Grateful Dead

...but currently: China > Rider 2/24/74 Eyes 10/19/74 Half Step 5/7/77 The Eleven 10/12/68 Ripple 10/11/80 Help > Franklin's DP3 Playin 8/27/72

China Cat>Rider---7/11/81 Alpine Valley (Rockin') NFA---10/20/78 (Love the Egypt vibe) Dark Star---9/21/72---(has hints of Ollin Arageed[not reallly but listen] and full blown Mind Left Body Jam....listen) Eyes of The World----(Love the Super fast disco ones) Lazy River Road---7/31/94----I just love it Honorabel Mention---Foolish Heart...2/21/95 Love the jam

I am almost POSITIVE the Dead played a second encore after Casey Jones on 10/28/77. It was my first Casey--AMAZING, and best ever! I also recall the Dead left the stage, the roadies started breaking it down, but the fans were going wild! We would not leave. The Dead finally came back out and played another. That is how I remember it to this day. But I can't find any evidence to back it up, as all tapes/recordings from that show say Casey was only encore. Anyone share my memory??? Was it a dream, or another show, or ???

If in fact Dazer's memory is correct, then credence is given to the belief that the crowd was not much of a critic (Bobby once said that there are nights when the audience should run them out of town, but they never do). 10/28/77 is perhaps, along with 10/15, the weakest of the Fall tour. If I had to name the shows from the Fall tour where the band deserved a "going wild" crowd, I'd put 10/16, 10/29 and 11/4 at the top of the list. No offense Dazer. I only saw the band in the 90's, and I thought they were great, but if I listened to those shows now, I wouldn't be impressed, especially compared to earlier and better eras.

Stella blue 8/1/94 Jerry's birthday this stella still gives me goose bumps

I am looking for your ideas for best stella blue. I heard a sweet version with Jerry playing those end solos very soft and clean, and can not find it anywhere. Please help. Looking for pre-"vince".thanks

3/21/94wish I was there...it is breathtaking.

I stand corrected 8-01-94 is THE ONE

It's a Sin jam into Stella Blue is quite memorable from Freedom Hall, icing the cake after a wonderful Eyes of the World > China Doll in the 1st set! Listen to the Weather Report Suite too.

Eyes of the World : 8/6/74 - Dicks Picks 31Playing in the Band : 8/27/72 Dark Star: 8/27/72 and 10/31/71 - Dicks Picks 2 Help>Slipknot!>Franklins : 10/11/77 - Road Trips Vol 1 # 2 Here Comes Sunshine: 11/21/73 ChinaCat>Rider: 6/16/74 Dancing In the Streets: 5/8/77 Truckin: 7/31/74 Includes Mind Left Body Jam & Spanish Jam = 31min New Speedway Boogie: Festival Express one not sure of date think in July 70 Cryptical Envelopment & The Other One : 6/7/70 Many More Favs but just a taste of some of the best

Listened to the 03/28/93 show from the Knickerbocker in Albany on Sirius today. Jerry's vocal gave me goosebumps it was so good, near the end of the song I actually started to tear up a little.

The hottest Cold Rain I ever saw ~ one sorely underrated, as is the 10-song first set it's in the middle of ~ was 3-19-86, first night Hampton. Jerry's tease a moment before the song crashes in only makes it sweeter, and it's the only one I ever saw (or post-70s version I've ever heard) where Jerry goes double-duty on the high note on one of the choruses (this a-Way-ay-ay-AY-ay-ay-AY....) as on versions of old. As for those old super-fast versions, 5-31-69 is hard to beat. Must've been the last stretch of that arrangement (they'd switched it over by the end of the year). The Monterey one's great, too, except someone's blowing a flute or something over top of it. Well, and then there's that Madison Square 10-12-83 one, which my friend Al used to refer to as "the great one."

Chook, RE: "High Time - 1981-05-06, anyone else know of a High Time with a guitar solo??????" Exceedingly rare, but yes ~ Richmond 11-01-85, check out Dick's 21. A beauty. And followed by He's Gone! (and much, much more, two more Jerry ballads alone still await) I'll have to look for 5-06-81. Excellent harmonies by Bob on the Go to Nassau version a year earlier 516-80.

It's hard to nail down THE best of any tune, right? But, I like the 1-15-78 Terrapin>Playin': Jerry taps into some serious alien tone in this one. I understand the AUD is all that's available. Check out the 1/26-2/1/09 installment of the Taper's Section for this. Also, the Comes a Time from Buffalo 5-9-77 is a real mood piece.

So Many Roads-7/9/95Standing on the Moon-12/10/93**w/Branford** Believe it or Not-Ontario,CA-92?

Hello... I am new to this thread / chat thing so... here it goes... I am searching for the GREATEST GRATEFUL DEAD MSG SHOW OF ALL TIME ! PLEASE HELP ME ! I haven't looked at the Dick's Picks Catalog yet... I'm sure there's one or two in there... but if anybody out there knows of a TRUE ( heavily traded as a bootleg analog tape... and not released officially ) MSG BOOT / SHOW that should be considered... PLEASE POST w/ date... set-list... Even if you think it's a Dick's Picks MSG Show... PLEASE POST... Thanks... puppethead

1972. Try to make some time at least to listen to the last disc of Steppin' Out. And many thanks to Bob for all that mind-blowing music he sent via Dead.net our way. " Where does the time go? "

Puppethead: you will like this Grateful Dead show from 9/10/91 at Madison Square Garden: http://www.archive.org/details/gd91-09-10.sbd.sacks.511.sbeok.shnf Shakedown Street-> CC Rider-> It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry, Black Throated Wind, High Time, Cassidy, Deal Help On The Way-> Slipknot!-> Franklin's Tower, Estimated Prophet-> Dark Star-> Drums-> Jam-> Dark Star-> Jam-> I Need A Miracle-> Standing On the Moon-> Turn On Your Love Light, E: It's All Over Now Baby Blue

I don't know if you can call it the best! But IMHO it's one of the best versions of Stella Blue I've heard. It was also released on disc 3 of So Many Roads Box Set. You also asked for a pre-Brent Stella....here you go: Stella Blue~Lexington, Kentucky 4/28/78 Track 3 Which this show is not available on Archives. _____________________________________________ Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!

OK Gr8fulTed... I'm definitely gonna' check that out... Would you say it's the "GREATEST MSG SHOW" though ?!? RSVP... puppethead

@puppethead.....this show rocks!..9/20/93.MSG,1st set;Touch of Grey;Greatest Story Ever Told;Roe Jimmy;The Race Is On>Dire Wolf;Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again>Lazy River Road>Johnny B.Goode...2ndset..Samson and Delilah;So Many Roads;Truckin`>He`s Gone>drums>space>The Other One>GDTRFB>Morning Dew..E.Baba O`Riley>Tommorrow Never Knows

augustwest49... Thanks, I'll check it out... If you find any more ( earlier ??? ) let me know... puppethead

Check out the March '81 run here's the url for 3-10-81 and setlist: http://www.archive.org/details/gd81-03-10.glassberg.wise.7630.sbeok.shn… Half Step-> Franklin's Tower-> Me & My Uncle, Roses> Little Red Rooster, Don't Ease Me In, Lazy Lightning> Supplication, Brown Eyed Women> Looks Like Rain> Deal Scarlet Begonias-> Fire On The Mountain-> Lost Sailor-> Saint Of Circumstance-> Drums-> The Wheel-> China Doll-> Truckin'-> Sugar Magnolia, E:Satisfaction-> E: Brokedown Palace And, a good part of this show has been featured in past iteratations of the Taper's Section. You can find them here: http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=276620 Happy listening! P.S. Careful on the Half step (there's a loud zap! in there)

Agreed.I'm not sure exactly why, but I remember that Utica show as one of my top-five shows that I attended. "That path is for, your steps alone."

8/27/72. I've never heard a better version of this one!

the truckin the other one from the hells angel convention in anderson ny november 1970 is so tripingly amazing it should be on cd.the shakedown street from merryweather 85 has got to be the best and should be on cd the dark star from miami 89 has got to be on cd and i bet it will.The franklins tower from gansville florida 80 is so hot just find it and listen to it infact the gainsville 80 show was one of the best shows i ever saw and i saw 165 shows this show should be on cd.I know there are over a hundred playing in the bands that have their own universe one i remember that went way out there was nassau uniondale ny spring of 85 find it and see for yourself it to should be on cd.

So good to see someone posted this,my first tape was from Merriweather Pavillion July 1, 1985, I got this because I love Scarlet>Fire.What makes this so good is at the end of Fire prior to the Scalet riff,the boys just dive into this awe-inspring jam that,you have to hear to get it.

Black Peter 12-13-80 Long Beach- by far the best I've heard . Top 5 show which also has my favorite Deal So Many Roads 9-18-94 Shoreline Ampitheater- one last extra solo and Jerry's vocal just gets me every time. Kills the Soldier's Field version on the So Many Roads box IMHO. Peggy-O and Althea 3-14-81 Hartford- still ranks as my favorite show overall,although the more I listen the closer others get Shakedown .>Franklin's 11-29-1980, another stellar show Agree with Hard To Handle Hollywood '71 and would say the audience version of that and Casey Jones just shreds. Morning Dewand BEW Barton Hall May '77 Stella great late version 11-29-94 Denver favorites on CD are the Ladies and Gents Sing Me Back Home and The Without a Net Eyes... plus of course the studio version of Box of Rain, never heard a live one that surpasses it yet. The fun is in the searching for more pearls and checking out recommended ones on lists like these.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/194557 and the winner is.... "A Day in the Life"? what about "Honey Don't"? Dead-wise, I'm not sure whether I enjoy Jerry's rendition of "Dear Prudence" or " Lucy in the Sky" better.

The Sacramento, San Jose & BCT shows in August '72 are all tremendous shows. But then to cap them off with the 8/27/72, Field Trip, always leaves me in awe. It is one show I listen to religiously - I'm not sure how I'll feel should it ever be officially released. I love every tune and get really jazzed at the prospect of listening tonight to the versions of Bird Song, Playing In the Band and Dark Star. I don't own the video but I have seen it. I didn't get the feeling of the intense heat and its role as much as I did the light and how it contributed to the sense of a beginning, middle and end. Hope everyone in the community has a chance to check this marvel out. " Where does the time go? "

Any version were the buildup ( don't know the tech term) at the end of that song works. When it did , it was the best song on the planet.

Well, this thread is just too much fun...so here are mine (I've been writing down all my fav's for a week and here are the best of what came to mind: Dancin In the Streets 5-11-78 The Warewolves is AWESOME too. just heard this for the first time a couple weeks ago, but it is definately the best one I have heard they are having such a blast. the one from Oakland 10-10-76 with wharf rat sandwich was my favorite but I havent heard it in years. Minglewood 3-9-81 no doubt, best ever. Cumberland 7-14-70 with David Crosby is my fav. might be tighter versions but this is my fav. El Paso 11-08-70 6-22-74 and steal your face New Potato Caboose 1-20-68, 2-3-68, 2-14-68, and the long version from the 68 mystery reels China>Rider for me 12-06-73 is the only best and always will be also from this show as mentioned are they love each other, greatest story ever told which for both are also my favorite all time renditions, veneta Or might beat it actually, but barely. and of course one of the best dark stars. He's Gone> 9-18-74 no words can do this one justice, just have to listen Truckin> 9-18-74 so many great ones, but after the he's gone this one is PERFECT Drums> 9-18-74 Caution> 9-18-74 Ship of Fools 9-18-74 this is a VERY moving version. The whole thing was on a dead hour and the whole thing is worth listening to but hes gone>trucking Is breathtaking, i guess i know every note and groan and snare and cymbal beat by heart, and PHIL PHIL PHIL throughout ;-) 1/2 step 12-31-72 which also has another monumental truckin as well and as mentioned david crosby on 12 string for one of my favorite morning dews. Cold Rain and Snow 2-12-89 Hell In A Bucket 2-12-89 had this on a tape I lost and forgot the date, found em again years later on etree, I love these versions of both. 5-7-72 From Dark Star to the end of the show is one of the best tape sides from 72 it has Dark Star>drums>other1>Sing me back home>Sugar Mag>lovelight>gdtrfb>NFA, e:onemore sat night. every note is on fire!! these are all top 2 or 3 best versions ever in my opinion, please LISTEN to them for your own enjoyment! I love the allman bros too, but my fav from them together is when Duane sat in on 4-26-71 on Sugar Mag, BIODTL, and It hurts me too, the lovelight from 2-2-70 is not the best ever but worth hearing if you never have before, it has the allman brothers band sitting in as well as peter green, mick fleetwood, and more, guess there must have been 18 people playing on stage! With Merl Saunders and Ned Lagin sitting in at Kezar Stadium, 3-23-75 is probably the best 45 minute set ever! 10-9-76 is probably my favorite entire set. set II is there an entire set that can beat this one? i guess I will get bombarded by Cornell, but I listen to this one more often. and Dark Star ( fav of the 90's ) is 3-30-94 which in my opinion is the best vince show. the space is AMAZING too, sounds like the whole world died and you just somehow survived. Well that was it Enjoy Hand me my old guitar and pass the whiskey 'round. Matt

Just to be clearI meant that the greatest story ever told from 8-27-72 might be the only that is better than the one from 12-6-73. but China>Rider from 12-6-73.....well.....let's just say I'd bet the ranch on it! Hand me my old guitar and pass the whiskey 'round. Matt

Oh yeah, There was this tape i had back in the day, Oakland. It was the 90's and it was January or February 20something. Had the most smoking version of loose lucy I ever heard, better than 74.The 1st set also had Wang 'Dang doodle, a good one too as i recall, and i think cold rain and snow, does any know which date this was? I will look it up in Deadbase. That is the best loose lucy though. If any one finds out before me, I will send them a killer Allman 'Brothers bootleg! With Duane that is. I guess it would take me five minutes. I will Give you all one week. Maybe this can bring this thread back to life again. I want to hear about more favorites, I have such a hard time choosing what to listen to!! Hand me my old guitar and pass the whiskey 'round. Matt

dozin at the knick jerrys solo brings a tear to my eye everytime.

Just have been listening to this one the last 3 nights, I love it! it is the closest one I have heard to 9-18-74. Crazy! a year and a half later...almost sounds like the next night. this is my new second favorite. This is why i fell in love and became a lifetime addict to this band. If you all gave 6-26-73 a listen which was posted however long ago, please give 9-18-74 a listen, they are so close! it is very weird, the 73 is available in matrix, 74 has one of the best sounding sounbaords I have ever heard but without the crowd, and in my opinion the version is just a touch better. but matrixs are way cooler than soundboreds. i dont, know, i guess they are a tie.excuse me I am drunk and listening now to the 73 one AGAIN!!! isnt this a cool thread!. thanks to whoever posted hes gone 6-26-73, I love it! just once more part of pride 9-14-74 gets me off a touch more Hand me my old guitar and pass the whiskey 'round. Matt

Okay, WAY OFF TOPIC, but why doesnt the chat room work??? where can I find a chat room that works? AOL used to have a dead chat room about 20 years ago, now i cant find it or any other chatroom period for that matter. does anybody know of any place to chat bout the dead? sorry for the bad placement of this post, but who can you ask if not a deadhead?? Hand me my old guitar and pass the whiskey 'round. Matt

After just listenin to this saturday night, i must say, i cant not remember ever hearing a better one!, GD movie kicks about just as much a$$ thought, but bobby is going nuts this whole second set. Sorry, I will stop polluting this thread. I am just feeling like i am at the end of the world here in Vienna, want to talk to some fans. Hand me my old guitar and pass the whiskey 'round. Matt

the chat room has been down for a while and is being worked on.Somebody says there is chat in we miss jerry.org or some thing like that hope that helps best i could do.

These lists are not in anyway definitive, but it is fun nonetheless. It is also good to discover other versions you haven't heard before...That said, here are my current favorites... Sugar Magnolia: 2/9/73 Palo Alto, CA Here Comes Sunshine: 2/15/73 Madison, WI Dark Star: 11/11/73 San Francisco, CA Around and Around: 10/20/78 San Francisco, CA Hard to Handle: 8/6/71 Hollywood, CA

Looks Like Rain from Columbia 1985 is by far my favorite. Booby was running all over the stage. I've been to several shows but never saw him this "Happy" Fall '85 still my favorite tour

If the buildup ( I don't know the correct term) at the end of Truckin works than it's the best song being played at that time. I'm thinking 73>74, 77>78, 89>90, had the best performances.As far as covers go, I never heard a Big River or Promised Land I didn't like.

Peggy-O: July 1, 1980, San Diego. I got passed the tape just a few weeks after - in Colorado, what a network. Jerry's solo guitar so sweet.

I recently launched a website that allows you to discuss, vote on, and listen to the 'best' versions of dead songs. Check out headyversion.com - a ton of the shows mentioned here are on the site, plus a lot more. We're approaching 800 versions on there!

The energy that was in the Arena that night was beyond any feeling I had at any of the 26 shows I saw or worked on!My buddy and i looked at each other in complete silence knowing what was happening was really special. We only spoke about if after the show but we both had the same feeling that the building left Mother Earth. And no we weren't high! To think a few years later i would be in that same venue running spotlight on Jerry and him singing Lovelight! Another fond memory!

My first tape was 12-26-69 SMU. A great show and always special to listen to because it was the show that got the wheel turnin'. Of course, dont kill me for this, is Barton Hall 5-8-77. I love this show, I dont care how many times I have heard it, I would still like an official version remastered by the people at the vault. Then 2-18-71, the first Wharf Rat sandwiched between a killer Dark Star, very nice. I agree on the 10-26-89, that show is awesome, definately the best of the later versions of Dark Star, IMO Some Days the Gails are Howling, Some Days the Sea is still as glass

JACK STRAW Two come to mind - I like the latter day Jack Straw's better than the earlier years' because they were played at a faster tempo and because of the crowd frenzy the final jam often caused. These two bring The Frenzy in a big way: 4/6/87 Brendan Byrne Arena, NJ 9/9/87 Providence Civic Center, Providence RI Listen to audience copies.