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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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  • Kayak Guy
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    RE: Flacing and Aflacking,,,sorry ALAC...
    Wavs would be fine, except for the space thing, these particular flac files are backups that have already been created and already playable on non apple or Itunes systems. Just to be clear, the entire circulating 30 years of GD in Flac/shn is about 5 TB, it's over 10 TB in wav format, both are lossless, and it seems not easily playable in ITunes. To get from the already lossless flac or SHN files on the HDs to a listenable format requires conversion to an acceptable file type used by the individuals player. Why people use certain systems is personal choice, I'm just trying to find a way of taking what we have on HD and making it more user friendly to people that feel most comfortable in ITunes. My questions are to find a simple way to allow Itunes users to access the goodies that are in circulation, but not supported by the apple ecosystem. It seems like it is an option though time consuming, my idea is that if it's that much of a chore, maybe sharing ALAC files would be a way of avoiding duplication of efforts. I'm thinking of vines specifically made for ITunes users.
  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Flac and Wav
    If I have to convert, I usually leave it was .wav as well. I know its a big waste of disc space.. but...
  • Ziffle
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    Flac etc.
    wjonjd, mac will play WAV just fine. I keep my better quality files as WAV. XLD Lossless Decoder (Mac only) is free (although I donated $10 b/c I've been using it for years). It will perfectly transcode between all lossless formats and will also do sample rate conversions, etc. and is highly customizable. Written by some genius in Japan. Anyway, been great chatting with everyone, but now I'm out of here for a while, although no doubt I'll look in from time to time. Life rears it's ugly head, must focus on work etc.
  • wjonjd
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    Flacing and Aflacking (loved that)
    People convert to flac because they are about 50% the size of the original wav or aiff file, yet when played decompress bit for bit to the original wav or aiff for playback. "Wouldn't .wav be best,,, it is non compressed, right". It's not best, if by that you mean better than flac. That's the point of lossless compression. They are ultimately identical, with flac taking up half the space. That's the difference between "lossless" compression, which decompresses bit for bit identically to the original, vs "lossy" compression like mp3 and aac, which throw out information forever to get much smaller files, typically only 10-20% of the original size. When they decompress for playback, they are NOT identical to the original wav or aiff that made them. Apple will not play .wav, but it plays .aiff which is basically the same thing, just in an envelope recognized by apple software.
  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Flacing and Aflacking,,,sorry ALAC...
    Why convert them at all, why not just leave them as a .wav file? The file size is not that much different, right? Wouldn't .wav be the best,,, it is non compressed, right?Will apple play a .wav file?
  • wjonjd
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    @KayakGuy again :)
    Wait!!! I just checked, and foobar2000, which is free, will convert from Flac to Apple Lossless (alac), or Apple's lossy compressed format (aac), or Apple's version of wav (aiff), but you need to also download their Free Encoder Pack. However, there is no Mac version. To use this to get the files onto a Mac you must do the conversion in Windows, and then transfer the files to a Mac. All the converters I saw that will go from Flac to ALAC directly on the Mac are paid software, but perhaps someone can find a free one.
  • wjonjd
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    @Kayakguy
    Yes, exactly. I'm not sure of a tool to go straight from flac to alac. I'm going to look and will edit this post if i find something :) Edit: i just checked and dbPowerAmp will convert directly from flac to Apple Lossless. This program is not free. I think i paid $18 for it, but that was a while ago. They do have a fully functional 21 day trial download. The program comes with several built in formats and they supply downloadable codecs for other formats, but flac and Apple Lossless and several others are built-in, i think. I also have Trader's Little Helper, but this program does not seem to have an option to convert to Apple Lossless, although mybe they have a codec for it - i didnt check and its not built-in. Edit2: i just checked, and dbPowerAmp comes in versions for both Windows and Mac. It is $39 for a single license or $58 for 2-5 installs. The $18 i paid may have been rhe price to upgrade to a newer version, but that was years ago.
  • wjonjd
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    @ziffle, jrf68, and ststephen71
    There is another active thread on dead.net - no!!!! do not go looking for it, i implore of you kind participants, lest you take up thine holy meat cleaver and onst a bloody rampage wouldst thou embark upon - and i would like to commend jrf68 and ststephen71 for their wit and restraint, but most especially Ziffle who wrote out a most honest, reasoned, and patient response to the evidently deceased mascot of a flaky corn based breakfast sugar. Ziffle, i am humbled - nay, i stand slack jawed in awe, filled with fear and trembling - at the display of superhuman self control. Several times i thought of responding myself to this Anthony Of Another Thread, and each time i stopped myself knowing that i had not the strength to write thereupon without my head exploding, surely ending in Anthony's premature demise (although he does claim to have already made the journey of the Styx.) Hats off to ya!!!! :):)
  • Kayak Guy
    Joined:
    flac files info
    Thanks for the info, my friend will be happy for the help. I think it's only the PC version that is involved in the transfers so far. So, if ALAC is lossless then the circulating SHN/Flac collection could be transferred to this format for sharing to this ITunes using community? Seems like a lot of work for a single player, but if people do the work to transfer the existing files to ALAC, then maybe they could share their work and build a collection of ALAC versions of the shows for ITunes specific playback. One more question, is there an easy way to to get from FLAC to ALAC without the wav step?
  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Numb gums....
    ....funny that numbness would be something someone would pay for....bad bad stuff. Was fun for a bit, but will grab you by the balls.... Stay kind my friends....
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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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15 years 10 months
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I hope there isn't going to be too many people regretting not buying. I want to see the inside of this box, how the CD's are packed and pictures of the book really bad.
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12 years 11 months
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Gearing up some shows waiting for this box...daves 8, dicks 13, and dicks 32 which are shows all around shows in "Boxzilla"... just passing the time!....
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17 years 4 months
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....I believe that the discs will be presented ala DaP with a hard foam laser cut "case" with slots ala a firearm case or something to hold a collection of Toy Story dolls ala Toy Story 2. Or they might be presented with a May '77 setup. Who knows? No Road Trips please!!....
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17 years 4 months
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They have been going fast this week end. Should be sold out tomorrow or Tuesday at the latest. I guess we will not see the inside of the box until the postman delivers it in 3 weeks. Can't wait. Rock on
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17 years 5 months
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Don't skip 7-28-82. A fantastic show, not officially released but great nonetheless. A fantastic TLEO. A top choice for release if you asked me. Funny, I haven't really latched on the other Red Rocks '82 shows yet, but this one has always been a favorite since I've been listening on tapes. Gotta get to those other ones myself just to hear if they capture the magic...
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14 years 11 months
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220 left - the 200 I ordered I've cancelled as didn't think I'd make enough profit back... Just kidding....but I might have a spare (through mis-ordering) taking offers over $1500 in 6 months lol Now where's the goddamn pictures of the inside!!
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13 years 5 months
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Our friend from Tennessee doesn't need me to defend him, BUT I'll say there is a place in that one for Jerry to soar. It's in the instrumental bridge part, where he often starts off with a carnival theme and often ends somewhere I could not have predicted. Not all of them achieve lift off, but many of them do. The repetition of the verse licks can be a little tedious if you're not in the mood for it. But that song would be far from making my list of "wish they never wrote it". That honor would go to LLR for me, at least in terms of songs from early on.
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12 years 10 months
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17 days until the ELEPHANTINE box ships.
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13 years 9 months
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I would agree that LLR can often be, um, pedestrian. But, I still remember being in the car as a teenager in 1979 sometime hearing that tune for the first time on a tape when my brother mentioned "doesn't Jerry's playing there sound just like rain pitter pattering deliciously over your mind?" Wish I could remember what tape it was. A Tempe tape, maybe. Anyway, since then I've heard a few versions where they blow the roof off bringing that tune to its end. Now, El Paso - maybe some of those early ones could get creative, but it never did much for any of the shows I was at. I would put it on my list before LLR. Did someone already put Day Job on the list??
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17 years 4 months
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It is only a few hours now until "Sold Out" gets posted Rock on
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15 years 1 month
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10
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12 years 2 months
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Get 'em while their hot!!!!
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9 years 4 months
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4
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9 years 4 months
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3
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15 years 10 months
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2
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12 years 11 months
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2
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9 years 7 months
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Slight change of subject from the countdown... I have deadbase 50 and have been wasting lots of time with it. I looked up the Fillmore 1966.07.03 show from this box and on Deadbase XI it has a setlist that matches a copy of this show that I have (I only have the first half). The additions to the Setlist on the deadbase 50 section changes "He was a Friend of Mine" to "Just a Hand to Hold." The copy of the show I have looks like only the first disc, so I'm missing the end of the show... however, it does have "he was a friend of mine" although, it almost sounds like it was from a different show... there is dead space at the end of the track and the sound quality of this song doesn't match the rest. Does anyone else have a copy of this show and have the same experience? Also, what is "just a hand to hold..." Never heard it. just killing time waiting for the big box...
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9 years 2 months
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I am thrilled I got my box set , wish my father were still with us to enjoy it, he took me to my 1st dead show at 10. What a long strange trip it's been
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12 years 4 months
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Finally. At least now those that can't afford it can lose the temptation. I am relieved
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12 years 10 months
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Okay let's start shipping!!!!
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9 years 5 months
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I couldn't agree with you more. I feel relief that it's finally sold out. I have known since the day it was announced I would not be able to get it and now I can finally stop scheming and dreaming of ways to make it happen. Should I just open up a credit card my wife doesn't know about and get it? Is this worth getting a divorce over? Ha! Congrats to all those that will have this treasure trove coming their way in mere days! Enjoy! I will get the 4 Disc compilation and be happy to have it.
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12 years 10 months
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Already on eBay, COMPLETE box for $1,195.00, FREE shipping, 10 watching per hour, it doesn't take long, does it?
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9 years 7 months
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I'm getting worried that my order accidentally got canceled... Just paranoia...
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14 years
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Same thing here Dusty.rambler. I went through and double checked my order when there was about 10 left.
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9 years 5 months
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How about a little more info on the box, if we can't get any pictures? Who did the artwork? Are all the CD covers by the same artist? Are they digipacks, sleeves, those DVD sized things from the 1977 box or something new and even more difficult to be put a shelf with the other CDs? Is the box number going to be on the single? What is the "box" constructed with? Does it really contain a scale version of the cardboard cut out that was inducted into the R&R Hall of fame? Does it ship on the 18th or is that the day it is scheduled to arrive?
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9 years 7 months
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I think it would be really cool if the artwork for each show was a reproduction of the poster or flyer for each event. I've done this for my catalog of shows and always think that the artwork of the show helps me feel the vibe for the show better. New original art would be cool, but as this box documents the Dead's journey through time, I think artwork from the time of the show would be cool.
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17 years 5 months
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I wouldn't be surprised to see these (complete sets, not broken up) going upwards of $2000 or even more in second hand markets after they start shipping. An investors wet dream if you are one of "those" types of people, and with lots 'o money. Myself, it's all about the music and my personal enjoyment of listening to it, which to me is priceless with no monetary value. I see investors and salesmen as those with no real emotional attachment to the product. Just the money they can squeeze out of it...not that there's anything wrong with that.
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9 years 5 months
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Yes that would be cool to have the actual poster art as part of the cover. The later tours didn't have many show specific posters, but they always had a nice tour poster with contemporary poster artists that were worth grabbing.
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9 years 5 months
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I guess having bought one I'm an investor, so with that in mind I hope many people sell individual shows from their boxes, for insane amounts of money.This will make my still complete set a better investment, that pays dividends every time I look at, play with or listen to it's contents. I wonder if it'll fit in my safe deposit box?

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10 years 6 months
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Nice Seinfeld drop at the end!
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9 years 7 months
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They didn't "have a few more left" this time (like DaP 15). I'm imaging if orders are canceled they will not offer them back for sale until everyone who ordered got one. This would give them spares for damaged products or dropped orders from their site crash when this thing first went up.
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17 years 5 months
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speechless and grateful. faith in the human race restored... email box full, and one amazing friend on the eastern seaboard. it's why my musical life revolves around this band alone.
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17 years 4 months
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....looks like Rhino's abacus was calibrated just right.... ....congrats Brian. I thought I saw your finger up in this Internet parking lot....you deserve it....
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17 years 4 months
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....just checked mine. Says backordered but not cancelled, so I think I'm good. Dead.net has not failed me yet....(crossing fingers and toes. Ouch.)
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13 years 4 months
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That question went unanswered..(at least when I asked it). I'm curious too, it can make the difference between something cool and something really special.
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9 years 7 months
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I really like the art work from May 77' and from Spring 90 Too, however those were 5 and 8 shows respectively. The art for this 30 year box will hopefully be more diverse. I think both of the previously mentioned boxes really fit the time... How are they going to capture art from a 30 year span. This mystery makes me giddy just thinking about it, and now that we are so close to delivery, I say DONT give us a preview of the art. I can wait 3 weeks for a surprise!
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15 years 9 months
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Was on main page and clicked the link to boxset and got everything on this page except the comments - waz up wit dat? Before this page goes away I am interested in a show by show discussion that someone mentioned earlier. Is this something Mary can pass on to the webmasters? I am planning to in sequential order from the start. Now that it's sold out, break out the videos discussing the shows please!!! Dave vs Wild! With special guest appearance by Bear Grylls showing Dave how to ride a whale with just a few of his bumperstickers and a 50th totebag.
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9 years 7 months
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I brought this up a while ago and saw some interest. Would live to see that here or created elsewhere. I think it would be cool if 30 threads were available at all times so anyone could discuss the show they were listening to. I looked into creating a free forum and it's possible, but I don't have the time right now to invest (planning my wedding). If dead.net can't create this for us, can someone else take the lead here and find the right forum? Steve-something.tv was mentioned. I checked it out and was unimpressed as any topic can be created so it would be hard to find the various threads, but I'll go where the discussion is.
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12 years 10 months
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Now that GARGANTUA has finally...SOLD OUT, will TPTB at least think about releasing each show individually, a la, E72 TCR, or is the consensus here on this forum is that's not going to happen? And while I'm at it why not a "sneak" peak at what's inside, inquiring minds (at least mine) would like to know what my $699.98+ TAX gets me.
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17 years 5 months
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It seems the message board part is tied to the BOX SET.Because it's sold out, when you click the main page link, it brings you to the USB purchase page. No msg board. So go to store>Music. Click 30 trips box set. here you are.
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9 years 7 months
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Thanks Wilfred. This section was recommended a while back, but the page wasn't working. I'd gladly use this space if it is operational!
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15 years 6 months
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Now that it's sold out maybe they can start shipping it tomorrow? I can't believe there's still people that don't know what on this...it's 30 shows complete and they're 1 show from each year...they have the show and track list...let's put this way you'll be busy for at least a year listening to the 30 shows on top of the shows you have already...I assume 99% of the people who get Dave's picks got this one too...i'm kind of uneasy about the price but who can say it's cool I can pay 700$ with no problem it won't set me back much...a few lawyers and doctors maybe...but i'll be entertained for at least a year so it's worth it I guess...worth it where I couldn't pass it by either.
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17 years 5 months
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It works, I check it every day. And, I think I'm the one that recommended it. Great reads, and you'll find mvp's everywhere (most valuable posters: e.g. 'hockey john') Good luck with your wedding planning. So glad I eloped!
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