Grateful Dead

to Deadheadbrewer, after 50 it’s just a matter of maintenance! Lol, just kidding hope you enjoy the milestone!

and to SIMONROB: enjoy! 50 years is a crazy long time, you’ve earned it!

I’m so jealous!...this being at home has made me contemplate retirement in a new way....like I want to start now, but can’t. Mostly because of Health Insurance.....if this country would pull its head outta its arse maybe we’d join the other top nations etc, sorry, I digress. Anyway, just ment to mention that I could really get used to this staying at home thing....

9/11/81: Billy, you’ve got me intrigued? That was a bold pronouncement.

McCoy Tyner: another great that’s slipped through the cracks, going to have to git some.

Thanks again to Mr Smith for the awesome work.

DOC: nice to see ya!

JUNE 76: through first three shows so far. Was going to take notes and all that but about first or second song in decided to just let go and get Zen with the music. This shit is like Musical Valium, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s the perfect anecdote to what’s going on these days.....spark one up, fire up the sonic blaster, and melt!
I’ve been working through Spring 90 also, which is great in very different ways, but this box is a much needed tonic.
I was trying to come up with the right word for the vibe/playing etc: relaxed or mellow can perhaps be seen as a negative,....eventually the one word that comes to mind is the band is in no hurry. It’s like they set up at a family gathering say at Mickeys ranch and decided to play a few tunes before dinner. I put one of these on and it’s like a drug that washes over me and brings calm for a while, something that’s been desperately needed after all that’s happened personally the last couple years and now this crazy new world we live in....aaaaaaaa, just what the Doctor ordered!
So just off the top of my pointy little head I’d say 6/10 really seemed to resonate, 6/11 not so much, didn’t hold me the same way, though there was more “noise” going on that day. 6/14 seems like top dog so far, but again I’m just trying to groove first time through. Really surprised and loved the spacey parts.
As some have mentioned overall perhaps not the tightest tour, and yes even a month later things are tighter, and yes there are repeats, which as has been said was often the case, especially when they were breaking out new material. Also there is a completely different feel and energy. So why pick these shows and this tour?
Because of the huge historical relevance in the progression of the band, music, and logistics. This tour has to represent the biggest outwardly noticeable differences and changes the Dead ever did at once. Sure band members, songs, PA’s, etc changed, but I’d dare anyone to list one time in Dead history when so many different things changed all at once? There are so many variables that make this one of the most unique tours they ever did, and to me, that’s what makes this tour so special. That and because of the place some of these shows have in my early Dead development. The 12th and especially the 19th were some of my first big influences as these were some of the first tapes I had starting out, and of course back then you’d play em ad nauseum lol. Also 7/18 really seems to cut through the fog of memory.
So the nostalgic, as well as the historical hugeness of this tour, combined with the ridiculous sound of these recordings, perhaps the best vocal harmonies of the “Mickey Godchaux” era, Phenomenal new material, aided by a bunch of new gear, and marinated in the intamate vibe of the tiny theatres, make this a slam dunk as far as archival box sets pertaining to the band beyond description!
Sure another offering from later 76, say late June and/or July would be appropriate some day, but for the overall cosmic bang this release is a no brainer! In its own way, this tour is just as relevant as FW69, or GSTL, even if one opinions that the music pales.
Ok, just got myself all worked up for show number four......see ya all on the other side! Happy Friday! It is Friday right? Dates/time etc another weird side affect of this new order...
Stay safe, stay well, stay home!...
And crank some Dead!

EDIT: yasssss, !! What HF and Seventy-Sixtus said, that’ smore of what I’m trying to get at about THIS tour!

Check your PM - Sorry for not getting back to you sooner.

WTF
Fresh Air
Your Favorite Band Sucks
The Band A History
WTF

Hi I have a ton of Dead cassettes, soundboard and audience. I also have a ton of Dead reel to reel recordings.

I live in San Francisco. These cassettes and reels can be yours.

I also have 2 cool library file card catalogs ( think when you looked up a book in a card catalog at the library). These are perfect for storing cassettes, they fit great. Come pick them up!

email gratecat@gmail.com

thanks,
Scott

Anyone hear the dude coughing during PITB jam? Wonder what could have precipitated that spell...

...perhaps one of those “Hero Rips” as Jim would say 😆

Hi all. I hope everyone reading this is safe and well. I checked the number of box sets left and it looks to be 2,128 units at this writing. There also appears to be a 50% discount off all items including the June 1976 box and ancillary products such as the gold foil poster. I just ordered one of the posters yesterday without the discount. So this looks like a propitious time to order your box set now that its available at a deeply discount price of only $74.99 per unit.

I had a chopped version of set two on cassette for years. This show always made me tense...I felt like the band wasn't "on".

Well, I listened to the show from start to finish on archive yesterday, and it is a great show. Strong musicianship and varied song selection.

GD

really?

wow.

Those who paid full price are going to be a liiiiiiiiittle bit peeved.

(five minutes later...)

I don't see a discount...where did you see it?

I tried the see-how-many-you-can-put-in-the-shopping-cart technique and then proceeded to checkout. The 50% discount shows up at that point in the process. To be sure, I dropped the items in the cart to just one item, and when I went to the next step, there it was again, only $74.99 for one of the box sets. To be sure, I did the same with the limited edition print, and the price came down to $22.50 from the list price of $45. Of course I didn’t go furthur as I already purchased both the box and the poster at list prices as I said. Get them while you can, as the saying goes..

I gotta check that out

If it's truly true...how do you full-pricers feel about that?

I thought to check out the remaining numbers of units of the box set because of an email that came to me earlier today from Dr Rhino. The email said something to the effect that the items that I was looking at are going, going, almost gone. After I saw the deep discount offered with these items, it caused me to think that maybe TPTB are doing their part to help those who are being hard hit in one way or the other by COVID-19. Just a thought. Anyway, Stoltzie, I am glad that you were able to replicate what I saw

I tried adding one copy to the cart and it showed as full price, but then moving on to the next page where personal details are requested the price had halved! I don’t know if it continues at that price because I ordered one on the day it was announced. I’d be happier about a price reduction if they had waited until all the early orders had been delivered. As far as I can tell from the UPS site my copy is still in the US. I am sure it will eventually get to the UK but is a little upsetting to know I could have saved such a large amount of money. Particularly since the expected VAT charge is based on the cost so will be much higher at full price than at the reduced one. Who decided to do this so quickly after the release date?

half-price!

scandalous!!!

....so, if my math is correct, I should be able to get the print for free, because I ponied up for the full price for the box. Makes sense to me!
Still no shipping notice for the keychain bottle openers I ordered to fulfill my Super Bowl bet w/ KC Janes. Hmm. Gimme a twofer one dead.net!!

tried several times with multiple items and cards. the discount shows up the entire way through the order but the payment failed each time.

I just tried and yes it appears at half price in the cart, but is full price on the billing page when you enter credit card info.

...

How could I forget? We did so much tootskie that afternoon, we coulda crashed Casey Jone's train with no help from no damn monkey...

Wasn't there some kind of violence or rioting or maybe just gate crashing during the show? Vague memory.

After the show my buddy Tommy and I ran something like a 200-yard dash to see who was mas machista after four hours of spleef and blow. I'm about a foot taller than old Tom-o, but he had less wind resistance. Still can't remember who won. But we rocked. Oh boy did we rock it in those days. I was 18 and a wizened Deadhead of five years standing. Or sitting. Or snorting. Whatever.

Be safe folks. Gonna roll a fatty tonight, pour the Jameson and spin the Capitol first. If only there was real "Help on the way..."

It still looks like full price to me. I just entered the order up to the point when you are supposed to enter your credit card details, and at that stage its still seems to cost $149.99.

I just ordered two and it went through for the price of one. I have the email confirmation.
I will gift them at Xmas. Certainly is weird though.

Rock on

I don't think June 3, 4 Portland shows sound like Boston 6/9 through the end of Chicago 6/29 shows. I know there are issues with the boards and the recordings from Portland. The Orpheum shows from 7/12 through 7/18 also have a different feel also. Those 17 shows between June 9 and June 29 1976... One of my favorite periods..... bob t

So we have the Tower Theatre shows and Chicago. I always liked the last show in Chicago a lot too. Great Playin' Sammy and that Mission in the Rain is stupendous.

Between the two cities there are eight shows. mmmm…. I bet the reels exist and I bet they sound pretty much just as good.

I've listened to the whole thing on headphones and the coughing is going on between just about every song on 6/10, then a few more times on one or more of the other shows. For some reason I assumed it was Bobby.

I switched away from June 1976 for a day and then was right back on it today. Dog woke me up at 2:22 a.m. and I listen to the whooole thing. Now that's something I've never done before - five consecutive shows. Now I'm listening to Dave's Picks Volume 2. Doesn't sound tinny at all, I presume because I've worn out that spot in my hearing range today. This is some Truckin' => MLB => Spanish Jam => Wharf Rat. I'm jonesing for Dark Star though, so if mixed in the one from Dave's Picks Volume 9. I pretty much need to get a Dark Star, Bird Song, and China Rider in on a daily basis. I'm also feeling like Mississippi Half Step from 5/25/77 and the quacking duck Scarlet Fire from 5/17.

Oh and I got in the Road Trips 1973 bonus disc 12/6/73 with that 43 minute Dark Star. Hot stuff, can't get enough. Need to go check out the tapers section.

Hendrixfreak - I'm pretty sure one of us would be dead if we have grown up together. 200 yard dashes LOL, that only happened after alcohol with me. The other stuff, LOL, that led me and my college buddies into the regular hopping of a cargo train that used to stop a few hundred yards from a bar we used to frequent, and then again a few hundred yards from our off-campus house. At least that's the way it played out the first dozen times. Lucky 13 took us all the way from Salisbury Maryland to some unknown Farmland in Virginia. I don't know if they had a new driver that week or what but it did not stop near our house as usual. When we realized we were in it for the long haul, my buddy rolled a joint on the back of the train. That takes some talent. Keep in mind we're on the back of this thing hanging on for dear life. They don't look like they're going that fast when they drive through town, but when you're actually on the thing contemplating jumping off, 35 MPH feels awfully fast. But to roll a joint with one arm looped through a rail on the back, where there's this pocket of wind free space, like the eye of a hurricane - sheer talent. Wish I could claim that one for myself. I guess my toughest joint rolling exercise occurred Pink Floyd's Division Bell Tour in the high winds of the 700 level at Vet stadium in Philadelphia. Very high winds up there, but time is of the essence because they kicked off unexpectedly with Astronomy Domine. One of the high-pressure situation was at the TLA in Philadelphia seeing Guided by Voices since 2004. Ran into the bass player and Robert Pollard after the show. I probably shouldn't tell this story.....

Almost finished w/ the second show in the box.

I don't think this box will change anyone's mind on the year, i.e. if you aren't a 76 person this won't change your mind. Unlike July 78, these shows are well known and good recordings did circulate. ...but boy does this box sound good.

One other random observation.. I have listened to this in my car, in my truck, on my iPod (w/ good headphones), in my living room, in my kitchen and in the tub with my good Sennheiser's. This thing shines brightest with headphones, the way Betty listened to it while she recorded it. I guess if I monkeyed around with an EQ, I could get Phil's bass to phil the room on the big boy speakers, but on headphones it shines right out of the shrink wrap. Or perhaps spend another ten grand and get a bigger, bad ass system then the one I have.

Of course, I could be wrong.. but those are my thoughts of the moment. I'd love to hear other people comments on the sound that have different/better systems than what I have and compare to headphone sound.

The sound quality comments remind me of the first listen reports from Dave's Picks 15, April 22, 1978 Nashville TN. The sound quality of this box is the big deal. It's practically perfect in every way.

Ok.. back to your regularly scheduled Friday mayhem.

Thank you all for the birthday wishes! IceCream, the funny thing is that I work for myself from home, so could listen to GD all darn day. But I usually don't, because I'm "saving" the shows for late night, full-focus listening sessions. But I'm realizing that those evenings are few and far between, so I should start just jamming the Dead into every moment I can. Listened to 3/18/95 today while working, and it's a darn fine show.

But last night, after the fam-damily was in bed, I got tuned up and put in disc 3 of DaP 33 (anyone still remember that one?) :) I had listened to only the first two discs before, and HOLY MOLY!! That Estimated-->Eyes-->Saint Stephen!! That is some of the best stuff I've heard.

p.s. Last night I returned to DaP disc 3 to finish it. Wow. Every version on this disc is a candidate for BOAT. The Black Peter?! Nuts. Everyone is doing unique and challenging things in this second set. Best SHOW of all time . . . ?

Check PMs

The Dead covered alot of different songs by a lot of different artists. I would love to have seen some of those artists. Here's a list of some of the cover artists I would like to see who I haven't seen. The Beatles, Hank Williams, Howliin Wolf, Jimmy Reed, Johnny Cash, Light ning Hopkins, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Freddie King, Elmore James, Derek & the Dominos (with Duane Allman), Reverend Gary Davis, James Brown, Gus Cannon & his Jug Stompers, Sonny Boy Williamson, & Slim Harpo. I'm sure I forgot somebody, but the list is already long and it's very late at night.

Billy...great list. Two others that come to mind are Blind Willie Johnson and Robert Johnson-did he write "Walking Blues"? Maybe it was Son House-in which case maybe he could go in there instead.

I think you said in an earlier post that you had seen Muddy Waters. Which must have been like seeing someone out of the Bible in a local church.

Jim...nice sense of levity, suggesting that people who don't really care so much for `1976 won't be swayed by this box.

I did get to see him once. It was under the best possible circumstances. He was part of Eric Clapton's European "Backless" tour in 1979. Effectively the tour finished in London but the real last show was a little later in Guildford, a small town just south of London in the stockbroker belt, close to where Eric and many of his friends lived in their mansions. I managed to get tickets from a friend who ran the local record store. Guildford Civic Hall was small venue with a capacity of maybe 1000 and no seats that evening. As well as Muddy Waters, Eric's special guests were Pinetop Perkins, George Harrison, Elton John, Jerry Portnoy and Bob Margolin. The whole spectacle was just one big end-of-tour hometown party and a jolly fine time was had by all!

I like playing on headphones because I can generally hear more nuance. I do also like listening on the stereo rather loud, but I generally don't out of consideration for my neighbors. One of my favorites to crank on the stereo, is the Drums>Space>Wharf Rat segment from the 3rd show in the July '78 Box. That one has some prime weirdness.

(I don't always listen to the grateful dead, but when I do, my neighbors do too :-)

Simon Rob, what a special show you saw, my goodness, I wish I could have been there! I've never seen Eric Clapton, my brother saw him play at the Frost Amptheatre in 1975, he opened the show with a ripping version of Layla. But to see him play in such a small place like you did, and with the other musicians who were with him, is truly amazing. You were very lucky. That is truly one that didn't get away! DaveRock, I saw Muddy Waters play two times, once at the 1839 Theatre in S.F. in 1977, John Hammond opened the show. You're absolutley right, he was like someone out the bible, truly bigger than life.

Clapton played Layla at the Guildford gig and it was such a delight to see and hear. He played a wide range of songs including a couple of Cream numbers. The setlist was:

01. Loving You is Sweeter Than Ever
02. Worried Life Blues
03. Badge
04. Tulsa Time
05. Early in the Morning
06. Wonderful Tonight
07. Crossroads
08. Cocaine
09. Double Trouble
10. Layla
11. Standing Around Crying
12. Sad Sad Day
13. Further On Up the Road

Eric's band was also an all star affair. If I recall correctly the line-up was:

Eric Clapton (guitar / vocals), Albert Lee (guitar / vocals), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Gary Brooker (keyboards), Henry Spinetti (drums), and Dave Markee (bass) as well as the aforementioned special guests.

Muddy Waters was great but Eric's set, not surprisingly, overshadowed Muddy. I also recall being amused by Eric's attempts to keep up with Albert Lee's lightning fast guitar.

Coughing present on 6/11 as well. :-P

As is the remark 'I have', after the 'Street cats making love' line in Looks Like Rain (nice segue from Scarlet by the way. Nice to hear the opening chords of LL Rain start up as the audience is cheering the conclusion of Scarlet)

Are you saying that someday we might get a June 1976 (TOO)???

After one pass through, personal taste of course.

6/14 Loose, Jazzy, Jammy, I like Jerry's playing
6/19 reminds me of 6/14, gets dark fast
6/15 played well, drops in the end set 2, but a good JBG
6/10 good first set, and a jaz, jam set 2
6/11 big river, scarlet, all of set 2

And the awesome sound of these recordings, Betty I'd like to marry your ears?

Edit: 6/15 after 6/19

This box is swaying me! Thank you Betty! For the umpteenth time, thanks for amazing tapes.

The band sounds more '75 than '77...

:)))

Don't pass by this one.

https://archive.org/details/gd1969-03-28.sbd.bear.motb.108057.flac16

TOO will rip your scalp off.

Hendrix freak, what a great description of the new box , when you say it sounds more like 1975 then 1977. I agree with you 100%, and they only had this sound for a short period of time. I really dig this sound!

I love Eric Clapton. Clapton fans would do well to check out Crossroads II: Live in the Seventies, as well as Give Me Strength: The '74 - '75 Studio Recordings deluxe box. Both of these sets are vast and outstanding for E.C. fans.

Saw him only once, around 1990 in Denver on the Journeyman tour. My girlfriend at the time had a bad reaction to something we took and I had to spend half the show outside the arena comforting her. Ah, so it goes sometimes.

https://youtu.be/e0G63uzhFP4

Greetings,
Question about something Dave L. said In the Rhino interview about June 1976 box not being soundboard but that Betty was looking for a live sound. Was that common for the Betty Boards or other releases? Thanks, I’m old for reading but new for writing to the forum/comments.

I was fortunate enough to see Clapton and Winwood together in New jersey and they were fantastic, The cd release from that tour is well worth buying.

With that in mind, The Dead tour "Wave that Flag(?)" with Winwood opening was great too! Winwood and some of his band joining The Dead made for a really rich musical-tapestry! Example: The Beatles Tomorrow Never Knows with Joan Osborne singing and Winwood and Co. playing a along was fabulous. I return to the cds of those shows gladly every now and then.

Kid: perfect! If only folks would listen!

MUDDY WATERS: saw him open up for Clapton in probably 79? I was still pretty young and had no clue who Muddy really was, but after that night I knew. He fried my teenage brain and pretty much blew Clapton off the stage!

6/15/76: was really diggin this one then the air kinda went outta it at the end? Last one on deck today...
Think I might finally get around to PNW next week? I’ve heard all of it at some point or another, but never a proper sitting. Usually it was parts played in the background while packing for moving etc. Realky stoked to fully dig into this one!

Okay, nobody probably really needs these, but, as promised, I updated the link to the June 1976 cover art with images of the "unfolded" box itself and the book. They turned out kinda cool – sort Magic-Carpety – check it out at:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwfam4nud0ttbv0/AACPr9g_hY-wklEMfwor73mua?dl…
(the cover art for individual shows that I posted earlier is still there too.)

Because the box has multiple overlaps, I took some small liberties when I unfolded Justin Helton's fine & shiny box (like I did when I unfolded the July '78 box).

Let the music play and smile, smile, smile. Onward (carefully)!

Anyone figure out where that intro. to St. Stephen came from yet? The original is much weirder.

I'm really liking the mix on this box. Not too much reverb, not too "hot", not too instrument/vocal-centric.

And I think Donna never sounded better. At times I'm getting the vibe that Bob is stepping back a bit and letting her shine.

Was a great year. The bicentennial was a big thing and we had made plans back in 72 to all meet up at the washington monument for the big fourth of July party that was going to happen there. We hitch hiked up there and got some pretty wild rides, one on the back of a tow truck, another that got us thru Georgia. Spent 12 hours on the beltway in
washington trying to get to my hitch hiking companions house. Turned down a few rides, lots of partiers out on the road that day. Nixon was gone, Ford was in office, 4% inflation, the buck was worth a buck back then. It was a great year. I hope you all enjoy the music sure sounds like everyone is.
COVID-19 has caused me to leave my part time job, due to COPD I can not contract this virus, my Dr. says it would put me in the hospital at the least and could be lethal. So I resigned, telling my employers of 7 years that I had to go due to health reasons. The said they understood and said we will lay you off. I get the separation notice and it says I quit, which makes me ineligible for unemployment. I spoke to them and they said, that's the way it is, too bad. So no income means no box for me.
They don't even have to pay back the unemployment money so it would not hurt them to lay me off, but they would not. So now, I'm sitting at home quarantined for 2 weeks with not even the tidbit of money that unemployment would have given. I am appealing the decision and will have to wait until they respond. What a world, I usually only work part time seasonal and this is a big hit financially as by the time this virus is suppose to be out of here, my work window will be close to being closed if not all ready closed. After this quarantine is over, I will go back to work, but not at that place. Be safe everyone and be thankful if you work for a company that cares about their employees.

You’re thinking of the 2003 Summer Getaway Tour. The Wave That Flag tour was 2004 and didn’t include Joan Osborne. I must dig out the discs and have a re-listen.

Thank you JS. I was just about to ask if anyone had posted that.