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    clayv
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    Who's up for a revolutionary evolutionary ride? DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 30: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 1/2/70 captures the Grateful Dead as they make their first foray from the experimental 60s into their early 70s acoustic Americana period. Yes, this one is a little bit country and a little bit (psychedelic) rock and roll.

    When the "Magnificent Seven" - Pigpen on percussion, T.C. on keys - first took the stage on 1/2/70, evidence was clear that the trip was about to take a turn. From their western wears to the twang in Jerry’s “broken-string blues,” it appeared they'd brought the Bakersfield sound to the Big Apple. They worked through much of what would become Workingman's Dead, stunning the crowd with laid-back numbers like "Uncle John's Band," "Casey Jones," and "Black Peter." Just the same, they satisfied 60s stalwarts with magical versions of "Dark Star," "St. Stephen," and "That's It For The Other One." Sonic alchemy, indeed!

    DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 30: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK, ​New York 1/2/70 has been rounded out with a bit of 1/3/70 (the subscribers-only bonus disc features the bulk of 1/3/70). It was recorded by the great Owsley "Bear" Stanley and has been lovingly mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

    DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 30 is limited to 20,000 individually-numbered copies*.

    *Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • Trainwrecked
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    Yeah Right Thin

    All the music in the world, 90% of which I won't listen to, for 10 bucks a month sounds as good as that cable TV bill I was paying 15 bucks a month for in 1980. Was great at the time, but my cable bill is 10x the cost now, and keeps going up. Have fun with your streaming in 10 years. And besides, streaming and digital technology has killed the recording artists, and in turn, the concert scene. Piracy IS the reason the reason concert ticket sales are so high now. Artists have to make their money on the road, because there's little for them in songwriting royalties anymore. Technology killed the concert scene. What used to be a festive getaway for any who desired it is now reserved for the priveledged. And like wise Charlie said, the only CDs I buy is Limited Edition Dead CDs, and like wise KeithFan said, the fun part is opening the damn package and enjoying the artwork, the liner notes, and that great smell.

    There's no turning back from it all, but make no mistake, we're being tethered and robbed in the long con. Enjoy your financial bondage.

  • JimInMD
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    Interesting Discussion

    First.. why only ten comments per page? You blink or take a day hike and you have scroll back 10 pages to get the pulse of what's going on.

    Second.. 8-Tracks always sucked... well, they were ok for the first ten plays but on the 11th play your car or portable 8-Track player would get hungry and inevitably eat your tape. Then you realized you had to buy a really nice, expensive deck so it wouldn't eat your tapes.. you'd then get 37 listens before it got hungry and ate your tape and be out an extra $350 for a new high-end, but still shitty deck. If you were skilled.. you could somehow pull it out, bend and tuck all that extra tape back into the 8-Track cassette, but every time that part of the album came on it would sllllloooowwww dooowwwwnn where it was stretched.. then skip 10 seconds where you had to cut and splice it back together with scotch tape, etc. There is no comparing any media to 8-Tracks because they sucked that bad. As soon as my first tape was eaten, I loathed them and could not wait for a better technology. They were the first media you could play in a car, once another arrived they were gone like the dodo. Plus, album art or liner notes, forget about it. Comparing any of this to 8-tracks is like wondering why no one drives Edsels anymore.

    As for streaming.. I find it just doesnt work well for dead music. I mean, what band has 2,318 albums? Amazon Alexa, for example, has a ton of concerts on their service.. but asking 'her' for one and having 'her' return and play the show you like is next to impossible. "Alexa, Play Grateful Dead Cornell University, 5/8/77" (which is in there) and you get "mmm I can't find that, here's Donnie and Marie Paper Roses 1977 instead", said in the most polite, androgynous voice possible.

    Streaming just becomes difficult for a band with so many [albums] or shows, whatever. If it was quicker/easier to find exactly what I want, I would stream more. Perhaps tomorrow this will get better.

    Who knows. I think for deadheads, who seem to have an almost unquenchable thirst for good music.. they will stream for the convenience and buy Dave's Picks and perhaps a box set a year, so why would Rhino walk away from that extra revenue stream of the new releases from the vault? In fact, their revenue is increasing, they are not going to pull the plug just yet. Streaming is for what has already been released and all the other music you listen to, but vault releases will likely continue to be released on physical media as a niche product. ..then in a few years it will wind up on the streaming platforms.

    My two cents and I could be wrong.. I see GD listeners as being perhaps streamers and I'm going to get Dave's Picks too because I want it and it makes me happy and I want it now.

    Oh.. and Charlie3, I totally get why you live where you live and it being worth the sacrafice of being plugged in all the time. An amazing part of the world.. beautiful and lots to do. Nothing wrong with cities, but you are in big sky country, I'd take it for 15 (slow) gigs a month or whatever the limit is and speed is. Perhaps 5G will change some of this.

    So anyway.. this could be the year of the Ark. Makes sense, doesn't it. Bolo, bolo, bolo. There, said it three times.

  • daverock
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    Pointless progress

    There have been so many changes in format since I bought my first L.P in 1971. The move to cassettes, on to cds, on to digitally remastered cds-circa 1995, onto new digitally remastered cds this century using the latest technology. And now streaming. I am not sure what progress has been made, really. A lot of it seems, now-with the benefit of hindsight-to be a marketing ploy.
    The move from having videos, onto dvds onto blu ray seems to me to have marked progress-but a lot of improvements to consumer items is surely designed to create profit-not to improve quality.

  • cub
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    Will Music Streaming Servers Survive an E.M.P.

    I too prefer hardcopy CD's. As far as I know Cd's cannot loose their data in the event of electro magnetic pulse event,
    solar event etc.

    I also preorder Dave's Picks Subscription every year for $99. Not try something stupid like try to cancel 1/2 my placed order. Just sell the extra at cost.

  • Charlie3
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    Slogan of the Day

    Just as an aside, my vote goes to VGuy for the slogan of the day with "You can lead a head to Winterland, but you can't lead him to his seat."

    The answer to the recurrent question of "how could I have purchased a copy of this release before it sold out?" is to SUBSCRIBE. Don't chase each Dave's Pick, subscribe and trick them into showing up at your door.

  • Charlie3
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    Thin

    I get what you are saying, and you may be right about the expense issue to some extent, but let me expand on a couple of my points.

    My total data for the month through my internet provider is 15GB. For the month. I burn through that in two weeks just reading news and for work purposes. I would be seriously limited in my ability to stream or download music, let alone video, and would have to ration my listening time. That has no appeal. My phone service is also a plan with limited data, so that really doesn't change the picture. The data limitations alone mean that streaming is not really an option unless I jump up to a substantially more expensive data plan, and then pay for the streaming service on top of that. Your calculation assumes that there is no cost to data or internet access, but that is not the case for me. I would have the streaming cost, plus the cost of the additional data needed to make it worthwhile. I get this is an issue related to my geographic location, but I really like my geographic location with it's low population density and spectacular scenery. I have limited data access, but the one of the largest roadless area in the lower 48, the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, is just across the valley, with hiking trails in every just about every drainage up and down the Bitterroot Valley and an abundance of other nearby wilderness areas in just about every direction. I am getting by without the extra data.

    As far as cost, most of what I buy at this point is limited edition dead releases, including Dave's Picks and the annual box set, that won't be available on a streaming service, so I will be stuck paying for that on disc whether or not I stream everything else. If I buy something on disc this month and go broke with unexpected expenses next month, I can listen to the music I already own without spending a dime, but with streaming I am committed to paying the monthly fee forever or I would not be able to listen to any of "my music". I would be paying for the same music month after month, most of which I already own on disc at this point. Which brings me to sunk costs. I already have a decent number of discs, since I haven't counted in a while I'll estimate about a few hundred, maybe close to a thousand. At this point I can listen to them without paying a dime, and since they represent the things that I am most likely to listen to, I would be paying to stream a lot of music that I already own on disc and can listen to for free. And to be honest, the whole streaming thing triggers some kind of atavistic luddite response for me, and I make no claim that this is necessarily a response that will seem logical to others.

    Bottom line, if you dig streaming, go for it, the future looks bright for you. If you're one of those folks who dig vinyl, good timing, it seems to have made a comeback. For me, I foresee CD's being the source of my music for the foreseeable future.

  • jrf68@hotmail.com
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    F**k streaming

    I have no use for it.
    Proud to be that guy.
    :O)

  • Vguy72
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    If you know how it works....

    ....you had both right there! Sell one! Jeezus.....you can lead a head to Winterland, but you can't lead him to his seat.

  • tmctighe
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    I would love to experience…

    I would love to experience Dave's Picks 30, but unfortunately, due to a ridiculous purchase process, I lost out. Won't go into gory details, but I got no help trying to deal with a problem (mistakenly ordered two cd's and tried to cancel one). Supposedly couldn't delete one unless I emailed a request. I did not get a response until 5 days later, and now the cd is sold out.

    Because of this, and the fact that there is such a ridiculously low number of cd's released, making it virtually impossible to purchase a cd, I will not purchase anything from Deadnet again.

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    "Being able to see the TV from the kitchen is key"....

    ....yeah. About that. Been in our current house for three years. I love it, but that was one complaint I had about it. Mrs. Vguy trumped me. Now where's my sledgehammer? (a wall. Not my wife).
    ....streaming. I'm slowly accepting it. What choice do I have? Buffering sucks major ass. An exercise in futility. 😡 I dread being that guy who has a laptop/tablet in every room. Ptth.
    ❤️ Spotify....I'm not an audiophile, so it works just fine for me.

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Who's up for a revolutionary evolutionary ride? DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 30: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 1/2/70 captures the Grateful Dead as they make their first foray from the experimental 60s into their early 70s acoustic Americana period. Yes, this one is a little bit country and a little bit (psychedelic) rock and roll.

When the "Magnificent Seven" - Pigpen on percussion, T.C. on keys - first took the stage on 1/2/70, evidence was clear that the trip was about to take a turn. From their western wears to the twang in Jerry’s “broken-string blues,” it appeared they'd brought the Bakersfield sound to the Big Apple. They worked through much of what would become Workingman's Dead, stunning the crowd with laid-back numbers like "Uncle John's Band," "Casey Jones," and "Black Peter." Just the same, they satisfied 60s stalwarts with magical versions of "Dark Star," "St. Stephen," and "That's It For The Other One." Sonic alchemy, indeed!

DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 30: FILLMORE EAST, NEW YORK, ​New York 1/2/70 has been rounded out with a bit of 1/3/70 (the subscribers-only bonus disc features the bulk of 1/3/70). It was recorded by the great Owsley "Bear" Stanley and has been lovingly mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 30 is limited to 20,000 individually-numbered copies*.

*Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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I think any 2 wheeled transportation that has a combustion fired engine is considered a motorcycle, but die hard bikers will always say no because they do not want to be in the same class with the moped or scooter.

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Dave's 11 11/17/72 was a third Pick, so it may hold a lot of times, but not always. The first 2 are definitely to sell the subscriptions, but there can be duds in there, too. DaP 25 11/6/77 and DaP 22 12/6-7/71 are a couple of examples. I find the ones I like least are the last Pick of the year. DaP 4 9/24/76, DaP 12 11/4/77, DaP 20 12/9/81, DaP 24 8/25/72 and DaP 28 6/18/76 range from ones I almost never listen back to (12, 24, 28) to ones I won't listen back to after giving them multiple chances already (4, 20).

The ironic thing in hendrixfreak's take (which is perfectly reasonable) is that DaP 23 1/22/78 was so heavily requested, and a legendary show. Legendary mainly for a few seconds of a Close Encounters tease (kinda like the other worst Pick, IMO, DaP 7, which I grant was a third Pick, which was infamous for a few seconds of Staying Alive!?!), but the show barely gets any play from me. And when I do, I choose Minglewood, Jack Straw, Peggy O, Tennessee Jed, Row Jimmy, Music Never Stopped then the second half of set 2, or disc 3, up to Around & Around. I probably made a highlights disc of almost all of that at the time. I'm not huge on 12 11/4/77 and 25 11/6/77, as they, too, have great moments, but don't carry my attention the whole way through, where some Picks I don't want to miss anything. I was surprised on that relisten to all of DaP 9 5/14/74 how exceptionally well they played just about everything up to that Dark Star that I had steadfastly avoided so long. Even the Playing in the Band, which they essentially butcher the re-entry to, they take the ending and ramp the energy up to 11 to make up for the botched part. But like 11/6/77, which people had clamored for since DiP 35, it has a great opening 1-2 punch in Mississippi Half Step-> Jack Straw, but then what? Music Never Stopped is typical '77-'78 excellent version, Samson is good with a fun intro, then the Truckin'. And I'm a lover of Wharf Rats, and that one doesn't really get me going, either.

What does all this gibberish mean? Perhaps not much, other than sometimes the shows that a seeming consensus of fans have wanted released aren't quite as good as the lesser known shows that Dave is able to surprise us with. 11/17/71 and 11/17/72 are prime examples, not just because they're among my personal favorites, but because they are just fantastic shows. Some of the very best shows released have been part of box sets, or Dick and Dave already put them out in the DiP Series, and a couple of gems in Road Trips (6/9/76, 5/15/70, 11/21/73, 11/15/71 spring to mind). You hope everything in the DaP Series will be awesome, but hey not every Dead concert that you paid money and traveled to see was Cornell or even MSG 9/16/87 (45 min 1st set still baffles me, for a show with such a reputation). Count me in on wanting 7/13/84 to be a DaP, but I don't think it's an oustanding overall show, I really like the Scarlet> Touch> Fire> Man Smart and Dark Star (plinky keys and all). I think it just is what it is at this point with the Picks, with them having to put out 4 per year and entice into getting a big box every year, too. I'm okay with that deal, and will let it go down next year, too. Even the shows I don't particularly like are nice to hear at least once or twice. Except DaP 20 12/9/81. I can't find anything positive to say about that one other than the Albert Hoffman bicycle cover. (And that isn't anti-80s bias, it's anti-bad show bias.) :)

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That is a picture of me doing what I do best...Not my Dog! Ahem....
But thanks for the kind words. And though we are blessed with some awesome regulars, it’s the rest of all y’all that keep coming back for more and throwing those spices into the proverbial stew that keeps it all fresh and alive! So thank you brother Dreading et el!

Dead Days indeed....
Wednesday: @7/3/88 finally got to this one. Can still see that dipstick flying towards the stage during Birdsong....
Thursday: cobbeled together enough gear to watch @7/4/89 30th anniversary....such a night!
Friday: @7/5/19 Folsom lake, er a, I mean stadium! Cold Rain and Snow Indeed!
Saturday: @7/6/19 Folsom, ahhh more like it! Good show, could nit pick that the last-show of tour set list might of had some more meat & potatoes, but I won’t...
Sunday: watched 7/7/89: yaaasss, Kiethfan, nice cherry popper, Scarlet definetly a Bobbie dazzler! Though like the @3/22/90 too....so many, how to choose?
Monday; finally ripped the 50th albums etc and Warfield 10/9&10/80. Listened to 7/3/66, the Aoxomoxoa bonus stuff, the Warfield sets, 7/8/81 #1 and 7/781 #2.....ok, I’m all deaded out...phew, pant, pant.....
Hopefully RT 3.3 will be in the box mananna....might need a rest first!

Cheese and Rice...so woke up this morning in my own bed...no idea how I got there? With flashes of random visions of running, no more like gliding through the mountain forest with these huge but graceful beasts, all of us beyond high, like communicating on a whole other level?.....and wild ritualistic ceremonially dancing and drum like instruments, but totally made from giant like natural red woods, not man made, all the most beatific vibes......so wake up quite confused to say the least.....eventually everything seems to be normal.....except that damn smell??? Ewwww? And I swear I heard bats as I became cognizant?? Or was it Bullfrogs?
Did you ever wake up with Bullfrogs on your mind?

Sigh, back to the grind tomorrow....always tough going back especially after a 5 day Dead fest!

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In reply to by Vguy72

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First.. "Scarlet definitely a Bobbie dazzler!" Well, that cracked me up. Lots of good stuff in lots of recent posts here.. but I do find myself liking several of the duds mentioned.. The Other One from 1/22/78 and 8/25/72 I thought were both excellent, but I did like the comments and viewpoints and there were some lessor shows I guess.

Bullfrogs.. they built this river takeout, hiking trail parking lot behind my house a few years ago.. and it's in a flood plain.. so they somehow thought they had to engineer the hell out of it and tried to build a slow drain system such to not add to the runoff during a flash flood inducing rain.. so they built these silly trenches near the edge of the lot complete with cattails, water that won't drain, bullfrogs and essentially a mosquito factory where once there were none. If it worked.. that'd be great but it honestly serves no purpose, when it rains hard it floods there too. So I go to bed with bullfrog mating calls each night and for no reason.. fun for about three minutes. ..and just to squelch any rumors, these bullfrogs do not make you trip when you lick the slime from behind their ears. More on that later....

I especially like the non-decade, keyboardist neutral banter. Sure, we all have our favorites.. but lightning did strike in the later years, perhaps not every night.. but.... A very kind and wise soul here that no longer seems to visit these threads but saw shows throughout their history once sent me a PM stating he never understood the decade bashing, that was never how it was. When the band was on, they were on.. and there were plenty of great shows after Pigpen and Keith left the band. He went on to add all this started after the band had packed and gone. I guess tapes become their own source of history, but being there was different. After all, there were stinkers in the early years too.. you just have to poke around and there were some smokers where you would never expect to find them. Anyway.. if Betty recorded the 1980's she certainly would have turned water into wine along the way.

What were we talking about again? 1974 Eyes of the World? Exactly.. Listened to the Eyes from the Swing today.. amazing and clearly the best. Anyway, it was simply wonderful and carried me through the hardest and scariest part of my river day.. no flips, no upside adventures, so it clearly must be the best. Great show. ok.. back to your previously scheduled bouts with chemically (or toad licking) induced dementia. :D What were we talking about again?

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In reply to by JimInMD

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Jim, those 2 Other Ones aren't duds, and 8/25 I hate to say my problem is being really distracted by the extra bass. The Other One is the absolute best part of that show, and it's great to have the whole thing as the one on Archive is cut at 16 min, so it misses 12 min of fiery jamming. And I was including the 1/22 one in the part of the show I really dug, but that I get about 70 min of highlights out of what was supposedly a legendary show was more my point, coupled with getting what we ask for isn't always best. Like 11/6/77. Maybe if it hadn't been so widely requested, we could have gotten a more obscure choice that was a better overall show. Though conversely, DaP 29 2/26/77 is every bit of its reputation, and a bona fide great Pick made possible by the returned Bettys. Of course, it's all pretty subjective. :)

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I have listened to this one several times since it was released and it is even better overall than I remember from my tapes. It is a show I go back to quite often. Jerry definitely redeems himself after that botch during Scarlet Begonias. Just have to see it through into the Jams.

I am into Eugene as well. Boulder? Not so much. Dave could have done better for his first dip into '81.

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Comments were made about the extra bass that Jeffrey Norman added to the Berkeley Dave's Picks. That absolutely drove me nuts when it came out and for almost ever after. Then I found a setting on my digital player that expands the stereo separation, and in doing so seems to filter out that extra bass. Go figure. So now I like it. Fantastic Other One. The whole thing rather compliments Veneta well. "would somebody turn these monitors up? For fuck sake," probably my favorite Bobby line.

I'm listening to Dick's Picks 18 this morning, Playing in the Band particularly. A 24-minute version precedes what is in my humble opinion the all-time best Wheel they ever played. The Wolf intro is worth the price of admission alone; but Keith does a fantastic job with the Wheel chords softly playing in the background. Definitely a passage best accompanied by a parking lot balloon.

But the real story I came to tell is about the Playing in the Band. I don't think I've listened to this more than a few times, all ways too eager to get straight to the Wheel. The first 15 minutes or so is as good as two-drummer Playing gets.

Brokedown Palace may be my favorite Dead ballad. Those two E72 versions with Pigpen on the Hammond......

The list of dislikes was so long, but everyone has their favorites. 25 is a hot show in my book and their best November 77 release to my ears. Love the opening half step and the whole first set. And yes, that Scarlet Fire is different, but the rest of show is great. I also really like the Colgate show was well, with the bonus third disc. Dave's 4 and Dave's 28 from 76 are both solid shows from 76, with great should quality, but I have not yet listened to a show from 76 that I did not like. Most of the 76 shows were recorded by Betty except the falls shows when she was gone for a while after Rex's accident. I also think Dave's 24 is a fantastic sounding fall 72 show, different, but solid. And I agree, the 81 Boulder show was not the best. I did give it a full listen when it came out, but it does not get much play. And don't forget Boise!

Dave's 31? Still think we may get our first 79 release.

Enjoy the Dead you love, there is a ton of great shows out there.

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In reply to by alvarhanso

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I was too lazy to go back further than two years, so my data set was limited, perhaps leading to an erroneous theory. Ah, those old erroneous theories -- pretty much covers all my theorizing....

Interesting that you nailed down 11-17-72 as a 3rd DaP -- as you know, I'm a freak for fall '72, so that upends my "theory." But you also mentioned your disinterest in 8-25-72; perhaps I'm alone in enjoying the hell out of that show.

In any case, with my "theory" in tatters, I'm just fixated on timing now. DaP 31 news seems destined to drop sooner than the box set.

To be clear, the past pattern has been an initial announcement of the box's musical contents, then the "reveal" of the physical product during MUATM. Dave did say a while back that they'd be "shouting from the rooftops soon" on the box... so I assumed that meant the usual one-two, content announcement, then physical product "reveal."

Hell, if the box news is held til MUATM, which I plan to attend (saw the Soldier Field show a few days later, my only Hornsby show) , that's only 23 days away. And I'm a bit ambivalent. If it's not an era that interests me, I save some $$ and simply dive back into the riches that already line my CD shelves. Typically I listen to a show, then shelve it, so that it remains a wonderful discovery on a much-delayed second listen.

Pulled 7-7-78 last night and enjoyed re-living the first set. We tripped all day and looned out on a lot of people, then when the heat of the day had passed we were crispy as hell and the purple stage lights came on and they played a Jack Straw / Candyman opener. After getting too close to the stage at past GD shows -- that incessant hum of lysergically elevated minds, or was it the amps? -- by 76, 77, 78 we would "take a step back" and enjoy from what seemed like a prudent distance. On 7-8-78, my buddy Peter nudged me during the Other One and pointed out that the entire first three rows had emptied to dance in front of the stage. (Naturally, they don't allow that anymore.) So we scampered down and hung out in the first row for the rest of the set. Those were the days, eh?

I do stand by my call on DaP 31 as a '79 show. Soon to be proven wrong, once again, my friends.

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Being a life long rider. The differences (mostly), scooters you step thru, motor cycles you throw your leg over. Also "most" scooters are automatic transmission, not really an auto trans, you just don't shift them.

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Just a quick off-topic remark... although, is anything truly off-topic whilst waiting for two vault release announcements? I harken back to the discussion of whether pork chops and mashed potatoes should be kept separate on one's plate...

This past weekend, while Dead & Co. played up the street in Boulder, we planned a two-day, 35-mile pack raft trip down the Yampa, thinking we'd knock out about half the distance on two consecutive days. At the put-in, we had to inflate the rafts, strap gear to the bows of our boats, etc. It was somewhat alarming to see a public health notice that West Nile Virus had been detected in mosquitoes at that site, as we were repeatedly bitten by same. So we take off as fast as we can and within a couple miles we see four great blue herons and a flock of about fifteen white pelicans. Elk etc. We stop at the first official river campsite to see what the prospects are like. Within seconds, we was swarmed by a particularly vicious brand of mosquito; swarmed as in difficult to breathe without inhaling them. True, full-body swarms! Yikes! Suddenly, welts everywhere. We reboarded in a frikking hurry and only set foot on shore once again, late in the day, when the up-canyon wind stopped forward progress and grounded us and the mosquitoes. We shoved off the second the wind abated and, in a measure of the misery dealt by angry mosquito swarms, we paddled the entire frikking 35 miles in one day, arriving at yet another swarm at the muddy and therefore slow take-out. More welts, which we treated by inhaling a good sativa and a couple freezing cold Hamms. Okay, the welts were still there, but we felt better about them. Side note: I have tested the leading non-DEET sprays and lotions and this just in: they do nothing against the angry swarms. NOTHING! Only DEET works and one needs to re-apply frequently. Because DEET is bad for humans, this is not a solution. So I just postponed my week-long backpacking trip into the Wind River Range to see the origins of the great Green River until August, when the angry swarms are a lesser threat.

No wonder we saw no other humans on the river that day -- or anywhere near the put-in and take-out. Still, we had a few puffs and a few Hamms while cruising down 8000 cfs on the Yampa, so in an echo of Apocalypse Now, our mantra was "don't step ashore"...

And now, back to your regularly scheduled "what were we talking about" conversations.

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How I love the human species. Such a mysterious and complicated creature. I can have 80% of what I want, and still complain about the other 20%. I forget to count my blessings and focus on the positive. As Blind Owl Wilson said "It's the Human Condition". For me, sometimes the wait is the most exciting part. Once I actually have something, "The Thrill is Gone". (Sorry B.B. King) I hope everyone stays safe, and enjoys their summer time.

Statistically speaking there maybe credibility to your theory as only one out of what? Six “third” shows would still prove to be statistically significant lol
Personally, I liked most of those shows....and 77-78 isn’t in my top years...Eugene, Bingotown, that 72 Baserkley etc..... Boulder was ok, at least they tried something different (the release that is) and Boise was decent if only the sound was a little better. it’s so funny how we all get moved by different shows!

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Vinyl Warfield should be here today! :-) CD's tomorrow!

Oroborous - wake up with bullfrogs on my mind? Only when I past out that time in the swamp, opened my eyes and there was Jeremih sitting on my wet head, with large swarms of mosquito buzzing around me with my body racked in pain!

Stoltzfus - yeah, got an icon up!!! And that was the best you could do? :-)

JiminMD - Funny you once again bring up 80's under rated because of poor recording. (Agree, I was there also) But just last night at the store I had a long mix going on when I Al Jolson came on. I thought of Jim's comments about poor recordings. I read/heard once the recordings of Jolson didn't do him justice. That he sang in a very deep voice that couldn't record well in the day, but live you could feel it!

I tried to limit my negativity, but the topic was less than stellar Picks, and I mentioned 24 8/25/72 and didn't hammer the point home about that extra octave on the bass, because Mr. Norman posted his apologies about that at the time, and didn't want to make him feel bad in the off chance he checked in the forum. As a guy who attempts to play bass, and loves his effects pedals, I was really stoked for that release when I first heard it and thought Phil had a prototype octave pedal, but when I found out it was bass that wasn't actually there, my opinion shifted on it. And as a guy who focuses on the bass playing just about more than anything else, it's extremely hard for me to have enough bass there without still hearing that imposed octave. That show, particularly the Bird Song and Other One are fantastic, is a good one, but to my ears, it becomes an annoyance. Again, subjectivity. And ironically that octave maybe helps the feedback/bass driven jam in TOO, but that's about the only part of the show I listen to. For DaP 25 11/6/77 I love the opening duo, dig other parts of the first set, but after multiple attempts have found the second set, particularly the Scarlet Fire just isn't to my taste. I love Spring '77, perhaps for the same reason many don't like it: they're more precise after recording with Keith Olsen, and having another day of working with him in early May before the fabled Holy Trinity. Fall '77 isn't my cup of meat due to less cohesive playing. But, you do get things like Let it Grow which wasn't played at all in May (can't think of one at least) and Dupree's, and DaP 12 11/4/77 is a rip roaring show, and I dig it when I listen, but I don't ever find myself choosing it. And again, don't want to harsh anyone's positive vibes about certain shows, and I avoided any real mention of Boise, because that seems to be a Flashpoint for Era wars to break out. But those tapes sound awful. Boulder is a reel to reel and sounds great, but the music is what kills that one for me.

And I noticed no one has brought up DaP 19 1/23/70 which has TIFTOO and Dark Star and Lovelight, etc, but doesn't ever seem to stoke much commentary good or bad or indifferent. That buttresses hendrixfreak's theory, and makes The 11 the real outlier.

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In reply to by CaseyJanes

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cannot tell you how much this passage resonated with me:

"When we arrived in the bustling parking lot where thousands of Deadheads had already gathered, we instantly felt relieved, accepted and embraced. I think we all were feeling homesick during our first week of college. So we, this bunch of strangers, went home together to a place to which none of us had ever been."

That's really it - accepted and embraced. That captures exactly how I feel, whether it was a dead show, a dead & co show, a dead cover band show, etc. You walk in and can finally fucking exhale and let go of the bullshit and just have fun for a few hours among people who you know are feeling the same way you are. Hard to top that feeling.

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No worries Alvarhonso, it's all good. The discussion pushes the topics along and often makes us revisit stuff sometimes yielding entirely different perspectives. ..and it is very subjective.

I should listen to them all again, it has been years since I listened to some of these. Listening to 7/3/78 St Paul as I write this, making this the last Scarlet Fire I have listened to. It sounds mighty fine and the Dancin in the Streets has a little more kick than I remembered. Very tight.

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I enjoyed them all - some were no brainers (#13 - Winterland, Feb 74). Others I'm still surprised at how they stuck with me (#15 - Nashville, 78).

The only ones I don't revisit that much are the fall 71 shows for whatever reason. All great stuff, just not my go-to when I need a fix. I've also been listening to the 1978 box recently - really great stuff, and perhaps the most under rated box set they've ever put out. I still cannot believe it's available...

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That's a lot. Are you sure? Why the hey would Norman do that to those tapes and not others? I'm going to compare it to the 4 cd set from April '71 (Ladies and Gents). I've always considered that one rather chunky bass-wise.

Here's an under-rated pick: DaP 30! Nice booklet with that one! :-)

P.S. My vegetables do come into contact with my potatoes, and Pork Chops sometimes. I never weighed in on that one, but I did think about a whole pork chop dinner (gravy and all) in the blender and passed.

Drinking Hamm’s.

Do they still make that?

About 10-15 years ago Stroh’s was brought back for a summer nostalgia release. Naturally I bought a 6 to relive some glory days of high school circa 86-87 when Stroh’s was being sold in 15- and 30-packs. And for the same price as 12- and 24-packs of competing beers! How could a poor teenager not go for the package with the extra beer?
Anyway that nostalgia Stroh’s was horrendous and I drank less than half a can and gave the rest away.
Buying that in the first place was erroneous thinking on my part.
Lesson learned, don’t go for the nostalgia beer.

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Yes, Norman confessed.
He manipulated the bass a bit too much.

But what about the Winterland 10/74 kick drum?
Some people hate that.

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Next Tuesday the 16th let the guessing game begin!!!!!
I say it's from '79.

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I also whipped out Dap 25 and found the bass problem minor imho. It is still stellar and that He's gone is just sweet. I try to go back and replay some of the past Dap's to get another fresh listen and find that some days it's dependent on my mood. No clue for Dap 31.

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In reply to by wilfredtjones

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He said he boosted the bass because it was low in the mix (an oddity in itself as Owsley made the recording, and he's notorious for bass heavy mixes), and in quieter passages the sound of the bass sounds like an octaver effect, like a MuTron Octave Divider, which Jerry added a few years later along with the MuTron Envelope Filter. I've tried decreasing the bass on my stereo, and on the EQ in the car, but I still hear it. Mr. Norman said he did it on DaP 25 as well, though it is far less noticeable; in fact, had he not said anything, I wouldn't have known. On the Berkeley show, though, it's overwhelming to my ears. It works in the throes of The Other One's feedback jam following Phil's not quite Philo Stomp, but in those quieter songs it distracts me...

To Carlo, I just may find it more distracting because that's usually the main focus of my listening to most music, not just the Dead. I'm similarly irritated by songs where I literally have to strain to hear the bass clearly. I find that an exhausting exercise. It's worse when I'm playing and can't hear it.

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Dap 25 bass enhance is kinda like what they did to smokey and the bandit 25th anniversary dvd when they replaced the bandits car revving engine sound with a different computerized sound for the new age kids watching it. Look it up. It's so weird that they replaced a real motor sound of the actual car to a digitized sound that does not match up with the real deal. Dap 25 was nothing like what they did to the dvd. It was more subtle but still there. No biggie for Norm.

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You are right. I would not have thought it was enhanced if no one said so.

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Almost as good as Veneta. Put it on my gravestone.

As I mentioned earlier, it only took a simple digital playback adjustment for me to all but mute the effect of the bass add-on that Norman did; so with all of the different playback options, equipment types, and audio configurations we all have, I understand better why some people never heard the extra bass, or at least didn't hear enough that it bothered them.

But as for the performance itself, the show kicks complete ass.

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On the heels of the official DaP 31 announcement and the anticipation of the new box set reveal I went a little nutty in a good way. I came across a Road Trips Vol. 1 # 3 Summer 71 with the bonus disc at a decent price on good ol' eBay. I put an on offer on it which was accepted so I managed to add it to my collection. There are some really nice jams on that release and the 7/31/71 Dark Star surprised me.

However many of you on this thread recently talked and raved about the July 78 box again. That is one i did not have and after the latest rounds of discussions I decided I needed to get it I almost bought it several times in the past but I let pass by each time I considered it. With less than 500 left I felt like i could not pass on it any longer. Plus I consider all of you who comment regularly on these threads/pages to be Jedi masters when it come to all things Grateful Dead - dare I say this is Grateful Dead's Jedi council? The bottom line is all of you know what you are talking about so I couldn't pass up a recommendation on that box any longer.

So between July 78, my recent Road Trips acquisition, and Dave's 31 I will be busy. Plus MUATM is on the horizon too. All I need is a Dead and Company fall tour and I will be set. Good times!

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We all should bet on when the first neg. Is placed.

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I don't know KF, Veneta's awfully good ya know! To be honest I have not listened to Berkeley since it came out. I will have to run it back.

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Consult the GD Bulletin that was just sent out.

Now, can I navigate the reCRAPTCHA gauntlet....?

I've always enjoyed reading diverse opinions on things. It's always turned me off if everyone thinks and says the same thing. I read on the back of his biography recently, a quote from Nietzsche, that said words to the effect that convictions are bigger enemies of truth than lies. Its ghastly being with a group of people who all agree with each other all the time. You might as well talk to yourself.

My hope for posts following the announcements of the new releases, especially the box, is that no-one sees fit to remind everyone that their prediction has come true, and that they were right all along.

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In reply to by Gratefulhan

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I'd like to join in with the people who know what they are talking about, and congratulate you on your latest acquisition. Not only are there some stellar shows in this box, the sound quality is supreme too. I wish my guitar sounded like that ! Nice looking box, too.

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Omaha Space that is where it's at.

Enjoy your first forays through the box. Enjoy the artwork, too! :-) Right On!

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Just grabbed the new vinyl for $80 plus tax on Barnes & Noble. Used a 15% member coupon that they sent out. Not a bad deal if you are B&N member....it's in stock, so if all goes well I'll be jamming by this afternoon.........Can't wait!!!!!

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Revisiting the July 78 box. In my opinion, the first show is the gem here, with 7/8 a close second; for me, my appreciation for the rest of the shows depend on whether Bobby overpowers Jerry with out of tune slide or not...for example, the 7/5 Sugaree starts great, then Bob starts playing lead slide louder than Jerry which ruins the whole jam..been trying to accept Slide Bob for decades, still can't stomach it! The two Werewolves are scary...
To be sure, there is some great stuff in there the Eyes and Dancing are flawless.

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