Pick of the Day, with Discussion

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April 6, 2020 - 9:47am

8,084 replies

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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February 10, 2021 - 12:51pm

#4541

billy the kid

Joined:
December 3, 2019

2/9/73

Killer show, my brother was there, hopefully it will be an official release one day.
February 10, 2021 - 12:27pm

#4542

bolo24

Joined:
November 25, 2009

My pick for tomorrow

Y'all can join in if you want. As I'll have the entire chateau to myself tomorrow, I'm cueing up "Steppin' Out With The Grateful Dead" and playing it really loud. Need a dose of '72 goodness.

Yes, I know, it's a compilation and familiar to all. But that mix....man. Just imagine if the E72 trunk was mastered/mixed the same way. Have mercy!

Perhaps we can start a crowd-funding campaign to raise enough cheese to persuade Mr. Norman to do his thing. I got a dollar and a quarter to kick things off.
February 10, 2021 - 11:52am

#4543

DeadVikes

Joined:
October 26, 2016

2/9/73

Wow, finally getting to this today. Great sounding recording. Just starting, hopefully it stays at this level.

And 10/29/71, very busy.
February 10, 2021 - 7:38am

#4544

icecrmcnkd

Joined:
October 20, 2015

2-9-73

Recently got a new version, believe it is a Miller.
Definitely sounded way better than that first off-speed cassette copy I had.
February 10, 2021 - 7:29am

#4545

proudfoot

Joined:
August 2, 2020

2/9/73

first heard it on a Southern California evening on tape back in...84? 85?

very pleasant, eye-opening experience
February 9, 2021 - 9:06pm

#4546

rockthing

Joined:
August 2, 2020

2/9/73 1st Impression +Belated 5/15/73 Upgrade Frag Notes

I can't keep up with you guys. lol.

Just by chance I listened to 2/9 last night, over two sittings. During the first sitting, ie the first half of the show, work was occupying my mind. The final sitting was with the lights out, just spacin' on the music, but also sort of halfway into dreamland, so no notes were taken. I think I'll listen again as soon as I get through this new (to me) Coltrane '65 date.

The balance on the 2/9 tape is much better than any master of 5/15 that I heard. The setlist is very similar. I have not compared, but all the songs you don't get to hear much after '73 are there for both shows, but there really isn't much evidence of teething problems in the new stuff. US Blues has very embryonic lyrics, which are cool, but nowhere near as iconic, or concise, as Hunter's later revision. The music is pretty much fully formed. Incredible, really. Someone had mentioned 2/18/71 a few pages back. That was another major breakout night, but again, they debuted a set of solid songs, right out of the gate.

Back to 2/9/73, they talk a bit too much about the new PA, but I suppose I'd be pretty over the moon about it, too. Of all the eras, this is when I'd really love to have some good audience pulls, especially once the full Wall of Sound comes into effect. Not sure the wall makes any difference to a board tape.

That cool and confident mellow '73 groove is there, but there seems to be a touch more bounce in the step here compared to 5/15. Again, this is on deck for a relisten.

I made all these notes for the 5/15 upgrade (second half of the second set). Even though that was, like two or three picks ago, I'm gonna put'em down anyway.

The Miller "fix" is a major improvement. Much more raw in many respects. Bobby's killin' it after the He's Gone vocal jam evolves into an instrumental. He's getting some very Jerry-esque tones, but he's significantly lower in the mix. Was he still using a Gibson SG at this time? If so, that would explain the similarities in tone. Jer had been using an SG for a while before switching to Alligator, iirc. Hard to keep track of Jerry's guitars in the early days. I forget when he got Wolf, too. If he didn't have it here, he'd have it fairly soon, again iirc.

No bomb after Truckin's "busted". Not enough Phil in the mix to really get the bass bomb effect when it finally comes. The is The Jerry Garcia Experience. The mix is ALL Jerry. Would really like to hear how this sounded to an audience, especially considering it was the experimental phase of the Wall of Sound.

Would also prefer to see the the "Phil and Drummers" track merged with either Truckin' or The Other One. It could really go either way, though, 'cause it's not unheard of to have a drum solo at the end of Truckin' and it was fairly common at one point to have a drum break between Cryptical and Other One. That's just me. I know most people, certainly the seeders, like more tracks rather than less. What's Joe Walsh say? "Can't complain, but sometimes I still do."

The Other One jam is sublime! Deep into it Phil and Jerry's interaction is so conversational, without being simple mimicry. Much better bass guitar presence than earlier, but it may be that Phil is using the upper registers here, and those frequencies are more well represented on the tape. Holy shit. That was all BEFORE the first verse! Did they even do the second verse? It just all washed by in this warm breeze of intermingling ideas. I didn't take any more notes on the rest of the show. Was not present enough. Some really fantastic stuff was happening at the end of the second set, certainly worthy of the upgrade. I'd imagine this is the only mix that exists, and there ain't no more. Again, this is the era where I'd like to hear the audience perspective the most, but it's still early days for audience tapers, unfortunately.

Digging waaay back in the thread, Neil Cassady, that's a guy I'd go back in time to meet... hopefully when he was hangin' with Jerry!
What a madman! TBH, I probably wouldn't be able to deal with him, but I'd just like to experience what being around him was like.

Used to follow John Perry Barlow on Twitter. Didn't always agree with him, but he always had something thought-provoking to say. So interesting that he went from being a Wyoming rancher, crafting a cowboy image for Bobby, to philosophizing about the electronic frontier, and being a legit expert.

Speaking of cowboy images, I'm gonna hafta remember to imagine the boys in their Nudie suits when I relisten to 2/9, later. That's so funny. It's like the one time the Dead actually entertained the concept of showmanship as a group. lol.

I digress. Having the sense to take on genuine wordsmiths to define their lyrical imagery is yet another example artistic magick. So many fantastic musicians are so horrible as poets. :) Having both Barlow and Hunter, expressing very different views and styles, adds so much to the mix.
February 9, 2021 - 7:48pm

#4547

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

Halfway Through

One quick comment about this show.. as I am not sure I will finish tonight. Many of these songs are 'new' so just rehearsal and practice. The tone isn't always dialed in, just a little unpredictable and wild which I just love. They sometimes lurch their way transitions, bridges and the more complex pieces but behind it all the timing is there. Jerry in particular has an impeccable sense of timing and the songs, even the ones performed for the first time are still the songs. They seem to be birthed almost fully formed.

That's it for me, great pick Bob (and all). I have great reverence for this show.
February 9, 2021 - 5:15pm

#4548

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

I Could Do Maples...

Roscoe Maples Pavilion it is.

I am sure I have told this story, but my original cassette of this show was way off pitch, super slow.

Eyes of the World in particular had this groovy, sloth-like swank to it, especially in the outro jam and the vocals in China Doll were sooo slow. Still, I loved it. It wasn't until the Archive came up that I heard what the show actually sounded like. I loved the old and slow, but the pitch corrected version was a welcomed addition, sort of like getting fitted for ear glasses for the first time and hearing what birds actually sound like when they sing.

I knew it was a little off pitch, but once something goes down, once you listen to something and get familiar with it.. sort of a muscle memory.. once you get used to something, that's the way it is. To this day when I listen to this show my memory of the slowed down, etched in memory version comes to mind.
February 9, 2021 - 1:38pm

#4549

The Good Ole G…

Joined:
December 29, 2015

Roscoe Maples

Dang it that's a fave!
Nice call BobT
Happy Anniversary to this all time great show.

Listen to that PITB outside (if it's sunny & not freezing)

For the majority of my life and I always thought this show took place outside, but I'm pretty sure Maples Pavillion was / is a gymnasium?

Anyhow this music was meant to be listened to outside, Jerry soars like a bird.

It takes you places.

I'ma gonna have to listen to it.

Thanks BobT!!
February 9, 2021 - 1:26pm

#4550

bob t

Joined:
November 21, 2007

A very good year started 48 years ago today

"I'm told to make this short and not political" Roscoe Maples Pavilion 2/9/73 Happy Anniversary....

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.

68 and Loud

I completely agree.

On occasion and if I'm not careful volume gets the best of me. One day I might live to regret this. Thankfully, that day was not today.

A new one for me. Some sound weirdness especially in and around banter, but what the hey.

I don't know what it is, but I have soft spot for The Eleven, Born Cross-Eyed and especially New Potatoe Caboose. Good show with some vintage grease to end the night with me feeling a little dirtier than I did when I woke up.

If there's no pick for tomorrow, I suggest the next in line. It's a partial, starts with a rare Clementine. 1/20/68 Euraka Municipal Auditorium. I think we should set up a go fund me to find all the missing reels, there's a couple missing from this show. It would be something for them to be found.

4/30/88 at the Frost

Hey Jim, I know you have had a lot on you plate this year. Thanks for checking this one out. Yes, the recording is decent, not great. Like a lot of 88 recordings out there. Still think they have some good ones in the Vault.

I liked the show, anytime I see a Hey Pocky Way, I am in. Nice Shakedown to open the second set. Love the triple Encore with China Rider OMSN.

It is good to get out of the comfort zone once in a while Doc.

Carousel Ballroom 68, okay Jim, Ok will have to que it up this morning.

Enjoy the weekend out there.

Edit. Oh and after the carousel ballroom I will be moving on the 12/9/79, Dave's Picks #47. Love this one and I need some 79. If I had the keys, I would be putting out a big 79 Box.

Lewiston, for your consideration

44 years ago today, there when Roy Buchanan along with Levon and His All Stars opened for the Dead. My last in person show, on the bus since their first album, however things had changed so much.... Doc was there, a wild late summer scene, part of my farewell to Maine.

All is worthwhile if the soul is not small.....

Hey rockers!!

Yes, we were there and had a blast. Beautiful day and tremendous music. A very fine show by the Dead, one of my all-timefavorite in-person Dead experiences.

Would make a solide offical release. It is worthy......

Doc
Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for.....

All is worthwhile if the soul is not small.....

Hey rockers!!

Yes, we were there and had a blast. Beautiful day and tremendous music. A very fine show by the Dead, one of my all-time favorite in-person Dead experiences.

Would make a solid official release. It is worthy......

Doc
Everything I did in my life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for.....

9/6/80

Hey DMCVT,

Love this show and will get it going again this weekend.

And yes, it would make a great releasen.

Pretty sweet you and Doc were there.

9/6/80 Lewiston

I'm in - hopefully sometime this weekend I can transport my mind and spirit into late summer beautiful day/evening Maine. Sounds like a dream show and setting. Very cool that a couple of you guys got to be there. Didn't realize this was the last show before the Warfield run. Long and heartfelt write up on grateful seconds (he was there). Comment at the end from a guy who was 8 at the time and lived a "bike trail" away from the fairgrounds. Listened to part of the show from his clubhouse. Rode his bike over and snuck in. Totally dug the Drums. Made major bank (for a kid) collecting cans and bottles for deposit afterwards (which is exactly what 8 yr old me would have done.) Think I might travel John Deere with the Jim Wise FOB.

Been Gone

But back this week. I can do Lewiston again.

As I recall there is not a good soundboard that circulates, right? And the one that does is first set only and it sure does sound like an audience (or ultramatrix on steroids at least).

High energy though.. like Gainesville, there must have been something in the water.

You have to wonder if this was recorded and if so where the hell are the master tapes? I think someone (Parrish??) tossed out the language that some of the master reels were left on the seat and when the truck pulled away they must have flown out the window or something.

I'd love to see more reels (and cassettes) returned.

Anyway, Lewiston Me for me tomorrow.

Edit: Started tonight - why not? Gave up on the "soundboard" and settled on the Jim Wise same as Bluecrow. Good news, Bluecrow.. The John Deere Broke down and was sitting in the yard for the last half of the week. I got it working today. Had to replace the solenoid. Damned electronics are always interfering with time travel. Just imagine if this broke back in time before Jebediah Solenoid created the first working model for riding mowers.. we would have been screwed.. I mean, nothing wrong with being stuck in 1980 but why not go back another 10 to 15 years...

High energy is right. Pretty good audience.

Follow-Up

While I was in the neighborhood, I took a quickie with 11/28/80 Lakeland Civic Center - Lakeland, FL (30 Trips).

I figured why not.. most enjoyable, especially To Lay Me Down. Not sure why I like that song so much, but I do.

More 1980

Ah, yes, more 1980. You don't have to twist my arm. A shorter show for the time period, but still really good. Will get it going after I finish up Dicks #36, which was mentioned on some other threads. Such a great show, but apparently didn't sell well at the time. No idea why.

My Favorite Non-Multi-Track 1980 Release

Random Musing - 1980

My favorite non-multi-track 1980 release has got to be Dave's # 8, 11/30/80 Fox Theater. Love how that Matrix worked out. If anyone remembers the seaside chat, he was spot on.

Crowd noise was not as big an issue in 1980 as they could play in some pretty intimate venues. Also, as the age of the cassette master replaced the lovely Ms. Cantor Jackson, a lot of those early soundboards are a bit sterile sounding without the crystalline highs and the booming lows. Blending those early 80's soundboards with one of those near perfect audience masters works. When they aged out of the smaller, cooler venues (thinking after Jerry's coma and In The Dark) audience tapes had to compete with hundreds of the guy next to you screaming "JERRY!!" at 95 decibels, this was no longer possible.

That SBD/Dr. Bob matrix is almost exactly perfect (or as good we are going to get for the time).

On the opposite side of the same coin, I think some of the Ultra Matrix's have a bit too much of the guy yelling JERRY! then I sometimes want to hear. Thinking a lot of 87 suffers from this, and by then the audience tapes were no better.

Anyway, if Mr. Norman can pull of similar wizardry I wish they would do more like DaP#8.

Being that it’s the anniversary

9-16-90 playing now.

Wonder what the Black Friday RSD release will be.

Music comes from a place we don't know...........

Mornin', rockers!!!

Pick of the day? September 24, 1972. Because..............Dark Star!

Minor rain storm headed my way................

The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils......

Rock on!

Doc
Music comes from an icicle as it melts, to live again as spring water......

9/24/72

Oh yes, this is a great show, I am in.
Thanks Doc.

Why Not

It's an early audience, but contains one of the few Seven's that were recorded.

09/29/69 Cafe au Go-Go - New York City, NY

It's no betty board, but an interesting inflection point in GD history, so maybe worthy of our time. Primal GD on the heels of WMD Americana GD.

Despite the recording quality, it's pretty good for a 1969 audience. Worth the trip for the Seven alone. Plus, it's pretty short. Something different, something quick, and well, it's really something.

So why not mix it up with a shortie from the fall of 1969.

9/29/69

Will mix this in as I listen to the new box today. Thanks Jim.

Hope everyone had a good summer

Been a while, just wanted to say hello. Watching the Dark Star from 10/18/74, cool to see video of Ned on stage, as well as see Jerry interact with the head nod. Enjoyed the April 78 release. With the 50th anniversary of the Winterland shows a few weeks away, doesn't look like anything is happening. Be good everyone. Bob t

Bob T

Hey Bob T, how have you been man? Hope all is well.
Yes, love that bonus footage from the GDM soundtrack. Might be one of my favorite UJB.
I have been traveling for work this week so still haven't made a dent in the new box, but loving it so.far.
Good thing there is no rush at this point.

Picks

Hope everyone is enjoying the new box set. Really enjoying it so far over here.

If anyone is interested in a pick, it has been a while, how about 5/16/81, Barton Hall from the 30 Trips box?

5-16-81

Started playing it last night and finished it tonight.

Good call DV.
And I’m having a Bell’s Octoberfest too. They’re gone from the store but I have 5 more cans in the fridge.

Conekid

Nice Conekid, must be esp.

Enjoyed the show again, nice Shakedown Bertha, Sailor Saint. Show ends with that audience patch.

Enjoy the last few Octoberfests. Still have a couple six packs to get through. Would buy a few more but the self life of this beer is only 3 months and it goes bad fast.

Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal…..

Good morning fellow rockers!!!

October 19, 1971

The second great seismic shift of 1971. The Yang to the Yin of February 18. Similar, yet different. Old, yet new. A vision of the new era. Change can be for good if you combine audacity with safety………

An old friend missing, a new guy who seems to fit in right away. Six new songs. The return of the complete CE/TOO/CE suite. The unusual occurrence of back-to-back Garcia songs twice in the first set. The first of the Fall 1971 FM broadcasts. One of only two 1971 shows that featured both Black Peter and Brokedown Palace. There ain’t no grease, but there’s plenty of Bakersfield left, as well as big jams.

Not without its rough edges, yet somehow it hangs together oh so well. Absolutely historic and worthy of a serious listen……

Rock on!!
Doc
He who rejects change is the architect of decay, the only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery………

10/19/71

Oh, yes, Doc this is a good show at the University of Minnesota at the Northrup Auditorium. Good idea.

Some may never live, but the crazy never die.....

Morning, rockers!!

This is for AJS. He'll know what I'm talking about...........

October 20, 1984, Carrier Dome. The last show we saw on that tour, maybe not Augusta level but very enjoyable. We had a great time. Maybe it was the liquid 25, courtesy of Deadhead Fred, a little drop'll do ya!!

Or maybe it was the music. Worth a listen!!!

If I had known being insane was so much fun, I'd have gone crazy long ago.....

Rock on,

Doc
No one can drive us crazy unless we give them the keys......

Doc & Angry Jack

10-20-84 - Syracuse

I was there also, think I met doc in the bathroom during drums,,, he was wearing a tie-dye :-)

My records show we rated Jack Straw at end of set one, a plus 2. Also second set opener of Shakedown got a plus 2 rating from our crew. We have the Black Peter that night at a plus 1.

Thing I remember was the air pressure blowing you out of the exit doors,,, deadheads LOVED this,,, kept going back in just to be blown out!

My wife went to Syracuse (both her parents also!)

Carrier Dome

Love the energy of this show. I'm pretty sure I tossed this out for a pick of the day a few years ago. I was not there, but hey.. we make it to the shows we can and hope for magic and a lightning strike or two.

Still, an enjoyable show and how about that Jack Straw. Another one where I wish I was there.

10-20-84 playing now

Just finished set 1.
It’s a Miller, but the file on my music player doesn’t have an ID number.
Vocals are pretty weak in some places. The playing seems to be trying to make up for it.
Shakedown poking around now…..

Edit:
I would have had fun had I been there.
Drums/Space was good.
I’ll listen to it again.

Most jokes state a bitter truth…..

November 7, 1971
Harding Theater, San Francisco, California

Deadicated to bolo24, because I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there is no path, and I will leave a trail……

Great and classic show and a long-time personal favorite. It has pretty much everything you could ask of the Dead in this era. Rockers, Cowboy songs, hot jams, the unusual coupling of Dark Star and The Other One, an unbelievably smoking NFA transition jam (maybe the best ever?), plus even the often-expected equipment difficulties, AND jokes from the audience! The circulating broadcast copies are excellent quality and highly recommended. The band sounds loose, and the crowd sounds juiced. OK yes there’s no Pigpen, but still highly highly recommended, a classic of the first rank!!

Rock on!!
Doc
It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes

I guess I missed it....

I didn't see the notice about the next Bear's Journal, John Hammond.

If you missed too, it's available on Amazon and Bear's site.

Pick

Okay, seems like we need a pick.

How about 10/19/72 from the glorious LTTR Box? Love this box.

Good to see this box finally sold out. We need to make sure these all sell out in order to keep the train rolling.

I can do 10/19

Might take me more than a day though, but I'm in.

10/19/72

Thanks Jim.
Another fantastic show from the Fox!
There is something about these shows. Might be the Birdsong that adds to the overall enjoyment.
Can you imagine if they played Birdsong in Europe that year?

Taking my time with the new box, so it is fun to jump around, which is so fun with all this incredible music.

Can we add a fifth release in December? Call it For the Faithful Volume 1.

11-14-71%

Anniversary today.
It’s a RT Bonus Disc.

Expected that Doc would have pointed that out.
Maybe he did on another page.

Yes, the LTTR Box is glorious.

We're not earthly beings any more... we're cosmic beings.....

Mornin' rockers! And happy Friday!

Fell asleep yesterday so forgot all about TCU. But I did remember it's an underrated show..........

Austin, Texas, November 15, 1971. Brings back fond memories of my tape trading days, when I had an unbelievably good copy of the FM broadcast. Starts high with strong Truckin', throw in a sweet first set Dark Star, a fiery NFA transition jam, and the usual country/western/new material suspects, and there you have it!! Really fine, very enjoyable show that is worthy of its official release status.

Of course, November 15 1972 will also do nicely...............

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. LIke, what's for lunch?

Rock on!

Doc
On a cosmic scale, our life is insignificant, yet this brief period when we appear in the world is the time in which all meaningful questions arise......