"Welcome to the 10th year of the Dave's Picks series! We're amazed and humbled that this community of Dave's Picks fans keeps growing, and we just wanted to let you know how much we sincerely appreciate your support of and interest in the series. We started in 2012 with 12,000 of each release, and now we've more doubled that, with 25,000 in 2021. Wow! We keep working as hard as we possibly can to bring you the best, most exciting Grateful Dead shows in the vault. Our 2020 releases included music from 1977, 1974, 1984, and the latest, biggest release yet in the series, the two complete Hartford shows from 1987. Looking ahead, we've selected two exceptional, A+ Dead shows for Vol. 37 (more on that in the video below) and 38, as well as the Bonus Disc that will come with Vol. 38. Big year ahead! As we head into the 10th year of the series, there's no end in sight. We love what we do, and have loads of plans and ideas for the next few years. Onward to more great music!"
David Lemieux
October 2020
Times may be trying but the music has never and will never stop! Keep the momentum going by doing the Dead all year long with a Dave's Picks 2021 subscription. We're taking the production run up one final time - to 25,000 - for each of the four Dave's Picks 2021 releases. We'll also be doing things a wee bit differently this year - subscribers will be the first to receive their Dave's Picks. A la carte sales will go up on street date (no more pre-orders) and if you don't subscribe - we highly encourage you to - you'll want to be ready and waiting because these releases sell out within hours. Hours - no hyperbole.
In addition to the four releases in 2021, totaling 12 CDs, you’ll also get the subscription exclusive bonus disc, which has proven to be one of the most highly sought-after collectables we release, and free domestic shipping. Subscriber bonus discs will not be released outside of this offer. Early bird subscribers can nab a sub at $99.98 (regular pricing will be $115.92).
Frost Apitheatre / 4/27/85
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=g2XFUR2m8V0. The Frost was a cool place to see the Dead.
Just trying to help keep people informed Vguy
But I guess I’m no match for Wazeh Rahe. Seems that they have the Pakistan news beat locked down.
I Like The Spider
It might make for a nice t-shirt or temporary tattoo.
The spider was the best part
Also had St. Stephen with a rose.
I think that most of the images were taken from tarot cards.
But yeah, added nothing to the song.
Why not give us the gift of a free download?
Oh yeah, they just gave 30 free song downloads with 30 Days of Dead. Thanks for those songs.
.... not that I didn't like the spider.....
.... just wasn't sure where the little bastard came into the song. Not what I picture when I hear about a ripple with no pebble tossed! "Ohhhhh, look at the ripple. I ain't tossed no pebble, must have been a spider!"
So what did cause that Ripple?
....yes the spider would make a great tee!
Spidergawd
I dug the animation
Ruben strolling around with his painted mandolin
couldn't help but notice the nubile maidens. just sayin'.
2021 Box Set
Looking forward to hearing what will be released next year and when.
In going through all the past box set releases, there remains a glarring hole, 1980. We did get the unfortunate news from DL this year that several of the multi track reels of the Warfield/Radio City run were recorded over for Brent's solo stuff 😭 and they didn't have enough full shows for a box release... So, how about the five shows to end the year in December at Oakland?? Looks like this had potential to be a good run and that 1980 hole needs to be filled.
Stay well out there.
Three From the Vault to be released on vinyl in January
Saw one on ebay, 4LP. Not through Real Gone or Rhino or Warner, but a company called Future Day Recordings.
Three From the Vaults on vinyl
Two From The Vaults is also coming out again on vinyl soon.
Two From the Vault
Is really one of the statement mind bending releases of all time. ...and recorded in glorious, if not flawed multi-track. The band thought it was junk for years until Don Pearson figured out how to time the PA from the various mics and somehow cross fade or erase the overage and bleeding and create what I think is a masterpiece.
I believe all this is mentioned in the liner notes from the original release, but I have not read them in decades, so rest assured my description above is at least slightly off.
Simply, a work of art.
Did somebody mention 1968?
As for Alaska.. love it but we have yet to see a cassette mastered box set. Time will tell, but I don't see Dave blowing his box set load on a cassette mastered series of shows just yet.. '
But who am I to predict the future.
But seriously, love Anchorage 1980. Look at my comments as keeping the vibe alive.
1968
the recordings in the vault from 68 are probably few and far between, and not up to release-able standards. Although MY release-able standards are pretty liberal (that is not a political statement, btw.)
11/1/68: I have 45 minutes of this on cassette, and listened to it the other day in the car.
HOT.
The Spider Crawled out of the Vault
Maybe? I don’t know. But AFAIK, the only other spider in GD iconography is the one that appeared on the Two from the Vault back cover. I suppose the idea was that the “vault” was full of cobwebs and spiders.
What the spider has to do with Ripple, I have no idea. Seems to me kind of contrary to the spirit of the song. I know there’s no one clear answer to the question of what this or any GD song is “about,” but I always felt like Ripple has something to do with the idea of (how can I put this?) not knowing. About living life knowing that we can’t know, and being OK with that. It’s about forces in the universe beyond what humans understand: the “fountain that was not made by hands of men” and the “ripple in still water where there is no pebble tossed,” not knowing or caring where songs come from, not having anyone to guide you, not knowing the way home.
So now here’s this cartoon that seems to want to just give you a pat answer: the reason there’s a ripple in still water is not because there are cosmic forces beyond our understanding, but because there’s a spider. Duh!
I didn’t like the video, partly for that reason. Instead of a lovely, mysterious haiku at the center of the song, we now have a cartoon spider that’s going to be hard to purge from the mind’s eye whenever we hear the song. Whole generations will grow up thinking Ripple is “that song about a spider.” Also, the whole damn video’s just kind of creepy. I mean, the skeleton playing cards is fine, because it’s the GD. But the women (and men) in the video have naked breasts, but no nipples, and nipless boobs just make me uneasy. And then there’s the Giant Satan. Really? In Ripple, that nice little campfire song, we get a Giant Satan? What are we, Slayer?
For the record (1968)
I know damn well (even if I really don't) that they've got release-able '68 shows in the vault. ForensicDoc and I agree that many of those period shows were multi-band nights, thus the GD sometimes had to lift the roof in 90 minutes or less. It's a theory at least. But that means probably not a Dave's Pick unless you stack a couple together.
But for the record, I'll take any reasonably well-recorded '68 shows in a heartbeat.
There, said it! Mean it! Gonna scream until they do it!
I love the internet sometimes....
https://youtu.be/CAyWN9ba9J8
....If you're not tapping your feet, you're deaf. Rhythm Devil cat.
10/12/68 Avalon Ballroom
This show is just waiting to be cleaned up.and released, it. burns.
1968 for Dave
I would be quite happy with a single disc Dave's Picks from 1968 - on its own. Sometimes less is more, and one disc from that year would tickle my fancy more than 3 or 4 discs from a lesser year. Of which there are many!
When the inmates start clanging
their forks and spoons on the stainless steel tables and chanting "68" "68" instead of, say, "69" "69" (pun intended) I start to feel right at home. I do have my favorite eras and band configurations, as do many of you, but I think we all could really enjoy even a one-disc set packed with explosive double drummer mutant Alligator > Caution >Feedback with maybe a DS > St Stephen > Eleven thrown in for good measure.
What? I already own 5-6 hours of official '68?? Then what the hell am I doing hanging around here??
I believe it'll be a '68 weekend, with some Jer, Dylan and Jimi thrown in.
As you were!!!!!!!!!!!!
re: Inmates
Hey.. it's called work release folks. And for the record, when we are out 'working' we are not inmates at all, we are functioning members of a productive society.
Did someone mention 1968? Well.. that's worth digging a tunnel under the vault. We need more 1968 Fully Normanized shows released.. Get your hands out of your pockets and bring on some one disc wonders from the most explosive year in Grateful Dead history..
1968, screw Cornell.. give us more 1968.
Blasphemy? Na.. a single disc 1968 in 2021. Have we not suffered enough?
The jail bars are
only in my mind, Mr. MD, thanks for pointing that out. Although I DO love that lunchtime in prison by Hollywood vibe. Call me sentimental. I will free my mind and soul by .... oh wait, I've already posted that.
Folks, using the word "happy" seems inappropriate at year's end of a tough one. In a moment of weakness, I would like to wish everyone stays safe, has someone close, makes or plays or cranks great music and finds a few moments of peace in that traditional lull between the Solstice or your chosen religious holiday and that first bleak day of January. For years my buddies and I have jammed on both the Solstice and New Years Day, because we could. The band is the audience, too. This year is different. But that'll make me appreciate all the more if and when we can all hang out as we please. We've lost so much in so many ways. You fill in the blanks. But...
We will get by.
That's my Solstice message, bros. And now back to our regularly scheduled frenzy at WORaunchy...
Saturn & Jupiter...
https://apnews.com/article/saturn-jupiter-merging-sky-space-8c48ceaf9c7…
....you see. This hasn't occurred since the 1200's.
Wish for cloudness skies
1968--YES!
Please just release whatever is useable from that year, regardless of whether there's two minutes or two hours from one particular concert. Complete-show purists be damned! :)
I really wouldn't mind thoughtful compilations from other years, either. Hearing the best two hours culled from a three-show run that doesn't have one stand-out show is fine by me. Obviously one shouldn't cut up a start-to-finish stellar show, but how many more of those are left, if we're being completely honest with ourselves . . . ?
The Primal Dead
Dick Latvala said he thinks the tape he played for Phil that got him the job as archivist was 10/12/68.
Compilations only if the complete show doesn’t exist
Otherwise, complete shows and people can use that nifty button that jumps to the next track.
Jupiter and Saturn
Oberon, Miranda, and Titania
Neptune, Titan, stars can frighten
Ripple Video
Like many of you I didn’t get it, especially the spider.
But when I showed it to the misses, who knows a little about Tarot, she immediately knew what was going on.
I don’t have time to explain it all, but if you look into the images and meanings of the cards and then watch again it makes more sense. The spider = is the symbol of creativity, and the fountain = the ace of cups, when you draw that card it’s supposed to represent each person and event posses a precious gem hidden inside, and to make a conscious effort to find it etc..
Just a superficial taste of this, but if you take the time to compare the video images with the cards it all makes sense.
So this is actually pretty $#@&ing deep, and meaningful and not the goofy nonsense animation some might of thought it was...
Sometimes you get shown the light, in the strangest of places.....
Bits and bobs
I am in the camp that would welcome great music being released, even if the full show isn't available. Especially from 1968. A great box could be constructed from the years 1966-1968-maybe starting with an Acid Test and leading up to 68. The more music that could be included, the merrier it would be. A bit like an audio scrapbook of odds and ends. I'd buy it like a shot.
Ripple video
Here’s the description given in the ‘This Week At Rhino’ email from yesterday.
————-
We're taking 2020 home and offering up new hope for 2021 with the video premiere of "Ripple." Beautifully animated by Actuality Films, the video brings a Tarot card reading to life as it tells the story of The Fool crossing paths with The Muse, The Magician and The Devil. Can you spot the myriad of Easter eggs drawn from Grateful Dead lyrics and lore?
————-
I don’t know anything about Tarot, don’t need to, my dog tells me what the future holds.
Sorry, but he also swears me to secrecy, so I can’t share what he tells me.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!
Sorry
Just gotta vent
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Jimmy Rodgers / Sloppy Drunk
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WKRA0PqoIak. Little Walter, burns on this song.
Great minds etc
Billy The Kid re-The Weight-Music From The Big Pink was the last thing I played last night before waking up and going to bed. They aren't really my favourite band by a long chalk, but I do check out the first two albums every once in a while. To me, more interesting rather than electrifying. Maybe time to dust off The Last Waltz, too.
Today opened with Dicks Picks 14 and 11/30/73. An unusual way to start a show, playing "Morning Dew". It works perfectly - feels a bit like reading the first chapter of a book, listening to the first few songs of this show.
The Band /Daverock
Daverock , I don't have any of the Band's music, I was just drinking beer yesterday and listening to different songs on You Tube, that song came up, I like it so I posted it. I always wondered why the Dead didn't play at the Last Waltz, at least Garcia, I always found that to be strange.
Something Different
Hadn't played in a while, dragged it out this morning.
Don't hear much talk about them here.
I used to say this is who I put on when I want people to go home :-)
The Residents - Commerical
On Solstice eve, thankful for ...
GarciaLive Vol. 15... 21 May 1971... just three weeks after killing it with the GD at the Fillmore East ("Ladies & Gentlemen...") Jer displays an awesome command of the guitar in a completely different musical setting. Merle handles bass duties with his left hand and I don't miss bass guitar at all. Just cerebral, loose but thoughtful jamming on a wide variety of tunes.
A cloudy winter day on the high plains brightened by sunshine issuing forth from my speakers. Oh, and a toke or two of Sativa leaning hybrid, courtesy of moi.
Cheers for the Solstice and the Jupiter/Saturn alignment!
T Bone Walker / Call it Stormy Monday
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JTIvQNDNJJk. The great T Bone Walker, big influence on B.B King, Clapton, Hendrix, and so many more.
GS Box Grammy nomination
From today’s GD email:
The Grateful Dead transformed a concrete jungle into a magical, mythical experience and our art director and producers turned that experience into a GRAMMY®-nomination for Best Boxed Set or Special Limited Edition Package. How's about that? The big one may be gone, gone, gone but you can still enjoy the music (and the fantastic art) from Giants Stadium 6/17/91 as a 5LP or 3CD set.
———-
Apparently that’s old news, but I never saw it before.
Penguins
Just noticed on the cover of DaP 37 that under the banner is the bottom half of a Pittsburgh Penguins logo.
Is the artist a Penguins fan?
Edit:
According to the interview she is from Hartford.
Hockey Talk....
....NHL is back on the menu boys. Training camp on Jan 2nd. Season starts the 13th. No pre season games. 56 games. Divisions realigned and teams will only play within their own division. Whatever it takes. I'm in.
My Dolphins are looking good.
Something Different
The Residents version of "Satisfaction" is guaranteed to clear out a room within five minutes.
I've always considered The Rez one of the two most important American rock bands.