Grateful Dead

2/21
Overall, Relaxed, but in a good way..

The question with these 71 shows for some of us less initiated is; why? Why no more jams, short country or country like songs, etc....why did they stop doing what the proverbial “I” liked (think early 69).
Why, because it’s actually what they need and wanted to do! Lesson here perhaps is to not compare too much between different “dead’s”, but consider what dead THEY were at or after, at that time? The tunes, the length, the tone and style, the AUTHENTICITY they seemed to continually be after with most different styles, sometimes completely so.
So the trap is to not compare styles, or apples to oranges, but rather concentrating on how well they assimulated and perfected the style du jour! Of course it all ended up gumbo style, flavoring the whole.
What ever their current focus, identity or style, without being over the top, they would throw themselves totally into, while always maintaining just a bit of the “old” former styles, until it was time to go furthur, and try something else. That trying to avoid the whole closed in thing JG speaks of...think how much they, especially JG, would delve/deep dive into some of these styles;
Blues
Psychedelic
Folk, Americana
Jazz, free form, just to name a few...and now shoot em up, straight ahead Bakersfield country bar rock. Yee haw pass me a longneck and let’s get rocking!

Cold Rain &Snow opener, followed by a Bobby McGee; tight, but JG hits a few clams, though he has nice feel.
Loser: well played, already not like a new song, except JG solo, still searching for the sound there...
Easy Wind: prime grease, and though he flubs, he actually recovers nicely and improvs outta it. Nice solid, relaxed jam, no ones in a hurry, JGs on now, nothing stratospheric, just G.O. 71 GD!
Playing in the Band: progressing, Phil better every version? See now why they didn’t use any of these shows for Skull Fuck; probably wanted some of the new material on the live album but most of these just weren’t there yet compared to the versions they did use from April...
Luckily we get the multi-track snapshots of this historic little run anyways...Sure we’ll get more... : )
Bertha: progressing nicely. more of the nice relaxed energy versus forced. ....and then....damn tuning.
Eventually, the advent of tuners was a blessed event for them as well as us!
But in the mean time, ahem.
Nice if perhaps apprehensive electric version of Ripple with nice harmonies, including Phil, whom I haven’t noticed so much this run? You can feel the confidence build with the music and with the energy of the crowd.
Lied Cheated: : after perhaps stepping outta their comfort zone a tad, it’s back with some solid straight up, bacon, no chaser! Again that relaxed, confident, comfortable, we own this shit and thus are in no hurry vibe.
Same with another nice countrified Sugar Mag.
Greatest Story: still not fully entraining on this one. Not bad for a new tune though, but another example of the infancy of some of these tunes..
Interestingly, it seems like Garcia’s songs are a bit tighter and more formulated with the band then Bobs new songs...
Nice one 2 punch with rocking JBG to close the set. Rocking, but still that nice in control, what I’ve been calling relaxed vibe, not the frantic, slightly unsteadiness sometimes found

China Cat/Rider: Phun Phil messing with the intro! before they slid into by now an old regular, Really feeling like this version of the band is better served by one drummer. Just as I believe the psychedelic stuff was better with 2 drummers. Nice solid, familiar versions of these including nice Phil harmonies.
Bird Song: smooth and getting smoother by the version.Blows me away that this is only the fourth version!
And it’s got a Cumberland, a second set Cumberland!, though that wasn’t really a thing back then, but boy it’s just right for typing! More settled in/relaxed vibe.PROPER!
King Bee: please pass the napkins cuss there’s a grease hog buzzin’ around my brain! And just like that they tap back into the blues band of yore. And the folk band with, BIODTL by request? is another by now fun, old chestnut. It’s like they’ve done the heavy lifting by this point on a “Sunday” and are just having fun cruising now on some familiar, so easier terrain toward their day off?
RAT; well, maybe not just yet..though by this point it doesn’t sound new. Besides Bob being a little outta tune, it’s pretty damn tight! Another that blows me away knowing this is only the fourth version. Diggin the stand alone versions too.
Trucking: amusingly starts a little slow but they quickly bring up to the M.O. that is this evenings nice relaxed, smooth vibe. A band comfortable with who they are and where there going.
Cool to think several of these Working Mans/AB tunes aren’t really all that old on this night, but already sound like tight old classics.
HA! New York’s got the ways and means, but just won’t let you be, makes me think of ole Strider able to have the means to just hop on the subway, and no big deal head down to the Capitol, but almost gets jumped in the alley!
More of the nice “status quo” of many of the above, on Casey J., and of course got ta keep on moving on up and pushing’ on. Pig Fest!
Like y’all have had your drinks, appts.,soups and salads, but now it’s time for the main corse..the greasy BBQ simmered to fine perfection by this point in time! (I can see BTK drooling out there ; ) ready for some Cherry pie now!
And then, like a 80s brokedown to close a run on a Sunday, a nice UJB, unfortunately marred by the damn tuning issues. It must of been really frustrating to be so hampered, but such was life back then. Guess that’s downside of not hiding behind a wall of distortion like many other guitarist of the time.
When I first heard this show when released last year, I hadn’t heard any of these shows except the 19th. But now that we’re going in order, it fits in just right in the overall flow. Nice Sunday, relaxed, confident, feeling of achievement? Like we did what we had to do, now we get a day off, then 1,2, end of the run and onward.
I’d have a tough time picking wether I liked this one better than the 18th, but I liked it more than the 20, but not as much as the 19th? So far...
Like the band, I’m ready for a day off. Might not listen to any dead at all tomorrow to keep my reference inside this run, but allow a cleanse elsewhere...
But really looking forward to the last 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday as I’ve never heard either.
Until then amigos!

2 20 is ok, not stratospheric

2 23 71 is stratospheric

Another fine show but it didn’t quite...? It seemed just a pinch....less? Words aren’t working, it’s a feeling...maybe I was influenced by Bobs opening Hangover comments, cause that’s how it felt (projecting my own experiences); they killed it the night before, now settled in after two big shows, breaking out 7 new tunes, whilst dealing with inter organizational turmoil, it’s Friday night, their in NY, after the big show they relax a tad and blow off steam, perhaps a lot of steam, only to find themselves right back up there before ya know it in a mere few hours and well, time to go to work boys!
It’s subtle, but they seem to have to ease into it slightly, versus turbo charged on all cylinders out the gate?
They start out ok, but the first part of the first set their not quite there yet, good, but not great; a little slop, more tuning issues I.e., Bob in Loser...Bertha and Playin perhaps sound more like new songs then the first two versions. Hard to Handle, similarly to 2/18 is again good, but not quite the preacher come to meetin’ fire and brimstone compared to say some 70 versions?
But by Bird Song they seem to be settling in, like after that first drink/joint and a few tunes under the belt, and away we go. Big Boss then into a nice Cryptical suite, if not the big launchpad it would become, a good rendition of the times I.e., Skull Fuck etc, and they seem to have shook off the cob webs. Another good rookie outing of the Rat, followed by a nice Maggy closer. In some ways I like these Sugar Mags not being the full drawn out beast it could become. They have that more country flavor and like many of these songs, that sorta short and sweet vibe. Like Doc says of these early Bird Songs.
I guess I’d call the second set “status quo”, not in a bad way, just typical songs, played according to the times.
Perhaps some of my feelings about this are situational? Though i might of been influenced by the drop in audio quality from those first two official releases with all that voodoo, I did listen to most of this on the big system versus the first 2 we’re mostly on the lesser living room zone.
Not sure why it’s nagging me to come up with “words” but I can’t, just a feeling. A good show, but I’d take the bling and set list of the first night, and 2/19 overall, so far...
This is where doing the whole run comes in. If I hadn’t moved in order, I might have felt different about this one, so I’m sure much of my “feeling” was influenced by the previous two...
2/21/71: back to the multitrack full treatment goodness!
Onward!

It was as high energy as I remember being there. I do remember during the end of the New Riders set while they were playing Honky Tonk Woman the crowd was going wild, Bob Weir, Pigpen and Veronica Barnard ( Pigs girlfriend) stood backstage on the right side checking out scene. Bobby was shaking his head in the affirmative. The balcony used to shake during the more rocking songs. 2/21/71 tonight.

Much like George Foreman.. all my kids (and turtles) are named Charlie Miller.

That's all. Bob t

... I just closed my eyes and picked one.
Shall we go??

Both seem ok? I listened to parts of Loser from all four, think the fourth is better than the first, and the third is better still, but the levels are low so I’m going with the Miller. It seems to breath a bit more in the High end like you said, more clear/transparent, the ole difference between a clean window and a dirty window...I.e., you can hear the crowd trying to clap along at the start of Loser better...though the Miller does have some artifacts, but as you say it hsas the Mark just as plain as day, so will hedge our proverbial bets on that horse!
Sounds like somebodies still hungover LOL

Speculating:
To my ears the 2006 Betty's circulating sound like some Dolby application happened (says Dolby A)
the 2011 CM doesn't mention any Dolby info.
Possibly same original source just different transfers.
Charlie would know for sure ;)

EDIT: Could be a personal pref thing, comparably they both sound good. I'm not sure I have the pro jargon for what I'm hearing. But I guess I would say, Miller has more high end / dynamics. But curious how would you describe it?

EDIT2: Now I'm worm holing, but almost sounds like the 2006 is close to clipping as well and potentially a pitch correction needed. Now I'm really curious to hear what you hear ;)

What’s up with those 7” Beatty reels?