Grateful Dead

Oro be safe. Hate the west gets so many fires. Hoping for rain your way!

Hey Oro - How are efforts going to contain that wild fire just beyond your property? How many acres is it now, and are you near an evacuation situation? Stay safe, my friend!

AJS - Two good choices to build a team around. When Seattle comes in next season, like Vegas before them, they should have some premium guys to pick from for Season 1. When I head over to Vancouver to see my son who lives there, I’ll definitely coordinate it so I can make the trek down to Seattle to see the Kraken.

Do or die for the Isles tonight. Tampa Bay is a powerhouse, but the Isles are the proverbial flies at a picnic - pesky, and always in your face. Tomorrow, Vegas has the same challenge, but I keep thinking they are the far superior team, I feel like they just let the Habs get in their head.
Man, I love playoffs.

Deadbase shows they Played 1970/05/25 in London with Fleetwood Mac. I think that is enlickely. I think they planned to go back to London for a couple of days. You know, make the long trip, might as well see the historical sights while there. I mean history of England, and history of the other psychedelic scene. Hunter says on the documentary (which I am going to watch again as I have it on my dvr) that the rest of the entourage went out for the day and left him with a case of wine in his room alone. While looking out on the bustling streets of London he felt a peaceful wave (my words) overcome him and the muse directed him to pen the lyrics to those three songs.

Therefore, I am guessing a promoter at the Hollywood Festival started talking to Jerry (or another) where it was explained they would be in London for some period. It might have only been 2-3 days tops. No one knows for sure. So I think this promoter was trying to set up an impromptu gig for the next day after Hollywood. Maybe it was too much work to get down and get announced and get ticket sales, so it fell through. My guess is the fellas were leaving next day on the 26th, so another date would not work. Workingman's was released within a few days of the Festival, in May.

Deadbase shows the first To Lay Me Down was on 1970/07/30. It only shows an accoustic set so I am assuming an electric set is lost. This show was at the Fillmore West (Avalon Ballroom???, cant remember if that was the previous name) with NRPS. The first Ripple and Brokedown were on 1970/08/18 with NRPS. This occurred at the Matrix, wow what a small venue for that show. Even better, accoustic Ripple into Brokedown.

I have never heard any of these shows. I think when Writing the Book of the Deadheads (Grushkin Basset, Grushken), they along withthe guys at Deadbase began going back to research shows. Who knows. As they went thru the archives of material they put together a lot of the non documented things. So I think these were the folks that probably stumbled on things that didnt have the right documentation. So Stand Lyceum London almost certainly did not happen. You say yourself, you would have made it for sure!!!

Hope that helps from the little bit of knowledge I have. Two England shows before E72. There is still so much to uncover with this band. Sometimes it makes my head swim.

G

Gary, I always refer to the festival as Hollywood, Newcastle under Lyme, but all of your additions (aka) are also correct, they simply locate the space more specifically...(and Space is the place!)
But did the Dead play London directly afterwards? My understanding is that prior to72 they only played twice in Europe, the Chateaux in France and later Hollywood. I have read that they played in London, but I have always thought this to be incorrect ( wild horses wouldnt have kept me away if they were to play in my Hood!)
Did they actually play or was this a hastily cobbled together plan which fell through? An urban myth....? We know that the Lyceum shows in 72 were added as the tour progressed, and shows planned for the Rainbow/Finsbury Park Astoria fell through...perhaps Simonrob knows more?

Interesting to me that all ( well, lets say most, to be on the safe side) of Robert Hunter's songs were definitively interpreted by other people, not himself. His own records always felt more like fringe benefits to me, rather than A1 records.
And of those that sang his songs, Jerry Garcia was surely the one who seemed most in tune with the words he was singing. In fact when he was singing them-at his peak - it seemed he was expressing his own world view in song, rather than someone else's. I guess that is the mark of all great interpretive singers.

ouch.

(I depart for the airport at noon)

My first two picks after Price are going to be Gallagher and Suzuki. They are not marquee names, but those guys are grinders who do the little things that win games.

He is the man.

I think it is own the documentary "From Anthem to Beauty" that Mr. Hunter talks about writing Ripple, To Lay Me Down, and Brokedown Palace in one day while in London with the fellas. I think he said 1970. So is this a on May 25, 1970 when the dead were getting ready to play the The Stand Lyceum in London? Of course this is the day after playing Newcastle-Under-Lyme or Hollywood Festival or Lower Finney Green Farm, Leycett.

Maybe Dogon could help with what the actual title of this venue and festival is. I assume it is just some minor dispute based on land allotment., or something to that effect.

I never saw Joni in concert, but in 2013 she was invited to speak at a New York Times Talks with host Jon Pareles, just prior to a 70th Tribute Concert being held for her by Herbie Hancock et al at Massey Hall. I couldn’t get tix for the musical part (house band had Bill Frisell in it, a favourite), but I got tix for the NY Times talk, held at a small concert hall at the University of Toronto. She appeared with drummer Brian Blade (who I saw a few years later play with Wayne Shorter - WOW!), and it was about a 90 minute talk, and she was quite fascinating. She spoke in depth of her career, how she played coffee houses a block or two away in the 60s, her breakout career in California, her love of jazz, and the art of Emily Carr. She is a fascinating individual, a good songwriter and a very good visual artist. It was a really enjoyable evening, and I got a lot out of it, quite different than a concert. Her health is bad now (she smokes incessantly), but I wish her well, and she was yet another color in the palette that is music.

Correction: The Grateful Dead could not have been who they became if it wasn't for Robert Hunter. He was the thought man, the wordsmith, who made them great. Without him? Nothing to catalyze around and nothing for the listeners to truly sink their teeth into, nothing to sing , future uncertain, at best.

Edit: I'm gettin' antsy, wanting to know whether the box announcement will be a pass or fail in my book.