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    clayv
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    "To my ears, the best Dead shows are those that not only fit the criteria that make them amongst the best of a year, but that are also completely unique for their era—shows that fit perfectly into their year of performance, but also fall somewhat outside of the norm for that year. Harpur College, Veneta, Cornell, Cape Cod, and Augusta are all shows that are objectively excellent, and if they are not the best from their respective years of performance, they are certainly unique. Miami 6/23/74 falls into that category: not only one of the very best shows from this outstanding year, but also one of the most interesting and unique. It’s certainly worthy of many, many deep listens." - David Lemieux

    ¡Ándale, ándale! ¡Arriba, arriba! We're back with a hot one from Miami, F-L-A. DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 34 features the complete show from the Jai Alai Fronton, 6/23/74, one with unparalleled sound quality due in equal parts to the Wall Of Sound and the beautiful sonic clarity of Kidd Candelario's tapes. The first set is chock full of dynamite takes on classics like "Ramble On Rose," "Mississippi Half-Step," and "Cumberland Blues." The second set delivers on the JAMS - one leading into a gorgeous "Ship Of Fools," one rare instrumental version of "Dark Star," and a "Spanish Jam," this is Miami after all! The show also offers up a "first" and an "only" - the former, a Seastones set featuring Phil and Ned Lagin and the latter, the sole Grateful Dead performance of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock."

    Limited to 22,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOL.34: JAI ALAI FRONTON, MIAMI, FL 6/23/74 has been mastered from the 7.5 IPS reel-to-reel tapes to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman. ¡Agarrarlo mientras esta calientito! (Get it while it's hot!)

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

    Subscribed to Dave's Picks? With this release, you'll also get a bonus disc with selections from Miami 6/22/74. Excellente!

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  • Deadheadbrewer
    Joined:
    Pianos and headphones and Columbia House and Bad CD (player)

    Maybe it's a pianist thing (I've played most of my life), but when I started the '72 Lille show the other day for the first time, I said to myself, "Self--Keith's pee-yan-er there sounds a might bit diff'rent today . . . " Then I read the liner notes that mention that they couldn't get a Steinway like Keith had had for all the other E72 shows, and that at Lille he played a Bluther. On classical recordings I've often admired the Bluther sound.

    Headphones--as we know, wired, open-back are generally best for sound purposes, and I sure love my Grado 325i's. I have a pair of closed-back Ultrasone HFi-780s that I enjoy. Those are going cheap on eBay because there is a new model out.

    Used Columbia House and BMG to build an enormous cassette, then CD collection at little cost. In middle school I signed up something like fourteen classmates one year, mostly by offering them one of the four free cassettes that I received for signing them up. My dad eventually got suspicious and asked me just how I was paying for all this music that kept arriving. When I told him how I was hitting up everyone I saw, then offering them a better deal than if they signed up through someone else, he was proud. Our clan is a long line of salespeople.

    The CD player thing sounds more like a dirty or dying laser assembly than faulty discs. Try opening the player and cleaning the lens, but plan on a new player. Just had a CD player fail, and it wouldn't play some discs at the end, ESPECIALLY the more recent discs from Dead.net. When it would play some of them, there was the static-y sound you mention.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Old cds

    Talk about lasting power...this Little Richard box I ordered, and have just about plucked up courage to touch, was made in 1989. Nearly as old as the original recordings were when the box came out. The first two cds sound incredible-almost like he's returned from the dead and popped into my living room for a hoot n' a holler.

    Sam..Isle of Wight was just before my time, unfortunately.

  • nappyrags
    Joined:
    @Dennis

    Yes I did Sir and mucho thanks... had a bit of a problem when iTunes went kablooey on me...I’m slowly rebuilding my library for my classic iPod for spoken word only...I am using my Sony DMP for music...my CD player in my car just stopped working so now I’ll be looking for a new one I guess... I’m about to jump back into Lord of the Rings as read by Rob Ingliss

  • Jimbobwe
    Joined:
    Headphones

    ROGUEDEADGUY: I rarely post on here, but saw your comment on recommendations for quality headphones, so I thought I'd share since I just purchased these a few weeks back. They are truly amazing headphones for the price.

    https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-1

    They are lightweight, but durable that sound amazingly rich and full. I can't get Dave's 34 out of CD player since I bought these.

  • JimInMD
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    Headphones

    I have a pair of audiophile wired headphones.. they sound terrific, and I never use them. I have settled into a lossless wireless pair that sound good and give me the mobility I need.

    https://en-us.sennheiser.com/wireless-headphones-home-audio-rs-175

    They are not Bluetooth.. they send and receive a lossless signal. Never really shopped around, I'm sure there's better pairs out there.. but they work for me. There seem to be pros and cons of every aspect.. finding a good pair of headphones is kind of like finding a comfy pair of shoes.

    Good luck, whatever you decide.

  • unkle sam
    Joined:
    stormy monday

    here in the mountains today, and tuesday's just as bad. Always loved that tune, was listening to the triple lp Isle of Wight from 1970 yesterday and the Stormy Monday came up, by Mountain, very cool version.. Love me some Leslie West. That entire lp is great, with some awesome artists on it, Hendrix, Ten Years After, Mountain, Cactus, Miles Davis, Procol Harum, Sly and the Family stone and Kris Kristofferson, good stuff. There were so many bands playing at this festival, the first great rock festival of the seventies. There was a dvd released also of most of the performances. Hell of a bill, with the above acts plus Jethro Tull, The Doors, Chicago, The Who, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, The Moody Blues, Free, Taste (Rory Gallagher) and more. Spirit was scheduled to play but did not play. Would have loved to have been at that one, any of our English brethren been to the Isle of Wight?

  • Dennis
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    Maybe I missed it.....

    ….. but, I assume everyone seen Neil Young has a "new" album coming out in June(?), Homegrown. Was suppose to be released after Harvest, but Neil was too bummed out apparently. It's been ordered,,,, along with Dylan's new album and Zappa's new collection from 1970. Don't tell the wife, I'm keeping it on the DL. I trying a new trick, I used her credit card to buy, this was she'll think she spent the money! I'll tell ya, my brain is so fuckin' big, it hurts.

    Hey Nappy, you ever dive into the audio books?

  • nappyrags
    Joined:
    Hi Dennis...

    Exactly correct about the Bluetooth connection not playing at quality levels...when I was looking at both player and headphones that seemed to be the general consensus on all the reviews I read, especially on the Hi Res files...also I think you're spot on regarding cassettes, I had a shoe box of FM recordings I had done in the 80's and I sent them to a friend who is an expert at digitizing cassettes and they sound fabulous for a nearly 40 year old tape source...

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Nappy to Deadguy and headphones.

    quick thought, I could be wrong for sure. I wouldn't use anything blue tooth for audio (but I do sometimes), in any event I believe Bluetooth compresses the data. So if you're a big "audio" head who hates mp3's, don't play your flac/alac/wav via blue tooth, you will be losing data.

    I think that's true anyway.

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Recorded media.

    first - Your right Dave the Rock, 2012 WAS just yesterday!

    I could whine about how you all made me pull out my banker boxes of Dead disc to get out DaP 1 to check it, BUT, I haven't put them away yet from the last time I pulled them out a month ago. And the Dave Collection was on top:-)
    I didn't see anything on the playing side of the disc, but I did see a little (LITTLE), piece of the label missing. The silver edge of the label, almost like they didn't shellac the label under. I can't imagine it will affect the play. Maybe some people having these issues, actually use the real disc and the life in a car maybe too much for them.

    I agree that some players can have trouble playing some disc, sometimes a software update will do you, my Blu-ray player needed an update once to play some movie.

    Furthur agree damn things should last a lifetime. They used to say cassettes were only good for so long, I think the trouble there were "store bought" cassette, I think the tape was thinner and very easy to have stretch or snap. But my Maxwells that I made in 1980 still play AND they were carried around in the car. And we know, short of fire, vinyl IS forever! Hell a paper cone with a pin shoved thru it will play a LP. My collection of 78's are from the 40's, still play. Though can be hard to find a turntable that plays 78's and in my case a turntable to play anything!

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"To my ears, the best Dead shows are those that not only fit the criteria that make them amongst the best of a year, but that are also completely unique for their era—shows that fit perfectly into their year of performance, but also fall somewhat outside of the norm for that year. Harpur College, Veneta, Cornell, Cape Cod, and Augusta are all shows that are objectively excellent, and if they are not the best from their respective years of performance, they are certainly unique. Miami 6/23/74 falls into that category: not only one of the very best shows from this outstanding year, but also one of the most interesting and unique. It’s certainly worthy of many, many deep listens." - David Lemieux

¡Ándale, ándale! ¡Arriba, arriba! We're back with a hot one from Miami, F-L-A. DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 34 features the complete show from the Jai Alai Fronton, 6/23/74, one with unparalleled sound quality due in equal parts to the Wall Of Sound and the beautiful sonic clarity of Kidd Candelario's tapes. The first set is chock full of dynamite takes on classics like "Ramble On Rose," "Mississippi Half-Step," and "Cumberland Blues." The second set delivers on the JAMS - one leading into a gorgeous "Ship Of Fools," one rare instrumental version of "Dark Star," and a "Spanish Jam," this is Miami after all! The show also offers up a "first" and an "only" - the former, a Seastones set featuring Phil and Ned Lagin and the latter, the sole Grateful Dead performance of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock."

Limited to 22,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOL.34: JAI ALAI FRONTON, MIAMI, FL 6/23/74 has been mastered from the 7.5 IPS reel-to-reel tapes to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman. ¡Agarrarlo mientras esta calientito! (Get it while it's hot!)

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

Subscribed to Dave's Picks? With this release, you'll also get a bonus disc with selections from Miami 6/22/74. Excellente!

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I still think 'rock of ages' by def leppard is better.

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this garcia live is really good can tell Jerry digging CC.

LAst five ish

jeff beck performing this week? live at ronnie scott's
CRB Betty's Midwestern Magic Blends
CLC Fearless Flying Frog Brigade Live Frogs sets1-2
Metallica S&M
Pretenders...Mix....got brass in pocket
current garcialive...someday baby

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13 years 1 month
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Ha!...I used to play the shit out of that Pyromania album back in the day.

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It's in 30 Trips and is currently blasting through my Bose desktops. Nice concert. Jerry in his prime was just the best. Still had the chops, energy and young man voice then. And mostly dark hair. God, did anyone ever age faster than Garcia?

No matter. Landscaping update: as everyone has been on the edge of their seat regarding this, yes, it is done. About eight hours worth. I powered through with coffee and White Claws and Stones, Jimmy Page and the Black Crowes from my ghetto blaster. I did go kind of loud, and either the neighbors dug the tunes or were afraid to ask me to turn it down (either is OK).

I don't usually play Dead concerts on the anniversary date, but as I was scrolling down through iTunes I randomly picked out today's 1977 30 trips show and it was a few songs in before I noticed it, so I took it as a sign.

A sign that... who the fuck knows? Lottery tickets are already bought. Anyway this is a great show and I'm currently enjoying Brown Eyed Women. All women have at least one brown eye, and some have three. God that was horrible.

Last five (previous):

Dr. John - Gris Gris
Rolling Stones - Some Girls
Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes - Live at the Greek
Van Halen - Fair Warning
David Gilmour - Live in Gdansk

\m/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/georgehoward/2020/04/25/the-grateful-dead-…
....as someone who loves to laugh, that brown eye woman comment achieved its purpose ledded. I raise my IPA to you sir.
Last high fives? Pretty much The Kinks and The Dead. Played Check Your Head by the Beastie Boys late last night too.

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October 6th 2020

Ledded…..I am sure you are an intelligent and reasonable human being, so why do you assume your neighbours would be too scared to ask you to turn your music down? And why is this ok with you, if they are ?

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Anyway you slice it takes four disc's to release this show without cutting any songs. If it were a Dave's Picks disc 1 & 2 would be filled and the end of the show big Jam would have to be disc 4 (Bonus Disc). That leaves Disc 3 with only twenty minutes of music.

Would that be okay or would it need filler??? And what would that be???

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Four Winds, your idea for a box set still sounds great to me, four shows from the Fillmore East and four shows from the Fillmore West. I would personally like ten shows from each venue, but would be happy as hell with whatever was released.

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Yeah that would be great. I think I said June '70 and Sept. '70. I also think there are missing reels from these shows I hope that they have made there way back into the vault along with some '69 shows.

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My guess is we get that in a May 73 box with the 3 shows that they did that month??? I know the other 2 aren't Betty Boards, just a thought!!! I love the end of the He's Gone from 5/26/73..... bob t

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The only other way is a Box Set. I wounder if Dave and Co. are trying to figure this out maybe we can help, but the only thing I came up with for fill is Kezar '75 and then I realize that had been released already (Beyond Description Bonus CD). The only two shows ever played there.

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In reply to by Lovemygirl

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Can you expand on "October 6th 2020"?? Thanks

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Vikes--It took me many trips and phone calls, but I finally secured some Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City to enjoy whilst spinning DaP34. It sounds like it's on back order, and given how many stores told me that they had been trying to get some for quite a while, it made me wonder if you were able to find any. If not, and you would like some for when the delightful package appears at the door, please let me know, and I'll gladly give you some of my stash.

Nappy and IceCream--thanks for the tips! Haven't torrented in a few years, but it's working well.

Last five PURCHASED (yes, still purchasing during the quarantine):
Rolling Stones Mono Box
Sheila Jordan: Lost and Found
Sarah Vaughan: Live at Mister Kelly's
Asia: Self-Titled
Minnesota Orchestra: a bunch of their new Mahler symphony series

Asia was one of my first cassettes, and Heat of the Moment was one of my first favorite radio hits, so I have sentimental love for this title. I purchased Asia Gold a few years back, which has the entire first LP included on it, but the sound on it is terribly compressed and brickwalled. Plus, who DOESN'T want that dragon cover to gaze upon? :)

Listening to Sam Cooke as I type this. His voice is like melted butter on warm lefse.

Be kind, rewind.

With all this time to listen to music I have been able to squeeze in some other bands over the last few days.

Studio albums:
Van Halen 1-6.
Loaded them all into my carousel CD player and played them in order.
No Van Hagar allowed in my house.

Live:
Blues Traveler 6-5-93 (torrent)

Commercial Live releases:
Bowie July 74 Tower Theater
Bowie 9-5-74
(As far as official live Bowie releases go, Santa Monica 72 is still the best to me)

Kinks - One For The Road
Led Zep - Song Remains The Same
Hard Working Americans - We’re All In This Together

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So during this time of isolation, my wife took it upon herself to clean out the utility room. She comes across a bunch of old photos of mine and tucked in there is a list of all the shows I attended. At one point I had saved every ticket stub, but unfortunately they were lost in one of the many moves as a youth. I mentally lost track of the later years as the number of shows started to accumulate, so I was overjoyed that she found a complete list.

After Brent died, I took almost two years off from seeing shows. Not sure what motivated the return, but we drove to Philly for the 3/17/92 show and scalped tickets. The show was nothing short of putrid. Thinking we simply caught an off night, we gave the summer Buffalo show a chance. A bit better, but not overwhelming. I remember walking towards the exit before the encore to get a jump on traffic. We heard them begin Baba O’Reily and just kept walking. I stopped going to shows for over another year.

From then on, it appears from the venues that we selected shows in an effort to meet up with old friends more so than to see the band. The band was simply a reason to reacquaint. In all the later years I only recall the fall 94 MSG shows as being inspiring, aside from a song or two. Summer 94, with Traffic, was the most disappointing. Traffic is a band I love.

In writing this I am not attempting to bang on the later years. I understand a lot of you enjoy this era and am very glad you do. It’s just interesting to reflect on your own mindset at the time.

Can’t wait for October 6, I guess.

Peace.

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To Angry Jackstraw,
That's funny!! 3/17/92 was my first show. I had not been exposed to any post-Brent tapes at this point. I scored some Saint Patties miracle drops before the show. Putrid is a fair description of this concert. Please, no one take offense at the following comment. My sight was hindered and I couldn't really make out the stage. I wondered why I had not heard that a African-American woman had joined the band (Vince) while hearing "Way to go Home" for the first time. After that the second set really fell into decay and I remember during Truckin' "How do they get with this?" (playing sooo poorly). Anyway, a few days later I got a soundboard of 6/14/91 RFK and was relieved to find that my favorite band wasn't totally finished after losing Brent.
End of story.

....Las Vegas 5.19.95. Painful. Almost left at setbreak. But me and my gang stayed. Should've left.
Hindsight is 20/20, but that was a bad show. I give other late era shows a break, but not that one.
Next two were definitely better, especially 5.21. My only birthday show. Made it by the skin of my teeth.
Even so, the gang and I mail ordered for MSG '95 for our first east coast shows. That didn't pan out.

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Can't wait to hear this show in full.

Luckily I was able to work from home since mid March - so i've been binge-ing on my boxzillas.
- Phish Baker's Dozen - As a whole some of it felt forced, but more than a handful of good jams for sure.
- 30 Trips - A chance to listen to revisit some that i haven't listened to in a while...77, 83 shows are monstrous! (67, 69, 70, 79, 84, 85, 87, 89, 91 are my fav) Wish they'd use a better show from 80 and 81.
- Currently halfway through Europe '72 box (5/3/72) - should finish the box before DaP 34 arrive!

Stay safe everyone.

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I think I fell asleep mid-post on 4/24. I listened to anniversary shows Rockin' the Rhein and DaP 7, "Back to Normal with the Grateful Dead". Geesh if I posted this already, round of whoopsies to everyone at the bar.

Anyway, nothing to say about the Rhein that's worth repeating, but DaP 7 was the show that made a completist out of me. I was not a subscriber, but it was shortly after I picked up several E72 shows in 2014, still available ala carte on dead.net (ah, if only I could relive those days of discovery). Digressing here - my wife would typically question the need for a show every 2 weeks, then a show a week, then multiple shows a week. Exactly like Jimbo's Bird Song video. But my daughter's were both under 10 yrs old and loved the walk to the mailbox to see what goofy pictutre would be on the front cover of the newest E72 show. And just in case that wasn't enough, I began ordering those Liquid Blue Grateful Dead stuffed animal bears for them. At that point I didn't even have to look out for the mailman; I had my hench-kids on duty with a vested interest.

Anyway- let's get Back to Normal with the Grateful Dead. I forget what I paid on eBay, maybe $50 or $60. I selected it because The Music Never Stopped received rave reviews on Heady Version specifically for the jam from around 3:45 - 5:45 (it may still hold the #1 spot). Anyway, I listened to the entire show and the first set (including the fabled but overrated "Staying Alive" riffs) was a sizzler like I never recalled. I usually fast forward past those slow post-hiatus versions of FOTD; but I guess I didn't get to it in time, and before I knew it Garcia was absolutely shredding it up around the 5 minute mark - who knew? Not sure if he always does this on FOTD, but man does that first set sizzle. And to be honest the second set (sans The Music Never Stopped) was always the better part of the show for me. Anyway - DaP 7 - hot first set.

Hundred Year Hall - I'm up to Good Lovin'. One of my fav versions - the riff under the main verses sound super jazzy - like Vince Guaraldi Trio jazzy. Definitely one of the better shows. Can't wait for the Lovelight and The Other One.

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I started seeing shows in Fall '84, the 10/9/84 Worcester show and saw a few a year in the NY, NJ, PA, CT, area from '85 to '88 and never felt disappointed in a show, even in Spring '86, pretty much always had a good time, often a great time. In '89 the only show I saw was the 7/2/89 Foxborough show and it was good. In '90 I saw one show, the 7/16/90 show at Buffalo, and it smoked, had a great time, gorgeous sunny day, cool vibe at the show, awesome. Left feeling like it couldn't have been better. In '91 I saw one show, one of the Spring '91 shows at the Knickerbocker in Albany, 3/25/91, and it was good. Last show I saw was summer '94 at the Meadowlands, and that show was disappointing. Left feeling generally bummed.

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The Dead played Whats Become of the Baby for the only time. This show was released as Dick's Picks 26. Unfortunately, the encore wasn't included. The encore starts out with a killer version of Viola Lee Blues, they play a recorded version of What's Become of The Baby and play feedback over it, or so I'm told by my brother.

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I saw the Alpine's from 87-89.... 6-22-88 just not good. Listen to Stella Blue!! Phil was late and flew in by helicopter, 22 minutes of pre-drums music... Scarlet>I will take you home, first time played... (I like, I will take you home, but not after a Scarlet... I think this is the reason 6/23/88 is everyone's favorite of the run... They must've had something going on at Lake Geneva after the show!! Sorry to be negative... bob t

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I went to Grad School there and was happy to get a copy of the show when i was there!! Normal in French means to teach and that is how the college first started as a teaching college.. Ironic right now I am listening to RPI Field House from 5/7/78.... Listen to the Music Never Stopped on the audience version...so good... Favorite Werewolves of London from 4/24/78 bob t

Don’t know if I’ve ever heard the recording.

I was at 3-23,24-92 and they weren’t bad (other than Wave To The Wind and Way To Go Home), I actually had a lot of fun and still listen to the recordings (but skip the aforementioned songs).

7-2-95 was the worst show I witnessed.

Nevertheless, I’m thankful for every show I got to see and wish I’d seen more. College and a general lack of funds really hampered my ability to go to a lot of shows.

Icecrmcnkd...Santa Monica 1972 is my favourite live David Bowie show, too. I was lucky enough to catch him live later that year when he returned to England. Nassau Colisseum 1976, from the Station to Station tour is another great one.

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In reply to by daverock

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You got to see Ziggy and the Spiders? That’s awesome.

That’s my favorite era. The Ziggy DVD is great.

I saw Bowie in 87 and 90.

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Yes, I was right at the front-I can still see him in my minds eye. They opened with Lets Spend the Night Together, with Bowie playing a synthesizer. First time I had ever heard one. It was also the only time I ever saw David Bowie, but I am sure, going off films I have seen, that he was great live in any era.

The gig I saw before this one was T.Rex. 1972...and completely oblivious to the Dead's visit. Or even their existence. I wouldn't have been ready for them anyway.

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Bowie did a couple of shows at N.Y.C's Roseland Ballroom in June 2000 to warm up for The Glastonburry Festival later that Summer in Britain. Roseland only holds about 1500 and it is standing room -- no seats. I saw the last show which was a Greatest Hits night. I stood about 20 feet away from the man. What a great night that was! Oh and the ticket cost only about $40.

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6/15/95, Highgate

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First show was 7/1/84. A pretty decent one. Then caught Alpine 86 and 87'. Both fun memorable runs, especially 87'. Show were good. Missed Alpine 88' but did attend Buckeye which was a really good show. First set was smoking hot like the weather. Then saw them in Ann Arbor and Alpine on '89. Epic shows. Had front row center tickets for JGB at Pine Knob but that show was cancelled late in the game (ironically Poplar Creek was the next night and just released). Saw a bunch of Dead and, Weir Wasserman and a couple of JGB shows in 90' and 91' and every one ranked from excellent to epic. 92' was my highest attended year of shows. Must have had the luck of the draw because even those were good to great.

My first real disappointment in a Dead show was 3/14/93. The night before was cancelled because of a blizzard. The night they played had moments, but the big highlight was the debut of I Fought The Law. Felt like the boobie prize. Granted, going back for a listen many years later and it wasn't as bad a night as I remembered. Saw a few others in 93' but nothing particularly memorable. Soldier Field with Sting was entertaining. Saw 3 in 94' including Jerry's birthday shows. Those were ok. Moments. In 95' I attended the Palace, Deer Creek and Soldier Field. Palace were the strongest of those, but by then Jerry was but a shell of his former self just a few years prior. His decline was rapid.

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Morning, rockers!!

This just in:

Major upgrade to 3/3/71, courtesy of Jamie Waddell and Jason Chastain. Gentlemen, we thank you!!! The previous circulating copy of this little known and underrated show was downright crappy, portions unlistenable. It's a rocker, raw and edgy, good dose of greasy Pigpen, not quite April yet but it ain't chopped liver either...……………

You know where to find me...…….

Rock on my friends!!!

Doc
P.S. Worst show? Maybe 4/4/86, Garcia was out of it and blew the first set Crazy Fingers badly...…..

Vguy72...I agree with your universal statement about loving music. I feel incredibly lucky having such a resource to hand that keeps me (un) sane, and has done for decades. And when I think of all the gigs I have been to since 1972 - simply amazing good fortune. If I never go to another gig in my life, I have had exceptionally long and good innings.

Having just been for my weekly shop, I am reminded again of all the people working through this lockdown to keep things running as smoothly as possible. It is easy to take people for granted...but the incredible service that so many "taken for granted" people routinely offer is now becoming very apparent. So much of my happiness is based on the hard work and good will of others.

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In reply to by SPACEBROTHER

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I’m finding the worst shows discussion interesting and since I was at both of the last two mentioned shows I was at I thought I’d throw in my two cents. First 3/14/93. – Yes a disappointment but not awful. It was lackluster – there was no energy in the room – not from the band not from the crowd. The night before was cancelled – and yes you can call it a snowstorm, but it was also called the “blizzard of 93” and “the storm of the century”. If you made it there you drove through historic weather conditions and had to dig out of three and a half feet of snow to get to the venue. The night of the cancelled show there were great parties in all the hotels which was cool, but getting to the show next day – no shakedown – freezing cold – it just sucked the life out of everyone. People sat for most of the show – seriously when did that happen? The “I Fought the Law” was the highlight, and it did feel like the booby prize – but me and my friends thought it was a comment on fighting the laws of nature and it was ok. But we packed up and headed south (after they reopened the highways) and were greeted with solid shows in Landover.

Highgate ’95 was HORRIFIC. The scene as terrifying. Well over twice as many people as they could handle – and this was in a field in the middle of nowhere Vermont. I was living in Burlington VT at the time and the show the year before was such a cool scene and such a fun show we had high hopes. Awful, just awful. Besides the chaos and the violence in the crowds - before and after the fences were ripped up - the band just sucked. Bob Dylan opened and he sang more clearly than Jerry. Thank god for Candice Brightman she was the star of that show.

But there were always nights that just were no good, it was the nature of the beast. It was the price you paid for the magic nights on the other end that were simply indescribable so I won’t try. But the bummers were few and far between… until 1992 and then the number of bummers as well as “OK” shows started to increased slowly at first and by the end of ’93 exponentially and the golden shows became rarer and rarer.

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8 years 1 month

In reply to by Mornduvt

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Still no shipping notice here. Anyone else?

Any clue how many June 1976 box sets are left? I am a little surprised this hasn't sold out yet? I ordered mine on the first day and have 9,911.

Be well folks.

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Red Rocks, 8-30-78... as I learned later, between July and August, after the heady shows of July 7/8, they recorded Shakedown Street, returned to the Rocks and completely bombed in the first set. They cut it short, took a longish break and after presumably making mental adjustments, returned to deliver a decent second set.

Perhaps after the July shows, everyone including the band thought you could just show up at the Rocks and magic would happen. It's a classic reminder that no performer is immune to a bad night or a weak start.

But between '78 and I think '87, I caught every GD show at the Rocks (it's 20 minutes from my house). And I think the level of performance tapered off in the '84-'85 period, but they never just blew a set like good old 8-30-78.

...since you're compiling, you can put me down for that Highgate '95 show. Although I was shrooming pretty good, so I didn't realize the $hit that went down until the next day.

That was the night my brother and I had no car to sleep in, so we huddled literally on the cold Vermont Parking Lot ground with merely a bedsheet to share, as the entire parking lot was like gridlock.

Despite this show getting panned by most, I still never had a bad time at a Dead Show. I consider myself lucky to have been there at all, in consideration of the monumentally tiny sliver of time this Band was on this Earth actually playing all together. What are the odds of that? Truly a revelation.

Sixtus

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was not misinterpreted. It seems have have initiated a discussion on worst shows. That was not my intent. It was simply a glimpse back to that portion of my life. Turns out I went to both RFK shows in 95. I spent the last 20 years thinking I only went to the first night and that Black Muddy River was the last song I ever saw. Go figure. Brokedown Palace as an encore in my first and last show.

I saw plenty of bad shows, but always had a good time. Well mostly. 7/4/87 was one of the worst, but also the most fun.

To paraphrase Jimmy Buffett:

Some of it's magic
Some of it's tragic
But I had a good time all the way

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15 years 10 months

In reply to by Angry Jack Straw

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7/4/87 was my first show - I worked as a stagehand. I loved the time and technology the band used to set up for the show. I had worked a lot of shows, mostly at Umass, but there was nothing like a GD show. When we built the stage, the staging towers used by the PA and light truss were isolated from the main stage. When they set the audio, they spent a considerable amount of time getting it just right. When the band (minus Dylan) performed the sound check they kept practicing and practicing Knockin'. The show got delayed while Dylan sat in the back of his limo in the backstage area. I loved the show and years later, listening to the archive or a tape, I realized it was not up to par to some of my favorite shows I saw.

My next shows after this was the pair up at Oxford ME, which were intense and wonderful.

But going to Highgate 95 was the epitome of a bad show, bad scene - I knew it was the end, but it did not stop me from doing Mailorder for the Fall run at the Gahden. We got our Mailorder tix the day Jerry died...

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saw a bad dead show. Both 94 and 95 shows I saw were excellent, even the one where we all got tear gassed, it was still a great show.

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Las Vegas in late June = HOT _AF_. I was sooooo happy to return to Seattle after that.

The heat made enjoying the show almost impossible. And the performance was just blah.

I do remember seeing the moon rise, and a plane flew "through" it. I don't think that's a false memory...

8/21/93, 8/22/93, 6/17/94, 6/19/94, 6/26/94 (on cassette), 5/24/95, 5/25/95, and 5/26/95 are/were all excellent, so I can let 6/25/94 go.

10/09/94
USAir Arena - Landover, MD

It's no secret I have a love/hate relationship with Crapitol Centre, except there is no love. Unless you have AAA++ seats the shape of the building is just terrible for indoor acoustics.

In truth, the soundboard sounds better than what I remembered.. I was there with my finance at the time and I just don't have a good memory of the (last) Comes a Time, which is odd because I love that tune. I was either too busy babysitting a first timer through her first show (and another friend) or there is the possibility we left early, but I don't ever remember leaving a dead show early.

I hadn't seen a show since View from the Vault II, the 91 RFK show.. so it had been a while.

So there it is.. a C- effort with a couple high points and Jerry just looked and sounded terrible for the beginning of the second set. Still had an ok time, a bad day with the dead always beats a good day in the office.

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In reply to by JimInMD

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When I think of the vast amount of Dead shows I attended (5), I would say the last one, on 11/1/90 was the worst. The previous night seemed great musically, but I had argued with my girlfriend, we left the show early and she had gone home in a huff. To make sure of a better night on 1st, I ate a fist full of mushrooms before leaving the hotel. And got lost on the way to the show. The London Underground during rush hour is not the ideal place to trip.

But anyway, despite getting lost, I still managed to arrive at Wembley before the show started. I was up in the balcony, to the right of the stage where the keyboards were. When the band came on, and started playing I couldn't believe how bad it sounded. All I could hear was Bruce's piano and one drummer. I charged downstairs, and demanded to be let into the stalls, as the sound wasn't carrying upstairs. I was easily rebuffed by the bouncers and went back to my seat having narrowly avoided a good, and much deserved, kicking. The man next to me shared a smoke.... and everything slid back into focus. The music I enjoyed best that night was drums and space. This despite the fact that Dark Star was played.

So that was the worst show I saw. But it was me that made it so.

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I will add 6/27/95 to the list of worst shows. Band wasn't in sync, Jerry was just plain off. Remember driving home and my wife saying to me, maybe we've stayed too long at the party (first show for me was in '74, hers in '77). Good news is that we went back for the 6/28/95 show and that was good old Grateful Dead - left us with smiles on our faces. Who knew that would be the last show for many of us.

Wasn't at the Soldier Field show - the final one - but listening to boots of that one make a case for it to be on the list - maybe not worst, but not much better than that.

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