A sealed, unlabeled box sat undisturbed for decades on a shelf in the Grateful Dead’s San Rafael tape vault on Front Street, its contents an enduring mystery, even to those few with access to the vault. All David Lemieux knew about that box when he became the Dead’s archivist was that it contained tapes belonging to Bear—Owsley Stanley, the Dead’s first soundman and architect of the Wall of Sound. Even in the Dead Heads’ Holy of Holies, the taped-up box was tantalizing. But this was Bear’s personal property, and so he didn’t touch the box out of an abiding respect for the elder luminary of sound. Bear’s archive of Sonic Journal recordings had been kept safe for him for years within the Grateful Dead’s vault—over 1,300 reels of tape stored in heavy-duty cartons like old banana boxes. At any time, David could have popped the tops and explored them to his archivist heart's content. But they were off-limits without the nod from Bear. - Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell, Owsley Stanley Foundation
With a wink and a nod from Bear, we've peeled back those banana boxes to find some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including the double dose of shows that make up DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43. The two virtually complete performances from San Francisco 11/2/69, Live At Family Dog At The Great Highway, and from Dallas 12/26/69, McFarlin Auditorium, are complementary in their clarity and consistency thanks to Bear himself, and in their ability to foreshadow where the Dead were headed in the years to come. If the two killer 20-minute+ "Dark Stars" don't get ya, how about the Pigpen-centric sets featuring "Midnight Hour," "Next Time You See Me," "Big Boss Man," "Good Lovin'," and the once-lost-now-found complete rendition of "Dancing In The Streets," or the first full acoustic set ever performed? And we're certain you'll be fascinated to uncover the "Mystery Of Bear's Banana Boxes" as told by Starfinder Stanley, Hawk, and Pete Bell in the liners.
Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 43 was recorded by Owlsey "Bear" Stanley and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.
*2 per order. Very limited quantity available.
Hey gratefulhan!....
....how was that Phish show at Blossom? Looks like it was a rager. Getting awesome reviews. Free is one of my favorite songs and phans are saying it was one of the best ever. Missed it last night on the free youtoob offering. Will check it out tonight.
Future 1969 box set possibilities
April 1969 Avalon Ballroom 3 shows & 10/31/69 San Jose State.
Landed
this one hit my mailbox totally unexpectedly, as it did with others. Very psyched.
I am realizing now that indeed I know the Dark Star from 11/2, I had sought his one out about 5 years ago on a random reference and I recall being totally blown away not only with the exploration but also the quality of the sound. Bear was a true Master.
I've not heard the other offerings; they are ripe.
Off to BDA tomorrow for a looong weekend to celebrate my younger bro's 15th wedding anniversary.
It'll be hot, but I'll take a kid-free mini-vaca with all of our friends any day.
Be Well People!
Sixtus
Rootin' for ya, Vguy
In the very worst case scenario, I have an extra copy. So you're covered either way.
My personal interest, apart from wanting everyone to get their release, is that you'll get to fire up that bomber of Indica I passed to ya at TTB and explore the "new" music.
Will fire both up in unison hendrix....
....btw. scam alert. Just got a text from USPS about "unable to deliver package due to incorrect address." Thought that was weird, especially getting a text from the post office. So I clicked the linq. Was asked to fill in all my contact information, which I did, then was told there was a $3 redelivery fee and was asked for my credit card info. I may be dumb sometimes, but I ain't stupid. I looked up the tracking # and it was bogus.
Beware out there!!
OB, BTK, Dave Rock
Just wanted to clean up a few recent discussions with you guys.
OB: you had said 42 bonus disk would be a tub thumper and you were correct. Sounds Great!
BTK and Dave Rock. In discussing "funky joints", BTK you wrote about them finding a body when renovationg Oakland Auditorium. I did include that article when I wrote a PhD dissertation on OA. Had many articles and lots of pictures of the now shuddered wonderful facility. (I had a bunch of lynx, but when it was time to post, no more lynx.) You also mentioned Lake Merritt. I really loved the lake and the entrance. It made me feel as close to what a Winterland show was like. Maybe 200-300 campers. Very nice, fun, but small shakedown. Made everything feel like home and so relaxed. We had 2 of the 4 tickets for our run. We got a travel package that included round trip airlines, supposed to be 4 tickets instead of 2, and two nights hotel at the Hotel San Francisco or San Franciscan Hotel. All for $800. Was a GD travel group out of Philly. The first night we had two walk away about a mile to a pay phone at Oak St. and 14th St. where we would call a holiday inn a few miles east where Kurland tours was staying. They answered and said, yeah I have 2 tickets for tonight if you can come get them. We hauled ass back to OA got in the car and took off to the holiday inn. Grabbed the tix and got back to drop and get in just as the Neville Brothers were playing. Glad you saw them and liked their playing as well. That was New Orleans in Oakland.
Dave Rock, speaking of funky joints, the very first funky joint I was ever in was the Marquee at 90 Wardour St. Was there twice, March 1982 and March 1983. 1982 was just going inside during the day. The club was preparing for the night, it was around 1 or 2 that afternoon. Just amazed at the long hall with all the pictures of artists on the wall. Reminds me of the Whisky a go go in Los Angeles. In 1983, my friend and I went to see a band called "The The." Never had any USA success but I understand that were relatively successful in Europe. Of course, you can be relatively successful and still make a very good living. Great presence, as a funky joint, although not sure you could ever smoke or get real funky in there. Let me know if I am confused.
Any way, not sure y'all will remember this from about a month back.
Can't wait to crank 43, will begin Friday afternoon. Sure it will get a couple of listens this weekend.
Again, want to say Thanks to Owsley Foundation, Dave, Jeffrey, and all the others that help keep this bus moving forward and with with great new music (to me)!
Also, thanks to the regulars. I wish I had as much to write about. Bet TTB and Los Lobos was killer. Hard to believe no smoke at Red Rocks, bet that is a non executable regulation.
G
Edited
Edit2 - BTK found where they found the body early this year but it seems when I wrote the piece there had been a body found on much earlier renovation. I am going to search and find that write-up and see if I am correct. Hope all well ur way!
Dave's 43
I can't find the words to accurately describe # 43. But listening to it last night I smiled, laughed, stared at my stereo in awe and even got a little teary a couple of times. A lot of different emotions over four hours. Personally, I feel its Dave's best pick yet (and that's saying a lot).
Thanks Dave, Jeffery, Bear and everyone else involved in this release.
Vguy
I received the same text. When I tried to reload it so I could track the package off of the real USPS site, the language changed to French, then Arabic. I wonder if dead.net was unknowingly hacked. Seems highly unlikely that both you and I would get the same text message otherwise.
Charlie 3, your comment
Yeah, Soulful Strut, if that's what it's called, is the jam in those Dark Stars that I was referencing in my comments a few days ago. I did think I recognized it from the 1970 30 Trips Dancin in the Streets too, as it always caught my attention there as well. Sort of reminds me of the majestic interlude jam between Alligator and Going down the Road on the 1971 Ladies and Gentlemen...not the melody or tune itself, but the way it has that joyful, otherworldly quality.
Those jams both put me in the best of moods and get my endorphins peaking, especially when I'm spinning them on a road trip somewhere along a mountain road in the California Sierra. Which I was again during my first listen to 43.
This 43 disc got me fired up to go back and start checking out some more 1969s and 1970s that I hadn't heard on youtube yet. Some really good new ones since I last checked.
I also stumbled onto the full Woodstock set which I realized I had never heard, though I always heard that the Dead didn't like it and wouldn't approve release. It's not really so bad, I actually enjoyed it mostly. Though with the technical glitches and some guy (concert promoter approved?) sharing the stage and blabbing nonsense into the mike at the first part of Lovelight, I could see why they'd not want it released. There was a different and interesting jam by Jerry about 2/3 of the way through the very long Lovelight that I don't recall ever hearing before, must have been one of his improvs, and a very nice one too.
Aliced, I know what you mean by those reactions
I've had those too. When I laugh out loud at something a musician does, it usually means I'm so stunned by the magnificence of the moment that I can't figure out what else to do.
Count Vlad Hacks Again
Now that the existence of the banana boxes has been revealed a reinvigorated effort to infiltrate the vault has begun.
Vguy and AJS,
This site was hacked last week according to (I think) Wilfred who witnessed it being another site. Then other people pointed out how stuff that was gone from the store reappeared, although not available to order.
At the Rhino store the Waiting For Columbus Box is no longer available to order (it just came out).
This may also explain why no tracking number emails, and then multiple emails after DaP43 has arrived.
Something’s afoot in the hackerverse……
But yes, DaP43 is awesome!
All hail to Bear and his banana boxes.
(Ha, a Phil Bomb on 11/2 Dark Star just woke up my dog)
If you don’t have it already, hope you get it soon.
Sumovabitch....
....still out for delivery. Is the mailman playing Pokemon Go or what? And Hendrixfreak's indica joint is just begging to be lit.
Accidental Newman....
....I know it may considered heresy amongst some here, but I never found Seinfeld very funny....(runs away with fingers in ears).
.
.
Ok. I'm back. Going with Dave's 40 Deer Creek disc 4 on the big boy with the TV on the CMA Fest muted while I bide my time. Cool stage and lights actually.
HEY! Deer Creek '90 sounds pretty good too!
We are some spoiled MF'ers and we're here for it. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy because music is indeed, the best!
A pirate walks into a bar....
He had a wooden leg, an eye patch and a hook for a hand. The bartender was curious. "How did you get that wooden leg?" he asked.
The pirate took a swig of ale. "'Twas a terrible sea battle. I stood bravely, directly facing 12 cannons.All they managed to hit was my leg."
The bartender said "What about your hook?"
The pirate took another long swig. "Arrrr, twas the day the British navy caught me. They tied me to the mast, I escaped by gnawing my own hand off."
The bartender was growing sceptical. "And how did you get that eyepatch?"
The pirate took another swig. "Twas a mutiny. Me own crew left me marrooned on a desert island. But I had no fear. I lay down on the sand to wait to be rescued. As i looked up, a seagull flew over and pooped in me eye."
The bartender said "That's ridiculous, no one loses an eye from bird muck."
The pirate finished his ale in one gulp, and grimaced. "Twas the first day with the hook."
Lol
hack/Summer 85
I, too, remember the notion of a hack being raised. But, alas, twas not I.
Hey now SF/PF, give a shot to 6-22-85 Alpine. Another satisfying Summer '85...
P.S. Seinfeld is indeed funny. Getting dated now, but still elicits the chuckles.
P.S.S. Starfinder's assertion that Dave is inclined to fill out discs when they are sparse with tracks makes me guffaw some too...
Can't Get Enough of this Wonderful Duff
I keep rotating these two concerts over and over. I am so happy for these shows from this period. It's exactly what I was hoping for and felt might be possible, given the amount of time it had been since a Dave's Pick came out for 1969 (although DaP 30 was close, it's a different experience). When I first really got into the Dead hardcore, my buddy had two releases, and one of them was Dick's Picks 16 from 11/8/69. The "Bear" sound was ingrained early on.
Billy the Kid - those shows on your 1969 box set are probably going to be short - better add the Boston Tea Party run from NYE.
Frosted - there is a great essay on archive that lists every song that has that Soulful Strut jam (aka "Tighten Up"). archive.org/post/1055387/guide-to-the-tighten-up-jam
Aliced - I know how you feel man. I think there's a lot to be said for the audience interaction they had in those days. And you can feel how much fun they're having. Good times, always positive vibes. Just don't flash cameras in their eyes or shoot off fireworks. And for f***'s sakes don't climb on the fence idiot!
London Calling
Gary - I'm not sure I'm best placed to comment on the confusion of others, but what you say sounds spot on to me! I never went to The Marquee - looking online it's hey day was between 1964 and 1988, when it was on Wardour Street. Apparently it relocated after that - but it must have lost something in the travelling. It sounds like my sort of club, though. Maybe a bit like the 100 Club on Oxford Street in London. They have great photographs on the wall of people who have played there too - a great range of artists-I can remember ones of Son House and Keith Richards - many jazz artists from the early 60s too. I saw some great bands there - off the top of my head James Burton and band, The Pretty Things, Pink Fairies, Jefferson Starship, The Fuzztones - never a dull moment! I remember the name The The...but nothing more.
Charlie3 great post on the Dark Stars in Daves 43-looking forward to getting this one I must say.
BTK, KF2112: 1969 continued... plus Redrox 7.30.22 is up
Not to mention the April run at The Ark. Or did I already. The only NYE show outside the bay area... further candidates for a '69 (68-70) box, nominations? My guess: a 12K edition could easily sell out more quickly than the current MSG box. Even considering the 6 MSG shows represent roughly 120K seats (less repeats). FW69 CD box fetches $500+ on the secondary and as yet, incomplete on vinyl. So when does the final night of FW69 run appear on vinyl ? Eight months to RSD2023... As of this morning, archive is showing the TTB Red Rocks 7/30 show.
69 box full of stars
10-25-69 Dark Star
8-23-69 more Dark Star from a Farm in Oregon
8-30-69 More Dark Star from the Dog
That's just a sampling of some of the great Dark Stars from 69 there are more just got to poke around
That would be so cool, a box full of Dark Stars, they could call it tattered tales or round about the reason or (insert cool dark star name)
Is anyone here a marine biologist?
The sea was angry that day, my friends.
Vguy, if it makes you feel better....
.... never thought Seinfeld was very funny either.
Like an old man sending back soup at a deli
Vguy (and now Dennis):
"No soup for you!"
Shows others love that don't quite appeal to me: I will confess I never liked Big Bang Theory. And I found the Simpsons tiresome after a couple seasons. Friends worked at the time, but not since.
True fact...my wife and I were part of a test audience for Big Bang Theory in Las Vegas back...whenever. We were "meh". But the show became a hit.
And then they made Young Sheldon...oy.
Vguy and Dennis...if the situation ever arises, I won't have a square to spare for either of you. Hmph.
Y'all be cool anyway :)))
My fave funny....
... The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (original with Leonard Rossiter).
Not a wasted line,,,, 21 half hour shows that tell the meaning of life.
Seinfeld indeed!?! :-)
Listening to 43, so far...
I only dipped into the acoustic set across the first two discs, then the electric on disc one.
Sometimes, with relatively uinspired shows, I push my listening ears into the music to catch what I can. On this performance, one only needs to lay back and let the music fill your ears -- the groove is that good. Even some of the loosey-goosey acoustic, like the intro to Black Peter, becomes like an unstoppable wave.
The Summer Of George
I think I'll go for a round of frolf today.
Just because.
Currently doing Northern Exposure.
Not so much funny as quirky.
Doing the Doc Martin series after that.
Cheers
TV Shows
Northern Exposure, used to really dig that show, made my wife and I think, hey, let's move somewhere like that, somewhere rural and a little remote, but with a normal light cycle throughout the year as weeks of straight darkness or weeks of unending light would push me right over the edge. Wound up here in MT from NY, probably one of my better choices, certainly can't think of anywhere I'd rather be over the last few years. Other factors involved as well, but that show was a bit of a catalyst.
Seinfeld is funny to me, dug that show, but when I checked out Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm I kind of got the idea that Larry is way funnier than Jerry, and an understanding that George Costanza was Larry's alter ego. Larry David was a head writer and co-producer on Seinfeld, and I suspect he was responsible for some of the best parts of that show. Curb Your Enthusiasm is funnier than Seinfeld in my book, especially the seasons with J.B. Smoove as Leon Black. J.B. Smoove and Larry David are hilarious together. Even if you don't really dig Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm is well worth checking out.
Soulful Strut is one of my favorite instrumental soul tunes, so if it's there I hear it. The only tune that I know by Young-Holt Unlimited, but what a great tune.
Soulful Strut or Tighten Up
Found this,,,, musician will understand better than me
Why the ‘Tighten Up Jam’ Should Henceforth be Known as the ‘Soulful Strut Jam’
(Special thanks to member Paperback Writer at the Steve Hoffman forums).
The jam commonly referred to as the Tighten Up jam is so referred to based on the chords to (and its overall resemblance to) the 1968 track of the same name from Archie Bell & the Drells.
The problem herein lies in the chord structure of the jam. The original composition of Tighten Up is based on a simple chord change of F#Maj7 – BMaj7 (or, if you prefer to make your life more difficult, GbMaj7 – CbMaj7). In any case, these two sets of chord changes represent I IV in a Major key. But the GoGD jam in question is not I IV in a Major key; rather, it is I ii in a Major key. See 5/2/70, DP 8, Dancin’ in the Street from 6:52-10:15 (all times taken from the official releases noted herein) and 10/31/71, DP 2, Dark Star from 13:29-17:52; for officially-released and well-known versions. But often, things are not so cut and dried with the GoGD. The 1/2/70, DaP 30, Dark Star complicates things by including an unnamed jam starting at 19:41–> Feelin’ Groovy (starting at 21:42 and then meandering away)–> Soulful Strut (transposed; starting at 23:40).
Keep in mind that any transposition our boys might have done is irrelevant here. Transcribing a set of chord changes to another key does not affect their harmonic function.
However, the Grateful Dead play the Soulful Strut jam in A Major, using A and Bmin as the two chords. This represents both a transposition from F#/Gb Major and a reharmonization of I IV in a Major key to I ii in a Major key. But if we look at Soulful Strut, a 1968 composition by Young-Holt Unlimited, the main set of changes is BbMa7 – Cmin7: I ii in the Major key of Bb Major.
Don’t get hung up on the key/tonal center; focus on the functionality of the chords. If we transpose the two chords from Soulful Strut down a half step, we get A Bmin. Thus, what has long been known as the Tighten Up jam is, by its very harmonic construction, much more close to Soulful Strut than it is to Tighten Up.
Charlie the 3rd and Young-Holt
I have a 45 of them doing "Oh Girl",,,, instrumental. It's nice
I triggered some....
....no offense to Seinfeld fans. And no, I'm not a Friends fan either. Agree on M*A*S*H front to back and All In The Family. Love South Park. Love That 70's Show. Have always had a sweet spot for Three's Company and Spongebob Squarepants (the first 4 seasons) and Parks & Recreation.
Checking out that TTB 7/30 show on the Archive now. I absolutely adore Susan's voice. Powerful stuff girl!!
Dennis
Dude, thanks, I knew that someone with more musical knowledge than me must be able to explain the musical structure to confirm what my ears were telling me, that the jams were based on Soulful Strut. I took piano lessons for a few years around 5th to 8th grade, and learned a little bit how to read music, but that is all hazy memory at this point, and explaining chord structure progression is way beyond me. I dig Tighten Up by Archie Bell and the Drells as well, another cool tune, I just could never quite make it fit some of those Dark Star and Dancing in the Street interludes. I'll have to check out the Oh Girl instrumental now.
Anniversary show 8/4/79 Oakland Auditorium
43 years ago today, I was up at the Oakland Auditorium ( along with a lot of other great people who post on this forum) for another great evening with the Good Ole Grateful Dead. It was a great first show at the Oakland Auditorium, this building to take the place of Winterland. The Dead would play here up until 1989. I would see a lot of great shows here in Oakland and have alot of fun times.
What Is That Car?
In the picture in the liner notes. First guess was a mid-60s Mercedes which had little fins like that but there's some badging on the side of the fin a Mercedes didn't have. Guessing something like a Peugeot or Citroen? I think remember seeing Jerry pictured driving a Volvo later. Just curious.
And hey the music ain't bad either. First listen.
Cheers
Thanks Dennis & KeithFan - great info on the jams
Here's more from thread that KF posted:
11/2/69
Dark Star
17:30-22:20 (Feelin' Groovy)
22:20-25:00 (Tighten Up)
Another one of the times the Tighten Up and Feelin' Groovy were played back to back. This is a beautiful example of each of these themes. See 1/2/70 for this Dark Star's big brother. Thekind78 said about this Dark Star, "I gotta say of all the available Feelin' Groovy and Tighten Up jams the one from 11/02/69 at the Family Dog has Jerry playing ever so sweet. Just so soulful. I don't know if any other date has that kind of depth to the playing." I couldn't agree more.
12/26/69
Dark Star
16:30-17:30 (Feelin' Groovy)
17:30-20:00 (Tighten Up)
As I am listening to these Dark Stars again I am being reminded how often Feelin' Groovy and Tighten Up were juxtaposed. The jams really seem to develop simultaneously. In my other post about the Feelin' Groovy I describe this whole Dark Star jam as such. However, it is pretty clear that the second half is a Tighten Up.
Google Aaron Rodgers of the Packers and psychedelics....
....interesting.
Hey Now BTK
8/4/79
Looks tasty
Have never heard but will soon.
Saturday in Oakland, right on.
What grabs me is the Shakedown being in the 2nd set, 4 spot, before playing. Bet that is going to be a lot of fun to hear! I love 2nd set shakedowns...
Aaron the freak
Havent read just yet, but makes we wonder if he was micro-doses. Guessing he was going thru counseling of a licensed therapist, or maybe a Shaman. My first introduction to micro-dosing came from John Fishman of Phish. He says that during his senior year of high school, he would wake up every morning at 5:00 and drop 50 mics, go back to sleep and wake up another couple of hours later and be ready for school. Been wanting to post that forever, now I have the reason. Of course, with the depth of this group/board I am sure it has been discussed before. I have pondered trying this. Maybe my Warlock powers would be Limitless. Can u feel me now?
G
edit: wow, ayahuasca (dmt)probably a shaman or even a licensed shaman. Dang where do I go again? haha j/k.
The fellas did some dmt early on...
BTK! 8/4/79
Was there, balcony slightly to the left. Great show indeed, they premiered Althea and Lost Sailor; next night was even better in my opinion, with Hamza El Din showing up mid-second set, and a great Scarlet/Fire.
I like Seinfeld, can't stand Friends and love Sanford & Son. I think I'll pour myself a glass of Champipple now.