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"The Grateful Dead picked up their instruments and hit the first note with perfection. They never missed a note for the next three and one-half hours. People followed the flow of the tunes. Down on the floor in front of the stage was a sea of heads keeping time with the music. No one sat still. No one, except the youngsters behind us sat still. They were still and stunned." - The Power County Press
And what a stunner it was, that show at the Boise State University Pavilion in Boise, ID on September 2, 1983. Dave's Picks Volume 27 contains every stitch of music from this mid-80s show (our first in this series), one that's as good as any other in Grateful Dead history. When the Dead were on, they were ON! Straight out the gate with a definitive take on the old standard "Wang Dang Doodle," the band swiftly switches back to a setlist of yore, firing off 70s staples like "Jack Straw" and "Brown-Eyed Women" and wrapping things up with a terrific trio of "Big Railroad Blues"/"Looks Like Rain"/"Deal" (don't you let that epic guitar solo go down without you). Primed for the second set, they tackle the complexities of "Help>Slipknot!>Franklin's" with heart and ease. It's clear there will be no stopping their flow - Bobby and Brent hanging in for a fantastic pre-Drums "Jam" and Jerry and Bobby in the zone on a not-to-be-missed melodic "Space." Not a skipper in the whole lot!
Dave's Picks Volume 27 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.
@ alvarhanso - No apologies necessary
Nothing left to do but smile, smile smile :)
To quote another of my favorite bands, "It doesn't matter - overrated."
Happy Thirsty Thursday, DeadLand!
Peace
I recommend 9/11/83
both Santa Fe shows in 83 would be a nice lil' box set
My Santa Fe radar just pinged....
....they could throw in the one from '82 as well while they're at it.https://archive.org/details/gd1983-09-11.139652.FOB.s2.Sen441.Silberman…
Slow and steady wins the race
Cosmic Charlie, 6-14-76
Man, I’ve asked Dave numerous times for 6-14-76. DaP 28 would be a good time to release it.
So, Jerry arrives at heaven’s gates and god says......
Well, I’m not the joke teller here, Vguy is.
Fill in the blanks Vguy......
30 years of GOGD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Re: Cousins '76
I think the unevenness of the recording is what gets most of the bite. I think it's an interesting show and a unique setlist. I enjoy it if for no other reason (besides is a pretty good show) that it is truly unique and quirky. Much sounds like most of us, and what's not to like about unique and quirky.
OKC Deadhead
I know which one is Brent. There is nothing you can say about his voice that's going to make me like it. I bought RFK 89, I bought Dead set, I downloaded Dave's Picks 8, and I bought Crimson White and Indigo. I still don't like his voice, it's cringeworthy to me (and many others I might add). He ruins every song he opens his mouth on for me. It sounds strained, harsh, and abrasive. I'm not alone in my dislike of his voice. People post about it all the time on all sorts of dead forums. If you like it great, enjoy. Sorry man.
unusual occurrences in the NW
three unusual things today:
Doing my Ubereats thing. I got honked at by a bus driver. and some of the nastiest, most potent anger ever in my life seized me. I screamed profanities about coitus at him and showed him how to "count to one". It was like a stroke or something. BAM! not my finest moment on this earth. really, I lost my ish.
a potential ant invasion. a few in the house. found the trail outside, and wreaked havoc on the little creeps with a can of Raid. I felt like I was in Apocalypse Now, with Kilgore's crew.
mini-split/air cooler started leaking water. WTF!!?? I think I got it fixed, but that never happened before.
Fresh out of jail on a $6 bail
Jim’s back.Glad that jumpstart I gave the John Deere worked.
Comparisons Are...Odorous?
I'm always a little amused, if not confounded, by the number of people who want to tell others they can't make comparisons. I got on the bus in 1982, and I can remember people referring to Brent as "new guy." Yes, that's right, you heard right, in those pre-internet days, not everyone had a subscription to Relix, and Deadheads would show up for a show or a tour and all they would know was that Keith and Donna were gone, and there was a new guy. "Not sure what his name is. Brent or something."
And guess what? In that early 80s era, plenty of Deadheads were already complaining that the band wasn't as good as they were in the 70s. The phrase "disco Dead" was not a compliment. It was a sarcastic commentary on the late 70s Dancin' and on Shakedown, for one.
And haven't almost all of us said some variation of the following statements? "The Dead kind of suck in the studio. Their live shows are much better. That's really where they shine." In other words, every studio album got compared, unfavorably, to live shows. Every. Single. One. And I LOVE some of those studio albums!
People compare things to other things. It's human nature. It's what we do.
Yet here we are in 2018, more than 20 years after Jerry died, and self-appointed "Directors" come along to say, "Oh, you can't compare Official Grateful Dead Release A with Official Grateful Dead Release B, because one was recorded on two-track, and the other is a MULTI-track."
Oh. Okay. I see.
Almost as bad are the "it's all good" dude-bros, who grin like Tommy Chong while they type, "Heeeyyyyy, maaaaaan, it's all good. Every Grateful Dead show was beautiful. There's no such thing as a bad show, man."
Uh, no. The Dead were horribly inconsistent, as every Deadhead who's honest with him- or herself knows. Lots of drugs were ingested. Lots of instruments went out of tune. Sometimes Jerry practically nodded out on his mike. I personally know someone who was at a show where ol' Jer apparently shat himself and ran offstage to avoid it being seen by the entire crowd.
It got ugly. That's why some of us love it when it's so great. When they were all in sync, listening to each other, they got into a flow where they played beyond their own powers. They made magic. Those moments of magic are what I love. We all own some of them on recordings...maybe a lot of them. And we seek more. That's why some of us are disappointed when we BUY a product that seemingly contains few of them, with lots and lots of fuckups all throughout it, like this DaP27 show.
The "it's all good" argument reminds me of Dylan's song:
"I'll pluck off your beard and blow it in your face
This time tomorrow I'll be rolling in your place
I wouldn't change a thing even if I could
You know what they say, they say: it's all good."
Happy Jerry week. The guy was far from perfect. He made lots and lots of mistakes, musically and otherwise. Yet he remains one of my favorite musicians of all time. I can love the guy and still be aware of and actually comment on his flaws. But I'll never understand the people who have their heads so far up his ass they can smell patchouli.
So Jerry’s ass smells like patchouli?
That’s interesting, because I thought the patchouli-wearing folks smelled like ass.....
Brent Godchaux
I prefer Keith to Brent because I love acoustic piano, and I feel the 1970s were the band's peak musically. But I listen to it all. That last RFK box grew on me. The fact is, Keith was all used up by the time he and Donna left the band. He would have needed a rehab or some kind of re-boot to get energy back into his playing and the band.
Brent certainly didn't lack energy! His vocals are distinctive and when he over-emoted they could be abrasive. But shit, some nights his enthusiasm really kind of elevated and helped carry the band. There are cringe worthy moments as there were with Donna, but not always. His keys and synths sure as hell moved these guys into another era, Brent adding more and more as Jerry diminished.
There isn't one guitar solo from the 80s onward that matched anything on the E72 tour. Yes, there was great stuff, but Jerry the guitarist incorporated more and more effects and then MIDI into his playing. The Jeff Beck-like magic in his fingertips was blurred out and lost, gone forever. Look, I'm not saying he sucked - he had so much talent and fretboard knowledge he could half-ass it and sound great. As he did, many nights, well into the 1990s.
I love Jerry but I understand the patchouli comments. You know, bad body odor is not made any better by a wash of patchouli over it. You're kidding yourself. If anything it adds to the pungency.
No one but G.G. Allin would walk around with blood, semen and shit smeared across them in public. That is vile. Be hairy, be a freak, but for God's sake wash yourself. Brush and floss; do not have bad breath as a dog. Most of us have advanced past the dark ages.
Forgive Me (Not?)
I haven't been keeping up. I'm still immersed in the 30 Trips box, if you can believe that. I happen to be around mid-80s right now, and I'm marveling at the quality of those shows. So imagine my surprise that DaP 27 is not anywhere near the unexpected glory of the ones selected for the big box. Dave's cheerleading aside, does anyone really think that DaP 27 is worthy? I tried to like "Help on the Way" (because I almost always love it) and Jerry mangles every single verse. And the first set is so lame. There are moments, as always, but it is not even a "solid" show compared to many, many others. I'm not a Brent hater (except for "I Will Take You Home" and maybe his goofy verse in "Red Rooster"). Are there really so few great performances/recordings from the 80s? Rhino doesn't care - it sold out anyway. I'm not looking forward to my DaP subscription getting watered down by shows like this one.
phil said jerry's hygiene
phil said jerry's hygiene went south in the 80's before the first intervention.
Ha
But you could probably say the same thing about the Grateful Dead.
I've been thinking about perspective when reading all the back and forth about this release, but I need to at least give this an attentive listen before I comment. The GD were a big tent band, I always thought there was plenty of room for comments that differ from our own. There's certainly no wrong or right so long as some fun and enjoyment comes of it. The GD was all about a grand and shared adventure.. 83 was certainly an adventure.
Nothing says August 9th....
....like talking of Jerry's demons. Me? I'm playing a random Grateful Dead show. I'm sure it will be good, if not grate. My inbox is wide open btw.
Clams and liguini with a white sauce is on the menu....
....at the ole Vguy household. 10.27.79 it is. Are you ready for a brand new beat?
Exactly Vguy
What's the deal with banging on the guy, especially today.
Some of these discussions are worse than the release itself.
"and the crowd erupted at the Cape Cod Big River!"....
....plinky keys and all. What were they thinking? Lololol. Oops. "Bob restarted a verse by accident. Dammit!" See how silly that sounds? I love warts. Whatcha all spinning this August 9th? Cause I know you are or you aren't a "real" Deadhead. /s
thanks Jerry
I'm listening to Freedom Hall 6-15-93.
...biggest memory from this one was dancing to Gloria in one of the portals to the 2nd level seats with a guy from one of the food venders there.
White pants,white shirt,white apron,white hot dog hat and all. Danced his ass off in pure joy. Lots of fun.
...Shriners in little cars & acid DO mix...
:o)
Re: Shriners in little cars & acid
That's exactly the point I have been trying to raise with my therapist.. for years..
We are not crazy.. Tomorrow I am marching down to the DMV and demanding my license be renewed.
I didn't have it in my listen to a full show other than the three I listened to on the drive here today. I might give some of the unreleased late stuff a spin. Whiskey in the Jar, So Many Roads, Visions is great. One or two on YouTube, and I will enter the land of the horizontal warriors plotting strategy on the DMV tomorrow. Not only should they invoke my right to drive little cars while wearing tiny hats, I want a class D license for good measure.
Speaking of driving tiny cars on acid, anyone ever spent a day at the DMV dosed?
Flash, flash 100 yard dash what do you make of all these bats?
The More You Know...
I wondered, as I listened to this release, why I smelled patchouli and tasted Haagen Daz? Now I know. Really, it has pros, it has cons, it's not so bad, it's not great, but I enjoyed it just the same. How embarrassed I now feel, that I enjoyed this release for what it was, now that I know I could have been brooding instead and bemoaning what it is not.
Rest In Peace, Big Fella
It's Jerry Garcia Tribute Night at the SF Giants game this evening.
Can't believe this was 25 years ago:
Now THAT'S how you do it!
a tale of the tapes
a tale of the tapes.
according to Deadbase, there are 2314 shows, of those there are 450+ Pigpen shows, 403 Keith shows, 810 Brent shows and 378 Vince shows.
of the Brent shows almost 700 are cassettes/PCMs recorded by Dan Healy from the PA SBD to check out how Dan's mix sounded, not ever considered for release.
The Keith shows were recorded reel to reel from a separate mixing console from the PA and the Betty Boards were mixed on headphones and in no way match what was heard in the hall. don't believe me try an AUD tape for the same show, try a different AUD tape if there is one. these 70s Reel to Reels were also never considered for release. they were for band reference and they had enough of a budget they didn't have to reuse them, like some of the Radio City multi track show tapes that got recycled by Arista after Dead Set & Reckoning came out.
aside from 100 or so special events that were recorded on multi track for eventual release that made it into the Vault, everything else is 2 tracks mixed for reference listening, Betty's, FM broadcasts or to hear how the live mix sounded compared to the sound in the hall.
the cost of the Plangent process, (analog to digital transfer), precludes them using it on most Dave's Picks because it is cost prohibitive and will probably only be used in box sets from now on. Dave's Picks are not worth the expense or time to Plangent, so instead we get Jeffery Norman magic to try and make it sound as good as possible from the in house master tape digitization.
which means releasing the returned Betty's as Dave's picks is denying the chance for future Plangent processing, the good Betty's will be held for the annual box sets as the multi tracks have been already milked for most of what's available. more fall 89 multi tracks anyone?
then there's the Bear audio journals, which are basically 2 track mono recordings with the amplified instruments in one channel and the PA (drums, vocals and keyboard) in the other. if you want to make the pre 1969 stuff sound really good, listen to it in mono with the vocals centered and the instruments on top of each other and not next to each other. you are not losing anything as the Bear tapes have no real stereo separation, he was hearing impaired in one ear and couldn't hear stereo.
this leaves about 1600 possible shows on stereo tapes of which less than 500 are Reel to Reel and the rest cassette and digital tapes.
this means whats left for Dave's choices are mostly cassette SBDs from the PA or he's eating into the potential for future box sets.
maybe this means less people will subscribe in the future and there will be more of a chance for the average fan to get a copy of a show he wants ala carte, is that a bad thing?
maybe Rhino plans to start allowing digital downloads, but without the budget for Normanization or packaging at $20 a show to start making some profit on the rest of the vault?
difficult to believe, as since the bankruptcy of Music Today all previous digital downloads are still unavailable and Warner Music, the new distribution for Dead.net, only has digital downloads for the new releases.
from the Spring 90 TOO page
Digital Download
Digital downloads have been temporarily disabled while we work on resolving the technical issues. Previous purchasers will be notified when the problem is resolved.
the first 15 years of the GD the band played mostly small halls to limited audiences, with the large festival exceptions.
the 2nd 15 years the band became one of the top selling live acts, for most of the last 10 years they were in football stadiums and huge arenas, so the potential of "i was there" buyers is far greater than the early years.
it is very likely more people saw the band with Brent or Vince than the combined years for Pigpen and Keith.
it is inevitable that Dave's Picks start mining the last 15 years and now seems as good a time as any. the new licensing deal with Rhino still has 8 years left to prepare releases from whats in the vault. if getting a Brent show is that distasteful to you, maybe you shouldn't get a subscription and try for the left overs of the era you like when they go on sale, instead of insulting the people that went to and enjoyed the shows that were poorly recorded with no intention of being used for a release.
Re: Rest In Peace, Big Fella
Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, & Vince Welnick singing The Star Spangled Banner - the US National Anthem, on April 12, 1993 for the San Francisco Giants home opener, is my favorite rendition by a popular music group or individual singer. It surpasses Whitney Houston's 1991 performance in my opinion.
Thank you very much for posting this, Bolo24. Thank you.
Yep, we ALL miss Jerry.
Some nice guest spots
This collection of Garcia guest-spots was put together by Jambase, there's some nice stuff in here if anyone's interested, sorry if it's been posted already. On the song "Barren Ground" the way Bruce and Jerry look at each other is truly one of equal admiration and family.
It's unfortunate that Bruce couldn't have made his solo career and his permanent membership in the dead work out. Now, that could've been something...special. Take a break and come back with the new album, Hornsby, less pressure on the band and a reduced touring schedule. One can dream right?!
https://www.jambase.com/article/remembering-jerry-garcia-live-guest-app…
Dave's Picks 27
This my least favorite show so far. The sound is ok but the playing just seems mediocre and the singing is just bad. I subscribe each year and most of the shows are great, this just isn't one of them.
Dosed at the DMV
Jim, I have spent a day dosed at the DMV, then again, I work there so......
P.S. direwulf gets it-as a 'merican, I forgot that most other countries use celsius as a scale. I thought that's what made us great......again. Thanks for the bikini chuckle
P.P.S. stoltzie gets it too-I almost always get a chuckle from you. Thanks!!
We'll never know what's good, if we don't have bad to compare it to.
phish will be doing another
phish will be doing another free webcast tonite at 7pm Eastern Time. Livephish.com has details
The husband leans over and asks his wife....
...."Do you remember the first time we had sex together over fifty years ago? We went behind the village tavern where you leaned against the back fence and I made love to you."
Yes, she says, "I remember it well."
OK, he says, "How about taking a stroll around there again and we can do it for old time's sake?"
"Oh Jim, you old devil, that sounds like a crazy, but good idea!"
A police officer sitting in the next booth heard their conversation and, having a chuckle to himself, he thinks to himself, I've got to see these two old-timers having sex against a fence. I'll just keep an eye on them so there's no trouble. So he follows them.
The elderly couple walks haltingly along, leaning on each other for support aided by walking sticks. Finally, they get to the back of the tavern and make their way to the fence The old lady lifts her skirt and the old man drops his trousers. As she leans against the fence, the old man moves in..
Then suddenly they erupt into the most furious sex that the policeman has ever seen. This goes on for about ten minutes while both are making loud noises and moaning and screaming. Finally, they both collapse, panting on the ground.
The policeman is amazed. He thinks he has learned something about life and old age that he didn't know.
After about half an hour of lying on the ground recovering, the old couple struggle to their feet and put their clothes back on.
The policeman, is still watching and thinks to himself, this is truly amazing, I've got to ask them what their secret is.
So, as the couple passes, he says to them, "Excuse me, but that was something else. You must've had a fantastic sex life together. Is there some sort of secret to this?"
Shaking, the old man is barely able to reply,
"Fifty years ago that wasn't an electric fence."
electric fence frontier foundation
either you get it or you don't
A tip of the hat to John Barlow
after a rejuvenating time with 80s GD (and a little 90s GD...)
I am listening to disc three of Dick's Picks 6/26 and 28/74
shazam
God Bless the GD
the _greatest_ band ever
great show
now, back to the 80s with 10/17/82
Mississippi > Franklin's
:)))
DaP 15 Talk
All of the Dave's Picks 15 talk made me put it on. Great show, great audio. The Estimated Prophet is perfect in every way. I'm not a big fan of the fast Eyes of the World, but I forced myself to listen to this one and it's good for a fast one.
Stoltzfus, you are correct. I will put that June '74 show on next. I have not listened to the WRS / Jam in a long time. Or the Eyes of the Word. Or the mad mad mad China Cat.
I did recently play its neighbor, Road Trips, Wall of Sound. Now that's a great tape. I think it's one of the better sounding 1974 issues. Jerry is nice and clear. So is Keith for that matter. I would have been good with both shows released in full. Same with Dick's Picks 12.
obviously, I don't get out much ;)
we've listed _previous_ fivesixwhatever
coming up list:
10/17/82 rest of show
10/11/83
11/19/72 disc three
DaP 2 (7/31/74)
DaP 27 (you know)
12/28/79
L&G the GD
somewhere in there or eventually
Adam and the Ants: Kings of the Wild Frontier
Melvins: Tres Cabrones
Sleep: Dopesmoker
Motorhead of some kind
product sku
081227931599