Grateful Dead

Looks like my AOTS 50th is sitting on my door step. I do not remember getting fast shipment on this maybe they finally realized smart-post is a horrible service.

https://youtu.be/N3TVgEpMyhI.... nothing like the present!

....I've seen them three times. Only once in Vegas. The audience was pretty rowdy. They haven't been back since. Twice in California.

Yes Strider, that wind before the ABQ show was crazy. Never had a wind delay before, and it really made a mess of the entrance. Was just walking through the gates when Halfstep started and made it to our seats just in time for across the rio grandio. My wife was wowed by Meyer and how he fit with the group. She was not wowed with how they slowed down Johnny B Good compared to the old days ("That must have been Bobby's decision" she said, "John should have taken over like he did on Uncle John's Band"). Was pretty confident they would open with Halfstep about a mile from the rio, having looked at the last 6 show lists, it was one of the best choices not played recently to open and boy did it fit the locale. Good show, but not as good as either of last years shows I saw in Boulder (I think, about the same as the first night).

Same here - I've loved 'em since Trinity Session and onward. I've never had the chance to see them live, you?

relates to the Dead era of this upcoming box set release, however this location was the midwest, instead of the northwest. But still 1974. This was my first show and it was on 6-16-74 in Des Moines, Iowa. This was a musical road-trip starting in Lincoln NE and four of us traveled down to Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium on Friday night (6-14-74) to see the Allman Bros. Band. That was quite a hot show and ABB were loud and the guitar work on their raucous blues and rock was stratospheric. We got up early and were travelling in my convertible VW bug (top down) and took country roads back up to the Des Moines Fairground. Yes, back roads because we were not fit to drive on the interstate (nor the highways) with regular citizens, but staying on those gravel roads with occasional stops for exploration fit the bill in our crazed state. These were the 70's I remind you, so this era commanded a sort of reckless abandon. And we answered the call, but were unprepared for the aural adventure on tap in Des Moines. I recall our tickets to see the Grateful Dead ($3.75?) said the show starts at 1:00 on Sunday. This would be quite a treat, as I had never seen the Dead before, but I had listened avidly to Europe 72, Skeleton & Roses (Skullfuck), Workingman's Dead the new one Wake of the Flood. And the weather was wonderful as we traversed those back-roads, laughing, partying, and goofing to our hearts content. Needless to say the statutes of limitations have lapsed on that prankster period but I will stick to the show story as opposed to the side trip. We pulled into a campground and set up camp and as was our penchant 'back in the daze' began furiously rolling smoke-able party favors for the looming Dead show. The next day we arrived at the Des Moines State Fairground and it turned out to be a wonderful outdoor spot with the 'Wall of Sound' erected several hundred yards in front of the Fairgrounds covered grandstand. We were standing out front milling about, being part of the show and watching others do their part, frizbee, t-shirts (still have mine, a threadbare wonderful homemade "Garcia" image, not quite my size anymore ;o}), sales of various items and all of a sudden we hear a bullhorn announce "the show will start at 12:30." So we decide to head on in. I heard later they heard a storm was blowing into the plains so they started early to beat the rain. I never since saw or heard of an early start of a Dead show, have you? It is hard to describe how striking that 'Wall of sound" was sitting in front of us. It was simply immense. As you approached it, the massive assemblage of speakers seemed to grow outward and upward. So many stacks upon stacks. I thought the Allman Bros. sound system was loud 2 nights before but their system was absolutely dwarfed by this massive scaffolding & speaker construction. Crosby Stills Nash and Young's system wasn't even 1/2 this size and they blew our socks off. So what would this behemoth sound like? We all ran about in the crowd before the show started and there was a little stand for Rounder records with some miniature album covers advertising Jerry's new album (his second solo), a Kingfish album and the Grateful Dead's upcoming release "Mars Hotel". I marveled at the wonderful illustration of a seedy hotel on a Martian landscape for the new album. Ugly rumors indeed! Little did I understand what I was about to witness. Party favors circled about and the crowd swelled against that elevated stage in anticipation. The Dead had played here last summer and I had heard from my grinning buddies about the "double rainbow' that appeared on cue (as was so prone to happen at the Dead shows) during that show. The Dead ambled out to tune up. There is Keith on his grand piano, Billy at his drums in the middle under this cylindrical-suspended-speaker-section, Phil in his shades and a beard, and Bobby with a flannel shirt (to ward of the cool breeze blowing in). But who was that in a red 'Mars Academy' sweatshirt? It looks like a chubby Dustin Hoffman? No, it's JERRY! He shaved off his beard! He still had massive sideburns (ala the sixties). They tuned up and began playing and off we go-"Bertha" yes!!!!!!!!! and the crystalline sound of that system. Unbefuckiin'liveable, just off the charts, beefy bass, and loud!!!! I can hear everyone clearly...Weeee!!!! And the Grateful Dead took me on a journey, of Americana, country, space, rock, jam, fable, fun, roller coaster, and turn on a dime. An aural feast extraordinaire. That first set gifted me with my first Scarlet Begonias. When I first heard those shimmering leads and I first thought it was going to be China Cat Sunflower. No, it was a stand along Scarlet Begonias- from their new album (not yet released). A couple songs later after that was my first live China Cat> I know you Rider. Just exactly perfect. Mexicali-Blues, Row Jimmy, Around and Around and others were in that first set. Then the first set break. This was the old days and this was to be a 3 set show. We were terribly spoiled in those days, my friends. A bounty of riches that hazy overcast day in Iowa. Second set started with a US Blues and then The Race is On. However then the fabric of time slowed and expanded when an ethereal sounds of Eyes of the World soared out of that Wall of Sound. Garcia playing those 'catch me if you can' cascading leads, with Bobby's shimmering upstrokes in alternate rhythms, all the while Keith is playing the keys either in counterpoints or delicate mirrors to Jerry's leads. And Billy's effortless jazzy fills punctuating and driving the boys and Phil's bass dancing low and then those impossibly high bass notes. Bass leads, wait who has ever heard of bass leads? Then the Dead magically segued into Big River (a segue complete with a whiplash collar). This was a glorious Big River for us in the middle of the country right by the big river that Johnny Cash wrote about. Other tunes followed both old and new. This was stupefying, and after Donna joined the boys for Ship of Fools, then Phil delivered bass bombs during a staggering Playin' in the Band to end the second set. The sight of the wall of sound was remarkable but with this speaker construction of Owsley's, transformed Phil's bass notes into a pulsated sonic pressure right into my chest, sneaking into me physically and synchronizing with my breathing. I had to lean forward to not tumble over backwards. End of the second set. Whew... My mouth was hanging agape, I look to my buddies, and they stared wide-eyed back at me, grinning with anticipation. The Dead will be back for more? Another set? How much more can they show us? I thought that I am saturated, no more wonder will fill this cranium. My buddy who had been at last year's show smiles knowingly at me and then leans back to laugh with a Neal Cassady guffaw and we all break up giggling. Then yes, the Dead come out to astound us with more tales, mysteries, and celebrations,.... Set 3 Truckin'> Wharf Rat > Nobody's Fault Jam> Going Down The Road Feeling Bad and then we got an encore of Casey Jones. Aural delights that created a response with the crowd that would ebb and flow, an ocean of sound in Iowa, where the Dead would roll sound out at us and we would all respond with primal howls and cheers back at them, only to have them return with increased energy back to us in the next refrain. I really had no context for this experience. It was beyond belief........... Afterwards we all staggered back to the VW bug to make the trek home to Lincoln, Nebraska. What!! It is really 6:00 p.m.? How long did these guys play?!!!!!!!!!! How long indeed ;o} So my brothers (and sisters) that is how I got on the bus back in June of 1974. "Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"

....i own it. I own every Junkies release. Huge fan here.

Have you heard their 'Nomad' series? 4 individual self-releases all worthy of adding to your collection should you be inclined. They have a box set of the series (actually the size of GD's 'Ladies & Gentlemen'...) with a 5th CD of bonus tracks/outtakes.

Deleted - in poor taste, not enough morning joe

Going with choice selections from DP 28 Feb '73. Great Cold Rain & Snow. Fantastic GSET, but the Louie Louie riff Phil plays before it starts drives me nuts every time. I always want them to play the whole song. Also has one of those slow slinky Loose Lucy's. And of course Dark Star. What's everyone else listening to? wissonomingdeadhead - I saw that you listed yes as your favorite studio album band. I'm a huge fan as well. I started buying those 5.1 surround sound Steve Wilson remasters, and they're fantastic. Tales From topographic oceans never sounded better than this. Of all their Studio records that one in its original pressing was always a little disappointing from a Sonic standpoint. It was as though I could never turn the treble up high enough to hear the drums well. Everything was just kind of muffled and muted or something. Not anymore! Did you also pick any of those up? Shirdeep - you seem to have a huge collection of old Grateful Dead pictures. Do you have any Keith pictures? Doing a Google search doesn't really get you too many of him.