Pick of the Day, with Discussion

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April 6, 2020 - 9:47am

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marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

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September 1, 2021 - 8:26am

#3251

DeadVikes

Joined:
October 26, 2016

5/12/91

You should check out the latest Miller Rockthing. This is a Healy Pearson and it is spectacular. A+++ for sound quality. Just half through the first set. So good.

Check it out people.
September 1, 2021 - 7:31am

#3252

rockthing

Joined:
August 2, 2020

AUD Choices

Ah, Shoreline. This sits right at the end of a big gap for me between September of ’90 and June of ’91. Another round of “Thank You”s.

Nice variety of sources to keep me busy for a bit. Quick peek at the set list, and Black Throated Wind! Lookin’ forward to that! Post Space seems pretty routine, but who knows?

To start off, I’m A/B/C/Ding the four audience sources on the Archive using Deal as the bar. They never waste any time digging into this number so it makes a good tune to evaluate the sound.

The Gesine Lohr Audio Technica 815A source reminds me of the old tapes. A lot of mid-range frequencies. Phil is there, but you don’t really feel the bottom end. The sound is kind of nostalgic, though. Everything is perfectly clear, just not quite hi-fi. Coming back to this, I kind of appreciate the more well-defined bass guitar work with this tape. More of the various drums come through clearly as well. With more mid-range comes more piano, so Jerry’s guitar solo is somewhat falling into a wall of sound with Bobby and the keys (not Bobby Keys, though).

The Schoeps MK4 source sacrifices a bit of sparkle from Jerry’s voice to emphasize the low end of Phil’s bass, which is something that I kind of expected from an MK4 recording. The guitar solo pops up above the band nicely, though, and on a second pass, the bass is less over-powering, and more well-defined than the other MK4 source. The position is listed as section 102. Having never been to Shoreline, well, that doesn’t help me much, but I’m guessing that is not the Official Taper’s Section, nor is it in Front of the sound Board, but maybe someone can help me out on that. I’m starting to take a liking to this source, even though I had initially switched away from it more quickly than any of the others.

The Daweez Neumann KMF4 pull may be a little brighter than the Schoeps tape, but still has that Phil bass that you feel as much as you hear. On second (actually third or fourth) listening, The Neumann source sounds like it has the mid range frequencies scooped out. There are lots of bright highs, and Phil booms in here and there, but the drums and keys are kind of lost… which, may suit some, but there is a kind of metallic quality to the highs that feels somewhat aggressive to this ear.

The Front of Board Schoeps MK4 take, though, I think this has the best frequency balance of the AUDs. Goes to show, you don’t ever know. Must be something about the seats, or perhaps the signal chain. The first MK4 source might have used heavier wind screens. Hard to say. Same mics, completely different sound. lol. Whoa, Phil is shaken’ the room. Deep bass in this one, but Jer’s guitar is shining, and Bobby is right there in the mix. If anything, the drums may be getting a little lost. The keys are coming in and out of the mix, as usual, really. This has both Bruce and Vince, right? The last three recordings have a lot more bass than the first, but it is much less well defined. It kind of booms. Even though the bass is kind of a puddy of low-end, it somehow does not interfere with the other instruments.

The more I A/B the two Schoeps sources, the less I can tell them apart. lol (T_T) The second source has less info and a CDR generation in the lineage, but somehow feels more… I don’t know, “alive,” as if I can get a better audio picture of the space. I hear more of the venue, but in a good way. It feels more like I’m there, rather than listening to a recording. The similarities in these recordings are many, but the differences are almost hallucinatorily fleeting. I’m going with ID 9402 Schoeps source attributed to O’Connor. I must say, this Deal has kept me entertained throughout this comparison process. Eleven minutes of smoking’ Deal? Don’t mind if I do!

The only disadvantage of picking up the older submission is that it isn’t Y2K-proofed, and also comes ask SHN, rather than FLAC. No audio quality difference, just a little more trouble to convert for me, and that’s all on me.

I’ve not yet listened to the latest and greatest Miller SBD transfer.
August 31, 2021 - 7:47pm

#3253

DeadVikes

Joined:
October 26, 2016

5/12/91

Yes! For sure Shoreline 91 sounds fantastic for tomorrow. Thanks Jim.
August 31, 2021 - 6:26pm

#3254

rockthing

Joined:
August 2, 2020

> JimInMD
"5/12/91 for…

> JimInMD

"5/12/91 for Tomorrow?" Sounds good.

Just a few last impressions from 11/18/78

The instrument/voice balance is definitely much better by It's All Over Now.

I think the thing that seems unusual about the Scarlet/Fire, other than the clean cut which may be a result of the Archive's streaming system. There's always a short loading gap between songs.

I was thinking that the jam at the end of Scarlet Begonias seems especially sparse, and then I started wondering where Phil was? There isn't a whole lot of deep bass in this recording, so that may be it. Not sure. I like Donna's off mic reaction to some strange noise that Bobby (presumably) made by accident. ...Ah, I got to the Fire patch. That's the cut that was mentioned. It sometimes feels a touch lackadaisical, but that sort of thing suits the transition into Fire.

Miracle is ON, right out of the gate. No teething problems with this one. Just struck me that it sounds like Jerry's already using some kind of distortion/fuzz effect on his guitar here. I'm a bit of a gear nut. I'm gonna hafta look into that.

Dayum. This Other One is waaay out there. Love it! The drummers totally running with it, complimenting the gooey, stretched out psychedelicized sense of time created by the guitarists with a frenzied lysergic background buzz. Still pre-Beast if I recall correctly, but plenty to keep the Rhythm Devils busy... and busy they are. Did someone say, "Go man."? "I knew you were about to come on."? This really is the beauty of the board tapes. Occasionally you get a glimpse into the verbal communication that goes on between band members. They're always talking to one another a lot more than I used to imagine. It wasn't till I started watching how much conducting Phil used to do that this aspect of their playing became evident. Things changed a lot when Phil started taking a less active role in the spontaneous orchestration during shows, I suppose.

Ollin Arageed, what a nice treat. A little hold over from the Egyptian Vacation. 12/19 is the only post Egypt '78 show I've got in my library, and sadly I couldn't tell you anything about it right now. From there it's to the Godchaux's farewell show, and then Brent's debut or somewhere thereabouts. Again, thank you for filling in this rather sparse zone in my listening experience.

The word I keep coming back to while listening to this show is "beautiful". I was about to use it again to describe the Wharf Rat. Keith is doing some really nice fill-in stuff between the vocals here. Certainly a sight better than his contribution at Giza (yikes!). .... oops... everybody completely missed Billy's cue to start the ending there. LOL. Oh, well. Carry on lads. :P

Love how the transition to Sugar Mag thoroughly cross fades. That's brilliant how they kept a bit of Wharf Rat alive while slowly letting Sugar Magnolia develop. A lot of times Jer'll drop the intro of the next song and the others just stop what they're doing immediately for a couple bars instead of letting the songs blend. Sometimes it feels forced when Jerry does it that way, but this one is just about perfect, for my ears.

One More Saturday Night was one of the more predictable Dead tunes, and I reckon if you were on tour it probably got kind of repetitive, but from a song-writing point of view, IMO this is one of Bob's best songs. It's the kind of built-to-be-a-show-stopper that I wish I could write someday.

Ok, fast-forward a decade or so to 1991!
August 31, 2021 - 2:31pm

#3255

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

5/12/91 for Tomorrow?

I haven't heard this one.. but I believe the run was well recorded.
August 31, 2021 - 11:22am

#3256

rockthing

Joined:
August 2, 2020

Sneakin' in one last Uptown Toodeloo

Had a chance to stream the Miller sbd last night when I got home, but exhaustion prevented me from hearing it to the end. Early on the recording is so vocal heavy that I can barely make out what the band is doing without riding the volume control.

Me and My Uncle is in full disco mode. When was it that Bobby introduced it as a Polka? Was that before or after this? I'm confused. At any rate, it sure ain't a Polka here. I like these Rhinestone Cowboy versions, perhaps knowing that they aren't forever.

There were several comments about song placement, and that El Passo following Sugaree, and there having already been an Uncle > River seems a bit odd, but they had not yet settled into the one cowboy couplet per set routine yet, had they?

It's All Over Now in the first set, though. That feels odd.

From the Heart of Me is so beautifully done. I recall Jerry doing lots of really fast runs between vocal lines, but was not taking notes. This is a real gem.

By the time Music Never Stopped rolled around, I realized that the mix seemed to have been brought to balance between the vocals and other instruments. From the Heart of Me had also benefited from an improvement in this area. Music Never Stopped, though. Wow. This is where the show really gets started. I think someone else already mentioned that. The whole first set is superbly played, but as became the norm the first set closer serves as a precursor to the second set with some nice group improv. Definitely wanna go back to check this out again.

The Scarlet/Fire second set opener picks up right where TMNS left off. This is another track I want to return to. There seemed to be a somewhat different quality to this one, but at the moment I can't put my finger on it. Another highlight, but it's rare that this pairing is not a highlight.

The early second set Miracle is definitely another interesting set choice, as pretty much everyone already said. I kept an ear out for the ending jam that was mentioned, and yes, why was there never more of that? I suppose once it settled into its post-space rave-up role, there wasn't much left on the table to fool around with.

From this point on, I was drawn into the darkness of sleep. I think I'll restart this at It's All Over Now tomorrow and listen to the end again. The recording balance seemed to have improved by the end of the first set, and I missed the whole finale.

Thanks for another interesting recommendation!
August 30, 2021 - 7:11pm

#3257

DeadVikes

Joined:
October 26, 2016

11/18/78

Nice call on this show Bluecrow. Really good sound quality and great show. Late 78 is so different than the rest of the year. Love these early Stagger Lees and I Need a Miracle. Nice Scarlet Fire. Great second set .Probably will be a while before we get any late 78 shows released, but I am ready.

Jim, yes, let's hit up some 91. Send us a pick.
August 30, 2021 - 9:47am

#3258

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

Whew

Good to hear. I've been a bit busy lately and I thought I might have been careless with something I wrote.. so all is good with the universe.. a great way to start the week.

Missed the 78 yesterday, by late this afternoon I should be on track and have some free time. Not complaining though, I needed the and today will mark the 8th day in a row I've had river time. My listening has been heavily tilted to what was already loaded on my waterproof devices with a sprinkle of what they are pumping in the SiriusXM Grateful Dead channel. 1970 (Harpur and FE), 1972 - 1974, 84 and 85. Listened to a bit of 5/10/91 today in the truck.. I think we hit that one a year or so here. Definitely releasable, good quality audio and a good show. Perhaps we could hit another show from that run which includes Hornsby. The previous run, Cal Expo, was good also but alas.. it was sans Brucey.

In any case.. keep on keeping on the good vibes and good picks. Looks like we are off to a great start to the new week.
August 30, 2021 - 9:28am

#3259

bluecrow

Joined:
September 21, 2015

11/18/78

I first listened to this about time PITD was on the 11/24 video. Well played show, really nice sounding board even though its a couple generations down. There are a couple of poorly timed gaps (Fire, Olin Arageed come to mind.) What really perked my ears and brain up was the second set. Tasty Scarlet > Fire, and then that strange set placement of an early Miracle following that and wow Miracle has a blazing extended outro jam (where was that most of the time?) into a sweet He's Gone, followed by a pre-drumz Other One that has some crazy good space as it leads into drums. I really dig this show, this era, and it doesn't hurt that this was in the Uptown Theatre (hometown, though I was elsewhere at the time). Really hope the other two nights surface in similar sound quality and that the masters of this show don't have those gaps. Gotta run. Take care everyone.
August 29, 2021 - 6:35pm

#3260

rockthing

Joined:
August 2, 2020

No offense taken. No offense meant.

> JimInMD No, no, no. Absolutely not, dude. That "Hey man" shoulda been accompanied by " :) ". "Hey man" is pretty ambiguous when left only in text. I was reacting to a comment you made about how maybe you should be more descriptive... that comment was like weeks ago, though. I was tryin' to let ya off the hook, so to speak. :)

I'm gonna hafta catch up on these recent picks. Goin' out the door for a little overnight at the beach and there's no time to DL and update the ipod. My smartphone has no service, so streaming on the beach is out of the question. My only life line is a flip phone. lol. Definitely gonna be jammin' some Shakedown Street while tossin' a Grateful Mahalo frisbee in the sun, though. The pod is also loaded with Bob Marley, Alpha Blondy, Burning Spear, and Lee Perry. Lost another legend yesterday. Was fortunate enough to see Scratch on a tour with Adrian Sherwood. A bit too electronic for me, but still, it was Lee Perry right in front of me telling me to "put your gadget away" because I was holding my little digital camera on my shoulder tryin' to shoot some fragmented video. The camera was crap, though, so the few seconds I got just sound like noise. Anyhoo... no offense taken. No offense meant.

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Currently Listening To...

Bolo24 says: An Idea, Perhaps? Since we're all going to have a fair amount of spare time on our hands for the foreseeable future, what about starting another thread where we all listen to the same show/release on a given day and then share impressions afterward? Folks can submit suggestions and one person (not me) picks what we'll all listen to - call it Deadnet Picks or something. Anyway, if this idea is deemed to have merit, I'd suggest one of the loyal regular posters take the lead and do the picking - y'all can decide who. Might be fun. If it does go forward, I nominate Dick's Picks 18 for the first listen. Been talked about here lately, and, had it been a single show rather than a compilation, we'd probably be talking about it in the same conversation as Cornell, Veneta, etc. Or perhaps even Gainesville?? Stay safe and healthy, friends - this planet needs as many Deadheads as possible.

Skepticism is the first step on the road to philosophy

For Bluecrow---and any other interested parties:

I'm aware of the recently posted "2/5/1970". With all due respect to the person who uploaded it---and for which I'm grateful---I'm skeptical. The lineage is not well documented. It is an audience recording and I need to check it out further.

Also, the setlist does not match the known lists for circulating copies, were are very reliable.

The fact that both Mason's and Alligator were played narrows it down to the December 1969 to February 1970 period. This period is actually very well documented EXCEPT for the possible Honolulu show of 1-22-70 (maybe a good candidate?) and the Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston shows of February 20 to 22 1970. I suppose it's possible, but for now I withhold judgement.

I shall report back with any developments.

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders......

Rock on,

Doc
Give light and people will find the way......

1979

Aside from personal feelings about this year, 12/26/79 Brokedown Palace deserves some love in any universe.
Peace

TN John

Check your PM TN John.

Went looking for 2-5-70

It wasn’t at bt.etree or trader’s den.
I can’t get to LL because it was hacked months ago and no browser (Firefox, chrome, safari) will let me access it.

2/5/70 and 4/4/69

Thanks for reporting back gentlemen - I'm not a torrent person and was passing on some interesting news I saw with thought it will be more widely available. I had noticed the set list wasn't a match. love a good mystery.

tail end of KPFA GD Marathon is/was a sweet copy of Avalon 4/4/69 - maybe from the OSF tapes(?) you mentioned Doc. np The Eleven.

Hey now!

Hey rockers!!

Tried to post last night but the Hey Now Squad got me. Careful comparison reveals that recording to be the real deal. Not the greatest recording, but hey now it was 1970 technology.

So, with all due respect and apologies, rock on!

Doc
If you're going to do something tonight that you'll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late......

Hey 1stshow

What’d you say about spring ; )
Shit, where’s the advil lol

It's My Fault!

I jinxed it. 15 inches here Oro! Drifts up to my knees. 2nd biggest overnight snow in the 11 years we've been on this side of town. In the top 10 for 29 years here in Montrose. March is our snowiest month. After I finish shoveling it's Dead all day!
Cheers

SNOW?

SORRY...detest/have no use for/dislike that stuff falling out of the sky...just MY old person's view on cold, shoveling, slipping, and piles of black on the roadside, but enjoyed it if you can.

currently sunshine 62 degrees cloudless skies

Ouch

Yep, couch is key today lol
We prolly only got 10” but since it rained so much first it had that Sierra cement base that just wrecks what’s left of the shoulders : (
But hey, it was starting to get droughty, so like that joyful little Garcia uptick at the end Keasey spoke off, I guess we’re happy for the moisture!
AND, now we get a dead in the bed hall pass lol…at least until it snows more ; )
EDIT: funny/not funny, yeah, TOO was out there less than two minutes when she twisted her ankle, messed up the opposite knee falling, and her thumb also. Funny only because now I can tease her and say “some folks will do anything to get out of shoveling ; )

Spinning some true spring

Spinning some true spring Garcia - Live 15 Garcia and Saunders at the Keystone Korner 5/21/1971.

haha - getting HN trying to write about your snow

we want that stuff here!! all we got was a lot of w i n d and d u s t!

Ouch

Take care of that lady Oro. So sorry to hear that. Anything like that at this age is tough. We don't bounce like Bumbles do, to quote Yukon Corneleus.
BC, we'll send it down the San Juan in a couple months. Have your raft ready, lol.
Cheers

Hey AH!

Turn off the GD HN filter, FFS

4/8/89

Some point next few days perhaps give this one a listen and let’s us know your mind!

Thanks 1sty

We are pretty beat up for our age, but luckily she’s a tough ole gal lol

Bc: sure you could use it on the ground too, but at least the snow I shoveled will melt into brush creek, flow the couple miles to the Eagle, and about 15 more to the Colorado, where it’ll provide for south western Lawns, cemeteries and golf courses lol
Cheers!

OB-4/8/89

Sorry to hear about the Mrs OB.

Hope that snow melts soon.

Will get 4/8/89 going this week.

OOPS...

...hoping it's just muscle aches and a bruise or two; be well!

ice cream 2/5/70

I have a copy in stock if you need or want.

4/8 & 4/9/89

a year earlier I would have been at both of these but life was moving to a new place and I was focused on that. haven't ever really checked them out. will do.

the 4/4/69 on the KPFA marathon was a fresh Charlie Miller remaster of an existing lineage that originated with Latvala. So not straight from a OSF master reel. up on archive as of today. sounds very sweet.

Oro - hope the missus is doing well. bumps and bruises get tougher and tougher to get past. and don't get me started on how water in the west gets used. so I'm thinking of happy trees and mushrooms in the high country come summer :)

onward!!

Dennis

Thanks.
I got Hey Now’d sending you a PM.

I can hold off for now and will try to acquire it in the future if it appears at etree.
I can get to the shn flac site on an iPad (didn’t log in), but on a computer it’s blocked because it’s not secure according to various browsers.

4/8/89

I'm getting to this now.. I love one of the comments on setlists dot net

I remember the rain, and the cops and far too much very strong acid.

That got my attention.

I am trying to participate more but even the simplist things wake up the heymeow police.

One of five attempts are seeming to get these days, with one arm in a sling, it's like they have special a filter to screw with the disabled. This filter censorship thing is BS

Add two more heynows to the list.. nothing seems to be getting through

4-8-89

(Miller SBD) 2nd set starts with Box of Rain?
Angry Brent gets a 9 min. Blow Away.
Solid show. I think I remember Bobby giving an interview saying 1989 was some of their best later stuff.
Cheers

The Other One

Says thanks for the well wishes.
She’s fine, perhaps hurt her pride most, just a little sore is all.
Think Jim got beat up worse by the Hey Know Police! ; )
Sounds like the bastards turned it up to 11.

Box O Rain was the encore fyi…

I’ll try more later, when I’m done shoveling for the fourth time in 3 days…

Box o Rain

Encore got tucked after Set 1 to save space if you were burning to disc, like you would sometimes see in the cassette days. That can fool ya. DaP 49 did it for the 2nd Frost show. The most recent Miller transfer of the Healy/Pierson Ultramatrix has it in correct order. Haven't quite got there yet. Just hit drums and need to break for another task.

Speaking of 89

For those who torrent, summer 89 and fall 89 are at etree as single torrents.
Summer 91 was there too.
Was there last weekend and grabbed them in case they are upgraded from what I already have.

Speaking of 89

Been marching through spring 89 (everything I’ve not heard up to 5/27/89)
Just a few shows left then I’ll report back…

Transitions

Like that exact moment they drifted from China Cat into I Know You Rider

Regardless of the year, words cannot describe.

(did the really make it through HeyNow?)

China-Rider

If I was to give someone a very brief indication of why I liked The Dead, to someone who had never heard them, I would chose a version of China-Rider. For me, one from between 1972-1974. As the first one I heard was on the old "Europe 72" album, that would be a likely contender.

Spring 89

Though I did not relisten to a few shows previously heard, I did rehash several, and some shows multiple times. I started at 2/5 and went in order, finishing with the excellent 5/27 show.

Overall this is a very good, consistent period, though still not as fully gelled as the awesome summer and fall periods. I think this can be attributed to it being yet another transitional period. With the newer songs from the previous year still percolating , as well as several new tunes getting hashed out, (interesting during any era) combined with tech changes and evolving personal roles, it is an interesting period.
One that I hadn’t previously really looked at, and now glad I finally did!

I think generally, the earlier shows of the year are perhaps more consistent than is historically sometimes the case,( but historically similar) in perhaps being a teeny bit subdued, comparatively.
Their all good, enjoyable shows, didn’t hear a dude in the bunch, but hey, they can’t all be top shelf. So I found a nice progression through the spring that really started to gel and peak during the spring tour proper. I hopefully, Iprovide a nice jumping off point for anyone interested in what ever tour I’m stumbling through.

3/28/89: vguy suggested this on POTD awhile back and I liked it as much now as I did then. In fact, it’s in my top picks. A fine show but perhaps just a pace or two off the leaders?
So much of this can be subjective, and though I try to critically listen to all the shows, over time etc, it’s really hard to pick a “best” etc.
So I try to do the leg work for folks who may have a cursory interest about a tour, but not the time or sanity to waste going through the whole thing lol.
So hopefully, I provide a nice jumping off point for anyone interested in what ever tour I’m stumbling through.

I was at the Pittsburgh shows and we felt they continued the promising progression since the big 86 collapse, but though we liked the shows, I recall thinking good but…
years later, with the DL release, I was grateful to get an attended show, but still had some dissonance, perhaps another right city street, but wrong house?
This time around I was really scratching my pointy head at first, but long short, feel the first show kind lacks, except for the fun post drums sequence etc.
The next night however, I felt was a tad above the tour status quo and in the running for a top pick? (But still think perhaps they missed the mark slightly, maybe it was about the tapes? But again, this can all be so subjective).
More importantly, this show or perhaps end of first night can really be seen as point of demarcation from earlier, to the hieght of this period!

4/5&6/89: I think 4/5 is most definitely a tour tops and recommended.
4/6, Conekids first show I believe, is good, but another perhaps just below that top dog line? Another good tour status quo show on the sixth, but not quite the lightning of the fifth?

4/8/89: though we were at this one also, and really enjoyed it, my memory was of a good but ?…And I had a tape of the first and a couple songs from the second, but hadn’t heard the whole show until a few years ago. It perked my interest but I didn’t get back to it until now, and wow, really glad I did! Have a story for this one but I’ll do that later…yeah it’s in my top picks and maybe not THE show but there’s just something about this show, the vibe? The flow, The set list (mostly), and like the whole tour Brent is strong, and because if it’s uniqueness I think this might be my favorite Blow Away of the tour? Vocal harmonies too which were generally really strong over this period!
Well, you can check it out if you please.
I highly recommend a listen and it’s on my top list.

4/9/89: another great show. Fun stuff and more consistent tour status quo, but as throughout the tour you get the occasional vocal flub or miscue, especially with some of the new material. I found this show another, good, but just a step off the pace…

4/11, 12, 13/89: more overall more of the same, in a good way, though the second night seemed a bit of a creeper and the first night (a fine previous DV pick) seemed the strongest of the three, and yet another close but….

4/15/89: same here as several. Good but…not…quite…? I really liked this show and it’s on my second string list.

4/16&17/89 were good, but perhaps on the tour downside or just past the peak section of this period? Very subtle and the kind of thing I think you can only really get if you do whole tours.

IRVINE: more of the same but perhaps a bit looser and thus a bit less tight?
Again, subtle feels and paying attention to misses etc. Perhaps just a touch of California laid back no worries sun fun, as they do sound like their having fun, actually that’s a prevalent vibe through: they were having fun again, getting new momentum etc.
Perhaps a lab opportunity too as they continue to prominently roll out the new stuff for good or sometimes for ill, and definitely here for the Cali crowd.

FROST: boy Frost shows sure seem to both inspire but with some of that laissez-faire Cali home vibe. And these are no different. They open with a good Jack and proceed with a fun set list, though Just a Little Light is still a work in progress. Solid second set which I had a tape of, with cool PITB and yet another cool drums into space, that was stepped up all tour and with the midi addition has become more “other” less trad drums, which I’ve always really dug!
But finally hearing 5/7 I’d have to say I liked that one more, though there were some obvious whoopsies lol. Bird Song was sweet and has been throughout the tour.
One of the spring highlights for me, but I’m sure not others lol is the midi space fest as they really go to town having a ball with the new toys! Really, the whole sequence from He’s Gone through Black Pete is some of the best stuff I heard so far this year!
Another good show, on my second string list just because of the slop factor, comparatively speaking…

Which brings us to show completely off my radar 5/27/89
This was perhaps the biggest surprise of this trip.
And unlike many of these larger multi group bene shows that sometimes get played safe etc, this one has great energy and illustrates how things have progressed nicely over the course of the year during this interesting transitional period, just before and leading up to what I and some consider one of the best stretches in their thirty year history: summer 89 through summer 90!

So, top picks in no real order (whichever I listened to last was best ala Jim ; )
4/8, 4/5, 4/3, 3/28 and 5/27, with second string 4/9, 4/11, 4/15 and 5/7…
That may be a lot, but that’s because if how overall comparative this stretch is, thus not only one or two that really jump out.
I think if you have any infinity for this era you’ll at least enjoy any of these picks, find them a good jumping off point, and hey, sometimes you might even get shown the light ; )

Well, it was fun, but glad it’s over as to really dig in you have to keep at it and by the end I was doing like a weeks of two a days, and 3 DHBs at the end. Actually, more DHBs as I’m rehashing some of my top picks in playoff round lol. Hey, sorry, getting hockey fever lol.
ONWARD!

Prolly cleanse this WE with more 74, then perhaps a week of 69, maybe a bunch of April 69, then a little more May 79 and/or pickup 84 again…

Speaking of Transitions

Maybe not 74 China Rider good, but the one from 4/8/89 ain’t no slouch 😀

4-6-89

Yes, my first, and the best concert I had seen in my life up to that point. I was sold, where’s the bus, I’m getting on.

And the laid back atmosphere of Ann Arbor. The cops didn’t even come into the parking lot. I was amazed at what I saw going down on Shakedown Street.

So glad I went. My life changed for the better.

5-6-89

thnx for the reminder, it did get alot of airtime back in the mid-90's {it hits many of fav tunes + black muddy river}, THNX again, just pulled the DL>CD's out of the treasure chest, and it's gonna be tomorrow's LISTENING Party!
everyone enjoy your WEEKEND!
PEACE ALL!
uncle_tripel

I shine in tears like the sun in April......

Hey rockers!!!

April 6???? Go back twenty years earlier, then come and we'll have a friendly chat.........

There are three side effects of acid: enhanced long-term memory, decreased short-term memory, and I forget the third.............

Doc
Memory is the fourth dimension to any landscape.....

Ok smart ass ; )

Spring 69
It’s go time lol
What can you PLEASE recommend for us that we HAVE NOT heard yet?
You line em up and we’ll chow em down!

Here’s the shows from this period that haven’t been POTD, or released. (My POTD list may not be accurate)
4/12, 18, 20, 21-23, 25, 5/2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 4/13?

Here’s the POTD already
3/15, 29 4/4-6, 11, 15

Here’s what I have that’s been released
2/11, 2/22, 2/27-3/2, 4/17, 4/26&27

Ok, balls in your court big guy, what’s you got for us?

To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.....

Hey rockers!!

I wrote a long response but got Hey Now'ed.

Start with April 13, 18, and the Ark shows. Skip May for now, but go backwards to early February. And check out Moraga in May, lol...........

The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.....

Doc
The purpose of life is a life of purpose

Aye captain!

But I like to go in order to feel the transition.
So I’ll poke around in February a bit first, maybe hit the box and await Futhur orders when the flux capacitor in the com hubs monkey wrench is unwrenched!

Who hears music feels his solitude peopled at once.....

Make sure you check these out:

2/7: Pittsburg. Kinda fierce and kinda crazy good.
2/15 Philly. A very "large show" pretty much everything that could be expected at this time. MIller put out a pretty decent remaster last year.
2/21: First Dream Bowl. Short but solid.

And you haven't even touched January yet. Start with the 17th--some very good recordings of this out there, then take a stroll through the Avalon shows.

Enjoy the exploration!

Doc
We're on this planet for the briefest of moments in cosmic terms, and I want to spend that time thinking about what I consider the deepest questions.....

Cool 1969 shows

10/31/69, 6/27 & 28/69

Black Peter

It has been Black Peter time at my house this week OB. Trying to dig out of a terrible flu bug.

Hell of a post on spring 89. Recordings available are hit and miss and don't match the multi tracks from summer through fall 89. Still some great shows there and would love to see them put one out for official release. I believe the one and only release was from the download series #9 from the Igloo (18 years ago).

Hope we get some release news soon.

That’ll keep ya going for the show…

Come on it’s time to go

1/17 and 2/21 we’ve done, former good, latter excellent!

But amazingly I don’t think I’ve hit all of the January Avalon run, so that’s where I’ll start. Then 2/7 and 2/15, maybe I’ll rehit 2/11…anything else we haven’t done in March that’s worthy?
Would like to hit the Ark shows as I’m not sure I’ve heard all and think they should be done all at same time. I’d like to try to get up to RT 4.1 for this trip, then I’ll probably go back to 79 and/or 84? But I marked down 6/27&28 and 10/31/69 and will hit those later in the year when I need a 69 cleanse again lol

Ha, my only purpose in life now seems to be to battle poor health, and try to listen to every Dead show I reasonably can….well, at least I’m kicking ass at one of em ; )

DV: rut roah, seems there’s been some real bad flu this year.
Hope y’all feel better soon!
And big kudos to the Edina boys on the big state championship!

I mostly went with the Ultramatrixs to keep things consistent.
I found them mostly good, but no idea of what’s available overall?
Yep, we were at the Pittsburg shows (DL 9).
The first is sorta anaemic, but the second night (3rd) was good.
Still wonder if another right city, street, but wrong house?
As good as the third is, I still think others might be as good or better, especially 4/5! Really, there’s no dog in the bunch and several could be considered a top pick depending on who’s picking ; ) Hopefully interested folks can find a show or two here to dig!

Ok, January Avalon
ONWARD,

Stories

Pittsburgh 4/3 was the first time I had to call in “sick” from the hotel pay phone.
Trick was to find out how much the call cost (remember no cells so people still used pay phones, and have proper coinage before so call could go through and they’d not know it was LD , AND, no one was dumb enough to call from the room lol
“Hello, Louie, I’m afraid I’m not feeling so well…” while tripping freaks are laughing and yelling in the background lol. Yeah, I may be dumb but I’m not stupid ; )
And because I’d just started that new job and actually liked it, had to blow off the excellent Ann Arbor shows, had tix and a ride with BOO469 and everything, sigh…
4/8: went with a gal who was just a friend, but we probably should have been more, and not sure how after this show we weren’t lol. Between the song list and the X we probably were hugging the whole damn show lol
Yeah, wasn’t playing on tripping as I had to drive back that night (more on that later). But long short some guy came by in the lot and figured, hell we’ll just split a quarter 2.5 ways and be fine. I feel bad cause I kinda messed with the guy about if it was good etc. We’d just spent much of fall 88 going down that road a lot so felt pretty confident about our experience, but boy, oo-eee that was some good sheet. Id never before or since had X that strong, holy crap lol. And the poor gal with me had never done it!
So as you know, that comes on very fast comparatively, so we dropped right before going in and man before we were even out the lot shit hit us like a freight train. I remember she started getting the fear as we approached the one busy street we had to cross then up the steps and in, but she was having a hard time.
It was all gloomy and noises and I think steam coming outta the manholes lol, like instantly being plunged into a scary movie! But being a pro, I knew it’s get better after that first big rush and knew set and setting if we could just get inside all would be well with the world!
So after careful tender sharing of this key data, we finally got the nerve to go, once inside we were so high we just walked right in the back abd stayed there the whole night. Thank goodness the ushers didn’t kick us out lol.
But once inside, we immediately could feel the love and as I say, I think we swayed and hugged and danced the night away in a awesome blissful state.
Probably why I didn’t “know” this show better lol.
But the story doesn’t end there. Even after, another anomaly, we were still too damn high and there was no way I was going to make back to WNY from Cincinnati that way, so don’t recall who/how etc, but somehow we ended up across the river flopping in somebodies? hotel room on the floor with only just enough floor space for us to curl up and crackle a few hours before leaving.
Now the part all these years later that frosts my ass, is that we didn’t go to Louisville.
Not sure if she had to be back, but I had that relatively new job so I had to be back Monday after calling in previous week from Pittsburgh. But 4/9 was a Sunday, and back then my CC Cassady skills were epic, so if we’d have gone and not tripped etc, it would have been tough, but I’d done it before: (drive all night after a show and go to work next morning.)
Probably paranoid of crossing the mason-hippie line lol
But whatever, as it’s all so long ago, yeah, that’s one I wish I could redo.
Thank goodness for the archive though so we can relive all these wonderful shows, joyful ecstatic moments and some of the fear and danger too, now comfortably and safely from our homes! We are pretty fortunate in so many ways!

OB

Thanks man! Great run.

Love those 89 stories, keep them coming.

Still trying to dig out of this crap, it is not going away.

Get Well Soon DV

Had this year's back in the fall.
Took a week. Worst one in years.
Hit me almost 3 weeks after the flu shot when I thought I'd be fully immunized by then. I always blame it on kids going back to school making a germ factory, lol.
Cheers

1st Show/2024 Box

Thanks man.

So, we are getting close to mid March and we haven't had a box set announcement. Looks like we will not have a Spring Box. They might be setting us up for a fall release to coinside with that fall 74 run. We will see.

In the meantime, cuing up 11/5/77, Dicks #34.

DiP 34

I'm in. Snow day here but nothing like the front range. Got our biggie last week. I-70 closed and the Denver skiers asked the state patrol how can we get there from here and they simply said you can't. Always a better ski day after the storm anyway, lol.
Cheers

Edit: Fired up the Minglewood opener loud. Jerry's tone and first solo tells me this is going to be a good one. "Some things you just know." Dick's 28-36 is just a hot run. I'm drawn to those frequently.

I had a great add

but Rhino's Central Scrutinizer gave me a giant hey now foot up the ass

# WOS 50th Box Set designed like a mini Wall of Sound

Jim/Dicks

Love it Jim! I want it. My money is ready.

Yes, 1st show, totally agree 28-36 are great. Hard to believe at the time they didn't sell well so they decided to close up shop. Always makes me nervous when the Dave's don't sell out.

Listened to the whole release today and it is a good show with the Toronto filler. Always interesting to me how much more I like 11/6. Not that the other shows are bad they are not, just not as good as 11/6. Of course just my opinion. Too bad they didn't have any more shows after 11/6 until late December, they were smoking hot.

Hope you dig out of the snow out there in CO. Hard to believe I am playing golf in MN tomorrow afternoon.

Dave's 12 & 25

Interesting you should mention 11-6-77 DV. While listening to DiP 34 yesterday I had planned to go to the neighboring shows on DaP 12 & 25 soon.
That filler on DiP34 from 11-2 Seneca was jarring at first when it popped up with Might As Well since the sound is so different. So I played all that last to keep the continuity. Good stuff!
Oro, you dug out yet? Too many storms in a row for old bodies.
Cheers

'77 Abounds

I started the day with DaP 33 10/29/77.
Now, I switched to Phil's 50th birthday show.
Cap Centre 3/15/90
That Spring '90 tour was so much fun!
Peace

New Cans

Got a big bee day coming up fast and treated myself to new headphones - Sennheiser HD 650. Most of my close listening at home is on headphones. Still in the break-in period but boy-oh-boy they sound awesome to my old ears and both the build and fit are a noticeable step up from my old Senns. And they were seriously on sale. Right now on DaP 41 Baltimore 5/26/77. Beautiful day here after some solid cold rain (no snow at our elevation) over last couple days. We really needed that moisture. I know the mountain dwellers among us are snow fatigued but there sure will be some happy trees and mushrooms in the high country this season.

Onward!!