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    "When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

    We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

    The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

    The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

    The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

    Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

    (Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

    ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
    Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

    *Helpful hints for using your USB:

    Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
    On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
    On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

    Viewing the digital book:
    You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

    To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

    Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
    When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
    PDF
    Text

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  • gerd65
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    tagging, what else
    how about rhino make a properly tagged set of files available for download to those who bought the usb (at no charge of course). They can make the same set of properly tagged files available to those who did not buy bolt (at a cost of course). Since the USB has not sold out and at the current error correction rate and pricing isn't likely to sell out anyway, seems like a great way to go. This way, those who got the physical bolt itself have the "limited edition" collectors item, such as it is. And all who are interested can receive properly tagged digital files - you know, what we thought we were buying in the first place for $700. Win, win (win). I realize i sound snarky but I am serious. Seems reasonable, no?
  • nab
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    RE: nab (dantian)
    "Takes a person less than 5 mins per disc ripping to WAV on iTunes or WMP" Sure, on low quality settings. Honestly its a personal choice, I'm not here to rain on your parade. It's your music, do with it what you like. But, if you are making an archival fileset, and only want to do it once, don't you want it done right the first time? I know I do, and I don't trust my hearing enough for it to be the only metric I judge correctness. I might not be the only one who cares about how this set was extracted. Higher quality rippers, such as Exact Audio Copy, general take as long as I mentioned, and honestly I was being generous. But getting back to the cd vs usb time question, even if someone could get an bit perfect copy in the time you suggested, 5 mins, and lets also say it only takes someone 5 mins to tag, cause they're really fast, it still works out to 10 mins per disc. That works out to 13.8 hours for the set and requires you take an action every 5 mins. Hell, even if you tag while you're ripping, you can cut the time down to 6.91 hours, the whole of which you will be active. Then you can add transcoding times if you want lossy copies The usb is just copy and paste. Takes about 90 mins on the faster, newer connection, and 4 -6 hours on the older usb connection. No worrying about bit perfect as the source should be a perfect copy of the files used to burn the commercial compact disc, no worrying about transcoding because the lossy files are included as well. No further effort from you whatsoever. At least that's how it should work, I'm looking at you GD/Rhino. But that's on them, not the usb medium itself.
  • outpost
    Joined:
    Another USB Correction
    I just noticed that the Files for Cornell 5-16-1981 (and the PDF with the 'correct song order') are actually incorrectly named as 5-26-1981 !
  • DJMac520
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    Across the Rio
    Good post. I too never received an email saying I would get the book with the USB (I bought the box too so I have it) and I certainly never had any expectation the USB was coming in the same packaging and box as the physical discs. Frankly I am not sure how anyone could read the product description column above and conclude that they were the same, but hey, whatever. People interpret stuff differently all the time. The Holiday Cards were a decent enough gesture but I tend to agree they were far from sufficient if the goal was a token thanks for the patience. I probably would have preferred a few more tickets and backstage passes over that. But in the end, the grave sin is the tagging debacle. You cannot send out a product two months late and then have it be unlistenable due to being out of order. This is a sophisticated listenership they are selling to and that sophistication made this product even marketable in the first place. Cannot betray your consumers like that.
  • Across the Rio
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    USB and the Book
    As far as I am concerned, there never was and never will be a hard copy of the book coming to those of us who bought the USB. I certainly never got the email talked about - it seems to me it was a single email from a customer rep to a single buyer. Not an official email to all buyers. None of the official email I received on the USB ever said hard copy book will be coming. Pretending that Rhino has done anything real to address or compensate the buyers for the debacle of delay and poor actual digital product seems beyond reasonably optimistic. That isn't to say I don't think Rhino should do something very significant to try and show they realize that they sold a $700 product with no quality control (those 5 holiday cards you sent me with a retail value of $12 - Do you realize that sending nothing would literally have been better? something that cost you $2 to address a $700 product disaster?). I may buy again (already subscribed for Dave's 2016, but maybe the last time). But I may not. I didn't order this the first day, or week. I spent a month deciding if it was worth it. Now that I have it, I have it, but knowing what I know, I would not do it if I had it to do over. As gerd said, I have lots and lots of music. When I am honest with myself, so much Dead alone I am unlikely to listen to all of it ever again - there are only so many hours in a life.
  • purpleerik69
    Joined:
    87....
    yes , it was the year i bought In The Dark and watched the boys rise in the charts from afar......
  • purpleerik69
    Joined:
    66`
    trip is a Pigpen heyday , anyone noticed his organ-sound is so similiarto Ray Manzareks ? Really like this baby Dead. Wow , sounds so young and fresh like it`s played today not 49 years ago....
  • OldeEnglish800
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    Joined:
    Thanks to everybody that gave
    Thanks to everybody that gave me advice on my disc problems. I'm happy to report that shortly after posting here about my couple bad discs yesterday I received a response that the discs were being put in the mail. Rhino is following through with great customer service! I'm follow up here when I get them and can listen to these last shows. With my customer service experience I'm sure the book is coming for all you USB'ers. I'm not sure what the shipping packaging was like for the USBs but I'm guessing it wasn't designed to carry a book and that was intended to ship separately.
  • dantian
    Joined:
    nab
    Takes a person less than 5 mins per disc ripping to WAV on iTunes or WMP. I'm not at all worried about "bit loss" on a brand new, unscratched disc. If there is a problem with a disc, you're going to hear it when you play it anyway. Or if it is such a miniscule error that you can't even hear it, but need a specialized ripping program to tell you about it (after a 35 min ripping and bit checking process), then why should you care when you couldn't hear the problem to begin with?
  • Guss West
    Joined:
    An Old Saw
    "When it comes to product testing, our customers come first!" I'd like to see this metadata issue escalated to the good Doc Rhino. If this is the future of GD music delivery, then we need them to do it correctly.
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"When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

(Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

*Helpful hints for using your USB:

Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

Viewing the digital book:
You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
PDF
Text

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Well said! I definitely prefer 68 - 78 but I really do like brent and what he brought to the band in terms of keyboard playing and backing vocals. Though the songs he wrote and sang I find weak but there wasn't usually alot of those anyways. In any event I am glad that I do like brent as it allows me to enjoy 10 or so more yrs of dead music (1980 thru 90) than most dead heads. I tend to not listen to much after Brent died as I was not a fan of Vince. But, when I get my 30 trips box this fall I'll give him another try. To me, the biggest matter wasn't who was playing keyboard but jerry's sad decline. I remember going to highgate show and thought it was really bad and felt the end of was near. I did have a lot of fun partying at show though :) I will say that even though I like 80's dead, there are still a number of older songs where the 80's version I do not like nearly as much (Jack straw, sugar mag, NFA). Yet othe songs like China Rider I thought translated well into the 80's. Just Mao
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when I read Mr Jack Straw's hyperbole comment. But after Kate's post, I need to set the record straight - no hyperbole intended, travesty is the correct word: perversion of, distortion of, corruption of, misrepresentation of, poor imitation of, poor substitute for, mockery of, parody of, caricature of. I had "poor imitation of" and "poor substitute for" most in mind when I made the comment, in reference to Spring 90 performances of songs like Bertha, Row Jimmy, The Wheel, Eyes of the World, Estimated Prophet, and many many more performances of songs from the 70s.... And of course, it's all about context, as Kate will concur, as there is no travesty without an original to compare to, and it must be a travesty if many folks are simply unable to palette a spoonful of Spring 90, as evidenced by the many comments made by people other than me, as well as the warehouse full of Spring 90 (the Other One). Actually, my post was not a condemnation of Brent, it was of Jerry, as he was probably the only person who could have stopped the mission creep of Brent Mydland (he was not so overwhelmingly on top of the mix and to the detriment of the old music in 79/80).
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High-larious! Soon to be a box set of its own. 90% of the time I would rather hear pre-Brent material, but there are those days where a killer 1990 Bird Song is the only answer. Ditto to some Dave's 8 from 1980. I can understand the objections. Who cares? "Travesty" is an inflammatory word to use in this crowd and if you don't know that by now you haven't been paying attention. Kate was hoping it was not to be taken seriously and indeed no one should do that.
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The real travesty is that there are about 50 hours of released Jerry Garcia Band music and another 30 hours of additional solo Garcia stuff....and...not...a...single...Reuben and Cerise! The horror! Seriously. How has this happened?
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10 years 4 months
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I don't know about travesty, but plink is definitely onomatopoeia..... (too soon?)
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My opinion: the 1st box has the best shows, but with less than optimal sound; basically, Jerry has less presence(btw, there's an FM broadcast of 3/26 that's much better than Dozin at The Nick)The 2nd box has superior sound, but the shows are disappointing, except for 3/14(to me,3/29 sounds like middle of the road Jazz/light rock; not a big fan of that genre.)
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I think comparing Brent era GD with the previous eras is the old apples and oranges comparison.A much better comparison is each era against the contemporary music of the period. I always felt the GD were the best of class when compared with the other bands touring at the time and competing for my concert dollars. I would recommend AUD recordings to hear how it sounded in the audience and not rely on the SBDs which tend to favor the vocals and instruments that don't have onstage amplification and are naturally higher in the mix.
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Instant classic, thanks Dantian. That was you? I still have your shirt let me know if you want it back, but its a little stretched out in the tire section by now. I was actually at Sullivan Stadium that day, what a zoo. Logistics, crowd and if I recall excessive heat all made for a long day, I arrived as an energizer bunny and left as a dehydrated California raisin. I think this was a couple days before In The Dark was released and my first exposure to packed stadium mayhem. Aaack, where did all these people come from!
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I was a member of the local stage crew for that show - most of the crew worked for me at Umass Amherst - I was the stage manager for UPC Productions... I built the stage, load in, load out, struck the stage, then rinse and repeat the next week for Madonna. Was asked to run a truss spot, but declined so I could be out in the crowd with my girlfriend. First Dead show, but was straight as an arrow, since I was working and planning to go to the FAA Air Traffic Controller Academy in the late summer (video games for real ;), but that's a story for another day...
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I was there, and my recollection of the scene that day is similar to yours. I actually enjoyed the night before the show in the parking lot more than the show itself... Me and my cousin drove in that night, coming from the Rochester show, in an enhanced state of mind, Fire on the Mountain just started playing on the Jeep's tape deck, when we round this corner in the Deadhead shantytown parking lot and see a bunch of guys standing on this hill with a bonfire going, waving an American flag back and forth in the fire's glow. Fire on the mountain, yup. My cousin, always the joker, was walking around holding up a one dollar bill, barking "One dollar, one dollar" as if he were trying to sell something. He was actually, he was selling one dollar bills, and it would only cost you one dollar if you wanted to buy one. This led to many interesting conversations, with some people getting the joke and playing right along, many people needing extended Q and A sessions explaining just how this complicated transaction worked, and some folks just unable to grasp what the hell was going on and looking like their minds had short circuited. We sold a lot of dollars that night, though.
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Enjoy seeing all the love for 3-14, that show and 3-24 are two of my picks for sure. I listen to mostly the years 68-70 and 73, buts its hard for me to understand how one can hate the later years. There are too many great songs and performances. Some less than cool things being said that's for sure, really for no reason.
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Hi All, I noticed the following potential clue from bolo24 on the Fare Thee Well board, likely regarding the next Dave's Picks release. I've pasted the possible clue below: "I like to keep things fun when folks are waiting patiently (or not so patiently) for announcements, or looking forward to some event. I must admit that I also enjoy messing with people's heads on occasion!" "Anyway, I'm off to parts unknown. Seems there was a break-in at the vault and I'm being framed for it. Here we go again. Just when I thought I was out...they pull me back in!" Am I off in thinking the clues are maybe referring to Watergate (i.e. break-in) and The Godfather (i.e. pulled back in)? Thanks.
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I like the way you're thinking. The Godfather was released on 3/15/72 (little help there) and Watergate occurred on 6/17/72 (Hollywood Bowl, Pigpen's last show). No shows on 3/15 and no sbds seem to have survived for 6/17. A few weeks ago bolo alluded to the year 1973 also. Lots of Watergate activity in '73, but the big events do not seem to coincide w/ too many dead shows.
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...but that Godfather quote is from III which was released in 1990, and the story takes place in 1979. "Parched" would be the best word to describe Foxboro '87- so hot, so dry, and so dusty. I remember folks trudging quite a ways to get ice for their coolers and coming back with watery bags of nearly slush...
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The travesty is saying any era of the Dead is not Palatable to the ears. I can't tell you how many shows I attended were the joke was Donna God"forbid it ever happen again"Chaux during deep discussions during intermission. The Dead Changed over the years, the TC 14 months on Keys is completely different from any other 60's Dead music, the dead where a different band pre and post Hiatus. Their equipment and speakers and sound systems improved over the years and they changed their sound to take advantage of it. The greatest thing about going to Dead Shows was being there, I cannot think of one of over the 100 I attended that was the same for me mind, body & music. If the Dead did not embrace change they would have stopped being a band well before the 70's. Stop trying to ruin other peoples trip about the music. I hope the interview on PBS with Billy K is right and we get some East Coast love but I do not think it will happen.
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Or is he being framed. Pink Panther = Paris. On August 20, 1974, the House authorized the printing of the Committee report H. Rept. 93-1305, which included the text of the resolution impeaching President Nixon and set forth articles of impeachment against him. 09/20/74 Palais Des Sports - Paris, France
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I have the fw 69 bonus disc I am willing to part with to help pay for boxzilla.PM me if interested
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The next Dave's is from a year that has not had a show released in the series, or a year that has only been released once in the series. Think 70,71,73,76,78 or 79. Have a Grateful day!
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The clues may not be clues, as bolo24 claims to be clueless (i.e. denies writing the post). If bolo24 is clueless about clues, then there is no hope for the rest of us. I'm confused... JimInMD: I do also recall a brief mention of "73" last week.
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I'm pretty sure Bolo is a real life Manchurian Candidate and is taking a few weeks off to sharpen his skills for the run to 2016. The sheer quantity of candidates pretty much ensures we will never figure out his (or her) true identity. As for Bolo being clueless, I doubt it. I seem to recall an attempted breach at NSA during one of his clue spewing moments earlier this year that ended in deaths of two cross dressers at the NSA security checkpoint (this did happen). Coincidence? DaP 15 has to be something big.., there's some good suggestions on the Dave's Picks thread and hype is starting to build. Its been a while since we have seen 1970?? My guess on the 2016 box is Summer or Fall 1973.
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Mr. Jack Straw, I have been holding to my commitment (only a year old now) to not buy anymore JGB releases until they release a show with Reuben and Cherise. It is unfathomable that it has not seen the light of day on an official release yet. Hoping for 1970 with the next release. Come on, Dave.... An early 1980s show would also be fine by me.
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If LoveJerry's Feb '79 wish doesn't come true for DaP 15, I'm in with you Jim, let's get some Summer '73. There's a huge gap in 1973 between DP 28 and DP 19 (Feb - Oct).
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Last week I happened to listen to 2 nice Bertha openers -- 5/14/74 and 5/7/77 -- great spirit and vocals. That '92 version is good S-Bro, Jerry is quite present and even dazzling, but the emotional ride is kind of flat for me. Maybe it's the board.
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9 years 9 months
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I love how you got up on your soap box and did the exact same thing Minas did by ripping on Donna and ruining my trip on the music. Jerk or joke, I'm not sure.
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I was at Foxboro that day .... Had a lot of fun. It was baking hot with very high humidity. I also remember it being one of the worst dead shows I ever saw.
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I agree with KeithFan. Bring on 2/15/73, 4/2/73!
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While I think it a great idea to offer a USB stick with the 80 CD's worth of material I feel that neglecting to offer the hard copy book,poster,and 7 inch record is a horrible idea. It would certainly be nice to not have the digital information on the bulky and less user friendly CD's. However, the book, that is something that is quite a lesser offering as a digital version. That goes double for the poster and the record...they are physical tangible items and lose much in the digitization. I'd be happy to have a USB stick instead of 80 CD's. I would not be happy to have no poster to display and no book to hold and no record to put on the turntable. Please, offer the physical items in the same format no matter the format of the digital items.

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Yes bring on some 73.
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17 years 7 months
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Thanks for posting that article. Nice!
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...thanks Kind; just finished listening to The Magic Trifecta from 94 and must say, if this traditionally Johnson/Nixon/Ford lovin' Head is sufficiently ciced to get on her feet and twirl behind the keyboard to some Clinton-era Dead, then this release is indeed Golden...peace/K
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Thanks, kindagrae, for that interview with Dave--very interesting hearing just a small bit about the process of choosing releases. I love how the reporter thought he was holding Dave's "feet to the fire" by asking him about his favorite Boston show. It's no surprise to us that he mentioned several shows but I was surprised that the first one Dave mentioned was 4-2-73. Hopefully that will be released soon. Dantian, great video of you at Foxboro. Oddly enough you look exactly as I imagined.
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There's a semi-review Dick wrote of the Wichita show, where he described the jam at the end of He's Gone as approaching a Truckin jam in terms of intensity. Though maybe I'm misremembering the specifics of his comments. This just to say, the Peggy'O from 10/30/77 still reigns king for me. Although there are versions whose overall pace I enjoy more- it's the jam. Almost like it's the zenith of the '77 Peggy'O. Not going as far to say 4/16/78 has dethroned my favorite version, but the jam almost turns into The Music Never Stopped for a few moments. Just made me think of Dick's comment about Wichita for some reason. Anyways, solid Peggy'O if in the mood: https://archive.org/details/gd1978-04-16.sbd.miller.82273.sbeok.flac16
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I know, right? I guess it comes through in my comments.
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I just got a prompt from a buddy reminding me of that summer of 1978, when the Dead first played at Red Rocks July 7 & 8, 1978. First the Dead actually circled back to play Nebraska. I know I have told this one before, but here it goes again. You know how us oldsters repeat ourselves all the time. At least that is what my kids tell me. They played the Omaha Civic Auditorium, where the Dead played once before in 1973.. We got there and the venue was half full (about 4,000) but everyone was chomping at the bit in anticipation to hear them live. I took my Nak 550 into the venue and there was no hassle getting the deck in this time, but remember these were the days before ‘tapers sections’. And each venue or even staff may present a different challenge. But not here, thank goodness. Out in the hallway, the Hell’s Angels wandered about sporting full colors and big grins. They may have been transporting ‘party favors’ and decided to take in a show. Or maybe the Angels were just road tripping with the band (although I didn't see them at the next few shows). My buddy even brought his 68 year old mother to the show. She sat up in the stands “It is just too loud down there!” Anyway, I headed down to the floor with my Nak 550 to set up in front of the soundboard. When I started to get my gear set up and saw this guy beside me with a great rig. Luckily this kind stranger (I have since discovered he was famous taper Bob Wagner) then let me patch out of the back of his deck, which was wonderful as he had a great 8 ft. tall mike stand set-up. He had a Sony deck and mics, but with that high stand his mic’s were well above the crowd noise. We were about 15 to 20 feet in FOB. So Garcia treated us to a blistering Sugaree opener, the kind that drove the crowd wild. His leads mounted into a wave that crests, recedes, regroups, and comes back rolling in with such power and delight that adds a synergistic effect to our frenzied response as his rolling/soaring guitar work lift and subside with that band. Then Beat In on Down the Line, TLEO and now it was Bob’s turn in the spotlight with a Look’s like Rain. About halfway through the song, I suddenly noticed something shimmering in the air between the band and me. I thought “what a fantastic light show! Or have I have shifted into fifth gear just a little early that I scheduled?” I staggered towards that disturbance in front of me to investigate. People were dancing wildly in the middle of the floor as a waterfall played over them. It was about 25 feet in circumference. I put my hand in, water…hand out, no rain..I am standing in front of an indoor waterfall. what to do? I jumped into pouring rain that was INSIDE the middle of the auditorium! Then I stepped back and was out of it. I shook my head and then lunged back into the deluge and danced through Looks Like Rain & then during Direwolf as well and a delightful All Over now. (Complete with Donna in perfect pitch!) Then Candyman and Lazy>Supplication before Bobby informed us “We’re going to take a short break”. I staggered back to reload a new tape and then I did look for some validation of my experience. And I asked my friends if I was not in fact ‘soaking wet’ as I patted my soaked shirt. They grinned knowingly and affirmed that, yes, in fact I was “all wet”. And then this unique show continued, (nice indoor water-feature, boys !) with a killer second set complete with a transportive Estimated> Eyes> drums> Wharf Rat> Truckin> Iko Iko> Around. And then after a lengthy absence from the stage the boys returned to play us ‘Promised Land” as an encore. As I left the auditorium I noticed the water standing on the ground outside, a summer storm? Was this a case of a leaky roof or didn't the Dead just conjure up the forces of nature as they were so prone to do? But back to the important stuff, what were the Dead going to do next? Would Phil rev up his reverse gravity machine and pummel us with Phil-bombs at the next show? Would they levitate the crowd, and have us all dance while floating in the 'cool Colorado range'? I HAD to follow them to those Red Rocks shows in 1978. So a road-trip to Colorado it was. This was the Dead’s first Red Rocks jaunt (and my first as well, although my girlfriend (now wife) had seen Joni Mitchell there previously and raved about the venue) so my anticipation was so ‘high’. (In many ways.) So I packed my taping and camping gear and off we went. When we walked up to the Rocks entrance, the Feyline security crew (or were they the John Scher guys?) were stopping people and inspecting any 'carry in' bags. I thought 'uh oh, this looks rougher than Omaha Nebraska'. A security behemoth that I will call “BigBoy’ stopped me at the entrance to look through my Boy Scout backpack. He hefted my NAK 550 out of the pack and held it aloft with one beefy paw, exclaiming “Hey, you can’t take this in!” I gave him my best perplexed look and said “What it’s just a tape player.” (first lie) Then the giant BigBoy instructs me to “take that back to your car”. I retorted “I can’t, I hitchhiked to the show” (second lie). Beefy Bruiser BigBoy points to my ticket and says “the ticket says no recorders on it, you can't take it in” and I tell him “look I don’t have any microphones” (third lie) and hold up my arms to be searched (of course my comrades had the mics with them). Then I sighed loudly and popped open the back of the Nak deck and let eight D cell batteries drop onto the ground. “Look, I dumped out the batteries, it can't record”. (lie number four) BigBoy stood there with his arms crossed in front of me, but I could see a small crack in his resolve. So I pulled that thread “Look, I hitchhiked all the way here from Nebraska to see this show, would you hold onto this deck for me? It cost me $600 (which in ’78 was a lot of dough) but if you just hold it for me, and then I will find you after the show. You look like an honest guy.” (fifth lie, this guy didn't look trustworthy). I push the Nak towards him, and this deck is huge and weighs a ton, (a goddamn boat anchor). I really played my trump card here and was trying to hold my ‘gameface’, Suddenly all the heads waiting in line behind (and all my friends) erupt with yells at the BigBoy to hurry up and started chanting “let us in”. BigBoy gives his mullet a shake and then he points into the venue and looks at me and exclaims “Go on, get out of here” and I dive headlong into my first Red Rocks show with a grin a mile wide(high)! Followed by Mary with my mics and my buddies with my fresh batteries (re: lie number four) and my blank tapes. The batteries that I dumped out for BigBoy were already ‘dead’ (pun intended). I again ran into that ‘kind stranger’ (Dr. Bob Wagner, FOB right side)) to plug out of his Sony again. Those two shows were stupefying, and the band obviously enjoyed playing there. Bobby's deer joke, and I remember Phil leading the boys through “Cold Rain & Snow” with his bass punching that tune into a triumphant ‘strut’ that evening.I recall Jerry broke a string during the Scarlet>Fire, which really didn't slow the pace of that perfect evening. On into Dancin' >NFA > Black Peter > Around & Around and then a dual encore of US Blues & Johnny B Goode. The next night was much the same. Each night we would watch the clouds chase each other in the sky as the band serenaded us. Until it became dark and then we looked out ‘over’ the Dead to see the distant lights of Denver sparking in the background. Second night second half, we were treated to a tremendous Estimated > Other One> Eyes of the World > drums> Wharf Rat > Franklin's Tower > Sugar Mag. The crowd was especially raucous as Wharf Rat wound to that tender quiet point and Phil (or was it Bobby) gave a "shhhhh" to still us in preparation for that wonderful 'launching' platform/crescendo. Those evenings the Dead's aural wonders were matched with the Red Rocks astounding visuals as we were perched in between those massive stony slabs jutting into the sky. The Dead's stage view was spectacular as well looking up at the throng of deadheads dancing sandwiched in then red rocks with the stars twinkling above us. As the Dead those two evenings took us all on an astounding journey of Americana, myth, rock and roll, country, space, jam, fable, fun, roller coaster, and turn on a dime delights, it all 'rolled into one'. And then as the Dead finished us all off with “Werewolves of London” we were all crooning back to the dead with our own howl of “Aoooooo”. And Garcia was grinning ear to ear as he bid us all a “good night”. Happy July 8th. The Teacher opens the door, but you must enter by yourself.
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16 years 2 months
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I've been listening for thirty years never heard so much hate for the music. Turn The Page.
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17 years 6 months
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9 years 8 months
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All I can say is wow (and thank you)....absolutely making my morning!
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17 years 6 months
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The point being there have always been haters even when the band was still performing, just tired of the negative vibe while reading the forum. Nothing against Donna from me. They're a band beyond description
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12 years 6 months
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That DL interview was really good.. Thanks for that.. I'm glad DL has taken notice of 4/2/73.. I've been wanting a release from this show for a long time now.. Hopefully, it see's the light of day real soon...
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Thanks for the links, first time I ever heard Franklin's Tower in '78. It's great, really rocks! Got to get an official release of Help => Slip => Franklin from '78...why not just give us a box from '78 or early '79. Just a little box, three shows, or four if you're feeling froggy. Heck I'd pay for as many as they'd wish to include. Maybe a 5 show extravaganza like May 1977. Also digging the Werewolves of London on the 7/8/78 link. It's one thing to cover an old song, but what a sign of respect for Warren Zevon that they covered a tune that had pretty much just been released. This was the last time they did it until '85. Also love the Estimated Prophets from '78 - you may have heard me ramble on in the past about Jerry's two minute solos that he started doing in Estimated that year. If you've never checked it out before, I recommend 2/3/78 (DP 18). Well guys (and Kate and LoveJerry), another month and we'll be sitting pretty with DaP 15, and soon after that 30 Trips. I can't wait to hear the 9/28/75 show. I have a special fattie rolled and ready to go that simply says "The Eleven" in thin black Sharpie. I'm not too fluent in 80s Dead until around '87. If anyone cares to provide me with some guidance - which shows from '79 - '86 in the 30 Trips box are the top 2 or 3? P.S. - here's some obscure Dead trivia - which E72 show features the intro to Weather Report Suite, and after which song is it played?
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...is that high quality pristine recordings of Alpine Valley '87 don't exist in the vault, and a personal travesty is that I'll likely never get to hear a single note of the recordings they do have from this run. I remember many tapers at this run, but only a couple of audience sources have ever openly circulated. Anybody who has listened to the first night knows exactly what I'm talking about. An ALL TIME show if there ever was one. Less of a travesty is that my first show from Pine Knob '84 does exist in the vault in good quality, but I'll may never get to hear a note of the vault sources of that one either. There was one Reuben and Cherise released as menu music on VFTV 2. KeithFan2112 - the '81, '82 and '84 shows from the box are all great. Check 'em out.
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