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    clayv
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    Hold on to your hat, we're coming in strong with one from the Windy City that'll have you movin' and shakin' from start to finish. DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 31: UPTOWN THEATRE, CHICAGO, IL 12/3/79 signals a true rebirth of the Grateful Dead, reimagining classics and foreshadowing their 80s sound. This is as much in part due to freshly-minted member Brent Mydland bringing the organ back in as it is to Jerry finding new vivacity with his custom Wolf guitar. New guy, new guitar - it all makes for a heck of a good time!

    Set One rolls like never-ending thunder with one standout after another - truly epic versions of "Brown-Eyed Women," "Ramble On Rose," "It's All Over Now," "Althea," and "The Music Never Stopped." Set Two hits with a crack of not-so-lazy lightning, barreling through an outrageous 28-minute "Scarlet>Fire" to a unique “Lost Sailor>Saint of Circumstance” and wrapping with a "blow the roof off the place" version of "Truckin'" and a rippin' "Johnny B. Goode." Ready for some quiet after the storm? You'll have to wait a just a little bit longer - we've filled in the gap on Disc 3 with a sprinkle of 12/4/79 - "Estimated>Franklin's Tower>" and an incredibly improvised “Jam.”

    Limited to 20,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 31: UPTOWN THEATRE, CHICAGO, IL 12/3/79 has been mastered from Dan Healy's cassette recordings to HDCD specs by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering.

    GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

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  • stoltzfus
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    This here DaP31

    is mighty fine. how can some people not like this?

    It's Grateful Dead.

  • Steve Jones
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    Ledded

    Actually just a point here that you should not be charged VAT on books being posted from the US to the UK - they are VAT free. Meanwhile still no movement on the shipping charge problem...

  • Thats_Otis
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    Whew! We've got a HOT one!

    Finished my first full listen to Dave's 31, and I love it even more than I thought I was going to.

    Overall SOLID set 1, with BEW, Ramble, Althea being my standouts. Interesting take on Jack-a-Roe too. Oh, and It's All Over Now is grooving too :)

    The Scarlet>Fire is INTENSE... definitely a contender for best so far in the series, and I am fully aware that there are some really good ones (looking at you, Mosque!) The Terrapin is played at a glacial, almost Dead and Co. pace, but I really love Jerry's singing on it. I was a little let down with the Playin'. Like Dave, I too am a HUGE fan of this tune, but this one just left me a little cold. I'll give it some more attention and I'm sure I'll find something to love about it.

    For me though, it's all about Disc 3... the groovy short Space into Lost Sailor>Saint. TBH, I am not a big Sailor fan, but I really like this one... maybe it's the placement in the set, or maybe it's because it's a new tune, but Bobby and the boys deliver a very strong performance, and I liked it more than any other version I've heard. The Saint is a rager (as usual,) and the Wharf Rat is incredible. Some folks mentioned that Jerry sounds tired, but I think he sings the hell out of Wharf Rat - so nuanced and vulnerable sounding... I don't know. Jerry really seems to be on to me. Not sure what other folks were hearing. Anyway... then, the transition to Truckin'. Jaw. On. Floor. The climax of Truckin' is absolutely thundering! MUST PLAY IT LOUD! JBG is a great capper to a great set... then there's the awesome bonus material with that once off Jam! Yeah... Disc 3 is worth the price alone on this baby. Happy to have it in the collection.

    I was really feeling that Dave's 32 was going to be 91,... maybe Halloween, or one of the September Boston Garden shows to go with Dick's 17, but now that the box set has been announced as a later-era release, I'm wondering if Dave is going to go back and release a 68 show or two. There was some discussion around these parts about three discs being the perfect length for two of those shorter 68 shows... that would be a nice way to round out this grateful year!

    For some reason, MUATM isn't playing in Baltimore until the 15th... got my ticket though. Not sure why I've got to wait an extra two weeks, but oh well. Glad to hear it was a good time for those who went!

    Peace

  • Colin Gould
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    Overseas delivery

    Ledded
    Previous DaP have been delivered to me from Europe. I assume Rhino bulk shipped them to there and then they were all sorted and posted on. I’m sure Rhino could explain if they look at these comments. The latest disc was sent unpaid for directly from the US using UPS.

    Dennis
    There can be import tax and/or value added tax (VAT) added to an order into the UK from the US together with a handling charge. These taxes are related to the value of the item in the package, if the value is low then no charge is made. I don’t have a problem with these tax charges. However, having paid for international delivery with the original order I don’t expect to be hit with freight charges of £73.92. None of this charge relates to government taxes.

  • Dennis
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    Ledded

    Not anywhere near expert, but I thought I understood there was a value tax added to items regardless of where and who they come from. We have a friend who mails stuff to her kid in England. She sends him books she has read and he has to pay a tax when he gets them, regardless of it being a present from mom.

    True? Don't know for sure, I'm sure those across the water know.

  • LedDed
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    Shipping nightmares, etc.

    It occurs to me that someone here who works from home or has the extra time on their hands and could use a modest handling fee should set up an independent reseller network for our good friends overseas who are continually getting hosed on shipping.

    I buy stuff from people on ebay, amazon, etc. all the time and I have never had trouble receiving parcel post (USPS) deliveries from places like Germany, England, Russia, and even China. Sure, it can take a week or two, but it's cheap and reliable.

    Someone could set up a PayPal account, have this person order your Dave's subscription, box set, etc., have it shipped to their location in the U.S., then take it to the good ol' post office and send it overseas that way.

    Clearly, there has to be a better way.

  • Colin Gould
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    Still no sign of a resolution

    I have seen the envelope containing my copy 3 times as UPS asked if I wanted to pay £73.92 to get it. I said no each time. The UPS tracking still shows the charge needing to be paid. There have now been two working days in the US since the assurance that the problem was being addressed. Let’s hope something is done today or the weekend will intervene. I don’t imagine UPS are going to keep the item forever so I wonder what happens next?

  • simonrob
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    Good news from the Netherlands...

    The bad news arrived this afternoon in the form of an invoice from UPS for the freight charge of EUR 81.88. Checking the UPS tracking site, that charge was still up there, the package had left Louisville, KY and was on a transatlantic flight and it should be delivered on Monday.

    The inevitable phone call to UPS was a somewhat long-winded affair starting with explaining the situation to an Irishman and, having got nowhere, ending with me telling him that I would not accept the package if I had to pay that freight charge. This seemed to spook him and he transferred me to a much more affable Dutch woman. After another lengthy explanation including quoting "This issue is now in the process of being resolved and we (Rhino) will be paying the UPS delivery fee associated with your Dave’s Picks Volume 31 shipment." from the recent customer service mail that I had received, she then seemed to discover the relevant piece of data from somewhere because she then told me that the package was on its way from Louisville, KY and would be delivered to me on Monday FREE OF CHARGE. I then asked if that meant I could ignore the invoice and was told that this was indeed the case.

    Now I will have to wait and see what Monday brings. I will be at work all day but my dear wife will be at home to receive the goods. You can be quite sure that she won't give anybody a cent for a Grateful Dead CD. I won't tell her what it is or she might refuse it.

  • Numb
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    31

    ....thought that’s what this board was for.

    Oh, that pocket in Its All Over Now! Are there other versions of this song I need to hear?

  • BillN
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    So much for my hopes. My…

    So much for my hopes. My copy is now in a UPS collection point 10 minutes walk away, still with £73 to pay.

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6 years 6 months

Hold on to your hat, we're coming in strong with one from the Windy City that'll have you movin' and shakin' from start to finish. DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 31: UPTOWN THEATRE, CHICAGO, IL 12/3/79 signals a true rebirth of the Grateful Dead, reimagining classics and foreshadowing their 80s sound. This is as much in part due to freshly-minted member Brent Mydland bringing the organ back in as it is to Jerry finding new vivacity with his custom Wolf guitar. New guy, new guitar - it all makes for a heck of a good time!

Set One rolls like never-ending thunder with one standout after another - truly epic versions of "Brown-Eyed Women," "Ramble On Rose," "It's All Over Now," "Althea," and "The Music Never Stopped." Set Two hits with a crack of not-so-lazy lightning, barreling through an outrageous 28-minute "Scarlet>Fire" to a unique “Lost Sailor>Saint of Circumstance” and wrapping with a "blow the roof off the place" version of "Truckin'" and a rippin' "Johnny B. Goode." Ready for some quiet after the storm? You'll have to wait a just a little bit longer - we've filled in the gap on Disc 3 with a sprinkle of 12/4/79 - "Estimated>Franklin's Tower>" and an incredibly improvised “Jam.”

Limited to 20,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 31: UPTOWN THEATRE, CHICAGO, IL 12/3/79 has been mastered from Dan Healy's cassette recordings to HDCD specs by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering.

GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

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I’ve just spoken to UPS who said that have had no info from dead.net whatsoever and the package will be returned to sender after 10 days

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In reply to by dtuck90

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I’ve just had the following update from UPS:

The status of your package has changed.
Exception Reason: The apartment number is either missing or incorrect. This may delay delivery. We're attempting to update the address.
Exception Resolution: Delivery will be rescheduled.
At the request of Anonymous, this notice alerts you that the status of the shipment listed below has changed.

Since they have attempted delivery three time I don’t see how they think they had the wrong address!
The website still demands £73.92 before it will be released. Let’s hope that changes as well.

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Just found a note from ups in my mail box: they want 81.88 Euros, that is about 85 US Dollars, just for delivery costs.
feels like I am in the totally wrong picture, a very strange and crazy one.
looks like nothing has been fixed yet.
somebody has to do something. please marye, perhaps you can help us. dr. rhino must have failed.

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Please let us know when this is ironed out! I have mine, but I'm still waiting to open it until everyone has theirs!

By the way, I have sealed copies of a few DaP's and various other releases and would entertain trade offers. I am looking for mainly Jerry releases, especially Bay Area and Keane College.

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In reply to by wilfredtjones

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I wonder if someone checked the wrong box on the shipping slip? Or if it was left blank and the UPS default is Next Day or something weird? This sounds like something that might one day have to be litigated.. a snafu on a grand scale to be sure...

Looking at the market, this link seemed appropriate:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSTxdmaH2Q4

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Greetings Fellow Heads,

Just want to chime in that I have been enjoying Dave's 31 so far. The first set is smoking in my opinion and the second set has some nice moments as well. I have enjoyed the Terrapin, Playin and Wharf Rat. The filler is also really nice and glad they included that. All Over Now had my kids up and dancing which is always fun.
I've always enjoyed shows from Fall 79.

I'm glad we're getting some shows from the Brent era. Brents organ playing added so much to their sound. Nice to hear on this show.

I hope folks here caught the movie last week. I was blown away by the show and the recording. Awesome musical vibe in that show. Really moving to see Jerry and the band playing at that level in the 90s - the era when I was able to see them. I really enjoyed the meet up. "Make America Grateful Again"

My request for Dave's Picks - A Shakedown Street. We are 31 picks into the series and no Shakedown.
Used to be the heart of the town Dave!

Another great year of music here for me. Excellent picks in the series this year. 77 pick is an all timer and the 70 pick has tons of great music. I will be subscribing again.

Listen loud!!

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Same for me today. UPS wants me to pay EUR 81,18 for shipping, taxes etc.
Mailed DrRhino last Friday regarding the additional costs and got an answer
that they needed 5 days to come back to me due to huge requests.
Think DrRhino will sort this out during this week so all of us Euroheads will
get their copy without paying extra costs.
By the way: DP30 arrived 3 days after release date with UPS and no extra costs.
Feels the post service is like a setlist in the good old day: Never played the same
setlist twice and you don't know what song coming next.
Ups: No robot today

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UPS brought my copy of Dave's Pick 31 today here in York, in the UK, and asked for £73.00.
I refused so the package is back with them.

Clearly Rhino and Deadnet are far from getting this sorted.

Faulty discs on DP 30, now this, doubt very much whether I'll be renewing my subscription this year.

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In reply to by Billy de Lyon

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I don't think anyone wants to sort out getting the European DP31 Delivered. Is everyone on holiday?

Tried phone calls. e-mails and tweets.

Looking at the thread there is a common problem.

Don't UPS and Rhino have any goodwill?

That's a kind gesture. I am sure I am speaking for all European Deadheads, though, who haven't received Dave's Picks 31 yet, when I say I would be more happy if you played the copy you have, and brought back the good news from the other side. Or bad, as the case may be. Someone somewhere is always listening to The Dead.

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Listened a second time to DaP 31 and this time I was less impressed by the first set, but it had its own groove. The rest of the performance I still feel is spotty, without its own groove. Not quite as sloppy as my first listen (the music, that is) but a better Jer showing than I heard first go 'round. It goes on the shelf, doubt I'll listen again.

As stated previously, if 3 of 4 annual Picks are solid, I'm okay with the third pick being kinda lame. Though that sort of pattern -- a plan for sub-par show releases -- is not encouraging.

Dave -- I think the plan for 20 more years of DaPs is too ambitious. Why not scale it back to 10 years? Between the DaP series and boxes, that's another 100 shows!

In citing other very hot '79 shows, I'd note that 8-12-79 (Red Rocks) is in the vault, as Estimated from that show was offered on So Many Roads. The next night, though at McNichols Arena due to rain, was also very hot. (Monster opening Shakedown.) With the July '78 Red Rocks shows out and the August '78 Red Rocks shows largely a bust -- they had been recording, not performing -- there's only 8-12-79 for screaming shows from Red Rocks. The '80s at the Rocks had their moments, but the tapes may not hold up soundwise.

So... how's about an 8-12-79 Red Rocks in the DaPs next year??? Talkin' to you, Dave.

Please and thanks!

If you made it this far, I turn 62 in two weeks, and my first show was 9-19-72.

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Well, one of the two copies was delivered to my address in Nottingham while I was away but the other is being held in their warehouse. No reason given or request for payment - I supposedly paid for both copies but my credit card has not been charged. Go figure! I said to a friend that I wouldn’t be buying the new box and he just laughed. He obviously knows me better than I do myself as an hour or so later there I was typing out my order. My better judgement goes out the window.

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Does that count? :-)

I can't feel good enjoying it when someone is being deprived of it arbitrarily. You are tempting me though! :-)

When I start to hear reports of them landing to overseas customers, I will open my copy 1 of 2.

Question is, should I open the low number one or the high number one? :-)

P.S. Thanks, Dennis :-)

P.S.S. Still open to kind trades...

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is indeed hard at work on this exceedingly not just exactly perfect issue.
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In reply to by marye

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Marye

Glad to hear it. Could the dr take the time to post an update of what they are doing? A timescale would be good. I don’t mind if my cd has to be repatriated to the US as long as it is then sent back to me. It’s the lack of information that is unacceptable.

God forbid they start putting tariffs on GD music, might start a revolution. Let's hope it never comes to that. :D

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Yes, 2nd has arrived no charges. I got a miracle. Now just the small matter of listening to it.

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In reply to by frankparry

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UPS have just delivered my copy. Envelope show C.O.D. paid in a hand written note. I hope everyone else in Europe will see theirs soon.
It is actually numbered #8360. Now all I need to do is listen to it!
Thanks for sorting the problem. Try to learn from it and really try to communicate better.
And so to the CD player.

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In reply to by Colin Gould

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Just had notification UPS have made their final attempt to deliver. (I thought they were supposed to make 3 attempts??)

Great news that people have had theirs just sad I’m stuck now

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Well, I finally got my demand from UPS, 1030 Swedish kronor.
Daves still not here, it was held up in Kentucky, like others here, awaiting missing commercial invoice. Was then told it would be delivered yesterday,all day it was shown on its way to me, then it was stopped(?), and is languishing in a UPS facility/ warehouse. The nice lady at UPS says she has frozen the invoice and turned the payment demand back to sender(?) Hmmm, we will see.
One thing is for sure, IF it turns up, I am not opening it till I am sure that its sorted, I am not paying, and would rather it returned to Rhino, but the fact that some of you others seem to be getting thiers gives me some hope....all this for a Daves, from an era that I dont even like!
It would be interesting to know, but is of course unknowable, how this has impacted pre orders for the new box set.

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UPS tried to deliver to me this morning (in Scotland), but were still demanding the £72+ shipping charge. I ain’t paying, so it’s gone away again....I have just emailed Dr Rhino for the fourth time. Not happy....

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Lucky anyone in the UK who has this. Following the tracking on this today I found that UPS had sent it to the UK where it was received but then returned it to Louisville, Kentucky because there was a problem with the invoice?????? It is I see still there
Delivery to my address was never tried, and I notice there are freight (not duty)charges of £78.32 to pay (GBP).
What is going on, I have already paid for freight on order.

Its out for delivery today. But I have just checked tracking and I am still expected to pay £73 plus. I have phoned UPS and explained that the shipper will meet the charges. They told me they have had no notification from them, and that unless they do, or I pay up on delivery, then they will not give me the cds.

So dear Dr Rhino...please make that call!

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Well, It seems some people have at least received correspondence from deliverers (good or bad). However HERE in the wilds of North Yorkshire, I await in non-blissful ignorance. Just the e-mail from Dr Rhino to say all has been taken care of. However it appears that is a long way from the reality of the situation. Here's hoping the resolution is quick and painless.

As I said earlier, mine has arrived. UPS showed a charge up to the moment of delivery. I have had no contact from DrRhino since 31st July. We are out gardening between the rain showers so I haven’t played it yet. Hope everyone gets theirs soon.

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In reply to by Colin Gould

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Just out of interest does your tracking say delivered?

I’m just thinking mine actually might be at home and couldn’t be marked as delivered because the charge was still showing as pending.

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In reply to by dtuck90

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DTUCK90

I’ve just checked. UPS tracking tells me it has been delivered.

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UPS have just tried to deliver the Dave's Picks Vol.31 package and asked for £73 + for import duties ; which I refused to pay . So UPS now have "my copy" until further notice or whenever this problem is resolved ??
Anybody received any info or assistance from anybody who should know better ????

from Jon in the NW of England

Same here, UPS have just knocked on my door with the package and asked for £73.00. I explained why I wasn't paying it and he took it away again. He said he would probably be back tomorrow and again the day after-and if I didn't pay or the matter wasn't resolved, then it would be returned to sender.

My email to Dr Rhino was met with a standar reply saying he would be back to me within 5 working days. So not good.

I received my copy of Dave's Pick's Vol 31 on the1st August but paid the £73.92 requested from UPS as I didn't want the risk of the package getting damaged by continually being taken away if I didn't pay.
I have emailed Dr Rhino with the order number & tracking number but the automatic email reply says he needs 5 working days to get back to me. Has anyone else paid the UPS charge & are now trying to get their money back?

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In reply to by Carry On Grate…

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UPS tried to deliver mine twice - 31st July and 1st August - both times asking for the £73.92 to be paid. Explained to them that Rhino had said in an email to me on 30th July that they would pay the outstanding charge.
However as of today (6th August) they have not, so my copy is being held in the UPS Dundee warehouse with the tracking message saying "Your package will be held at a warehouse until it is released by the clearance agency." Getting a daily e-mail & SMS from UPS saying the same thing.
I e-mailed Dr Rhino a couple of days ago asking when I could expect the payment to be made but have had no response as yet.
All very frustrating, especially after Vol 30 was sent by the same method and arriving with me from Louisville KY less than 3 days later with no extra charges.

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I just spoke to UPS who said they are aware of the general problem. The shipper made a mistake and only paid for the shipment to a certain point, so UPS are trying to recover from us unpaid shipping charges. UPS says the sender is fixing the issue and paying the bill, whereupon credit notes will be issued aganst the invoices we have recveived and presumably those who have paid will be reimbursed. I have managed to get a case number with the billing department to follow up, but getting this far with UPS has taken a long time. Just like the old days when just about every Dead Net order was a screw up. I'm still in a good mood though after a great weekend at the UK Summer of Love Party and great performances by the Grateful Dudes, Barry Melton, Here and Now, Crooked Weather and many more. CB.

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Just got off the phone to UPS who said now they’ve made their final delivery attempt they send a notification to the shipper asking what should happen to the package now i.e. should it be delivered or returned to sender. They said if they don’t hear off the shipper within 10 calendar days then the package will be “abandoned” which I’m assuming means it will be destroyed

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In reply to by cosmicbadger

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I remember seeing them several times, they used to have free entry to their gigs and then ask for donations to keep them on the road. I think they played with Daevid Allan on the Floating Anarchy tour, we saw it in Liverpool University and got DA to sign the album that we had bought that day. He signed it Divided Alien! I remember them at Eric’s club. This is probably around ‘78 or ‘79 iirc.

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re: ..."then the package will be “abandoned” which I’m assuming means it will be destroyed" ...

Careful with your verbiage there fellow!.... I think you are beginning to frighten some of us!

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what a clusterfu*k, so sorry all you deadheads across the pond, now, if Rhino or deadnet would at least acknowledge the fact that they screwed up, that would be something, but nothing, nada, zip from them, why?
Ooooh Barry Melton, bet that was cool, did he do any old Fish tunes? How's he looking these days. Always loved his guitar work.

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In reply to by Colin Gould

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I saw Here and Now with Daevid Allen on that Floating Anarchy tour too. I saw them at Huddersfield Polytechnic. In fact I have still got the magazine they gave out on the night, full of anti establishment polemic, cartoons and assertions that hippies and punks were actually one and the same. I also remember seeing them at the Deeply Vale Free festival in either 1976 or 1977.

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If you don't know about the UK Summer of Love Party then maybe you should. Here and Now were brilliant on Saturday evening. Barry Melton comes most years to our party; he is recovering from a nasty back injury and does not move around so well, but he played an acoustic set with Stephan Misri including Mojo Navigator from the Fish days and played some Dinosaurs numbers with the Green Ray. UK Dead Tribute Band the Grateful Dudes were outstanding on Saturday night. If you want to come next year let me know.

Hope they get this sorted out. Maybe offer you guys free Int'l shipping for either the Giant Box or next year's DaP Subscription for all the pain and suffering.

If this is happening for other WMG shipments, I wonder what the shipping charge is for the Big 'Ole Woodstock 50th complete recordings boxset...

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In reply to by dtuck90

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If they had any sense they would ‘abandon’ it at your front door.

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In reply to by daverock

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Per your suggestions I checked out a few live songs on YouTube.
Reminded me of Traffic.
I can see why the jazz crowd might not like Soft Machine.

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Having received an assurance from UPS Customer Service last Friday that my package would be delivered Monday and that I wouldn't have to pay anything, I was somewhat disappointed that nobody was home when they tried to deliver it and a small form was posted in my mailbox which stated that I could collect it from my local UPS Access Point on payment of EUR 81.88. Another long call to UPS Customer Service ended with me being told that the invoice that I had received last Friday would be sent the the sender (Rhino) and that I could collect the package without having to pay anything. Of course, when I tried to collect it today, the EUR 81.88 freight charge remained and if I wanted my package I would have to pay. The first thing that I can take from this is that UPS Customer Service are a bunch of bullshitters who probably told me what I wanted to hear just to get me off the line. The second thing is the folks at Rhino / WMG do not seem to making much, if any, progress in sorting this out. It is now a week since I received the last mail from WMG Customer Service which included the following: "I am currently awaiting confirmation from our warehouse contact that your delivery fee has been paid. As soon as I receive this confirmation, I will send you an update." Since then the silence has been deafening. Totally pissed off with Rhino, WMG & UPS. This is not normal.

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In reply to by daverock

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DAVEROCK
Was the ‘zine ‘Sniffing Flowers? We’ve got a copy somewhere in the house but I don’t remember where we got it. Obviously, they borrowed the name from the punkzine ‘Sniffing Glue’.

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Two or three delivery dates seem to have passed, but in so far as I'm aware - I'm at work, but 21 year old daughter is home from University - UPS have not actually knocked at my door. I'm guessing this is because I've neither signed for the delivery, or paid the invoice, which in so far as they are concerned is still outstanding.

In all honesty, I'm getting past the point where I'm too bothered about it. If it's not resolved, I'll simply ask Dr Rhino for a refund of my subscription, and get on with the rest of my listening life, which includes a belated purchase of the King Crimson '80's 'On and Off The Road' box - 11 CDs, 3 DVD-As, and 3 Blue Rays for slightly over a ton. A bargain compared to the £73.92 postage invoice for DaP31, and you can't listen to an invoice!!!

With any luck, there'll be no issue with the big Woodstock thing which I've sprung for. Ordered it from Rhino UK, paid UK postage, etc., so assume it will be distributed from a UK address.

The Crimson and Woodstock things will, in part, keep me from buying the Giants Stadium box. Choices have to be made, and given I favour the Dead pre-1978 anyway, I'll be passing. The UPS issue also has to be a factor for me. Genuinely, however, happy for all those whose preference is the later eras, and who have been hoping for this sort of release to come along.

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In reply to by Colin Gould

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No, the magazine was actually called "Planet Gong", with "Being Not Fer Sale But A Bit More Verbal" typed underneath. I've got it here in front of me-there are all sorts of cartoons on the front related to Gong's mythology. On the back is the Octave Doctors Manifesto, which promotes floating anarchy over existing social systems which are characterised as opium societies. It quite a period piece!

The eagerly anticipated ( by me) Love From The Planet Gong box set is due out in September-a lavish looking set focussing on 1973-75.

As for this Dave's Picks-what a travesty. I can't believe that it is still not sorted out. It can't be rocket science. I can't imagine any progress will be made in the next few days, so I guess the copy with my name on will be returned Stateside, as I am not paying anything to UPS. After that-who knows/

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In reply to by daverock

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Yes, I’ve just found our copy of Planet Gong. Sniffing Flowers appears to have existed for at least two issues focussing on Steve Hillage, another great guitarist, and Hawkwind. An official Gong boxset would be fantastic.
I was looking at my UPS tracking which was saying that there was money to pay and that the package was in transit. I assumed it was heading back to the US when the van pulled up outside and they handed it over. I can only hope that it gets sorted out for everyone soon. DrRhino still hasn’t been in touch to tell me anything. They really need to work on logistics and communication.

Cosmicbadger-thank you, I would be interested to know more about this event if its runs next year.

Regarding Steve Hillage, Gong and Hawkwind-all three are playing in London this autumn. It sees a bit strange naming a band Gong when they only recorded one album with Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth. But they apparently had Monsieur Aliens blessing. They were Steve Hillage's backing band earlier this year-and they were really good. I believe they are backing him again in autumn, plus playing a set themselves before Steve comes on. Sounds unmissable !

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In reply to by daverock

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DAVEROCK

We went to the 3rd Festival for mInd, body and spirit at Earls Court (found the programme looking for the magazines) where Rainbow Dome Music by Steve Hillage was being played on a repeating loop inside a pyramid tent! He came in to the tent while we were listening. We have seen him live several times over the years, always enjoyable.

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