Grateful Dead

Aawweessoommee

Europe 81

March and October

Thats some stuff that few people are familiar with

Keithfan, thanks for the great post on Garcia's guitars, very cool.

Keithfan - thanks for that post on Jerry's guitars. That Les Paul Goldtop looks a beaut. I always assumed that the SG he played in 1970 was the same one he played from late1968-1969, before playing that strat, and going back to it. Makes sense that it was a different instrument.

"Dancing With The Dead", by Rosie McGee, is an interesting book I'm reading at the moment. She skates thinly over some well worn stories, but whenever she describes getting high and dancing with the band, her writing vibrates with energy. She also has a slightly different, and refreshing view of things - she doesn't just tow the party line.

Love this show! It may not be played perfect all the through there are some rough spots, but where it shines it really shines. This is one of those shows that you were extremely grateful to be at live.

Good article Keith fan. I do remember the fall of 1970 Jerry playing mostly a Gibson SG. During the February 71 run at the Capitol Theater I remember Jerry playing the SG on the 18th for at least one set. The following nights (& Manhattan Center) I definitely remember seeing him play the Rick Turner Peanut guitar. By August I remember the Les Paul. It seems by December Jerry was playing a Fender Strat.

48 years ago today I was working for the California Forestry, shuttling back and forth between our main camp outside of San Luis Obispo and a spike camp we had at Big Sur...I drove a large six pax truck and driving down the coast with a couple of other co-workers we heard the news on the radio about Pigpen's passing...only 27...shit...

....dude had good taste.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=K8B_YY327Pk.

Bobby tells a good story...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsfIrizFBkQ

BW and JS

I thought they never would have connected

My life is blessed and good

but boring on many levels compared to them

Interesting idea for a box set Proudfoot. I went to a good number of the London shows in those months as I used to live a few miles from Finsbury Park Rainbow Theatre. A group of us from work went - it was the first time for most of us. I preferred the shows in 1990 but the ones I saw in 1981 were good too.
I’m not sure that the tapes are good though. From what I hear the recordings were below par. See Blair’s write up here: https://www.dead.net/features/blair-jackson/blair-s-golden-road-blog-fo…
Maybe they could get a few representative shows such as the Barcelona show which is meant to be very good and the Melkweg ‘surprise’ shows which are noteworthy.

I miss Blair...

Just to confirm what DEHDED68 noted, there is some weirdness going on with the recording of that Not Fade Away (and not the good kind, neither). The signal kind of oscillates between channels briefly. Hard to know if this was some sort of quirk in the original recording, or another issue with the CD pressing. Or maybe there was a tear in the space-time continuum. As Eve said to Adam, it's barely noticeable, really.

I went to one concert in both March and October in England in 1981. They are both a bit of a blur, though, to be honest. In fact I can never remember the date of either of the shows I saw, and have to look them up in Deadbase to find out. And I still don't retain the dates. They opened the first set of the March show with Mississippi Half Step, and the the second set in October with Feel Like Stranger, both of which sounded good. Other scattered memories include good versions of Row Jimmy and Morning Dew. Jugglers on stage in March-or was that the Essen show I saw a film of a few days later? Maybe both..
If a box was released, I would probably buy it for the novelty of having been there for a bit of it...but I would much rather have one from 1968, 69 or 72. Or 1974 at Winterland.

I really enjoyed that link to Jerry's guitars. I had not seen it before and I have done some looking. Thank you for sharing.

Of course, the sound is really in the hands of the player... I firmly believe that God resides in Jeff Beck's hands, and at times, David Gilmour.

Jerry was also touched.

I have been admiring for some time now the PRS that John Mayer plays with Dead & Co. John really does have a stunning tone with D&C, which of course, starts in his head through his hands. It rings clear as a bell, which was Garcia's forte, especially at his peak. John dials in a little dirt now and again however, like on the intro to "Cold Rain and Snow."

This is really a beautiful guitar, very much of the modern era but with classic tone:

https://www.prsguitars.com/index.php/electrics/model/private_stock_supe…

Man... if my ship comes in I'm signing on for one of those.

Be well everyone.

I'm a musician myself and they definitiely weren't trying to reinvent a drum beat to BEW. It was almost certainly a new buzz for the band that caused these rhythm train wrecks in '78. That said, this year is full of amazing music and I perfer the bounciness of '78 to '77 when they're ON.

If I am remembering right (justifiably questionable) it was a month later Billy and Keith had a big blow up over this precise issue that causes them to cancel the tour-ender in Chicago which had been slated for 5-18 according to Bill K's book.

....Sandanista baby!

The Clash were on television last Saturday as part of an excellent film called "White Riot." Its basically a documentary about the Rock Against Racism movement of the late 1970s - inspired by the ghastly presence and growing popularity of The National Front.

I always find it interesting to see documentaries of eras I was more or less present in. British culture looks very confrontational in the film, and the music reflects that.

Hey y'all - Just a reminder that this GD item is selling fast! Place that order for DaP 37 before they're all gone!!! ....Wait, what? Oh, nevermind....

scattered like lost words for some

I don't have BK's book but in Long Strange Trip McNally mentions that Bill and Keith got into a "squabble" that so upset Bill that he flew home. Upon further review, the fracas took place after a show on Bill's birthday (May 7), and was bad enough that it resulted in the cancellation of the final show of that tour.

Does Bill's book say what the fight was about? McNally doesn't, just talks about how that tour was kind of a bummer, lots of seemingly unrelated things going wrong.

I would be surprised if Keith was complaining about Bill's playing, given how incredibly well BK played the entire time Mickey was out of the picture. I would go so far as to say that, for me, being able to better hear and appreciate BK is one of the reasons '72-'74 shows are such a high point in the band's history.

Now, Mickey, on the other hand ... he does two things I sometimes find really distracting. One is that his fills are often not in time. Mickey would probably say, "Oh, it's in time, but I'm playing in 13/8 while the band is in 4/4" or something. Which is fine, if it works. But not if it's making listeners wonder if their CD is skipping, as is sometimes the case here.

The other thing is That Damn Cowbell. There's a reason "more cowbell" is a punchline. NOBODY wants more cowbell. Except MH.

Anyway ... DaP 37 is growing on me, even though the drummers are sometimes not together. They actually get some really interesting stuff going during the PITB jam, which leads directly into the unique Rhythm Devils etc.

36 years ago today I was at the Berkeley Community Theatre to see the Dead. They opened the 2nd set with China Cat and played it into Cumberland Blues. Merle Saunders sat in durring the 2nd set, fun times.

weeelllll...

I skimmed Bill's book a while back, and he hints at..."paying attention to"...Donna. At least that's what I deduced.

That might have something to do with it.

Wow. 43 years later, we are discussing some behind the scenes drama.

DAVEROCK, I had to laugh at that phrase!! I was present, but not accounted for(or accountable, for that matter) in the '80's-'90's. I was both there and not there. I have some HUGE memory holes to fill, ESPECIALLY from the '80's. Let's just say I was a "willing' participant. In ANYTHING!!
As for Mickey's fills, they have always gotten on my nerves, even more so because he has a "standard" type of tom fill that he uses, and I tire of it easily, whether in time, or out of time. I love, love, love '71-'74 Dead with one drummer. As Phil(I think) said, Billy played like a "young God' during that time.

Music is the best!!

I liked Mickey but I hear what others are saying.

From 68 to 71 I think he was instrumental (pun intended). From 71 through 74 (clearly my sweet spot [well 68-74]) he was MIA and the GD to my ears was at their apex in their Jazz Psychedelic period. From 75 on, the world had changed, psychedelics were used less and they were working towards a harder, tighter sound with sprinkles of Reggae, Punk and Disco (oh my). I liked seeing Mickey grow with the band in this period, bringing in the Beast and the Beam, helping to expand Drums and Space.

I won't paraphrase his entire book but Billy said it best. He brought him into the mix in 68 right when they were experiencing rapid growth.. he was principal in the Aoxomoxia Live Dead period, he left on 2/19/71 under a cloud of smoke.. his dad splitting with 150k of the bands cash in March the previous year (a lot of money back then) and perhaps fog from personal and other issues. I think Jerry was instrumental in asking him to come back. He helped infuse a world music perspective within the band. ..and he was a master at working the Beam and other sounds from the 80's and beyond.

Still, my sweet spot was when he was mostly absent.

I guess we don't have a say. I am still relistening to the Capitol '71 run, and it is amazing. I keep thinking how did they keep going with Mickey there for the first show and gone for the rest, especially since they brought in a professional recording crew and the expense to record on glorious multi-track. How did they sound so good, yet there is a missing link and a hollow, lonesome sound to the run. Character. I guess they had to persevere, and so they did.

It's too complex for me to reconcile. At least they recorded most of it all for us to listen all and decide what we like best or not and why. It's all good to me, find your place in what music they left us and there is no right or wrong.

It is what it is.

As for the squabble between Bill and Keith, I don't think we will ever know what really happened. I'd have to think it was inevitable.

Back to the music.. as you were.

I had a package sent from Cali. USPS Medial Mail took 5 days to get here. So it must be UPS Mail Innovations that is the problem?

The Dead could seem a bit clod hopping rhythmically to me after Mickey rejoined. It feels unkind to say so - but he almost seemed to provide them with a handicap from 1976 onwards. He added greatly to drums and space, though, and that continued to develop and get more interesting right up to the end.

....and this is it.
https://youtu.be/gYF4wbyrNyY
Where has this band been all my life! Simply amazing. I could watch Georgia drum all day long. And Ira attacks his guitar ala Dean Ween. Love the sun setting in the background. Been going through the entire YLT back catalogue currently. TURN THAT FEEDBACK UP TO 11!!

Is anyone else a bit put-off by the "Who Are You? Where Are You? How Are You?" banner that pops up every time you check in here?

Don't get me wrong - I have no problem with them trying to expand their fan/customer base. That's what keeps the momentum going, which in turn encourages them to keep pumping out great music releases and other stuff for us to consume.

My problem is, on most days, I don't know who I am. I don't know where I am. I don't know how I am. I don't even know WHY I am.

And another thing: who are the Grateful Dead, and why do they keep following me?

Is awesome, Vguy. Like a newer Velvet Underground, with better melodies...

Thanks Bolo for a great laugh!! My dog - again - thinks I’m nuts.

VGuy - I was in a used CD shop a few years ago, and the owner was playing YLT’s “I am not afraid of you and I will beat your ass” while we browsed, and I bought it on the spot, and been a fan ever since. Have fun going through their collection, a lot of gems in there.

Finally, shipping blues. Not exclusive to this site. I preordered a number items from a WEA artist recently, and they are seemingly plagued by “warehouse switch” - that must be a default answer - to this, that, and everything else. Like this site, they maybe answer one out of five inquiries, no matter how earnest and polite. It is just the new reality. All the more reason to support local independent shops that may end up weathering this forever Covid lockdown/startup nightmare.

Smile!

better that, though, than singing the shipping blues

whoooooo are you
who who who who

Pete Townsend is from the Who
He played with the GD on 3/28/81
so there you have it

the box will be March 81 Europe

The "Who are you?" banner is totally annoying. I always dislike it when I'm already subscribed to a newsletter, and then EVERY FREEKIN TIME I go to the website I get reminded to sign up for the newsletter. Shouldn't there be some way to avoid that? Like maybe there's one of those cookie thingies they can plant in your browser that says "hey, this dude is already subscribed?"

But I also hate how it keeps telling me to "submit". SUBMIT SUBMIT SUBMIT. I suppose I should be happy it doesn't say "OBEY!"

I have not been able to post lately but have to say this Dave's Pick is an excellent pick! I know the bonus songs make it better than having only the show that is highlighted from the 15th but it works for me. The sound quality is one of the best I have heard.

I also enjoyed that guitar list. I too have googled Jerry's guitars before and never found anything that detailed. And the pictures are nice to have too. I don't think I have ever seen or heard of that peanut guitar, but here it winds up being the guitar that so many are familiar with from Port Chester and Fillmore East.

I much prefer one drummer Dead after Mickey left in 1971. To me he sounds more like an "extra drummer" from 1976 forward. Before he left he seemed absolutely necessary in the primal Dead age of the late 60s. He seemed to be written into the act on jams like The end of St Stephen into The Eleven, Caution, The Other One, and so on. After he came back he sounded more like an extra to me. He added a lot to some songs, Scarlet Fire and Slipknot come to mind. Having to coordinate him into all of the oldies on stage from 71 to 74 felt like it was simplifying the music. If I compare Billy by himself on Sugar Magnolia without Mickey in 72 to both of them playing after his return, it has a much different feel. I'm not a musician so I don't know how to describe it. The beat seems more basic with Mickey. It sounds like Billy stops doing all of those snappy moves within the song and instead we hear Mickey doing drum rolls.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gPdFcPjsyLU. Hopefully we get a 1969/1970 box set combination this year, 10 shows.

The '81 tours from Europe get considerably less attention than their major counterparts from '72, '74, and '90. On top of that, it seems like the from the two times they went that year, March and September/October, that the Fall run gets considerably more attention and not without a good reason! In March they primarily played the Rainbow Theater in London with one extra spicy show at the Grugahalle in Essen. The only official release of any kind to do with this tour came from the Days of Dead 2013 with the Shakedown from 3/24. I think it would be really cool if they did a box set with the Rainbow Theater Shows and the Essen show with a DVD of the latter, if it is even possible...

...of Dave’s 37, I decided to play the Fillmore ‘69 box for the first time in quite a while. There’s a small moment from 2/27, set 1, just before Doin’ That Rag, it sounds like someone is nailing Bill’s drums to the stage. For only about 30-35 seconds, they start wildly & atonally doing this strange little “jam”. I love moments like that. 2/28, first set, about 55 minutes long, and 37 of those minutes are pure Grease!! Hallelujah, Pigpen lives!! As you were then.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

50 year ago today……………

March 11, 1971
U. Centre Ballroom, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois CANCELLED SHOW

From The Daily Chronicle’s article about the 1977 DeKalb show:
“An earlier show didn’t happen. The Grateful Dead were slated to play a benefit show March 11, 1971, at NIU’s Center Ballroom. Proceeds from the show were to go to the NIU Bail Bond Commission. Phil Larsen, president of the commission, told the Daily Chronicle the commission had formed the previous fall “to keep students in class while waiting to go to court.” Demonstrations in May 1970 – in response to the Kent State University shooting – shut down the DeKalb campus and NIU students were arrested by the busload, according to the DeKalb County Journal. The 1971 concert was canceled for some reason and $5,000 collected for tickets was refunded.”

See: http://jgmf.blogspot.com/p/canceled-grateful-dead-and-jerry-garcia.html

Rock on!!!

Doc
Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note - torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one……..

Bolo - That doesn't annoy me. But the incessant, urgent e-mails that DaP37 is "selling fast! Place that order!" are driving me f]@^ing nuts.

I thought that when you brought up the annoying email list "suggestion", you might be able to do something to make it go away. Was I wrong??

Just wondering.

WHEN am I?

Hmmm...hadn't considered that one. Now I'm REALLY messed up.

Thanks a lot!!

My subscription copy arrived, but not my a la carte copy (for my friend's birthday, which has come and gone).

This message has appeared in the "shipment tracker" since the day I ordered in on Jan. 29th: "UPS could not locate the shipping details for this tracking number."

Three emails to customer service have yielded one sort-of-human reply that said verbatim: "We are sorry to hear that your order was not received. We can check our stock availability, and if available, resend it to you, or we can issue you a refund." But no follow-up at all.

I honestly don't mind the wait if I thought it would come eventually. But it is the lack of communication that is most aggravating. Just wondering if others are experiencing similar situations?

Well, the notoriously-questionable GD shipping has finally got me too. The packaging for the latest single arrived today, but empty. It was not opened, so either the mailer never got stuffed, or the mailer never got sealed and the disc fell out. Either way, it looks like now I too get to test the service department waters!

Update--I received an immediate response from an actual person(?) in customer service, so we'll see!

Oh, well.

You gotta be kidding.

Oh the stories we tell

1992 best performance?!
91’ or 1993 Recordings , what a plethora of Shows effected by Garcia during those times, he checked himself in rehab, which saved his life at the time. The final set up of the band in the final years, 91-93 performances captured a discord in the bands playing and batting inner demons among the organizations snd Tour schedules to keep ! And Jerry was not his best but not his worst either, like when he went into a coma! And 92 was just stuck in between the days! 🙏❤️💀🌹

1992 best performance?!
91’ or 1993 Recordings , what a plethora of Shows effected by Garcia during those times, he checked himself in rehab, which saved his life at the time. The final set up of the band in the final years, 91-93 performances captured a discord in the bands playing and batting inner demons among the organizations snd Tour schedules to keep ! And Jerry was not his best but not his worst either, like when he went into a coma! And 92 was just stuck in between the days! LP

1992 best performance?!
91’ or 1993 Recordings , what a plethora of Shows effected by Garcia during those times, he checked himself in rehab, which saved his life at the time. The final set up of the band in the final years, 91-93 performances captured a discord in the bands playing and batting inner demons among the organizations snd Tour schedules to keep ! And Jerry was not his best but not his worst either, like when he went into a coma! And 92 was just stuck in between the days! LP

Very unfamiliar year
12 16
2 24 has an interesting setlist
5 31
Deer creek...
6 20

92 was the year they were to play Eugene two shows

Fate and wussiness made it so I could be at only the Sunday show

Then Jerry got sick again

Shows cancelled

BOOOO!!!!