• 8,084 replies
    marye
    Joined:
    Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

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  • rockthing
    Joined:
    5/19/74 > 2/22/69

    >daverock>

    The vocal dropouts are not evident in the audience tape, so that must have happened on the way to the board tape.

    That said, the recording is slightly overpowered by Jerry and Bob's guitars from the taper's vantage point, but a little time with a simple Equalizer was enough to bring more Phil and better presence to the vocals. I do recall a few lyric flubs with the new material, but in the overall mix it didn't really jump out at me. Probably much more obvious in the official release/soundboard recording.

    2/22/69>
    Oh, my. I can see this is gonna send me on a primal quest. I have all these fall '69 and fall '68 shows that I've never listened to, but I don't have much from the spring of those years. I love this gentle psychedelia. It's really these delicate type of sounds that really trigger the senses. I'm only up to Dark Star at this point, but what a beautiful way to start a show.... oops, "The transitive diamonds?" Haha. I'd probably have trouble remembering my name if I were there, so whatever.

    It's such a shame that we're restricted to streaming this show. Imho, if the official release isn't so significantly better sounding than one of these circulating boards that it isn't a no-brainer to buy it, then what's with the classism, eh? I know the boys need a retirement plan... but... --mini rant off--

  • daverock
    Joined:
    5/19/74

    Rockthing - good notes on this show - cheers! I'm going through it very slowly, but it's the L.P. I am listening to. Although it has the famous vocal drop outs, the sound and balance of the instruments sounds fine throughout to me. I have just played the side with Loose Lucy and Money Money on. A short side. The lyrics are a bit naff on both of them - but I like the music, and they were both played so rarely that when they do crop up, it's a welcome surprise to me.
    I presume the version you have listened to has the earlier vocal dropouts too.

  • rockthing
    Joined:
    5/19/74 (Part II)

    Wrote these notes on Monday morning while drinking my coffee and getting ready to do some work from home. After a while I was mostly distracted by the show.

    I'll get to that Feb. 22 '69 show if I can, but I don't have that one handy. Hafta stream it.

    The ETree identifier of this source is 115876, btw. I don't have the box set, so these are my first impressions.

    It Must Have Been The Roses: Ok. /Now/ I'm awake. Possible tape change? There is suddenly a big improvement in sound quality for this hauntingly sensitive rendition. Jerry's voice is now clear above the guitars. Everything, save Phil, is suddenly much clearer and the sound field feels wider. Up to this point the tape had sounded like the tape the biker is listening to at the beginning of the Dead Movie. Nice harmony work during the refrain, blended well in the house mix.

    Loose Lucy: Gettin' in the funk. Jerry's just perfectly behind the beat to make it nice and nasty. If the syncopation isn't just right, this tune can completely lose all form really quickly. Loose Lucy must be a pretty new song at this point. I have no idea when this tune debuted. They didn't do this in concert much, as far as I know. I was lucky enough to see'em do it once, but the performance I saw was almost unrecognizable. Something was wrong with the timing, so it sounded all backwards. I was embarrassed to not even recognize it until Jerry started singing. This is a nice treat.

    I Know You Rider? Something seems to be wrong here. The info text says Money Money should be next followed by China/Rider, but we're just dropped into IKYR. Looks like some minor surgery might be needed on the meta data.

    Money Money: Ok. Someone's just mislabelled these files. Man, this has always been one of my least favourite songs in the Dead's catalogue. I rarely skip songs on albums, but being the album closer on Mars Hotel makes it easy. I don't think I've ever heard a live version of it, so this is kind of a treat, in its own sort of way. Having not heard it in such a long time, I guess it's not such a bad song. The negativity of the lyric just sems to strike such a contrast to most of the other stuff in the repertoire. John Lennon, for example, has a lot of negativity in his lyrics, but when I listen to him, I expect that.

    China Rider: Yeah. They're keepin' that funky groove going that was working so well during Loose Lucy. The transition jam seems to go almost immediately to an I Know You Rider feel. The guitar tone is very unusual here. It almost sounds like Bobby's Gibson 335 tone. He's playing lots of double-stops, where he plays two notes at a time even while soloing… wait… maybe that /was/ Bobby!? Some very cool interplay between Bobby and Phil before a guitar sound that is unmistakably Jerry joins in just ahead of the trademark unison bit before I Know You Rider. What is now clearly Jerry's tone keeps it going after the unison part, and now there's a Feelin' Groovy jam. I can almost see the smiling faces and twirling homemade sun dresses with flowers in the hair right now. Big, big ovation from the crowd as they settle into the Rider vamp before going into the first verse. They know what they've just heard. That was sweet, breezy, and smooth as can be. I'm guessing Jerry had some sort of equipment or other issue causing him to stop playing for a bit at the beginning of the transition. Oh, yeah, Jer, dig into that "On a north bound train" line. This and the out-of-place IKYR are going to get merged into one track when I get a chance.

    Set II:
    Promised Land: Yeah. Everybody's definitely up off their blankets now.

    Bertha: Got a little "Yee Haw" from someone nearby for "All night pouring, but not a drop on me." It's quite amazing how inobtrusive the audience is, considering this was recorded with a handheld mic by someone just hanging out in crowd.

    Greatest Story: Nice wah wah Jerry licks. Jerry's wah is so bubbly and has a rich swell, like the sound of a wave on the ocean. Using the rocking motion of the foot pedal definitely puts the player physically off balance, so I can understand why he seemed to abandon it later in favor of the Mutron "auto-wah" tone filter. Sounds so good here, though. Jerry's volume sounds cranked, though, totally drowning everything out. I ain't complaining. Oh, yeah. A little jam in GSET? They seem to have gone into something altogether different. I'm not sure if this is a set piece, but it feels unfamiliar to me. I know that I've heard occasional jams in Greatest Story, but they seem rare. This is definitely no longer the Greatest Story chord progression, but I don't know what it is, and then Wamp, Wamp-Wamp, right back into it. Now I'm gonna hafta start checking out Spring 1974 Greatest Stories. That was hot and adventurous, like maybe something went wrong and they fought through it… but maybe there was just a jam in this song back then.

    Ship of Fools: Giving the manic dancers their first break of the second set. The taper is stopping the tape between songs, though, so who knows how long they spent tuning in between. Very nice harmony work from Bobby and Donna.

    Weather Report: Seems a bit tentative in the earlier segments, but the Let It Grow jam is developing interestingly. The whole band just seems sort of in a gentle mood this night. Everything is soft and malleable, and most of all, creative, when they go off into improvised sections. The straight tunes are tight and, well, straightforward, but I'm hearing all sorts of novel ideas coming through during the instrumental segments. There seems to be a completely different confidence at work during this jazzy work out. You can hear Billy getting back to his swing roots and playing off Keith. This is fantastic. Such subtle interplay. Normally when I hear the full suite performed I wonder why they didn't continue to use the first parts, but in this case I didn't feel that way.

    Peggy-O: Jerry's picking is quite aggressive, and his tone is very chimey, even behind his vocal. Relaxed tempo, even by Peggy-O standards. In this recording it sounds almost like Billy and Jerry doing a duet, but Keith adds some accents here and there.

    ??: What is this? A playful little jam and some quiet noodling where the audience's shouts and requests become more prominent. Bobby announces technical difficulties.

    Truckin': Nice buildup, but not the major bomb drop I'm used to, and from there things start to get really weird. It's not spacy weird, just, "Whoa, what the heck is this?" weird. Some of the early 70s Truckin's could get totally abstract, so this is just the way they rolled back then. Great stuff. Gettin' that funky groove goin' from the first set again, even as the changes take on some jazzy influences. Bobby is very clear in the mix, and my oh, my it's gettin' Weir'ed. Jerry busts in with a burst of guitar feedback which seems to shock everyone for a moment, but they're still groovin'. This is the gold I look for in any show. It's funny because Mind Left Body actually sounds a lot like Loose Lucy. Billy and Phil getting' into a little funky-drummer exchange. Finally Phil breaks through in the mix with some space for him to hit that Bootsy one. In the info text "Jam" and "Mind Left Body Jam" had been listed separately, but they're actually all included in the Truckin' track, which is my preference. Cousinit made a real mess of this file set, but I can fix it. Rarely are there such glaring mistakes on the Archive, but this one has definitely been put together somewhat carelessly.

    NFA: This interesting because I've been listening to a lot of Alligator era NFA's or Bean era NFA's, and that gives a nice context to compare to this Wolf tone… of course, there is a LOT of recording tech affecting the sound here, but even though there's a nice honk, everything seems so nice and round and gently muted. Hey. What's this breakdown in NFA. Pretty sure I've never heard that before… and GTRFB. THAT, was an interesting transition.

    GTRFB: Nothing to worry about here. The old standby. Billy's hi-hat figure during the breakdown is, again, getting really funky with a swinging 16th note feel, or something. Very cool.

    US Blues: Mars Hotel weighted setlist. What month did that come out? Good, tight version.

    Johnny B. Goode: Full colosseum clap along for a high energy reading that does justice to the Check Berry original. Sometimes this can get a bit too languid. This one is rockin' hard.

    On repeated listen, I've messed with the EQ some. First of all I bumped up the EQ preamp level, I dunno, about 10db, I guess. I then added a further 12db of 64Hz, and 125Hz on the 10 band EQ to bring Phil nicely into the mix, but also lowered almost everything else about 6db on frequencies that had been flat to make the bass frequency differential greater. The bass still isn't terribly defined, but it at least brings Phil into play. He was completely inaudible without EQ. Got just a touch more vocal by giving the 1KHz and 2KHz about 1db. The tape has a sort of nostalgic cheap car speaker sound, so I actually wanna preserve a bit of that… not that I could really get rid of it. There's quite a nice venue ambiance, especially when there is more space in the arrangements, like during the Mind Left Body Jam.

    The vocal drop-outs others have mentioned were not audible to the audience.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    2/22/69

    That is a great show. According to the cd notes it was recorded, along with shows in late January and the Feb-March shows, for possible inclusion on Live Dead. It probably won't happen - the song lists are obviously very similar, but it would make a great box set to release all the shows recorded.
    The shows from 1967-1971 inclusive are the main ones for me in 30 Trips.

  • Forensicdoceleven
    Joined:
    You can't blame gravity for falling in love…..

    Mornin’, rockers!!!

    Pick Of The Day: Dream Bowl February 22, 1969

    Relatively speaking, the yang to the yin of February 21, 1969. True art is characterized by an irresistible urge in the creative artist…..

    I have the space, you have the time, let’s revisit. Officially released in October 2015 as part of Thirty Trips Around The Sun, one almost never hears about this show, possibly because it gets overshadowed by the blazing white hot glare of the Fillmore West Shows of February 27th to March 2nd. This is very much “of a kind” with those shows, featuring the typically sweet Mountains Of The Moon (always loved that song!), a long exploratory Dark Star, a fierce, crunchy Other One, a deathly Death Don’t, a fine Eleven, and a greasy Lovelight that clocks in at a mere 21+ minutes.

    Great music, great sound quality, I suggest you find the time…..

    The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once…..

    Rock on,

    Doc
    There comes a time when the mind takes a higher plane of knowledge but can never prove how it got there…..

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Heads in Mississippi

    That's good to read - they opened with Mississippi Half Step - Franklins Tower the first time I saw them 3/24/81. A great start to the show for sure.

  • PT Barnum
    Joined:
    5-19-74

    In my experience, any show that starts off with Mississippi half-step uptown toodleloo is usually a great one and 5-19-74 is no exception. That pacific northwest box grows on ya, for sure.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    5/19/74

    I haven't played it this year yet, but it has become one of my most played shows from this year - mainly because I bought it on vinyl. But it is really good, too. To me, it's better than its song list suggests - the songs leading up to the Truckin' jam are well played and forward moving, and that final jam is superb. It has been castigated in some quarters for the vocal drop outs. A price worth paying, in my opinion. All three 1974 shows in the box it was culled from are top notch.

  • DeadVikes
    Joined:
    Dave's 13 and 42

    Hey Bluecrow, #13 is definitely in my top five. Love this show. Listen to it quite a bit. #42 hasn't resonated with me as much as #13, don't know why. How do you all feel?

    I will throw out Dave's Picks #7, 4/24/78, for our old buddy That's Otis. I believe you are fan of this era. Hope all is well out there for you and the rest of the crew!

  • rockthing
    Joined:
    5/19/74

    I've got a beta-max transfer of 2/24/74... which stayed in heavy rotation for a long time when it first hit my library, but low and behold Portland 74 has collecting proverbial dust in the old hard disk, too. Time for something brand new (to me).

    A Pat Lee master cassette passed down the generations.

    It's a little hissy, and I'm not getting much Phil at the start, but Jerry and Bob's gutiars are crystal clear. Jerry's voice coming in a close second in the mix with some occasional Keith flourishes wafting to the fore. Billy's cymbals sound crisp, if somewhat thin. Getting a nice Jamaican dub sound when he switches to the highhat. Kick is in there, clear, but with with a soft tone, and none of the hyper-compressed abrasive contemporary festival sound. Donna's harmonies are on, and blended well with Jerry and Bob for the Across the Rio Grande-oh finale of Halfstep. Jerry plays an aggressive outro solo.

    Mexicali: The mix and tape quality remain consistent. It's mostly a guitar oriented sound, but Bobby's voice is clear, if slightly too far back. Even in '74 they could do this one in their sleep. Have you ever heard a real train wreck during Mexicali? I can't recall one. A fan let's out a hoarse, "Whao!" apparently feeling the southwest polka vibes.

    Big Railroad Blues. Love me some BRB. There are short pauses in the tape where Pat Lee is clearly well aware of the need to conserve footage. Could do with A LOT more Phil in the mix. Might fiddle with the EQ in a bit.

    Black Throated Wind: Awkward song that I sometimes really like, and other times can do without.

    Scarlet: Crowd gives Donna a big cheer as the song reaches it's finale. Of course they egged Bobby on with some of his crazy antics, too, but it's nice to hear that early 70s audiences appreciated her contributions.

    Beat It On Down The Line: Always love this one. Nice double vocal from Bobby and Donna. Some unfortunate microphone feedback during Jerry's solo. Phil's backing vocals are there. The bass frequencies either never made it onto the cassette, or have evaporated through the generations of open reels and cassettes.

    Tennessee Jed: Nice bounce to this laid-back rendition. Another one of my favorite tunes, as I've mentioned before. Another nice, appreciative response from the audience who are almost completely unnoticeable for the majority of the time.

    Bobby McGee. I picture the audience mostly having a lie-down on the lawn during this first set. Just a nice day in the park with some live music in the background.

    Ok, well, that's as far as I'll get in this sitting, but really looking forward to that big Truckin' jam at the end of the show. Now spoilers! 😉 Just kidding.

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Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.
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so slowly dawned on me that there was a DVD also with that very rare animal of live concert video footage. cut right to chase and started in on pure Egypt 78 which is Ollin Arageed. So very cool. Worth the price of admission right there. and then into Fire. Jerry's got a wall to wall grin and Phil is that animated Phil we all know and love. Cameras are a way bit bouncy at times but still pure gold. Got to ask though - did they have to cut out the tail end of Fire? Very much muy ouch. And they did it again on All Over Now. stop that! Phil is singing on Trucking! And new found appreciation for the jam out of Trucking. Really really fine.

50 years ago SimonRob was at Bickershaw in the cold rain and mud. Maybe we should revisit that epic show on its anniversary?

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3/30/90
2/22/74
5/6/70

3/30/90: don’t think I’ve heard this one so much, why that is I don’t know because wowsa what a show!
I listened to most of 3/29 after and I think the 30 is an overall better show! Sure the 29 has the sexy set list and BM etc, but from start to finish the 30th is tight! And a triple shot of Jer bear, fo-git-a-bout-it.
Now Need to check out the 28th soon also? The Healy Miller sounded fabulous too, even on mediocre equipment, great show, great pick!

2/22/74: (bonus disc) starts out a little ruff, but by Loose Lucy things have entrained and the sound is dialed in.
Not sure I’ve ever heard a bouncy Roses. Ruff but fun! Playin is what you’d expect, beauty eh! Has a nice short but clear and concise Slipknot reference too! Can’t recall the Ship off hand (alcohol and listening at night sometimes will do that) but I’m sure it was fine like the rest of it. I’m not familiar with the show, but wonder why he didn’t use some of the more extended stuff? Probably not enough time using using those “first” versions etc.
Certainly great music but will have to listen more, not sure it stands with some of the previous Bonus discs which can sometimes be as good or better than the release itself. But that’s just being more a critic than a fan, and the fan is glad to have it and will enjoy it for hopefully a long time. I do distinctly remember wanting to keep going and get into 2/23, but I know how much I prefer to do virgin listen in the morning, when I’m somewhat fresh, with coffee and a nice light morning buzz, but before the weed takes over the conversation. So that’s what’s happening next, woohoo!

5/6/70: what a surprise! Hit this last thing last night and man what a good show. Sound was a huge surprise (went with the Bill Koucky) SB. I had a tape of this, so i must of liked it, but don’t recall it, so came in thinking it was going to just be another ok show with less than stellar sound, no sir! This was one of the best unreleased 70 shows I’ve heard , so far, since I’ve not heard as much as other years…

Believe this show is historic too. Wasn’t this the one where campus was shut down so they came in a bread truck and/or laundry baskets or some such stealth mode? Sorry too lazy to look up, but I’m pretty sure this is the show, which of course was part of a nation wide campus strike 2 days after the disgusting massacre at Kent state. Michener’s book on it is a really interesting must read for anyone curious about that unfortunate day in American history.
What’s really impressive is how well they played in spite of how cold it was. I’ve read about that, and Phil makes several comments during the show about it. So for a stealth, unplanned (meaning suboptimal logistics) outside gig with less than stellar conditions, it makes it that much more impressive how good this show is!

Wow, what a couple of days of dead. And hopefully we’re gonna take you higher with 42!
Only wish DV hadn’t pissed off Rhino so he had his too ; ) teasing of course!

Oooppss, forgot to mention Egypt BC. Not sure why they slag this so much? Sure it’s not the overall tightest, but I seem to recall Jer ripping at times? Haven’t heard it since the Shakedown Stream (man those were fun and much needed, even the other half was participating and she’s not even a head!).
But I recall thinking this isn’t so bad at all, lots quite good actually. And talk about historic, yeah DV I’ve read a fair amount about the whole endeavor, and it’s quite the GD madness some how they pull it off trip once again, misfit power! I believe Keasey has some interesting stuff on doing recon etc in ? Spit In The Ocean? Somewhere? there’s some good sheet to be had!
Ok,it’s go time buttercup!

PS, happy happy joy joy to Mr Bill

yeah Oro -a lot of fine music there. I never took part in those Shakedown Streams. my mistake.

one of the reasons i compulsively don't get rid of stuff, say the music at hand, is that I'm a firm believer in coming back years later and "seeing" it anew. and that's the case here.

my specific case in point - a n-th generation board of Rotterdam 5/11/72 Dark Star through Trucking. Huge level issues, one side pegged out and the other non-existent. yet somehow balanced but way way way hissy. got it in '82. other tapes in that trade were way better to me (and they were really really good too). one fine summer mid--summer day '87, after midnight one or so, I pulled the Rotterdam tape out of its forgotten drawer purgatory and spun it in the dark listening with the crappy headphones I had in those days . and it blew my mind. a complete and earth shaking revelation about the Europe Tour.

will admit that the compulsive behavior behind that may-need-to-revisit makes for a cluttered house.

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Yep, using the server to listen is mucho convenient, but it’s nice to have the original stuff, not only just in case, but it’s fun to look at and hold and read etc.!

If/when I get time, I can probably help you with some of those missing items you’ve mentioned…

Happy Birthday Bill, and thanks so much. To have a drummer be the leader of such a great band is awesome to all of us wanna be drummers.

Yuck Yuck

And happy 50th Simon, spinning Bick 3rd time this spring. Love it. They showed how much strength they had in this show, super troopers indeed!

G

Agree with what has been written here these last few days, a few spectacular shows in a row. I was also less familiar with 3/30/90 than I was with 3/28 and 3/29. All three are spectacular, Nassau and the Knickerbocker were two great runs on that tour. Anyway, a testament to how consistently good that tour was from start to finish. The last great tour.

5/6/70 was another classic. Reading through what was on the archives yesterday, it looks like they put together a free concert at MIT to support the national student strike resulting from what happened at Kent State. I think the Bread Truck was Columbia University in 1968, the students were on strike there too, I forget why.. something obscure. Anyway, 5/6 was a great little show, the Morning Dew in particular shined.

Great picks.

As for Egypt, I haven't hit that in a while either. One night, probably 15 years ago or so I put the DVD on when I had people over asking about the Grateful Dead.. probably not the best pick for a bunch of newbies, but I enjoyed it. I think there are many good parts, it suffered a bit from consistency and Keith's piano might have been out of tune??

Anyway, you guys are on a roll.. and little by little I am getting caught up.

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Everyone call your mother, if you're lucky enough to still have her around.
And know she's thinking of you too.
Or at least play some Mothers of Invention.
Or like the corny commercial, buy her a bottle of Crown Royal.
Cheers
My pick is gonna have to be The Mosque vinyl today.
I need the workout, getting up to flip or change the record 10 times.

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I swear on my dead mamas honor that I was thinking “maybe that was Columbia “ while I was writing that.
Remember, listen to that little third eye voice, it’s often the right one!

I wish I could call my mother, but maybe I’ll just have to spin Ry Cooder since Jesus is on the mainline, perhaps he can tell her how much we miss her!

GARY, the ole JBLs/subwoofer is gonna get a Philfercise workout from 42!

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Not sure if we ever hit this one, but it looks interesting. 6/21/89 Shoreline. This was a big pay per view show at the time. Clearance Clemons joined in the second set I believe. New 2021 Miller Pearson Healy is out there

Enjoyed the Egypt release. Yes, Bluecrow that Shakedown is really good. I also really like the Stella Blue. The Truckin is a little funky. Very early Stagger Lee, definitely gets better.

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There's a decent YouTube also. Good pick DVikes. I will at least be able to hit the highlights

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Can't wait for Philfercize (if I spelled that right). Have to be on Friday.

Wondering: I see posts from others to OB, I am guessing that is you?

Ahh, OB-wan. Teach Us!

G

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Have chimed up that I wish Dave would give the Shoreline Pay-per-view an official release. I have my old VHS tapes of the event. Usually watch the youtube instead ogatesf the tapes. But there is almost an hour of deleted footage. They start off by showing what it was like going thru the gates, and the strict security (yeah right). Maybe BTK could shed some light here as I have never been to Shoreline, huge mistake. Still would have preferred a Frost show. Any way, the area around the amphitheater is large enough to allow for a Shakedown Street within the gates of Shoreline. So there is a lot of footage of people shopping. Think I remember a prankster sitting there playing Deal on a lute during set-break. The Deal to close the first set is still my favorite. I think the next Deal was the Alpine "Down Hill from Here" which was about 2 weeks later. Great contrast between those 2 deals.

Come On Dave, give us a break. Release it. Or maybe meet up at the movies and then release.

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Don’t take any wooden nickels…

(OB, Oro, whatevs, just don’t call me late for supper!)

Then,
Play Dead!
6/21/89: I remember watching this on pay per view with my young cousin, sneaking outside to “check the air in the tires” with such a youngin lol.
So FM simulcast watching on the tiny little tv I owned at the time as I wasn’t much into tv in those days, but with Big XR 7 speakers, powered by C 28/MC 2300 combo. I still have the tape I made, which unfortunately had too many of those annoying station IDs at the worst possible times! That and some bad tape flips etc. and I think I dozed off for a couple minutes near the end or something?
I was so bummed, but it did sound awesome!
The show itself I used to feel was sub par comparatively, no offense to anyone. It seemed like Bob was having a hard time getting it together for a while and Clarence to me was a distraction more than a sweetener? Honestly never felt any of these sit in guys added that much. That’s not a knock on the Big man or any of the guests, it’s just hard to play with the dead since their so unique in everyway. So to have to try and get inside with them couldn’t have been easy for “normal” musicians. I do really like CC on that Garcialive release from Popular Creek 89!! Think it was a lot easier for him in that format.

But over the years this show has grown on me, though compared to the rest of that awesome summer tour I still would rank it lower. But hey that’s like comparing an entry level Ferrari to top of the line: it’s still a Ferrari!
I think seeing it again on Shakedown Stream led me to a new understanding, like many shows over the years, so that I have a new perspective about it. So though Ive heard this one a lot, a new Healy/Miller is catalyst enough to give er a spin.
And yes Gary, Shoreline or the garbage heap as it’s know, is a pretty cool venue. Bill Gram of course made sure there was ample ways for you to spend money, so it does sorta have that Shakedown vibe, only inside the venue.
I still liked Cal X better though it was more bare bones and beat up. Something about the whole Cal X layout etc.
But alas, no Frost or Greek for me either : (
So nothing to it but to do it,
Rolling!

I must have missed this when it was a Shakedown Stream. I will have to go back and find it. Do you still have your recording OB? I think we finally disposed of your VCR maybe five years ago.
Hey, this is a good show and recording. Good first set, Hideaway, Box of Rain! I enjoyed Clearance in the second set especially towards the end with Morning Dew, Lovelight and the Brokedown Palace encore.

Wan:

I need to research your stereo set-up sounds excellent. I saw 9 shows at the Greek. Years and years later, it surprised me that the Greek was where I saw the most shows, followed by a lot of venues with multiple years/shows.

My pay-per-view of 1989 solstice is free of any interuptions and sound very very good. Did they use this on a Shakedown Stream? If they did, I went, sad but can't remember...that stinks. I did the PPV alone at home, highly medicated...

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Yes, it was a decent set up for the times, old but clean and powerful. Big old woofers to quell the Philistine!
But hey, I lived at home again, free, had a 16 year old car, kick ass Bass and rig, and not much else! Which I’d do it all the same again, priorities my man, priorities!

6/21/89: as I stated, been growing on me over the years. 89 summer tour is a high bar to compare too, so I still feel like it’s more middle to back of the pack, but a good, interesting/different show to be sure. And yes DV I agree, CC gets better as things get going, especially songs that are more blues based i.e., Lovelight.
Thought the pull sounded really good, even on what I’m listening on at work. (iPad >>> Integra AVR >>> Sonance ceiling speakers)

So, since no one’s ventured a pickus, howsa bouta another Nitecat: 6/14/80 Spokane?
I know DV is always down with some 80!

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That would be a Roger OB, Spokane WA, 6/14/80, let's do it.

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Full sounding audience, powerful Stanger to open the second set.

I'm treading water here, mostly keeping up and poised to get ahead of the game once more.

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On a roll so how bout a quicky for extra credit?
This is another off of Dave’s list, so perhaps there’s more of it in the vault?
In the mean time, it’s Miller time!

6/14/80: another solid 80 show. Checked out the Miller for the first set and the Nitecat for the second, both sounded great! After hearing several 80 shows it’s funny/interesting how Jerry is still struggling a bit with Saint. He hasn’t quite found his solo groove yet. I remember Phil sorta same thing with Playing in 71. You don’t always catch this stuff but when I did most of 71 in a row last year it was fascinating to follow how certain players on certain songs sometimes take awhile to find “it”, what becomes their regular line on a song.
With Saint I don’t think it’s just a muff as I’ve noticed it on several versions. Cool sheet!

All good things…Jimbo
Don’t think the archive is going anywhere ; )

PS, I do still have my cassette tapes DV. Thought I might try to do something with it being first gen FM and utilizing the ML 9600, but it’s just to chopped up and with the archive not really worth the effort : (

EDIT: yowsa! Truly hope there’s more of 1/20/68 in the vault. That was a major tease!
Levels a tad hot, but from what little there is you can just tell this was a hot show.
Haven’t heard Clementine in awhile, very ABBesgue.

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1/20/68 is a new one for me. Jerry's vocal and guitar contributions are stunning.

Clementine
I don't know why, but this song gives me goosebumps. Perhaps because I cannot figure out the songs meaning and the melodies take on a mystical quality. Performed three times with three studio attempts and then dropped.

New Potato
Just love this song, always have. Frantic ending jam on this one and the ending crescendo is spot on, great segue into...

Born Cross Eyed
The sound of thick air. Another great tune off Anthem. Short but powerful.

Followed by a nice 12 minute Jam and three minutes of Dark Star before a reel flip

What's here is great, what was on the reels that did not survive, we will never know. Whatever we missed.. I have to think it was epic.

Enjoyed this show as well. What always amazes me about the audience recordings is the constant clapping and yelling out song requests. Such rabid fans, love it. Love these early versions of Far from me and a Big Railroad Blues. Nice Estimated Eyes and Lost Sailor SOC out of Drums . Great finish. Thanks for the pick OB.
Makes me want that Baked Alaskan Box Set.
My #42 finally arrived yesterday, so I have this going now. Sounding great so far, the Grateful, Grateful Dead.
Have a good one out there.

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Hoping mine comes tonight

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DV, they figured they punished you enough lol
So glad you received yours, now hopefully Jim’s will arrive!
I’ve only been able to get one listen in so far, but the other half is working this WE, so the electric bill is definitely going up, because those mono blocks will be pumping! Get a little Philfercise in!
It’s all pretty damn good, but that Other One/Eyes alone is worth the price of admission!

Well, for those that need something else in the mean time, I was thinking I’d finally get to the “other” 78 Red Rocks shows that I’ve not heard. Im interested because the vibe has always seemed to be that these were not so good, not as good as the ones released at least?
So if so, thought those blissing out on 42 will not mind missing? At least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it ; )
So 8/30/78 and/or 8/32/78,
ONWARD!

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Oro, bless your heart. I know 8-30,31-78 well and can't wait to hear what you all think of these two. 5 or 6 new or reworked songs and the complete opposite of the raucous, soaring end of the previous tour 7-7,8-78 shows. I think we were simply blown away that they wanted to come right back to that cool venue after recording Shakedown. Very much a surprise, almost unannounced turn-around. Not sure the tickets were even available by mail order for these. Place wasn't even sold out I don't think. I have never found another Deadhead that has tapes of these either, but I'm sure somebody taped it. I'll bet a local taper Deadhead Ed from Crested Butte was there! And Rob C. and my buddy Wheels too. You guys still out there? Two shows so I better get busy. Not quite the hat trick as I'm finishing The Mosque vinyl this AM.
Cheers
Edit: My 8-30-78 ticket stub says $8.25 (including $0.75 tax) + $0.60 service charge. And our cheapest beer possible choice back then was a case of Blatz longnecks for $3.99. The deposit on the bottles was more than the beer at $5.

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Hope you get yours soon Jim. Do you have an ETA? If you continue to have issues you know where to find me.

It is spectacular!

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Looks like tonight. Hey.. I'm in it for the weekend, good enough for me.

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Should go to Wilfred. His birthday I think. He's always helpful and informative. Thanks Wilfred.
And cheers!

Any feedback on Aug. '78 Red Rocks? Just curious.

5-15-?? For tomorrow works for me. Let us know.

How about today!

I was thinking about 5/7/77 Boston Garden of nothing comes up. I have not listened to this show in a while.

That's pretty easy, 1981 Rutgers. I'd go with 1977 St. Louis, but I can't deal with the incomplete St. Stephen. 1970 FE is too obvious. 1980 Nassau is also tempting. I wonder how much of that made it on to Go to Nassau. Anyway, Rutgers 1981 if given the choice for me. Preferably an AUD or matrix recording. :-)

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Rocks 78 part 2: after first listens I thought the 30th was a dud, and the 31st was better, but not spring 78 better.
But that didn’t seem quite right and it was nagging me. So I decided I needed to poke around more, including another go round.
Second time, at home, under better conditions all around, things were like they often are: not as good or bad as you first thought, if that makes sense? Sure these can be a tad understated compared to say, the July shows, but they often have that more west coast energy, compared to some of the manic conjured energy, ahem, that could be evident in 78, though there certainly are peaks and flourishes. And yes there are moments of misfires/miscues, but that can be found in almost any show.
Anyway, as I sat and was able to more enjoy and get inside the music and vibe today, and get more of what makes these shows. I’d call them good if sometimes inconsistent? I’m sure these were the had to be there type shows, ala Hartford 83, Hampton 87 and 89 etc. that perhaps don’t fully translate from recordings?
The new songs are pretty tight for firsts, the board pulls we’re decent, the aud sections ok but sometimes suffered from crowd exuberance.
The highlights for me were; the Ollin Ageed jam I’ll call it as it’s not the fully formed song and no vocals via Hamza etc.; and the biggie was World to Give! Man I love that song. It’s like Believe it or Not, such a shame it didn’t take. But at least we have three versions and this one’s not perfect but pretty decent for a first. JG gets into it, in fact there are many outwardly obvious instances during these shows where he gives it the extra power drive, both vocally and on guitar.
Yeah these are kinda sneaky shows that can perhaps get glossed over and missed, definitely worth furthur review!
Perhaps not spring 78 good, but that’s just a theory?
Though I’ve been fortunate to catch many post GD shows at the rocks, I can only imagine how sweet it must have been, especially back then when shows many places didn’t always sell out, or often not until showtime. I’ve been to shows there that were not and again, can only imagine how chill it all must have been, especially before word got out and it became a thing. Used up much of my listening time lately, but the situation called for it, and the situation is the boss!
Sometimes ya just gotta poke around…

WTJ with the audible from deep in the heart of Bong recreation, 5/15/81 sounds bueno!
Mañana amigos!

EDIT: Dooaahh, ment to add but forgot: Bill had broken his hand before these shows so that certainly had to affect the feel and grove of these shows. It makes sense that the first night seemed ? at times as this would have been first gig trying to deal with that and how it would of effected all of the band.

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Insightful Oro! Thanks! That World to Give gave me chills remembering how heartfelt Jerry delivered it. Standing on the Moon makes me feel like that too. And don't get me started on Days Between, already welling up.

Boston 5-7-77 makes you remember why these boxes are so vital. Every show a winner in Get Shown The Light.

Onward to Rutgers. Which lead me to another 5-15 that I don't know, Greek '83. Quite the guest list with Airto & Flora. But what really hooked me was Billy Cobham sits in on the Drums segment? Wait, what?

Cheers

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:-) 83 Greek slipped my mind. I have Space rolling right now. It's a long one with valued guests, too. Healy's B-day no less (and no soundboard available?)

'93 Vegas slipped my mind, too. Any others?

Anyway. Rutgers '81 packs a punch. Little surprised no Lazy Lightning for the light show. Eyes, Jerry grabs on to a riff and runs with it for almost half the song. Bob comes up with a part, too. :-)

-edit- Wait a second,..............................if 5-15-83 Greek is HEALY'S B-day, so is 5-15-81...and it's his today, TOO! :-) DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH....slaps head.

Happy Birthday HEALY :-) :-) :-)

-edit 2- Caps added. My birthday is in Dec. :-)

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Hey,Happy Birthday WTJ.

I will get the 81 show going.

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Rollin!

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My mistake. I must have seen that post in Dec. about 5-15-81 and misinterpreted your birthday comment.
Either way we got 'er done, and Rutgers indeed packs a punch.
Like your cat avatar WTJ. Two of my five have been black cats and they are not unlucky.
Good Sunday on 'ya!

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Taking a side trip for Winterland '74. The box that could have been.

I wonder, would this have been better as a box set or are we well served seeing these shows (mostly) released as Dave's Picks?

After ripping, I rearranged the songs to the correct order and spliced together the 'best' sounding versions of the songs on 2/22, again putting in the correct order, etc. (major pain in the...). So in a sense, I have the box set we were all asking for 5 / 10 years ago (or more). Hat's of to mhammond, the first one I recall asking for this to be released as a box and the one who asked for a WOF Box Set. Coulda shoulda woulda..

In any case, I'm doing down the rabbit hole.. holding my nose now and jumping right into the deep end. I'll at least high the highlights of the shows mentioned here too. Hope all is well with you guys (and gal?), have a great rest of the weekend.

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It may not be my birthday today, but it's still a special day because it's both drummers' birthdays. :-)

P.S. Got all the persistent bikes!

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Hey, rockers!!!

Pick of the day: Moraga, California May 16 1969

In August 1969 the Dead played for 300,000 at Woodstock. Three months prior to that they played a gym at Campolinda High School. I’m not sure that was such a good idea. It sounds like a night of bad acid and problematic acoustics.

Well, we always did forgive the Dead their missteps. The recording itself isn’t half bad, but the music itself is challenging to listen to. Garcia sounds like he’s on another planet, and I don’t mean that in a good way. Doin’ That Rag is a mess. Pigpen tries to step up, but stumbles badly during this very early version of Hard To Handle. The drummers flail away beneath the chaos. Where’s Phil? Weir’s Me & My Uncle seems to work best, which says a lot and captures the weird essence of this very unusual show.

We all know that the Dead played some sublime shows in 1969. This is the other side of that coin. Yes, I got it out of my hard drives, listened all the way through (hey, I should get some brownie points for that!), and then dutifully refiled it back into my hard drives. Even “bad” shows can be a valuable reference point for the good ones…………….

At high school, some got the Grateful Dead. We got Aerosmith, who played our fieldhouse before they were famous. LOL that was the biggest thing to ever hit little Wayland, Massachusetts……..

Doc
What I remember most about high school are the memories I created with my friends…..

The first 4 months were incandescent - but from May onwards the shows seem a bit more variable to me. New material and a different approach creeping in - Rome wasn't built in a day. The extended Lovelights are a bit of a chore, too. Probably alright if you were there.

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Okay WTJ, not your birthday, but the Rutgers show is really good. Very good sounding recording, not perfect, but it delivers. Strong start with Half Step into Franklins, I never get tried of this opening. Nice Dire Wolf, Jack a Roe. Second set Scarlet Fire, great versions of Estimated and Eyes. Great finish, BP, US Blues. Definitely worth a listen.

Jim, yes, the February Winterland shows are great. #42 sounds as good as #13.
Glad you got yours.

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Cats on using us as warm furniture: 1st cat Roxanne (Soyzie), the only one we chose, said meh, would rather lay on the dog's tail or try to curl up next to her belly. And it was the dog's 1st cat too so some whimpering and sidelong glances ensued. 2nd, Jezebel (Little Bit), a kitten found living under a dumpster and would hide from the sounds of trash trucks and UPS her whole life, not much of a lap cat but did prefer to be near. She was scarred by a tough early life. 3rd, Delilah (Li-Lo) Japanese Bobtail stray who could jump to the top of 6 ft. fenceposts. Independent at first then took to the lap readily. 4th, Dinah, (The Kitten) pitiful scrawny stray vet said 3 days from death when we found her eating spiders and bugs at an unused rural bus station. Would not do the lap until she saw Delilah do it and said hey wait, get off my human. Would sit on the arm of the chair. Adapted to between your seated legs but just could not do the lap. 5th, Phoebe, local stray, all in but not until the others had all passed. Now a dedicated lap lover who demands a good chin scratch too. That's a 40 year compendium of feline unconditional love. Thanks Crow Told Me for the reminder of how good that is.
Cheers
Oops again! Meant to post this on the 42 thread on the pets discussion. As you were.

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So true. If you let your house get cold enough.. they all become lap cats. We've got two, both will take a warm lap on a cold day, first one to jump up gets the warm seat. Hot summers, not so much.

Just finished the first complete listen to 42. This show is not a stranger to me but it's funny how many new catches I found on this listen. In truth, it's been a while since I listened last so it's not surprising I am getting lots of nuance with this listen, but still.. a solid release. Next time I am going to listen to the whole run start to finish. That would make for a good weekend project.

So I have a little catch up but I'm back on track.

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5/15/81: decent show, unfortunately set list was real similar to several shows I’ve recently listened to.
Guess I’m just suffering from burnout?
5/16/69: with Docs intro I was expecting something way worse. I didn’t think it was THAT bad?
Loved the GMLSG, only Pig would open with that at a high school dance! I can just see the “adults” getting nervous in the corner lol. The comments on archive are great: several from folks who were there. Favorite is about the Principle not letting Garcia smoke in the gym, tossing his axe in its case and storming off to smoke, priceless! Or the guy who got to burn out back with Jer in his beater car. Fun stuff.

Tried another round of 42, but the world conspired so only superficial. Glad Jim received his and has been digging on it!

Today thinking I’ll try 4/3/82 again. Started this yesterday but again, wasn’t able to get a good listen. Sounded like I need another shot so that’s where I’m heading. This is the last show from spring tour that I’ve never heard before.
ONWARD

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Missed your post yesterday OB, but yes, 4/3/82, Virginia, let's do it.

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4/3/82. I admit I looked at the setlist. What no Promised Land in Norfolk? Imagine, no El Paso in El Paso. Guess it's too obvious.

Isn't this the show after Jerry and Phil switched spots on stage?

Another Scar>Fire, Estimated Eyes right after we called up 5-15-81. 'Twill be fun to compare. Back in the day for me, 4/3/82 was considered a unique and somewhat storied version of this particular pairing.

:-) :-) :-) all and Have a Grateful Day! :-)

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Looks to be another gem hiding in the Spring of '82. I am going with the August 2018 Miller. Looks like it was Dave Schools 1st show, two weeks and a day before mine. Just checked out a few songs to pick the best source, man.. Jerry could shed some emotion when he wanted to.

Nod to Oroborous for mixing it up.

aack.. it's that nail on chalkboard demonic slide guitar again. I think the rooster won't crow for day because it's owner kept him up all night butchering the slide guitar.. again.... Other than that.. very pleasant so far.

Edit: Love mid 80's Let It Grows. Checked out the venue, looks to be another space ship in the general Hampton, Norfolk, Newport News vicinity. The Pentagon should include this building and the Hampton Coliseum in their UFO investigations. Would have loved to see the dead at this venue.

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Yes WTJ, I’m pretty sure this would have been the second show they switched sides? I don’t think they had at any of the early 82s, and I saw them that way on 4/8&9/82. I’m at work or I’d look it up.

I’ll have to replay some of that Rutgers show to get a better take. Most of May 81 that I’ve heard is hot. I still say 5/17/81 was one of the best of the year, but I’m extremely biased on that one. Jerry was so loud and fired up at that one.

I think they purposely didn’t play “obvious” stuff just to mess with us lol. Like outta 8 Buffalo shows we saw, I believe we only got Truckin’ at the 7/16/90 show.

Yeah, ooopps, here I’m whining about similar set lists and burnout on some things and I suggest a very similar set list to 5/15/81 with a S>F>E>E>D/S>NFA etc, at least there was a Never Trust A Woman for variety lol.
JG does have some scorching moments, and yasss, alas, Bob once again just had to torture a live cat on stage, harumph.

Not sure it’s quite up to some of the later shows of the tour, but seemed like they were warmed up and ready to rock after the 4/2 “warm up” show. Often the first show was a gamble: often they’d approach the first tour show they way I often approach work Monday’s! or you might get a real burner if they were really itching to get at it?

Hoping by now most everyone has gotten 42, and the weather is changing etc, so I know folks have stuff going on.
So I’m going to hit the other bookend of that fine Nassau 90 show DV picked recently and check out 3/28/90.
I figure for those busy, behind, or still in a 42 coma with drool on their chin won’t mind skipping this one.but if not, looks like a sweet Cutler pull down mixed from multitrack. There’s a Healy too, but I’m curious about the Cutler.
I’ve been critical of his live mixing (too clean and quiet) but I always thought he mixed the Dead best in the studio.
Whatever one feels about the music on In the Dark, to me, the mix/sound on that one is the Gold Standard!
So for those who need working man’s dead, 3/28/90, for the rest of ya, onward, and we’ll see ya on the flip side!
Forward, never straight!

The Scope, I think this would have been a good place to see a show. 4/3/82 is another fine April 82 show. Can you imagine if Dave gave us an 82 Box?? Okay, not this year.
The recording for 4/3 is outstanding, really enjoyed it. Great first set, the Peggy O, CC Rider and Birdsong are well done.
Another solid second set, Scarlet Fire, Estimated Eyes. Interesting second set Never Trust a Woman. Great finish.
So 3/28/90 sound good to me OB. I think I will go with the official release from the 1990 Too Box Set

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I haven’t had a good listening session in days as work has had no flow with too many distractions. So I’m going to finish 3/28/90, and re hit some of those 81 and 82 shows.
Schlater!

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3/28/90, another great spring 90 show. Nice call OB.These three Nassau shows are so good, well okay, the whole tour is A+.
We get a High Time in the first set, great Queen Jane, Loose Lucy.
Second set Foolish Heart, LLR, Cumberland, The Weight, Hey Pocky Way. HPW is such a rocker. Love it.
Nice transition out of space into TOO and a Revolution encore.

Looking at going back to 82 with 5/23/82 Greek Theatre. Let me know if guys have any interest in this one.