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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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  • Oroborous
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    Simple must do audio rules

    There are many things that can be done to get your system set up correctly that often can facilitate noticeable performance improvements equal too or greater than any electronics! Best part, they cost little or nothing!

    SPEAKER PHASING: one of the most notorious mistakes that makes a huge noticeable difference and is super easy.
    Make sure your positive amp/receiver terminal is connected to the positive of the speaker, ON BOTH speakers!!
    So positive to positive, negative to negative etc. on both speakers.
    If one is wired opposite of the other, your speakers are out of phase which means their working against each other instead of with each other. Speakers move back and forth, or in and out. If one is wired out of phase that means one speaker is pushing air out while the other speaker is pulling back in, thus effecting bass coupling dramatically! So what you say? You will likely laugh or gasp at how much better your speakers sound (bass enhancement) when you hear them in phase after getting used to them being out!

    SPEAKER HEIGHT: the tweeter should always be placed at ear height. So if using stand speakers, measure so stand places the speakers tweeter exactly at listening position ear height. In conekids case he’s a little higher, which might effect his main position, but since he’s trying to cover 2 zones IR areas it’s a trade off. This is an example of how the situation may dictate slight tweaks, but you should at least start following these rules then tweek.

    SPEAKER PLACEMENT: optimally should form an equilateral triangle: same distance from listening position to each speaker, and same distance between speakers. This can be tweaked depending on several variables.
    Spread them out too far and you lose acoustic coupling and stereo imaging etc., too close together and your sound field collapses and you lose stereo effect etc. This is something you can play with and doesn’t cost anything.
    Obviously you should try to avoid placing objects in front of speakers…
    They should be placed along a wall, but out from the wall. Too close to the wall causes boundary issues that make bass bloated and unnaturally loud etc. Too far out from the wall and they can sound too thin (not enough bass).
    Again, depending on your speakers and other factors you can play with this until you get it right.
    Same with listening position: if you sit too close to any wall, but especially the back wall you’ll again suffer from boundary issues that unnaturally bloat/muddy bass.
    Really you should never put speakers or listening position next to a wall!

    RULE OF THIRDS: look it up. Though using the third dimension is usually not practical, the rule of fifths is and works perhaps better. What’s that you say? Divide your room into fifths. Place the speakers one fifth of the way in from the side walls, leaving three fifths between them. So a 20’ room would have the center of each speaker 4’ from the side walls with 12’ between speaker center points. Then, to form the equilateral triangle, measure 12’ from the center of each speaker to your ear position at your listening sweet spot! Depending on your speakers you may want to toe them in slightly versus having them point directly forward. Again, play around and tweek. Tweeting should be done vary slightly, sometimes an inch or two can make a big difference! Be slow and methodological.

    SUB WOOFERS: I’m not a fan of subs for 2 channel stereo, but they can be a necessity for small bookshelf speakers etc.
    Subs suffer even more from boundary issues described above! Corners are usually the worst place to put a sub woofer!
    Here’s a trick. Place your sub in your listening position and put on some bass active music you know well. Now crawl around on the floor and listen. When you find the place the bass sounds best, put your sub there. This is a cheap down and dirty way to deal with room modes, one of the biggest negative factors in music enjoyment. (Look them up).
    I have a fairly large above average system in a dedicated room, but my room is too narrow for my system so I often have horrible bass bloat issues because of these room modes etc. (funny but it’s mostly only a problem with old Dead when Phil was still playing Alembic lol). Usually I can just roll off a little of my 30 hertz eq nob on my C 40 pre amp. I have a DSP room unit that uses excellent Dirac SW, but haven’t gotten around to it (slacker).
    There are many solutions and sometimes DSP can help (but that won’t do pure analog folks much good) but often the best way to deal with many of these issues is to follow these fairly simple rules and play around with things.

    Oh, lastly. You can help smooth out your room by dampening first reflection points. There’s diffusion and absorption and more. But to keep it simple. We’ll just look at some basics.
    Have someone with a mirror move along the side wall with the mirror. The place where you can see the speaker in the mirror while being seated in the listening position is the first reflection point. Put something (all kinds of things both diy and professional) in that spot along the wall (and ceiling if you want to go the extra distance) that will absorb the sound, so that your hearing the direct sound from the speaker without the phase issues and coloration of the reflected sound off the wall. This is another simple but big improvement.
    You can experiment with placing adsorption in other obvious places like directly back from the speakers on the opposite wall. If you have a big room, perhaps look at second reflection points.

    NOTE: this is not sound proofing! That is a whole other field above and behind this tutorial. Save your money! Putting egg crates, foam, or most of the items for sale on line DO NOT WORK! They will not stop bass from passing through walls and structure! Some of these products may help the sound in the room, but will do nothing for stopping it’s transmission out of the room!

    SPEAKER ISOLATORS: another thing you just have to try. Using the pointy spikes or not for speaker feet. Sometimes they help other times you may want to isolate your speakers from the floor to eliminate too much bass and our help with transference to another room or dwelling.
    Oh, use a heavy carpet on the floor at least between the speakers and listening position if not bigger. Put this is yet another situational thing that you may have to play with.

    Remember folks: the situation is the boss!
    Hope this helps!

    HDCD: if everything is set up and functioning properly you can hear a difference. How noticeable or if noticeable will depend on your equipment, set up and ears. If you have a nice system and actually play discs, you might find some improvements but for many you might not really hear a difference, certainly not a huge difference so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Following the above mentioned rules as much as possible will!

    Oh, ps, the above assumes best case practices. As no room is perfect, and some are just plain awful, and many of us need to live with our significant others, ahem, obviously not everyone will be able to follow all of these.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Replacement

    Cnkd - It never occurred to me at the time that I could have asked for a brand new replacement. The replacement from the shop floor is better - the first one used to skip tracks out - with this one it's just the delay in registering which track is playing by about a second that's a bit odd. It plays to perfection apart from that. And really sounds good.

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Sound systems

    Good talk.

    More important to system?

    Listening!!!

    When I bought my system the guy told me, you will not hear what this system does, while doing the dishes, while cleaning, while doing anything else. You have to sit and listen.

    It's true.

    Sound systems and people are a funny thing. I think MOST people listen to the radio and only own a handful of cd's/albums, usually the stuff they listen to in high school or college,,,, after that they stop buying. Kids today seem to live off spot-e-fied and own nothing. I have found the largest genre in people's collection is christmas albums (go figure!)

    I think this group of people are the exception to that.

    What'd ya think?

  • KeithFan2112
    Joined:
    Since there's a CD player discussion going on...

    For people who are listening on HDCD players, what sort of improvement can you hear in the audio? I would think there is some discernable improvement.

    I think I've listened to these shows 10x each. Moved on to others in the time period. Doing Dick's Picks 4 at the moment. I was not hardcore into the Dead when it was released. I imagine people were reacting even more positively into it than even this Dave's Picks, due to the Fillmore legend of the Feb 13 & 14 shows when it came out. Was there a discussion board up at the time to spread the enthusiasm?

    Vguy - good to see the red dice and green felt has returned - it's positively you.

    Nitecat - also digging TC's contributions on these shows. When he was "on" and audible, he really filled out their sound nicely.

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    More audio talk

    Wow, Daverock that’s a pricey player to be malfunctioning, and then be replaced by a floor model (which apparently has the same defect). They should have given you a new one from the factory.

    I thought that my new Cambridge Audio CD player was defective but then realized that my Vizio TV remote interferes with it. I had the TV on and was going through the menu adjusting settings but every time I hit a button on the TV remote the CD player would jump tracks or stop playing. Was relieved to find that the CD player was fine.

    Nick, go with what sounds best to you.

    Last night spun the Anthem of the Sun CD that I bought in 1989 (it’s the 1971 remix) and it sounded pretty dull.
    Then put in Steppin’ Out CD3 and started at Truckin’. Sounded better, but not that great.
    DaP43 sounds far superior to those older CD’s.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Magic Ingredient

    To me, the best sounding recordings I ever heard were the first ones I got, between 1971 and about 1978. They were records, and what made them great was the magic ingredient. It had nothing to do with what I played them on. If your system captures that-you've got it. For me you can no more improve on that than you can The Grand Canyon

    Nick1234 - having said that, I got a Rega Saturn-R cd player about 3 years ago. And it sounds great - but the first one I bought had to go back to the shop after about 9 months, as some cds wouldn't play-and others jumped to the 3rd or 4th track when I wanted to hear the 1st one. They eventually replaced it with a display model from the shop floor. That is great - although I have noticed that half way through a cd...when the music for track 4 starts, the display unit still shows track 3 for a few seconds - it is slightly behind the music. But the sound quality is top notch. As for the magic ingredient....

  • Charlie3
    Joined:
    My Wife

    I joke, but my wife has put up with my idiosyncrasies and such for 30 years, 36 if you count the time we were together before getting married. She deserves a medal, 'cause I am aware that I can be a difficult person to live with sometimes.

    The speakers have a clear pretty clear path to spread the sound around the space and the actual speakers are at the upper two thirds of about a 43 inch high tower, so a bit above the ground, and built to tilt ever so slightly to direct the sound slightly upward and fill the space nicely, so I exaggerate about the impediments, or more accurate to say I just get a little obsessive about the impediments to the sound.

    For tonight's classic '70s movie I went with the Godfather, the first one. I've watched it several times before but it never disappoints, I love that movie every time. A near perfect movie, weirdly gratifying.

  • Nick1234
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    System advice

    While we're on the subject can I ask for a bit of advice? I'm in the market for a new system and at the moment I'm thinking of a Naim Supernait 3 amp and B&W 702 S2 speakers. I can audition these at my local hifi dealer. What CD player to accompany these? I'm not going for a turntable at the moment. I have 5 weeks to audition anything at my local shop before I move to the Shetland Islands and there's no hifi dealer there that I'm aware of so it's now or never. I'd sort of like to support Rega as their factory is about a mile from my current house but at these prices I'll go for the best fit for my ears.

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Also point out....

    ....that at concerts, they raise the stacks on cables for maximum efficiency.

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Charlie, etc

    Point out to your wife that at concerts they don’t put the speakers on the floor, that would block the sound.

    My kitchen and living room are connected end-to-end, about 12 feet wide, so not a huge area to fill with sound. The speakers in the air project the sound into the kitchen perfectly, with the sweet spot from the front of the couch back to the island in the kitchen. Can also see the TV on the wall from the kitchen.
    It’s just me and my dog, so I can turn the volume up as loud as I want.

    I’ve had this new CD player for 2 weeks and have also been playing non-GD CD’s to see how they sound. The Cambridge Audio dealer that I got it from said that it needed about 100 hours of use to get broken in so I’ve been spinning CD’s instead of using my iBasso music player.
    Once the CD player is broken in I might then run it into the DAC via stereo RCA cables which I did at first, and it boosts the signal by about 20 dB according to having to turn down the volume, but I wanted to break it in sending the signal to the receiver.

    Spinning Rush - Exit Stage Left currently.
    This morning was Floyd - More and then Piper.
    I’m thinking next the Anthem of the Sun CD I bought in 1989, want to see if that sounds good or if it’s a victim of crappy 80’s mastering.

    The iBasso music players come with a burn-in adapter which simulates the electrical resistance of being plugged into a stereo system. You plug that in and put a show on loop and just let it run for about 50 hours, and then it’s supposed to be broken in.

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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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In reply to by 1stshow70878

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....hit the nail on the pervebial head. Yes. You have posted that before, and you are not wrong.
Drove past Kit Carson Park just now. Stage is up. And the weather is just exactly perfect. Looking good. Tie-dyes are starting to appear and the pretty ladies (that's for you Hendrixfreak) 😉
Gates open at 5. I imagine there is a tight noise ordinance and curfew time. The park is smack dab in the middle of residences. Visited the park several times as a kid. The fact they have concerts here now is cool af. Legal state to boot. Yee-haw.

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Yup, I've seen Robben Ford with a number of different bands, also at places like Yoshi's and the Concord Pavilion. Always great.

Only seen him that one time with the Charles Ford Band. Mark really could wail on that harp as you said, and his other brother Pat on drums seemed like the rock of the band. Have several of their albums, mostly live shows. They cooked, and Robben sure is a captivating guitarist. He played jazz with Miles Davis and on some of Joni Mitchell's old stuff, but I thought his heart was really mostly in the blues.

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In reply to by Vguy72

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Nothing but nothing beats a great concert at an outdoor venue with decent sound on a warm summer evening! Sheer magic. And yes, the women…. VGuy, soak it all in.

Estimated Eyes - I too agree, and as my daughter in law works as a nurse, I would throw health care professionals in that same group you described. We certainly do have our priorities skewed. Good post!

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Robben Ford also played with George Harrison, Phil Lesh, and of course my favorite, the great Charlie Musslewhite .

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In reply to by That Mike

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Once again HF: couldn’t have said it better, great post!
Im with PT and Estimated Eyes too. Teachers, Health Care etc, all the actual important jobs make relative shite!

Have Fun Vguy!

Glad to see Nappy up and around!

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In reply to by Oroborous

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I saw Robben a bunch in the early 70's, usually backing up Jimmy Witherspoon at the Ash Grove...earlier this week was the 53rd anniversary of seeing Blind Faith, Free & Delaney, Bonnie & Friends at The Forum which of course was a whole $5.50 a ticket...of course minimum wage then was $1.65 an hour...

A new sourced sbd popped up this week over at lossless legs, from the Boston Tea Party...

Grateful Dead
Monday, December 29, 1969
The Boston Tea Party
Boston, MA

Source: Previously uncirculated SBD Vault Reel > Cassette > DAT source from Anon

Speed/pitch adjusted by Jason Chastain
Mastering by Jim Blackwood, Jamie Waddell, and Steve Gravel
Track, FLAC, and pack by Steve Gravel

Originally aired on Dead Legs - Program #20 (date 2022-03-13) - "
Originally shared in August 2022

16 Bit 44.1 kHz FLAC Level 8

Set 1
01 - Cold Rain and Snow (fades in)
02 - Mama Tried (cuts in)
03 - tuning
04 - Black Peter
05 - Easy Wind
06 - Me and My Uncle >
07 - China Cat Sunflower >
08 - I Know You Rider >
09 - High Time
10 - Hard to Handle
11 - Mason's Children

Set 2
12 - Cumberland Blues (cuts in)
13 - Casey Jones
14 - Good Lovin' >
15 - Drums >
16 - Jam >
17 - Good Lovin'
18 - Dancin' in the Streets
19 - Dire Wolf
20 - Saint Stephen >
21 - Not Fade Away

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In reply to by nappyrags

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....go see them if you can.
Very impressive 👏. The way they used their lights to take advantage of the surrounding trees was awesome.

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39 years ago today, I was at the the Frost Ampitheatre along with other cool people who post here on the forum, for a great time with the Good Ole Grateful Dead. I guess they won't be releasing any shows from the Frost or Greek any time soon , since they released this box set from Madison Square Garden..

I look back at the west coast shows 35-40 years ago with fond memories and envy ... what a blast we had all those years ago. Regarding the music, I am SURE they could get a Greek Theater release out of those particular years!! We'll just have to wait a bit longer, I suppose. Meanwhile, we're coming up on the 40 year anniversary of the US Festival show!! "Breakfast in Bed with the Grateful Dead"! Now THAT was fun, if not just a little strange!

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Topchinacat, I didn't make it to see the Dead at the U.S. Festival. but I've listened to the tape and they play a great show. We went an saw the Dead on 8/28/82 at the Oregon County Fairgrounds, about 1 week before the U.S. Festival. When we were driving down to Ventura in July to see the Dead, Steve Wozniak drove by us, I'lll bet he was going down to start setting up the U.S. Festival.

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Is someone suggesting that I actually enjoy interacting with the beautiful women who attend those giant music parties we call "concerts"? (For those of you who enjoy technical language, it's called "chasing tail.")

I'm shocked, I tell you. SHOCKED!

I don't know where anyone -- particularly someone who will not be named (Pssst! It's Vguy...) -- got that idea.

I don't believe that for one minute. Although it's true...

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In reply to by nappyrags

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Last night at The Greek in Berkeley David Hidalgo played Jerry's Alligator Strat AND wore a Black Tee to boot...Susan also played it during the TTB set...great sound on the stream...listened on my headphones as the Mrs. watched The Dodgers pummel the Marlins....

I remember the show well...Winwood & Clapton tearing it up on guitar for "Had To Cry Today" and of course "In The Presence Of The Lord"...Winwood held his own just as he would do later in 2009 on their tour...also for the BF show in '69 I went with a bunch of folk who hadn't dosed yet...we chganged that and it was a very interesting ride home

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In reply to by nappyrags

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Ha, every time I think of HF that JoannJett song starts playing in my head ; )

NAPPY: can’t imagine how cool that must of been, so, yeah, what HAVEN’T you seen lol

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In reply to by Oroborous

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....I'm a Marlins fan. Yeah, we got pummeled. Just landed in Vegas. Vacation is over after tomorrow. Bummer. All good things must pass I guess.
Pee. Ess. I just love beautiful people. I lean towards the beautiful women as well. Especially when they're dancing. Guilty as charged.

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It's been some time since I listened to this version. Guilty of overlooking the song in general. Is there a better one in the 70s? Did it even peak before the hiatus? This is embarrassing, but at this point I'd rather just ask for directions than try to figure out the best versions myself.

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In reply to by proudfoot

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Every time I listen to this song, I like it more.. and this has been true since the first time I listened to it.

There are songs that sounded great early but then stuttered, songs that took a long time to find their legs and song that somehow sounded great each and every year they were performed. Stella Blue is one of those songs.

There have been a few times when reflecting and I put something on, when I am in deep mood to begin with, and Stella Blue almost brought me to tears. It's one of the more powerful songs in their canon.

Edit: Bobby sings this song now.. but I think it's a song better suited for Oteil. So I googled it and there is a beautiful version of Oteil singing this.. just him and his bass guitar. I was right, this is better suited for Oteil.

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I was at both 10/21/78 & 7/13/76, both great shows, both great Stella Blues. I wish they would release 7/13/76. 10/21/78 is partially released, I wish they would release that whole Oct 78 run at Winterland.

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39 years ago today,( along with a lot of other great people who post here on this forum) I was at the Frost Ampitheatre for another great show with the Good Ole Grateful Dead . The first 2 songs were Cassady & Dire Wolf, what a great show. I saw some great shows in 1983, Ventura, Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, Marin Civic Center. My favorite show of the year was 12/28/83 at the S.F Civic, still one of my favorite Dead shows, it also had a nice Stella Blue.

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In reply to by billy the kiddd

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Beautiful version of this at The Orpheum 7/18/76 too. Maybe my favourite 1976 show, as it goes.
BTK - I would also like to see that October 78 run come out as a box. It must have been great seeing the band so often. To me, for the most part, they have been a band I've listened to at home, on my tod.

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Proudfoot, Daverock, Jim - thank you for the insight. Jim, it's partially why I posted - I was listening to Colgate and it just moved the heck out of me, and it was like I "got it" for the first time. There was a sound in there I've never heard a guitar make (I think it was Bobby). Well...always another door in the Dead world. Some days I long to to have have seen and followed them in the 60s and 70s, just to have experienced it all as it was happening. But there is also something to having gotten on the bus late and having this huge library of material to indulge in. I guess all one could do in those days was scrape up the cash to follow them.

I put them all in a folder and started thus morning with another run of Colgate, and am now on Road Trips '78 from the Winterland run. I cobbled together a SBD folder of this run a few years ago. The audio quality varies I recall. Would also like to have it released under the Full Norman moniker. The Orpheum might be my favorite '76 release after Cow Palace. That mix is something special, with Jerry and Keith coming in loud and clear, and Keith playing pretty much piano only, which is to my liking.

8/28/82 is a great show ... I've had that tape for 40 years... wish I'd been there! I too was at the all the 83 NYE shows ... what a fun time! Also usually hit the Ventura shows too .... pretty nice venue, only an hour or so from LA. I'm no festival historian, but the US Festival was other-worldly ... so many acts, so many vendors, so many people. And since it was 2 days, many were there overnight (vendors & campers) so it was a wild scene at least until dawn!!

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Hear me now, believe me later:

3/21/94 has a really great performance of Stella Blue

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Very cool that David Hidalgo and Susan Tedeschi both played Jerry’s Alligator Saturday in Berkeley. The Lobos even broke out “West LA Fadeway” and “Not Fade Away”. Another epic show. Going to see TTB again in Sacramento tomorrow. A very very very slight possibility we might hustle up to Bend (love that town anyway) but more likely Sac is the last tour stop for us. Till next year.

In other old news, DaP 43 is the proverbial bee's knees. Can’t add much to what’s already been said. First disc scared me a little, because the guitars are waaaay out of tune for the first couple songs, surprised there hasn’t been more chatter on that. But things get a lot better from there. Nice Good Lovin: Phil was just so energetic and creative during this period. And of course the acoustic is wonderful to have. And as everyone has said, the 11/2/69 Dark Star sequence is what’s generally known as The Really Good Shit. As good as that Dark Star is, I think the 12/26 is even better.

Has Dave been on a roll, or what? I almost got off the subscription bus after last year, which included two ‘80s shows that didn’t float my boat. But man, everything from #40 on has been outstanding.

Last five:

Neil Young: Noise & Flowers (don’t sleep on this one!)
JGB: Run for the Roses
TTB: The Fall
Roy Hargrove: The Vibe
Kamasi Washington: Heaven & Earth

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Wadeocu - in the spirit of THE Bruce Dickinson, that 3/21/94 Stella had some serious cowbell. Great collage of Jerry /Dead pics on the YouTube presentation of it. Jerry's voice sounds great, I wasn't expecting that.

I see what you guys mean about the Road Trips '78 version. Heck of a time for an AUD patch. That tops the dreaded guitar dropout in the opening Cumberland Blues from 3/28/73, right as Jerry is sinking his teeth into one of the hottest solos I've heard on that song.

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In reply to by KeithFan2112

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.....seriously though. Revisiting Daves #43. No Cumberland, but I'll let it slide. Awesome stuff. Def top 3 Daves.
I love how they brought Cumberland back in '89-'90 as a pre-drumz second set offering. Also awesome.
And Susan & David taking Alligator for a stroll. Awesomeness × infinity.
Youtoob Los Lobos Berkeley. You will not be sorry.
P.S. my aunt in Taos has a tabby cat named Stella. The more you know.
Shes a good mouser.
Same aunt won a blue ribbon at the Taos County Fair for her sugar cookies. She gave me some along with two jars of jam. I told her, "Bobbie, I don't think that will pass the airport check".
Shes like, "Well if you don't try, you'll never know".
Unfortunately, I was right, but they let the cookies through. Yum.

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Your post tickled a synapse of my first show in Des Moines (6/16/1974) when Keith was on the grand piano for 3 sets that fabled afternoon with the wall of sound! So thanks for that...

The significance of what it was like when we joined with the Dead at those shows, their pouring out this unfathomable energy in that specific moment and we in the audience rising in response with our collective surge pushing energy back to the Dead, which then propelled them into greater heights of aural adventure. You know how the Grateful Dead would get that 'dragon' off the ground, and into flight, which levitated us all in their tow/draft. We were part of that remarkable brew of music + visuals + adventure + magic = alchemy.

Then as we could watch/listen, with our mouths agape, as each member of the band would tease, improvise, call and response, cascading leads ('catch me if you can'), shimmering rhythm guitar, bass runs and 'bombs' that changed the atmospheric pressure!), intricate keyboard interplay, and that primal percussion them mutating into evermore complex and compelling syncopation, urging and propelling the band further... and the bard's lyrics, that poetry, those revelations, ....that song.... and we would roar and exhort the Dead and pour that fervor into our tribal stomp and collective howl.

And then suddenly the moment slows and extends and everything becomes quite still and his voice implores "nothing you can hold... for very long... stella blue" and we all stumble out into that crystalline cool evening. Our faces alternating from sad eyes, to wide grins, then our heads shaking, alternating between satiation or longing for even more.

Or perhaps disbelief? Did they do it again?

Or were they really here at all?

Everybody's dancing......

Keithfan, I appreciate the memory evoked.

I don't post a lot, but lurk about.

Zen saying "Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself."

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17 years 3 months

In reply to by KeithFan2112

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to your regularly scheduled programming

Tim

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11 years 11 months

In reply to by Oroboros

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Are you a writer either by trade or hobby? Study literature and/or composition at some point?

You do good with words.

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17 years 3 months

In reply to by Angry Jack Straw

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I'm an avid reader and observer, but enjoy telling a story or two.

The Grateful Dead have been an essential (and welcome) part of my journey, so many of my stories are about the band, those shows attended, the inspired trips, along with related adventures.

Zen saying “The Truth is realized in an instant; the Act is practiced step by step.”

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Or were they playing one of the newly released Fender Custom Shop models?
Just saw it in email from Garcia Newsletter. Honoring Jerry's 80th.
Said to have all the mods Alembic put in Jerry's.
They had it in hand when doing the research and found it was a 1955,
not 1957 as previously thought.
Didn't know Graham Nash had given it to Jerry originally.
Wonder how much they are? Jerry's is obviously priceless!
Cheers

Edit: $20K built to order, limited to 100 units. Parish helped them.

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I knew we had 2, with the letter U being the difference. But one joined June 4th, 2013-the other June 19th, 2013. Huh.
What are the odds??
Could it be the same guy, just punking us?? Nahhhh, I doubt it.

I can't get enough of Dave's 43 at the moment, but I am personally looking forward to Vol. 7 of the Miles Davis Bootleg Series-Due Sept. 16th. Outtakes from his last 2 albums for Columbia, and a contemporaneous Live show, much for me to get excited about. Before we know it, we'll be talking about Early Bird orders for the 2023 Subscription.

Life is good, Music is the Best!!

Good to see you’re still around.

For those who don’t remember him, he has a good story about a ceramic dragon he made.

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Great version of Easy Wind, my brother and I were watching the TV broadcast of the Dead's New Years Eve show live, on channel 9 at my parents house on 12/31/70,, as we all celebrated New Years Eve. It would be nice if a video of this show could be released.

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hey mate, good to see you back. Long time, no see, short time for you and me.

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Los Lobos and Tedeschi Trucks were playing Jerry's original Alligator, not one of the new Fender replicas. There is a great video on Los Lobos Facebook page of them backstage with the fellow who purchased it at auction. The owner tells them the story of the auction. All of Los Lobos interact with the guitar (some play it briefly) and then Derek Trucks walks in and sits down with it to play. The owner tells them this guitar should be played and anytime you are in the Bay Area, let me know and I am there with the guitar. Next shot is Hidalgo walking to the stage with it. Great stuff and so happy to see that instrument played again!

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54 years ago today, I was not at the Shrine Exposition Hall, but I sure wish I had been. This is such a killer release, one can only hope that they release 8/23/68.

late to this convo - gorgeous and soulful versions from all eras

as to lesser known, one favorite is from Park City 8/20/87. Fine fine fine show from that inter-mountain tour.

great to see you hear again Oroboros . thanks so much for the stories.

as to Alligator, my firmly held belief is that not only is Jerry happy to see Alligator played, Alligator is also happy to be played. That TTB and Lobos show sounds like a fantastic and excellent dream.

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4 years 1 month

In reply to by bluecrow

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Alligator guitar

Which one is that? I suppose I could look it up

Oh, that one! Cool.

Also, just gotta say:

No band will ever replace the GD as my all time #1 band

2nd or 3rd to me is Led Zeppelin. I have been on a LZ binge recently and wow. I REALLY like and get off on their stuff.

Enjoying disc 2 of the dvd set released from 2003. Nice n loud.

GD #1
LZ #2
Motorhead #3

My thoughts.

....as my favorite band either.
#2 Phish
#3 Pink Floyd
#4 The Beatles
From #5 on, it changes weekly.
This week, it's Larkin Poe. It was My Morning Jacket the week before, then it was Tedeschi Trucks Band. Week before that it was Ween. Week before that it was The Flaming Lips. Week before that it was Iron Maiden. Week before that it was Los Lobos.
I imagine TTB will get back to that #5 at some point. Good to hear from you Oroboros. Not to be confused with the other awesome Oroborous. You two should do a meet up lol.
Music is the best and heals the soul.
Last Five. Larkin Poe. With Dave's 43 Dallas as the 3rd listen.
Shipping notice for my I Am The Moon set and poster received!
Went and saw the DragonBall movie last night. Good stuff. Any anime fans out there in dead.net land?
Also, they are re-releasing Jaws in the theaters labor day weekend. In IMAX!
Edit. Went and got my eye prescription checked the other day. No-line bi focals here I come! It was eventual I guess.

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