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.
Billy the Kid-1980 Warfield
Billy,
I have always been a huge proponent of getting this run out.
Must have been a blast, what a lucky guy you are. Do you remember how much your tickets were for those shows?
The history (from what I can recall) on what is in the vault goes back to after The So Many Roads box was released, the next box they wanted to put out was the Warfield/RCMH and per Blair Jackson, the Reels were not available. So they ended that idea. In 2020, Dave L confirmed in one of the Shakedown Streams, the multi track reels were reused for a Brent solo project in 83 (the horror!) and there would never be a multi track box set release of this run, they simply did not have the material.
So, I like the way you are thinking on backup cassettes? Hard to know, would be interesting to have someone confirm if they exist and then release the whole run. 70-80 CDs. I will start saving up now.
Shoot Billy, I had given up on this and now you are giving me some hope.
Returned reels list
1980 - 11 REELS
• 09-27-80 SF CA, 2 x 7” REELS Nagra 1/2trk 7.5ips Acoustic
• 10-04-80 SF CA, 2 x 7” REELS Nagra 1/2trk 7.5ips Acoustic
• 10-06-80 SF CA, 2 x 7” REELS Nagra 1/2trk 7.5ips Acoustic
• 10-09-80 SF CA, 2 x 7” REELS Nagra 1/2trk 7.5ips Acoustic
• 10-10-80 SF CA, 1 x 7” REEL Nagra 1/2trk 7.5ips Acoustic
• 10-11-80 SF CA, 1 x 7” REEL Nagra 1/2trk 7.5ips Acoustic
• 10-13-80 SF CA, 1 x 7” REEL Nagra 1/2trk 7.5ips Acoustic
Cassettes
79. 0/00/80 Studio = 1
80. 1/24/80 Studio = 1
81. 2/00/80 Studio = 1
82. 9/25/80 Warfield = 1
83. 10/9/80 Warfield = 3 [NOTE *LABELED AS 10-7-80*]
84. 10/13/80 Warfield = 3
85. 10/14/80 Warfield = 4
86. *10/31/80 Radio City = 3 *= - 3 CASSETTES MISSING*
87. 5/6/81 Nassau = 1
There’s a ‘Complete’ Budokan?
I have the CD/DVD combo, better check if that is ‘complete’.
Deadvikes. The Warfield box
Deadvikes I'll find out how much those tickets were, my brother just showed me his ticket stubs yestreday. I still have my ticket stubs around here somewhere. I think a Warfield box set is a real possibility by using cassettes, isn't that what they used for the MSG BOX,cassettes? Maybe they they can combine the multi track reels and cassettes and get a complete box set.
10.10.80....
....I was just discovering girls lol. How about them apples.
Almost time for puck drop. I'm geared up and ready to go!
Closing of winterland
I picked up an opened, but unplayed cow dvd set for $6. I love the part where Jerry says "...and he packs a .45." sweet.
DaP 44
Been on a kick to find the greatest version of The Eleven for a compilation of Phil's phinest work for a fellow bass-playing co-worker who's never checked out the Dead or Phil, so that led to DaP 10 Bonus Disc, and a ripping Eleven, and when that fi ished, next up on the USB was DaP 11. Long-ass Boston commute got me through it quickly and up to my belabored point: I hope the next Dave's, whatever year or era, has a Brokedown Palace. I think the unexpected drop into that out of a wild, wooly, and weird Other One makes it all the more poignant. It's a song that lives in your head for a while, and I find myself whistling it. May be time to dust off Workingman's and American Beauty. The High Time from Workingman's will definitely be on that mix for my buddy. And if any are wondering, 2/28/69 is surprisingly in the lead for The Eleven. Though I'm gonna use the St Stephen and Death Don't Have from DaP 43. That Jerry moan about 7 min into St Stephen as they launch into the jam is just awesome. I rewind it every time. The Eleven on that 11/2/69 show is good, but big flub on the drum break and Phil re-entry, one of my favorite parts of The Eleven so unacceptable for a mix cd.
I probably would be better off not asking, but for those that have it, how is the MSG box? I'm still on the fence on it, especially after packing everything up to move last weekend and slowly unpacking and finding ways to have the collection out, not fun. Don't need a box set that I won't really listen to, though I have enough that fit that category already, even when they contain great stuff like the box last year or PacNW73-74.
10/12 & 13/68 Avalon Ballroom. Release time
It's time for an official release of these 2 incredible shows, put them both out for Dave's Pick #45. What a fantastic way to start out the new subscription year!
Alvarhanso
You can actually lay the MSG Box on top of the PNW Box and not take up too much more shelf space.
If you like the era, then I think that you will enjoy the Box.
Re: icecreamkid
Mix my eras?! Perish the thought!
But seriously, I did actually display the Dead collection by year/era, and have added a little extra space to be able to break up 1978-95 to two different shelves as opposed to the current single mashup. Listen to the River went to the 73-74 shelf, skipping the 72 shelf. 77 is overly packed. 65-70 could use some more stuff...
And was the MSG box really cassette sourced? For all the shows?
Re: Alvarhanso / MSG Box
Yes, they are cassette masters. I have not listened to every show yet.. but I can give some cursory comments.
I decided to go backwards this time, starting with 83. I had this feeling 81 was going to be the best and I like to finish on a good note. I have finished a first listen to 83 and 82 and did take a sneak peek into 81.
81 (from my brief peek) seems to have both the stronger performances and better recordings. 82 in the middle and 83 does seem to lag behind but it still has it's moments. This is the first box where every show is a cassette master. They did a good job cleaning things up as best they can, but you can tell these are not Betty Boards or Multi-Tracks. To it's credit, the 81 show sounds really good (again, partial listen) and like cousins said on the MSG thread, Jerry is blazing hot. 82 is the mid range. 83 seems to have that 83 fuzz. The mix isn't spot on perfect and it has a bit of a kick drum fetish. The organ and Phil are not prominent in the mix either. Still, it sounds better than some of the 83's and Healy did not seem committed to funnel in crowd noise. There are some patches too.. a couple are hard to not notice.
I like it, but I am an equal era opportunity person.
They are certainly testing their model though. The Giants Box had both better performances (in my opinion) and they were multi-tracks. The 10k limited edition sold out very quickly, but lots of people in the New York area were there and surely gobbled up a lot of what was printed. This box is a few years earlier and taps out at 12,500 copies.
They seem to be more reliant on their tent pole construction, with 81 keep the canvas above our heads. It will surely sell out but again, in my humble opinion it's not as strong as the Giants Box, which spans the Brent years into Bruce and Vince.
There are some really strong moments, perhaps Cone Kid said it better using far few words. Not sure if I helped or hurt.. but that's my take so far.
Alvarhanso
Yes, cassettes, then Plangent Process.
3-9-81 sounds better than any copy I’ve previously had, and overall sound quality is good for the whole Box.
There are a few patches, but that is better than not including the song on the release.
The Eleven
You should post your list of best Elevens, I think I like 3/1/69 but i bet there are great ones off the beaten path.
A mind well boggled
It's almost too mind boggling to contemplate, which is the best version of "The Eleven". My favourite shows in which it featured were in the first half of 1969, if that's any help. I also like the wild ride of those 1968 versions , when it came out of China Cat. No other rock band on God's earth played like that.
Alvar
If you’re currently searching for the best version of The Eleven, then you’re probably not going to like this MSG release. This box set is inferior in a multitude of ways, not the least of which is the sound quality. I was on the fence because I was dubious of just that. I decided to make the purchase because I own very little from the 81, 82, 83 time period. Well, now I have more than enough. Oddly, my favorite part of the whole release is the lost verse from West LA Fadeaway. Try to live by the golden rule . . .
If you have to own everything that’s released, by all means go purchase it. If not, do yourself a favor and go listen to DaP43 again.
Whatever Wakas Your Jawaka
I didn’t buy the MSG box, just the single show breakout, but I would have to say that if the audio on 3/9/81 is, as some have said, some of the best audio of any show in the box, well, it's good that I didn’t shell out for the whole thing.
It’s weird, isn’t it, that we have shows from the ‘60s, when everybody was tripping their balls off and working with equipment that Fred Flintstone would’ve snickered at, but the shows are in much better audio than any we’ve got from the early ‘80s.
But then again everybody’s definition of “good” audio is going to be different.
Me, I love listening to, say, stuff from the Wall of Sound period where you can hear each musician clearly, even though the vocals are often buried. Seems like Betty Cantor felt the same way, judging by her mixes.
The 3/9/81 show is disappointing to me because I can’t hear Weir’s guitar at all, and the mix is overly dominated by Jerry and Brent at the expense of everything else that’s happening. But the vocals are very prominent, and the band is playing with the energy and focus that NYC audiences always seemed to bring out of them, so most people will really like this I’m sure.
Hey, did anybody get tix for the final (supposedly) Dead & Co tour? I meant to try to get the last show in SF, but wound up having to work (wtf, still, at my age, I gotta work?) yesterday, and couldn’t be online. I’m afraid to even look to see what tickets are going for on the secondary market. Maybe this was just the Universe letting me know I don’t really need to be there.
Wanted to mention that I’ve been checking out some Zappa recently, and to thank everybody who posted recommendations some weeks ago after I brought him up.
Last five:
Zappa: Waka Jawaka
Michael Brecker Band: Live at Fabrik (“New” release of an excellent ‘80s show!)
Roy Hargrove: Earfood
Mingus Big Band: Blues and Politics
Ty Segall: Manipulator
Deadvikes. The Warfield ticket prices 1980
Deadvikes the price of the tickets for the 1980 Warfield shows were $12.50 for floor seats and $10.50 for balcony seats. The Warfield was a small theatre, it only held 2,300 people, there wasn't a bad seat in the house. There was a nice bar upstairs. 3 sets of great music from the best band in the world for $12.50, " last fair deal in the country". Let's hope we get that Warfield box one day.
Dead & Company tickets....
....crazy expensive. Hard pass.
Going to the Golden Knights home opener toknight. Ticket prices for those games have dropped off since the first couple of seasons. I guess the shine is wearing off.
1980, Dead and Co, box blues
I concur, anything from 1980 is ok in my book. It's all good. Dead and Co. hard pass also, really, after what I saw with the wolf bros and Bob, sleep fest. Hopefully, Billy and Mickey can get a band together, Mickey Hart Band was a great band, rhythm devils also very good. Will be interesting what else they will come up with, I can see both of them dieing on stage. Box blues, I had a gut feeling that this was the case ie sound, thanks AJS and CTM for honest reviews. Not a snob, just want the entire experience. Jerry high in the mix is ok too if that's all ya got.
44
Looks to be 6/23/90. It's got a Cumberland.
Artwork looks to be cartoon skeletons dancing in the forest. None bearded, four wearing wigs, four wearing hats to hide their baldness. One sleeping. That's all I have. Back to your regularly scheduled Stranger opener.
44/Dead & Co
A couple of you beat me to the announcement but I am looking forward to DaP 44. I am not familiar with this show but I just checked out the setlist and it looks great. I am really loving the variety of releases. Between all 4 Dave's Picks and the MSG Box we are really being treated to some great shows spanning all eras. Once again, I tip my hat to Dave L and the crew. Absolutely wonderful!
Regarding Dead & Co- I have seen a lot of discussion about ticket prices. Sadly I think that is the norm. Same with Phish and other bands too. It just seems that to get seats close to the stage or with a good view it will simply cost a lot. I am going to go to Starlake and I bought lawn tickets. Thankfully they are still reasonably (for the times) priced. I passed on last years show at Starlake- I had several bad omens on the day of, and I ended up miracling my tickets. I lucked out because Nugs ended up broadcasting the audio from the show for free so I got to hear it all from home.
I am going this year as I am planning on getting together with a bunch of friends. Honestly I have felt that with each passing year, Dead & Co have lost momentum so to speak. I don't fault the boys for going out there and still playing music at all - it is more my sensibilities. However since they are coming to my town one last time I thought why not?
I may even trek down to VA to see an old buddy and catch the show down there.
Oct Bulletin....
....ahhh. Thanks Conekid! 👍
My crew and I almost went to that show.
I can never have enough Cumberlands.
Yes 21 LP Box
7 shows from 1972.
It’s in the Rhino Newsletter.
Cheaper than Lyceum ‘72 Vinyl.
6/23/90 Autzen!!
First show I saw in the Great Northwest. Little Feat opened both days. Awesome fun weekend back in the days where there were no real worries. Sigh. Just a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago. (And, yeah, Phil sang Box of Rain in the big ol' fat show the next day.)
21 LP Box, Fall '72
I might have deleted my rhino newsletter email. What is this? HF must be doing backflips in the backcountry with this news.... (or could he be turntable deprived, oh the horror)
fall 72 lps - not GD
7 concerts from Fall '72 Yes tour - I too was a bit confused by Conekid's post
6-23-90
This one has been very high on my wish list. What a great addition to the Dave's Picks series. They just keep getting better. The May-June 90 West Coast run was a nice continuation of the epic Spring 90 tour. From Carson to Cal Expo, Shoreline and through these Eugene dates The Dead were killing it.
The MSG 81-83 box is quite awesome. Great release year all around!
Other music
Double posted so just a couple recent acquisitions.
Miles Davis Bootleg Series Vol. 7 - Scofield sounds great on this. Good stuff.
Pink Floyd Animals 2018 remix - Sounds good. Haven't had a chance to hear the surround mix version yet.
I have the new Garcia Live Halloween '92 set on order. Caught the Dead at Copps Coliseum, The Palace, Soldier Field, Deer Creek and the Compton Terrace shows that were a little over a month after this show. Most of the show's I caught in '92 were from really good to excellent for the era. After Jerry's second health scare in a half-dozen years it seemed he might have bounced back for a brief time.
No doubt
Dave'll be along soon saying how great it is. That Animals 2018 remix is on my shopping list though. It's a long list...
With this new Dave's - it must have been round about this time that Brent popped his clogs. Maybe it will feature more of his songs than usual as a sort of tribute
Lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for...............
Mornin', rockers..................
New DaP reminds me of that old Grateful dead saying, "One man gathers what another man spills".
All due respect, I spill this one...................
These days what's not worth saying gets set to music..................
Rock on,
Doc
Not only is your story worth telling, but it can be told in words so painstakingly eloquent that it becomes a song.....
6-23-90, 1972 fall Yes box
Currently have a opy of the Hans matrix and it sounds good, lets see if they fix a couple of the dropouts and other digi skips apparently on the soundboard. Would I have picked this show? no. wonder if they will include Bill Grahams' speech at the end of the show.
The Fall 72 Yes "Close to the Edge" tour was one of their best. This set has been released on CD a few years ago and sold out instantly. Would love to have a copy, but the cost is prohibitive. This set does not include the show that I attended on 16 September 1972 at the old Curtis Hixon Hall in downtown Tampa, Fl. Torn down now, but fond memories from that historic venue.
The Eagles opened the show, they had just released their first lp and that's all they had to play, when they finished the album, the crowd said "More" and the Eagles treated us to about a half hour of bluegrass jams with a smokey mountain breakdown theme. It was a great opening and Rick Wakeman was seen on the side of the stage clapping and dancing around, he really like the show. Then, Yes came out.
At the time, Yes was one of my top 5 bands and this was the first time I had seen them live. Having just purchased the Close to the Edge lp and having loved the Fragile lp, we could not wait to get there. A swabby buddy and I boarded a Greyhound bus in Orlando that afternoon and after several stops, we arrived at the bus depot in Tampa. We immediately made a bee line to the arena, first time to Curtis Hixon and Tampa itself. We both had tickets and we entered the hall.
Lots of hippies with familiar music playing on the house cans, Dave Mason, Alone/Together. Being hippies we immediately broke out the stash and started rolling joints and passing them around. The crowd took notice and pretty soon everyone around us was rolling and passing, with some in the crowd yelling out, "hey, these guys are turning everyone one". Meet many a cool head that day. The lights went down and out they came. Jon dressed in a flowing multicolored frock, lose and clingy and pastel colors. Chris Squire had his boots on and looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Wakeman has on his golden cape and white boots and Alan White, who had just replaced Bill Buford, was on the kit. Off to stage left was Howe, long hair hanging covering his face with silver embellishes on his trippy outfit.
They opened with the Firebird Suite right into Siberian Khatru, got everyone rocking right off the bat. I've seen all good people was next and done to perfection into Mood for a day. The Clap followed with Howe showing off his guitar chops. Then it began, the opening notes of And You and I, into Heart of the Sunrise into Close to the Edge. Taken aback, the crown and us too were spellbound, then Wakeman starts dropping bombs, dropping them and sending them across the stage in and epic end of the world scenario that when it was over, and the last bomb had hit and exploded and blew up everyone, the crowd erupted into a standing ovation with Rick standing there with this "wow, I did that?" look, taking sheepish bows. After the ovation, they started the hit Roundabout, got us all up again sounding just like the lp into yours is no disgrace. We left, had to take that long bus ride home, which was fun tripping balls and looking out the windows at all the trails and colors. A night I will never forget.
cool tale PT
thanks for sharing that cool concert tale from the old days. not a vinyl guy nowadays but with that story would like to hear shows from that tour. had several Yes LPs back late 70s and spun them a lot but at some point they fell off the edge of my music listening world.
no memory of Bill Graham be safe and be neat speech after end of 6/23. A special set of shows for sure. What a fun weekend it was with both the Feat and the Dead . In '94 punk ass jerks and slobs got the Dead banned at Autzen which was why they played Portland Meadows in '95.
D&C and those tix prices
My buddy just got 4 tixs for Walnut Creek(?), an amphitheater in NC,,,, around the corner for him. Good seats, middle/middle, even with soundboard. 1300 bucks!!!! are you kidding me?!?!?! No way, no how. Like I tell kids at the store, "I got money to piss away and I will not waste it on that".
I was thinking about the 3 Boulder shows,,,, 500 bucks to STAND ON THE FIELD! What's that phase they use,,, oh, yeah, fuck you. A three night stand could be a 5,000 dollar weekend,,,, NO, NO, NO, NO!
Like sporting events, you want the high prices to stop, stop going!
My buddy says he just caught Govt Mule, they played over 2 hours,,,,, 45 bucks!
Also I always wonder how much of that 500 dollar ticket do the boys get. Why do I think the boys get a 100 and ticketmaster gets 400?
Trying to get tixs for Warren's Christmas Jam,,,, should know by days end.
Next Dave's should sound great,,, my in stock copy sounds very good.
Sorry about the ticket rant. (not really)
PT-Yes
For Mr. Barnum (who probably knows) and anyone else interested, there was a 2-cd set of one complete '72 show released at the same time as the cd box set. I don't see it on Amazon, could it be out of print already??
*Edit-Wrong, it was the complete setlist, 1 or more songs from various shows in the box. Memory Issues!!
Dave's #44 looks intriguing, I'm excited to see and hear the seaside chat on Tuesday.
I don't really chime in on sports, but for the record, I'm Orioles, Ravens, Capitals and Terrapins. Never too much to get excited about. Oh, and Liverpool Reds also.
early concerts
Great story PT! Mention of the Eagles reminded me of a concert at Bowdoin College back in the day. Bob and I drove down to Brunswick, Maine to see Leslie West & Mountain on October 1, 1971... big fans of Cream, Felix Pappalardi had moved on to play bass with Leslie. Don't recall the exact location but it was not big arena. There was no opening band advertised but after we got there, it was announced that a brand new band would open, total unknowns, no music out yet, it was the Eagles opening for Mountain. Found the date on Mountain's tour history but nowhere in the Eagles archives. They had just decided their name reputedly after a mescaline session in the desert following their time with Linda Ronstadt. We were about 25-30 feet from the stage, recall we thought: these guys are pretty good. Then Mountain came on so freakin' loud, blew the lid off the place. This new at the time friend and I had just started running our college's 5 watt radio station and went on to many concerts, including Watkins Glen. Lost him to horrible ALS about fifteen years ago, RIP old bud.
Cheers to Bob, DMCVT
And to Dave N. who convinced me to go to my first concert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, at Ebbet's Field (small club downtown Denver). Had heard them on the radio as their first album had come out. Monumental show with all of the first and most of their upcoming Second Helping too, and a 25 minute Freebird to top things off. I'm sure I've told this story with Ronnie swilling Jack out of the bottle between songs and setting the wet bottle down on the baby grand every time.
Thanks Dave N., RIP. And cheers to all!
Saw the well established Eagles (original lineup) at Red Rocks the next year I think.
first concerts
My first concerts were in 1968
Cream
Grateful Dead
Credence Clearwater Revival
Steppin Wolf
Sly and the Famly Stone......Sly was so Wasted but was still GREAT
After all is said and done....
....Taping The Grateful Dead 1965-1995. A book I just discovered on Amazon. Looks cool so I bought one!
6/23/90 and Dennis! Both YES!
Good to "hear your voice", Dennis!
Last year I put in my first straight-through listen to the two Spring '90 boxes, then started listening to Summer 1990 shows that were well-regarded. My notes for 6/23 say that I LOVED it, and enjoyed it even more than a good number of shows from the Spring boxes. For those who need more like DaP40, the 7/16 show is just as good as either from that set, in my opinion. I think folks are going to really enjoy this DaP! :)
Be kind, rewind . . .
Dennis, aka Mr. Subtlety, sez...
vote with your wallet.
I will buy reasonably priced GD music. But will not drop big bux on D&C, esp. at the Gorge. My experience there in 2019 says "aw HELL no" to going back there. Getting in was horrific.
Besides, all due respect to Bobby and pals...D&C is not the GD