did lead to was the entire hall getting into the same breathing pattern singing along with Jerry, while doing the happy acid dance and knowing at that moment they were in the best place on earth at that time. this experience worked pretty consistently right up to the end, even though we knew by then it was more about the formulaic ritual experience than it was about the quality of the music being played. to say this music is unworthy of release is wrong. the whole idea of Dave's Picks is to take whats left from the vault and put out the whole shows in the best quality possible and people that subscribe should understand this. it's not about having to own every release just so you don't have a gap in your display because you only like a certain period of the bands 30 year history. if you don't like it give it away to someone that wants it that got shut out. sell it for a profit on ebay, burn it like the devil music you think it is, banish it from your life. this is what the future box sets will most likely be filled with, the returned Betty's using the Plangent process, because the only box from the returned tapes not Plangent processed is the July 78 box that still sits in limbo as the last of the Music Today boxes and failed digital rollout. at this point the July 78 box looks like it was rushed and victim to being a test if they had to Plangent the tapes or in house digitization would do, clearly it is required and worth the added expense and time. july 78 is a great box and concept that should have sold out by now. is it as good as the Plangent processed boxes like the 2 from spring 77 or Sunshine Daydream? no, not close, but is it on par with Dave's Picks quality? yes it is and it's like getting a whole years subscription of 1978 Betty's in a deluxe package. if this new box sounds as good as Dave says, "like a whole new tape" because of the Plangent processing, Dave's future picks will have to start on the Brent years to ensure box set potential into the 3rd 10 year licensing deal. maybe Rhino needs to have something like this before you hit the subscription order to remind you that not everything is a Betty and they have been milking that 71-78 reel to reel time period pretty hard for the past 20 years. there's 23 years of cassettes and DATs that fit the mission statement of whole shows that can be remastered from the 2 tracks that might be released as part of the subscription. Caveat Emptor: This compact disc has been digitally remastered directly from the original metal cassette. It is a snapshot of history, not a modern professional recording, and may therefore exhibit some technical anomalies and the unavoidable effects of the ravages of time

Nice post, agree with most. Couple of comments though......sometimes a bad trip could end up being a entertaining and/or life changing event too....; ) like the first time doing the electric tango at a show, front row on 4/12/83, thought for a while I had died, but it was ok.......cause behind the bright white light at the end of the tunnel (Candace’s new Morpheus vari-lights, coming from behind the band on full on bright white LOL).....the Galdang GD was playing, so it was all good hee-hee. I believe this was during Dupree’s with that crazy organ grinder bounce going on, like some wierd F&L psychedelic carnival vision.... Things started @ 2 Hour peak during Cassidy, with it’s all over now, sorta freaking me out, you know “it’s all over now!” Oops, and of course Loser was a bit frightening under the circumstances, at some point I Sorta had to slump on the rail and ride it out. As I say, I felt I had some wierd death trip, and could not see for a few, then slowly that slinky carnival music caught my attention, and my vision stated to some what normalize, as I came out of it, and had the whole “light at the end of the tunnel” vision, ending up with a with a huge grin and a totally mind blowing affirmation of life during Let it Grow, coming back around full strength with “I Am, I AM, Iiiiiiiii aaaammmmmmmm!!! Pheewww, gives me chills still! Distinctly remeber having “I think I have been here before”, and “meet me some morning in the sweet by and by”” lyrics going through my head and of course “ remember, it’s only a drug” mantra......... Life changing indeed. I now realized it’s ok to die..... Don’t forget in the “tape” evolution when Healy was broadcasting shows over his own FM transmitter for short range distribution around the venue in an attempt to feed fans without taper tickets a way to record as well as a way for folks who were shut out to perhaps dig the show without showing up on site and overwhelming the venue/natives etc (long story, missed the great dance party in one of the hotel parking lots on 3/26/88,the only show I was ever shut out. Heard it was almost as good as getting in?) I’ve had some good tapes that were recorded like this..... I know it’s not the general consensus here, but like you’ve said there is nothing like a really well done AUD recording imho. Personally, I still think a properly done matrix recording is best. I’ve really noticed this from DVD transfers I’ve made. I go coax digital straight to the Masterlink 9600, thereby skipping two steps of conversion. So recording at higher resolution, but then of course down ressing to red book. Yes SBDs are great, but they often do not sound like what the band actually sounded like live in the venue. As you all know, great SBD/Betty board etc can be an awesome recording to listen to, but they do not sound like what the band actually sounded like in the venue.....for good or for ill. It’s physics folks so don’t even try to argue about this.....you can certainly argue that YOU prefer the SBDs, but they don’t sound like it did live!

It's 8/12/72 anniversary day. Got a note for you. You know the wicked opening salvo Jerry plays on the 11/17/72 Me & My Uncle? He gets the same effect with Black Peter. This show has any number of hitches in the gitalong, but overall it sets the tone for that show 15 days later.

Dennis. The rush to the merch stand was for the concert poster. Some of the runs' posters (which are limited in number e.g. 800) are thus very collectable. The ones done by artist Pollock catch quite a sum and are sought after. The halloween run at AC of 2013 poster set is a sweet (not by him), and combine to make one larger image; which is typical. The phish poster folk all brought a sling so that they could shoulder the poster in its tube through the show. Shmucks like me paid more than twice as much on third market for the set...and a heap more to frame.

BUENOS DIAS ROCKEROS!! - Dosed @ the DMV, talk about getting “the fear”..... - The electric fence joke; Vguy, somehow he just keeps getting better and better folks! Look for this guy on Carson! - STOLTZY; 9/21&10/17/82 look interesting, thanks for the tip. We were at 9/24/82, have never heard it, but thought it was a decent show for the time, of course I was still relatively wet behind the ears, and we rented a luxury bus full of like 50 freaks for the then three hour ride, complete with kegs.....Cue the thunder “a three hour tour”.... - 7/4/86; see my post about this on NW box thread.... - 30 Trips; fffffffffffuuuuuuhccccccckkkkkkkk, I missed it again! Sorta like first time, bad timing of fundage, found out too late etc partially because I have picked up 3 DPs, 3 Daps, and 2 RTs, with more coming soon, and mama talking to Santa on my behalf for some others (finally starting to do some catching up) And with the Mighty box looming.......!!!! - DP36; used to use the same MO @ Dead shows; go for best sound, with good views, equals somewhere in the center, usually just behind the “asshole”zone and a bit in from the board. Would go up front all the time when we started out, but as GA went away, and the crowds aaaaa, started to “change” it wasn’t worth it.... - Dave’s 13 and 16; holy guacamole bat man; finally picked these up, felt a little greasy paying so much, but now that their ripped and roaring, and hey, nothing like a cool DS shower to cleanse body and soul! Yeah, checked out 13 last night, fuck I really need to listen to more early 73! As if I wasn’t tweaked enough already for this new Box!! 16 will be spinning today, another big ole meaty DS, yummmm Now if I could find 9’ 6, and 19.....hee-hee, like that Bare Naked Ladies song “never enough” were they the 80s? I guess more like 90s.... - 80s music; gawd I hated that shit back then. But it’s funny how some stuff grows on you, or perhaps you open up more with age? Like I really dig the Cure now, how can you not crank “ it’s friday and I’m in love again” on a Friday afternoon! Ok folks, that is all, uncle Pedro singing off! Peace (thuuudd, ah, that’s the mic dropping....) ; )

I don't think 27 is bad, just not one of the great era shows. It's what makes this band interesting to me, I enjoy listening to how they played and sang on an "off" night. It puts all the great ones in perspective. As far as Phish, my phriends tried. I just don't get it. The singing and lyrics I find to just be dopey, cornball shit like something from a comic book. As a serious person I prefer the profound words of Robert Hunter. That's ok. One less person to stand in line ahead of you. As far as Dave, he should put out two more "off" nights in a row from the Dead. It may make it easier to make early online purchases in the future.

Why did the first 50 rush to the "merch" stand?