Dave’s Picks Volume 34: Jai Alai Fronton, Miami, FL 6/23/74

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April 21, 2020 - 9:32am

2,197 replies

clayv

Joined:
March 14, 2018

"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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May 1, 2020 - 2:07am

#1811

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Credit where credits due

Frank on the Bickershaw review below.....much as I'd like to take credit, its Simon, not me, what wrote it.

I also attended a mud bath, though-Reading 1977. After three days or so of trekking through the mud, the soles of my shoes literally fell off. Hawkwind-also veterans of Bickershaw 1972- played mid afternoon one day, but it was a bit of a mess all round. I can remember Wayne/Jayne County and the Electric Chairs tried to play and got bottled off. The same thing happened with a reggae band-possibly Steel Pulse. The atmosphere was dominated by loud ,drunk, white, men in their late teens and early 20s-and anything they didn't like they smashed or bottled. Heavy metal and punk were the defining sounds.
Round about that time it became very unhip to be tolerant of anything. And that mood, as far as I could tell, permeated the 1980s, too. That's in England, I should say- I am not assuming it was like that in America.
May 1, 2020 - 1:55am

#1812

frankparry

Joined:
June 8, 2007

Bickershaw

Great write up Daverock! The closest I ever came to such a scene was a Genesis ‘reunion’ at Milton Keynes Bowl which was a fundraiser for Peter Gabriel’s Womad which, in it’s first year lost a packet. It rained like there was no tomorrow and mud pies were thrown at anyone with a brolly. Got home soaked and caked in mud but very happy even though I had to listen to Talk Talk before Genesis came on.
May 1, 2020 - 12:34am

#1813

simonrob

Joined:
June 7, 2007

Bickershaw liner notes for Mustin and others...

For Mustin123, who asked about how it was to be at Bickershaw and seemingly doesn't have the show on CD, here below are the liner notes that I wrote for that. Indeed Wilfred was correct in identifying me as the responsible party.

There has been some discussion on here recently about bad shows, fun shows etc. Bickershaw was neither of these. Due to the meteorological combination of a monsoon and an ice age, being there certainly was not fun. I doubt that any of the attendees would say it was a fun experience, but there was some great music played so it certainly wasn't a bad experience either. That the weather had improved by the time the Dead got to play was a big bonus but their performance ensured that the climatic conditions could easily be forgotten. Incidentally, tickets for all three days cost a mere 2.25 pounds

Anyway, here are the liner notes (note: I was asked to provide more a general overview of the festival than to focus specifically on the Dead's performance) :

Bickershaw was a place that I had never heard of, but it was hosting a festival and the Grateful Dead were going to be there for the only festival appearance of their European tour. This was too good to miss. While the good-time peace-and-love festival ethos had come to an abrupt end in America at Altamont in late 1969 (indeed the Dead had been scheduled to play there but had declined shortly before their performance due to the situation), festivals in England were still pretty cool and relaxed.
Bickershaw turned out to be a small coal-mining village that time had largely forgotten. The festival site was on the wrong side of the tracks, literally. Having crossed the colliery railway sidings it was immediately apparent that the site was a desolate swamp complete with reed beds and a lake. There was also a lake at Woodstock and we had all seen the beautiful people skinny-dipping in the sunshine. Here it was different. Here there was a sign by the lake with the terse warning “Crap in water, do not drink”. To make matters worse, the weather was bad. It was unseasonably cold with frequent rain that continued for most of the three days of the event and there was a bitter wind. At least nobody was likely to consider swimming in the toxic pond. As I recall, most of the site was covered in a layer of mud and in places it was seriously deep. There was no way the mud at Woodstock could compare with this stuff. This was going to be all about survival and it was obvious from the outset that only the music could provide salvation. We just had to hope.
During the first two days there was enough good music and other distractions to keep the hypothermia at bay. The other distractions included such oddities as fire-eaters, acrobats, high-wire cyclists, an aerial display and high divers. Friday’s highlights included a fine performance from Dr. John who liberally sprinkled the audience with mystical gris-gris powder. The final act on Saturday was Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band who played an awesome and astonishing set the likes of which I had never seen before – or since. Large video screens on either side of the stage added to the experience. Finally Sunday – the day of the Dead – dawned, cold and grey. Still trying to come to terms with what the Captain had done to my brain, I evicted a frog from my wet sleeping bag and settled down to listen to the day’s musical offerings. In front of the stage things had taken a distinct turn for the worse when the tank used by the divers was simply emptied onto the already muddy ground creating a quagmire of unprecedented proportions. In the afternoon the New Riders of the Purple Sage played a fine set, but it was more suited to sunny California than the tempest that we were enduring in northern England. Despite the conditions, the crowd remained, defying the weather. It was obvious why most people stuck it out to the end – they wanted to see the Grateful Dead and a bit of inclement weather was not going to get in the way of that.
At last it was time for the grand finale – and the Dead did not disappoint. The first set was powerful enough to drive away the rain clouds and for the first time in three days the sun appeared. Things were definitely looking good. Around this time the fences around the site disappeared, presumably blown down by the arctic winds or stolen for scrap metal. This allowed the villagers come and see what was happening and whole families showed up to gaze at the spectacle. It must have looked like Armageddon to them. By now the Dead were back on stage for their second set, playing to this surreal mixture of mud-caked long-haired freaks and coal miners in their best Sunday clothes with their wives and kids in tow. As the set progressed, the music ascended to ever higher planes. Cultural differences melted away as hippies and miners grooved together. Things got even better as Dark Star > The Other One was complimented by an impressive firework display. The band were obviously up for it as they played on and on despite the cold. Sadly, all good things must come to an end and after a seemingly endless performance it was all over and we were left standing in a dark, cold swamp trying to take in what we had just experienced. It was true – there really was nothing like a Grateful Dead performance. Due to the magic of the music and the resilience of the estimated 30,000 attendees, the vast majority appeared to have had a great time despite the conditions which, by the end, had paled into insignificance.
April 30, 2020 - 11:58pm

#1814

fourwindsblow

Joined:
October 13, 2008

DeadVikes - Warlocks Box Mix

Mixing - Mike McGinn, He also did JFK '89 and maybe one other. These don't sound as good as they should have. The Don Pearson Ultramatrix cassettes sound way better.
April 30, 2020 - 11:08pm

#1815

carlo13

Joined:
April 26, 2017

Jasmine

I was just burning some jasmine incense and remembered coming home in the mid eighties from a stretch of dead shows on the east coast and reeking of jasmine and patchouli sweat. I remember those religious fliers that were passed around with the cool illustrations even though I was always an atheist. also passing around Greenpeace fliers and stickers that
we would get from donations to GP. I'm sure some of you guys remember those fliers. Everytime I smell jasmine and frankincense it reminds me of those days.
April 30, 2020 - 8:24pm

#1816

Vguy72

Joined:
June 29, 2007

😊🙃🙂😉❣✌🤙...

....Thank you Mustin. You are correct, kind sir. I stand corrected,, for all the right reasons. All lumped together though, but I can figure it out.
Another reason why this is the kindest corner of the internet.
April 30, 2020 - 8:14pm

#1817

wilfredtjones

Joined:
June 4, 2007

mustin321

Sent you a PM.
April 30, 2020 - 7:49pm

#1818

mustin321

Joined:
August 12, 2011

VGUY

All of the Road Trips are on Spotify as well. You gotta look under the compilations section.
April 30, 2020 - 7:28pm

#1819

Vguy72

Joined:
June 29, 2007

E72 is on Spotify....

....as Mustin said. DP's too. No Daves or Road Trips.
April 30, 2020 - 7:17pm

#1820

billy the kid

Joined:
December 3, 2019

Bob T / Cassidy

The song Cassidy, is also written partly about Neal Cassidy, besides Cassidy Law. Also, some of the lyrics refer to the death of John Barlow's father. But your right the song is named after Cassidy Law.

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

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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!

Nappy/Bear’s Sonic Journals

NAPPYRAGS, so happy to hear your good news!! There’s so much cancer going on in my tiny circle of friends, it’s frightening. I’ve lost 1, another has months to live, and a 3rd is doing well. I love to hear good news!!
Also, thanks for the hot tip on Bear’s Sonic Journals. I’m on it!!
Lastly, I was going through and playing some Janis Joplin cds recently, and was quite surprised to see that the 1968 Carousel Ballroom show released in 2012 states at the top: Bear’s Sonic Journals Presents....so that’s yet ANOTHER B’s SJ to collect. It also comes with rather strange instructions on speaker placement to enhance your listening pleasure. Crappy cover art, but a nice photo in the gatefold.
Less than 48 hours to go, my skin’s getting clammy & I feel nauseous......

Sorry Billy but

I forgot to mention the Cody releases on the 24th of this month...

Nappy Rags/ Comander Cody

I bought two copies, one for me and one for my brother. July 24th is right around the corner, lots of great music coming soon, two Garcia# 14s , two WMD next week, and a Dave's Pick from 9/20/70 or 10/9/82 on August 1st. What a great time!

Cowbell = Dark Star

The Christopher Walken cowbell skit from SNL. Replace cowbell with Dark Star and that's where I'm at. I got a FEVER. And the only cure is more Dark Star. 8/30/69.

Nappy rags-congratulations !

You mentioning your scan reminds me of one I had done about 12 years ago. It was amazing looking on the screen - I never knew it, but it seems I have a psychedelic light show inside my body. And there was me thinking it was all in my mind.
Talking of cellos, 50 years after the event I got round to buying Mick Farren's "Mona (The Carnivorous Circus) last week. You wouldn't think a cello solo would fit on a version of Bo Diddley's Mona-and it doesn't! Sergeant Pepper had a lot to answer for. Still, its different, I'll give it that.

25 years ago today...

Long live the Grateful Dead

* New & more Grateful Dead!

FOR THE COMMITTED
AND THE CURIOUS
Gather round every Thursday as we tell the tales of Grateful Dead days of yore! The Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast, the first official podcast of the Grateful Dead, is devoted to exploring the music and mythology behind one of the most enduring, progressive, and influential bands in the history of recorded music. Here, we invite you to delve into the band’s enormous mythology in digestible chunks. Think you know it all? We'll probe corners of the band’s history you never knew existed. No topic will be off limits.
Hosts Rich Mahan and Jesse Jarnow will take the lead, picking up special guests from the Dead universe along the way. Upcoming episodes will feature interviews with Dennis McNally, David Lemieux, David Nelson, Bill “Grateful Red” Walton and Trixie Garcia, amongst many others.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of WORKINGMAN'S DEAD, we're kicking things off with an eight-episode arch that examines each song on the album individually.
May the long strange trip continue across the pod!

*** Nappy Rags-…

*** Nappy Rags-“Congratulations !” Always grateful to hear grateful news! Peace be with you my brother, have a grateful day filled with lot’s of Love & Laughter! God bless my man!
🙏❤️💀🌹

Nappyrags

Great, great news! You must of been freaking out waiting....had similar situation with the misses a couple years ago. In her case we wouldn’t know anything until after surgery, and then wait for lab results, which they weren’t sure about, so then on to mayo or other advanced labs......finally all was good, but my god I thought the poor gal was gonna croak just from the stress of waiting! I can’t imagine how difficult that must be?
Rock on brother, and enjoy those awesome new tunes!

25 years ago today...

IWT! Long live the GD! :-)

Liking this podcast dead.net....

....thanks. Grate news nappyrags!!! Good news these days is nice to hear. 25 years ago, the bus ran out of gas. Thank you Jerry.

Great news, Nappy!

But not good about Morricone. I think I have a disc of John Zorn playing the music of Morricone; I'll have to dig that out . . .

Finally got to the second half of 5/19/74 on a road trip this week. Wow. I had been underwhelmed by the non-Vancouver 1973 shows in that box, and was not thrilled by the 5/17/74 show or the terrible-sounding first disc of Portland, but the last two discs of Portland are very special, as all of you knew long ago . . . I already know about the 5/21/74 Playin'. That was the first show from the box I listened to, on its anniversary after the box came out.

Jim--no shame on the Workingman's axe! I just received my Garcia jigsaw puzzle. :)

WTJ & KCJ

WTJ: yassss, sad but true..say my last Garcia show 25 years ago today....😞

Hey, thanks for the McCoy Tyner tips. Ripped Inception/Reaching Forth, Tender Moments, The Real Mccoy, and Sahara yesterday, great stuff! Going to add one with Stanley Clark and Al Foster today...can’t believe I didn’t have any of him yet. Thanks for the tips!

KCJ: please check your PMs

Great News Nappy!

Congrats...Keep on truckin’ dude!!!

Jim and Billy

Thanks, cool you were there Billy. I'll have to check out Dicks Picks #5 Jim.

Hey OROBOROUS!!!!

Check out 1972's "Extensions" by McCoy Tyner....amazing, and one of my fave LP covers to boot....the band is kinda good too...

Alice Coltrane _ Harp
Wayne Shorter_Tenor Sax
Gary Bartz_Soprano & Alto Sax
Ron Carter_Bass
Elvin Jones_Drums

The band is kinda good too

Lol, yeah, that’s a hell of a line up! Thanks for the tip. I’ll have to snag it next go round.

China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider. 12/28/83. S.F.Civic

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NgjtIHDke9w Big fun! The Dead were rocking.

* podcast , Im lov’n it to the bones! 💀🌹

*June 25, 2020 - 3:26pm#207
LOVEMYGIRL
RE/ News
... I’ve been told to expect some news very shortly that will make ALL types of Grateful Dead fans, I promise you that! A magnitude
Of humanity back in business on both sides. Prepare for special treat my friends !
(This was the big news too. ) have a grateful day everyone! Be safe be kind & be grateful, we are the most spoiled fans in the world Dig it, far out! Keep on trucking all you Grateful Dead fans & freaks! 🙏❤️💀🌹

Dave’s 35

Just got the email that Dave’s 35 is going to be 4/20/84 at Philadelphia Civic Center. I thought Lovemygirl said it was going to be 6/20/80.

DaP 35

It’s not Alaska

1984--Nice!

I was hoping for an 80s or 90s show. Someone here the other day mentioned how much she/he likes this "Holiday" show from 1984.

4/20/84

Thank goodness for Dave's Picks. This announcement is some much needed good news in these times.

4/20 no doubt.

Alaska

Those shows deserve their own box. There's also that Gainesville show that pops up in discussion.

As big of a fan of Brent and that era, I'm happy with anything that comes out. I have nothing but time on my hands and looks to be the case through the foreseeable future.

#35 Yeah

I like the setlist. My copy is so so. I HAVE to believe an "official" copy will be better. I like the cover. Thought this be one me and mine were at, but we appeared to have got east and north this tour. Long Island and Rhode Island. Guess we took and Island tour that year.

Re: 4/20/84

What a surprise, this 1984 show has been on my radar for many many decades. There's a fantastic epic Scarlet > Fire, I used to have an audience version of this show and man The Crowd Goes absolutely berserk during that sequence. Very happy to have some more 1984 Dead.

Hope everyone is well.
Sixtus

Dave's 35

They must be saving 7/13/84 for a box set.

Oh well...DaP # 35

I'm a bit under whelmed by this show...we shall see...

In the corner stands a boxer . . .

From the Wikipedia page for the Philadelphia Civic Center:
"The Championship fight scene for Tommy 'the machine' Gun played by real life boxer Tommy Morrison for the 1990 movie Rocky V was shot there."

I think I've seen only the first Rocky film . . .

DaP 35!

Hey All! So I have been doing a trip into the summer of 1985 so this release slightly, I mean ever so slightly, disappointed me on the choice. Again this is only because I have been going through (and loving) the summer 85 tour so I had this hope that one of those shows may get to see the light of day for #35. Despite that, my disappointment is miniscule in comparison to my excitement. I am really looking forward to hearing this one. I am sure it will offer up some great jams.

I checked out the setlist for 4/20/84 over at Deadlists real quick and it looks pretty good. I am sure the playing is top notch. I can't help but express how much I like this variety of years/eras in the releases and such. Between the 1976 box set, the 3 Dave's Picks, the 2/21/71 show on Workingman's and then all of the later era great shows from the Shakedown stream there is so much goodness in all of this. Definitely, this goodness is needed now more than ever for a lot folks.

Plus it's crazy to think that we still have the 50th reissue of American Beauty, DaP 36, 30 Days of Dead and possibly another box all on the way. I thankful for all of this. Hats off to Dave L. and the crew !

Dave's 35

My 5th birthday! I was not one of those toddlers fortunate enough to have parents hip enough to bring me to a dead show. That would have been a cool 5th birthday present. Instead I probably got a He-Man or something. But i digress.

There's at least one good aud of this on the archive. How cool would it be if they did a matrix with the healy tapes and a good aud? The sound quality has been the main thing holding shows from this period back and it'd be nice to see them get creative with some sources, Dave's Pick #8 style.

4/20/84

Dooooaaaahhh, was at the 16 & 17th so missed it by that much! Have a tape of 4/21 but guessing since I don’t recall it I mighta been underwhelmed? But that’s the 21, sounds like the 20th is hot?

DAVES=Multiple years, for good or for I’ll, I also have appreciated the effort to mix it up and cover more years with Dave’s. If only we could get 1/60s, 1/70s, 1/80s, and a 90s a year. But don’t see that happening...
Hopefully at least 1 80s or 90s a year. I think it’s doable and fair.

EDIT: Matrix,...what Slow dog said!

Yahoo!!!

Excellent choice, Dave!!!

Doubters, doubt not. This is a gooooood choice.

I promoted it recently on this here site. Coincidence? Hmmm...

DaP 35

I was there on 20 April 1984 in the old Philly Civic Center and saw the Grateful Dead. All of 27 years of age, I don't remember too much of the show, but the audience tapes I have sound quite well, but somewhat obscures this fine performance.
Great Dew!

Also

The first Dave's picks versions of:

My Brother Esau
I Need A Miracle
Keep Your Day Job

I know how pumped everyone is for the first Dave Picks Era Day Job.

Where's Bolo24?

I have not been following the comments of the releases here on dead.net for a while. Just reading through these recent comments on this Dave's Picks 34, I have not seen anything from our friend, Bolo24? About when was the last time he (or she) posted?
Anybody ever meet up with Bolo24 beyond the dead.net messaging system? He generally used to give us some odd clues about what he thought the next release is or could be.
So where is Bolo24?

Keep Your Day Job

My favorite song. Yeah, sure. My favorite, totally pumped for this one.

Day Job

I'm sure I'm in the minority here, but I think Day Job is a really cool tune, I dig it!

I thought it was going to be 4/21...

...78. Totally capitalizing on the holiday here. Anyone do track timings? Any chance for filler? I hope they do something special (Matrix maybe?) Fingers crossed. Definitely a bold choice...

Slow Dog Noodle # 1 sense of humor

Slow Dog, you crack me up, you are really funny, what a great sense of humor! I' m still laughing about your story about dipping your whole body in hand sanitizer. Keep it comming, it's fantastic!

By the power of Gray Skull

He-Man!

Keep your day job till your night job pays...

I too like "Day Job"...lyrics are fun ....what I wasn't a big fan of was the use of "Don't Ease Me In" either as a 1st Set closer or encore...always thought it was kind of flat with no real oomph in the playing, nothing special...

Day Job & Ease Me

My touring partner used to called the blow job and don't sleaze me in. He wasn't a big fan :-)

At least kydj and demi are short-n-fast tunes

Unlike LLR....

- Snarky the Sailor

And...

Wasnt demi one of their first singles?

"Demi Moore
back in the day
mighty nice
hey hey hey"

- Lil CPAP

Look! Here comes Professor Vasdeferenz...

"Don't Ease Me In vass der firsht GD sinkle back in 1966"

Thank you, Professor.

Alaska

Ha.. false prophet my ass!

Taping Compendium on 4-20-84

Anyone who wants to get a preview of what our fearless leader Dave L. will be probably be saying next Thursday check out the Taping Compendium. Tom Ferraro has some pretty interesting verbiage on his take of 4/20/84 . Although I am very interested in firing up this show I think I will wait the few weeks for it to come out. I have a feeling we are going to be told not to get caught up in the setlist but for an "84 show" they were firing on all cylinders. We shall see.

On another note someone posted this HILARIOUS video montage of The Music Never Stopped and it was one of those days I needed a good laugh so if you are having one of those days here ya go....God I miss Jack Tripper
https://youtu.be/RHf6tiFkr2s

081227909352

Product Magento URL

https://store.dead.net/special-edition-shops/dave-s-picks-store/dave-s-picks-vol-34.html