Who's ready to boogie with a little Brent-era Grateful Dead from the Gateway to the West? DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 47 features the complete unreleased show from Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO, 12/9/79 and you're going to need stamina because this one is high energy from start to finish.
By the time December 1979 rolled around, Brent Mydland had fully cemented his place in the Grateful Dead canon with his twinkling keys, harmonic tenor, and songwriting skills. No more is that evident than at this show boasting 25 songs including soon-to-be classics from GO TO HEAVEN like "Alabama Getaway," "Don't Ease Me In," "Lost Sailor," and the Brent-penned "Easy To Love You." It's also packed with whirling takes on fan-favorites like "Brown-Eyed Women," "Shakedown Street," and "Terrapin Station." And you've never heard a 2nd set quite like this with eight songs before "Drums" including an improvised "Jam" launching from the end of "Saint Of Circumstance." It doesn't stop there though, with a blazing finale of "Bertha>Good Lovin'" and perhaps one of the best versions of "Don't Ease Me In" the band ever did play. We've rounded out Disc Three with an extra nugget from '79.
Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, this release was recorded by Dan Healy and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.
Not sold out
Because they were lost in the warehouse.
But still, it’s been over a week now and 11-2-69/12-26-69 has a few copies left (at least when the Bulletin came out today).
It would seem that there are less than 25,000 people who have to have every ‘69 released.
Dave, don’t let that discourage you from releasing more Pigpen shows. Most of us still want more.
Some positive news happened today....
....The White House announced the Office Of Gun Violence Prevention.
I'll toast the shit outta that because its obviously not gonna announce itself!
Celebrating 🍾 with a gummy or two and St. Paul 5.11.77.
GD McIntosh Speakers
Got stealies and bears on them.
Limited edition to commemorate the final D&C tour.
We have history with this brand. Wall of Sound!
High priced tech I don't even understand, wireless, powered?
Their $12K pair of the retro ML-1 speakers I do understand (and covet). Sweet!
Cheers
12k for speakers....
....our AC went out last month. Only cost a cool 13k. Cheers!
Hi all - thank you for the…
Hi all - thank you for the warm wellcome.. About 47; I found it to be "a weak rerun" of 31, but without the wonderful Wharf rat- Truckin setcloser. Also 31 has one of the best 1 sets of the era. A fun thing; Mr. Glasser did the mastering of 31, and the 3 bonus cuts, but Sir (we should call him Sir..) Norman did the ones on 47 - kind of strange.. Copenhagen.. I live outside the city, and rarely go there: nothing now but cheap bars and hotels - "Things aint what they used to be".. BW
Keith September 1972
Thatmike - I had the same reaction listening to Dicks Picks 36 - 9/21/72 plus the incredible bonus tracks from 9/3/72 earlier this week. He was really playing beautifully at this stage. I don't know if he was better recorded here than on the E72 dates, or whether he was becoming more adventurous - or whether it was just me being more receptive when I last played it. But whatever - one of the best releases for me there has ever been.
DaveRock
DaveRock- well said! I think Keith was on a real roll at that time. DP 36 is a real gem! I was just listening to that PITB version off the radio from DP 11, and it truly hit me how his playing rose above the mix, and was absolutely incredible. The 1972 Dead was likely one of their best off-the-showroom-floor models, firing on all cylinders.
A nod to Owsley, too, who had an ear to rival the greats like George Martin or Brian Wilson.
1979
Options always vary on releases. I think the sound quality and performance of #47 is much better than #31. Just my opinion.
Danehead, 79 has alot to offer. Official releases and shows available on the archive. Both shows from Cape Cod. The December Oakland run. The Nassau shows, the Stanley Theatre shows and the November Spectrum shows (11/5 and 11/6). Definitely worth checking out.
👋 Danehead....
....my dad was Danish. My mom is Spanish. Welcome aboard!
We have a pretty neat little group of music lovers here.
To quote Cesar Rosa's from Los Lobos, "Hello to all the music lovers out there!"
He says that every show, and I always say hello back.
Billy Strings "Renewal" Tour looks incredibly fun....
....Google it.
Hawaii..
Goodevening - early morning here in Denmark.. Hi VGUY - where was you dad from ? Some months ago I mailed Lemieux about doing a "Rex style", Grateful Dead benefit for Hawaii. I have a sealed copy of Daves 19 (yes, the one from Hawaii 70), and will donate it, if Dead.Net can come up with some cool "Dead- Hawaii" stuff. Lemieux never returned my mail, but now that I am in the engine room(so to speak..), maybe someone can pass this along.. BW
And now...
I have had a renewed interest in and appreciation for the Beatles over the past few weeks.
Wow. They created a lot of great music.
And their evolution is truly remarkable.
Just...wow.
Stoltzie/Beatles
I’m probably showing my age here, but The Beatles were IT for me. They opened my world and turned my monochrome life into full color vista-vision. It’s amazing to think how far I’ve branched out since 1964, but it all started with the Fab Four.
I’m just lucky to have been so musically driven way back when. We are all blessed to love music as much as we do. There’s no right or wrong here, only shades of grey. I will never tire of hearing Rain, Day Tripper, Magical Mystery Tour, I Want You (She’s So Heavy) and all the other songs they created.
Music is the Best!!
Peter O'Toole Film Festival
We watched a insightful documentary about the actor Peter O'Toole called Peter O'Toole: Along the Sky Road to Aquaba, then two great O'Toole movies where he played King Henry 11, "Becket" (with Richard Burton) and "A Lion in Winter" (with Katherine Hepburn). What a charismatic actor!
The Beatles were the very first band I got into....
....circa 1978. I was ten. Found a box of records in the hallway closet. It was my dad's. Started flipping through it. The Early Beatles caught my eye.
"Dad! Who are these guys? They have cool haircuts and look serious."
"That's The Beatles. They are good."
Dad was correct.
Then I got Rubber Soul thanks to my mom taking me to record stores.
Norwegian Wood and In My Life were game changers.
They evolved a ton in like three years. Yay acid!
And here I am.
Dolphins 🐬 should have gone for the all-time scoring record btw.
Check out Phish covering The White Album. Halloween 1994. They pretty much nailed it.
Anniversary show. 9/24/94. Phil & Friends. BCT
29 years ago today ( 29 years doesn't seem that long ago) the Dead played their final acoustic show, and what a show it was! We started the day at the S.F Blues festival, Solomon Burke, Robbben Ford, Charlie Musslewhite and many more. After the show, we headed over to Berkeley to catch Phil & Friends ( Lesh, Garcia, Weir, & Welnick) put on a killer of a show! Acoustic Attics of My Life, they could have just played that and I would have been satisfied. What a fantastic day!
And then I discovered Revolver....
....and Paul is a dead man.
Beatles lore runs deep.
"Declare the pennies on your eyes" - Harrison with the opening track.
Pretty dark if you take into consideration the age and time.
Don't get me started.
George Martin was untouchable.
The Perfect Storm.
Fact.
Tax Man
George and the Beatles were not too keen on paying something like 90% tax on their millions in royalties. But they got a cool medal for being MBEs for bringing all that money to the coffers and fame for the empire I guess. "I buried Paul" was a reference to multitracking? See, conspiracy theories have been around forever.
My local record store owner (store long gone, got nothing now) had Tax Man cued up and dropped the needle when the county tax license agent came to inspect his books. He's not there anymore so hmm.... might have been a mistake. But likely not the cause of him closing up shop. Just too small a town? Besides that he ran for city council later after his teaching career (while owning the record store) and even got his turn at mayor which is cool here in a majority conservative area as a voice of progressive reason. City gov. cool, county the opposite here.
As a kid it was uncool to like the Beatles in the Rock early '70s. Too pop I guess even though I liked lots of their songs. Boy were we wrong on that one. Pretty sure I have all of their albums now, with some being later reissued compilations. Revolver gets the most play for some reason.
Cheers
EDIT: Wait, WHAT? Dolphins 70 Broncos 20? Vguy is right, how many times do you get the opportunity to set a record? Look in the dictionary for "blowout" and this will be there.
If I May, I Highly Recommend
"Your Mother Should Know", Brad Mehldau Plays the Beatles. It's a live solo piano set, and the encore of Bowie's "Life on Mars?" will touch your soul. Next up, Al Di Meola, "All Your Life", a Tribute to the Beatles. Yes, I love interpretations of Beatles tunes, and, yes, I have preordered "We Can Work it Out", Covers of the Beatles 1962-1966.
The power of the Beatles
Last month my Mom had a stretch of iffy health and was bedridden. (She's much better now.)
Anyway, I sat bedside and played her a bunch of music, including "Beatles For Sale". She is from a different time and doesnt know Beatles music. But she listened and after "I'll Follow The Sun" she said, "I like that one."
That was a cool moment.
Beatles on Ed
My first exposure to the Beatles was their first number 1 hit in the states, "I want to hold your hand". On February 9, 1964, I joined 77 million viewers watching the Beatles debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Our family was eating dinner outside in the backyard, and I said I had to go inside to see the Beatles!
70 to 20 I say....
....my smack talking Broncos loving cousin had more excuses than usual.
And that's saying a lot. Believe me.
He finally caved and left the chat. Had to do "stuff".
I guarantee the "stuff" could've waited until after the game.
Collingsworth is on. Time for the Magical Mystery Tour.
Like cry. Cry Baby Cry. Make your mother sigh.
It's Getting Better all the time over here.
Anniversary show 9/24/83 Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds
40 years ago today, I was at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds for a knockout of a show with the Good old Grateful Dead. What a blast! Great show & great venue. This would make a great release.
The Beatles
I can identify with 1stshows comment that it was uncool to like The Beatles in the early 70's. Being born in 1957, my first memory of them was dancing at a children's party when I must have been about 7. The first record player I had ever seen in my life, and it had The Beatles on it ! Singles like Strawberry Fields and Penny Lane reminded me of the world of comics a bit - plus the Batman T.V. series with Adam West and ( deep breath)Julie Newmar as Catwoman.
Fast forward to 1972/3 and we are in a different world brother. To me, the most significant and relevant bands from the 60's were the heavier ones-Hendrix, Cream..plus The Stones who were still great. Through reading magazines, I discovered that a lot of the bands I liked were psychedelic - and that Sergeant Pepper was such an album. So I got it, and thought it was wonderful. But it did seem very much to be music from an earlier era, when life was very different. A more optimistic time, or so it seemed. The swinging 60's myth and all that. None of my friends in the 70's liked The Beatles.
I still think Sergeant Pepper is one of the best albums ever made. After that, Revolver, Rubber Soul and Magical Mystery Tour are the ones I like best. I then tend to go for the earlier albums rather than the later ones.
"My brother's back at home...
with his Beatles and his Stones
We never got it off on that Revolution stuff"
Name that tune!
"Phony Beatlemania has bitten the dust"
Name that tune!
As for me...Beatles awareness started in the early 70s with a picture of Ringo in Time magazine. "Former Beatle..."
Other mentions of former Beatles over the next few years and references to albums...especially when I see them at record stores. I hear various tracks on the radio. Elton John covers Lucy in the Sky...I check out SPLHCB from the library...hmm. "oook....nice, but wassup with this?"
1980 some ratfucker offs John Lennon; I buy "1962-66" and "1967-70". The local radio station plays White Album and Let it Be in full. I buy more Beatles. My friend and I listen to taped copies regularly on our way to and from the beach.
Respectful interest for years.
Various life events over the past few months now has me on the "this stuff is truly miraculous" track.
The Rutlles
Ha, remember them?
The bus come by…
So, it was a dark and stormy night….wasn’t it?
Well, it was dark. Surely I don’t recall exactly when the first time was I heard the Beatles?
I do clearly remember a time, perhaps more than once, when I had been left with my cousins for the WE, and we were in their parents room (perhaps that’s where the only radio was as that room was normally verboten). It was some kind of show about the Beatles, and I think it might have had something to do with the whole Paul is a dead hype?
Not sure, so long ago and I was still in the single digits so….
But I remember that though I was annoyed because my cousins wouldn’t play with me, they kept shushing me, and I had to lay on the hardwood floor because I wasn’t allowed on the bed lol. But I remember after that the Beatles now being more in my lexicon, and liking them, I just wish we could play instead lol.
Of course over the years afterwards, since they were still everywhere, you couldn’t help but internalize them via osmosis if nothing else. Can’t recall if I saw them on Ed, possibly?
Anywho, FF to mid to late seventies when my childhood BF John and I were becoming Beavis and Butthead like punks.
His family had a huge, awesome record collection, and his father, who was some kind of nuclear scientist, had built this sweet Heathkit type stereo that was way better than most anybody had back then, at least anybody we knew!
Better yet, his mother bought in bulk (both albums and booze lol) so there was always plenty of Canadian Harwood Whiskey, Fresca, and tab? (Whatever the brand of diet cola was?) Better yet, as his folks had split up, his mother was never home, his sisters had all moved out except the oldest who never left her room except to occasionally yell at us to turn it down lol. We were totally free to freak and rock out whenever we wanted!
So among other things, we “discovered” the Beatles and drinking about the same time lol.
I can remember glorious nights getting slightly stoopid and binging out on the Fab Four all night long, especially the red and blue albums!
Eventually we didn’t outgrow them so much, but moved on to “cooler” things (yeah, by that point the Beatles weren’t so cool anymore, relatively speaking): Zeppelin, Hendrix, Floyd, Peter Frampton and most of the usual suspects of the times, and maybe a little Dead?
Well then the balanced started to shift as I started being indoctrinated by David Homel (long time Dead style guitar and band leader, some might know from the infamous Sutters mill In Syracuse as Homel Alaniz band).
He was dating John’s sister at the time and didn’t waste anytime steering us toward the light lol.
By 78 we were listening more and more to Dead albums and being fed tapes by Dave (and joints lol).
Finally after about a year of waiting, the Dead came close enough to see, and the rest is history!
So one might argue the Beatles were the original gateway drug to all things R&R for this freak!
Man, that is a looonnnggg time ago…
Hail hail the Beatles forever!
The Rutles
Mandatory viewing
"He didn't have a lot of what you might call luck
But he had a lot of get up and go
Get up and go
Get up and go
Get up and go back home"
A sense of humor is a prerequisite for making it through life
(Look up David Cross's take on the GD and jam bands)
Name that tune?
Alright then, the first is from Mott The Hoople's "All The Young Dudes", the second is The Clash - from "London Calling" I would think - I'm a bit less confident with that one.
That Mott single, from 1972, was one of the defining records of the year for this pup - along with "Silver Machine", "Starman", School's Out", "Virginia Plain","Metal Guru" - it's great to be young.
Young people in England in the 70's were very unforgiving - anything from about two years ago, from whatever year you were in, could be dismissed as hopelessly outdated. None of which matters a jot when you grow up of course - great music is great music, whatever decade it was made in.
The Rolling Stones released a new single....
....Angry. I like it
9-25-80 Warfield opening night
Beating Billy The Kid to the punch with this one!
I remember walking in the theater, I could not believe my eyes when I saw the acoustic set up on stage. Ushers handed everyone a sheet of paper with the lyrics to Ripple. I was in the perfect "mood".
I think it was the first extended Deal by the Dead. A very exciting night, and a great show.
Had balcony row M seats for that show, and the next 10 I attended.
Beatles
A less than prescient lyric from The Clash ‘no Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones in 1977’! No need to identify the track since it’s in the extract.
First heard of The Beatles from my brother who saw them many times in Liverpool and I read about them in Merseybeat. Then they signed with EMI and put out ‘Love Me Do’ and I realised a new era had begun. I heard a lot of the early rock and roll as a child because my brother and his friends had lots of singles.
Warfield and RCMH 1980
Wish I coulda been there
10/14/80....whaddya say, Dave?
Dave sez, "Not bloody likely!"
(Conjecture, yes.)
Warfield 80 run
Lets hope they had back up cassettes so we might one day get a box set. We saw Bill Graham at the S.F. Blues Festival right before this run started, we thought about asking him for some tickets, but we chickened out.
Dead/Beatles meeting.
Pardon my ignorance, but is there any evidence (pictures, audio, film footage) of any of the Dead meeting any of the Beatles? My memory fails me. I assume someone will show me a picture, and I will say, "Of course, I knew that!"
McCartney’s Dead Doc
This Mike - McCartney had done a very short documentary called “Grateful Dead” in 1995, which was a feature of all Linda McCartney’s pics of the band, from her Linda Easton - Photojournalist days. I’ve never seen it, and I believe it was likely released for copyright purposes on the pics, because I’ve never read one word by him talking about the Dead. Doesn’t mean he didn’t like them, but never a shout out or a pic in Rolling Stone or Creem I ever saw of him with any of them.
Jerry and John
Lennon attended a Legion of Mary show at the Bottom Line NYC 11/5/74 and hung out with Garcia and band backstage. There was a photo of Lennon outside the venue published in Cash Box. And as it turns out there is literally an audience tape of the show where Lennon can be heard commenting on the music. Search for - fate music: between the bottom lines - for a recent (2023) fascinating deep history post on this at the former JGMF blog. It's been recounted elsewhere with varying memories as to what went down and vague/incorrect dating (e.g. Blair Jackson's Garcia: An American Life.) A piece in jam base has some further insights.
SF Blues Festival
SF Blues Festival.
Saw a few mentions of it, and this time of year would have been when.
A raise of the glass to it. Talking to a fellow music lover one time about Blues Festivals and he described the SF Blues Festival as the "real one".
I made many, many years in a row; can't remember the number. Another great tradition fading into memory. These things move on and change. So many greats and the wonderful opportunity to learn about new bands that were around but you never quite caught up with. Sometimes bands you heard of but did not see. So often, you would come away with new music to follow. All part of the journey.
Always a great day in the City during a great time of year....warm, sunny days, cool nights to sleep well. Like going to Shoreline, getting sunburnt and reaching for your sweatshirt by the end of the night.
S.F. Blues Festival
The S.F. Blues Festival was the best! I went to a lot of them saw some great musicians. It was a fantastic party! I really miss it.
Beatles Dead S.F.Blues
It might not be true, but was there once a suggestion that Paul McCartney got the idea for the Magic Mystery Tour after hearing about the pranksters bus trip of 1964 ? I seem to remember reading that he got the idea after visiting the Dead's house early 1967 - but again, I'm not sure where I read it, or if there is any truth in it. Not influenced by The Dead as such, but edging into the territory. Briefly.
That S.F. Blues festival sounds alright! When did that take place? I only ever went to one blues festival, at a place called Bishopstock round about the year 2000. It was the last one of a series of festivals held there. This one had a bit of conflict, unfortunately. Henry Townsend and David "Honeyboy" Edwards - both in their 90's - were supposed to be appearing, but couldn't make it. Courtney Pine played instead, filling in for them, and got booed off ! Johnny Winter was supposed to be headlining, but he couldn't play through illness, although he had the grace to come out on stage and explain. He shouldn't have bothered - he go booed off too ! Bastards. Still - I did see Booker T. and the MGs, Taj Mahal and the discovery of the whole event, the great Michael Messer. It was the last festival I ever went to.
Daverock/S.F. Blues Festuval
D averock, the S. F. Blues Festival ran from 1973 to 2008.. It was held in various sites, Golden Gate, Park, McLaren Park , Crissey Field, . It was free for years, but when they started chaarging nobody cimplained, it was such a cool event. Type in S. Ff. Blues Festival, they have their own web site, you can see all the posters and performers.
I've never been inside the Warfield...
does it still exist?
Isn't/wasn't it a tiny place?
Warfield Run 1980
My friend Larry and I sent away for tix for all fifteen (?) nights. We met in my upper Haight appartment and divveed up the tix, sharing the extras with friends. I went every night, the whole run. The hardest thing was when I had school at San Francisco State in the day, then took a long bus ride to downtown. There were nights on the bus when I was exhausted wondering what I was doing. Then each night when the band came on stage for the acoustic set, I knew I was in the right place. Fond memories.