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    marye
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    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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  • #1301
    rockthing
    Joined:
    5/19/74 (Part II)

    Wrote these notes on Monday morning while drinking my coffee and getting ready to do some work from home. After a while I was mostly distracted by the show.

    I'll get to that Feb. 22 '69 show if I can, but I don't have that one handy. Hafta stream it.

    The ETree identifier of this source is 115876, btw. I don't have the box set, so these are my first impressions.

    It Must Have Been The Roses: Ok. /Now/ I'm awake. Possible tape change? There is suddenly a big improvement in sound quality for this hauntingly sensitive rendition. Jerry's voice is now clear above the guitars. Everything, save Phil, is suddenly much clearer and the sound field feels wider. Up to this point the tape had sounded like the tape the biker is listening to at the beginning of the Dead Movie. Nice harmony work during the refrain, blended well in the house mix.

    Loose Lucy: Gettin' in the funk. Jerry's just perfectly behind the beat to make it nice and nasty. If the syncopation isn't just right, this tune can completely lose all form really quickly. Loose Lucy must be a pretty new song at this point. I have no idea when this tune debuted. They didn't do this in concert much, as far as I know. I was lucky enough to see'em do it once, but the performance I saw was almost unrecognizable. Something was wrong with the timing, so it sounded all backwards. I was embarrassed to not even recognize it until Jerry started singing. This is a nice treat.

    I Know You Rider? Something seems to be wrong here. The info text says Money Money should be next followed by China/Rider, but we're just dropped into IKYR. Looks like some minor surgery might be needed on the meta data.

    Money Money: Ok. Someone's just mislabelled these files. Man, this has always been one of my least favourite songs in the Dead's catalogue. I rarely skip songs on albums, but being the album closer on Mars Hotel makes it easy. I don't think I've ever heard a live version of it, so this is kind of a treat, in its own sort of way. Having not heard it in such a long time, I guess it's not such a bad song. The negativity of the lyric just sems to strike such a contrast to most of the other stuff in the repertoire. John Lennon, for example, has a lot of negativity in his lyrics, but when I listen to him, I expect that.

    China Rider: Yeah. They're keepin' that funky groove going that was working so well during Loose Lucy. The transition jam seems to go almost immediately to an I Know You Rider feel. The guitar tone is very unusual here. It almost sounds like Bobby's Gibson 335 tone. He's playing lots of double-stops, where he plays two notes at a time even while soloing… wait… maybe that /was/ Bobby!? Some very cool interplay between Bobby and Phil before a guitar sound that is unmistakably Jerry joins in just ahead of the trademark unison bit before I Know You Rider. What is now clearly Jerry's tone keeps it going after the unison part, and now there's a Feelin' Groovy jam. I can almost see the smiling faces and twirling homemade sun dresses with flowers in the hair right now. Big, big ovation from the crowd as they settle into the Rider vamp before going into the first verse. They know what they've just heard. That was sweet, breezy, and smooth as can be. I'm guessing Jerry had some sort of equipment or other issue causing him to stop playing for a bit at the beginning of the transition. Oh, yeah, Jer, dig into that "On a north bound train" line. This and the out-of-place IKYR are going to get merged into one track when I get a chance.

    Set II:
    Promised Land: Yeah. Everybody's definitely up off their blankets now.

    Bertha: Got a little "Yee Haw" from someone nearby for "All night pouring, but not a drop on me." It's quite amazing how inobtrusive the audience is, considering this was recorded with a handheld mic by someone just hanging out in crowd.

    Greatest Story: Nice wah wah Jerry licks. Jerry's wah is so bubbly and has a rich swell, like the sound of a wave on the ocean. Using the rocking motion of the foot pedal definitely puts the player physically off balance, so I can understand why he seemed to abandon it later in favor of the Mutron "auto-wah" tone filter. Sounds so good here, though. Jerry's volume sounds cranked, though, totally drowning everything out. I ain't complaining. Oh, yeah. A little jam in GSET? They seem to have gone into something altogether different. I'm not sure if this is a set piece, but it feels unfamiliar to me. I know that I've heard occasional jams in Greatest Story, but they seem rare. This is definitely no longer the Greatest Story chord progression, but I don't know what it is, and then Wamp, Wamp-Wamp, right back into it. Now I'm gonna hafta start checking out Spring 1974 Greatest Stories. That was hot and adventurous, like maybe something went wrong and they fought through it… but maybe there was just a jam in this song back then.

    Ship of Fools: Giving the manic dancers their first break of the second set. The taper is stopping the tape between songs, though, so who knows how long they spent tuning in between. Very nice harmony work from Bobby and Donna.

    Weather Report: Seems a bit tentative in the earlier segments, but the Let It Grow jam is developing interestingly. The whole band just seems sort of in a gentle mood this night. Everything is soft and malleable, and most of all, creative, when they go off into improvised sections. The straight tunes are tight and, well, straightforward, but I'm hearing all sorts of novel ideas coming through during the instrumental segments. There seems to be a completely different confidence at work during this jazzy work out. You can hear Billy getting back to his swing roots and playing off Keith. This is fantastic. Such subtle interplay. Normally when I hear the full suite performed I wonder why they didn't continue to use the first parts, but in this case I didn't feel that way.

    Peggy-O: Jerry's picking is quite aggressive, and his tone is very chimey, even behind his vocal. Relaxed tempo, even by Peggy-O standards. In this recording it sounds almost like Billy and Jerry doing a duet, but Keith adds some accents here and there.

    ??: What is this? A playful little jam and some quiet noodling where the audience's shouts and requests become more prominent. Bobby announces technical difficulties.

    Truckin': Nice buildup, but not the major bomb drop I'm used to, and from there things start to get really weird. It's not spacy weird, just, "Whoa, what the heck is this?" weird. Some of the early 70s Truckin's could get totally abstract, so this is just the way they rolled back then. Great stuff. Gettin' that funky groove goin' from the first set again, even as the changes take on some jazzy influences. Bobby is very clear in the mix, and my oh, my it's gettin' Weir'ed. Jerry busts in with a burst of guitar feedback which seems to shock everyone for a moment, but they're still groovin'. This is the gold I look for in any show. It's funny because Mind Left Body actually sounds a lot like Loose Lucy. Billy and Phil getting' into a little funky-drummer exchange. Finally Phil breaks through in the mix with some space for him to hit that Bootsy one. In the info text "Jam" and "Mind Left Body Jam" had been listed separately, but they're actually all included in the Truckin' track, which is my preference. Cousinit made a real mess of this file set, but I can fix it. Rarely are there such glaring mistakes on the Archive, but this one has definitely been put together somewhat carelessly.

    NFA: This interesting because I've been listening to a lot of Alligator era NFA's or Bean era NFA's, and that gives a nice context to compare to this Wolf tone… of course, there is a LOT of recording tech affecting the sound here, but even though there's a nice honk, everything seems so nice and round and gently muted. Hey. What's this breakdown in NFA. Pretty sure I've never heard that before… and GTRFB. THAT, was an interesting transition.

    GTRFB: Nothing to worry about here. The old standby. Billy's hi-hat figure during the breakdown is, again, getting really funky with a swinging 16th note feel, or something. Very cool.

    US Blues: Mars Hotel weighted setlist. What month did that come out? Good, tight version.

    Johnny B. Goode: Full colosseum clap along for a high energy reading that does justice to the Check Berry original. Sometimes this can get a bit too languid. This one is rockin' hard.

    On repeated listen, I've messed with the EQ some. First of all I bumped up the EQ preamp level, I dunno, about 10db, I guess. I then added a further 12db of 64Hz, and 125Hz on the 10 band EQ to bring Phil nicely into the mix, but also lowered almost everything else about 6db on frequencies that had been flat to make the bass frequency differential greater. The bass still isn't terribly defined, but it at least brings Phil into play. He was completely inaudible without EQ. Got just a touch more vocal by giving the 1KHz and 2KHz about 1db. The tape has a sort of nostalgic cheap car speaker sound, so I actually wanna preserve a bit of that… not that I could really get rid of it. There's quite a nice venue ambiance, especially when there is more space in the arrangements, like during the Mind Left Body Jam.

    The vocal drop-outs others have mentioned were not audible to the audience.

  • #1302
    daverock
    Joined:
    2/22/69

    That is a great show. According to the cd notes it was recorded, along with shows in late January and the Feb-March shows, for possible inclusion on Live Dead. It probably won't happen - the song lists are obviously very similar, but it would make a great box set to release all the shows recorded.
    The shows from 1967-1971 inclusive are the main ones for me in 30 Trips.

  • #1303
    Forensicdoceleven
    Joined:
    You can't blame gravity for falling in love…..

    Mornin’, rockers!!!

    Pick Of The Day: Dream Bowl February 22, 1969

    Relatively speaking, the yang to the yin of February 21, 1969. True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist…..

    I have the space, you have the time, let’s revisit. Officially released in October 2015 as part of Thirty Trips Around The Sun, one almost never hears about this show, possibly because it gets overshadowed by the blazing white hot glare of the Fillmore West Shows of February 27th to March 2nd. This is very much “of a kind” with those shows, featuring the typically sweet Mountains Of The Moon (always loved that song!), a long exploratory Dark Star, a fierce, crunchy Other One, a deathly Death Don’t, a fine Eleven, and a greasy Lovelight that clocks in at a mere 21+ minutes.

    Great music, great sound quality, I suggest you find the time…..

    The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once…..

    Rock on,

    Doc
    There comes a time when the mind takes a higher plane of knowledge but can never prove how it got there…..

  • #1304
    daverock
    Joined:
    Heads in Mississippi

    That's good to read - they opened with Mississippi Half Step - Franklins Tower the first time I saw them 3/24/81. A great start to the show for sure.

  • #1305
    PT Barnum
    Joined:
    5-19-74

    In my experience, any show that starts off with Mississippi half-step uptown toodleloo is usually a great one and 5-19-74 is no exception. That pacific northwest box grows on ya, for sure.

  • #1306
    daverock
    Joined:
    5/19/74

    I haven't played it this year yet, but it has become one of my most played shows from this year - mainly because I bought it on vinyl. But it is really good, too. To me, it's better than its song list suggests - the songs leading up to the Truckin' jam are well played and forward moving, and that final jam is superb. It has been castigated in some quarters for the vocal drop outs. A price worth paying, in my opinion. All three 1974 shows in the box it was culled from are top notch.

  • #1307
    DeadVikes
    Joined:
    Dave's 13 and 42

    Hey Bluecrow, #13 is definitely in my top five. Love this show. Listen to it quite a bit. #42 hasn't resonated with me as much as #13, don't know why. How do you all feel?

    I will throw out Dave's Picks #7, 4/24/78, for our old buddy That's Otis. I believe you are fan of this era. Hope all is well out there for you and the rest of the crew!

  • #1308
    rockthing
    Joined:
    5/19/74

    I've got a beta-max transfer of 2/24/74... which stayed in heavy rotation for a long time when it first hit my library, but low and behold Portland 74 has collecting proverbial dust in the old hard disk, too. Time for something brand new (to me).

    A Pat Lee master cassette passed down the generations.

    It's a little hissy, and I'm not getting much Phil at the start, but Jerry and Bob's gutiars are crystal clear. Jerry's voice coming in a close second in the mix with some occasional Keith flourishes wafting to the fore. Billy's cymbals sound crisp, if somewhat thin. Getting a nice Jamaican dub sound when he switches to the highhat. Kick is in there, clear, but with with a soft tone, and none of the hyper-compressed abrasive contemporary festival sound. Donna's harmonies are on, and blended well with Jerry and Bob for the Across the Rio Grande-oh finale of Halfstep. Jerry plays an aggressive outro solo.

    Mexicali: The mix and tape quality remain consistent. It's mostly a guitar oriented sound, but Bobby's voice is clear, if slightly too far back. Even in '74 they could do this one in their sleep. Have you ever heard a real train wreck during Mexicali? I can't recall one. A fan let's out a hoarse, "Whao!" apparently feeling the southwest polka vibes.

    Big Railroad Blues. Love me some BRB. There are short pauses in the tape where Pat Lee is clearly well aware of the need to conserve footage. Could do with A LOT more Phil in the mix. Might fiddle with the EQ in a bit.

    Black Throated Wind: Awkward song that I sometimes really like, and other times can do without.

    Scarlet: Crowd gives Donna a big cheer as the song reaches it's finale. Of course they egged Bobby on with some of his crazy antics, too, but it's nice to hear that early 70s audiences appreciated her contributions.

    Beat It On Down The Line: Always love this one. Nice double vocal from Bobby and Donna. Some unfortunate microphone feedback during Jerry's solo. Phil's backing vocals are there. The bass frequencies either never made it onto the cassette, or have evaporated through the generations of open reels and cassettes.

    Tennessee Jed: Nice bounce to this laid-back rendition. Another one of my favorite tunes, as I've mentioned before. Another nice, appreciative response from the audience who are almost completely unnoticeable for the majority of the time.

    Bobby McGee. I picture the audience mostly having a lie-down on the lawn during this first set. Just a nice day in the park with some live music in the background.

    Ok, well, that's as far as I'll get in this sitting, but really looking forward to that big Truckin' jam at the end of the show. Now spoilers! 😉 Just kidding.

  • #1309
    rockthing
    Joined:
    Woodstock

    >DAVEROCK>

    "It's about 37 minutes long, but it seems more like an hour when you watch it."

    HAHAHA

    I'll be on the lookout for that CCR set. John Fogerty strikes me a somewhat difficult man. Brilliant songwriter and producer, though. Never get tired of Cosmo's Factory, in particular. Gotta get reacquainted with the first album. I recall it being more psychedelic.

    Got a trove of stuff to listen to after yesterday's catch up. Thanks!
    Not sure where I'll start, but probably with something that already has ID tags. lol.

  • #1310
    daverock
    Joined:
    Woodstock

    There was a good cd of CCR's set that came out a couple of years ago. Apart from Hendrix, possibly my favourite set of the whole festival. "Lovelight" was included on a dvd as an extra, on one of the celebratory reissues of the festival. I don't think I'm being controversial when I say that it wasn't there finest hour. It's about 37 minutes long, but it seems more like an hour when you watch it.
    The Dark Star, I've just remembered, was included in the 6 cd 40th anniversary release of Woodstock, too. That's okay. But it's not a show I would suggest as a contender for an official release.

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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.

92 you say Vguy. Definitely getting out of my comfort zone. I will check it out.

Thanks

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Submitted by Strider 808808 on Fri, 09/18/2020 - 09:16

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I hear an audience tape of the acoustic set surfaced a few weeks ago. Of course the last set has been a masterpiece of the recording universe for years.
9/19/70 was my fourth Grateful Dead concert. If no one has made a suggestion for tomorrow I highly recommend September 19, 1970 for listening pleasure and more.
I believe that most heads/longhairs were in a state of shock learning about the death of Jimi Hendrix. The Dead must have felt the need to raise the roof, to go where no man has gone before. And being in the forth row center that night it felt like being on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Bob Weir looked like Captain Kirk and of course Mickey Hart looked like Spock. There were more orange barrels floating around there that night than the I-40 interchange in Duke City.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Fri, 09/18/2020 - 10:16

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Man 4th Row during one of the most epic Dark Star Jams ever!

That sounds fun. Can you see it when you close your eyes?

I think that would be imprinted on my brain. Talk about flashbacks ;)

The Darkness Darkness > China Cat Jam gets me every time. That's the stuff!

I'm hip to take that trip.

Like you mentioned the Audience of the Acoustic set reappeared in circulation in July this year, it's rough.. but it's all there is. A little bit more like archival research than listening pleasure, but hey we're all heads!

I did notice they mentioned the following:
B&W video footage was shot by the Fillmore East crew but it has yet to re-surface.

I'd love to see that!! FE crew where are you?!?!
Show us the Video, just like the old days, the Sunshine Makers ride again!

Woke Up to the Sound of Thunder today.
Sounds like we'll be able to do the same tomorrow ;)

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Submitted by bob t on Fri, 09/18/2020 - 13:33

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No anniversary shows... jumping ahead 2 years to Dijon France 9/18/74.... released on 30 Trips... strongest of the 3 shows in France. The first set always reminds me of 10/19/74 Winterland first set. Good weekend everyone. Bob t

Started it early, while driving into work this morning.
Bird Song was mighty fine.
No driving this weekend except for a grocery store run tomorrow.
Monday morning’s commute should then start close to Set 2.

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Submitted by DeadVikes on Fri, 09/18/2020 - 17:30

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I am digging this show Vguy! Sound quality is really good. We get a Wang Dang Doodle and a Maggie's Farm, Cumberland is great. I like the Way to Go Home. Truckin. Fun show. Thanks for turning us on to this one. And you were there!

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Submitted by bob t on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 06:57

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Good chilly morning from Rhode Island... As i make my way through the 12 show September tour, it is sort of the best of both worlds as far as sound quality. 4 of the 12 have been officially released. (9/17/72, 9/21/72, 9/24/72, 9/27/72)... and then there is today's anniversary show, 9/19/72... Only one copy on Internet Archive... and it is an audience... In one of comment sections Dave says that the board is in the vault, but is missing one reel, so there is 5 of the 6 in there... So Icecrmcnkd I'm looking forward to catching up with you on Monday with 9/21/72.. If you have a board from this show, you are my hero!!!! Be good.. Bob t

Done already... not that long of a show by 72 standards....

Nice Bob T!

Yet another reason I like hanging out with you all here.

Bob T talking about 9/19/72 made me notice I didn't have that there show. Looked at my Dead Base and it's listed as Aud Only / SBD exists. Must've been from back in the days when I only grabbed SBDs so this lil gem got overlooked (probably didn't help it's chances that there's no PITB;)

I'll have to give it a full listen, but so far it's average Audience quality for '72 (rough in general).
Bob T I wanted to be a hero, but ended up a zero, but thanks for bringing this to my attention.

But first... 9/19/70 aw yes!
I started a little yesterday, went ahead and gave the Jack Toner Audience recording of the Acoustic Set a spin before crashing, it's as remembered, a rough recording but the TLMD makes it worth it, anybody know who's playing the Piano? It's an amazing version of that song, hampered by the rough recording, but it's all we got so put your archivist hat on and give it a spin. Bonus, it's the complete set with a reel flip in NSB and stops between songs.

I believe I asked Strider about the piano player, but maybe a revisit will trigger your memory.

Today started with the last two songs of Acoustic Set and the beginning of the Electric Set from legendary taper Marty Weinberg's recording. Strider you ever meet him?

I've been reading a lot about the Fillmore East, it's cool to think about how people would actually be sitting in their assigned seats. You can hear a FE usher during Morning Dew hassling people about their tickets :)

Morning Dew opener for the set, must've been a clue on where they might go that night. It's a powerful rendition and the Weinberg Audience is much more listenable.
Fun banter before Schoolgirl (They haven't done this in years!)
CR&S, Easy Wind & Early Sugar Mags is fun too.

Alright, getting ready now for the circulating SBD portion, legendary amongst the faithful.
Gotta love this band.
Even though I've heard this show a bunch, I still get excited to take the trip!

Have a Grate Day you all.

PS - DV agreed on 5/30/92 fun show for sure, I dig that Spanish Jam. If memory serves the next night is the smoker from the run, and the first night is good too, nice PITB. First Vegas shows? How was that scene VGUY? Had to be a trip.

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Submitted by bob t on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 09:33

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Starting 9/19/70..... 9/19/72 is a rough audience, you made the proper call!!! Bob t

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 09:40

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You are correct sir!

I see now how I missed this one ;)

ROUGH!

BTK - Definitely the usual suspects, I do see where some people are saying it's Garcia playing Piano.

Strider listen to it and see if it triggers any memories. 4th row center, do you remember seeing Garcia playing Piano?

Love this stuff. Crazy how quite they could bring it down too during Dark Star, in NY of all places.
I should say on the SBD at least, I'll have to listen to that part on the audience tape and see if it is quite.
Great St. Stephen too, and again the Darkness > China Cat Jam is the stuff.

NFA
Awww yeah :)

EDIT: FWIW Eyewitness review on archive.org states the following in regards to 9/20/70 - I just want to try and clear something up - we watched in awe as jerry played the piano on To Lay Me Down. This was my last of many FE and Port Chester shows and most had big acoustic sets - but never had we ever seen JG tickle the ivorys. You do not forget that!

50 years later and we're still talking and wondering about it, that's Good Stuff!

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Submitted by billy the kid on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 12:57

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Garcia did play some piano on American Beauty. Garcia said in an interview, how the Dead recreated some of the tunes on American Beauty onstage at the Fillmore East exactly how they played them in the studio. I believe it was in that Rolling Stone book, that he mentioned that. I posted a few weeks ago, I wondered if it was Garcia playing piano on 9/20/70 on Broke down Palace, he said he always worked out new tunes on the piano.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 13:33

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BTK - Yeah, I read something similar, probably same article.

Something about Box of Rain being performed just like it was on the album in regards to instrumentation.

I can't remember where I read that, or the details of what was said.

But it would appear that these are the shows where that happened if it indeed did happen, which it sounds like it did. Love all these versions of the AB material Truckin', Box, TLMD, Brokedown, Ripple good good stuff.

Said it before, but man I wish these SBDs would turn up / existed!

A good bug to have.

Bummer that our man Owsley got thrown in jail and that the band wasn't recording more from July until December.

Probably so many legendary performances that happened that we'll never know about.

I like to think about them...

1970 The Lost Shows

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Submitted by Strider 808808 on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 16:10

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The 17th a group of us went to the Fillmore. Jimi, Theresa, Dan (tipi Dan) who also went to Veneta in 72. Dave, Janet and myself.
I had bought tickets in advance. It was an amazing night to say the least.
The 17th was such a “high time” that a couple days later I rallied a couple other friends Kirk B. and Dicky Z. to join me and take the train to the city and try and buy tickets at the door. Sold out, so after a mad scene on the “Sidewalks of New York” I was able to buy two tickets on the street from Ricky, for face value, $5:50. Kirk was able to buy a John Mayall ticket for a future date and quickly pass it off as a Dead ticket and get in.
My mind was very altered before I even went inside. I remembered as I entered a deadhead saying “ let’s go melt in our seats”. Boy howdy, to say the least. And the fourth row center seats were spectacular. Crowd response was intense. St. Stephen seemed to make everyone go bananas. I don’t remember a piano but it was fifty years ago. Going to listen to the recording a little later. Sync it up to to the time frame? Pigpen was fucking awesome, lively, top of his game. I also remember the guy and the gal being introduced to each other by Pig. Where are they now. I would hope they at least got each other’s phone numbers. 1970 was in many ways my favorite year seeing the Grateful Dead and my favorite year to listen to all these light years later into the future.
The concert ended way late. So the three of us Connecticats made our way to Grand Central Station about 3am. We tried laying down on the wooden benches in Grand Central (sleep was out of the question) only to be rousted by a NYPD cop slamming his biilyclub on the bench a couple feet away“No sleeping in here!!”. Finally caught the first train out to Connect. That same morning wound up going fishing for bluefish with my father and my high school friend Tyler.
When the dust settled I was so enamored with the Grateful Dead that I started seeing them whenever I could manage it. My next Dead shows I made my way to the long night of Halloween at Stony Brook and all four nights at the Capitol Theater in November. Looking back to those times as a youth are true golden memories from the Golden Road somewhere in the Golden Eternity.

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Submitted by KeithFan2112 on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 19:43

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I can't remember if I posted this or mentioned it to someone in an email, but yeah, the Dark Star from September 19th 1970 is something else. There's like a complete silence in the middle where somebody's unplugging and plugging back in probably a broken string or something and replacement guitar... and then it really heats up.

I was checking out the bonus tracks on Dick's Picks 36 from September 3rd, 1972. The Other One => Wharf Rat is so perfect. The Other One is a jam fest that never loses me (in some versions the meltdown and cacophony gets a little too much). Bobby sounds great - some of his best contributions to '72 improv jamming is right here. Somehow I don't think I've ever listened to the whole thing before in one session, undisturbed. And then right into a Wharf Rat where the tone of Jerry's Strat and Bobby's Gibson ES blend for some guitar weaving that I think even Richards would appreciate.

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Submitted by Strider 808808 on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 19:49

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My avatar is from the Fillmore East, Joshua Light Show. I believe my first bootleg from this four night run at the FE were a couple Maxell 90 minute tapes of September 20, 1970 from my old friend Jay Kerley. A several day rainy taping session in December 1981 in Glen Ellen, Califas. (Valley of the Moon) Great feedback from 9/20/70.
Listening to 9/19/70 now. Been a long time since hearing it. Dark Star from that night still gives me goosebumps. Interplay between Jerry and Bob are like waves of northern lights washing over time and space.

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Submitted by Gollum on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 20:24

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Thanks for sharing the memories Strider. I love reading about these shows, here and at the archive. I can't help but wonder how the orange barrels mixed with the acoustic sets, but it sounds like everything went down just fine! I've loved the Dark Star for years but that's about it. I'm finding the audience tapes a painful listen tonight. Maybe I'll give them another shot tomorrow.

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Submitted by Strider 808808 on Sat, 09/19/2020 - 20:33

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Jambase lists Jerry Garcia on piano on To Lay Me Down for 9/19/70. Just read that after listening to Dark Star through Lovelight tonight.
Wow Jerry really tickled those ivories , even with a missing middle finger.
A friend recently asked if I knew what the Mr Spock hand salute was , I said of course “live long and prosper” or the opposite of giving the finger.
Peace out, not piece out.

....logic. That is the Vulcan 🖖 mantra.
We need more Spocks in this world.
Unfortunately, that isn't the case.

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Submitted by Strider 808808 on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 07:52

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Complete show exists. I believe. Jim must be river running. I’m ridge running.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 08:13

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That’s rich.

These are the voyages of the Starship, Enterprise. Weir looking like Kirk and orange barrels.. man.

Thank You Ricky!

Great show.

Pigpen at the top of his game.

And yeah I think that’s ole Jer playing Piano on TLMD. It’s such distinctive playing I always think, who’s playing that? Just like his guitar playing, the guy knows how to capture the feeling.

Far Out!

I dug that, thanks for the sweet flashes from the show.
And for all that endured some rough audio archival digs, salute!

Whenever I dig into 1970 it takes me awhile to come back, what a trip.

Hard to beat that.

Can’t Come Down, It’s Plain To See, Can’t Come Down, Been Set Free…

9/20/70 you say.. don't mind if I do!

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Submitted by billy the kid on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 08:55

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Always been my favorite, killer acoustic set, Grisman and Nelson sitting in, beautiful Broke down Palace with Garcia on piano, maybe. A burning electric set, with an anthem like Attics. Thank God somebody recorded this, One of my top three Dead shows, 9/20/70, 5/2/70, & 5/15/70. If I had to pick just 3 shows to own, it would be those 3. Dave, lets have it, please.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 09:08

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The 9/20/70 acoustic set quality is best from the run that we have.

Listening to TLMD I hear:
Piano - Jerry?
Guitar - Bob
Bass - Phil
Drums - Mickey or Bill
Organ - Pigpen (I think)
Pedal Steel? - ?

Bob does a great job, and I love Pig's tasty fills. Can't tell if that's a pedal steel, but I think I hear that, it doesn't sound like Jerry playing it.

You'll notice when they switch to Truckin' Jerry's back on guitar and I believe Pigpen is playing the Piano. Note the "Garlands of Neon" verse.

Fun stuff and yeah BTK I'd love it if these SBDs existed. I'd spend a whole day talking to Dave Lemieux about these tapes and what he knows about them. But from what I can gather, there's no Master Reels in the Vault from 7/16 - 12/12/70. It's probably been discussed ad infinitum but somehow.. it's still interesting :)

EDIT: Yeah, that might be Jerry playing the keys in Brokedown as well. Can't tell if there's 2 guitars or not on that, my ear or the recording or both, but I think that is Jer. Great Acoustic set for sure. Personal favorite is the 9/17/70 with the first Box.. man I wish there was a SBD of that.

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Submitted by JimInMD on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 09:51

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I was river running and doing some exterior work on my house before winter shuts in.. until Friday that is.. I got speared by a 6'2" guy in a 12 foot kayak, so I am on the injured reserve for a bit. Right in the rib cage.. Don't make me laugh...

: )
9/xx/70 it is. I am a bit behind, but it looks like I have ample opportunity to catch up.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 10:59

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I've heard it said that this 9/20/70 version is the one to beat.

I'll say this.. Bob's solo shreds. That dude could play. (Still can)

Jerry just lays back and lets him go and then answers with some classic Garcia.

Good Stuff.

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Submitted by bluecrow on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 14:55

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so this is completely new to me and I am blown away. everything about this set is astonishing, beautiful, gorgeous, otherworldly, a gift.

i had no idea that several (4?) acoustic 1970 To Lay Me Downs were out there. heck, Jerry didn't record that first solo album until July 1971. it doesn't show up in concert again until Nov. 1973! so very cool to have Jerry on piano, and his singing is so nuanced and emotive. a stunningly beautiful version.

it makes sense (to me at least) that Jerry might also play piano on Brokedown given its one of the 2 other songs Hunter composed with To Lay Me Down on that beautiful English afternoon. until checking the liner notes today i hadn't really taken in that Jerry played piano on almost all(?) of American Beauty.

Jim - glad you're tough and came out of that with only a bruised rib cage. jeez.

on that note, keep your head on a swivel, be well everyone, and happy fall equinox!

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Submitted by bob t on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 15:38

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For another anniversary show, Palais Des Sports 9/20/74 is a strong Europe 74 show... good 34 minute Truckin>Eyes of the World in set II... Show opener Cumberland.... Black Throated Wind, Row Jimmy, Scarlet, FOTD and a first set WRS>Stella... and I will see you tomorrow 9/21/72 Spectrum in all your Dick's Picks glory......bob t

My first listen ever as far as I know, and I like it.
Went with version 140664.Miller and Co.

Some of the new material seems a little shaky at times, but a grate listen.
NFA just started....

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Submitted by Vguy72 on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 17:04

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....i have never heard this show.
That changes today.
Going with this recording.
https://archive.org/details/gd1970-09-20.140664.sbd.boswell.smith.mille…
Buds+ engage!!
I'm at FOTD. Garcia is just showing off at this point. Grate version!
3rd Big RxR Blues. Nice. 4th To Lay Me Down. Even nicer.
Ha! I picked the same source as conekid. This is the way.
The boyz shined in 1970.
I would post a joke, but Jim has brused ribs, so i will refrain.

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Submitted by Gratefulhan on Sun, 09/20/2020 - 19:33

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I just did a quick preview of this show. I am going to give it a proper listen tomorrow. I think this will get me through work as it looks to be a long day.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Mon, 09/21/2020 - 06:44

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Cool that some of you are discovering this run for the first time.

It’s a legendary run of shows. The band was playing their new album’s material live for the Fillmore East. They'd just finished recording American Beauty and the band wanted to play the tunes with the same instrumentation as they'd recorded them.

For me, this is the run I really wish were in the Vault.
Apparently what SBDs we do have are from the Famously Fabulous FE crew and from what I understand the Master Reels have long been missing. So when you put together the partial fragments of SBDs and Audience Recordings you get a pretty good picture of what went down.
And what went down was epic. Ask Strider!

Anyhow, here’s a list of the SBD stuff that’s out there. If you dug 9/20 and haven’t heard this other stuff, seek it out. The 9/17 acoustic set is prob my all time favorite acoustic set, and it’s a good audience recording, wait for it… for that time.

9/17 - Audience Only - Fantastic Acoustic Set (First / Only Box of Rain before ’73) Amazing Dark Star (Do It!)
9/18 - Partial SBD (Best Sounding of 4? / Rare Operator)
9/19 - Partial SBD (Great! Dark Star Suite)
9/20 - SBD (Far Out Show, SBD is the worst of the 3 we have, but it’s pretty complete, Tape Shedding on last reel, but worth it cause the Caution is out of this world)

50 years ago today, people were wandering the streets of New York thinking OMG did I just see that? I was soooo high. That couldn’t of possibly happened. Who are those guys?!?!

Alright, glad you all turned on to this far out Fillmore East trip this weekend.
It’s good to know about these shows, they were magic.

I had listened to some of this run before, but not the whole run sequentially before. It was fun and I learned a lot along the way. Here's to learning, those that help you out along the way and the never ending quest for knowledge (especially when it comes to the GOGD).

Special shout-out to Strider and GOGD.

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Submitted by billy the kid on Mon, 09/21/2020 - 07:31

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GOGD, great summary for the 9/70 shows. Somebody does have a complete tape of 9/20/70, so I'm sure with all the technology available these days and great sound guys like Jeffery Norman to make it just exactly perfect, we will see a fantastic release of this show. Thank goodness that some of the acoustic shows were recorded and saved. 1969, 1970 and 1972, before Pig Pen left the group, we're the Dead at their peak, but I dig it all!

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Submitted by JimInMD on Mon, 09/21/2020 - 12:00

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Alright all.. who's got the next week of back to back shows containing some of the best music ever performed that we can listen to, thumb through, over-analyze and toss around personal stories we remember from being there 50+ years ago?

Preferably from 1970, preferably with missing master reels that somehow wound up in that pile of Ampex tapes that have been holding up the turntable in someone's basement since early 1971.

Anybody?
Bueller?

Someone.. things were just getting interesting.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Mon, 09/21/2020 - 13:41

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Jim's got the bug!

5/1/70 tapes have a pretty interesting story behind them. I believe some of the reels for this show were found under the stage at Meramec / Kirkwood College gig at 5/14/70. Disappeared, reappeared. Anyhow must of the show circulates in SBD now. Some of it is in the Vault, maybe all now. I don't think we've gone there yet.

And there's always the 6/24/70 Ken & Judy Lee audience tapes from the Capitol Theatre. Some good story time stuff there too. However, some may be tired of 1970 audience recordings after the weekend :)

5/1 sounds fun.

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Submitted by JimInMD on Mon, 09/21/2020 - 18:06

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One of the first shows I pulled down from the Archive when I first discovered it...

Classic, and an interesting school with a great ceramics program. I'll tag this tomorrow, today is already mostly behind me.

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Submitted by The Good Ole G… on Mon, 09/21/2020 - 18:35

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Yeah, it's a good one. Not quite the same as what happened the next night. But good.

I think Jerry mutters something about college kids. I gave it a spin today, but was distracted and half paying attention.

I need to check out 12/12/70 again, I know there's a nasty reel flip in The Other One, but I can't remember much else about that show. I've been working my way through the SBDs that exist after 7/16. Not much there..

Be Well!

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Submitted by JimInMD on Tue, 09/22/2020 - 06:51

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I think he said, "Get Off My Lawn, Hippies"

Checking this out now.. I recall vividly where I was and when I listened to this last. I had just discovered Archive.org and I was hankering for something akin to Harpur College, 1970 acoustic/electric GD. My last house was had a deck literally cantilevered over the river and I had some friends over after boating and put this on. Probably 20 years ago this summer.

Yes, probably not the best of 1970, 1/2, 2/13&14, 5/15, 4/15 and 9/xx are better, but it's the full deal and the tapes are pretty much complete. A snapshot in history.

Do we even know who recorded this?

Anyway.. historical stuff. Has anyone ever seen the 5/3/68 Columbia University stuff on YouTube? It's hodgepodged together and the video seems to not match the audio in large sections but it makes you wonder what's really available and if something better can be done now???

Memories, light the corners of my mind...

Good stuff!

The 5/3/68 footage is great, the best footage of the band from '68 (brains not working, but I can't think of any other '68 film footage currently, if there is it'll come to me.. Oh Yeah 3/3/68 Haight Street, but the 5/3 stuff is pro style). Unfortunately, no audio exists from the 5/3 show.

I guess the best thing that can be done is guess what song they're playing. The Other One sync is pretty dope and I believe that's what they're playing, but correct me if I'm wrong. I think I've also seen it synced with New Potato.

The footage that exists, I believe was shot for a film titled "Columbia Revolt". This is all off the top of my head, so I could be missing bits and pieces, but yeah.

I'm gonna check out 12/12/70 today if anybody else wants to give it a spin.

Got the 1970 bug.

Came close to going to school there, some kind of electronics program? Even went on some school bus RT to check it out.....details are very fuzzy.....such a long time to be gone, but a short time to be there lol.

Been checking a couple of these out. Not a normal go to year for me, but I’m trying to broaden my horizons, lol.
And like I always say, it’s all good and there’s always something there! Just gotta poke around!
Thanks to GOGD etc for all the groovy info and saving us dilettantes time by steering us in the right directions...wait???, which side is up again???
Thanks to Strider for more tales from the Dark Star!

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Submitted by bob t on Tue, 09/22/2020 - 15:12

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Well I can say I haven't listened to this show since 1990 or so... I only have an audience copy. Looking forward to listening. First Half Step since 10/20/74, they didn't play it in June.... Also excited to hear the Dancing encore as well as Crazy Fingers and High Time... The Orpheum shows have such a different vibe to them then the June tour that wrapped up less than 2 weeks before it... bob t

Sounds good to me Bob t. Yes, the Orpheum run has a different feel to it and you would think we will get more releases from this run. We do have Dave's 18 from 7/17, which is a great release.

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Submitted by billy the kid on Tue, 09/22/2020 - 18:37

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I was there, we were sitting in row c, center, but there wasn't a bad seat in the house. The Orpheum theatre only held 1,800 people, so it's a small place. I think if I could go back and see one Dead show that I had attended it would probably be this one. It was cool and definitely should be a released.