• 8,077 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    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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  • 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.

  • 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!

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • rockthing
    Joined:
    Back from the... er... Dead: James "Blood" Ulmer info?

    Hey folks.
    Whew! Wall to wall autumn (deliberately avoiding the overly-insistent rhyme) and have taken the new year winter decompression to track a lot of the transfers of old vinyl I'd made back in August. Thanks to that, The Dead have taken something of a backseat in my listening during the new year as I've now got all of these other things in a convenient format.

    While tidying up an old hard disk, I came across a James "Blood" Ulmer show I must've torrented over ten years ago, but for whatever reason never unpacked. No info file, and so far various Googling can't even prove that the concert even happened. The directory is only listed as ulmer2_27_86. Anybody have a suggestion where I might look to find some more info on this? I checked out the taper forum, and the "Looking for..." forum, but there hasn't been a lot of activity over there.

    One new Dead show in my library, however:
    6/8/74 FOB which I've only had on once, but wasn't giving my full attention. I think I found it also unpacked on a hard disk while "house cleaning". My (slowly) ongoing exploration of Wall Of Sound audience tapes. Any takers?

    There is also a trove of late 60s shows that were binge torrented and then never unpacked. Can't wait to get to those.

    Well, I'd wanted to recap, but I'm not even out of August, so I'll spare you the flashbacks.

    >Oroborous>
    Thank you for the acknowledgement so many months ago.

    ● Just put the 2/24/71 Port Chester show on. This one I'd transferred from an old cassette. Haven't heard it in a really long time, and don't have as many specific memories of it, like the 2/18 tape.

    Oooh. This Bertha. Bump! Bump!

    Either my cassette was running slow or this is the most mellow Hard to Handle I've ever heard. Dig it.

    I love these really slow early Losers, too. It seemed like it might be vying for a spot in the Dew rotation in those days, but they eventually picked up the tempo to a slow trot as the years went by. This being transferred from a tape, it may just be a media issue. I sometimes cover this on acoustic, and always do it real slow and always only ask for 1 gold dollar, not ten. To me, these are the archetypal Losers.

    Epic Good Lovin' drum solo!

    Thanks for that ranking of that Feb '71 run. Found AUDs on the Archive for the 19th and 21st. Back in the day, I ended up with only 2/18, 2/23, and 2/24 somehow. I was trying to explore as many different eras as possible, I guess, so didn't go for a completist approach... I guess... who knows what I was thinking back then?! lol. I'd take whatever I could get. Those tapes accompanied me on many a road trip cause that period is just fantastic driving music....

    ● A good buddy lent me the 3/9/81 discs. I don't think he got the MSG box, just the single show on offer. Those were on in the car for quite a while last fall.

    My buddy was, like, "Dude. Check this China Cat," and he was not wrong. For me, because I'm less familiar with this era, I felt like there was some really unusual interplay between Phil and Jerry in there. Brent's synth work is pretty novel, too. Sounds like he'd been listening to some Steve Winwood. I could stand for a bit more of it, if I'm honest.

    Bird Song was the first tune in this show to really grab me, though.

    An electric Deep Elem? I'll take that.

    Uncle Johns is kind of a mixed bag. There are some really cool things happening, but it seems a little ragged at times too. That's just how it goes, but that's how I hear this one. No disrespect for hanging it out in front of a huge crowd.

    The Drums > Space > Other One is also fantastic. Sounds like someone (I'll guess Mickey) is playing with some microphone feedback, incorporating it into the jam.

    That Stella Blue seems to start out a little unsure of its footing, but by the end is soaring. That's a real highlight... I mean, I love Stella Blue pretty much any time you'll give it to me, but after a few listens this one really grew on me.

    I think I'm still a little partial to 3/7/81 at U. of Maryland, though.

    >bluecrow>
    Cal Expo rang a bell, but I've only got 5/26, 27 from 1993.

    5/26 is a 3rd gen cassette 1st set and a 4th gen 2nd set AUD. Not sure how that happened. Couldn't tell you anything about it off the top of my head other than that there is a heart mark next to Playin' > Drums > Space > and I tracked that all as just Playin' because that's how I roll.

    ● 5/27/93 is a partial board, but 7th gen cassette... only the 2nd set. I was doin' postage and blanks, so ended up pretty far out on a limb a lot. I'm not using headphones, but there's not a thing wrong with the sound quality. Might have just lost the first set, or maybe never had it.

    Pretty worthy Scarlet/Fire.

    Might skip Wave to the Wind so I can get an ear on the Cassidy > Uncle Johns > Cassidy Reprise > Drums segment. Nah. Wave to the Wind is 7 minutes long. There must be some sort of jam in there. Better be. Certainly are a lot of changes. Jer's on top of 'em. That's about all I can say.

    Cassidy is mellow and starting to jam out, but...ah, well, nice try. The seque into UJB comes across pretty forced. A bit more patience, and cooperation might have helped that jam. Good idea.

    The UJB jam, however is goin' off! Love how it is deconstructing toward drums. The band is showing a lot more patience here... oh, and the brief reprise of Cassidy is smooth as silk. You can hear Jerry hinting at it for a while. It would have been magic if they'd pulled that off on the way out of Cassidy.

    Drums could always be counted on to deliver in the 90s. I'll expect no less here. Nice beam drones. More like space.

    Oddly, Space just seems to stop and Jerry's there playing TOO on his own for a bit. Cool super distortion Bobby cutting is the perfect ground for Jerry's crystal clear lines. Don't appear to be any Martian vocal effects on Bobby's voice, which is a shame. I always liked that. Jer digs in to some overdriven runs after the first chorus which are now weaving nicely with Bobby's stabs and dives. Good mix. The drums are touch lost behind the guitars, maybe. Vince is real low in the mix. Say what you want about '93, dudes are goin' for it. Some heavy echo on Bobby's voice for the second verse, which immediately diffuses into Wharf Rat. Coulda dealt with a bit more TOO, but that was as smooth a transition as you can ask for. The thing about this era is that they have the in-ear monitors, and intercoms, so they didn't have to hint at anything musically. All anyone needed to do was call a tune into the ears of the others. Makes the transitions a lot more succinct, which can be both smoother, but also sometimes a little less thrilling.

    Wharf Rat is a tune that suited Jerry any day, any year. This tune is gonna be solid no matter what... at least as far as I know. Tape starting to sound a little muddy at this point for some reason. It was fine earlier. Love that Bobby is well-represented in the mix to add his coloring throughout. Is this after they fired Dan Healy? Well, I spoke too soon. The Life I Should found the limit of Jerry's voice on this particular night.

    Sounds like Jer's starting GDTRFB, but maybe it's just because this Sugar Mag slides out of Wharf Rat as easy as can be before Bobby takes the lead. Even Bobby's sounding a bit froggy at this point. Musta been something in the air. (Can't imagine what!) Nothing to write home about, but nothing to complain about, either.... Jerry's lettin' some overdrive licks fly throughout the Sunshine Daydream section. It's interesting because it's like you can still hear his clean tone at the core of his distorted effect. Pretty aggressive, if short. No encore on my tape, unfortunately.

    ● My only May 91 show is Shoreline on the 12th and it's FOB probably available on the Archive. Couldn't tell ya anything about it off the top of my head.

    >Forensicdoceleven>
    >JimInMD>
    >PT Barnum>
    RE Woodstock

    Perfect back yard recreation. Hahahaha. :)

    Just listened to my old, old vinyl copy of the Woodstock Soundtrack a couple weeks ago, and even that excerpt of Hendrix is totally face melting. If I recall correctly this wasn't The Experience.

    I'm not sure I've ever heard the Dead's entire Woodstock set. Last year I was surprised to learn that CCR, Mountain, and Johnny Winter had also played Woodstock. I'm pretty sure I'd never known that. They were also not part of the soundtrack or film. Jerry, at least, makes a memorable cameo in the film.

    PT Barnum> RE Fall '91
    Near miss. I've got 8/16, and 9/17 in the library. Couldn't tell you anything about them off the top of my head. If there's one thing this group always does, it's fill in the gaps. Cheers.

    JeffSmith> RE HDTracks

    DUDE! Thank you! I've been looking for a site where I can get minimum 16b44.1 quality downloads. Being on the other side of the world, shipping even CDs is murder. One of my favorite things about nugs net is that you can buy, not hi-res, but at least CD quality downloads. I think downloads sound better than CDs, tbh. Something happens during the CD manufacturing process, or at least it has begun to seem that way to me.

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    2/23/74

    I forgot about this one.. haven't given it a listen since release time. I'll have to change that.

  • bluecrow
    Joined:
    1974

    1974 in the air I guess (isn't it always somewhere close?) as out here in the high desert I was reaching for DaP 42 and DaP 13 (Winterland Feb. '74) .

    The Road Trips series is chock full of gems. Happy to say I picked up all of them at the time with lone exception of Cal Expo '93. Of course I would love to see some of the partial shows released in full show glory (and run through Plangent) just like some of Dick's Picks need a revisit. But don't take that as a complaint, just a wish.

    Edit - DV I need to revisit the Penn State and Cornell volumes, plus the April Fools 88 show - they've been sitting there wondering if they're the chopped liver of RT. They haven't gotten the attention that the early years in that series have.

    Sort of almost the weekend. Onward!!

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Did someone say 1974?

    Portland... Funny, I just did 5/17 Vancouver recently. I'll hit Portland, it's been a while. I might have tossed this show out on this forum sometime in 2020. Hot hot, China Rider and that second set is interesting and pretty hot.

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    73/74

    Rest of 3/15/73 seemed to get better as it went. Sweet jam in there.
    5/19/74: man I need to listen to this box more.
    Awesome jam!

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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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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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In reply to by Strider 808808

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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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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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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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

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

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In reply to by Vguy72

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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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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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In reply to by billy the kid

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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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In reply to by Strider 808808

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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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In reply to by The Good Ole G…

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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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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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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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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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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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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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In reply to by Gratefulhan

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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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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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13 years 4 months

In reply to by billy the kid

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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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In reply to by JimInMD

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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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In reply to by The Good Ole G…

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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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In reply to by JimInMD

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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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In reply to by The Good Ole G…

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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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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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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.