Grateful Dead

Still loving the DaP releases, just wish they would add high quality scans alongside of them... Maybe one day!

....I thought I saw you there!
They opened and closed 12.28 with a Saturday Night sandwich.
That was cool....

Dave, you hit this one out of the park!!!

What we have here is a proof that Brent came to the band prodigiously, understanding this band and their music to the very core.

What we have here is the band playing in such a style as to sweep legions of fans up onto the bus.

I mean it. I've only listened to the first set, and this is as good as it gets. Mickey's weed, Mind Your Head, and a comfortable chair. They are as tight as the best of jazz ensembles, hitting every nuance and detail with absolute precision and playfulness on a groove that is irresistable from the very first. The number of ingenius moments throughout the first set is really countless. A few times, they even take the music out of the auditorium and flirt with the cosmos. This is first rate Grateful Dead. Vol. 31, 12/3/79, is a true deadhead's dream. As my dear friend shared: "we are blessed!"

Thank you so much for choosing this most awesome of shows. Even cooler is that it's an event I never heard mention of before. 12/3/79, Uptown Theater, Grateful Dead playing music's true purpose. Very cool!

I have just received my copy of the latest Garcialive, and noticed that there is not any booklet inside, has anyone else ordered this and should there have been a booklet?
Still waiting for delivery of my DAP 31 in the UK, no mention of extra costs so far...............

Today UPS stand at my door to bring me the new DP. What a surprise as the guy told me that he gets $ 80,00 for transportation. Are you kidding?
Any other German or European Deadhead, who has the same problem?

My copy has a booklet. I bought via amazon.co.uk

UPS came to my door looking for £73.92 for DP 31. I've never paid that much for custom charges on a DP before. Can someone explain to me why I am paying so much?

Like ROBERT I have had UPS at the door showing me DaP31 but I can’t have it unless I hand over £73.92. I have every Dave and Dicks Picks and many GD boxsets so I would like this one but the freight charge is ridiculous. GD/Rhino get it sorted.

Hi, you are being charged so much because GD/Rhino have screwed up the delivery method meaning many, if not all, European customers are being hit individually for an enormously expensive method of sending the CD out of the US.

Several messages on this subject, two from me. An almighty cock-up which is supposedly being investigated.

Like several other people (so far) I have had UPS dropping a demand through my letter box demanding £73.92 in COD charges for shipping. The note has a InfoNotice number on the front (under the barcode) which you can use to give new instructions re delivery. UPS are not yet recognising this number - I will give it to this afternoon and then ring them - but it looks like the package will be heading back to the Rhino warehouse as I do not intend paying this as I have already paid for UK shipping. I have also emailed Dead.Net about this but suspect there will not be much progress here. Advice on other options might be useful if they have proved more sucessful in getting this sorted.

One guy on the Eurotraders email group has been on to UPS about the fees they are attempting to collect. He has been told that his order has been sent by a Free on Board service which means the consignee pays for the transport (along with any customs duties as normal) and that as the client (I.e. Rhino) chose that option then there is nothing UPS can do about and suggest that we contact them to sort it. I’ve not yet heard of anybody actually paying the £73 or euro equivalent elsewhere in Europe so as things stand all the orders will be sitting in UPS warehouses before heading back to the US.

Is that going to be a Rhino release? The Help> Slipknot! on a single track instead of separate tracks indicates a less than official release. But could that be part of the upcoming box?

Regarding my order that has to come to the Netherlands, according to the UPS website just now, my copy is still in Louisville, KY and has been there since 12:14 am on the 27th July. On their site I can also avail myself of the possibility to pay the required 81.88 Euros online to them if I so choose. I have passed on that option. I am quite happy that it is still in the US of A - there is the chance that this will be sorted before a UPS jobsworth comes knocking on my door, tantalizingly waving MY copy of DaP 31 in my face, whilst demanding cash (the exact amount, not a cent more or less) up front. This happened once before with a GD box set and it was painful to watch the guy take it away with him. I subsequently had to pick it up from their depot (fortunately less than 2 miles from my home-work route) where I could pay with my bank card.
I have mailed Dr. Rhino and received the standard automated reply that the poor guy is very busy and could take 5 days to get back to me. I am still waiting, but the 5 days have not yet expired.
I have not received any notification, information or anything else from UPS. On my own initiative I entered my tracking number into their website and it worked. I only discovered that it was sent by UPS from posts on here. In the shipping mail from here it merely said "Shipped by: missing_carr_no:556" which is the same as Daverock mentioned on here earlier and is less than informative.
Is it purely coincidence that UPS trucks are painted shit brown?
The question remains: "How hard is it to post a package?"

So it looks like there are 2 different issues.

The first is that dead.net have messed up and UPS are expecting everyone to pay £74 to receive the package and their package has already made it to the U.K.

The second issue is this PLUS “commercial invoices” are missing so the package can’t even leave the USA at the moment. This is the situation I’m in. Had a reply from Dr Rhino on Friday that they will sort it but I don’t have a clue how long that will take

I’m really digging on this new Dave’s pick(31), I feel like with more and more listens it’s only going to get better and better! I love the part in scarlet >fire where it sounds like your actually at the show and went to the bathroom or something, I literally felt like I was stumbling around, lol! I’m only 33 so I never got to see the dead but goddamn I can still feel it and appreciate it like I was! I’m going to see Herbie Hancock and kamasi Washington next month so I’m still privileged but it would have been nice to see the dead in the 70s, King crimson in the fall & they are on fucking fire!mucho musico! Im also on a June 76 kick 🔥 🔥 🔥 💀!
So I think 🤔 maybe David glasser made a heady donation to a record store... i walk into a little record shop, small place and have my face unexpectedly ripped off; road picks, Dave’s picks, dicks picks & most of the box sets in mint condition and a sign saying they have Dave’s, dicks & road trips complete for 2 grand each except rt 1200, holy shit! And I ask what the fuck! During dead and co some guy comes in and donates all of it ! Free of charge, just to show support for local independent record stores! Only a Grateful Dead fan would be that awesome, nice , generous and all around heady like that, I fucking love it!but yeah it might have been David glasser ,who knows, reason I say that is because the store is in boulder, idk just a hunch. I walked away with road trips v4#5 boston 6/9/76. Love it!( I’m listening to daP31 scarlet fire before work this morning and I just hit the part I was speaking of earlier. yeah man!

Hey CaseyJane I’ll muster up the energy to possibly give my thoughts on dead and co. I went to the first two years of Folsom field and loved it:) but on Jerry’s 75th at red rocks with bob weir and John Mayer surprised guest joined them it was bad in a not good way, like really bad and ever since I can’t stand Mayer’s voice, amazing guitar player but his voice is that much of a turn off for me, I mean thats pretty much it in a nutshell but I could write a couple paragraphs on my thoughts about dead and co and particularly the Folsom $how$!but I won’t!

I paid the UPS ransom (£73.92), but it would be nice to get a refund or discount off future purchases!

[According to the UPS invoice, £73.92 breaks down as £67.66 Freight and £6.26 Freight Charges.]

Following on from the experience of others, according to the UPS tracking information, my copy has made it to the UK but is now on hold with the following message: "Your package has been delayed due to a Government regulatory agency hold". No contact from UPS demanding any shipping fees yet, but I guess it is only a matter of time.
Ian

is coming sometime
maybe"

- Johnny Dosin'

Can't believe I slept on this! One of my favorite eras. If anyone managed to snag an extra, please let me know. Glad to know it sounds as good as it looks!

Thanks for the info Colin,
seems like Rhino can't get anything right, came home just now and found a UPS missed delivery card with a demand for £73.91p, they can but dream on...........

Have any Canadian heads had similar (or dissimilar) issues regarding UPS and shipping charges? I received a shipping notice Friday night, which includes tracking info for UPS. So far, all it says is "Label Created" and that the package is ready for UPS. I presume that's good, since UPS don't have it in their greedy little hands yet. This extortionate scheme that's being pulled with European heads is infuriating!

can cause a lot of issues

Sydney, you are being expected to pay UPS just over $90 for that ish.

What duphuq.

It's 2019, not 1819, UPS. automated everything now, wind-driven ships then.

my sympathies, SP.

UPS: U Peessa $#!+. "What can Brown do for you?" lmfao

Phil - on the road right now and don’t have time to comment in full but I’m wondering if you could clarify your stance which I fully respect. Did you like D&C, which included Mayer, up until Jerry’s 75th birthday show and then got turned off? Bad show or performance that night maybe? Just curious b/c your comments seemed like you may have enjoyed it before. Again, I know some folks don’t care for him and to each their own. I will comment more on John later, but I will say that he has earned my respect and appreciation and I think the rest of the band likes playing with him.

...I’ve been listen’n To this latest pick for about a week now and I can’t get enough of it yet!
I love everything about this Pick from the art production to the Mix, PRIMO! Love my 1979 Grateful Dead. I’ve been a fan of 1979 since the first Dicks Picks 79’ Release was offered to the masses/fans! I’m just guessing here but I think Dick L. was a fan of 79’ as well! It’s such a great year for/from the band, musicianship is A+++, Brent is the Man and the cause, I believe, why the band was on Fire during this time period in history and this performance is all the proof I need, well, maybe not all the proof; all the other Grateful Dead 79’ releases are top shelf for me. I’m gonna take another full listen and I’m going to make some notes this time about all the songs performed... rock on my brothers & sisters! Peace be with you all... 🙏❤️😎 my Daves Picks 31 is #7374! LOL, Another of my two favorite eras/ years in the Dead’s History!!!!
Have a grateful day everyone...

PS: yes, I think John Mayer finally found his footing in the band this last TOUR. The Citi Field concert was a grateful time indeed plus John was given the privilege to play Jerry Garcias guitar, “The Wolf”, such a beautiful sounding guitar. John had her wailing for sure that evening!

Yes, that's right Stoltzfus,
I have just spent 20 mins on the phone trying to get some answers from UPS inquires at Middlesex, England, apparently, this is import taxes, I challenged them on this, and demanded an explanation as to why an £89 outlay would result in a £74 tax bill and was put on hold and then told it wasn't and it is a one-off delivery charge for Volume 31, it does not include delivery for Volume 32, nice money if you can get it! Dick Turpin would be proud.

Don't see a response to your query regarding Disc 2. I don't notice any popping, etc. on playback during those time intervals so probably a disc issue. Have you checked to see if any dust/scratches on surface? Have you played it back on another disc player for comparison?

In the end, if its a disc, email Dr. Rhino for a replacement and I'm sure it'll get taken care of.

Good luck.

When I posted yesterday, I mentioned that I’d refused to pay the charges and from reading today’s posts it seems that several others have done the same. My reasoning is that undelivered packages, uncollected charges, unfulfilled orders and unhappy customers is a significantly bigger problem for Rhino/USPS than unhappy customers. Hopefully this might drive a solution.

Yes, as someone further down on this forum page noted, UPS has confirmed that the £73 charge is entirely for shipping and this seems to be the case for all European orders ( and beyond?) I’ve heard nothing back yet from dead.net but I don’t think they have a leg to stand on over this - if you charge for transit then you are responsible for those costs. The only charges we are liable for on top are customs duties and taxes incurred on import. I’ve emailed UPS about stopping them trying to deliver and get the money off me since the InfoNotice number is still not recognised by them but have heard nothing back - there seems to be a pattern developing here! We shall see what happens tomorrow. Those who have not yet been hit by the charge can use the tracking number listed on the despatch notice from dead.net (assuming you got one of course) to find out where your order is via the UPS website - do not rely on an email from UPS alerting you to charges, I never got one.

New releases come out on Tuesdays, so I'm hoping for the announcement tomorrow...
DaP 31: Good show...no, excellent show! Not impressed with the mastering though, heard better soundboard sources. Just my opinion after a coupla' listens...

Thanks, I was suspecting that was the case as after posting I examined the disc closer and discovered a long, thin scratch on the outer portion of the disc. Other than that, I am really liking this release.

I live in New York City and my mail box is still empty and my email box still has no shipping notice? Although, having said that, I have received the Dave's before without a shipping notice but only rarely. My postman arrives very late.

To European fans: My heart goes out to you with those Big Government Rip-Off service charges! Some days I think governments can become like organized crime rackets: Shakedown Street! Get the pitchforks ready. . .. TicketMaster is going to get it too! Ouch!

Just back from a weekend in the lakes region of NH and happy to find DaP 31 in today's mail. Cracked it right open , queued it up and started reading DL's always enjoyable liner notes. All was just exactly perfect until I stumbled on another reference to Garcia's new Wolf guitar. I saw that in DL's 7/16 announcement and chalked it up to typo and excitement about sharing the news.

I'm sure others have commented about this in the thread, but if I'm not mistaken, Wolf was hardly new in '79 and had been supplanted for the most part by Tiger starting in late summer of '79. And the CD case and liner notes photos clearly show Garcia playing Tiger.

In the grand scheme of things, it's a minor detail...but it's kinda surprising a mistake like this escaped author and proofreaders alike...still gonna enjoy it because, well, it's the back end of my favorite period and of course, too much of everything is just enough.

Actually Deadegad, the state is not to blame over these huge COD charges, there seems to be no indication of any taxes or customs charges being levied. The blame lies with Rhino for choosing this international despatch option and UPS for having these mail rates. As mentioned below the £73 is entirely for transit costs incurred under the option chosen by someone in Rhino. BTW has anyone outside of the US and Europe been hit by similar charges?

I'd be interested to hear what he is like live. I have been enjoying Harmony of Difference and Heaven and Earth over the last year-and I'll bet this music really sparkles live. If you get another chance to see King Crimson-don't pass it by-as good now as they have ever been.

I haven't had any visits from UPS yet with my Dave's Picks, and I haven't spent much tine trying to track it-not really my style. Suffice to say, I ain't paying them a bean. Maybe when I hear the knock on the door I'll snatch it off him and slam the door shut.

This is a great show from this era of the GD and a super solid release in the Dave's series. I think the overall sound quality is excellent for Healy cassette masters from that time, with the instrument levels, balance, and sound stage generally about as good as it gets. Vocals perhaps a touch forward - so be it. Solid crunchy Phil dialed in within a few songs, which to me is critical. All the roar and subtly of Jerry's guitar is there - I was blown away by some exquisite Jerry guitar work, crazy fills, in the first set. There is an audience patch in Fire (right before and leading into 2nd verse I think), and while never ideal, it's sort of like time traveling to that beautiful old Uptown Theatre in full lift off mode. Yeah, I noticed a little hiss back deep in the left channel in quiet parts Disc 2 (e.g. parts of drums)- no big deal, fact of life. Given that these are cassette masters this is straight up gold. For the record, playback first time through was with an OWC Mercury Pro external optical drive > desk top > beloved Sennheiser HD 595 headphones. Full disclosure - this was my second show, but I'm not biased in any way : )

Some Uptown "history" - I seem to remember that the last concert (or very close to it) played in the Uptown before it shut down was the Jerry Garcia Band 11/17/81 - felt like the balcony might come down it was shaking so hard. Friend in CO (originally Chicago area) told me later that he heard the GD were looking into booking a final 3 night run Dec. 81, to close out the venue, and he would have traveled for it, but it never came off and instead they played 1 night in Chicago area, 12/6/81, their first concert in the Rosemont Horizon. End of an era for Chicago heads. Amazing that the Uptown was never torn down all these years. Hoping to see it in full restored glory.

Once again - love the cover art for this one!!

Hope that overseas shipping snafu gets solved quickly.

Best to everybody. Enjoy the show!!

I've been listening to 31 this weekend. I agree the vocals are hotter than the instruments, and when you can just turn up the jams, it sounds pretty fine. One caveat: Where's Weir? His guitar is WAY low in the mix, I find myself really enjoying the jams, and thinking it sure would be nice to her Bobby in this fine sounding mix.

Sons of Champlin - a great band from the 60's and 70's. I grew up in the SF bay area, so I saw this band several times, and had a couple of their albums - 'Welcome to the Dance' comes to mind.

Almost time for the Meet-up...and announcement of the box. I'm excited!

I felt that I could hear Bob's guitar fine when focused on it: perhaps a touch low, but once again its all about the nature of the source tapes so maybe never exactly perfect. Headphones make a big difference for me on some releases, this one included.

So - along with everyone else (at least in the UK) it seems I have two choices - pay £73.92 extra or wave goodbye to DP31.... speaking as someone with an entire run of Daves/Dicks/Road Trips.... its sad but I really cannot afford that amount... and OK so it isnt your fault at GD Central but - I reckon its time for us to part company - which is a real sad state of affairs....

This show seems an odd one to release but does have the history of being the final NYE show. I went to the first two of the run and 12-27 was rather forgettable except for the rain outside. 12-28 was quite good and I think the best of the run. UJB > PITB > Same Thing was really good! A fun show indeed.

Well actually SMix it is the fault of dead Central or to be more precise the despatch section at Rhino. They decided to use a service that involved additional costs for transit being charged to us. By rights they should resend the items using a service that doesn’t involve this huge add-on. However yes I see your point that if they are going from now on to charge us in advance for international despatch and then charge again, thereby pocketing the original fee included in the order price, then yes I can see no way that I can order goods again from dead.net and will be pushing for the refund of the unused part of my subscription.

Can I just echo Steve Jones, who I'm sure is reflecting the feelings of the majority of, if not all UK subscribers, and say I also will not just be refusing receipt of DP31, but in addition requesting a refund of the balance of my subscriptions for both Dave's Picks and the 7" series.

£73.00 additional postage for one item, when I spent less than that - only £59.00 - on the new Dylan Rolling Thunder 14 CD box!!

We've had this type of 'cock up' previously, but this one has the potential to be a 'goodwill breaker'!!

I’ve received this from Rhino, presumably others have received similar emails.

Thank you for your email.

I am very sorry to hear that you are being charged a delivery fee, for your copy of Dave's Picks Volume 31.

I have brought this issue to the attention of our warehouse and our operations team.

We are working with UPS to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

I will update you on our progress as soon as possible.

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Dr. Rhino

For the first time, it works out cheaper to buy Dave's Picks release (VOL 31) on eBay than it will cost me here at deadnet, not that I intend to, but just an observation.
Please, can we get this mess sorted out, it has certainly cast a dark cloud over the excitement of the forthcoming boxset and indeed this '79 long-awaited release.

That is all, Stay Grateful my friends...

I might be being naïve, but I am expecting this issue to get resolved, and for normal service to be resumed. If nobody pays these absurd charges, and everyone contacts Dr Rhino for the discs to be sent out again using the same system that has been used over the last few years, then hopefully we will eventually receive what we have paid for without extra cost.
If this does not happen, then I too will be asking for a refund of the monies spent on this and the remaining discs and, as I have said before, will stop subscribing.

This means that it would be impractical to order the upcoming box set, too. Its lucky the Fillmore West vinyl box sets are available via Amazon UK.

..when I hear the cluster* unfold for our good friends in Europe. I hope this tale has a happy ending, I can't help but feel this is just a giant mistake or just a massive oversight of some sort.

uchk.. I hate train wrecks in slow motion.

Speaking of trains, anyone know any good train songs? Heard the Ballad of Casey Jones and Big RR Blues on the river today. Got to paddle with whitewater royalty including a 12 year old down the fabulous Upper Yough who is already better than I ever was or ever will be. The world has changed.. hey, weren't we talking about disrespectful youth earlier in the thread? :P

I just received Vol 31...anyone else NOT have a limited edition number printed on the back of the packaging? Is this the new style now - “You got in the limited edition window, but we’re not going to let you know which ‘limited edition’ number you have.”

Its such a low number, its invisible!

Hang in there brothers across the pond Dr. Rhino is a good guy he will help out.

I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill...