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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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  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    Hey

    Wtf

    Just got some lame-ass message about

    "N o lihnx"

    None tried.

    Eye roll

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Daves 43

    This was the first Dead I listened to after the 24 L.P. journey back to the Lyceum 72, and my first impressions were - this sounds a bit rough! I liked the sound of Jerry's guitar, and his playing of course, but it all seemed a bit herky jerky to me. From Dark Star onwards they sound like a different band. I suppose this was a variation on the jam they had been playing for about a year, and they were well versed. Whereas the blues and country covers, 8 of the first 9 songs played, were comparatively new to the set. That's just a first impression - I'm not dismissing the first 9 songs by any means, and I'll be playing the whole show again soon.

    12/26 impressed me right from the beginning - lovely sound to the acoustic guitars. I wonder what the crowd thought when they announced they were going to play some acoustic songs as the drummer hadn't turned up? Presumably they had a young audience at this point, who had come to have their minds blown. Thinking back to when I was a teenager, if a full throttle electric band turned up and did that it might not have gone down too well with the home crowd. It must have seemed a bit like when Dylan went electric-but in reverse. Anyway..... I thought the final cd was great. Well, it all is...these are just my first impressions, and subject to change.

  • hendrixfreak
    Joined:
    A thought, Mr. Ones...

    As forensic doc characterized mid-February to late September 1971 as "sledge hammer rock," I suggest that 1969 is the year when the band sounded different on different nights depending on how the band members were feeling. After the interstellar explosion of '68, in '69 they acquired great facility in execution and, I think, you'll hear a lot of subtleties in 1969 performances that suggest that I'm not completely out of my mind.

    Just a thought.

    P.S. Best wishes to Vguy's newlyweds. Go, Vguy, go!

  • billy the kiddd
    Joined:
    Vguy Congratulations

    Vguy, nice photo of you and your granddaughter. I wish the new couple the best of everything.

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    I was busy driving the newlyweds....

    ....from Winnemucca to Vegas so they could catch their flight tomorrow for their honeymoon in New Orleans, so that's my excuse. Grandpa chauffeur reporting for duty. Avatar apdated accordingly. Hannah is very special to me and the wedding was fantastic. Wishing her and David all the best. Hes a solid dude and his dad is also. She's in good hands. Go grab life by the horns and do wonderful things. We got your back.
    Going to see them again here in Vegas for Def Leppard/Motley Crue/ Poison/Joan Jett on 9.9. My treat. Their first concert. 😳

  • Mr. Ones
    Joined:
    Only One

    Entry all day?? Y’all must be listening pretty heavily, just like me. I can’t get enough of this release. I realized while listening that Next Time You See Me is a song that never really stood out to me, but this version on disc 1 is no doubt the most raucous, on fire version I’ve ever heard. Pig is wailing, and Jerry is in flames!! So damn good!! And the Good Lovin’ behind it is unique to me also. It’s not a particularly stellar version, it just doesn’t sound quite like any of the other versions I’ve heard. So I still need to keep listening, because there’s just SO MUCH to hear. Also, I feel the need to list my top 5 Dave’s Picks, in order:

    5-Vol. 14–March 1972
    4-Vol. 6–12/69 & 2/70
    3-Vol10–12/12/69
    2-Vol. 30–1/2-3/70
    1-Vol. 43–11/2 & 12/26 ‘69–Please see Jim if you can’t understand how this could possibly be #1.

    There, I went and did it. I’m sure 98% of everyone here would agree!!😂🤣

  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    Well hello Emmylou

    Goodbye heart

    I happened to see her as part of the Down from the Mountain tour back in 2001 or 2002

    I also love her and the Hot Band's cover of Jambalaya in Ken Burns' Country Music film

    Love
    It

    The guy who turned me on to the GD was/is an Emmylou fan

    MIKE MORRIS, WHERE ARE YOU???

  • That Mike
    Joined:
    Wedding Bell Blues

    VGuy - Congrats on your granddaughter’s wedding, I think the Hawaiian theme is cool! The closest I got to a different kind of wedding was attending one in a field of a working farm, where the cows came up to the fence we were sitting by to watch the Preacher perform the service.

    Nappy - best of health to you.

    Gary F - Nice to see you, hope all is well. Great story on Dizzy Gillespie - a giant of jazz, you were fortunate to see him, and in his “home field” aka The Blue Note, too!

    Two more sleeps until I see Emmylou, it has been 13-14 years since the last time I caught her show. A rare treat, and a gorgeous voice.

  • Gary Farseer
    Joined:
    Nappy Proudfoot

    Nappy hate to hear that, hoping a peaceful speedy recovery for you both.

    Proudfoot: I had been meaning to post about the magic trip documentary. I loved it, although I am a huge fan of NYC nostalgia. Like every few years I want to watch Taxi Driver, or many other movies to see how the city changes and morphs. Oh yeah, watched Midnight Cowboy last month first time.

    About this time in (August 2x)1986 my brother were in NYC on some business and pleasure. One day walking down the street I see a couple of guys wearing the uniform so we stopped and talked for a bit. Turned out they were brothers too in from Brooklyn. We invited them up to the hotel and got them high (smoke) but then they said wish they had some blotter. We as it happened, we had some of that also, So we dosed em good. We had bought tickets the day before to see Dizzie Gillespie that night at the Blue Note in Greenwich Village. So the brothers took off so we could get some down time before uptime. We told them that around 1 am we would be in a bar right down the street. So my brother and I crashed for a while, got up had a little caffeine smoked some then dropped about 7pm.
    early show was 7, we went to later show I think at 11. Man when we got in the cab to go to the Blue Note we were so incredible high we just didnt care. Didnt try to hide nuttin.

    Get to the Blue Note and end up sitting behind the drummer. The drummer's back was right next to me, I mean 5 feet away, and the whole stage wasnt but about 10X15ft, so we were real close to it all. Still rank that in my top 5 shows I ever saw. Yall were discussing so much jazz stuff recently I had t chime in a little. Dizzy and his band cooked and cooked hard. We get out around midnight, and my brother and I see a gentleman sitting on the steps of a brownstone. He was burning one so my brother asked if he had any, of course we had plenty back at the room but we wanted to buy a little street weed. He sold us a very reasonable $20 bag. He also pulled out another joint and we started smoking it. Right as we gettin close to finishing it he said, "that has crack in it." Probably the 2nd highest I have ever. Dosed, crackd, weeded drankin. We get on the subway to get back to our hotel area and where we said the deadhead brothers we be. Now subway at 1 am or so on a Friday night back then was like riding in Barnum and Baileys fun car. Folks were wild. Now the conductor was one of the funniest guys ever. He kept rappin about what stops were next and then the 2 after that. It got so f'd up in there my brother and I just broke out in uncontrollable laughing. We were so far out there, the folks on the train just thought we were nuts. Of course we were, we took a couple hits apiece and to this day the only time I smoked crack.

    Now did some free basin earlier but got off all of that in 1986. Had a buddy that had a cocaine concentration house for lack of a better term, and going out to the middle of nowhere and being around those nut jobs, just had to get away as I figured they would get busted one day, which they did. Now starting around 1980 I got into all sorts of moving things, ahh a middleman type of thing. But another story for another day, as supper is calling.

    Cheers to all and everybody, stay safe, dont let your diligence down just yet.Not sure what I am going to do as far as more shots.

    But man, groovin on 43. Lovin it.

  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    3 19 66

    On a cd collection related to acid tests

    Hot GD66

    yummy

    How 'bout a box with all the 66 in the vault? Huh? Huh? Huh?

    I'd buy it

    OG GD

    :)))

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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 8 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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14 years 1 month
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I like Owsley's technique. That'll do, Pig.

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3 years 1 month
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just what I wanted. 2 shows from1969,. Thanks Dave, keep them comming.

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10 years 1 month
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Dave - You had us at Pig. A real nice release, and Owsley sound, too! (Blushing)

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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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10 years 9 months
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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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13 years
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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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4 years 8 months
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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 8 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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7 years 7 months
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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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15 years 1 month
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Didn't know about the Dallas show. Double 1969 goodness - how sweet it is!

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14 years 1 month
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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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14 years 1 month
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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 11 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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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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17 years 2 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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