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    We're feelin' Philly 4/26/83 and its '80s highs. See what we're on about when you pick up DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 39: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 4/26/83, the final show of a three-week tour, played at the venue that the Dead played more than Madison Square Garden (there's your daily dose of Dead trivia). This one fires on all cylinders, with extremely well-played, high-energy tight sets featuring newbies "West L.A. Fadeway," "My Brother Esau," rarities like Brent's tune "Maybe You Know," precise medleys "Help>Slip>Franklin's," an inspired new pairing "Throwing Stones>Not Fade Away," and the Dave's Picks debut of "Shakedown Street."  And before you come down, we've got a prime slice of bonus material from the previous Spectrum show 4/25/83 and an extra dollop of '83 from the War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, NY 4/15/83 (featuring the Bobby rarity "Little Star").

    Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 39: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 4/26/83 was recorded by Dan Healy and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

    *2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • JimInMD
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    Goodness

    I was gone for a bit but I feel I missed some fireworks.

    Regardless of what gets released, it's all Grateful Dead to me. I am mortal, I have my likes and dislikes..

    If we like it, it can't be that bad.. I always felt like we are all on the same team. Sure we like what we like, but what they release is so far out of our control, why fight it.

    Someone once said to me it's not the shows you missed that matters it shows you caught. I think we can transpose this to mean it's the shows we do like that matter, not the shows we don't.

    At this point they are going to release all the releasable shows until they run out of 'good' vault recordings. So that show you really like will get released, it's just a matter of when. If you notice, they are almost announcing exactly when they the ala cart offerings will go on sale in advance. Makes the decision to subscribe quite easy. As for me, I have bought every release since One From the Vault at almost the exact moment it came up for sale. In hindsight this turned out to be a good strategy, I have each and every bonus disc, etc. It looks as though tomorrow I'll do pretty much the same. Some of the best money I have ever spent.

    and.. we got our fall 72 box announcement almost exactly when this 83 release hit the streets. Seems quite balanced to me. It's all the same, it all rolls into one. Happy day.. and I love you all and all of your comments.

    "The music was fearless in a way.. " "So like.. I know that trick you need to do to like get everyone up and dancing, the tricks you need to do to get a standing ovation, and like.. but, you can't rely on them because they are lies. Once you know them, they become a device and then once it's a device it's frozen.. I mean, I don't see any sense in doing the same thing over and over again no matter what it is no matter what it is, no matter how boss it is.. because to.. being alive means to continue to change." Jerry Garcia.

    I think that says it all.

    Edit: It is a Fall '72 Fox Box.. with several bonus discs from Fox 71 and St. Louis 73. A monumental release.. better gobble it up before it's gone. It's a monster.

  • JimInMD
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    Re: Leedesj

    First show was 4/19/82 Baltimore Civic Cntr.

    In 83, I think I told a tall tale to my folks and me and three buddies went to Hampton. I saw both Merriweathers and Harrisburg. Boy was that a fun year.

    So I think we were so close, but missed each other by that that much.

  • proudfoot
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    GD85

    :)))

    I still need to hear disc 3 of 39

    Greatest
    Band
    Ever

  • Oroborous
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    Daverock

    Sorry, no worries here. I apologize.
    I wasn’t trying to single anyone out.
    It’s just a rant against a composite of things I’ve read here over the years about the 80s that I feel isn’t right.
    Not any singular thing or person. Just seems like it’s been happening more lately?
    Do we have to go through this every time an 80s gets released?
    Certainly everyone is entitled to their preferences and opinions.
    And you can praise your likes to the skies for all I care.
    I have no problem with positivity.
    Just seems like the criticism for the later years can be a bit much comparatively.
    Or not?

  • icecrmcnkd
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    1969, etc

    Yeah, they mixed it up that year.
    I exaggerated a bit.
    The point was that there is not a lot of song variety on FW69, pretty much the same every night, which is what a cover band does.
    And ABB (no offense, I like them).
    Well actually, pretty much all bands played the same thing every night. Get a few Pink Floyd live tapes from 72 and they all are pretty much the same. But I still grab them when I see them. The easiest way to differentiate a Floyd live recording (which are pretty much all AUD recordings) is from the audience talking in the background.
    But I digress.

    I think that FW69 is great, but others think it’s the greatest and all new releases have to be from that period.
    I sometimes think that 68 is better than 69, but what do I know. Well, I do know that I love 11-10-67, and the vinyl sounds better than the CD.

    So anyway, the contention here stems from the common theme to attack an era (mostly Brent, but also Mickey) whenever Dave puts out a release that isn’t what the person doing the attacking wanted. Dave’s job isn’t to cater to a few people’s wants, but to release an accurate historical record of the greatest live rock n roll band ever (while keeping the revenue flowing so that the plug doesn’t get pulled).
    Yes, a rock n roll band. That is what they became when they stopped being a jug band. They were a rock band for 30 years, with many variations along that theme that reflected the times.

    The fact that DaP’s always sell out confirms that people want the music. Just because they don’t post here doesn’t mean that they don’t like what Dave releases. If Dave releases something you don’t like, coming on here and trashing it and threatening to stop subscribing isn’t going to have any effect on Dave’s selections in the future. And trashing the band for what they chose to do with their music is pointless since it’s all a part of history, and it was their band to do with it what they wanted.

    Yes, I’m a Touch Head, but during 89-95 when I was attending GD shows I also saw many other bands (I benefitted from the ‘reunion tour’ fad) and not a single band ever came close to what I experienced at GD shows. Every other band was a fraction of an approximation of what a GD show was.
    The Grateful Dead kicked ass in the 90’s. There was nothing else like it. Not even Phish.
    I started collecting tapes back then, and then moved into the digital realm. Oroborous is correct, there is good stuff from every year, but you got to poke around.

    I listen to all years which is great because you observe the evolution of the band, as well as technology and changes in instruments. Also new songs over the years. There are good post-74 songs, really good. And some songs seem even better when Jerry sings them with a scratchy voice and emotion that only he can know.

  • simonrob
    Joined:
    Wow

    Just... Wow.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Oroborous

    I'm really sorry if I have caused offence. I didn't intend to and certainly wouldn't expect other people to agree with what I am saying-they may or they may not. I just like discussing it, and the greater range of different views expressed on here the better I like it. I only saw them in 1981 - twice and 1990 - four times, so 99.9% of my listening to The Dead has been at home. I can't say I have felt influenced by what anyone else likes. Not since I was about 15, anyway. In fact, if someone praises something very highly it often puts me off !

  • daverock
    Joined:
    1969 okay

    Icecrmcnkd - I wouldn't say that the bands repertoire stayed the same throughout 1969. According to Deadbase, they played 97 different songs this year. That's more than any other year in the 60s or 70s apart from in 1970. The range of material played was massive. There is a huge stylistic difference between Anthem and Working Mans Dead - but both styles were incorporated and explored in 69. Their set lists actually changed considerably from about June onwards, as they moved into more countrified areas with traditional songs complementing the new Robert Hunter ones.

  • Oroborous
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    *

    *

  • Oroborous
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    😄

    *

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We're feelin' Philly 4/26/83 and its '80s highs. See what we're on about when you pick up DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 39: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 4/26/83, the final show of a three-week tour, played at the venue that the Dead played more than Madison Square Garden (there's your daily dose of Dead trivia). This one fires on all cylinders, with extremely well-played, high-energy tight sets featuring newbies "West L.A. Fadeway," "My Brother Esau," rarities like Brent's tune "Maybe You Know," precise medleys "Help>Slip>Franklin's," an inspired new pairing "Throwing Stones>Not Fade Away," and the Dave's Picks debut of "Shakedown Street."  And before you come down, we've got a prime slice of bonus material from the previous Spectrum show 4/25/83 and an extra dollop of '83 from the War Memorial Auditorium, Rochester, NY 4/15/83 (featuring the Bobby rarity "Little Star").

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 39: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA, 4/26/83 was recorded by Dan Healy and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

*2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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.... I like what they've done to the white.

Glass ordered!!! Yeah!!!

Bonus tracks were a nice surprise. Mine should be here Monday.

Once again, happy about my glass. (at least the axe people only had to buy one axe to complete the set!)

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I’m very excited for this releases. I decided to hear just around a minute of the few songs that were put up, and it sounds incredible, especially for the 80s. The setlist looks nice too, and the bonus tracks are good to have, glad to see Little Star and Maybe You Know get officially released.

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Looks really good for 83 but why would you go Drums > filler show on disc two and then pick up the space again on disc 3? Maybe there was a reason but that seems pretty disjointed?

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Moons?
Has that been the delay? Dave’ s on Mars!

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Not the biggest 80's fan but I trust Dave, so we know it will be good. Also, really appreciate the filler. In fact, filler for every show Dave from now.

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Psyched to have this drop out of nowhere; looks pretty sick on paper and Bakedown Opener.

Crystal ball says passenger pigeons will deliver tomorrow.
Happy Weekend All.

Sixtus

P.S. Crystal ball was WRONG; Shakedown Spinning now! Phil dropping bombs left and right. All is well in Deadland.

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Will it be here Tuesday as scheduled?

Well, well, well,

You can never tell!!!!

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The sound samples sound very good, well, to me anyway. I will thoroughly enjoy this while I eagerly await a September 1979 N.Y.C. MSG mini box or Fall 79 Monster-Box. Alaska 80 too!

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Took a long time to shakedown to the street.

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Looking forward to it. Tracking says arriving tomorrow.

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Shipping notice received. Likely the 2nd last DaP I’ll have coming in, so fingers crossed.

Beyond that, nothing to say, I just like to be one of the first guys to skate on a fresh ice surface! :)

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I know I heard Dave say he had a little tease for #40 but that was it? He never said a thing about it then went into the Jeffrey Norman and Plangent praise. He did say he'd be back, "in a month or two", for another seaside chat where I would guess another box or special collection may be announced as it would be too early for the #40 chat.
So glad to hear that #39 is a high energy and well played show (precise was the word I think). I don't have much '83.
Doing #38 today end to end for the first time. Sixty fourth birthday present to myself. Sorry hon, no TV this afternoon. Took me four listens to get through it when I got that one.
Cheers to all!

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Home of Sunisa Lee.

Lots of bonus material on here. :) Listening to Shakedown now; sound is quite good for an 80s tape, and the energy is high.

Happy Birthday, 1stSHOW!

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I received my copy today in NYC. Haven't listened to it yet, but it looks good. I saw a few shows from that tour including 4/12 83 in Binghamton; one of my all time favorites

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Appreciate that! Was going in to edit my previous as it is #37 I have cued up for the complete listen. '78 is my era and my first t-shirt and sticker were Shakedown Street. Wish they'd bring that artwork back. Who's that artist, Shelton? With the Zoot suit and swingin' a chain baby! I may not be that hip but I can do hipster doofus all day long (Kramer).
Cheers!

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Can't wait to get this one. Lately I have been listing to a lot of early 80s Dead. With every Daves Picks release I always wonder, Will we ever see a Deer Creek release? Buckeye lake? I hope. Cheers!

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to this one!!! Don't have much in this era in my collection...

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You have to set your alarm clock to catch these glasses as soon as they're announced.

I've got the first 2, now I have to make sure I'm ready to "buy" again on the morning of Oct 29 so I've got the complete set.

btw - I had set an alert months ago to be on standby for the announcement of the glass, which I successfully ordered today.

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4 discs, 2+ shows of 1967-68 material. In the video Dave says they wanna mix up the eras, how about that for shaking it up? Some primitive Dead, not even primal yet.

Got my glass as well. After finally finding the page where I could access it. That Sitemap button at the bottom of the home page is the only way I can find things sometimes. Especially old product that I'm thinking I may actually get if it's still there, as I did for RFK '89 around Thanksgiving last year with the discount. I don't have, nor do I plan to make room for, an 80s shelf, so wonder where this boxed glass shall be displayed.

ETA: there's some very odd things not allowed in a post, such as the word that describes a clickable text that sends one to a new website, or the hero of the Legend of Zelda...

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Dave might be right that it started as a show closer on this tour, but at my first show- 9/21/82 at MSG- which was an absolute smoker (e.g, opened w/ Playin'>Crazy Fingers- that's the first set, mind you)- the band came out of space into Throwin' Stones > NFA, then played Black Peter, then Good Lovin', w/ a US Blues encore.
That Throwin'>NFA, particularly NFA was hot, hot, hot! Check out the matrix recording available for this one.
Overall, an incredible show- DK if it's some ragged vocals, or a weak vault recording, but I have no idea why this one has never been an official release. It's an epic show for that era.

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50 years ago today……

July 31, 1971
Yale Bowl, New Haven, Connecticut

Set 1: Truckin'-Sugaree-Mr. Charlie-Mama Tried-Big Railroad Blues-Playing In The Band-Dark Star>Bird Song-El Paso-Hard To Handle-Loser-Me And Bobby McGee

Set 2: Bertha-Big Boss Man-Me And My Uncle-Deal-China Cat Sunflower >I Know You Rider-Sing Me Back Home-Sugar Magnolia-Casey Jones-Not Fade Away>Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad>”Darkness jam”>Not Fade Away

Encores: Uncle John's Band>Johnny B. Goode

Deadicated to Jeffrey Greenberg, Bob Messina, John Starks, and Rich Petlock…..

So, how did they do???

Actually, not bad at all. Solid if unspectacular show. Little bit of Pigpen, interesting first set Star, unusual Bobby McGee set closer, Sing Me Back Home, a Darkness jam, two song encore. What’s not to like about all that?

Coffee spilled on guitars, executive nannies, homicidal maniacs, rock and roll, Grateful Dead…………

Rock on!!

Doc
……unless we can play them well…..

Some releases from this run would be fun. I’ve been slowly digesting 9/17, which has a great Touch of Grey>Women Are Smarter. The version of High Time is also really beautiful, and it has a Throwin’>NFA. The Jim Wise audience source is very good, but a matrix is coming soon I think. I haven’t listened to the first set yet, but from the looks of it, it’s gonna be good. September 1982 seems overlooked, but the performances are spectacular.

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Looking forward to playing this tonight.

A cassette master, but Dave did say Plangent was used, and that it was already a good sounding Healey SBD.
According to the Plangent website their process is for reels, but maybe they built a device for cassettes, or just used their skills to clean up the digital files.

He also said “a couple of things yet in 2021”, which I take to be DaP40 and Black Friday RSD, along with the October release of the STL Box.
He was also enthusiastic about DaP40.

And as I type this the USPS truck just stopped at my mailbox. Woo Hoo, heading out to the driveway.

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The best sounding Brent DaP release so far.
The booklet credits Plangent for cassette wow and flutter correction, although the Plangent logo isn’t printed on the case.
I like the color scheme of the CD’s.

Playing Shakedown but then have to run errands and do yard work.
Will settle in with some beer tonight and play all the CD’s.

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Nice surprise, this.
My first show. I was 18.
Still remember how stoked I was that they played Help>Slip>Franklin since Blues for Allah was (and remains) my favorite studio album.
Guess I finally get to say "I was there, man" on an official release.
I don't particularly love 80s or 90s Dead. But I love that I got to see the Dead in the 80s and 90s.
May the four winds blow you all safely home.

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I think Dylan's latest came out late April but I didn't hear a thing about it until I was reading the article about Dylan and the new owners of his catalog winning a law suit over the co-writing of "Desire". Apparently this new album was co-written by Hunter (10 of the 11 songs) and they like writing together. Anyone heard this? Got to go looking for this material. Haven't bought a Dylan album since "Desire" was remastered. Might be time for some more!
Cheers!

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OK, I thought maybe this is the first one released in the Dave's Picks series but surely there must have been one in the Dick's Picks series. And don't call me Shirley, but I could not find one at first glance all the way through Dick's #25. My Dick's 26-36 are burned copies so it would take some time to Deadbase all of those shows. Any statisticians out there that know this stuff? Just seems impossible that it isn't on a release already.
My first Shakedown was THEIR first Shakedown Aug. 30-31, 1978 Red Rocks where they debuted 5 new songs after coming straight out of the studio and right back to their new favorite venue almost unannounced. Those two shows were not even sold out as it was a last minute decision that left mail order almost out of the loop. So I got on the bus on the wild last day of the tour, 7-8-78, then they come back to seal the deal at two of the most smooth and precise shows since '77. I know I've asked Dave for these two before but a two show release of Aug. 30-31, 1978 would be a nice counterpoint to the July '78 box. Thanks Dave for your time and diligent research.
Cheers all!

P.S. And while we are checking stats, what other times had they finished a tour then started the next tour at the same venue? Should be some, maybe home turf California shows?

....shake the hand, that shook the hand.
"I don't particularly love 80s or 90s Dead. But I love that I got to see the Dead in the 80s and 90s."
That is a conundrum. Interesting.
Hey 1stshow. There is a Shakedown on Dicks 27. Oakland 12.16.92.
There is a Shakedown on RT 3.4 Cornell 5.7.80. And one on RT 4.4 Spectrum 4.6.82.
But yeah. Few and far between. Unfortunate, because I have never met ANYONE who didn't enjoy that song.
Even non-heads. Even my mom likes it.

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I knew someone on here would know. I missed DiP 5 too.
Colin, you're the fellow birder. I saw a life list bird this week. Least Flycatcher (likely migrating) at about 8000 ft. here in Western Colorado. My 290th life-lister. Only 111 species sighted this year (drought, pandemic). Started in 1982 and average maybe 100-150 species a year is all, as we don't travel all that far; AZ, NM, UT, WY and two trips to the Eastern US in the 80's. Retiring soon and planning a 2022 Pacific NW tour and a TX Gulf tour after that. Bird on!
Cheers!

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A couple in the Road Trips series as well.

This one from Philly looks nice and hefty. Too bad mail innovations tracking botched the delivery time. The routing was problematic before the slowdown. Oh well, arriving Monday instead of today.

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In reply to by SPACEBROTHER

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....Shakedown is now the official name for the parking lot scene in general. Even non-jam band bands. Says something.
I recall seeing Slayer a few years ago, and even the fans in the lot called it Shakedown 🤘Just gotta poke around.

1stshow You should get a lot of life birds when you get to Texas. We (wife an I) have only spent two weeks in the US,in 1989, and saw 275 species in Texas. Most of our birding has been in the UK where we’ve seen a little over 500 species. Over the past 10 years or so we’ve travelled mainly in the Western Palearctic ( Europe, North Africa and Middle East) and have seen c. 790 species there. We had hoped to be over 800 but we haven’t been anywhere in the past 18 months. Of course, this is a minor inconvenience compared to the suffering of so many in this pandemic and we’re grateful to be relatively healthy

Edit My 39 is probably still in the US but I notice the alternative tracking number ends in CH so I wonder if it is heading to Switzerland prior to heading for the UK

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My first Shakedown, was 10/20/78 at Winterland, it sounded just like it did on the album Shakedown Street. What a great tune, a song that got better as the years went by.

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Had a barrel full of fun listening this afternoon. Back when entering college in 1991, the 80's shows were the ones circulating more than anything. Maybe they sounded better on those old boom boxes and portable stereos? I do miss graphic equalizers. Anyway, I remember sitting down one evening to copy a batch of tapes and the deadhead I was with, a little more versed than I at the time, mentioned 'that classic grateful dead sound' while listening to a show around this time period. So that's what I think of when I hear top quality early 80's: 'classic grateful dead sound'. For me at least. Love how Jerry made his axe chime.

For random thoughts on this particular show, agreement here on it being the best sounding of all the Brent releases in the DaP series so far. Was thinking how Esau would have been a great fit for second sets, similar to how Easy Answers was worked in during the 90s. I wonder how many more notes Jerry would play in a single show in '83 compared to any 70's show? Throwing Stones will be listened to again later tonight. That spaciness of the jam.... both lustrous and fantastic. I'll also pull up an AUD recording to get a better idea what those Phil bombs were like at the end of Truckin'. Great stuff and a welcome change from the 70s materials I have otherwise been listening to lately.

Yep. Despite prognostications to the contrary, I'm still kicking.
Seems my inherent stubbornness operates on a cellular level as well.
One day at a time...

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Don't post much, but love that we have filler from not one but two other shows. I think the 80's cassette masters kinda demand that, if for no other reason than to fill out three CDs. Thanks, Dave and team!

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Nice detail with the guy in the door of the camper wearing probably Ed Donahue’s most coveted Grateful Dead t-shirt design! Love it!!

Istshow70878 - an excellent album, in my estimation and well worth checking out. I always think of it as one of Dylan's great albums released between 2001-2012. The others are " Love and Theft", " Modern Times" and "Tempest." Worth buying the set in fact.

They played Shakedown to open the second set, I think, when I saw them in London in March 1981. Top stuff.

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Has anyone deciphered the conversation that occurs in the 35 seconds before Help On The Way on disc 2?? I haven’t used headphones yet, but I obviously need to.

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I'm in agreement. This is a great sounding early 80s show. Several shows before 1985 in the Dave's series sound just awful. I am very pleasantly surprised with this one and DaP 35.

Shakedown Street and Help-Slipknot-Franklin are terrific. It is nice to hear Throwing Stones in it's early form

Fivebranch, I am surprised that you hear Jerry played more notes in the 80s, especially because this show I thought the exact opposite. If I understood you correctly. He plays some great solos with lots of notes in Franklin's Tower on this '83 concert but a lot of songs he doesn't play nearly as much. When I heard songs on DaP 39 such as Me & My Uncle and Truckin' I noticed he's not anywhere near as active. On DaP 38 he's playing a mile a minute beginning to end. On songs that he does let loose on he sounds as good as ever but he seems to me to reserve himself for certain moments. Almost like he's pacing himself. I don't know I just thought it was strange that I thought the exact opposite. Same with Morning Dew.

Happy Sunday

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Can’t wait to get this one. My copy has been sitting in Morrow, GA since Thursday.

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Having watched all these release videos / seaside / riverside chats.. I have come to the conclusion that Dave is in fact a centaur.

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I’m listening as I write this, I’ll probably edit this once I’m finished with the show. First off, the show sounds incredible. Everyone can be heard pretty clearly, especially Phil. The first set was very good. The vocal jam in Shakedown was very fun, and Jerry, Phil, and Brent push the jam to new places. The Minglewood is also a highlight for me. Jerry, Bob, and Brent are on fire. I generally enjoy some of the harsher sounding Bob solos, but here the sound isn’t as intrusive as other recordings(I’m thinking of 9/2/83). I think it’s great, not as grating as some others. The West L.A. is great too, with Jerry’s raunchy solos coming off great. Let It Grow is also superb. It’s very fast, which, during the 80s, could lead to complete train wrecks(see some versions of Eyes), but Jerry and the boys pull it together very nicely.
I’m about half way through the second set right now. The Help>Slip!>Franklin’s is one of the best from this era. The transition between Help and Slipknot! is played perfectly. The Franklin’s Tower is insane, probably my favorite of ‘83 so far. The peaks are wonderful. The Man Smart, Woman Smarter is a highlight as well. The vocals from Bob and Brent are great, and the solos are well played as well. Drums during this era, at least for me, don’t excite me very much, but I’ve never heard a bad Drums. On the 3rd disk, the Space is insane. I thought Phil was the one who initiated it, but instead it was Jerry using some fantastic guitar effects. After a few minutes of Jerry noodling, Bob comes in with some half-psychedelic, half-hilarious slide work. The back half is the best though. Brent comes in with some synths and him and Jerry noodle around. It’s similar to 11/30/80 in that way. The Truckin is definitely post-Space highlight, with nice group vocals and a fun Nobody’s Jam. The Dew after is great as well. It’s very mellow until the last 3 minutes or so, when it starts to blow up and Phil starts dropping bombs. There seems to be either a small tape flip or other disturbance once the jam heats up, but it’s not an issue. The Throwin>NFA is good as well. These early versions of Throwin Stones are always fun and unpredictable during the jam, and the NFA is always welcome. It’s very fun to hear the crowd chant during the small encore break. Phil comes in barreling for U.S Blues, and Jerry starts the verse right away. This version is very energetic; a perfect way to send everyone home.

When I listen to these I generally save any bonus material after I listen to the main show in its entirety, but the bonus stuff looks real nice. Excited about that Little Star. This is a great release, probably the best of the year for me, maybe even the best ever(at least from all the Dave’s I have, and I’m kind of a sucker for 83-85). Good stuff.

Also, happy birthday Jerry, thanks for everything!

If I knew the way, I would take you home…

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