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    A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

     

    With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

     

    Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

     

    *2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • That Mike
    Joined:
    Where The Buffalo Roam

    Oro - Not trying to jinx it, I’m all on board, would love to see the Queen City get some love, but you know what that “Great Lakes Triangle” does to sports teams here…
    (Seriously though - now that the NHL is due back, keep your eye on the Sabres. Not Cup contenders this year, but they have quietly built a magnificent young team that will be a Force in 3 years or less. I’m Mike, and I personally endorse this message)
    Interesting talk on the libraries, agree how they used to be great in their promotion of literacy programs for everyone, but geared to many of the disadvantaged, but like the school boards here, they have been co-opted by what I can only call a Woke & Kooky agenda now, which is a shame.
    Also, I kind of remember that Buffalo jazz station - not sure if they are still around, but I know the jazz station I mentioned has a huge listener base in Western New York.
    I hope things are good for you!

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Messin with Archive…

    Thems fightin words!
    Bastardos!
    Whose got the pitch forks, I’ll grad the gasoline!
    This is too much!
    Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

  • Gary Farseer
    Joined:
    Books and All

    Libraries are struggling. I used to spend so much time in the Library. Started when I was pre-teen but getting older. Let's say 7th grade, so age 13 or so. Used to go at that age and find all the old Rolling Stone Magazines, so read about Woodstock or the Beatles, or Jimi. Had not found the Dead yet. Loved it! Also would research stuff on micro-phish, ooops, and would go thru old local papers and stuff like the NY Times or San Fran. stuff.

    Not sure if y'all saw that Archive.org is in a law suit for giving digital copies of scanned books. This back and forth has gone on for years. Now, a real law suit by copywriters/publishers. You can search something like internet archive may go out of business. So I am waiting for my cc account to close this month, then plan to donate to them. That would suck tremendously if something happened. May have to survive on donations and stop allowing free check out to people of stuff where authors et. al. don't get their fees. But that is (Bob) weird, because you can go to a library and check out books for free. Have to see where it goes.

    Wonder, is their a hard drive large enough to grab the tons of data off of archive? Maybe get Amazon AWS to back up stuff.

    Any input would be appreciated...

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Good chat about bad things

    KUVO can be streamed, (or it used to be?) but I don’t have a way to do so in the car so mostly stopped listening.
    I’ll have to try again on the job instead of so much Dead lol. CPR is decent, and as you say part of public radio so hopefully they won’t muck it up too much, but considering how their treating their awesome long tenured DJs, it doesn't sound like it…”nothing lasts”

    DAVEROCK, funny you mention libraries. The Other One is a 20 year librarian and she is really having a hard time with what it’s becoming. Part of it is the current management regime (clueless) and part is the trends. Seems it’s just about numbers now: how many visits can we conjure etc. Programs that have nothing to do with literacy are a big trend.
    Hardly anyone reads anymore, they mostly come for free daycare, internet and DVDs, which is fine, but they used to really promote literacy, especially for kids and underprivileged etc. There are staff people who actually wonder “why do we need all these books”, and their currently overpaying some “consultant” to see how they can reconfigure branch space/layouts to be used for more programs etc and remove books and reference materials for things like square dancing! I kid you not! Let’s get rid of books and have a social club 🤮
    One of my favorite changes: they took out all the beautiful Stickley furniture and replaced with plastic crap! Now they want to remove beautiful stone fireplaces etc, idiots!

    MIKE: sshhhhhh, don’t go jinxing things. T town ain’t the only place that’s cursed! Lol.
    Oh, I listen to that Toronto station whenever I’m back in the tundra, good sheet Mon!
    They used to have a great one in Bu faf BITD (Jazz 88) but not sure it’s there anymore?

    DHB, nice to see ya!

  • Deadheadbrewer
    Joined:
    KBEM 88.5 FM

    I've mentioned this station here before, but we're lucky here in the Twin Cities to have a member-supported Jazz station--you can stream them . . . They have had a show called Bluegrass Saturday Morning for umpteen million years, still run by the same host. Some nights you might hear the local high school jazz band, then the next night--Phish.

    Jim and Hendrix, be well!

    Baller, laughing about your outsourcing question. :)

    Be kind, rewind.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    More inclusive?

    It seems to me that in striving to make something more inclusive, the people doing so often water down the thing in question, so that it loses all the qualities that made it attractive in the first place. My local library is doing all sorts of things to get more people inside - and the more it adapts, the less like a library it becomes.

  • That Mike
    Joined:
    Gary

    See PM.
    Thanks for the heads up on the Allman show. Sounds great, it’s in my “to do”!
    Cheers!

    1St Show - That is sad what appears to be happening with the station. If listeners (or likely advertisers) want watered down pop or whatever, ok, but how does great music like Jazz get heard if it doesn’t have a broadcasting outlet? I go to the gym, and they always have that Beyoncé-ish “music” rambling on, and that’s fine if it’s your thing, but no Jazz? It’s like no Dead. Yikes!

    Good luck with it 1St Show.

    Oro - WTF is with your hometown Bills??? Super Bowl favourites???

  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    Oro & Mike

    That article was in Colo. Public Radio news feed and I skimmed it fast but if I read it right KUVO is now in CPRs family of stations. (Edit: Colorado Public Media, a part of Rocky Mountain PBS) There was already a public meeting with a mediator with lots of folks attending but it did not sound like anything was going back in the right direction. Maybe they'll listen but one of the forced out DJs had her hours dropped so low that she lost benefits and was given a time slot she could not fulfill as it conflicted with her time to care for her dying child's medical appointments. Unbelievable. Seems impossible that a public radio entity would allow such management but again, maybe I read it wrong. I mean listener supported radio seems to work around here and KUVO was always such. I'm doing my morning listening right now to their (CPR) classical station which has always been there for me and I do donate to it annually. Maybe you'll get a transmitter now (or computer server) for KUVO Oro, but we'll see if it's worth listening to. Thanks for "listening" guys.
    Cheers

    Edit: Got my shipping notice for 3CD MSG but no tracking yet.

  • Gary Farseer
    Joined:
    That Mike

    check pm.

    gubmint Mule very very soon!

    OB yep Jimi thang

  • That Mike
    Joined:
    1St Show - I read your piece…

    1St Show - I read your piece on the Denver Jazz station regarding the 6-8 minute time limits, and that policy blows. I think you can expect that station to transition to easy listening or contemporary pop very soon. The station here in Toronto - JazzFM 91.1 - started as a college station, and has morphed into a non-profit powerhouse for great jazz, by really top notch knowledge people at the helm and the microphone. (Check them out on the Net). I support them, and aside from the very occasional PBS-like pledge drive, which are quite low key, they are a first rate station, and my go to for radio (very few commercials per federal law one of the bonuses). That sucketh about your station, and I hope there is audience blowback in Denver. A lot of arguments can be perhaps made about the true origins of rock, for example, but Jazz is quintessentially a true American art form, born and bred.

    Last 5
    Miles Davis - That’s What Happened (sublime)
    Govt Mule/John Scofield - Sco-Mule (Allmans Meets Miles Davis)
    Wilco - Whole Love (worth it for “One Sunday Morning” alone)
    Jayhawks - Rainy Day Music (harmony)
    Redman/Mehldau/McBride/Blade - Longgone (much better than their first release)

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A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation

 

With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.

 

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

 

*2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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11 years 3 months

In reply to by Oroborous

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the elation for this and for hints at what else remains in the vault.

Just what the doc ordered!

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fans got their wish.
2 Dark Stars and plenty-o-pig.
Sounds good to me!
Cheers

Edit: Non-subscribers (Daverock?) better jump on this fast. Certainly one that will sell out in a day.
1300 Owsley reels in the vault did it say? A HUGE virtually untapped source.

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13 years 8 months
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I like Owsley's technique. That'll do, Pig.

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2 years 8 months
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just what I wanted. 2 shows from1969,. Thanks Dave, keep them comming.

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9 years 8 months
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Dave - You had us at Pig. A real nice release, and Owsley sound, too! (Blushing)

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9 years 11 months
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It took 8 years, but I finally guessed the right shows. Nevermind that I included the Boston Tea Party trio.

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I'll take this one, thank you very much!!

Oro, you either get primal or you get Pig. I'm very pleased with this one. Did not see that coming.

Woo-hoo!

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In reply to by That Mike

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Sweet release for DaP43!

"With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43."

just want to highlight ". . . some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including . . ."

pray tell what other mysteries are there in the banana boxes?? to be continued.

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In reply to by bluecrow

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I think Dave was worried about a riot.. we forced his hand on this one.

I'm looking much more forward to this than the box set. No offense meant.. but this looks sweet to me.

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Beyond stoked about this DaP. There doesn't seem to be a track listing yet, but given the description (not one but TWO 20-minute-plus Dark Stars, AND plenty of Pig?) this promises to be epic. Audio quality is likely to be outstanding, given that it was recorded by Bear and evidently stored in a banana box for 50+ years.

Wonder what else is in those banana boxes? Guys, if you find any blue tablets, you should probably forward them to me for safe disposal.

The MSG box? Not sure I need 17 discs worth of '80s, so I'll probably just go for the breakout set from 3/9/81. I have to admit, this release makes me a little sad, because it makes me think that now it's going to be years, maybe longer, before they do the Berkeley Greek 1980s box some of us have been longing for. Can't see 'em doing two venue-centric '80s boxes in close succession.

And just btw: don't get Covid, if you can help it. Went on a business trip (got to go to NOLA, at least), came home and got sick. Despite being vaxed and boosted, it was sucky week. Not the end of the world, but pretty sucky. I mention this in the hope that it'll encourage others to be vaxed and be careful: that fucking virus is still out there. Be well.

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12 years 6 months
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Its so good to be wrong!!!!!! I thought for sure Dave would venture into the 80's the 60's are not the 80's. By the way I'm digging the gray hoodie, very understated.

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I had jumped off of the subscription bandwagon almost as soon as I got on, after the disappointing DaP31. This year I reluctantly hopped on again because I liked the Baltimore show and absolutely salivated over the Winterland ‘74 with bonus disk. I was resigned to getting a throwaway ‘80s show this time around. Nope. I am virtually in tears as I type this, and best of all I have no worries of this one selling out because it’s already been ordered. It’s a beautiful day.

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I haven't browsed Deadbase yet to see if these shows are listed or the setlists, which I imagine are similar to others from the era. I also wonder if having been stored in sealed boxes all these years if they are uncirculated? That's always a nice surprise.

I'm a lifetime subscriber since the beginning. Glad to see Dave mixing it up.

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In reply to by SPACEBROTHER

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The sound on the archive is good.. assuming Latvala took a little peeksy into the banana boxes and shared. I'd still like to take partial credit for guessing Dave's 43 would be sourced using returned reels from the late 60's. I think I posted something to that effect a week or two ago.

Very glad to see these shows come to light. They seem to be very special, at least to these ears.

Enjoy people.. This one goes out to Hendrix Freak.. if there's a more enthusiastic 60's and fall 1972 person out there.. I'd like to buy her/him a drink and shake their hand.

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Jim!!

That would be me. Strong coffee will do, looking forward to the handshake...........

Did anybody think my obsession was limited to 1971?!! OMFW!!!

The dice of Zeus always fall luckily.

Rock on,

Doc
Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust, like diamonds we are cut with our own dust......

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11/2 does not circulate, no set list
12/26 Circulates, Zephyr opened-acoustic set without Bill

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In reply to by wissinomingdeadhead

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not in Deadbase but SBD source of 11/2/69 is on relisten

not that i've heard it. includes a "classic suite" DS > SS > 11 > DDHNM

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In reply to by wissinomingdeadhead

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Strong Coffee I've got! Doc you are equally enthusiastic of the old stuff. Check your PM.

As for 11/2, it looks like a copy of this was seeded to the Archive back in 2004 and a more complete version appeared in 2009.. so someone had them. I'm going to head to the attic right now and see what's in all the banana boxes stashed in the corner.

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Who is the 4 fingered gal on the cover? Interesting that they did not go for a female skeleton.

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10 years 3 months
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This is great news Dave,its going to be well worth the wait, none of us are getting any younger,I'm looking forward to having this in my grubby little mitts in August.

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I'm a big fan of DaP 6 12/20/69 and 2/2/70 with 12/21/69 bonus disc with its two Dark Stars, DaP 30 1/2-3/70 with its great setlists capped off by that massive Dark Star> St Stephen> The Eleven> Lovelight, and DaP 10 12/12/69 and bonus from 12/11/69 scratches a similar itch, but I gravitate to the bonus disc for the whole Dark Star> St Stephen> The Eleven> Cumberland Blues, That's It For The Other One> Cosmic Charlie, because that's just fantastic. And now we add these two shows to that collection. Nonplussed on the box, but I reckon I'll likely get it sometime prior to release. The setlists are quite good, and only one Little Red Rooster.

Just listened to the Little Sadie and High Time in the Listening Party on my tablet speakers, and quite liked it. Jerry is in fine fettle.

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Sounds like an oxymoron to me, but who cares!! It’s primal 1969, JUST before 1970, which we ALL(well, almost all) have been clamoring for!! I simply CANNOT WAIT to unwrap this and push play!!

Thanks Dave, Music is the Best!!

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I will take a GD sbd from the '60s ANY day of the week, and the Dallas show has long been one of my favorites. I'm VERY glad that it's being released and that 11-2 show is no slouch although I've never heard it complete and never in this kind of sound quality either. I'm very happy these shows were chosen, can't wait to get my hands (and ears) on them. Thanks once again to Dave, Dick, Bear and the whole GD family.

Jeffrey Norman works for the GD and also the OSF, which has been digitizing Bear's 1300 reels. OSF is about two-thirds done with digitizing so possibly ~400 reels to go. Probably that's what Norman was doing.

Meanwhile, only weeks to go until two unique '69 shows are in our hands.

I'll have to quiet down for a while about NINETY SIXTY-EIGHT, just because Dave gave us a nice dose of late '69.

Heh heh heh... we don't need any contests here, this whole crowd is foaming at the mouth for this release. Jim, you sure know how to get folks riled up. (What the hell are "banana boxes"?)

In fact, the good doctor and I had often discussed how early, short shows shouldn't stop Dave from putting two together to meet the DaP three-disc rule. Here we are.

A good shout out to all who made the past couple months on this forum worthwhile with good discussions of literatue and music. I only have about 7-8 books to read and tall stack of CDs to listen to, as a result.

And thanks to Dave L. for an inspired choice. (I'm getting the 3-9-81 show and leaving the box alone, but sure wish I can get my hands on 3-10-81 at some point...)

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Its about time, one worth opening.

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In reply to by TJPD2

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ask any supermarket for them, very sturdy, heavy duty cardboard, great for storage. Not entirely closed, usually an opening at top and bottom. Check recent shipments for tarantula hitchhikers. Shucks, no release listening party for the 60s bunch at Jim's bear battered beer caches?

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Oh myyyyy! I don't post very often here, but I've been watching the discussion/speculation on DP 43 for months. I figured DP43 would be 1980s for sure (hello, box set) and in that regards I was hoping for a 1985 release. I didn't dare hope for '68-'69. I'm glad to be wrong!

I've never heard either of these shows - super excited for this release. I keep various Fall '69 rips in my car - 10/25, Dick's Picks 16, the DaP 6 Bonus Disc - so it's going to be nice to change things up. This time I even went and bought an extra copy so that I can wow somebody who will only realize what they've missed out on when they are sitting in my passenger seat. That's ~$40 well-spent. @Dave thanks buddy, this kinda drop is what keeps me subscribing year after year.

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In reply to by Obeah

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totally awesome

Daves in a (banana) box

loooooove it

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14 years 7 months
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Didn't know about the Dallas show. Double 1969 goodness - how sweet it is!

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13 years 7 months
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What I have:
Cold Rain
Midnight Hour
Seasons (this song is unknown to me, a first)
Mama Tried
Next Time You See Me
Good Lovin'
Big Boss Man
Casey Jones
Dancin'
Dark Star>St. Stephen>The Eleven>Death Don't

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13 years 8 months
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I have this one archived in my cassette collection. Saw many shows at this venue. Great acoustics.

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10 years 5 months
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Just looked up the setlists for these and saw Dave for once way undersold the length of the two Dark Stars, one 30, the other 24! Nice. But how about I've Been All Around This World? Always loved it from hearing the Garcia Grisman version, so stoked to see it's on here wih Little Sadie. Such a treat to hear Jerry sing these in such a strong voice. Now to avoid listening to the whole shows for three more weeks...

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11 years 8 months
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I know it makes me not a ‘head’
But no

Pig’s “white boy blues” makes wants me want to barf every time.
Hahaha i hear him open his mouth and it’s like I want to jump off a cliff

I hear somebody brag about a “half hour Lovelight” ?
Thanks, I know exactly what show to skip. 

Seriously no

ughhhh

We can all jam and no despite I hate it I’m not selling to at cost hahahah

There are people out there.

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16 years 8 months
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...deadhead but certainly a fool of high caliber. I agree with the Lovelights...sometimes, but damn take that tone and put it in the garbage where it belongs. The provenance alone of these tapes is enough to get my brain drooling and my ears lubed up.

Looks like they've reconnected the modem at the asylum. Nurse Ratchet must be on her first vacation in a few decades. 😬

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For those of you wondering why artist Matt J. Adams included her, have a look at the cover of "Live/Dead".

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…Oh Boy! 2 (two) “Primo” Primal Dead performances in one release (Pick)
“There’s Nothen left to do but Smile Smile Smile!” I’m as happy as a Pig in Mud! Lol ! 🤠
Have a grateful day my brothers and sisters.
there’s not a better feeling than having grateful fans dig’n The continuing Amazing Artworks involved year after year! Love it!
Take care folks , have a grateful day!
🙏❤️💀🌹

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