Grateful Dead

an oddball show worth a listen

...thanks Dave!

I've been inspired to listen to some early Dark Stars after reading the posts on here, and last night I come up against the Mickey and The Hartbeats show from 10/30/68. And very strange it is, too. As far as I can make out, this band, on this night, started out as a trio consisting of Jerry, Phil and Mickey. It opens with a 17 minute + Star that is basically a musical conversation between Jerry and Phil. Mickey contributes very little-very subdued. In fact the whole track is a bit-but its fascinating hearing Jerry and Phil try out different ideas. Very slow and ruminative. Well worth hearing. I notice they end the show with a Dark Star jam as well-although that one seems to have a cast of 1000s up and jamming-which doesn't look very appetizing-but who knows?

https://themidnightcafe.org/2017/04/21/lossless-bootleg-bonanza-gratefu… Grateful Dead 68-09-02 Betty Nelson’s Organic Rasberry Farm Sultan, WA Download: FLAC/MP3 This is flac encoded & tagged version of shnid: 22095 Recording Info: SBD -> Master Reel (Three half-inch four track reels, recorded on Ampex 440) -> Dat (Tascam DA30/44.1k) Transfer Info: Master Dat (Sony R500) -> SEK’D Prodif Plus -> Samplitude v7.02 Professional -> Cool Edit Pro v2.0 -> SHN (1 Disc Audio / 1 Disc SHN) Transfered and Edited By Charlie Miller charliemiller87@earthlink.net 2/5/04 Notes: Track 1 = Audience Tracks 2 and 3 = stereo mix Track 4 = nothing The Master Dat had different mixes on it. This is the one I liked the best. Setlist: d1t01 – Introduction d1t02 – Dark Star -> d1t03 – Saint Stephen -> d1t04 – The Eleven -> d1t05 – Death Don’t Have No Mercy (cut) d1t06 – Cryptical Envelopment -> d1t07 – Drums -> d1t08 – The Other One -> d1t09 – Cryptical Envelopment d1t10 – Alligator -> d1t11 – Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks) -> d1t12 – Feedback d1t13 – Stage Announcements alt1 – Introduction -> Dark Star -> Saint Stephen (cut) alt2 – (cut) Dark Star -> Saint Stephen -> The Eleven

....I just mentioned appreciation. Early Dark Stars are a gift. One could track it's progression on a nightly basis. The hi temp here today is 95. My grill has been working non stop for 48 hrs. And that's a good thing.

I took Vguy's suggestion to listen to this one. Here's the link to download the show with some generic artwork already attached. Thanks again Vguy. I had been on a Dark Star tear, but hadn't explored too much unreleased '69. Can't beat the sound quality. https://drive.google.com/open?id=17BYk6QCods4XVv1sX9EEULm2JgUNbBsA

....Normanize this beast. It deserves it. I know the PTB are reading. Just do it.

Almost listened to a portion of show yesterday, but it was the beginning of set. Most likely see a box set of this run http://www.deadlists.com/posters/1960s/19690829.html China Cat Sunflower -> Doin that Rag Morning Dew Easy Wind Had 4.7.71 spinning the last few days ~ Hard to Handle ~ + 10.2.80 9.27.81 10.16.88

...floor creaks, scurrying feet, nightwatchman's asleep.

He's missing his rings, four bucks in change.. and I don't think he's asleep.. more like cold and unresponsive. I'm calling the cops.

After about 12 listenings to this show, I still like it very much. When I first heard the announcement that this show was going to be DaP 27, sure I'll give it a try, as I do like the early to mid-Eighties. If you recall, I called myself a member of the 70's mafia - but that's another story altogether.Not exactly perfect, but it fits the bill for a 1983 show. have to thank SkullTrip for this one. Thank you, Thank you very much!

I think many here would be interested in this new book soon to be published. Full disclosure: Jarid, the author, is a good buddy. Hello Scott, I am excited to announce the launch of the Kickstarter campaign for THIS OLD BUILDING: The Closing of Winterland, a photo documentary book of my rare images punctuated with tails of adventure from those who experienced this amazing event. This limited edition 8.5x11, hardbound, B&W art book celebrates the final show at Bill Graham's legendary music venue in San Francisco on New Year's Eve 1978 with the Grateful Dead, the Blues Brothers, the New Riders of the Purple Sage and thousands of fellow Deadheads. I invite you to reserve your copy for a pledge of $35. Throw down a bit more for additional rewards like gift giver packages or your choice of an enlargement from the book. You'll find all the pledge details on my Kickstarter page where you can view my campaign video, see photos, and hear the story of how this book came to fruition. With the 40th Anniversary of that final night nearly upon us, THIS OLD BUILDING: The Closing of Winterland will bring forth deep recollections and reignite your excitement for this historic event. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/433001477/this-old-building-the-clo... Thank you and stay in touch. Cheers- Jarid

6/8/69 2nd GD set of the night after the middle band and the koolaid seems to have been a bit strong that night. the reviews are interesting to say the least. https://archive.org/details/gd1969-06-08.123986.sbd.miller.flac16/gd69-… this one is all about the banter between songs as they try to get their acts together while ??? plays the 3rd set.

Been there.. Side 4 of ElectricladyLand. I had to up and leave until sanity returned (and the sun came up).

Well, we know we have already gotten the following releases in 2018: 1) Daves Picks 2018 so far - 1977, 1971, 1983(miracle that we got a non-1970s release) 2) 6 FULL shows from 1973-1974 (pacific box) 3) 1968 - anthem reissue plus live show 4) 3 singles package releases 1970-1971 5) The November 2017 Dave Picks release was from 1972 With that said, it seems obvious that Dave's Picks #28 should still be from years 1979-1995...will it be, WHO KNOWS?!? Dave's goto year to keep him in his comfort zone of 1971-1978 should be a release from 1976, BUT I'm guessing for the second release in a row he will move out of his comfort zone, and give us a release from 1979-1982....my guess is a Fall 1979 release, with the long shot being a 1991 show.

This one's wide open. ..but I enjoy the enthusiasm and speculation. So the drum roll of 28 begins. I won't even try to guess and I don't think Dave is talking.

I kind of settled on 1976 as well only because of what has recently been released. I also think 1991 will see the light of day at some point. I listened to the Soldier Field show from 91 during my walk last night and it is a good one. I have been really happy with all three picks this year and feel like I am playing with house money at this point. I feel so fortunate to be able to get a new show every 3 months and already told my wife that I will be subscribing again. She was cool about it she knows how happy it makes me. Anyways my guess for 28 - 4-23-69 the Ark Boston Mass. it would make a great box for sure but I am guessing they come out one at a time. Something from 69 would really make this a banner year for the Dave’s Picks series. Just my opinion.

I kind of settled on 1976 as well only because of what has recently been released. I also think 1991 will see the light of day at some point. I listened to the Soldier Field show from 91 during my walk last night and it is a good one. I have been really happy with all three picks this year and feel like I am playing with house money at this point. I feel so fortunate to be able to get a new show every 3 months and already told my wife that I will be subscribing again. She was cool about it she knows how happy it makes me. Anyways my guess for 28 - 4-23-69 the Ark Boston Mass. it would make a great box for sure but I am guessing they come out one at a time. Something from 69 would really make this a banner year for the Dave’s Picks series. Just my opinion.

Give us a prime Brent or Hornsby/Vince show! Where is Roanoke 87? Any non released 88-90 Brent shows would be welcomed!

Owsley distributed a powerful concoction, resulting in Garcia sitting out the second set, with Elvin Bishop and Wayne Ceballos standing in. Garcia returns for The Other One suite. source: On This Date in Deadhead History on The WELL.

How does everyone feel about this year’s picks? I am happy. I probably will only go back to the 71 show regularly. I did like the Boise show but don’t think I will listen to it very often. I don’t think I have listened to the 77 show other than the half step and jack straw since my first listen. Will I subscribe again? You bet! 100 dollars for 4 shows is an incredable deal. Can’t wait to hear what everybody thinks 28 will be. Still sticking with the Ark last night of the run.

hopefully the 3 April 69 Ark shows will be a Plangent processed box, throw in the NYE 69 run at the Boston Tea Party, same building different name, they are too good for a Dave's Pick. i'd like to say public THANKS to Mike Wren and the server teams (Tol) at etree that seems to be offline after 20 years. the database seems to no longer be usable in a "cloud" based infrastructure and after about a month of attempts at upgrading it is now offline. after the original tape tracking site went online about 1997 called Phishhook, Etree became the go to place for archivist and tapers to standardize what circulates on the internet today and was a key requirement of new additions to Archive.org. many trading sites and later BT sites used etree as the central repository of the documentation to verify if that CM fileset you downloaded is the same as CM seeded. without etree to gather and document the filesets, there would be no Archive.org LMA. for a nice history of Etree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etree

The timeline for any pick is 1968-1991. Given that the last pick was from the 1980s, we can assume it won't be from that decade. In fact, I'd bet that we can exclude 1979 and pre-Bruce 1990, as they've never done two Brent picks in a row since DP5 and DP6. We've already had a 1971, 1973, 1974, and a 1977 this year. This leaves: 1968-1970, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1990-1991. 1978 is probable the most well-mined year, with very few of the Top Shows from that era left to be released. 1972 has plenty of top shows left, but it was only one year ago that we got a 1972. But they've been known to go back to 1972 pretty quickly (see DaP 11 and then DaP 14 shortly after). 7/18, 7/26, 8/21, 8/24, 10/18, and 10/28, 11/19, 12/31 are all worthy,. We're really overdue for a 1969, I'm just not sure if the impeding Aoxomoxoa reissue takes something off the table. 2/15, 4/5, 4/21-23, 11/2 and 11/7 have to come out eventually. There's nothing in the Vault after June 1970, but there's plenty of good stuff from January/Feb left. I think they'll probably do some the June Fillmore shows eventually too. 1976 is the safe choice, especially with the returned Betty boards. I think the Boston shows will eventually be a box. 6/29/76 does have to come out eventually, and I don't think any of the surrounding shows are box worthy, so this would be a prime choice. 7/18/76 is another option.

I gave up guessing a long time ago.. Mr. Jack Straw lays out a straightforward and pragmatic assessment. I can't help but agree. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Fall of 72. Spring of 91 has been overlooked too. Some of the shows are quite good and they seemed to be decently recorded for the most part. Old Jer's voice is perhaps the weakest link in some of the strong shows from that period. I'm sure we will get some gems mixed in with the last release of this season and the four to some in 2019. Wow.. it's almost 2020, where does the time go.

The Grateful Dead and friends are the epitome of the gift that keeps on giving. The full shows complimenting the 50th anniversary releases of the Grateful Dead album and Anthem were from 66' and 67' respectively, so thinking a 68' show will compliment the 50th anniversary release of Aoxomoxoa. Would love to see 69' Arc or Boston Tea released. Are either stand of shows in the vault? If so, depending on if and how many, would probably be a box release? Wonder if the 69' Mcfarlin show is in the vault? That would make a doozy of a show to compliment workingman or American Beauty! The Betty Boards have rendered a treasure trove of goodies. A good number of the reportedly, 50 shows returned, have been released. We still await the 71' capitol run. (A box for 2019!!!!) and 4/5-4/8 71'. (Awesome future Dave's!). There is 5/26/73 Kezar and 2/26/77 swing. Either or both could be future Dave's or maybe even mass production stand alone's (such as 8/27/72) Speaking of stand alone's, is 6/10/73 RFK in the vault? The 76' Boston and Beacon shows have returned. Could be a future box release? Of course, I am assuming all of Betty's returned reels are in "acceptable' release condition. Also, what still remains from the 69' and 70' returned stash? If I had one show to ever see the light of day, it would be 9/20/70. Based on my research, most of the September 70' Filmore run is not in the vault (as apparently much else from the second half of 70'), but 9/20/70 never seems to say missing reels (like the previous nights Filmore shows) Probably wishful thinking, but I can dream. Love to hear from people more knowledgable on the topic than me on my thoughts. Sam T

Any chance the returned reels would include the missing tape from 10-15-76? All I've heard from the end of that show is from an AUD source. It would be great if they found tapes from 2-27-77 or 6-4-77, too but chances are fewer that will happen. How about 2-6-79 Tulsa just for curiosity's sake, or more of Carbondale '79 (again, just for curiosity's sake). Speaking of '76, DP 33 might just be the most underrated from that series. Two complete shows in 1 release. That used to be nice and would happen more often: DP 20, 25, 29...

I am going with either 79, 80 or 91 as DaP 28 and either fall '72 or fall '71 as DaP 20 to kick off next year's subscription effort. Note: This guess is knowingly incorrect. I have the absolute worst track record at dead.net for sniffing out the next release.

Unfortunately the only ‘76 show I’d be really jazzed about is the 7-18-76. But that isn’t likely to happen as it is a multitrack recording that was used on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. So Dave said when the 7-17-76 show was released, that this excludes it from his show options. Such an epic show, certainly in my all time Top 20, in a year that rarely excites me too much.

The Ark and Tea Party shows would make a fantastic box, to compliment the Fillmore Box. Much too good to be diluted as a DaP. Come on ... be bold !

Please help me understand how recordings from 1969 sound clear and pristine while recordings from the early 80's, such as DP27, sound horrible. Very disappointed in DP27. Thanks.

My guess for DaP28: 6/22/76 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA (near Philly)Been there, done that, its one of my favorites.

based on the other 2018 choices there is one noticeable absence in the set lists, Dark Star.to close out the year and boost interest in next year there should be a Dark Star on what ever they announce. either a Pigpen or Hornsby era one would be nice. given my lack of enthusiasm for non Plangent processed reels, i would hope for a cassette only Bear tape or one of the DATs from the 1991 tour. like this anniversary show from 27 years ago today. Boston Garden on 1991-09-26 https://archive.org/details/gd1991-09-26.sbd.miller.95534.sbeok.flac16 i wish they would stop wasting the recently returned reels on non Plangent processed releases like this series.

I like the way some of those DATs sound. I wonder why we have seen relatively few shows released from this period. I like the sound quality of the Cal Expo and Shorelines shows from the Spring of '91. Cal expo is sans Hornsby though.. The Boston shows are really good, I am partial to 5/10/91 too but keep in mind I am a big Desolation Row fiend.. which I realize is not everyone's cup of tea. Still.. good point on 1991, we really should have seen a few more shows released from this period, some are quite good.

it' s only really a 2 disker, but with a little related filler to add the Playin they started the night before and then teased the Dark Star right before the Drums, it makes a nice 3 disk set. April 1, 1991 Greensboro Coliseum - Greensboro, NC SBD -> PCM Master CD1 Set 1: d1t01 - Jack Straw d1t02 - Peggy-O d1t03 - It's All Over Now d1t04 - Candyman d1t05 - Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues d1t06 - Picasso Moon d1t07 - Bird Song CD2 Set 2: d1t08 - China Cat Sunflower -> d1t09 - I Know You Rider d2t01 - Looks Like Rain disk 2 filler to finish off 3/31/91 2nd set from Dick's Pick 17 3. Playin' In The Band > (15:09) 4. Drums > (4:37) 1. Space > (15:20) small splice at 1:46 2. The Wheel > (5:41) 3. Around & Around > (7:51) 4. Johnny B. Goode (5:13) 5. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (8:40) CD3 d2t02 - Dark Star -> d2t03 - Drums -> d2t04 - Space -> d2t05 - Dark Star -> d2t06 - Playing reprise -> d2t07 - Black Peter -> d2t08 - Turn On Your Lovelight d2t09 - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

I am not a robot....or am I??.....ancient alien theorists say YES!! Recent episode speculates that due to new DNA info found theorist believe we were injected long ago by aliens so that basically we’ve become organic robots! Woooooo- spooky lol DROPOUTS remeber folks, any recording is susceptible to dropouts anytime a musician adjusts their volume, especially if the person responsible for the recording is looking after other responsibilities etc. This could be especially true with WOS shows as there was no house mix at all, everything was controlled on stage by the band.....i.e., if say Jerry felt he was too loud and turned down, and no one adjusted tape levels accordingly, he would sound too low on the tape.... AUDS Also, as some have mentioned, drums and vocals (or other “acoustic”) instruments are often mixed louder than guitars that are often already significantly amplified. This is why as KG and others have suggested that matrix or very good AUD recordings can sound much more lifelike or “real” than soundboards..... PREDICTIONS 28: will repeat my predictions from months ago.... 28- will be something from 69-71, but not something that might end up as full treatment box shows...this era is definetly due, and most people like this era so it plays to the masses to end the year/subscription on a high note.... 29- will be 76. This year is also overdue, but it’s perhaps not as popular for some folks. Mellow dead for the winter doldrums.. Of course these too could get flipped so the 69-71 would be the new year/script carrot...in fact I think that makes more sense; 76 for 28 and a 69-71 for 29. 76 might be too divisive for some? 30: 79 is also overdue and gets enough mention here that the mob would not lynch ole Dave and CO. Don’t know the catalog well enough to pick informatively, but personally I think some combination of 1/10/79 and 1/20/79 would make a great spring/bonus release. Last Steve and Dark Stars for a while, as well as some other great nuggets. 1/20 has no Donna so has that historic/different variable. 31: some 91 or other post Brent 90s. (Since there has been a lot of 90 already).Another era that is due and has some great shows! Wild card could be some 89 that’s not multi-box worthy? Of course more 72 is always in play.... 32: will return to one of the BIG? Years or perhaps 69-71 or 91 if not covered earlier as these are certainly due. Wild cards any of the above except 79. I don’t think they would use something possibly divisive for the end of the year. Time will tell and as ole Jim says “I reserve the right to be comepletly wrong” ; )) 77; I know there is a rabid vocal majority that can’t get enough, but for THE REST OF US enough for a while...No offense meant to anyone or their personal tastes, but imho there are a significant number of us that would like to gather a well rounded collection of good shows, that sound decent. They all don’t have to be top shelf (where mama hides the cookies!) multi-trac pristine....MANY of us love ALL years worts and all. Just throwing it out there, no need to tell me how wrong I am and other negative condescension. We’ve all heard it enough ad nauseam! Like going in about fourwindsblow’s mere suggestion of a summer 85 box. To some, we like the dangerous, dirty dead. No one seems to complain about 60s stuff where they sometimes go for it but miss etc. and there are plenty of bad vocals (from all eras!) Some us of feel 85 was similar, that does not make us WRONG, just different than YOU! And like Jim said, Jerry’s voice gained a deep character that a 20 something doesn’t necessarily have. Sometimes it was painful, but some would say something’s actually sounded deeper and more emotional as his voice aged. This is why ALL eras are worth checking out!! You can just listen to something else if you don’t like certain eras. You don’t have to be negative and cut others down. Some asked how we felt about this years releases....I think they were all at least good. Know the 77 is not some folks top pick, but for a 77 I really liked that show. Personally liked the 71s better than last years (a little to white bread). I liked the 83 worts and all because it was something different and was from the year I was finally able to do more than just one off local type shows. Time will tell about 28 but I’m sure as usual Dave will not let us down. I agree though with KG that there should be different tiers or what not for releases. I.e., - Super premium Betty Boards etc, that they could charge more for to cover extra expenses and help fund other, less exconomicalky viable releases like - Doctored matrix and/or AUDs from 80s/90s. Low budget packaging/costs sort of like Dicks or Road trips, or even more so. Stuff that will never be used for Boxes etc. just spit em out so those that want can get something more than the same old stuff...Could do more frequently due to less costs/production etc - Continue Dave’s with his niche.. - Boxes: of course keep the big beautiful stuff coming aka PNW, E72, 69, 90, 89 etc. Don’t see why they couldn’t do this? Obviously there is currently demand, and as I’ve said before, they could choose/schedule run numbers AFTER they receive pre-order funds to maintain costs. You get 10,000 pre orders run that plus a few for late comers. Everybody wins....Big boxes and/or premium releases could still be “numbered”. That is All! Have a Grateful Day!

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'77 has always been a sweet spot for me, all the way back to my tape trading days. In fact, 2/26/77 was the tape that motivated me to see my first live show in '83 (4/26/83, to be exact). So I'll never turn away from any official '77 release, or any release between '68 and '78 for that matter. That being said, I do dip into all eras of the Dead, depending on my mood, and agree that a bit more variety in the releases wouldn't hurt. Especially since there's a certain satisfaction in owning official copies of shows you've attended.

Hey Skulltrip.. I have to ask. After having/listening to 2/26/77 and then seeing 4/26/83 as your first show, were you impressed, disappointed, had a great time, thought the show was so/so? Feel free to ignore the question altogether and use your own words, but the contrast between an early tape (one of the greats) and your first show (which I am familiar with) is stunning. I went to my first show in 82 with little knowledge or expectations and walked away mind = blown. ..but comparing your first show to 2/26/77 must have been a mindf**k of sorts. Anyway.. your post made me curious, so I had to ask.

Hey, Jim — great question. I guess my answer is somewhat mixed. Though I had a blast at the show, and kept seeing the Dead live until 10/19/94, I always felt like I was seeing a compromised version of the band. To my ear, the 68 to 78 sound was simply more appealing. They had a richer, earthier tone, as opposed to a plinky, synthesized one. But the only way to hear any of those songs live, or experience the interplay between the core members, was to see the line up of the day. So there were highlights to each show that made it worthwhile, and moments I simply endured until the next highlight (hopefully) came along. That said, I’ll easily listen to full shows from the aforementioned ten years; whereas I only listen to select tracks from the 80s and 90s. Not sure if that answers your question or not, but that’s all I got.

Good story S.T. It took me a couple years before I was getting decent tapes.. so the first few shows were like the switch from black and white TV to technicolor. A grand adventure.. I like the 80's and dip in and out somewhat frequently, but The 77 Swing is one of my more liked shows. A great one. Take care all.. have a great rest of the weekend. I'm still no through my first listen of the box, but making steady progress.

My friend Jarid is wrapping up his kickstarter campaign at the end of this month,just a day away. He is putting together a cool photo book about the closing concert of Winterland. https://www.facebook.com/ThisOldBuilding/videos/567695673666940/ Here's a 1 minute video montage of some of the photos.

Thought some of you might enjoy this article that references the Wall of Sound... https://audiophilereview.com/audiophile-news/is-live-music-really-bette… Enjoy!

So? What's it gonna be? I'm thinking an ABCD,LLC recently returned '76 BB. Or Brent's first '79 show.

Who, us?? We're never wrong, just ahead of our times. I have no idea.. but I get the feeling they are going to mix things up just a bit more... 79 Spartan Stadium is a good guess. One of the tapes I got pretty early on. I still remember making the label for the tape, used red ink for some reason.

Would be great, I was there! Who's that new guy? Bobby wore sunglasses...

Listens to the sound of the city streets the lonely heat The Town he once owned Paris, France ~ October 28 1990 https://archive.org/details/gd1990-10-28.Nak300CP4.Floater.Keo.114395.F… https://archive.org/details/gd90-10-28.sbd.jamphan.3264.sbeok.shnf/gd90…

...this message has landed in my inbox.... "Mark your calendars and ready your phones, tablets, and laptops for Friday, October 12th at 10AM PT because as history shows, our numbered limited-edition Dave's Picks Volume 28 will sell out fast." Mad Speculation? Sixtus

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