Pick of the Day, with Discussion

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April 6, 2020 - 9:47am

8,062 replies

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

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August 11, 2022 - 9:24am

#1891

bluecrow

Joined:
September 21, 2015

Thank you Dennis

Thanks for sharing that piece from Mayer. Really good.

Going with 2/21/71 from Workingman's 50th. Love the Rick Turner Peanut sound.

1st Show - glad to hear the Kitty Kat is still trucking on
August 11, 2022 - 8:22am

#1892

Dennis

Joined:
November 1, 2012

Came across the desk

Out there in the internet world

A quote from John Mayer on Jerry's playing from a guitar players perspective ...
Part of the genius of Jerry Garcia, was all guitar players have little segments we work with, little riffs, and licks. We work in these building blocks: at the bottom are scales, then working up to riffs, then licks, then inverted licks if you are the best around.
Jerry's building blocks were molecules of playing. Not licks. The smallest pieces that could be put together. Everything you are hearing is original, off the top of his head, and represents his spiritual place he was in on that day. John Mayer on Jerry Garcia
This is the forward John wrote for Jay Blakesberg's book "Secret Space of Dreams"
"I’m a good enough guitar player to know a great guitarist when I hear one, but I had to become an even better one to begin to understand the depth and complexity of Jerry Garcia’s playing.
I’ve always said that musicians play like they are, and in the case of Garcia, his performances serve as a detailed map of a man, his intentions, his desires, and his impressions of the world around him. And going by that map, Garcia was a lovely, mighty soul. I never met him, and will never understand the loss of those who did, but the vast archive of his music amounts to the makings of a starry night sky that turns listeners into explorers.
Several years ago I set out not just to learn Garcia’s approach to the guitar and the songs he played, but to learn what about it has allowed millions of people who don’t play the guitar to key into it for hours on end. Soloing has been known since its inception as a kind of self-indulgent expression. Why, then, could so many listeners, myself included, listen to him do it endlessly without fatigue?
To best understand what makes Garcia’s guitar playing so unique, it helps to start with what it sidesteps: though it drew from blues and R&B, his guitar approach left a few traditional elements out of the equation, he didn’t play from that well-worn feral, sexual place that traditional blues music traded in, nor did he really touch the sinister aspects that were born into the idiom. Garcia didn’t sing about wanting to rock a young woman all night long, and any of his deals with the devil existed metaphorically as mere setbacks. (What’s 20 bucks, anyway?) These changes affect the fundamental color palette of the storytelling. I’m not sure the sun ever rises in Chicago blues music, but in the musical storytelling of Garcia and the Grateful Dead, it shines so bright it hurts.
On a more technical note, he played most often in a major blues scale, which added to this mix of innocence, and even joy. Minor blues notes lend themselves to the exquisiteness of pain, while major blues scales kind of explore the relief from it. Garcia played to relieve people of pain. That melodic innocence must have something to do with bringing so many people to their “happy place.” He wasn’t pulling notes from an anguished place within, he was catching them with a butterfly net as they went flitting by overhead. On a tactile level, he held the guitar with grace. It wasn’t a weapon, it was a vehicle. He took it easy. He may have played fast, but he was thinking slow. And that makes us listen with a smile.
I put Jerry Garcia on the same level as Miles Davis and Bill Evans because of the intention in his performing; once you’ve learned all the notes, and the chords, and the bends and the runs, you come to the final frontier of playing which is the why of it all, and that’s where the power was and still is in his playing. He played from a real place, a place that faced out to the world, not for his own reception or gratification. He played for the joy of interacting with the band and with the music he loved. If you listen close enough to a musician, you can tell what they’re looking to get out of each and every note they make. Garcia, to me, was looking to bring music to life out of the tacit, sacred duty to use his gift. Even after learning these things, they offer very little help in sounding anything like the man. That’s because he didn’t play anything stock or repetitive. There are no “signature Jerry Garcia solo riffs” as exist with so many revered guitarists. To “sound like Jerry,” you have to make people feel like he did, and well—good luck with that.
The real magic—the kind that will make the Grateful Dead music live forever—that’s in the way we carry it on in our hearts and minds. I don’t listen to Garcia and the band play—I watch it. I believe we all do, and that what we see is a blend of the music, the year in which it was played, the season and location of the show so as to understand the state of mind the band was in that night, that week, that presidency. We see it differently from one another the way we do our own dreams, but we all agree that our dreams contain these songs, and this band, those places and names. And that’s how the Grateful Dead managed to freeze time. We discuss our favorite years in present tense; we say we just heard the best version of something last night as if that was the moment it first took place. Your favorite year of their music "wasn’t", it "is." And in that way, inside that beautiful dreamscape the band created, the Grateful Dead is still up there, still playing. And Jerry is right there in front of them, and time is held in place by those who refuse to let it fade, and even as we sleep, as long as one of us is listening, the band is still playing.
We lose the ones we love, we pine for those who have left, and we lament the changes of modern times. But the makers of this music dug a tunnel, and it runs beneath time and space, and we, the ones who love it like family, crawl through to visit 1974, and 1969, and 1987 and 1990. If we were alive at the time the show took place, we see ourselves as the people we were in the lives we had, and if we weren’t born yet, we get to wistfully dream what it must have been like.
We only get a few minutes on earth, and Jerry Garcia gave all his minutes so that we could forever visit his life and times through his playing, and let it unravel into a new kind of now." --- John Mayer on Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead
August 11, 2022 - 8:15am

#1893

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

The Zoo

A nice little show. I explored this one a little before this thread started, probably late 2019. It makes a good companion to the night before in Austin. Apparently hot that day and Jerry was up most of the night celebrating his birthday. Hot jams in China > Rider.
August 11, 2022 - 7:52am

#1894

DeadVikes

Joined:
October 26, 2016

8/1/82

Looking at the 8/1/82 show from Oklahoma City for today. The hot summer 82 run.
August 10, 2022 - 1:20pm

#1895

1stshow70878

Joined:
September 11, 2014

Yes Jim

One of the joys of old age.
Stuff (or hair) growing out of places it shouldn't.
Or where it hadn't before at least.
Cheers
August 10, 2022 - 12:28pm

#1896

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

Re:

Wow.

Tell Phoebe to stay away from the Special K. Catnip and a little cannabis are fine but stay away from Keratin and all the other hard stuff. Some cats never learn....
August 10, 2022 - 7:25am

#1897

1stshow70878

Joined:
September 11, 2014

Thanks BC & DV & Jim & Oro

Phoebe the 17 y.o. cat has made a comeback as she has done many times.
Just when I think she's used all of her 9 lives she does the energizer bunny.
The vet says her lameness is a growth of keratin and not anything worse.
As long as she is not in pain and loving a hobbled walk in the sunshine we will keep on truckin'.
We've had a series of one dog and six female cats with as many as three at a time.
And when she goes the wife wants two male kittens next time.
That should be fun! We can never wait more than a month between loss and adoption. There are so many out there who need us.
Cheers all!
August 10, 2022 - 7:22am

#1898

bluecrow

Joined:
September 21, 2015

thank you friends

Spirit was such a sweet strong beautiful doggle woggle.
August 9, 2022 - 8:13pm

#1899

DeadVikes

Joined:
October 26, 2016

Bluecrow

Sorry to hear about your dog Bluecrow. Hang in there and 8/7/82 is a great way to put the mind in the right direction.

Sorry to hear about your issue as well 1st show. Be well.
August 9, 2022 - 4:40pm

#1900

Oroborous

Joined:
June 19, 2007

Ahhh fuck dude (&1st show too)

May the four winds blow him safely home!
I swear damn pets are harder than people.
Still gets me all chocked up if I start thinking about my ole buddy : (
I suggest David Bromberg’s cover of Mr Bojangles off of Best of Album.
After 25 years I still grieve, which is to say we feel your pain brother.
Sounds like he hit the lottery finding you, so at least you can celebrate a good life well lived!
And, the good ones never really go away, their with you when you need em…that joy they brought will always live on in your heart!

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Currently Listening To...

Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

Which JGB release are you speaking of bolo?....

....need specifics.

Bolo JGB

This one?

https://jerrygarcia.com/album/jerry-garcia-band/

Yeah

That one

OoOoOoOh....

....that is a good one. Been a while since I've played it. Hopping on that bus tomorrow.

JGB

I’m on it, that will go good with morning coffee tomorrow.

9/25/76 & 9/28/76 = Happy 4/20

Man I dug those two shows!

I agree with OTIS, It's not so much Highlights as it is the Whole Trip .

For both nights.

I think I enjoyed 9/28/76 even more... coulda been the time of day it played as it is 4/20 after all.

Two comments:
Missing Bertha from 9/28/76 would make killer filler somewhere.. (hint, hint Lemieux)
The 9/28/76 Set 2 "Jam" tracks ("Jam", "Orange Wango Tango Jam") seem more like continuations on the PITB theme, anybody else hearing that?

If listed as such it makes that set look even greater on paper:
PITB > Wheel > Samson > PITB > Comes A Time > Drums > Eyes > PITB > Dancin' > PITB. Johnny B. Goode

GREAT Set either way you slice it, but.. that's what I was hearing and I love it when they weave in and out of a theme throughout a set like that. GREAT PICK!

I thought I had that JGB for a second, dug through the garage, but it's the Almost Acoustic from '88.

I found a few tracks on YouTube, so I'll kinda follow along and will look for the feedback.

I plan on doing an anniversary trip through 4/21/84, and maybe 4/20 & 4/19 too. Goin' back to Philly!

Happy 4/20

No Spotify GOGD?....

....best $9.99/month I can think of spending money on. That and weed.

Ha..

I've been really, ridiculously busy.. but I did finish Dicks Picks 18. Am I late to the party?

I will add.. I liked the Scarlet Fire so much, but it just didn't scratch the itch well enough. Perhaps it was the recording, perhaps, well.. it was missing some relevancy so I did a side-by-side comparison to the one from Dave's Picks 8, 11/30/80 Fox Theatre, Hot Lanta. Man.. that totally hit the spot. and the recording, to my ears at least, sparkled, which is amazing because half of it came from an audience master (thanks Dr. Bob!! bow of the head, tip of the glass.. much appreciatto).

So what's next? I guess I will have to read the last 18 pages since this one was mentioned.

Hoping to have some more free time soon.. perhaps I won't get so far behind.

Drinking an excellent bottle of red, and getting ready to put on some tunes? JGB? The best palate cleanser. Good golly miss molly.. I think I missed a lot here.

Re: 9/25/76 & 9/28/76 = Happy 4/20

Man.. great to see these shows get some love. Perhaps it was because it was back in the Dicks Picks days, when any release was a treasure trove of new and undiscovered magic.. I believe this release predates soundboard copies on Archive.org.. all this was new, but to the meat.. you have to add Jerry's guitar work during supplication as a high point. Crank it to 11, he shreds it and for the mellow vibe of 76, it's worth a listen.

9/25/76

Fall 76! I remember the first time I heard the Cosmic Charlie out of Dancing and thought wow, 76 is really good. Still true today. Love the Sugaree, just a solid show throughout. The whole show is really smoking, solid finish.

Great choice WilfredTJones.

Stay well folks!

1976 is Mrs. Vguys favorite year....

....she would never admit it, but I know better. 🤫
She likes them mellow, like a pinot noir.

9/25/76

I haven't played it this week, but I just thought I'd chip in to say its my favourite 1976 show, and has been since whenever it came out.

One of my favorite Tangled up in Blue's

I bought the cassette back when it came out... Why oh why!!

Tangled Up In Blue

Morning!

Waiting for A Miracle seems like such a relevant tune today.

Man, I know I’ve got this JGB CD somewhere.. or had it, but if I had it I woulda kept it. So.. hmm.

Feel ya BOBT them Dylan tunes are what I wanted to hear most. Found around 6 of these songs on YouTube but not that one.

VGUY yeah, you’re right I should prob get Spotify.. can I handle/afford 1 more sub in my life… I gotta think about that, meaning procrastinate longer until the next time:)

Anyhow, what I’m hearing is sounding GREAT, and real nice playing by Jerry.. Dear Prudence solo is sounding real good, sick drum fills too. I had this back in the day…

I’m gonna trip on over to the April 1984 Philly run per OTIS mention.

Have Fun today and Be Well!

The I Shall Be Released on this release....

....literally just released me.

Jerry Garcia Band (Album)

Like others have mentioned.. the Dylan stuff shines for me, add in Dear Prudence, which blew me away the first time I listened to this version.. But my favorite cut of the album is Lucky Old Sun. and talk about a karma lift.. My Sisters and Brothers.

That Jerry Live Album

...definitely changed me. It came out at a time when I was also getting fully into the GD; these versions became staples against which all other versions were judged (I know we ALL do this from time to time...).

The Simple Twist of Fate is a definite favorite here as far as the covers. But my favorite of them all is I Shall Be Released. (right on VGuy)
Jerry's vocals are so heartfelt; sounding nearly broken at times, offset by his absolutely WAILING solos, especially that final one....total chills up the spine every time. When shit like that happens, you know it touches a deep part of your innards.

A++ for this release

Sixtus

P.S. Bolo Contest chin scratching commencing

Jerry Garcia Band

Yeah, definitely a game changer! I too was just really getting into the Dead, and when I got that CD (a year or two after it was released,) it cemented for me that Jerry was going to become my all-time favorite guitar player. In addition, as a big Dylan fan, it has so many great takes of his tunes, and it was Jerry's voice - fragile, sensitive, warm, - that totally sold me (still does.) The big highlight for me (though I LOVE every track) has always been "Senor." Makes me stand up and take notice, every time. Jerry's delivery and playing on that one... holy guacamole!

Oh, and "My Sisters and My Brothers." That song became a mantra for me in high school, and I think I am a better man for it now.

Great pick Bolo!

Peace

JGB

Good pick Bolo.
On Lucky Old Sun now, all songs so far have been hitting the spot. Love the tone of Jerry’s guitar.

Don’t want to do any overkill today, but later this week I’m also going to spin the other compilation releases How Sweet It Is.... and Shining Star.

DaP34

On sale now.

Nice bonus disc!

Before you get on board Sir your name we'd like to know

Dusted off some classic releases a few weeks ago

~ Box of Rain ~ Fallout from the PhilZone+ Jerry Garcia Band double disc with John Kahn cover artwork.

Cool graphics and pics on the CDs and booklet

Hundred Year Hall + Don't Let Go

Dicks Picks 4 , 11 , 13 , 18 have been in my car for months.

China -> Rider -> China Doll from 12.29.77 is real nice

catchin' up

Playing at home when i can - we've had sweet spring weather and been spending time in the garden and reveling in the real world outdoors. Bolo - great to hear things turned corner for better with friends and loved ones - scary times.

In the end caught some of these picks, missed a couple others, I'll get to 'em eventually, plus a few non-pick-of the-day musical detours. One detour that's been on repeated repeat is the '91 JGB show from Electric on the Eel. Love it love it love it! Been meaning to bring it up, its a big beautiful dose of carefree big smile summer fun. Cool to have Bolo rec the '91 JGB live release (Deal now.) This release got a lot of mileage back in the day, but its been long while. One song that stood out back then was Senor - totally unfamiliar to me as a Dylan or JGB song, super eerie and powerful. General later JGB thought - Melvin Seals organ playing is a freaking force of nature.

Finished Landover 9/25/76 this morning - awesome show, years since i last listened. That second set is out of this world! And somehow I'd totally lost track of how great 12/2/73 was - oh my goodness. That '83 Santa Fe show is like a train about to jump the tracks. On a non-pick-of-the-day closing note - had a delightful late evening with those 2 October '80 Warfield acoustic sets released last year.

Opening notes of Senor . . . .

Re: JGB Compilations

For what it's worth, of the three JGB compilations, most of the time I prefer this one. Perhaps at least partially due to nostalgia..

We more or less got Without a Net and then a year later Jerry Garcia Band (Live) within a year.. and before that there was a dearth of officially released live material going back a number of years. ..and if you were seeing shows, one couldn't help but notice how much better and more consistent the live performances were. It was a good time for all things Grateful Dead.

Quick opinion

So I just found this thread and am listening to the '91 JGB show. I'll write a full opinion review when I'm done with the album, but dang I had to say that was a GRATE jam in "The Way you do the things you do"!

Tangled Up in Bloohoohoo! Tangled Up in Blue!

JGB 91, coming to a rocking close. What a fine release!

Have I missed Bolo's clue? Was it his post "Yeah - That one"? If so, that's a tough clue (or is it?) :)

So, what's on tap for tomorrow, folks? I've really been enjoying the picks so far!

Also, Good Ole Grateful... did you make it to Philly 84 yesterday? I really loved that 4/20 show - amazing Let it Grow, great Scarlet>Fire, overall fun two sets and I thought a really great sounding AUD. Also, that may be the best Esau I've heard - at least I can't recall a better one :)

Peace

EDIT: I now see that I posted my question about Bolo's clue at 11:48 PST, not 12 noon. My ability to do simple math seems to be slipping...

Ok....

....now this is getting fun. Nice to meet you gratefulgal7277.

VGUY72 and everyone

Nice to meet everyone! Y'all rock and this platform is amazing!

Hokay

Time for America’s favorite game show, “Name That Grateful Dead Concert!”

Please read carefully: Following this post, a clue will appear that can be EASILY deciphered to reveal a particular Grateful Dead concert. To win the contest and receive some groovy and valuable Grateful Dead items (TBD), simply send me a PM with your guess of the date and venue of the concert. Also, you must include how you determined your guess, i.e., show your work! No work shown = no entry!

Do not post your guess on this forum as it won’t count. Earliest PM with the correct answer wins. And only one entry per screen name, so take your time to make sure your guess has merit as multiple guesses will be ignored. Screen names must pre-date the time stamp of this post.

Have fun with this, celebrate Dave’s 34 release, have a beer (or whatever), blow off some steam, turn off the TV, get some fresh air. Call your parent(s) and tell them you love them (if applicable).

Clue to follow.

Fixable

Foot

Answer....

....oops. hope no one saw that. Lol

nice recovery

ha - there and gone in a flash!

Clue?

So the Clue is = "Foot"?
Or = "Fixable Foot"?

Not sure clarification will help me here, but.. figured it was worth a shot.

Jerry '91 and Sept. '76

Haven't listened to that Jerry release in a long time. Have it since it came out played it many times. We need more Jerry releases.

9/25: Started nice the rest of set 1 was okay. Set 2 Dancin' picks it up nice! Scarlet. Stephen> NFA> Drums>Jam> Stephen>Sugar Mag great!!

9/28: Have this one marked as an all-timer. Big River was nice Cassidy too this whole first set was excellent. Set 2 Playin' sandwich Awesome!!

Can hear '77 a comin'.

The Grateful Dead

The Other One ->
Stella Blue ->
Sugar Magnolia

Just ordered June 1976 box set

Dave's Picks 34 with bonus disc and the box set should arrive about the same day.

Dave LSD you got one more job this year. fire up a 1984 show for release and include 7.13.84 second set with encore

Fixable Foot?

The answer must be My Pal Foot Foot.

https://youtu.be/XR9d4ESlpHY

Fixable Foot

Well.. here goes nothing.

Next Pick

What's on tap for tomorrow?

Anybody get it right Bolo?

Fixable Foot

I got nothing.

Fixable Foot

I thought I had it... and got my reply

"missed it by that much"

Himey, kill the light.

Next Pick

Got nothin' on Fixable Foot

As for Tomorrow..
4/22/66 Trips Festival (I gotta trip through that:)
4/22/77 is looking like it should be listened too.. not official release though
4/22/78 DaP V15 is official though
4/22/79 Brent's First show might need some honoring

Just a few anniversary date themed thoughts in that regard.

Super curious about the fixable foot...

OTIS - I finished up 4/20/84 & 4/21/84.. they both had their '84 charm.. I'd say for me the highlight was that Slipknot! on 4/21/84... that's definitely worth a listen, dug the PITB too and Stranger from 4/20. Thanks for the reminder!

Gonna try and get 4/21/69 in today... but it might not happen, Hard To Handle with Jerry on Slide.. so far it's weird:)

Fixable Foot.. that just.. I got nothin'