Grateful Dead

worth your time also 4/19/82

Seriously, what's with all the name calling? Taste in anything is subjective, especially when it comes to music, art, film, etc. It's all about how the music resonates with the individual. If it makes you feel good, then it's doing its job. Again, Jerry's often quoted licorice analogy comes to mind. Some dig black, some dig red, some dig both, and others don't dig licorice at all. The need for validation through a sense of sameness is one of the primary causes of human discontent and unhappiness. Just because you don't see it or hear it the same as someone else, doesn't make them wrong or stupid, etc. Personally, this show is like nails on a chalkboard to my ears. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate its historical relevance, nor does it negate anyone else's overall appreciation for it. I'm on this site to experience different perspectives, find out about shows that I'm unfamiliar with, and learn things about the Dead that I may not already know. But the immaturity and insecurity of name calling honestly kills the vibe for me. Just saying.

Thank you for the sober, well written post. Your objectivity tells me your opinions are likely reliable. Any post that is all positive or all negative tends to just be unreliable noise by era hard-liners with an axe to grind. Era rhetoric gets absurd, sometimes comical.

...and yet the descriptions NEVER stop,,, never stop, never stop, never stop....

Yet another reminder why I can't get into that band. Happy for all of you do enjoy them tho'

Don't believe the hyperbole either way. This show is not the best show with amazing sound and definitive versions of songs, but it is also not a terrible show with awful sound that is unlistenable. My opinion is this: I like receiving a show from an otherwise little tapped era; the sound is not crystal clear like many 70s or late 80s recordings but it is much better than the Alpine 82 Dick's Picks and the Spectrum 82 Road Trips; and the performance is generally just fine-- again, not definitive, but good enough. In brief, I like adding this show to my collection. Songs that stuck out as good versions to me on this recording: I love the Wang Dang Doodle opener and the Jack Straw that follows is good enough. I always like Minglewood and the Deal closer is a scorcher. The Help-Slip-Frank is solid (not better than any in 76 or 77 though), I think the Estimated is lackluster and the Eyes is rushed. The jam and space segments are interesting. The jam in Throwing Stones I will describe as 'Chaos.' I am not sure what is happening there-- I haven't listened to early versions of it, so maybe this is the norm for the era? Regardless, that 'solo' is just noise to me. Maybe another listen will reveal more. The Black Peter has some really rough vocals. I agree with Slow Noodle, two Black Peters released in the past year run circles around this one. Jerry's vocals are pretty bad here. BP is not my favorite tune, but the version on Berkeley 72 made me sit up and take notice-- just an exquisite version, beautiful and perfect in every way. This one, not so much. I will probably listen to this show sometimes and as I said earlier-- good to have a decent show from an era without many releases.

Agreed - but '83 had more great MOMENTS or sets than complete, great "shows". Brilliant peaks followed by lotsa murky valleys... Jerry's '83 uninspired heroin drenched brain, morbid obesity/lack of stamina and voice, and general grumpy-cat staring-emptily-over-my-belly-at-just-the-tips-of-my-wallabees-over-my-glasses-teetering-on-the-end-of-my-nose demeanor made "inspired complete shows" mostly a thing of the past. But there are some amazing '83 nuggets for sure. The '83 TTATS show (10/21/83 in Woostah!!!) is a goody! I attended 10/15/83 (my 2nd show) with the St. Stephen and the RIPPING Big RxR Blues, but honestly much of that show (generally considered one of the years best) plods along unremarkably. Kinda like watching Sinatra in his later years - yes some inspired moments and glimpses of the old charisma (being reaaaally generous on the charisma based on my comment that ends my first paragraph), but from an execution standpoint just a shadow of their former glory.

First I want to once again thank you guys for the hard work and great care obviously put into the Dave's Picks Volume 27 release. I appreciate the release on a historical level, as there are not many early 1980s shows in my collection. With that said,I had to take a break from East Coast shows between fall 1980 through 1984. My first show in a while, and I believe it was in October 1984 at Brendan Byrne in East Rutherford was a bit of an upset. In those days, there was a ticket service called Ticketron, and I bought a ticket on the day of the first show,rented a car, and drove out to Jersey.The seat was right to the side of Jerry, and was stunned when the band came out by his physical appearance, and demeanor. This was not the Garcia I last saw at Nassau in May 1980. Something was wrong.Don't need to elaborate any further, but with that said I think this release is important in context that it reflects the changes happening with the band in regard to live performances.In the end, glad to be a subscriber, and appreciate every release! Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the summer...

I just mentioned my second show, and Dennis (the guy asking for an end to the name-calling - what a stupid idiot ;) then mentions my first!! 4/16/83 with Looks Like Rain. This was one of my favorite songs and I was so happy they played it. But even as a 15-yr old newbie watching from center-ice, 8 rows up on the left side, I knew that they weren't "on" this night (LLRain WAS good, but I loved this song too much to be objective). 4/17/83, the next night, was better though sadly I wasn't there. I was HUGE into CSNY at the time and was stoked to see Stephen Stills sit in. Quite a first-show treat. Then my 2nd show I got the Hartford St. Stephen - the Gods were smiling on me, making sure to set the hook hard. And it's still there, though I really haven't listened to much Dead for a few months... breather....