Grateful Dead

Fortunately (or unfortunately) I already got sucked into the free stream for the Skull and Roses festival. It would be a big lift to weave a '73 show into set breaks and weaker acts.

What's the legal term.. conflict of interest, that's it. But I'd love to rain check. Unbroken chain.. yes.

11/1/73 McGaw Hall, Northwestern U., Evanston, IL.

I may well have brought this up awhile ago. Had a good board early on of Set II. Show was close to home so to speak. Born less than a mile away. Just a few miles from the family home at show time (I was a little bit too young for this.) It's a good one for sure! Enjoy!

Forgot to mention Chrotchfester 4/9/82.
And, in my reminiscence, forgot the cool part about Crazy Fingers!
So believe the situation was they must have been running late, but things were getting dicey waiting for the doors to open, this being GA. I wanna say they had let us in that goofy glass lobby on the side of the building?
But whatever, while we mashed etc suddenly you could hear music, live music, which of course stirred things up out in the mosh que even worse. People thinking the show was started and WTF are you not letting us in. It started getting kinda ugly, so you could see the fear in the eyes of the poor bastards manning the gates.
This was before high priced security outfits full of steroid bullies looking to clunk heads. No this was retirees and moms that worked PT to pick up a couple easy extra bucks. They were not about to risk bodily harm trying to stop a stampeding mob, so they did what most reasonable folks would do and let us in!
By now they’ve been at it for a while? More than one song but intelligibility was hard out there with all the chaos.
But now that we were in and making that mad dash to the front rail, you could see them in a little half circle, and gulp, they were playing Crazy Fingers, which hadn’t been played since 9/30/76, and wouldn’t get played until 7/18/82.
Well they kept at it seemingly unaware of our premature arrival for perhaps a minute or so. Then someone noticed and they turned and saw us and unfortunately stopped playing and left.
Certainly it was a late sound check as the lights were on and by how they were huddled about etc.
But because of what time it had been it was easy to think maybe the show had started?
So pretty cool non the less, but you have to wonder what might of been if they had the opportunity for a proper sound check of it?
And the show, wow, my listen to this one surprised more than Syracuse.
Some interesting set choices and the Miller sounds pretty fuggin good!
Worth checking out if you haven’t and love 82!

This 11/1/73 is sounding pretty fine too!

Well, quiet here today?
Normal, healthy people are probably out enjoying the weather?

But we’re not lol, so how bout a taste of 11/1/73?
I think maybe Bluecrow brought this up?
Anywho, there’s only a Sirmick second set available but it gets good ratings…
So since it’s one of only three from fall 73 I haven’t heard yet, why the hell not!

Don't tell me he owes you money too!! He told me he'd be right back.

He was a quitter and left us alone and broken hearted standing on a corner…
NAaaaa, Just teasing, yeah, good ole was the man. As fun as we all try to make it, it’s just not the same without GOGD!

But at least we have the music and each other!
And speaking of the music, been playing ketchup:

4/6/69: interesting show, seemed different for early 69? Condensed maybe?
Audio was ruff, but another historic gem, though I’m not sure it lived up to the hype?
Meaning, I’ve not heard the Avalons, but have heard a lot about them.
And sometimes that’s the problem with hype/expectations, but in defense, I was working and not listening on good equipment? I guess I’ll need to relisten? But a fine pick none the less in our pursuit of going deep!

12/11/79: this is another that was all over for me, but again, not the best listening. I did the first set at work and felt like they had that end of tour, we already peaked vibe. Then finally caught the second set late last night so was tired and not feeling it. But boy that second set really gets going. I think it’s a fine show, but perhaps a step back from some of the previous monsters of this tour. That’s the thing with peaks, it’s downhill after, and from what shows I’ve heard so far this tour, 12/1 seems hard to beat! But just because your not the best doesn’t mean yer bad.
Overall I thought it was a good show, but the audio/mix wasn’t so good: JG often was lost in the mix etc. Which I think we’ve experienced on other recordings from this tour. Wasn’t that part of the criticism of 12/3?
But this is another I’ll have to give a better listen sometime?
Enjoyed the pick none the less!

4/8/82: it’s a shame the whole show wasn’t like that second set Miller.
First set seemed to be sorta status quo until that fierce Let It Grow, forgot about that one!
Seemed like from there on things picked up and was kinda a nice surprise.
Set list is nothing special but the playing is!
Seem to remember thinking Rochester was decent, but this one was better?
I guess I’ll roll that now, 4/9/82, but The Other One is at work today so I’m hitting at least a two fer, good chance for a DHB too!

I’ve got some other ideas lined up for later, but if someone has something else I’ll hold off?

Would love to see GOGD poke his head out from his turtle shell.. for the longest while he was a force on this thread.

Happy trails my friend, may the sun shine in your back door today

Love it OB! Yes, definitely remember the days when St. Pauli girl was the big import. It has probably been over twenty years since I have had a St. Pauli Girl. But used to love those and Beck's. If you remember those.
Thanks for sharing. Great story. And great 82.

What a story. Those were the days. Tossing this show into a device, should be listening shortly.

Edit: Looks like audience only for the first set, correct? I am going with the Miller/ Frank Streeter for the first set and Miller Soundboard for the second, unless someone steers me towards a better recording.

I'm fitting this in on the set breaks of the Skull and Roses fest which is apparently streaming for free. Check it out at Livestream dot com frontslash fans. A pretty cool gift. I'm looking forward to getting familiar with several of the acts.

No, wait, that comes later!

Surprisingly, 4/8&9/82 were the only shows that just the Booze brothers attended. We went with others, we met up at etc, but these were the only shows that just the three, well four of us if you include the Booze mobile! (I think it was the first year they switched from Galaxy 500 to LTD?)
By this point, the BM had been modified with not only dual overhead openers, but Jim had pulled out the carpet and drilled tiny holes in the floor and trunk. If going off on an excursion we’d fill the trunk up with PBRs (the official beer of the BB) and ice. When it melted it would drain through the holes. After the excursion, the BM floor could be hosed down in a jiffy. I think the only radio station that worked was the AM jazz station?
So we load er up and head up I90 for the Cuse.
Unfortunately the shows there (at least after 81?) were reserved seats, though most people didn’t pay too much attention to all that, but it made it hard to get close and they’re have those goofy old wooden fold up chairs on the floor. So we ended up hitting the first row of the side seats say about 15 rows back. Being in that first row you could sit and still see atop the floor crowd.
So I don’t remember too much about the show except it was the first time we’d seen them since they switched sides on stage. The other thing I still really remember was when Jers Wawa died before playing and Bob saying something like “Jerry’s Wawa gave its all to R&R or something and everybody went nuts.
But it gets interesting after the show. Jim and Keeko are tripping, but I was still a virgin. I probably should have that night as it was a crazy fun night, but I wasn’t ready yet I guess? Probably too scared after hearing so much hype, kinda like something else young folks anxiously await to be old enough for lol.
So, being it’s not far from Syracuse to Chrotchfester, we drive a bit to Ra cha cha, and pull into a motel, looks cheap, this should work. I stayed in the car but the 2 tripping fools go to the window, not the lobby (that should have been a sign).
So I can watch and tell somethings going on and these 2 are just busting over laughing while the guy in the booth is looking nervous. So they come stumbling back still cracking up as can happen under these conditions, and proceed to attempt (they’re booth laughing too hard to talk) to explain how the guy asked if we were some kind of weirdos wanting a hotel room for three dudes, “for the whole night”? like we were some kind of degenerates instead of his now obvious clientele!
So we finally get a room elsewhere and those guys are on fire with energy. Keeko was running, jumping, and doing Swan dives through the air, landing on the bed, yelling weeeeeee like a happy tyke. Now, you have to understand, Keeko was large, and so carrying a six pack and not going through the drive through was his idea of exercise. It’s the only night in all the years I knew him that he showed any kind of “energy” and it was one of the most fun nights watching this big kinda biker, well, more like Casper the friendly ghost with greasy jeans and a blue pocket tee shirt having more fun than even a child! Beautiful!
So after a short night of drinking and debauchery, and being already in town, it was off to the infamous California Brew Haus for liquid breakfast, where they had some ridiculous number of beers on tap etc. This was when things like St Pauli Girl and Heineken were exotic micro beer, at least in our backwoods environment so we’d been wanting to hit the Mecca for a long time.
The place wasn’t quite open, but they let us in and I can still close my eyes and picture being there. The smell of stale beer and cigarettes, and bleach, as they were still cleaning up after the previous nights local rock show etc.
The light, I can still remember the late afternoon light as the sun shown through the lingering haze and the way it filtered through my pitcher of Bass ale! We all got a pitcher of something we’d never heard of, or only dreamed of, and man the Bass ale was awesome! I just sat and looked at the light filtering through it for several minutes before pouring as it looked that good!
So after that we head to the Crotchfester show and as we’re pulling into the lot my still quite young cousins etc come running up and ask if they can stash their gear in our car?
So as I start to come out the back seat, the river of beer cans accumulated over the course of the road trip literally spills out and startles the kiddies. They’d only heard stories, up til now! We of course laughed our areses off.
There was just enough room in the huge back seat for a huge cooler, and me. My job as the junior tadpole member was to pop a top and hand it forward just as Klondike Keek drained his last pull. If I was tardy he’d fire the empty can back directly at me, if I was on time he’d simply drop the empty on the back floor and grab the fresh one in quick flash. So after a few days the empties would pile up, and being environmentally friendly types we didn’t want to liter!
So they kids then inquire about the trunk. So Jim pops the trunk, still relatively filled with beer and melting ice (hey, you can never too much but you can have not enough. Learned that in Boy Scouts!
The kids jaws hit the pavement and we all had great fun!
The Crotchfester show I went up front with the kids, but the 2 old veterans headed to their usual: first row of side seats about 15 or 20’ back. I believe I met the Wild Knights guys, or the early version members anyway in the front row.
But that’s a whole nother story…

My how things have changed in 40 years!

Disappointed that there doesn’t seem to be a good first set? Miller for set 2 though!