Grateful Dead

thank you for the story Nappy

Phil Lesh and his son will be playing at the Frost Ampitheatre on June 4th.

As fate would have it, 2/19 also is connected to the poor soul found at Kaiser. The Dead played there on 2/19/1985. I know - freaky.

There was a rumor floating around back then that "Shorty" LeBlanc, who manned the popcorn machine at the concession stand, went backstage that night during the break to deliver some popcorn goodness to Jerry. There was a purple haze in the air, which disoriented him as he sought his way back to his stand (think Spinal Tap backstage in Cleveland). Last anyone saw of him.

Anyway, it is now speculated that ol' Shorty went left instead of right, tripped and ended up lodged inside a wall under construction.

He was a good dude, but at least we finally got some closure. Rest In Popcorn, Shorty.

Bobbie Nelson passed at 91...she had been playing piano for brother Willie since 1972...saw them many a time...Sail on Dear Soul...Sail on

Hi there,
off topic but a bit shocking today when I was filling up the car.
One Liter was 2,19 €.
Converted it'd be $ 9,05 per gallon.
Prices tend to increase.
A new box soon please, any year!!!!!!
G

Here in the Netherlands the average price for a litre of gas is € 2.48. That works out at $ 10.24 for a US gallon at the current exchange rate.
More than half the price here is tax but the government are going to reduce the taxes on april 1. I hope that isn't an april fool. If you hate taxes, and who doesn't, then don't come here.

I work at a school

every Friday is popcorn Friday

a kid delivered some popcorn to me

I'm noshing on said popcorn and here comes Bolo going on about popcorn

LOVE these kind of moments

....only to find it was a waist of time.
Nice avatar simonrob. 👌

....I went online to check the value of my car and it asked if the tank was empty or full.

Yeah it’s going up but:
A) it’s tge least we can do to support the cause. If you know anything about what many folks had to ration, sacrifice, and endure during WWII, it’s really not so bad is it?
B) we all need to be more efficient and mindful of overuse/wastefulness anyway

Remember: we can run, but we can’t hide!

Ok, sorry, Friday buzz kill PSI over, and now back to yer normal scheduled programming/happy hour…

....but we can't hide from it.
Brent was cool.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Jack Kerouac's birth date. I've got my old copy of "The Scripture of the Golden Eternity" here to guide me through the day.

Incidentally, I don't hate taxes. Depends what they are being used for, of course.

no wonder I could not figure it out. I have experienced that haze, it was in a field right after an afternoon rain, floated about 2 ft off the ground, buzzing with promise.

Lots of good things happening today for Jack's 100th, look them up in Lowell and in Winter Park. We went to see the original scroll of On the Road back in the 90's. The Kerouac family had it on display at his abode where Jack lived in Winter Park, Fl. Touchstone for me and a whole generation.

Coming after a 26 minute Part I, and then a Me and My Uncle interlude, I do declare this is a special improvisational jam piece, clocking in at 15 minutes. What sets it apart from most two part Dark Stars....hmmmm. Good question.

For one thing, it's pure improv jamming with no meltdowns. The first five minutes I guess I would describe as steady melodic Space. It starts off with this really cool intro I won't even try to describe. In the first 6 minutes they trade off little bits and pieces, as though it was all written ahead of time. This opening segment is slow tempo, smooth, and cohesive. They explore ideas independently and it meshes nicely. There is a never a moment when they stall out and fill the void with noise or silence. And Pigpen plays the maracas - always a sign of good things to come.

Phil does flirt with meltdown indicators as they approach the 6 minute mark. Jerry had begun to pick up the pace, but Phil seemed headed for Dark Dreamville (he throws in a few one note bombs during this minute, but nobody took the bait). I think Keith, Bobby, and Jerry walked him in off the ledge.

They continue to explore for the next 10 minutes, but at a much faster tempo. Billy holds it together with some fast hard hitting that is more rock than the jazz, with lots of ride symbol for emphasis; while he's doing this, Keith and Jerry go in and out of several different melodies they discover along the way.

Keith comes in with a nice little piece around 7:00 and another around 8:20; Jerry develops a couple of catchy phrases around 9:20 and just before 12:00. The jamathon continues... Bobby and Phil have been low in the mix during most of this, but Bobby does develop a nice theme of his own around 13:40 and goes on for a minute or so.

Approaching the 15:00 mark, Billy finally takes his foot off the gas and Jerry comes in with the Dark Star theme, which is notably the only time we hear it during Part II - but only for a 15 second wind-down preceding the seamless transition into Wharf Rat. There is no second Dark Star verse; in fact, if not for this brief moment when Jerry plays the main theme for a couple of bars, there is no hint they're even IN a Dark Star. Bobby picks up on the main theme and continues another bar or two after Jerry kicks off Wharf Rat's opening chords; Keith plays a few repeating notes on the pinky keys (to great effect), and the whole thing is bliss. The Wharf Rat is fantastic, and runs straight into Sugar Magnolia, which is one of the best IMHO.

So why all the fuss over Rhein Dark Star, Part II? Well, it's appealing to me because it is100% un-recycled improvisational playing. There is no reliance on themes like Feelin' Groovey, Tighten Up, and Mind Left Body - or Dark Star for that matter. They just get up there and do their thing for 15 minutes of pure synergy.

There are no meltdowns. I have a feeling the cacophony-laden wanderings they often indulged in were much better to behold as a live audience member. I can deal with short durations, as they sometimes enhance a more melodic theme that rises from them; but for the most part I'm looking forward to the day when I have time to replace my defunct Roxio software with something that allows me to edit those atonal sections, and neatly cross-fade "the normal parts" together. Then I will make a Dark Star that goes on for 21 hours and 12 seconds.

And I guess the last thing that does it for me is its uniqueness and duration. 15 minutes is a long time to carry on like this, and they keep it interesting by starting at a slow tempo for the first third of it, and then kicking it into high gear the rest of the way. None of the themes they conjure up last longer than a minute, but they fill the space between with well-crafted leads and runs. I haven't come across too many jams that fit this profile.

And how about The Other One from the Paramount 7/25/72??? I demand this show be released at once.

Jane's Addiction - Nothings Shocking
JGB - Cats Down Under The Stars
Donna The Buffalo - Positive Friction
Trey Anastasio - Mercy
Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry
Hope everyone has a grate weekend.

Robert Plant: Lullaby and…ceaseless roar
Bonnie Rait: The BR collection
Norah Jones: Come Away with Me
Natalie Merchant: Ophelia
Hamp & Getz
p/o Bill Evans: Everyone Still Digs Bill Evans

But that was last night, now Dave’s Picks 9 5/14/74 Rollin!

Melvins Stoner Witch
Germs GI
X Los Angeles
X Wild Gift
X Under The Big Black Sun

X rox

Every time I think about what to listen to, I feel "not now"

I figure to reenter the GD universe I should start with 2/13/70 Dark Star

Inspiration...

PT - there was a good exhibition at the British Library about ten years ago, in which all manner of original artefacts were on display. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be much recognition of today in England - not that I have come across anyway. The one woman I mentioned it to yesterday had never heard of him-and her a poet at that. Maybe that's the way Jack Kerouac would have wanted it - "I insist on your freedom" it says here.

Hey rockers!!

Last 5:
4/8/72
10/9/72
10/2/72
Hendrix-In The West
Traffic-Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

Still no 71s, yup gettin' painful, not sure how much longer I can hold out..............

Rock on,

Doc
If you pour some music on whatever's wrong, it'll sure help out.......

Last 5:
Doors-Live In Pittsburgh
Doors-Live In Detroit(disc 1)
CTI California Concert(disc 1)
Grateful Dead-Dark Star/Morning Dew 9/21/72
Dreamies-Auralgraphic Entertainment

Weird, I almost ALWAYS play entire albums/cds but today, I’m in the mood to hear as much different music as possible. It’s amusing to me how my brain decides what to pick next to listen to. I just start flipping through stacks, and where I stop, nobody(except me) knows.
I’m feeling old and decrepit, yet still young at heart. I’m pretty sure I’ll play disc 2 of the 50th anniversary of Skull & Roses next. I could go on.

Music is the Best!!

Recent live shows:

Richard Thomson, two weeks ago
Taj Mahal Sextet, last week
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, tonight

Small theater for all three...no masks required.
Maybe things ARE coming back to normal.

Billy Strings in April, outdoors...psyched.

....gonna catch him in April as well Big Brownie. Third trip around the son.
Gonna try and get really close this time around.

‘Twas a big music day!
GD: 5/14/74
GD: 3/8/70
GD: 3;31/91
Robert Plant Alison Krause: Raising Sand
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant: No Quarter
Rob Wasserman: Trios
Beck: Morning Phase
Melody Gardot: My One and Only Thrill
Bill Evans: Everybody Still Digs BE disc 4

Good night John boy, Good night Mary Ellen…

David Bowie "Heroes"
X More fun in the new world
Melvins Hostile Ambient Takeover
Melvins A Senile Animal
David Bowie Scary Monsters

40 years ago today I was up to Reno see the Good Old Grateful Dead, what a blast of a weekend! Stayed in South Lake Tahoe at a friend's place, with a bunch of friends, we really cut loose. Fun city. 1982, great year to be a Deadhead in the Bay Area, Frost ,Greek, Ventura, and December year end Oakland shows.

Last 5 -

My People Were Fair, and Had Sky in Their Hair - Tyrannosaurus Rex
At The Beeb cd1 David Bowie
The Magnificent...... Charlie Parker -pressed on egg yolk coloured vinyl
Bootleg Series 15 cd 1John Wesley Harding-Nashville Skyline outtakes Bob Dylan
and last but not least...
Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched - which isn't music at all. It's a documentary on the first blu ray disc in a fascinating looking box set called "All The Haunts Be Ours - a compendium of Folk Horror". Two of the twelve discs are Region A, so I can't play them - but as I've already got the films on those, I ain't too fussed. Actually, I think there is a cd in all this with music on - but I doubt I'll get there before Midsommar.

Did you also go to UC Davis the following night? Great weekend, I'll post more later...am in Sedona at the moment showing some out of towners around...one thing though...do you remember Jerry sounding like he was starting Dear Prudence before finally playing Black Peter?

I'm also a big fan of X. They're one of the few really great bands I can actually I saw their earliest gigs. I was an Xhead early on, following them from the Masque to the Whiskey to the Starwood etc. The SoCal punk scene was so interesting in the early days, such a variety of styles: avant-garde stuff like the Screamers and Black Randy, hardcore from the Germs, Middle Class, Black Flag, poppy stuff like the Go Gos (yes, they played the punks clubs early on), uncategorizable bands like the Minutemen and Suburbans Lawns. And X was the best of them all: they could really play, they wrote great lyrics, they looked super cool. Ah, those were some days. Punk was great, until it became a formula, and suddenly you had to dress and sound a certain way to be "punk." Much more wide open in the beginning, when the Patti Smith Group and Television and Here Ube were "punk.".

I always thought the whole "hippies vs punks" thing was a myth, btw. At least in SoCal there was a lot of crossover. Whether you were a hippie, or a punk, or surfer, you were probably on the same drugs and you probably shared the same contempt for mainstream rock and normies in general. The guy across the street, who I used to get my L and my speed from (yeah, I know, I shouldn't have done speed, but I did, then) was hippie, until one day he went to a punk show (can't remember who or were) and the next day he buzzed his hair, started wearing thrift store clothes, and started a punk band that sounded kinda like Social D, Seriously. Stuff like that used to happen.

Last five:

Grant Green and Stanley Turrentine; Complete Recordings (nice 2 CD set0
Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishmen (wish it was better recorded, but still a hoot)
AZIZA Quartet (great band with Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Louke, Eric Harland, only made one record)
Funkadelic: Hardcore Jollies (Eddie Hazel ruuuuuuulezzz!)
GOGD: DiP 11 (now THAT was a show!)

....turned me onto X.
That's it. That's the post.
Regarding earliest gigs. I saw Slayer in 1985. Haunting The Chapel tour. Maybe 200 people there. Small space on the corner of Spring Mountain and Decatur Vegas. Six bucks.
Was sixteen and impressionable. Parents worried about me at the time lol.
Don't panic mom and dad. The kid was alright.

Thanks for the Dark Star Rockin the Rhein recommendation! Most enjoyable!

Yeah Nappy, Garcia did start Dear Prudence before Black Peter. I had a blast that weekend, I didn't make it to Davis, it was my Dads birthday that Sunday, I heard it was as a great show; I'm glad you made it there.

....for the second time.
I'm a Batman snob, and this rendition delivers the goods.
Most excellent.

Altered States, baby

I noticed that too.

Bobby Nelson, long time to be gone and a short time to be there. Been a bad couple of years for Wilie, first Billy, then Bobby. RIP sweet soul

always love your last 5's Daverock, such classics and some I've never heard thanks for the recommendations.
Tangerine Dream Legend soundtrack
Spirit Cosmic Smile
Roger Waters Amused To Death
Blind Faith remastered 2 cd set with live jams
Peter Gabriel Secret World Live Alive and Bumping' Italian import this was one of the top 5 concerts that I ever attended. 1994

So today is the 40th Anniversary date for the UC Davis show, it followed the previous nights Reno show...I was with a rather large group of folk and of course we were in a VW bus....this bus started acting weird and sputtery as we crossed over the Sierra...we finally had to pull off of the interstate at a rest stop so one of the more mechanically inclined guys could try and figure out what was wrong...of course it was snowing lightly so we threw a tarp over the back end of the van to keep the snow off of the two trying to get the van going...I made a PB & J sandwich and walked over to a historical marker at the far end of the parking lot...as I munched my PB & J I read (of course) the story of the Donner Party...I hadn't realized we had stopped at the Donner Pass rest stop...gave me a mas creepy feeling...in about a half hour's time we rolling along to the show...

Black throated wind, loser, pitb, dark star, love light. There really is no comprehending the dead in areas such as this or that song, it really only matters in the aspect of the Now. There is no making sense of it. It just smokes. The dead is like beer. You can't get enough...... I'm not making sense am i?

Did you make a PB&J for everyone? Or were the less fed ones beginning to give you the eye?

Funny story, stuff like that cracks me up. Evidence of a misspent youth perhaps...

2,066 years ago today Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of his own Senators. Perhaps history should repeat itself? Beware the ides of March - #FU Count Vlad.

I can't wait
to see these guys tonight! I caught the Dead when they toured a few years back, but to see Billy or any of the boys in a small club is a treat we should all seek out.

Those people in the Donner Party, sure could have used those PB&J sandwiches.

Happy Birthday Phil. It's mine as well - cool to share it with a Dead member. I wonder if half of his Birthday cards also say "beware the Ides of March". I have an Aunt who is kind of witchy and always leads off with that one when she calls. Typical freaks.

DBACKKY: the waiting is the hardest but sometimes best part. Have fun!

SANDWICHES: yasss, being the considerate guy he is, Nappy made a stack of sandwiches, but while everyone was focused on the repair etc, a flock of pesky Magpies and a Raven stole em, bastardos!

to Keithfan, oh yeah, you too Phil lol
Many more to you both!

....some friends of mine might go and I may tag along. I'm admittingly not too familiar with them other than their first release. Checked out Vs. last night and was surprisingly impressed.
Any of you even seen them live? And if so, thoughts?
Last one. Vs. - Pearl Jam.

Happy Birthday Keithfan and Phil. Onward!!!

Kaleidoscope - White-Faced Lady
Culpeper's Orchard - Mountain Music The Complete Polydor Recordings
Free - Heartbreaker
Kris Kristofferson & Friends - Live @ Record Plant 1973
Love - Forever Changes

Ha, we’ll have no more of that or we’re gonna need all new pants at the rate we’re growing ; )