• 8,086 replies
    marye
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    Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

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  • Forensicdoceleven
    Joined:
    Music is the best means we have of digesting time......

    ROCKTHING.............

    Check your PMs...........

    Music is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend........

    Rock on,

    Doc
    I frequently hear music in the very heart of noise.......

  • Forensicdoceleven
    Joined:
    I have just got a new theory of eternity…...

    Hey rockers!!!

    Pick Of The Day: Austin, Texas February 23, 1970

    I reluctantly discussed this at the end of last year. Here I am again. It appears that I’m stuck in a time warp. The galactic rock and roll union. I have no special talent, I am only passionately curious…..

    It appears that the currently circulated recording of this show is the only surviving audio document from the Dead’s four show excursion through Texas in February 1970. It’s tough coming right after the wonderful, brilliant Fillmore West/Fillmore East shows earlier that month, and perhaps it’s not unexpected that the intensity level might come down a bit. That being said, this is still interesting, enjoyable, and worthy…..

    The band is in 1970 electric/acoustic/electric mode. The circulating recording appears to be missing part of the first electric set, coming in during Know You Rider. For fans of acoustic Dead, this set is nice---Monkey And The Engineer-Little Sadie-Me And My Uncle-Black Peter-Seasons Of My Heart-Uncle John's Band. The festivities are completed with a jammy NFA and Mason’s Children.

    The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity……

    Did Bear travel to Texas, and did he record? Banana boxes, reveal thy mysteries…..

    Rock on,

    Doc
    Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods……

  • rockthing
    Joined:
    5/19/74 > 2/22/69

    >daverock>

    The vocal dropouts are not evident in the audience tape, so that must have happened on the way to the board tape.

    That said, the recording is slightly overpowered by Jerry and Bob's guitars from the taper's vantage point, but a little time with a simple Equalizer was enough to bring more Phil and better presence to the vocals. I do recall a few lyric flubs with the new material, but in the overall mix it didn't really jump out at me. Probably much more obvious in the official release/soundboard recording.

    2/22/69>
    Oh, my. I can see this is gonna send me on a primal quest. I have all these fall '69 and fall '68 shows that I've never listened to, but I don't have much from the spring of those years. I love this gentle psychedelia. It's really these delicate type of sounds that really trigger the senses. I'm only up to Dark Star at this point, but what a beautiful way to start a show.... oops, "The transitive diamonds?" Haha. I'd probably have trouble remembering my name if I were there, so whatever.

    It's such a shame that we're restricted to streaming this show. Imho, if the official release isn't so significantly better sounding than one of these circulating boards that it isn't a no-brainer to buy it, then what's with the classism, eh? I know the boys need a retirement plan... but... --mini rant off--

  • daverock
    Joined:
    5/19/74

    Rockthing - good notes on this show - cheers! I'm going through it very slowly, but it's the L.P. I am listening to. Although it has the famous vocal drop outs, the sound and balance of the instruments sounds fine throughout to me. I have just played the side with Loose Lucy and Money Money on. A short side. The lyrics are a bit naff on both of them - but I like the music, and they were both played so rarely that when they do crop up, it's a welcome surprise to me.
    I presume the version you have listened to has the earlier vocal dropouts too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • daverock
    Joined:
    2/22/69

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

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

    Mornin’, rockers!!!

    Pick Of The Day: Dream Bowl February 22, 1969

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

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

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

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

    Rock on,

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

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Heads in Mississippi

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

  • PT Barnum
    Joined:
    5-19-74

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

  • 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.

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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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My late brother Rick and his wife lived in Oregon starting in 1970. It was a summertime trip only living in a tipi. They were escaping “winter” in San Francisco. Before that my late sister worked at the 1964-65 New York Worlds Fair across from the Oregon Pavilion. She knew some of the lumberjacks who worked there. They would give logging exhibitions, pole climbing, crosscut saw speed contests and the like. Oregon loomed large in my personal history.
Ken Kesey had a major influence on me, and his first two published books in no small manner. As a result of living in the west starting as a teenager I pursued my living working in the woods/ mountains . Mostly trail work in the southwest. Much of the work in Wilderness Areas using primitive tools such as crosscut saws , axes and wedges.
“ The Dharma Bums” by Jack Kerouac is one of my all time favorite reads. Add in the sequel “Desolation Angels”.
Bobby Petersen was born in Klamath Falls. Was a competent poet and similar to the Merry Pranksters was a bridge between the beats and the hippies.
Lately I’ve been reading books more than listening to music. But I am waiting until February 18th to check back in so to speak. That should fix my hash as I have not smoked any Ganga since New Years Eve.
One last thought about music, literature and art.
Mezz Mezzrow was a “hot” jazz musician who used to deal “muggles” (Ganga)in Harlem back before World War 2 . He was given the nicknames “the Reefer King” and “the white mayor of Harlem”. His 1946 book “Really the Blues” is one of the all time great books that was the real true and blue hipster .

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Was the hand carved wood sign that Henry Stamper put out in front of their home along the river.
More subtle Kesey genius. Was also the title of the renamed film.

and Desolation Angels, or at least the half that kinda continues Bums...definitely in my top ten of all time!
Changed my life as much or more then On the Road, which is saying something. Tons of Kerouac, Kesey, Cassidy etc, devoured that shit BITD, in my twenties, like a rabid animal!
A little HST, F&L etc, but didn’t go full Gonzo on him until turn of this century...
Weird, all this time during the pandemic, but for some reason can’t seem to get in the reading groove, sigh...

Remember “never give...” and key ingredient of the story, just hadn’t heard the movie called that, I think lol.
May have just forgotten! ; )

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In reply to by proudfoot

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Strider - that's not a tall tale your telling? located a ways off from the rest of the states along the river so they could demonstrate log rolling, among the many logging feats/competition. giant Paul Bunyan at the entrance. Funny but as a Midwesterner I always associated Paul Bunyan with the woods of Minnesota. I can't help but think of pole climbing competition and certain Puebloan feast days where a pole is featured.

yes all those guys influenced me deeply, but in the end it was Snyder that had the most profound affect and the one that I still turn too on a regular basis. certainly an integral part of my ending up in love and drawn to the West while growing up in the Chi-town suburbs. feel real lucky to end up where I have.

I'll go back to Cold Mountain several times a year. And by chance just yesterday noticed Axe Handles by the couch and discovered anew some of Little Songs for Gaia - "bodies of water tuned to the sky." Smokey the Bear Sutra read aloud at least once a year.

Looks like nobody else was up for strawberry-rhubarb pie for breakfast. I had a fun listen and it set the tone for a pretty out there relaxed day. beautiful day here again. headed out now to the wide open with my sweetie and my doggle woggle.

be safe and enjoy the day everyone.

onward!

I like strawberry-rhubarb pie for breakfast, Ken Kesey & Jack Kerouac novels, collecting lossless Grateful Dead bootlegs and long strolls in the moonlight.

Sounds like a good dating profile :)

Whatever those are.

I think I've been in isolation too long.

Dig the raps you all.

Sounds like some peeps are in the polar vortex today.

Our winter has been non-existent.

Listening to 5/13/73 this AM. This Monster sure could use some love from the powers that be.
Set 1 & 2 have some major hiss factor (2 sources have tried to address this, but I'll stick with the hiss)
Set 3 partial is pretty crispy and what a trip it is! Not sure how strange, but it's long.
14 minute He's Gone > 13 minute Truckin' > 19 minute Other One > 16 minute Eyes = 62 minutes of Good Stuff

Check it out Yo's!

I just wanted to say hi ya and to tell you to all to keep up the good work.

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Gary Snyder is 90 years old. Lawrence Ferlinghetti is 101. City Lights Bookstore in North Beach,San Francisco is such an awesome landmark and legacy. My last trip to the Bay Area was to attend the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Alcatraz. After being out on “the Rock” all day with my old friend Jeff we walked from the waterfront up through North Beach and stopped at City Lights and lo and behold a poetry reading was going to happen that night with the great beat poet and translator of Native American languages, Jerome Rothenberg. It was a wonderful reading. They also asked the audience to turn off cellphones.
Gary Snyder has always been a role model for me since first meeting him in Missoula in 1978. Really it was a few months earlier reading his book “The Old Ways” 1977. I once brought his oldest best friend Nanao to a Dead show in Oakland 2/14/86.
There used to be an amazing literary group that met in San Francisco in the 80s at a place called Cloud House run by Kush. Kush was a great recordist of poetry readings in the Bay Area. His video work is priceless and should be preserved. Really the same is true for the old Merry Prankster/ Acid Test film that seems to fade from view and availability. A shame really. But alas as the old Prankster saying goes , “nothing lasts”. Really the same is true with our grandparents and elders who may have amazing stories to share. Seek them out. Maybe interview them with audio or video. The beats are checking out fast with the original hippies not far behind. And fewer everyday.
I like the tall tale connection to mythology in regards to the Paul Bunyon story. Some of the “jacks” at the Oregon Pavilion in 64/65 were from northern Michigan, Jim Ogle and family. I became friends with his kids. But the stories I share really happened. My sister worked at the Simmons Pavilion across from the Oregon Pavilion. She had a lot of class but not always a lot of money. Hard working and creative.
So when I followed up my first Bay Area visit with my sister in Sausalito and first west coast Dead shows 8/14,15/71 I hitch-hiked up to Oregon to visit my brother. It was that first experience of visiting Oregon that summer that I was determined to leave the confines of a Connecticut and New York upbringing to pursue a western reality and life.
Read Lew Welsh “The Song That Mount Tamalpais Sings”. It describes the post World War 2 San Francisco Poetry Renaissance and the western movement of youth into the 60s.
Now what the hell does all this have to do with Pick of the Day.
Looking forward to to the 50th anniversaries of the famed Capitol Theater February 1971 concerts.
“There were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Summer flies and August dies....”

Decent sounding Miller....
Was @, but never heard, so why not.

AFTERWORD:
Glad I finally checked this one out. Kinda typical for the era; overall good, but, not, quite, iiiiitttt!
Set 2A seemed a bit subdued? Decent first set if not a tad brief...Awesome midi/space weirdness if your into that kinda thing. Decent set 2B with the BP being the highlight...
Remember really diggin space at these shows and Candace had what to us (me and the “20” year old), to be a giant amoeba, slowing inching across the ?upper seats behind the stage. We had great vantage being opposite, direct center from stage, in the lower section of upper , I think?
But both nights I believe she gave us that ole warm fuzzy glow during these big weirdness jams.
Like trippin without lol. 3/20/92 is definitely way better, but this one like many for us the last couple years, could be a bit subdued, with great moments, and awesome drumzspace....

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I think this one could end up in a May 1973 Box.... I haven't looked at the time length on all 3 of the shows but Kezar would have a tough time fitting on 3 Discs... So I don't see how it gets a Dave's release. But it you join them with 5/13/73 Des Moines and 5/20/73 . The sound clarity of the Betty Kezar show in my opinion is right there with 6/14 &15 1976 Beacons... Oh well.. Lots of snow here today in Rhode Island... Bob t

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Today would have been the 95th birthday of Neal Cassady. Yesterday was three years since John Perry Barlow checked out. Barlow died 50 years and three days after Cassady checked out. (2/4/68)
But all those cars Neal stole as a youth I can’t help but think, Neal Cassady didn’t die , he stole another body.
I’m giving Grateful Dead music a rest until February 18th, going to throw in my bid for 2/18/71 on its 50th anniversary. Excellent music should never be abused and relegated to background music. Smoking Ganga nonstop will send a person into the netherworld. Not stoned, not clear minded. Maybe dulled senses. Coastal fog. I try to keep my wits honed to a fine edge. CBD salve for pain is a different story.

Starting to have a hard time figuring out which show I should be posting about, but I saw two clear references to this one, so here's my 2 cents.

Sampled the GEMS, and the newest full length (?) master, but sticking with the powell-ladner shn. Even this, despite the constant hiss, sounds like there is some sort of filter compression of some kind. Still, I’ll take a bit a hiss to the muffled fluctuations of the noise-reduced alternatives. I’ve spent enough time listening to Nth generation tapes and incredible shows in horrendous sound quality, that this is no problem.

First impressions, very crisp. This impression may be enhanced by the compression of the tape source. Playin’ (not the song) is nice and crisp, too. Tight and professional as I’d expect from this era. Being an old soundboard it also feels kind of sparse without the air filling in the gaps, and the frequencies bouncing around off one another and blending in the venue. The isolation kind of feels lonely.

Ah, Box of Rain from back in the day. This is a treat.

Love that long, mellow Playin’ in the Band.

Been listening while doing work, so I’ll spare you the song by song impressions. Some of this is colored by the fact that I just listened to the raging Feb 6, ’69 Kiel show right before this.

Overall, low key, but solid, as I feel like I should expect from this period. Some interesting lyric alterations in a number of songs by both Jerry and Bobby. Early days in some cases, I think. Donna Jean seems to be fitting in nicely at this show, getting a bit more manic as the evening progresses, but seemingly in control of her voice. Fantastic set list. Casey Jones seems really early in the show. Love that little Jerry fill, Ga-get-get Ga-get-get, between vocal lines.

Right now checkin’ out this Greatest Story jam, which is something I’m not used to hearing. I was amazed when Jerry took a couple extra spacey choruses in the ’79 Goodbye to Keith and Donna show I wrote about most recently, but this is almost a certified jam, with Donna even piping in with some improvised vocal parts. Not sure I’ve ever heard a GSET get this far out… I mean, it’s not a Playin’ jam, but considering the song, this is pretty radical. Maybe I just haven’t heard enough of these early ones.

Good night to chill out and melt into your seat. Folding chairs and bleachers really would not cut it for the level of mellow they’re oozing out onto the crowd this lovely evening, though. I keep hearing some warm phaser-colored tones, but that may just be the condition of the tape. No, Bobby’s got some coloring effects on his guitar, I think.

My show, however, is interrupted before the He’s Gone jam gets going. Peeking at the set list now, mmmm… looking forward to continuation after a brief, but too long to post later because it seems like the topic will have changed, intermission.

I don't know Strider, I think it'd be hard for Neal to settle for a different body.
It's hard to downgrade.
And I'm impressed with your discipline.

Rockthing sounds like you are def picking up the vibe from 5/13, I'm pretty sure that Casey Jones is the Encore, and was probably moved around on tapes at some time.
Be sure and switch to the upgrade of Set 3 for the big jam starting with He's Gone, it'll get you out of the Hiss world and into more of a vision of what could be and what was :)

BobT - I'm surprised with you wanting to hear '73! ;)

Alright, the bowl was not very super.

But music collecting proved to be fruitful so that's a win.

Who's got a pick on this fine Monday morning?

PS - BlueCrow I still have 2/19/73 on my to do list. So much Dead! What a great problem to have.

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In reply to by proudfoot

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Thanks BlueCrow, 2/19/73 is a sweet treat!
Sick Other One, def enjoyed dusting that off.

Somebody on Archive.org was saying that this is the complete show, but I'm having a hard time digesting that...
Phil's comments at the beginning sounds like they've been playing for a bit, and how many shows did they start with He's Gone and just jam a epic set and split in '73?
Seems like a Set 2 possibly 3 to me.
Whatever it is, I like it.

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In reply to by proudfoot

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edit i meant 5/13 not the non-existent 5/19. nice to see this get a shout out. I burned a copy of the jam sequence ca. 12 years ago. was working a winter excavation 2010/2011 in Escalante, commuting back and forth every 2 weeks. beautiful landscape but a fair amount of remote night driving that time of year. 5 cd changer in the truck back then. I seem to remember 5/19 jam, plus disc 3 from 11/11/73, and bonus disc from Road Trips vol 1 #3 in there the whole time. good safe deep traveling focus road music.

I floated the May '73 box set as a wish list item a couple years ago - i think before PNW which of course might have changed things a little. still hoping.

back in the day a buddy would put together tapes for me that were nothing but several drums/space from later years. maybe had one that also included each first song out of space. they were excellent highly enjoyable tapes. Like i mentioned a couple weeks ago, check out 5/25/95 seattle D>S for a good cosmic journey that lands you in the final Wheel.

Onward!

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fantastic jam sequence starting with that sublime he's gone. no way that's the whole show. my old dead base lists a few songs from first set that don't seem to circulate. also says NRPS played??!!

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BlueCrow if you haven't listened to 5/13/73 in awhile check out the upgrade of Set 3 from 2009.
(And when I say "in awhile" I mean in the last 11 years;)

https://archive.org/details/gd1973-05-13.set3.sbd.fix.smith.miller.1003…

I'm down for a May '73 box set if that's what you all want.
That sounds totally cool to me.

As for 2/19/73 here's what dude was saying..
Jim Da Couch says the following on Archive.org -
Not just a snippet ...
For those of you wondering what happened to the first set, I was at this show: THERE WAS NO FIRST SET. NRPS opened, then the Dead came out, played this one set and left. Chicago's International Ampitheatre was a big old barn with terrible acoustics -- didn't seem like the band an audience connected. I left disappointed, wondered if I'd ever go see 'em again. (Luckily I came to my senses!)

Again, I'm thinking that's probably NOT what happened, but interesting concept.

Good times, great oldies.

Who's got a pick?

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GOGD - had the wrong date in my head. I picked up that upgrade when it first came out. that's the one I drove to.

wow on 2/19 - hard to refute an eyewitness. time to quiz Dave L.?

Phil's comments sound like they've been playing for a minute and I just find it hard to believe.
But I guess we wouldn't know for sure unless some more music turns up.

But if that did happen it would be a rarity indeed.

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I don't think I would have been too happy if Neal Cassady had stolen my car. Maybe its better if your car is knicked by a living legend.

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Your karma just ran over my dogma.
It’s all right. It’s just my car ma!
Good old Grateful Dead , mil gracias!
Muchas Garcia’s !

concert attendee quick68 here on dead.net says, and I quote: "My best show ever!! Worst seat in the house. New Riders were fun, first set was OK. Second set involved numerous trips to edge city and back. They wore the Nudie suits, but who cared!"

Ha - they wore Nudie Suits for this show!! "official" photos here on dead net show Weir and Lesh all dressed up (wonder if actually from this show.)

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That's right!

They wore the Nudie Suits 4 times I think:
12/15/72
12/31/72
2/19/73
3/19/73

I'd forgotten that this show was one of the dates.
They wouldn't put those suits on for only one set now would they...
Far out.

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Concert history for NRPS states they joined the Dead for some other dates on February 73 tour starting with this show (they had just finished a 4 night run in Aspen!). Next played with the dead 3/19 and then 4/2. i think only 2/19 and 3/19 are shown as co-billed shows most other sources. comment from another attendee of 2/19 says he snuck in and heard Uncle Johns soundcheck and saw Jerry and Marmaduke smoking a J - they saw him too and let him be (archive comment for non-Miller source). Also mentions a You Aint Woman Enough.
It appears there's a Chicago Tribune review of the show - its behind a paywall and didn't feel like going there last night. From what I could tell the title was "What Next, Grateful Dead Playing Cards?" I could glimpse snippets of it and seemed to mention both El Paso and Brown-Eyed Women and so maybe the partial Set 1 list is from there. Also mentions their country and western suits(?)

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@BlueCrow - Yes! I like where this is going.
This is what I'm talking about.. Research.
Alright, based on your post about the Chicago Tribune article, I knew where to go.

Unfortunately the reviewer / journalist is jaded and decides people would rather listen to him expose his cold and dark soul instead of doing what he was being paid to do, which is.. review the music that was played. Bunk!

Quote:
Well, The Dead played on and on and on, as is their wont, duded up for the occasion in country and western glitter and, appropriately enough, skulls and roses on Garcia’s suit.

Oh well, the hunt was fun and we can definitely assume they played more than one set, possibly 3.
Further proof that "eye-witness" accounts are highly susceptible to weird whims and fancies.

If you want to read the shitty review here's a link to the wonderful Grateful Seconds website -
http://www.gratefulseconds.com/2017/03/four-hours-with-dead-chicago-197…

Good Stuff BlueCrow!

I'll take this moment to suggest listening to 10/29/71 and that you go to Strider's profile page and look at his newly updated Shows Attended list.

Better yet do both at the same time!

Ha - that is one crabby review! But at least we know they played on and on and on, as is their wont! We can only hope tapes of the whole of 2/19 surface. Thanks for linking the grateful seconds post - always appreciate the archival work Dave Davis put into these. I probably saw this one back when he originally posted but no memory of reading that review.

By all accounts the Int. Amp. was a dump, quite the contrast from the jewel-like Auditorium Theater where the Dead played in '71. I was too "young" to see the 2 Int. Amp. shows but saw Jerry and John Kahn at the Auditorium in July 1982. By that time the Uptown was falling apart and closed. Towards the end of the show all sorts of yelled requests for Ripple. Then some guy yells - "Play what you want!" Jerry replies "Thank you." And then he breaks into Ripple!

Interesting to see an earlier article in the post by same guy listing some new and upcoming releases. Gives limited props to Skull and Roses, but whines that one whole side "taken up boringly" by the Other One and continues with the Dead having done this before with overly long numbers, they'll continue doing it, and it hasn't worked yet! Then in a little capsule of record history he goes on mention some upcoming releases - Jerry's first album, NRPS, and John Hartford's Aeroplane!!! What a great freaking album that is.

Glad to cue up 10/29 later today! Onward!

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Licorice roots are awesome. Used to get them at Scarborough Faire in Eugene, Oregon almost 50 years ago.
35 years ago was at the Henry J Kaiser Auditorium Dead shows that included the nights with the Neville Brothers. One of the better jam sessions of the 80s.

Grateful Dead cards? Ace of Spades ?, The Joker?, Aces back to back? the Queen of Diamonds ?

I can tell by the ways she shines.

Dang it that's a fave!
Nice call BobT
Happy Anniversary to this all time great show.

Listen to that PITB outside (if it's sunny & not freezing)

For the majority of my life and I always thought this show took place outside, but I'm pretty sure Maples Pavillion was / is a gymnasium?

Anyhow this music was meant to be listened to outside, Jerry soars like a bird.

It takes you places.

I'ma gonna have to listen to it.

Thanks BobT!!

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Roscoe Maples Pavilion it is.

I am sure I have told this story, but my original cassette of this show was way off pitch, super slow.

Eyes of the World in particular had this groovy, sloth-like swank to it, especially in the outro jam and the vocals in China Doll were sooo slow. Still, I loved it. It wasn't until the Archive came up that I heard what the show actually sounded like. I loved the old and slow, but the pitch corrected version was a welcomed addition, sort of like getting fitted for ear glasses for the first time and hearing what birds actually sound like when they sing.

I knew it was a little off pitch, but once something goes down, once you listen to something and get familiar with it.. sort of a muscle memory.. once you get used to something, that's the way it is. To this day when I listen to this show my memory of the slowed down, etched in memory version comes to mind.

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One quick comment about this show.. as I am not sure I will finish tonight. Many of these songs are 'new' so just rehearsal and practice. The tone isn't always dialed in, just a little unpredictable and wild which I just love. They sometimes lurch their way transitions, bridges and the more complex pieces but behind it all the timing is there. Jerry in particular has an impeccable sense of timing and the songs, even the ones performed for the first time are still the songs. They seem to be birthed almost fully formed.

That's it for me, great pick Bob (and all). I have great reverence for this show.

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I can't keep up with you guys. lol.

Just by chance I listened to 2/9 last night, over two sittings. During the first sitting, ie the first half of the show, work was occupying my mind. The final sitting was with the lights out, just spacin' on the music, but also sort of halfway into dreamland, so no notes were taken. I think I'll listen again as soon as I get through this new (to me) Coltrane '65 date.

The balance on the 2/9 tape is much better than any master of 5/15 that I heard. The setlist is very similar. I have not compared, but all the songs you don't get to hear much after '73 are there for both shows, but there really isn't much evidence of teething problems in the new stuff. US Blues has very embryonic lyrics, which are cool, but nowhere near as iconic, or concise, as Hunter's later revision. The music is pretty much fully formed. Incredible, really. Someone had mentioned 2/18/71 a few pages back. That was another major breakout night, but again, they debuted a set of solid songs, right out of the gate.

Back to 2/9/73, they talk a bit too much about the new PA, but I suppose I'd be pretty over the moon about it, too. Of all the eras, this is when I'd really love to have some good audience pulls, especially once the full Wall of Sound comes into effect. Not sure the wall makes any difference to a board tape.

That cool and confident mellow '73 groove is there, but there seems to be a touch more bounce in the step here compared to 5/15. Again, this is on deck for a relisten.

I made all these notes for the 5/15 upgrade (second half of the second set). Even though that was, like two or three picks ago, I'm gonna put'em down anyway.

The Miller "fix" is a major improvement. Much more raw in many respects. Bobby's killin' it after the He's Gone vocal jam evolves into an instrumental. He's getting some very Jerry-esque tones, but he's significantly lower in the mix. Was he still using a Gibson SG at this time? If so, that would explain the similarities in tone. Jer had been using an SG for a while before switching to Alligator, iirc. Hard to keep track of Jerry's guitars in the early days. I forget when he got Wolf, too. If he didn't have it here, he'd have it fairly soon, again iirc.

No bomb after Truckin's "busted". Not enough Phil in the mix to really get the bass bomb effect when it finally comes. The is The Jerry Garcia Experience. The mix is ALL Jerry. Would really like to hear how this sounded to an audience, especially considering it was the experimental phase of the Wall of Sound.

Would also prefer to see the the "Phil and Drummers" track merged with either Truckin' or The Other One. It could really go either way, though, 'cause it's not unheard of to have a drum solo at the end of Truckin' and it was fairly common at one point to have a drum break between Cryptical and Other One. That's just me. I know most people, certainly the seeders, like more tracks rather than less. What's Joe Walsh say? "Can't complain, but sometimes I still do."

The Other One jam is sublime! Deep into it Phil and Jerry's interaction is so conversational, without being simple mimicry. Much better bass guitar presence than earlier, but it may be that Phil is using the upper registers here, and those frequencies are more well represented on the tape. Holy shit. That was all BEFORE the first verse! Did they even do the second verse? It just all washed by in this warm breeze of intermingling ideas. I didn't take any more notes on the rest of the show. Was not present enough. Some really fantastic stuff was happening at the end of the second set, certainly worthy of the upgrade. I'd imagine this is the only mix that exists, and there ain't no more. Again, this is the era where I'd like to hear the audience perspective the most, but it's still early days for audience tapers, unfortunately.

Digging waaay back in the thread, Neil Cassady, that's a guy I'd go back in time to meet... hopefully when he was hangin' with Jerry!
What a madman! TBH, I probably wouldn't be able to deal with him, but I'd just like to experience what being around him was like.

Used to follow John Perry Barlow on Twitter. Didn't always agree with him, but he always had something thought-provoking to say. So interesting that he went from being a Wyoming rancher, crafting a cowboy image for Bobby, to philosophizing about the electronic frontier, and being a legit expert.

Speaking of cowboy images, I'm gonna hafta remember to imagine the boys in their Nudie suits when I relisten to 2/9, later. That's so funny. It's like the one time the Dead actually entertained the concept of showmanship as a group. lol.

I digress. Having the sense to take on genuine wordsmiths to define their lyrical imagery is yet another example artistic magick. So many fantastic musicians are so horrible as poets. :) Having both Barlow and Hunter, expressing very different views and styles, adds so much to the mix.

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Recently got a new version, believe it is a Miller.
Definitely sounded way better than that first off-speed cassette copy I had.

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Wow, finally getting to this today. Great sounding recording. Just starting, hopefully it stays at this level.

And 10/29/71, very busy.

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Y'all can join in if you want. As I'll have the entire chateau to myself tomorrow, I'm cueing up "Steppin' Out With The Grateful Dead" and playing it really loud. Need a dose of '72 goodness.

Yes, I know, it's a compilation and familiar to all. But that mix....man. Just imagine if the E72 trunk was mastered/mixed the same way. Have mercy!

Perhaps we can start a crowd-funding campaign to raise enough cheese to persuade Mr. Norman to do his thing. I got a dollar and a quarter to kick things off.

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Killer show, my brother was there, hopefully it will be an official release one day.

I've had Jeffrey locked in my basement for the last month and a half. If he's not finished by next week, I am doubling the Thorazine and LSD and quadrupling the caffeine IV drip.

Yes, I wish they were mixed better.. but I have to say I am glad they were given the full box treatment, including the shows and segments that had already been released.

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A 17,000 year old conch shell found in a cave in the Pyrenees Mountains of southern France in 1931 was recently determined to be a horn. It’s the oldest known instrument to be found in Europe. It plays C, C sharp and D. In a sense making that shell horn sing for the first time in 17,000 years is like waking the dead. I’m going to have to sound my own conch shell horn at sunrise this morning.
Europe 72 was arguably the hottest Grateful Dead tour. I’m going to have to give Bolos pick a listen today.

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In reply to by Strider 808808

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Stoked!

So, I've never listened to the Steppin' Out compilation.
My GD OCD made Europe '72 Box set eat my mind, and the news of it's release was what got me back into collecting the GD.
At some point I got the England '72 compilation and stuck it on a drive under the assumption it was duplicate material.
But from the sound of things here (and on these CDs) you all are saying this is a different mix?

Lay it on me, what's the story on the mix?

I'm sure I could dig around and find out, but I know you all know too so hit me up with the Store-ey (Think like how Bob says it before he tells a story).

And Strider you saw a hot show 35 years ago!
These drummers be drummin' with the ole Neville Bros.
Is it cosmic coincidence that there was a Hey Bo Diddley on 2/11/86 and today we're gonna hear one from '72?
I like to think so..
Too bad they weren't playing Dark Star > Sugar Mag > Cautions in '86 :)

Alright, tell me all about this mix we're gonna hear today.
Thanks Bolo, I'm pumped to hear something new in this amazing music.
DL is the DJ today.

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In reply to by The Good Ole G…

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....I'm with GOGD. I've never listened to it either. That changes today. Scratching it off my Hell In A Bucket list.
edit.