• 8,085 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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  • Forensicdoceleven
    Joined:
    To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.....

    Hey rockers!!

    I wrote a long response but got Hey Now'ed.

    Start with April 13, 18, and the Ark shows. Skip May for now, but go backwards to early February. And check out Moraga in May, lol...........

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

    Doc
    The purpose of life is a life of purpose

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Ok smart ass ; )

    Spring 69
    It’s go time lol
    What can you PLEASE recommend for us that we HAVE NOT heard yet?
    You line em up and we’ll chow em down!

    Here’s the shows from this period that haven’t been POTD, or released. (My POTD list may not be accurate)
    4/12, 18, 20, 21-23, 25, 5/2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 4/13?

    Here’s the POTD already
    3/15, 29 4/4-6, 11, 15

    Here’s what I have that’s been released
    2/11, 2/22, 2/27-3/2, 4/17, 4/26&27

    Ok, balls in your court big guy, what’s you got for us?

  • Forensicdoceleven
    Joined:
    I shine in tears like the sun in April......

    Hey rockers!!!

    April 6???? Go back twenty years earlier, then come and we'll have a friendly chat.........

    There are three side effects of acid: enhanced long-term memory, decreased short-term memory, and I forget the third.............

    Doc
    Memory is the fourth dimension to any landscape.....

  • uncle_tripel
    Joined:
    5-6-89

    thnx for the reminder, it did get alot of airtime back in the mid-90's {it hits many of fav tunes + black muddy river}, THNX again, just pulled the DL>CD's out of the treasure chest, and it's gonna be tomorrow's LISTENING Party!
    everyone enjoy your WEEKEND!
    PEACE ALL!
    uncle_tripel

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    4-6-89

    Yes, my first, and the best concert I had seen in my life up to that point. I was sold, where’s the bus, I’m getting on.

    And the laid back atmosphere of Ann Arbor. The cops didn’t even come into the parking lot. I was amazed at what I saw going down on Shakedown Street.

    So glad I went. My life changed for the better.

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Speaking of Transitions

    Maybe not 74 China Rider good, but the one from 4/8/89 ain’t no slouch 😀

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Spring 89

    Though I did not relisten to a few shows previously heard, I did rehash several, and some shows multiple times. I started at 2/5 and went in order, finishing with the excellent 5/27 show.

    Overall this is a very good, consistent period, though still not as fully gelled as the awesome summer and fall periods. I think this can be attributed to it being yet another transitional period. With the newer songs from the previous year still percolating , as well as several new tunes getting hashed out, (interesting during any era) combined with tech changes and evolving personal roles, it is an interesting period.
    One that I hadn’t previously really looked at, and now glad I finally did!

    I think generally, the earlier shows of the year are perhaps more consistent than is historically sometimes the case,( but historically similar) in perhaps being a teeny bit subdued, comparatively.
    Their all good, enjoyable shows, didn’t hear a dude in the bunch, but hey, they can’t all be top shelf. So I found a nice progression through the spring that really started to gel and peak during the spring tour proper. I hopefully, Iprovide a nice jumping off point for anyone interested in what ever tour I’m stumbling through.

    3/28/89: vguy suggested this on POTD awhile back and I liked it as much now as I did then. In fact, it’s in my top picks. A fine show but perhaps just a pace or two off the leaders?
    So much of this can be subjective, and though I try to critically listen to all the shows, over time etc, it’s really hard to pick a “best” etc.
    So I try to do the leg work for folks who may have a cursory interest about a tour, but not the time or sanity to waste going through the whole thing lol.
    So hopefully, I provide a nice jumping off point for anyone interested in what ever tour I’m stumbling through.

    I was at the Pittsburgh shows and we felt they continued the promising progression since the big 86 collapse, but though we liked the shows, I recall thinking good but…
    years later, with the DL release, I was grateful to get an attended show, but still had some dissonance, perhaps another right city street, but wrong house?
    This time around I was really scratching my pointy head at first, but long short, feel the first show kind lacks, except for the fun post drums sequence etc.
    The next night however, I felt was a tad above the tour status quo and in the running for a top pick? (But still think perhaps they missed the mark slightly, maybe it was about the tapes? But again, this can all be so subjective).
    More importantly, this show or perhaps end of first night can really be seen as point of demarcation from earlier, to the hieght of this period!

    4/5&6/89: I think 4/5 is most definitely a tour tops and recommended.
    4/6, Conekids first show I believe, is good, but another perhaps just below that top dog line? Another good tour status quo show on the sixth, but not quite the lightning of the fifth?

    4/8/89: though we were at this one also, and really enjoyed it, my memory was of a good but ?…And I had a tape of the first and a couple songs from the second, but hadn’t heard the whole show until a few years ago. It perked my interest but I didn’t get back to it until now, and wow, really glad I did! Have a story for this one but I’ll do that later…yeah it’s in my top picks and maybe not THE show but there’s just something about this show, the vibe? The flow, The set list (mostly), and like the whole tour Brent is strong, and because if it’s uniqueness I think this might be my favorite Blow Away of the tour? Vocal harmonies too which were generally really strong over this period!
    Well, you can check it out if you please.
    I highly recommend a listen and it’s on my top list.

    4/9/89: another great show. Fun stuff and more consistent tour status quo, but as throughout the tour you get the occasional vocal flub or miscue, especially with some of the new material. I found this show another, good, but just a step off the pace…

    4/11, 12, 13/89: more overall more of the same, in a good way, though the second night seemed a bit of a creeper and the first night (a fine previous DV pick) seemed the strongest of the three, and yet another close but….

    4/15/89: same here as several. Good but…not…quite…? I really liked this show and it’s on my second string list.

    4/16&17/89 were good, but perhaps on the tour downside or just past the peak section of this period? Very subtle and the kind of thing I think you can only really get if you do whole tours.

    IRVINE: more of the same but perhaps a bit looser and thus a bit less tight?
    Again, subtle feels and paying attention to misses etc. Perhaps just a touch of California laid back no worries sun fun, as they do sound like their having fun, actually that’s a prevalent vibe through: they were having fun again, getting new momentum etc.
    Perhaps a lab opportunity too as they continue to prominently roll out the new stuff for good or sometimes for ill, and definitely here for the Cali crowd.

    FROST: boy Frost shows sure seem to both inspire but with some of that laissez-faire Cali home vibe. And these are no different. They open with a good Jack and proceed with a fun set list, though Just a Little Light is still a work in progress. Solid second set which I had a tape of, with cool PITB and yet another cool drums into space, that was stepped up all tour and with the midi addition has become more “other” less trad drums, which I’ve always really dug!
    But finally hearing 5/7 I’d have to say I liked that one more, though there were some obvious whoopsies lol. Bird Song was sweet and has been throughout the tour.
    One of the spring highlights for me, but I’m sure not others lol is the midi space fest as they really go to town having a ball with the new toys! Really, the whole sequence from He’s Gone through Black Pete is some of the best stuff I heard so far this year!
    Another good show, on my second string list just because of the slop factor, comparatively speaking…

    Which brings us to show completely off my radar 5/27/89
    This was perhaps the biggest surprise of this trip.
    And unlike many of these larger multi group bene shows that sometimes get played safe etc, this one has great energy and illustrates how things have progressed nicely over the course of the year during this interesting transitional period, just before and leading up to what I and some consider one of the best stretches in their thirty year history: summer 89 through summer 90!

    So, top picks in no real order (whichever I listened to last was best ala Jim ; )
    4/8, 4/5, 4/3, 3/28 and 5/27, with second string 4/9, 4/11, 4/15 and 5/7…
    That may be a lot, but that’s because if how overall comparative this stretch is, thus not only one or two that really jump out.
    I think if you have any infinity for this era you’ll at least enjoy any of these picks, find them a good jumping off point, and hey, sometimes you might even get shown the light ; )

    Well, it was fun, but glad it’s over as to really dig in you have to keep at it and by the end I was doing like a weeks of two a days, and 3 DHBs at the end. Actually, more DHBs as I’m rehashing some of my top picks in playoff round lol. Hey, sorry, getting hockey fever lol.
    ONWARD!

    Prolly cleanse this WE with more 74, then perhaps a week of 69, maybe a bunch of April 69, then a little more May 79 and/or pickup 84 again…

  • daverock
    Joined:
    China-Rider

    If I was to give someone a very brief indication of why I liked The Dead, to someone who had never heard them, I would chose a version of China-Rider. For me, one from between 1972-1974. As the first one I heard was on the old "Europe 72" album, that would be a likely contender.

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Transitions

    Like that exact moment they drifted from China Cat into I Know You Rider

    Regardless of the year, words cannot describe.

    (did the really make it through HeyNow?)

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Speaking of 89

    Been marching through spring 89 (everything I’ve not heard up to 5/27/89)
    Just a few shows left then I’ll report back…

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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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Lol, ok, nother story coming...
Yeah this show started out a bit “speedy” lol, but as Jim says bout the time the full SB kicks in so they seem to slid into the zone. Really digging 81 a lot lately.....Dave?

Ok, story. Doing merch on Ziggy tour winter 96...we’re in Salt Lake of all places. Staying in same Holiday in on the main strip with the band. Had them in their own separate wing if memory serves. So we happen to walk down that hall for some reason and shit you not, as soon as we opened the door and entered the hall the ganja smell was so intense I swear I caught a contact buzz by the time we reached the other end of the hall LOL! My cousin too and he quit years before that....Salt Lake of all the places, too funny. I loved working with those guys they were so cool and nice, and perhaps the hardest working group I’ve ever seen, but man did those dudes like to burn, prodigious is an understatement! Dam, sorry, memory jog, next show, same tour, first time in Vail.
My cousin wanted to head back home that night even though we had one more in Denver next night. So small venue etc, since not carrying through all those draconian states, asked their helper guy Bali if I could get turned on...so he takes me backstage where a bunch of road crew etc (some going way back to the wailers etc) are sitting in this tiny room, about ten folks, and they break out this giant spleef. So I take a hit and go to pass when Bali informs me the custom is to sort of bathe in it, spend time with it, take several hits, almost what we would call bogarting, so who am I to break custom etc. well after this goes round a few times I’m now completely otta my mind lol. So I make a polite excuse to extricate myself since I am supposed to work. Well I was too loose to truck and had to stand in a back hall have a smoke and chill,out for a while since our “booth” is the penalty box of the tiny rink only facing out towards the main entrance, which Is about 15’ in front of us and where ALL the cops, EMTs etc are hanging...so I finally meander back and as I turn and stare at these authority types staring at us, I immediately get the fear, which my cousin sees and understands, of course laughing hard and giving me shit to this day! Fortunately, being such a small venue, he says go have fun but be ready to help for the busy time as people leave the show! Thanks bro, phew, of course it snows like three feet that night but we’ve given up our room, and it’s February in Vail so no rooms anyway, Oh, and there wasn’t a gas station we could find. So as Im literally the last car through the I 70 closure gate as their closing it, guy waving for us to stop but my cousin telling me to go for it....so as there closing the dreaded Vail pass and my first time on the white ribbon of death, still stoned to the gills, with like next to no gas, in a rental car we got in Cali with no snow tires! oy!
Luckily we found gas up in Frisco and made the trek but man that was a tuff drive! I’d recently moved to Colorado, but had never been up their yet. Glad I grew up in the North east!
Aaaa the adventures of youth!
Another not so funny Salt Lake tale was of old roommate/bandmate who got popped driving right after sparking up leaving Salt Lake on LOS tour early century....long story short he wrote a great song called Calivada highway where (a bridge is built from Colorado over Utah with hilarious lyrics, including the chorus about building the plumbing so it flows right through so we can say Utah piss on you! (No offense to all the good folks we’ve met from/in Utah, just a funny song about a sore subject)
The look on folks face when we used to play it, priceless! Hard to believe they have medical etc now, there and Nevada with full legalization. Remember the days with the intimidating road signs showing a cop and proclaiming something like “1 seed equals a hundred years” or some such scary shit. Glad those days are starting to end!

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In reply to by Oroborous

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Holy crap Oroborous, you are smoking today, keep them coming.

Yes, the Blu Ray is special with the audio blue ray mix. Love to see them give us a video release with this mix again. Had a ball seeing this show at the 2019 MUATM.
New Speedway Boogie!
Remember those days?
We need to get back to that.

Stay well and everybody hang loose.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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I agree this is a pick of the day forum, not today in GD history..

So lets try and mix things up a bit today.. picked at random, how about 12/5/71, one of my first tapes. When I wrote the song list on the XLII S label, I used a red pen. I liked the the tape so much, I thought.. hey, for the really good shows I will use red ink. This lasted for about five good shows and then I got another batch and had no red pen. The stupid things we do for really no reason at all that seem to make sense at the time. 12/5/71 Felt Forum, lady in red.

So my toast, to things that seem to make sense at the time. I must have washed my hands in a muddy stream.....

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In reply to by JimInMD

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12/5/71 Felt Forum, I will check it out Jim.
Thanks.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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Holy crap this board sounds fantastic. What is it about a great sounding show that turns your day around?

I washed my hands in muddy water. Love it.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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ran·dom
/ˈrandəm/
adjective
1. made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious decision.
"a random sample of more than 2300 grateful dead shows"

You guys are going way out there!
I like it.

Strider you were at these Felt Forum shows right?!?
I seem to recall you talking about Jerry playing a Fender Strat if that's where it's at...
Far Out.

What was the Felt Forum like as a venue?

Located inside the Madison Square Garden seats between 2,000 and 5,600 for concerts named in honor of Irving Mitchell Felt.

Seems as though the GDs popularity in NY at this time had them going to larger & larger Venues.
I should find out the story about Bill Graham's involvement in putting this on, having closed the Fillmore East and and telling the press on 4/28/71 that he was tired and it wasn't worth it. More negatives than positives.
Apparently, there were still some positives. Like some big fat sacks of cash!

BG intro.. harboring some resentment about Bob's baseball game and for smashing his shoulder. Love this stuff.

Oh wait... this is sounding like a This Day in Dead History.. shit!

PS - Jim that Fire On The Mountain yesterday!! Holy Moly, I loved that. Show was way off my radar. Really dug it. 1981 is ringing my bell lately. I'm telling you that year is in the air. DL is gonna release some :)
12/4/73 is ok, but the band sounds a bit fatigued.

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In reply to by The Good Ole G…

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I have been there twice when it was named The Theater at Madison Square Garden..

I thought it was a weird place. Kind of an urban theater.. few frills, lacking the ornate gold leaf feel and Gothic/Victorian amenities. Typical theater seating in semi-circle curving around the stage. I do not recall a balcony and I recall the seating having a very shallow incline. Madison Square Garden is directly on top of you, Penn Station is I think below you. I recall it as being tiny, I cannot imagine 5k people there, maybe if your date sat on your shoulders... To me it seemed considerably smaller than say the Beacon Theatre which holds under 3k people. Maybe they can get rid of some baffling walls or dividers or something. Must have been a wild ride to see the GD there.

I think one of the times I was there was to see the How the Grinch Stole Christmas as a theatre presentation right before Christmas with my kid.. NYC is (was, will be again one day) a fun place to visit just before the holidays so long as you don't mind spending a little quality time with like 9 million of your closest friends. Hot Tuna used to play at the Beacon every year around Jorma's birthday between Thanksgiving and Christmas. A great time and place to see the Tuna.

Strider, wherefore art thou?

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In reply to by JimInMD

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Dug the Salt Lake show, but I think I liked 12/3 a tad more? You guys were right about the post drums! Wowsa...JG is rippin’ wicked good as the say up north. Glad I went back to it. Yeah, what is it about 81 lately? Dave.....

DV with the hit yet again. Forgot what a fun set list/show 6/17/91 is. And though the video is what it is quality wise, it’s so nice to watch them on occasion. I think the amazing sound on this one more than makes up for it though.
Think I’ve only seen this one a couple times so it was a perfect pick for my Friday night shenanigans!
That Giants box is awesome and yet another I haven’t spent near enough time with...

So from 81, to 91, to 71...
What version are you listening too?
Doubt I’m gonna have time for this today, but I should check it out ASAP. Had a crappy tape of part BITD (most of my tapes pre hiatus were crappy?) Actually used to play Muddy Water because of this tape, and it was easy lol.
Probably on a tape from one of our early shows we played out on? Man, someday I need to go through a bunch of that, but thats a huge project I don’t have time for and listening to much of that is painful...like seeing yourself on TV only worse.

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I went the first night of that run, 12/4/71. I listened two days ago by way of re-listen. Yesterday I listened to 12/5/92 Gila River Indian Reservation, ( not Tempe, Az as listed on re-listen). Was at the new Compton Terrace both days in 92 and December 90. Went to the original Compton Terrace in March 83, that was in Tempe. . Going to listen to 12/6/92 today and maybe Felt Forum 12/6/71 later. I remember the radio broadcast from 12/5/71 when it happened, WNEW carried it.
Was reminded just now about Acoustic Dead 12/6/80. Already loaded up in the iPhone.
Many Deadheads were waylaid by a major blizzard in December 92 trying to drive from the McNichols Denver shows to Arizona. It poured rain the day before the 1st Compton Terrace show driving from New Mexico to Superstition Mountains, where my 67 Chevy van died, but that’s another story.

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In reply to by Strider 808808

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Now this is not related to this Day in Dead History, but...

Do you all think it's just a coincidence that the longest Here Comes Sunshine (12/6/73) and the return of Here Comes Sunshine (12/6/92) happen on the same date?
Trippy, huh?!?!

Good Stuff.

12/6/71 is sounding good today, that transition back into The Other One from Me & Bobby McGee is tight! They were so on their game.

12/5/71 - I feel like I had a GD hour of Muddy Water & Comes A Time from that show, but maybe it was just filler on a tape, anyhow.. I've always loved that Comes A Time. The extra verse that Jerry sings is really poignant and always resonates with me. Even as a young lad, I could relate to that. Nice work Hunter.

12/6/73 - Gonna happen later today.

Strider - I'm curious of your take on how you viewed the scene in say '92 having been there back in the glory days and had been going to shows for close to 23 years at that point. So much had changed and yet, the magic could still occur. December '92 Jerry was back again and stayed that way for awhile. What was going through your mind during these December '92 shows?

Would love to hear. I caught the band in December '93 for my last show and I felt glad to be there, but a bit nostalgic. The band & the crowd felt like it was going through the motions that night, instead of feeling it. Coulda just been me.

But December '92 - Summer '93 there's some there there.

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I processed more torrent shows yesterday and loaded the ALAC files on a music player.
An hour ago or so started playing the first show displayed on the screen, and only just now realized that it is tomorrow’s anniversary.

12-7-68
Has some cuts but sounds pretty decent. Doing the 88674.miller copy.
Thanks Charlie.

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I brought an old friend to the Phoenix Dead shows in December 1990. He had seen them once before in the 60s at Winterland . The parking lot scene at Compton Terrace reminded him of a 1950s science fiction movie about people partying into the future while imminent disaster was ravaging the planet and the human race.
I vaguely remember an old British film from the 50s when the sun was getting bigger and would soon destroy the Earth. Beatniks were depicted having wild street parties. Saxophones and bongos. Nihilistic is the word that comes to my mind. This is a very generalized broad brush view of how wild the Grateful Dead scene became. Most Deadheads held down some form of work, myself included. So this is a comical view I hold about the later days of the Grateful Dead scene, (deadheads) I need to find that sci fi movie. Maybe it was “The Day the Earth Caught Fire”, 1961.

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In reply to by Strider 808808

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That's rich Strider.
If you remember that movie please let me know, as that sounds like must see tv :)

Sometimes I wonder if this life is completely meaningless and totally absurd...

But most of the time I avoid thinking about that and listen to music to distract me and get some kicks.

I'm not one to tell people what to do, but if you skipped 12/6/73 Dark Star > Eyes of The World, do yourself a favor and pop it in soon before this ring around the sun is finished. It's big time. 3rd longest Dark Star or something for you statisticians.

And ConeKid is going Primal!!!

Primal Monday, I like the sound of that.
12/7/68
Rosemarinus officinalis, To wake the sleeping Beauty, she had to be touched by rosemary, a plant of many legends and ancient beliefs, and of many uses.
Also the flower of mourning.

How freaking cool is Robert Hunter?
And how inspired is a guy like David Dodd?

By the way in the annotated lyrics it seems to be in question whether or not they played Rosemary on 12/7/68.

You my friend can solve this mystery today!

The choice is yours, if you dare.

Good Stuff.

PS - and for a bit of randomness 6/9/84 Set 2 - Amazing!!

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Thanks Strider for bringing that '90 show on the res. back to mind. The scene was dusty but the liquor was clean. I had never seen a pre-show scene that wasn't paved and the freedom of no discernable authority was making up for the rag-tag that is selling to make enough to get to the next show. I thought the post-apocalyptic feel was from me going to a show solo but emotions can run strange in certain states of consciousness. It actually felt good to be back on the bus as it was my first show since the Folsum Field '80 fifteenth anniversary. Missed '92 Phoenix but caught my last ride at the '94 version and knew either Jerry or I wouldn't be at the next one. That turned out to be prescient as my next one was the 25th anniversary of my first show at Red Rocks 2003 with The Dead and Jimmy Herring.

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In reply to by 1stshow70878

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And where is Bolo? It has been a while.

I have been hitting up that 10/2/77 show quite a bit lately since Bob t turned me on to it. Just can't get enough of it. That Casey Jones and Dupree's are hot stuff.

December through January end up being long months, this year will be even worse.
How about a show released in ALAC and or FLAC for the faithful this month? That would help us all.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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Afghanistan? Angola?? It's got to be election season somewhere???

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December 7, 1968 gives us a cool view into the growth of the Dark Star suite.
With St. Stephen showing up in June ’68 time frame, it quickly finds it’s pole position following Dark Star and leading into The Eleven. By December ’68 the suite was about 6 months old. And on December 7th you get a great version of all 3 tunes. Dark Star clocks in around 13 minutes and has a lot of the flavor of it’s future self, but the songs growth in a little over 2 months will produce the stunningly magical Fillmore West ’69 versions. So by February ’69 this song reaches it’s zenith. But this version is definitely a point on the celestial sphere worth observing.

Fun show throughout and a rare glimpse into what the band was playing at this time. Despite the clipped beginnings, it’s a must have tape for your collection IMO.

I wish we had more shows from this time period (understatement).

Good pick ConeKid, I enjoyed that.

Also checked out the 12/5/92 Set 2 Strider was talking about and dug it. The band is playing well, good versions. Bob’s voice, it’s really gruff, but it adds a quality that I was digging. I think he had vocal cord surgery after this?

I like 90s GD. Shit, I might like all GD. Thanks for the ’90s memories!

October ’77, 10-2 is a ripper fo sure. Dig that Road Trips artwork from that month too.

Well, I picked up my bags, I went looking’ for a place to hide
When I saw Cameron Indoor Stadium from a ’73 December Night

I got as far as cleaning up the metadata and loading this on my devices last night... good to hear it this morning, better late then never.

The weight.. a song that carries special meaning for me. If you are bored one day, go to one of those sites that discusses song meanings and check out some of the interpretations. I think we all know what it's about.. but at least to me invokes one of those multi-layered, deep moments of reflection. For times when life is difficult but we have to find a way to pull through regardless. Sort of like 2020.

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In reply to by JimInMD

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Who has a pick for today? Jim? Bueller?

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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I don’t listen to music at work, so it’s at night at home and in the car.

12-9-81 going now, but jumped to Bird Song, then Candyman, Cassidy, ChinaRider.
Now on Scarlet.
Yeah, not quite the same as 12-7-68, but I’m glad to have stuff from every year.

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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Big fan of '81 Dead.
But... for some reason the 12/9 show hasn't really grabbed me up by the ears.

Let me clarify, I'm not bitching or trying to sound un-Grateful.
I'm happy to have this show to listen to and think about and with this release I know I don't need another version of this show so we're all good there.
But this is just me as a picky geeked out Dead Head discussing music with my homies during the ninth month of a global pandemic.
That all being said...
I think I have the same reaction each time I hear this show.
Which is: surprise.
Surprised this got released.

That's not to say I don't like it, I just find myself drifting off thinkin' there are some real smokers in December '81 and I'm not sure this is one.
First set is train wrecky, some pretty big audience patches needed, Bob being weird throughout.
That all being said, each time I look at the cover I think, what am I missing about this show, and so I give it a go.
I just haven't heard it yet. And yeah, didn't really hear it yesterday.
Personally, I think 12/3 smokes this show, but nobody really axed me that.

Now I'm listening to this China > Rider while I type and this is freaking good stuff.
But yeah.. this show hasn't reached December '81 go to status for me, but hey, that's ok!

And since we're talking.
Have we discussed Fade Out Tracks?
Since we're gonna be doing this CD medium for however long with Dead Releases, I'd love to propose something.
There's this cool trick I saw some bootleggers do when we were trading CDs BITD.
They'd add a separate Fade Out & Fade In track at the break point that way if you're not listening to the show on CD, say you were listening on a music playing device like a phone or what have you. You can just delete the Fade Out & Fade In track and the whole thing will be seamless again. So in this case, it'd look like:
Disc 1 Track Listing -
10. Looks Like Rain >
11. Fade Out

Disc 2 Track Listing -
1. Fade In
2. China Cat Sunflower >

So what I'm proposing is Cut those tracks so that Disc 1 Track 10 lines up with Disc 2 Track 2 and viola! Delete Fade In & Out tracks and you have Seamless Dead for all of us heads that are not listening to CDs and love seamless GD.

I sound bitchy. (read this whole post in the most non-bitchy way!! Just friends talking music here.)

Alright, Break time ladies and Gentleman.
But We'll Be Back Real Quick.
(insert big Jerry guitar fan)
See you in a minute or two.

Now, the total opposite side of this DaP V20 (which had a decent SBD in circulation for years) is an Unreleased SBD that doesn't circulate like...
December 10, 1973
Now this.. this here folks is a Go To!
Cause, it's all there is, there ain't no more (in circulation)
Supposedly there's what 4-5 songs that got excised due to "sub-par sonics".
(can't find any liner notes, anybody got the official explanation handy?)
From the one set list I found looks like Jack Straw, Jed, El Paso, BEW got nixed from Set 1 and a MAMU from Set 2.
But the rest is here in seamless glory for us to grok. And grok I must.
As the wonderful strains of 1973 Playing In The Band begin.
This sounds delightful..
I'm so Grateful for all you archival music releasing people, you are special, Great Work!!

Cast no stones

PS - JiminMD after your suggestion, I did read up on the meaning of the Weight, which I had never done. It was pretty fascinating the speculation out there. Now, what do you think it's about?

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In reply to by Strider 808808

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Master Strider

You have summed up what I wanted to say in one line when it took me many.

I still have much to learn.

I hear you man, there are better 81 shows. Would be interesting to pick DL brain on this pick. Anyway, it comes off the shelve a couple times a year.

Are you thinking 12/10/73 for today??

I still don't have this from the download series.

Stay well out there.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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DV - Yeah, Bob T twisted my arm and got me to go out on this December '73 tour, even though he ditched me in Cincinnati, we hooked back up in Cleveland. Sick Dark Star > Eyes bro!!!
The Durham show was good, but 12/6 was probably the best so far and the stuff in Boston on 11/30 & 12/2.

Just a few more to go.

LMK if you're gonna try and make the show and have trouble gettin' tickets, we might know of an extra.

Keep on Truckin'

Best,
GOGD

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9 years 1 month

In reply to by The Good Ole G…

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Fade ins and outs between CD’s is really annoying.
Charlie Miller has been making seamless transitions for years, not sure why Norman has never figured out the concept.
I fix all releases that need it with editing software before loading onto HD’s and music players.

12-9-81
Stella struck me as quite good last night. Don’t know if I never noticed it before, or noticed it before but then forgot.

For me, this simply means taking on additional burdens that were not of your making and how this impacts your life and can bring you down emotionally. How someone else's irresponsibility forces one to take the right action or do right in order to avoid a greater catastrophe or additional harm to others.

Before I wrote this I decided I should revisit SongMeanings.com as it's been perhaps 20 years since I did this.. and there was a quote from Robertson I had not seen before that shed light on the songwriting process for this song. There is mention that specifics were purposefully left general so the song could take on a special meaning to the listener, which is certainly true for me. It also went on to add that Luis Buñuel was a major influence to the lyrics, so I had to check him out and watched one of his more popular films on YouTube, "Los Olvidados" or The Young and the Damned (with English subtitles). A pretty good little flick with a deep plot similar to the meaning of the song.. in this movie a young troubled kid gets out of kiddie jail only to continue his life of crime and destruction including theft and ultimately murder ultimately bringing everyone around him, even the most innocent down with him by mere association. Not the meaning I took from the song but just barely one step removed.

To me, it still carries a deep, personal meaning.. like I said I was never meant to be the responsible one yet I have carried a whole bunch of people throughout my life including now.. professionally and personally. It's not very much fun, often depressing and exhausting. But we all make decisions in life that have consequences both to us and those around us. I am a severely flawed human but I do try to grasp and understand each situation and try to do right or at least the best I can. My own brand of pragmatism I guess and I really try hard not to burden others with my own stupidity or lessor actions.

To tie this back to the Grateful Dead, I quote Phil Lesh from the Saratoga Performing Arts Center on 1985-06-27.. when two people were swinging dangerously from the balcony just before Stagger Lee Bobby stopped the show pleading that they stop hanging from the balcony to which Phil added, "Do what yourself what you want man, we just don't want you falling on somebody else." How many times have we all been that person that the guy hanging on the balcony fell on?

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In reply to by JimInMD

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I think you nailed it Jimi.

It's funny, having spent a lifetime hearing this song and loving it, I'm not sure I ever stopped to think about what it meant. I just always loved the way Rick Danko would sing the Crazy Chester verse. It always gives me chills (even as I write this) how much emotion he's able to deliver in that line and the way he sings it.

The songs always been a favorite. Since it came out in '68, I've been hearing it randomly here and there my whole life. I remember hearing the NRPS version from 5/2/70 with Bob & Jerry singing in around '88 (on the GD Hour I believe) and just losing my shit. The Grateful Dead are playing the Weight?!?!

Then as luck would have it, having not seen the Dead since Alpine '88, I happened to catch a show in Frankfurt Germany in '90 and they closed the show with the song. I was so stoked, it felt like they were playing it just for me. And maybe they were that night. I had no idea they'd been playing it for awhile. Back then, if you were overseas, it felt like it :)

Ah... Good Stuff.

Thanks Jim, I enjoyed the trip.

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13 years 4 months

In reply to by DeadVikes

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GOGD, you made some of that E 90 tour? Congrats.. so jealous.

I edited in a quote from Phil that relates this back to the GOGD, sorry to change my orig. post on meanings... Have we done 85 Saratoga yet? If not, we should try and fit that one in. It's been a while for me but it has always been one of my favorite tapes from that glorious summer of '85....

Oh.. and Cone Kid.. I get what you are saying, when I listen it's always digital copies, almost never the CDs.. but if had a hard cut from one song to the other it would sound really weird after the CD swap. I see the other perspective.

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In reply to by JimInMD

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Jimi - Yeah, you probably wouldn't be that jealous if you knew the circumstance behind it, but that's another story.
It was cool to see them in a place that small for sure!

DV - Tickets in the mail. PM sent.

I'm listening to Stella from 12/9 again to see if I catch the fever.
Short The Other One and another fade in before.. I'm not sure this will ever be my favorite. But I'm trying.

Meanwhile, loved 12/10/73 today and am gonna go back for more after 4:20ish this afternoon, give or take an hour or two :)

Good Stuff!

PS - '85 I'm still alive. Love me some '85! And Primal 12/11/69 stuff :)

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12-11-69 Thelma for tomorrow, some of it is on Dave's 10 bonus disc. Primal for sure But that Dark Star>Stephen>the Eleven>Cumberland to end the first set is the only time played and pretty awesome. Second set starts off with Morning Dew, can't beat that.

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In reply to by unkle sam

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I listen to new release CD’s twice to make sure they aren’t defective, then make a copy on a computer and type in the track names according to my system, then make any necessary edits and crossfades.
Then convert to AIFF, ALAC, FLAC, AAC-320, with each format on a separate HD. I then listen on music players and flash drives, so seamlessness (did I invent a new word? my spell checker thinks so) is mandatory.
The CD’s then go in a storage box (they stay cleaner that way).

At least with a 6-disc changer it moves pretty quickly to the next CD, so with a seamless transition between CD’s the gap is pretty short.
Single disc CD players are kind of like vinyl, but you get to sit on the couch for longer before you have to get up and change the disc.

My Garcia 15 showed up today. That’s going to spin tonight.
My Jimi in Maui got lost, so Uncle Beez sent me a new one.
People were discussing Anthem To Beauty the other day on one these boards. I’ve never seen it before, so I got one from Uncle Beez for like $6. Seems like a score to me.

12-11-69 tomorrow you say?
Sounds like a plan, and it’s even Friday night.

Edit:
The plastic thickness of the Garcia 15 CD’s is noticeably thinner than the Jimi CD’s.
Glad that the Hendrix Estate hasn’t decided (so far) to cut corners on manufacturing to save a buck or two.

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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Wow.. detailed. I can only surmise you have a user's manual and a detailed binder for Policies and Procures to be obeyed when setting up your metadata.

Perhaps even thinker than the set of binders I use. (kidding of course) :D

Pretty cool cone kid.

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9 years 1 month

In reply to by JimInMD

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Got my methods pretty well memorized at this point.
But, I do have a written list of HD’s and what’s on them to help me remember, since each main HD has multiple back ups.
Along with all the audio formats there are also HD’s for video.

I'm anal about my metadata and hard drive structure (how to label shows, etc.). Anything I have worked on since 2015 or so that's not an official release I save lossless as Alac, Flac and Wav. It just makes it easier to share as everyone seems to have different preferences. I can totally relate to your P&P manual and attention to detail.

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13 years 4 months

In reply to by unkle sam

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I'm always a day behind and a dollar short..

But I am enticed for a relisten, thanks Sammy.

Doesn't 12/11 wrap into 12/12 in the bonus disc or something like that anyway?...

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One of my favorite Dave’s Picks. The Workingmans Dead material sounds so low key. Black Peter has a real feeling of pain and aging segueing towards the last breath. Feeling of fever and suffering.
Somehow a cautionary tale.
Caution on disc three is chant like or hypnotic.
39 years ago on this date I saw the Dead first time in four years since Winterland on 12/29 & 30/77. Before that was 10/20/74. The Dance for Disarmament on 12/12/81 was interesting. Acoustic accompaniment with Joan Baez and then an electric set. Will give it a listen today but it was the complete New Years run later that month that was truly epic. 12/26 Eleven Jam was quite the exciting moment. I went all five nights in 81 when it was still the Oakland Auditorium.
Where’s Bolo & LMG.

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In reply to by Strider 808808

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Missed 12-11-69 yesterday, so now I need to make that up and earn extra credit.
Fortunately for me it’s the weekend and I’m not going anywhere (except outside later today to roast some coffee beans while it’s sort of warm and not raining).

I do have a legitimate excuse for not doing my homework, this week I received Jimi in Maui, Garcia 15, and the Anthem To Beauty dvd (watched it last night).

I see that I also missed
12-6%,7-71 (DaP 22 + bonus)
12-4%-73 (Winterland 73 Box bonus disc)
12-10-73 (DS8)

I better get to work because 12-14-71 (DaP 26) is around the corner.

Hope all this anniversary talk hasn’t driven away Oro.

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Dave's pick #10, but the bonus disc is the night before. Not that 12-12-69 isn't a great show too.

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48 years ago the last humans walked on moon. Next week Saturn and Jupiter will be in conjunction on December 21 the Winter Solstice.
Yesterday I hit a double header; 12/12/70 Santa Rosa Fairgrounds, ( killer Grateful Dead!!) and then 12/12/81 that I attended. Guadalupe Day. High Time.