Grateful Dead

Nice seats Bob t. I will keep my eyes out for you and the crew.

Lmao, you brought back many memories! Most are funny now but at the time....yeah, sometimes the hard way is the only way to learn! So Remember kids what fat Freddy says: getting drunk THEN stoned is like pissing in the wind! 3/13/81 anyone! Lol.
Especially enjoyed the “cause I had a job“ and the calling in sick from a pay phone!
Missed a few top shelf shows because of some BS job, like 7/19/89, 4/9/89, and had to do the pay phone thing several times. Forget what the trick was but there was a way to have the call go through normal without the boss knowing it was LD. Of course the hard part was getting up at the right time and finding a quiet pay phone to call in at just the right time!

Oh, and big thanks to GOGD for that awesome 2012 Dave video! Between that and his wish list from back then it’s interesting what’s been released and of course what hasn’t been but might...

My 3rd and 4th shows. Like a fool I didn’t go on the 23rd because I had a job. Which I missed that day anyway and had to call in ‘sick’ from a pay phone at a rest area on I-57 north of Kankakee.

On the 21st I was just outside the gate when the music started. They had pulled closed tall chain link gates because people were trying to sneak in. So we were standing there, with legit tickets, waiting to get in. Finally got in and had to squeeze in on the lawn.
Traffic was a disaster that day, complete traffic jam on I-80. I know someone who, along with hundreds of other cars, just parked on the shoulder of I-80 and ran to the venue. I think that the closure of I-80 that day, along with other problems, is why it had to be Soldier Field from then on.

Jim, your description of me is accurate, except that was 7-17-89, where I drank beer all day in the hot sun, but wasn’t old enough to buy beer inside. Didn’t eat enough food, had some paper, lost my friends, didn’t drink enough water, then about lost it when Jerry played a few notes of Close Encounters Theme during Space. But everything came back together during Gimme Some Lovin.
Awesome initiation and learning experience for me, being by myself at my 2nd show and having too much too fast. Memories......

Upon re-listening to these Radio City shows from 10/30 & 10/31 they are definitely a couple of high-profile gigs that the GD really lived up too.

Having known bits and pieces of these two shows from essentially the beginning of my tape collecting days, I've always wanted to listen to them in their entirety as an experience.

I remember collecting both runs from the Warfield & Radio City and being bummed that there weren't complete SBD sources available, sound quality varied tremendously between shows and tapes and that it was a real pain in the ass trying to determine what existed and what didn't and the best versions etc.

Not sure if I sat down and listened to them after I got all the shows as I was burnt out by that time. But this latest re-listen was really cool.

I'd read an article with Betty recently about the editing process of Dead Set and that planted the seed to go back and check it out, so I started with the remaster of that album. Props to Betty, she really could pick the best takes on songs the band played during a run. The Dark Star from Live Dead is a great example. It's always Betar with Betty! Dead Set was in heavy rotation in my early collecting days, it was the best sound quality & closest thing to current live Dead we could get BITD, so we played that album, and Dead Ahead VHS tape ALL THE TIME in high school. And I love those versions of these songs.

I followed up Dead Set with the full recording including sketches of 10/31 on Wednesday and then 10/30 yesterday. I decided to Watch set 3, the first half released as bonus material on Dead Ahead remaster and the 2nd part available on YouTube (thanks JimInMD & DeadVikes for the reminder). Man if you haven't checked it out, DO! You gotta see Drums with Billy Cobham to get the full effect, it's awesome, Kreutzmann is freaking out.

Really enjoyed that whole trip and these are some really solid shows, 3 full sets each night and the last two nights of this legendary tour of historic halls never to be repeated again. It might not be the Dead at their best, but it's the best Dead we have, so dig it. 10/30/80 On The Road Again is the definitive version and Jerry's call and response gets me every time.

Listening to the opening of 10/31 you can imagine the tension as the band deals with technical difficulties when they hit the stage and are filming a live TV Simulcast (A first at the time?, rare for sure). I mean this is 40 years ago, I know what happened and I was still feeling nervous for them as Phil's gear squawks and squeaked. And what happens? Epic versions of Heaven Help The Fool & Sage & Spirit (last time for each?) that's the magic right there! That's the stuff I love.

Highly recommend a couple of supplemental videos, the famous Press Conference for these shows (I guess it's you and me bub, I mean Bob), and Bob & Jerry's appearance on GMA, they're both a real treat and they really set the shows up in the proper context.

Alright, lots of good stuff here. Thanks for tripping with me, this has been on my to do list for awhile, and I really enjoyed it.

Who here saw these shows? Stories?

OB: Thanks for the Meyer Sound webinar tip, looking forward to checking that out.

As for pick today, take your pick! Catch up on 10/30 & 10/31 if you haven't already, Listen to DaP V35 if you have it already, or there's the DiP V31 stuff BobT pointed out, which is epic. And we got the final Shakedown Stream tonight of 7/21/90. Wowee.

Happy Friday All!

10/30/80 awesome, have never listened to any of these complete shows. Great for working, nice long shows too, must of been awesome to have been there! Looking forward to 10/31 today, and of course SS this evening. Oh, and don’t forget the Meyer Sound webinar about their history with the dead going all the way back to the wall of sound before there was a Meyers sound! It really is a great time to be a DH.

Best tickets I ever got from mail order was this run. I was in grad school in Illinois, we got 5th row, 3rd row and 10th row for the 3 days right in front of Bob. I feel bad for the person behind us because my friend i went with was 6' 4"!!! bob t

I blocked out the time to enjoy it.

I think we can pick BobT and Cone Kid out from the crowd.. BobT is the guy hanging on the sharp-wired fence getting stern looks from Bobby. Cone Kid is the one walking lost and aimlessly through the crowd with the rainbow colored ice cream cone that seemingly never melts..

Looking forward to the last Shakedown Stream. Conekid and Bob t, you guys were there. That is great. Maybe we will see you all in the crowd.

Who has a pick for today?

I was at all 3 also.... I have great pictures from the next night!!! Looking forward to tonight's show.... Birdsong is 16 minutes!!! bob t

Shakedown Stream tomorrow is 7-21-90.
I was there.