Grateful Dead

It's late on a Sunday and that means bed soon, but since my quick reply to TD's inquiry below, I've been further thinking about the tragedy of Pig - and I certainly think of it that way despite the manifest personal responsibility for the consequences of near incessant alcohol abuse from a young age. It's a spiraling decline that seems particularly pathos-laden given the picture of a gentle, genial man that emerges from all the familiar documentary sources.

I take notes or attempt to catalogue page references by subject from my little library of the Dead, but realize I've done a poor job on this particular subject - and certainly during the general time frame implied by TD's question. So, I wanted to share a couple relevant - and heartbreakingly poignant - passages from Jackson's "Garcia/American Life" that I've revisited since:

First, McIntire speaking: "I remember one day Garcia coming into my office and saying, 'Look, I'm really worried about Pig. I think his life is in danger, and I want to do whatever we can. The band'll pay for everything. Let's find out if there's anything we can do.' So I researched it and I found out the most famous place in the world for liver problems was Sheila Sherlock's clinic in London. But my doctor, Sandor Bernstein, said there was a guy at UCSF [University of California and San Francisco] who was as good. So we slotted Pig with him. And Pig jumped in and did, too. He stopped drinking and he learned all the things about nutrition that he could. He really tried, but it was too late."

And second: "[On the tour] he rode on the hard bus, this Danish bus, which was sort of like the crew bus," Annette Flowers said. "It was the quieter of the two buses usually. Pigpen lived on the back bench of that bus. ... I think that trip sort of sunk it for him; put him over. It was really grueling in a lot of ways." "He got knocked off that bench five or six times," Rock Scully recalled. "He rolled off that bench and a couple of times he really hurt himself I could see it; he really hurt his kidneys and bruised himself. I'd have to help him off the bus."

"He really tried, but it was too late." A short, simple statement, but one that can put fault lines in even a strong foundation. I recall reading that Pig sent Veronica away as his condition became increasingly acute, which, in light of other information, clearly underscores what a lonely and frankly terrifying period those final 12-18 months must have been for that kindhearted soul./K

I posted this in the taper forum, but thought this may be the better spot (also, patience is not a virtue of mine). I am sure this exists in written form somewhere, I just can't seem to find it.

What is the official band policy for trading in shows that have been officially released? Specifically, I am wondering about the ones that were released officially but are out of print. Seems to me that if they are not for sale currently, we would not be costing the band money by trading those shows. In fact, the only folks it would cost are those selling the out of print releases at a profit on the secondary market. Just curious what the official policy is on this considering the volume of official releases these days.

Yes. I suspect Pig was resting from his short reunion tour with the band in December '71 and fortifying his commitment to sobriety in what had to have been an unfathomably difficult lifestyle change (if not in terms of medical necessity, then certainly in practice).

"Ace" was recorded from January - March '72, but recall that Pig's alcohol-related health problems forced a touring hiatus in August '71 that culminated with hospitalization in September for bleeding ulcers, hepatitis, and spleen problems. He was only able to rejoin the Dead beginning early December in Boston, at which time I recall Phil describing Ron as shockingly frail in his book. Not surprisingly, Pig's contributions are limited, and while progressively more energetic throughout the month (at least to my ears), they are still anemic by historical standards; though by NYE he sounds beat.

In retrospect, it's a miracle that the Dead community (once and future) got Pig back in functional form for the brilliantly recorded European tour, especially given how quickly he dropped off radar for related health problems afterward.

EDIT: And yes, "sabbatical" serves as a neat and entirely appropriate bit of shorthand in conversation among those who know....

essentially it was a dead album with everyone on board contributing except for Micky who was on a sabbatical, (as i see it) and Pig, why wasnt Pig contributing? was he too sick at the time?

CC, your post invites a bit of confusion by suggesting that you saw both the Dead and TSOC on the same NYE bill at Winterland in '69; though 50 years is an understandably long time. It's hard to imagine, but the Dead were not playing on a West Coast home field that December 31st, and were rather in the midst of an odd eastbound triptik that took them to Dallas on 12/26, Hollywood (FL) on 12/28, and the Boston Tea Party on 12/29-30, while closing out at the Fillmore East on 1/2-3/70.

Indeed, the '69 NYE playbill on the poster you linked does not name the Dead. So TSOC and the GoGD were on opposite coasts at the decade's close. In any event, here's a link to a CM SBD for the Dead's '69 NYE show:
https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1969/12/31?source=87994

Incidentally, I couldn't find a poster for Boston NYE, but here's one from the night before (it would appear the promo dept. missed the spirit of the "grateful" dead; you'd think an impossibly early incarnation of Maiden was playing that night!):
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YQBsfGwVEeo/TUSkqEWWy3I/AAAAAAAARQs/qRvbGdWK_…

However, you are correct that the Dead played NYE '70 at Winterland, but, consistent with the playbill cited in Deadbase50, the following promo poster does not show TSOC on the same stage, but rather NRPS, "assorted friends" (apparently Hot Tuna), and Stoneground (note also, "lights by Little Princess 109").
https://img0.etsystatic.com/030/0/8448089/il_570xN.542921874_q4nc.jpg

Checking Deadbase, here's a link to what seems the complete NYE '70 show; however, it appears to be mix of AUD and FM broadcast that provides poor sound quality through Cumberland (even so, the Truckin' opener is well worth a listen), but thankfully improves in time for the set's highlights at Cryptical and China>Rider through close at UJB.
https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1970/12/31?source=88719

Regardless of which show you attended, either would've been a great way to kick off your own personal attendance record! Got a story?/K

Thanks for sharing this post i really like this post

You may want to post this on the Dave's Picks 31 thread so more people see it. Most folks are there.

I can not find the 1st GD show I attended anywhere in GD archives. No GD archive lists the same bands that I saw that night, as confirmed by the Sons archive which has the poster from that night:

<<Wednesday, December 31, 1969: '1969 New Years Eve 1970', Winterland 2000 Post Street at Steiner Street, San Francisco, California
The band was billed only as 'The Sons' on the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna. Lights by Brotherhood of Light. This show, from 8:00pm to 8:00am, was promoted by Bill Graham Presents In San Francisco.>>
http://brunoceriotti.weebly.com/the-sons-of-champlin.html

How do I update my address for my Dave's subscription? Want to make sure #31 gets safely home!

Could you please explain the logic of "limited releases" as it applies to an "alternative" business model, such as the grateful dead" The "limited release" model is a concept taken from the good old music biznezz, in order to promote sales, keep prices high, and maintain collector value of limited products.
I "missed" the window for daves pick's 30, a rare release from the year 1970, the first show that I recorded 1/3/70. I was disappointed, but managed to get one on a record/cd selling site. I paid double, but I still saved $$$, as I do not want to purchase a "subscription" to the daves picks yearly releases, as I am primarily interested in obtaining music from the 1966-1970 period, and not many releases are from these years. I guess I could always buy a subscription, and then sell off the unwanted items on another site for a profit, which is what this concept does, encourages a "black market". I do not consider this to be "progressive" in the least. I would rather purchase through GDCORP, as I have in the past, but if GDCORP wants to encourage this type of atmosphere, I am forced to participate in order to get what I want, and I am grateful to the sellers who have made it possible to get what I want. But it sure seems contrary to what Jerry's idea of business was.