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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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  • frosted
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    I remember one Dead dream

    Sometime in the last 5 years or so I had this one.

    Was out at some County Fair looking place, like in a midwestern farm town somewhere out in the countryside with a makeshift stage also that had side walls and a top canopy set up, but just large enough for the band. Was just a concert, not amusement rides and such, so the focus was on that, not that it was part of a larger event or Fair. I was reasonably close to the stage, in a crowd of maybe only a few thousand.

    Was like a 1970 or so version of the Dead. Dream was in black and white. They were rocking and cooking and it all seemed so surreal because I was aware that they were no more with Jerry gone in reality, but still it was all jamming and stuff I never heard much in the late 70s when I saw my first shows, and there they were, seeming real as could be.

    One of those you remember when you wake up (because many dreams I never do recall), and it sticks with you. Was almost like I was cheating time somehow and shouldn't have been there and it shouldn't have been happening, but it was a chance to see the early days like I never got in real life. I couldn't name the tunes they played after the dream, but it definitely had that late 60s / early 70s sound.

    Dreams can truly be strange. Then just now as I was filling out the CAPTCHA, it gave me a bunch of tractors to select that were all shown out in midwestern farm looking countryside...heh heh.

  • Oroboros
    Joined:
    And those majestic Red Rocks

    were energized by the Dead to 'shake their bone's' the massive rocks started pulsating, heaving, and swaying to the 'band beyond description' during those shows and all that followed.

    And we danced........

    African saying "you see the hut, yet you ask where shall I go for shelter?"

  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    Quiter in August

    Thank you that confirmation. I had thought about that. I thought it might have been just the way things were recorded.

  • hendrixfreak
    Joined:
    I Had A Dream Last Night, What a Lovely Dream It Was

    A few years back. I'm driving a convertible and in the bench-style back seat are Jimi, Jerry and Roy Buchanan. Just yucking it up on a drive in the country.

    When I awoke the most unsettling thing was that it seemed perfectly 'normal' at the time. Taking a Sunday drive with three dead guys who had some notoriety.

  • Oroboros
    Joined:
    Yes tasty shows but those August, 1978 nights were quieter

    than the prior July 78 shows.

    I believe the Dead got a reprimand from the town of Morrison for the volume on the previous shows. So they did turn it down quite a bit as they showcased the new Shakedown Street selections along with the rest of the other Dead tunes during this concert.

    That said I was impressed with their quieter take and use of dynamics with this show as they prepared for their Egypt shows.

    Those shows were a long-standing dream of Garcia and the Grateful Dead to play a concert in front of the Sphinx and pyramids.

    Several songs were released both on DVD included with a CD audio selection from those Egypt show(s).

    Samuel Clements " It ain't what I don't know that gets me into trouble, it's what I know for sure, that ain't so."

  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    8 31 78

    I got that on cassette early on. I have always loved it.

    Mississippi 1/2 Step > El Paso :))))))))))))))))

    And you were at both. The envy is all mine.

    "Show envy"

  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    PF

    and 8-31-78.
    Lots of new tunes off Shakedown St.
    My 3rd & 4th shows.
    No walls but the Rocks were moving.
    Cheers

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Englishtown features my all-time favorite Peggy-O....

    ....smooth like butter.
    Edit. Pure Jerry CD's fetch quite a bit. I missed them.

  • Crow Told Me
    Joined:
    I Had a Dream, People Won't You Listen Now

    Crazy dream. I was hitching in West Marin and who should pick me up but Jerry Garcia. He was driving mid-60s Ford Falcon (same car a friend of mine used to drive in high school). He was mid-'70s Jerry, black hair and beard, no gray. I was of course super stoked to be picked up by Jerry, but soon my elation turned to terror as I realized he was a really horrible driver. We were on a winding road up over the ocean and he kept almost falling of the side of the cliff. He was scaring the shit outta me. Unintentionally, keep apologizing. Anyway, then I woke up. No big deal, I know, but since we're talking Dead dreams ... there's one.

    Glad people reminded me this was the anniversary of Englishtown. Good excuse to spin that one. What a great show.

    Agreed with the comments about '78. Not as together as '77, but often wilder, louder, more rawk, ya know? I need to explore more '78 shows.

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Dead Dreams....

    ....I've had a few. One was of them playing a concert on an aircraft carrier. That was cool. Had another one where I was running a marathon and Phil, Billy and John Lennon ran past me.
    Also. Not really a dream, but I was woken up suddenly at 3:10 AM on 8.9.95 with a feeling of dread. Went back to sleep and thought nothing of it. Later that day, I heard the terrible news of Jerry's passing. I reached out to by touring buddies (obviously) and told them about my sudden out-of-the-blue wakeup that morning. They all said they woke up at about the same time as well. Things that make you go "hmmmm".

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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.

I just pulled up the Los Lobos setlists Hendrix and those were two hot Lobos sets you all caught, too. NFA-Bertha to close night one and then a Mas y Mas jam with Trucks and company after a cover of Don't Keep Me Wonderin'! Plus an early Wicked Rain! And that is the opening act to be followed by scorching TTB sets. Lucky group.

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Happy birthday Jer, miss your smile.
On a different note, just read Joe Walsh will reunite the James Gang for a show this November for VetsAid2022. Dubbed "The Last Ride" this is to be The Gang's last show. Tickets this Friday.

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I gotta say, this 77 release is one hot show! I've been playing it over and over for the week. Awesome Surguree!

I too and awaiting the new Dave's with bated breath. Will check the mailbox soon.

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Number 215 has landed!!

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As if dead.net forums weren't enough, now there's "discord"?

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Clearly we are all test participants in a new GD time warp LSD experiment.
Minutes ago, I received my DaP 43 shipping notice via email … and I picked up my copy 6 hours ago in my mailbox.
The next phase of this experiment will include (hopefully) receiving orders in our mailboxes even BEFORE we order them.
There is nothing routine about a GD recording or their online music ordering process.
Thanks Dave L and co…the music is great!

Don’t panic people.
For the last 2-3 years I’ve generally received DaP’s on Monday/Tuesday after release day, but would get the tracking number email a week before release day. But then tracking would say ‘no info’ for several days, then the DaP would start moving, and then I would get it.
This one still showed up right after release day, but I didn’t have any tracking info. And although I wondered where it was, I also wasn’t tortured by watching the tracking and seeing lack of movement.
So hopefully everyone gets theirs soon.

Sounds good so far, and a nice gift to open on Jerry’s bday.
Thanks Dave/Rhino and crew, and Owsley!

————-
Per the description for this release:

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
————

So, the Sonic Journals are in the Vault, and yes, it is possible for Rhino to release the GD recordings.
I wonder if they have, and preserved, HendrixFreak’s adopted reel(s).
(I don’t remember what show he adopted).

My only Jerry bday show was 8-1-94.
Thanks for the floor seats GDTS!
The Jam out of Space and into Watchtower was pretty cool and had grate lights.

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I too have experienced the shipping notice/postal time warp. My DaP 43 arrived today. I have not yet received a shipping notice email. It was a nice surprise to come home and find it in my mailbox. I am ripping the CDs to my computer as I type this. I am looking forward to this listening to this one. I have short road trip tomorrow as I am heading out from the Burg' to Blossom to see Phish. So this will be playing on my drive to and from the venue.

Once again I have to salute Dave L. and the crew for this release and for the MSG Box set. We are really getting a nice variety of GD from different eras.

made its way here this morning. fastest delivery after an official release date in years. seems like they all went out at same time rather than in small batches sent over a week or more. a double dose of Dark Stars? Yes please! thanks to everybody who made this possible. we are so lucky.

speaking of lucky. wish I could have been there with the Red Rocks crew. pure myth time to see that level show in that crazy beautiful setting.

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I have just received a shipping notification email for #43. Such mails seem to be rare so I may print it, frame it and hang it on the wall. But then again...

UPS tracking shows that it was received in Fontana, CA on 7/26 and it departed the international carrier facility on 8/1. It has also shown up in Asendia's tracking system.

Everything seems to be going fairly quickly apart from sending the shipping confirmation email. Normally the shipping confirmation email arrives before the package reaches Fontana.

Edit: Less than 2 hours after receiving the shipping confirmation email I received a second, almost identical shipping confirmation email. The tracking numbers are identical but in the second mail the quantity shipped is shown as 0 so I'm not expecting to receive two copies.

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In reply to by simonrob

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I have this morning recieved not one and not two but FIVE shipping notices! But only one notice with a promise of an actual copy of DP43. :-O

No shipping info yet though ... ;-)

Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden

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I have just received my third shipping confirmation mail. Still lagging behind DeadMike, but maybe I'll beat him to 10!

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Today I have, so far, received 4 emails from Dead.net store confirming despatch of DP43 to uk. I wonder if I'll get 4 copies?????

Just looked and seen others with even more!!!!!

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I am up to SEVEN e-mails so far ... but now I know the package was recieved for processing in Fontana, CA on July 27th. :-)

Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden

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It's as if Dave thought he heard someone question whether they were scraping the bottom of the Vault. "This should allay any concerns".

Hendrixfreak I can't even imagine seeing that '73 show on Jerry's Birthday (or the two before it for that matter). Was the sound kick-ass in those days? I've always wondered what the fan experience was pre-wall of sound. Sometimes you hear the band asking the crowd if it's loud enough. But I digress. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I read 8/1/73 was the last show with a Strat. Whether it was the Nash / Alligator Strat or the Veneta brown sunburst is anyone's guess.

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When I got my 5th shipping mail I thought I had caught up with you, but now I see that you are still ahead with 7. 😂

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Thank you Mo for your belief in Rock & Roll as an art form, and for giving voice to scores of ground breaking acts (ex - Jimi Hendrix), and for believing in the Grateful Dead, when the corporate accountants said to cut them loose.
It’s not often you give light to record executives, but Mo Ostin is worthy of the shout out.
RIP

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I recieved #24,015 on Monday without any shipping notification at all. I guess two days late isn't so bad, I'd love it one arrived on time though...

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August 2, I have not as yet received Davis picks 43 any reason for the delay no shipping notice either

So today I know Dave's 43 will finally land here in NYC why? because I have informed delivery with USPS I saw it 2 days ago for the first time, this morning out for delivery great. Stay with me here, just about 3 minutes ago I received a shipping notice from Dead.net telling me my order is on the way yet when I hit tracking it can't find it as if it had not been sent yet. On 7-20-22 the dead.net site was hacked or had a catastrophic crash, that is why if you look at the site you see all sorts of past items miraculously have reappeared! The resident computer geniuses obviously don't want to say this. What the hell would it take to tell everyone you have had some issues and to bear with us? Unless of course peoples data has been breached. What is it dead.net(actually warner entertainment) just to be clear? Customers deserve an explanation. That is the least you could do.

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In reply to by Oroborous

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No shipping notices, it arrived 3 days ago .... have been sampling bits and pieces with headphones .... I am absolutely blown away by the sound quality .... so very crisp and clear. This is a true gem and I can't thank Dave enough for making it happen.

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I don't know if they nicknamed the system they hauled around in 1973, but it might have been better than the Wall, at least for vocals. It's not as if they had a crappy system, then the Wall became the standard for one year. The '73 systems ... you can hear it on the tapes of the outdoor shows: loud, clear, easy on the ears.

I got both my copies of DP43 on Saturday and Monday I got an email that they were on their way. It's almost like the early tapes that circulated: there was always some glitch on the tape. Always.

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Mine like many came today in NC without notice. Holy crap this sounds GRATE! Luckily I have the day off and can just "melt into a dream".

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DaP43 arrived in Western CO yesterday afternoon with no notice.
Shipping notice for Lyceum 4-CD in yesterday's email, due Wed.
No complaints here.
Cheers

Edit: The trend is consistent anyway, just got my ship notice for 43 a minute ago. Got here a day ago.

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In reply to by 1stshow70878

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Received shipping notice at 9am this morning and received 2 hour later. Now that is USPS at work.

Of course, means their tracking network needs a lot of work.

Worked my way thru the Fillmore West box over the last 2 weekends to get my ears ready.

Forgot how great that box is. Have not listened to the box since I added a sub woofer almost 3 years ago. Man does the sub woofer change the entire dynamics of the box. The 16 track with Bob and Betty, and the alchemy of Bear's mind regarding sound really stand out.

Hope these can reproduce the sound stage as well as the fillmore west, but have not researched these tapes yet. Have some other Bear thought later.

G

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Yeah...Just got my shipping notice, but Dave's 43 arrived last Saturday.

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In reply to by bigbrownie

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Some of the sweetest psychedelic music ever played and recorded. A total trip even 53 years later. Thank you Dave Lemieux and crew and especially Andrew & Rebecca Kelly.

"How sweet it is!" - Jackie Gleason

I didn't get my shipping notice, yet. Ha! Ha! Ha!

I just checked my email - yes, it is "on the way."
Love, Peace, and Happiness to ALL!

"still waiting
I I I'm stiiill waiting"

Hey today is 2 years as "Proudfoot"

While I wait...

Some of 30 Trips
10 27 90 meh
10 whatever 91 mmmm....no
92 show zzzzzzzz
6 24 85 yeeeesssss. Nice n lively

Summer 85 box in 2023 Dave!!!

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Shipping notice arrived three hours later. Celebrated Jerry yesterday with a deep dose of the June76 box. A phoenix that, we hardly knew if/when/how they would come back after extended hiatus. Listening to second #43 disc now, zowie, been waiting a long long time for this sweet old stuff. Nice to know so many of us will be sharing this music over these next dog days of August. Thanks to all at OSF/dead.net/Rhino/WMG who made this happen. I should be able to stop asking about a 60s box for a few weeks.

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Mine arrived yesterday. Listened to the first disc so far. Amazing how great this sounds for being such an old recording. Bear had his system down. Much respect to his foundation for taking the extra care to pass along the original engineers wishes. These Sonic Journals are truly special.

I love that these past couple of years Dave has been hitting such a wide variety of these pieces of history.

Maybe close out the year with 9/26/91 or a December 90 offering. It would be cool to show a little love for the Vince era with and or without Bruce after 43 of these releases.

Currently the 8-CD Waiting For Columbus Box is listed at the Rhino store as “not currently available”.

I didn’t think/realize that it was limited edition.
Or did the whole Rhino website get hacked so bad that nothing is working?

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Astonishingly good ... epic release overall

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....I couldn't have said it better myself as I sit on my porch waiting for my sonic journal. Like Homer dancing for his pink sprinkled donut.
I'm telling you people. That trip to Red Rocks changed my attitude and focus. Magical place.
Major edit.....RIP Vin Scully. The best baseball announcer ever. F**K

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Excellent, said while rubbing my hands together like Mr. Burns.

This whole release is good, but disc 3 is stellar. Dig that both Dark Stars have a bit of the Soulful Strut interlude. It starts about the 23 minute mark and ends just before the 26 minute mark in the Dark Star on the Family Dog 11-2-69 show. On the Dark Star from the 12-26-69 show it starts at just before the 16 minute mark and mostly ends at about 19 minutes. If you don't know what I mean, check utoob for the instrumental tune Soulful Strut by Young-Holt Unlimited from 1968, beautiful song, covered on several Dark Stars and I think a couple of Dancing in the Street as well, I think the version on the 1970 show from the 30 Trips Box has it. The "jam" after the Dark Star from Dicks Picks 2 from 10-31-1971 is the closest to a straight up cover of the original song. I don't hear Tighten Up by Archie Bell and the Drells, that has a different sound and lacks the gorgeous melody of Soulful Strut.

Really dig that New Speedway Boogie too. More please.

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A real legend. I used to listen to him on KFI from L A broadcast the Dodger games back in the early 60s, it would come in later at night in the Bay Area.

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Today DP 43 #20707 and #20708 arrived in my mailbox. I've ordered two copies the last couple of years to have extras to trade for releases I've missed. This is the first time I've gotten consecutive numbers.

Started spinning the first disc after they were downloaded. Very impressed. Pig was an amazing soul.

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....my Dave's has been out for delivery since yesterday afternoon! 🥳
(edit for sarcasm).

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(Tracks in the order they were performed)

11/2/69 FAMILY DOG AT THE GREAT HIGHWAY, SAN FRANCISCO

Cold Rain And Snow 6:19
In The Midnight Hour 8:23
Seasons Of My Heart 4:32
Mama Tried 2:55
Next Time You See Me 4:51
Good Lovin' 9:23
Big Boss Man 6:59
Casey Jones 4:39
Dancing In The Street 9:06
Dark Star > 30:32
St. Stephen > 9:43
The Eleven > 8:59
Death Don't Have No Mercy 11:47

12/26/69 MCFARLIN AUDITORIUM, SMU, DALLAS*

The Monkey And The Engineer 2:41
Little Sadie 3:57
Long Black Limousine 6:09
I've Been All Around This World 5:03
Gathering Flowers For The Master's Bouquet 3:10
Black Peter 11:05
Uncle John's Band 6:32
Casey Jones 5:12
Hard To Handle 4:54
*
China Cat Sunflower> 5:55
I Know You Rider> 5:26
High Time 8:04
Me And My Uncle 4:14
Dark Star 24:52
New Speedway Boogie 5:36
Turn On Your Lovelight 14:54

* The Dallas "Cold Rain And Snow" is missing from Dave's 43 due to space limitations. Hopefully to be released on an upcoming Dave's Picks as filler.

STILL MISS YOU JERRY!

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and just lovely that we get it during the Days Between, thanks everyone involved with this very special release. 69 was indeed a very magical year.
8-3-69 check this one out too, David LaFlamme on Violin and Charles Lloyd on Sax, another gr8 Dark Star.
"Shall we go, you and I...."

PTB: thanks for reminding us, among a number of 60s shows, that one is a special stand out for the eventual 60s box. Love to see others thoughts on which shows should be short listed for a 60s box. Give the people what they want! We might treat the "primal" dead concept as almost anything up to and including 1969, when things began transition that summer, cowboy tunes in, Jerry's down with lap steel etc. #43 shows this transition well, cover does justice too, LiveDead girl dancing with skeletal cowboy, Gibson SG crossnecked with an acoustic.

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