January 26- February 1, 2009
As we close out January here at the Tapers' Section, we're going to listen to quite a bit of music from 1978, but we'll start our week from 12 years before that.
Our first selection this week is from a tape marked simply “January 1966.” Not much else is known, but I'd guess it was from LA, where the Grateful Dead moved in January, 1966. From this rather obscure tape we have the two lengthy jam vehicles of the time, Viola Lee Blues, Midnight Hour. Both would stretch WAY beyond these lengths, but it's cool to hear how these tunes began as part of the Grateful Dead's early repertoire.
From Chicago in 1978, we have music from two of the three shows that started a short six show tour of the Midwest (the other three shows being Madison, Milwaukee and Cedar Falls; more on those shows next week…). From the first night in Chicago, on 1/30/78, we have this very nifty Estimated Prophet>Eyes of the World pairing, always played well in 1978.
Jumping ahead two nights, to the final night in Chicago on 2/1/78, we have music from both the first set and second set of that excellent show. From the former, we have Ramble On Rose, Cassidy, Sugaree, and from the latter we have The Other One>Wharf Rat>Sugar Magnolia, Around and AroundThese six shows came on the heals of the at-times excellent tour of (mostly) California in January, which ended on 1/22/78 in Eugene, OR. I've always felt that, musically, 1977 and its wildly powerful energy ended on 2/5/78, with the 1978 Grateful Dead beginning on 4/6/78. Just as film historians often use 1959 as a point at which to divide film history, I look at 2/5/78 as the Grateful Dead's equivalent.
Finally this week, from the aforementioned at-times excellent tour of (mostly) California in January 1978, we have some great music from 1/15/78 in Fresno, California. From a very good audience tape source, we have the second set's big jam featuring Terrapin Station>Playing In The Band. Unfortunately, the entire January 1978 tour of (mostly) California is not in the vault, but fortunately the tapers were out there recording the shows.
Join us next week for more great 1978 Grateful Dead music, as well as a nice piece of music from 1988 and a touch of 1970. Thanks for joining us here this week.
David Lemieux
vault@dead.net
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keith
began nodding out on heroin by feb '78 and couldn't play the music any more, and donna had almost nothing left but the cat like shrieking, so as was evidenced by what followed 4-22-79 for eleven years the problem was keith, and donna, they needed to be removed from the mix, and thankfully they were, and the indescribable eighties ensued ....
keith
WAS playing a lot of one finger stuff by that point, beenwaytoolongatsea. My pals and I were actually quite fond of imitating him. I'm not sure I understood the reality of smack then, but I knew he was fucked up on something. Anyway, nice analysis. Not too bad for a lost sailor.
Chicago 78 clip is wonderful
1978 is definitely a worthy of discussion time period in this band s music .
gr8fulted suggests that the Godchaux s or Keith may have been going through somewhat of a creativity decline or just running out of gas or something ..
D Lemieux points out thatin Feb of that year , the Feb 5 show marked a transition point in this band s ' sound '
It s absolutely intriguing to learn - through mazon.com at least - that people were , for example finding audience tapes of the Feb 5 show - as early as summer 78 . One person , i read in that web site spent 20 years looking for a Sbd of Feb 5 . Well , dp 18 will take car of that
There are fantastic 1978 shows that are after Feb . But i think that although Keith may have needed a change - of band maybe or a temporary replacement - the band brought in Brent in 1979 ; bringing in - as some interviews say - a different ' air ' or dimension to the band . Maybe they needed a change . That was probably the case , but his 7 years with the band were to me and many other heads the brightest point in their career . Thats the great thing about this band s history ; it never ceases to amaze , during Vince , Brent , Keith and Ron mckernan . Years , decades after getting into this band , you discover things that you may never ever have thought could or even be . I have to thank our celestial father for that
p.s. The 1966 clip is great . the lead guitar solo in midnight hour just swirls yer face right of your head .. ha
p.s.s. Jerry s tone in Ramblin Rose & sugaree from Chicago 78 is AMAZING !! showcasing excellent piano playin . Now , after some reflection I really think DL made quite a point with the Feb 5 date ..
Playin' in the Band
Keep bringin' the Playins!
Thanks, David, for another great week of gems.
Corry - thanks for the personal recount of the shows during the time. It is fun for those of us who were too young - I was 9 - (or not born yet) to read about the scene and what it was like.
'66 stuff is worth 5 stars
'66 stuff is worth 5 stars alone...
i'd love it if you could dig up some more of those '66 jams
Cedar Falls IA ..
.. and Madison WI make up dp 18
Just clarifying for flufhead , whom incorrectly gave all its credit to Madison WI
I lived in CF IA for 16 years , so I hope yall take into account small but important detail
I saw Pink Floyd there in the spring of 1988 w my father - my 1st ever music concert - and having graduated from high school in that venue , i recall it didnt have perfect sound , but i bet the engineers in 1978 , for the Dead made it sound right . The audience tape - seek it out to complete the dp 18 experience - is great sounding , nicely evened out from a sonic perspective .
Now to cpmplete this anecdote i saw Phish in the fall of 1995 at the Dane C coliseum , and it had fabulous sound . Dane county really looked and sounded just like the Assembly hall in Champaign IL , where i had the fortune of seeing and taping Phish in the fall of 1997
Enough of my jabbering and rambling on , thanks DL for your great contributions
p.s Did anyone catch the Floyd in 88 , 94 or ever , or Phish . Share your stories if you want to .. i triple dare you = )
Floyd
My first concert ever was also Floyd in 88 - or was it 87? I dunno, it was probably the same tour you caught 'em on, Jaime, and I believe the fourth show ever at the brand new Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan - still the home of the Pistons and future site of a handful of pretty good Dead shows (a few years later I'd sing "Happy Birthday" to Jerry along with about 30,000 of my closest friends). My brother took me to see them (after his date stood him up! Poor John), I was 13 years old and it blew me away. It was probably somewhere in the top three loudest shows I've ever been to (besides my own band!), and it being my first, I just assumed they were all that loud. Other things warped my young impressionable mind - flying pigs, hospital beds, etc.. I remember the last song they played was "Run Like Hell" and it sounded great - The Wall was my current obsession at the time (though I can't even listen to it now!). Never saw Floyd again, one I discovered the Syd era I kinda lost interest in the "newer" stuff. But it was a pretty great and memorable first show for sure.
I love the old stuff too....
mikebike is absolutely right... the old stuff is great
this is a grateful
dead forum why are pink floyd shows being discussed ...... ?
okay, while we're at it i will throw in that my very first concert of ANY kind was nassau coliseum, THE WALL.
pink floyd stopped at nothing for that production. floating pig the size of a building, an entire wall that came close to the ceiling of the coliseum, with several bricks removed and roger waters playing in one missing brick spot and david gilmore in another one and so on ......
then i started seeing the dead and never looked back --------- all in all it's just another brick in the wall ---------
beenwaytoolongatsea
1980
forgot to mention the year ........
anyway only a few months after that at the same nassau coliseum i saw the dead for the first time can't remember the date but the first song was alabama getaway and i knew instantly that i had stumbled into something
( :: >> )) -- [
beenwaytoolongatsea