- Post reply Log in to post comments3,052 repliesmaryeJoined:New year, new update. Tell us of your musical adventures in real time!
- daverockJoined:Live recordings
In a way, listening to the Dead-live recordings-is something of a disembodied experience for me. I don't relate the shows to physical events that actually existed - which may be strange as Phil once said in interview, around the time of going to Egypt, that place was important in influencing the show. Apart from the shows caught on video, every show I listen to takes place at the same place, which is my living room. With one attender.
One of the best listening experiences was during my one and only trip to America during the summer of 1990. We were on a "fly drive" holiday exploring the West Coast of America. I only took one tape - 9/28/72 - and it was great listening while driving (( being driven to be exact - I couldn't drive then) through all that amazing countryside. The music really did seem to reflect the country - not the people living in it at that time, but the actual landscape.
I can also remember listening to "Playing in the Band " from this show as we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. - ObeahJoined:Way After Midnight / Live Recordings
That lil' 5-song disc is indeed lovely! Just a fun bonus to have in the collection.
Live Recordings do have all of that extra "metadata" if you were in attendance. I can picture the Dragon dance/parades from Lunar New Year shows; the costumes at Halloween; the shimmering desert air in Las Vegas; the central lot at Shoreline back when you could arrive early and get your vehicle in there; and so on.
My younger brother is just old enough to have seen a few Grateful Dead shows, but he doesn't like collecting shows and he really won't listen to live GD *unless* there's a video. He wants to see the musicians and the crowd and the venue. He was the person who first turned me on to Christopher Hazard's channel because that's his jam.
- daverockJoined:Live recordings
They are a strange beast in a way. When I started going to concerts, back in 1972, the music was only part of the experience of going. All sorts of things happen when you go to a live gig - especially when you are young. Live recordings omit all that other stuff, and all you get is the music played, presented in isolation. I wonder if this is partly why late period Dead shows are popular - if you were there you can fill in the gaps. If you weren't, they might not sound as special because they lack that "x" factor of experience.
As opposed to 2/13/70, 2/14/70 and 5/2/70 - some of the best live shows of all time. You don't need to have been there to enjoy those recordings - you just need a pulse.