Grateful Dead

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-RJJwk-Opw4. I saw Charles Brown play at the 1976 S.F. Blues Festival in McLaren Park, he was great, Mike Bloomfield was also on the bill. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.

Twas The Night Before a Dead Show...
’Twas the night before a Dead show and all through the place,All the heads were dosed - just trippin’ to space.The joints were all rolled with precision and care,With hopes that St. Stephen soon would be there.The freaks were nestled all stoned in their beds,While visions of Johanna danced in their heads.With me in my poncho and her in my hand,Just dyin to hear “Uncle John’s Band.”When out from the stage there arose such a clatter,I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.O’ way to the stadium I flew with my stash,I kicked down the gate - it fell with a crash.the light from the orb, hanging so high.Blinded me like I was Born cross Eyed.And what to my red glossy eyes should appear,A shadowed figure, could it be Mr. Weir?No, too big to be Bob, too short to be Phil,Could it be Mickey, Vince, or maybe even Bill?He started to sing and the sound from his lips,Assured me at once that he was Captain Trips!His eyes how they twinkled, his dimples how merry,I exclaimed in excitement, “Oh Wow! It’s Jerry.”I couldn’t believe it - just Jerry and Me,“Play something” I said. “Play Sugaree.”The Fat man jammed - he was on a roll,With his sweet songs, he rocked my soul.Jerry spoke once, and his message was plain:“Gotta go now,” he said. “It looks Like Rain.”But I heard him exclaim as he walked out of sight,“Good Lovin’ to all, and I bid You Goodnight."

Wishing all friends and family a joyful holiday

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UJu97xdUPDs. These shows at the Warfield in 91 & 92 were really special. Let's hope that Santa Claus brings us a nice box set next year from 1969, or a compilation 67'68'69 box set, or an October 1974 Winterland complete recordings audio and video box, which would sell out in minutes. Merry Christmas everybody, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, 2021 is almost here.

A looong time favorite

Got the cassettes early on. I remember the second set in a backyard....

Lysergic listening in my dorm room....

Eyes after that show in Ventura...

Yahoo!

2 9 73

Yes yes yes

I'm not sure if that was just fortuitous timing on their part, as the ABB were now officially broken up, and only putting out archival material, and at some point set up Allman Brothers Band Records, which is now distributing the new releases of Duane material Fillmore West '71 and Owings Mill 10/17/71. The original release of that February 1970 Fillmore East stuff was in conjunction with GDP and Dick and Kirk West, the ABB archivist. My guess is they had settled on the rights on that, and OSF was able to re-release it with sonic upgrades, then the Deluxe Edition. I would love for the OSF to be able to release a Dead show, I just don't see how they can put out one of those tapes without WMG/Rhino getting some sort of compensation. The ABB situation seems to be one where, as with Hendrix, if they find a good sounding Duane tape, they will release it. The fanbase is there for any and all Duane material. The Dead have proven there is a tremendous market for their archival releases. Now exactly how big is that market is the question, because Rhino and Dave are putting out almost a dozen shows per year with the Dave's Picks, box sets, and 50th anniversary releases, and only the last are unlimited (or at least not limited to a published number). Sure, every Dave's is snapped up, and put on ebay for ridiculous prices, but that could also be people realizing the secondary market's value. Dave often hints at the nuts and bolts behind the scenes such as how many boxes to limit the box set to, PNW 73-74 still has some left, RFK 89, as well. Both were 15,000; June '76's 12,000 are gone. July '78 took four years to sell out. So, I'm curious as to whether OSF can justify the cost it would take to put out one Dead show, as they would probably need to sell 25-30,000 copies to make it a success. I really hope they do it, and are able to do it. I just wonder at the legal complications to it. I hope to sponsor a reel with OSF one day, they are doing a great thing. The Doc and Merle box is fantastic, the ABB release is a major upgrade to the 1996 release, and I'm planning to get the Ali Akhbar Khan release soon. I should get the NRPS and Hot Tuna releases, too, just haven't yet.

Oh, and I just ordered the OSF ABB vinyl. And I just looked it up to see if that was put out by OSF or ABB Records, and it's ABB Records, so maybe the licensing only goes so far for so long? I did see OSF has a 2LP 45 RPM show from Doc and Merle at the Boarding House on their label, too, so they apparently can get vinyl cut, but did not for the ABB release. So, like you, I'm left with more questions than answers. But that is absolutely par for the course.

Edited to add: Proudfoot, give me 2/9/73. Speaking of more questions than answers, why has that show not been released long ago?

with 2/24/73 as the accompanying show

or anything else you wish, ptb

Check out the OSF Facebook page. They mention one specific GD show with an unbelievable setlist that their tape-preservation project has digitally archived. The preservation and archiving does not guarantee release, unless the GD org agrees. OSF did release an ABB set from the Feb '70 shows, so anything's possible. When feeling flush in 2019, I did contribute the requisite $400 to preserve a reel of the New Riders from spring '73, when I first saw them in a standalone format in a small theater. But OSF did just release a 5-CD set of proto- and early Riders, so another show release may take awhile.

If by chance the OSF finds the missing reel (who taped Sept 19, 1972???) to my first show I would expect in that case they would reunite it with the other reels in the GD Vault and yield to Dave & Co. on release plans.

But I should have prefaced all of my remarks today but acknowledging that, like Sgt. Schultz, in reality "I know NOTHING."

I do not intend my comments to put any damper on any dreams, Proudfoot. Rather, that's why I used my own lust to hear my first show as an example. And to offer hope that everyone's dream show gets released someday.

However... tthe key word is "someday." You more sensibly call for "now"!

At age 63, with no serious health issues (at least from the neck down) but also 50 years into my live music 'career' and proud possessor of ... I dunno, thousands of CDs of archival music (my coffee table for new or re-listening probably has 30 releases on it) I would at least speculate that in years to come my interest may wane. It's a theory at this point. Example: Leslie West, guitarist for Mountain, just passed. I once interviewed him about his encounters with Hendrix for a Hendrix magazine. Upon the news of his passing, I immediately pulled the original Woodstock release off the (Jimi) shelf and played the two cuts by Mountain, then ordered "The Very Best of Mountain." I should add that I'm divorced and single -- not that the two subjects (music madness and single-ness) are related -- but with no constraints involved, they'll probably find me someday in my chair, covered in cobwebs, surrounded by CDs with rats nibbling on my toes....

Wow, third cup of coffee is the trick. Call it a cry for help... I think the topic was "how many more years will I eagerly await the next GD release?"

Well, got my 2021 subscription squared away (within minutes of the earliest pre-order announcement) and if the 2021 box is $200 or under and offers fall '72, check that one off as well. (Oh hell, you know I'm buying such a box regardless of price.) AND if they release Wake of the Flood 50th this year, with a 3-CD '73 show attached, I'm on that like white on rice. Between fall '72 and fall '73 I caught seven Dead shows and that Wake material, mixed with Euro '72 songs, was my baptism.

This is the longest post I've made lamely trying to question the longevity of my dead-ication, while affirming that I'm still fully in the grip of GD madness. Okay, time to take a walk, breathe....

Hendrixfreak pretty much covered it, but I still feel it necessary to point out that in the batch of returned "Bettys" were also Rex Jackson tapes, which makes sense as they were married. But there was also at least one show released that was a tape by Owsley: DaP 24 8/25/72. How many of his reels ended up in her collection is a great mystery tome, and how many tapes did Rex make while Betty wasn't on tour? Did she also have any of Kidd's tapes? Kidd and Rex seem to be the primary tapers for the '73-'74 shows, so it will be interesting to see if 9/7-8/73 were also part of the return, or if they really sat on a show Dick was planning to release as far back as 1997.

I'd also really be interested to know exactly what the OSF has in regards to Dead material, because I'm just not sure they can put out a commercial Dead release through OSF alone, they would need permission and probably to team up with Rhino/WMG for a release.

I'm definitely with Hendrixfreak in wishing a Vault index was available, and I'm constantly amazed at the stuff that people already know is in there in complete form, which shows are missing a reel or two, etc. Most of the focus on the variables of what has returned seem to focus mainly on the Bettys because she was a fantastic recording engineer, and probably because there's no list of Rex Jackson tapes that are known to be missing, because I don't know of a list of shows he's known to have taped. He and Kidd knew how to get a damn good recording.

I know I am but one star in the Grateful Dead universe

and one orbiting the Dark Star in the center

But man, when you hear 10 28 72 and other "heaven on Earth" shows

a person lusts for more, preferably RIGHT NOW

it's in my nature