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    clayv
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    An institution in American rock music, the Grateful Dead continue to surprise the ears with new arrangements and altered styles. If their playing continues with the force that was heard in San Bernardino, the spirit of the Dead will live on. - Sun Telegram

    We are more than pleased to kick off this year's Dave's Picks series with the much requested and quite spirited complete performance from Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, CA 2/26/77. The Swing ’77 show was a unique beast, unlike any others from this era: as the band’s first concert of the year, it bridged the gap between the new and re-emerging sound of the returning 1976 Grateful Dead and the precision excellence of the spring ’77 Dead. Debuting two of their most intricately crafted songs of the 1970s, “Terrapin Station” (to open, no less!) and “Estimated Prophet,” the Dead demonstrated right from the start of this new touring year that they were not going to be a nostalgia act; they were going to be as adventurous and ambitious as they were at any time in their career.

    Join the adventure as they soar through tried and true ("Playing In The Band," "Tennessee Jed"), well-loved covers ("Mama Tried," "Samson and Delilah," "Dancing In the Street"), and epic new jams.

    Rounded out with three songs from Santa Barbara, CA 2/27/77, this one was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

    Dave's Picks Volume 29 is limited to 20,000 individually-numbered copies*.

    *Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • wadeocu
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    DaP 30

    I think the cover is great - very creative and thoughtful. Reflections, shades of ugly rumors, wolf paws, ripples, used matches - just all kinds of relevant imagery without being to cliche or obvious about it.

  • Dennis
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    email?

    I thought I spent enough. I didn't get no stinkin' email!

    Where do I go to grouse about the cover :-(

    Just saw Hellboy in "DBox",,, save your money on the dbox front. Hellboy, ok,,, seemed long.

  • stoltzfus
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    Iam uppity fuxworth

    But

    Who g.a.s. about the cover

    I want the music.

    They could pack in tin foil

    Idc

    Just make sure the music is there

  • Sixtus_
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    Pre-empting 4/14/72

    I cheated the other day and listened to this Dark Star from 4/14/72. It's by far, one of the best they do on this tour....it has the fabled Feelin Groovy jam, and the main take away here is that at least in my opinion, this may be one of the 'most accessible' Dark Stars out there. By 'most accessible' I mean that it never truly goes waay off the rails into any major meltdowns; in fact for a nearly 30 minute Dark Star, this one just stays high energy almost for the whole ride save for about the last 4 minutes where there is a mild meltdown before Sugar Magnolia. This is one you could potentially put on for a novice and say, Ok, hold on for this one...it's gonna achieve liftoff and won't really come down for 30 minutes....see you on reentry!

    Looking forward to the full spin of 4/14 over the weekend. But also prepping for Game of Thrones and oh my god they are going to kill everyone.....have a nice day!

    Sixtus

    P.S. - I thoroughly enjoy the cover for DaP30; I also immediately thought of that other release with the same marquee, and I even pulled my wife in front of the mirror and showed her the backwards/upside down genius going on in that puddle

  • KeithFan2112
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    80sFan

    Dude that is so funny. I read that the cover was available from a couple people posting last night. I was driving home and checked my email to see if I had it, and I did. And don't you know the next thing I did was Google The Fillmore East 2-11-69 album cover to see if the paws matched. But as you discovered too, the wolf is wearing gloves LOL. Well that's a funny start to my day. I just pulled into the parking lot at work so off I go. I've gotten through the first set of the first Tivoli show 4/14/72. I missed out on the steamer trunk, so I ended up buying them a la carte. This was one of the first that I picked up. And of course it's outstanding. Jerry's guitar has some extra volume and distortion that I love. Playing in the band is particularly good. Donna does not get the first scream in on this one, and the second scream is really not too loud at all - all in good mixing. It's the two tracks that damage her reputation. But I love her. Little cutie.

  • 80sfan
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    cover

    I was thinking that too KeithFan - in fact I went back to the copy of 2/11/69 to see if the paws match (I clearly have too much time on my hands). Maybe a distant cousin...

    Anyone here know much about two acoustic sets from Warfield being released as part of record store day ? I heard in addition to vinyl that a small number will be released on CD. Would love to get my hands on that.

  • JeffSmith
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    Dave's 30 and Hofheinz '72

    Like Dave's 29's cover, the Dave's 30 cover makes you stop and think. Took me longer to figure out what the arrowhead was all about on Dave's 29. And this time, no skeletons! "Worst ever" may be a little harsh. Think of it like the rating system for shows on the archive – most soundboards are rated 4- or 5-star – it's the Dead, right?

    Alvarhanso, the dominant bass on Hofheinz 11/18/72 may not be all your equalizer's fault. Vguy72 commented a while back that "Hofheinz arena has an awesome low, even ceiling - any bass player or drummer would salivate." And then DrowningWitch said: "When someone asks you why people play the bass, this is what you need to play for them. Phil bombing the way forth for the band. But that's just the surface we are shoveling through. Is Jerry leading? Is Phil leading? Does it matter? When this kind of interplay boils through the surface of their psyche into the instruments, you can follow a fractal & reach any conclusion you like. "
    . . . bring on 11/19!

  • KeithFan2112
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    The DaP 30 Album Cover Works Correctly

    Love it or hate it, if you hold it upside down in the mirror, the image and lettering are indeed right side up. I love it. Nice alternative to hippie skeletons. Clever idea I thought. I don't want to tell an artist his business, but it would have been really cool if you could see the Good Morning Little School Girl letters etched in the sidewalk, from the 2-11-69 album cover. I guess that could be misleading since the song is not in the set. Maybe the coattails of the wolf's Red Riding Hood get up. Just sayin'.

  • alvarhanso
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    Hofheinz 72

    A brilliant release. My favorite He's Gone and Playing. The first time I heard it, I thought the bass was too overpowering. Think that was a problem on my EQ, but I listen to that set quite a bit, and wouldn't mind seeing 11/19/72 as a future release. That Dark Star with the Phil-o Stomp is famtastic!

    Thanks for reminding me about the bonus material for Aoxomoxoa, was basing it on the email, had forgotten they mentioned some tracks would be put out.

  • daverock
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    Partial shows-Aoxomoxoa-18/11/72

    Alvarhanso-there seems to be a bonus disc coming out with the 50th Anniversary of Aoxomoxoa that is a compilation of songs from the 24-26 January shows that were recorded in preparation for the release of Live Dead.

    Also on this theme, I listened to what has been released from Houston 11/18/72, an RSD release from a few years ago, on vinyl last night Its a great and unusual record. A completely different mix from the Europe 72 shows I have been listening to. Bob and Keith are almost none existent in the mix, which is very different from the earlier shows where they are vey audible and clearly contribute so much. This latter show features Phil very clearly, and the jams seem to be based on the interaction between him, Jerry and Bill. The stand out track, is probably the 25 minute Playing in the Band, but the jam out of He's Gone is also highlight. You wouldn't want to miss a minute.

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An institution in American rock music, the Grateful Dead continue to surprise the ears with new arrangements and altered styles. If their playing continues with the force that was heard in San Bernardino, the spirit of the Dead will live on. - Sun Telegram

We are more than pleased to kick off this year's Dave's Picks series with the much requested and quite spirited complete performance from Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, CA 2/26/77. The Swing ’77 show was a unique beast, unlike any others from this era: as the band’s first concert of the year, it bridged the gap between the new and re-emerging sound of the returning 1976 Grateful Dead and the precision excellence of the spring ’77 Dead. Debuting two of their most intricately crafted songs of the 1970s, “Terrapin Station” (to open, no less!) and “Estimated Prophet,” the Dead demonstrated right from the start of this new touring year that they were not going to be a nostalgia act; they were going to be as adventurous and ambitious as they were at any time in their career.

Join the adventure as they soar through tried and true ("Playing In The Band," "Tennessee Jed"), well-loved covers ("Mama Tried," "Samson and Delilah," "Dancing In the Street"), and epic new jams.

Rounded out with three songs from Santa Barbara, CA 2/27/77, this one was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

Dave's Picks Volume 29 is limited to 20,000 individually-numbered copies*.

*Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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Listening to the first estimated is like watching a child riding a bike for the first time. Classic no matter what happens. Beautiful! !

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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You are funny Icecrmcnkd! Actually, these releases are 20 bit since they are HDCD. Has anyone ever listened to any of these releases on an HDCD player?
I have been toying with the idea of buying one but don't know if it would be worth it for the additional 4 bits of sound?

The August of '81 Long Beach Arena shows are in my annual rotation (which means they are favorites) but along with 12/13-14/1980. Great Drums-Space with Airto Moreira and Flora Purim sitting in for added dimensions.

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My CD player has HDCD but as it is the only player I have, I have nothing for comparison. No two CD players sound the same anyway so any comparison would be fairly meaningless. Just get the best you can.

Dave's 29 should arrive in about a week's time if I'm lucky.

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In reply to by simonrob

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Rob , by digitally I presume you mean iTunes U ? If that’s right my original answer stands 😾
P.S. still waiting for my 29 😾 presumably the further the disk has to travel the earlier it’s sent and thus a lower @@@@@/20,000 might I get 🤞

I have an Onkyo 6-disc changer (not HDCD), Onkyo receiver, Onkyo sub-woofer, and Bose 301 speakers that are 5-6 feet in the air.
Sounds awesome, especially Phil right now at 11:00-11:30 of Eyes.
What would the extra 4 bits get me? Hopefully even more Phil, but I’ll never know......

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Check your PM.....

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Hey just curious, what music app do you use in your phone? I use Poweramp. It has some fantastic new audio features that improve the sound tremendously without making it sound different (EQ + stereo / separation enhancement). Great stuff. Only problem I have with it is the new version has a bug in the gapless playback, so China Riders, Scarlet Fires and the such have an ever so slight pause between tracks. Only occurs on mp3s; WAV files are fine.... but WAVs are way too big. I'm hoping they fix it quickly. Yeah, Poweramp.

So for all you WHO freaks out there and I know Icecrmcnkd mentioned Phil's Eyes solo... 2 parts Check out 10:40 to 10:49 and then 11:07 to 11:26...anyone hearing Go To the mirror or something else from TOMMY....In any case its pretty cool.

This Dave's Pick is Warm and Crispy sounding....and that's great in my book!!

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In reply to by RobbZ

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I have an emotiva basx 100 that has hdcd encoding. They make an excellent product with a fair price tag. 299.00 usd. You can even split the payments into 12 months using their website. Comes out to be about 29 bucks a month. I did notice a sound improvement, especially on my dead discs, but shit they sound pretty damn good already. To my knowledge emotiva is the only company putting the decoder in there new products, when i started looking around i could only find older model players with hdcd capability.

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I hear shades of Philo Stomp leading into the groovy bass line of Dancin'.

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#3696 has arrived! I have long owned the 1st set on cassette, mainly for it's two historic debuts, Estimated Prophet and the opening Terrapin Station. I somehow never sought out the 2nd set tapes nor did I bother to ever give it a listen online. After hearing this show all the way through, I realize now that I was sorely remiss. The two sets are mirror images of shimmering songcraft and exploratory jamming. I think it is the most well-rounded '77 show released to date. It also makes 1977 the most widely-documented year as far as official releases go. From the breathtaking start to the rocking finish, 2/26/77 has it all. It will make a beautiful bookend to the 12/29/77 Dick's Picks release which of course has the Terrapin encore. Thank you Mr. Lemieux and company :))

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In reply to by stoltzfus

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I lived in the LA area 1980-82 (finish high school after moving from Wisconsin, a place I do NOT miss), and visited from time to time through the 80s

my memory of SBer is a smog-infested "what the hell is this" place.

here come the GD in 1977 to help us ascend to heaven on Earth. In SBer, of all places.

many thanks to all who helped create this release.

I recommend seeing "They Shall Not Grow Old", Peter Jackson's film re WWI.

Not a happy film, but mind-blowing, none-the-less.

Amazing.

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In reply to by KeithFan2112

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I too use Poweramp. It works. I'm not much of a "equalizer" person. My buddy (who recommended Poweramp) LOVES EQ's. For good or ill, I was told YEARS ago about eq-ing. Man told me you may make sound 'a' sound better, but then you distort sound 'b'. My home system has no eq "box", nor does it have any "tone" control. I have found too that EQ people can spend a whole song "adjusting", only to redo on next song (certainly next album) :-)

Also I only use my phone, sometimes. I have a Cowon mp3 player that is suppose to have a far superior sound. I use memory sticks in a lot of places. In the end, I find everything sounds damn good, I can live with little gaps when they happen.

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In reply to by deadtony

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This is how I was able to hear definitively the the benefits of hdcd. The original vault two was not released with it, but the 3 disc reissue was. The benefits were obvious immediately. Unfortunately my denon carousel died 6 months ago after 14 years of faithful service. They stopped making multi disc hdcd players so I tried used. Beware they're all so old both died in less than a month. My oppo has it but when I just want to listen to a show almost uninterrupted it just ain't the same

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I don't think the From the Vault series provides an accurate comparison of HDCD versus non, because they were remastered for the re-release, and sound better anyway. I don't have a HDCD player, but I can hear audio improvements when comparing the original to the re-release.

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In reply to by Trainwrecked

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From The Vault Box was remastered?

Just ordered it.

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'Tis not so bad if you like beer, cheese, snowsports in the winter and don't mind a little hot, ticks and skeeters in the summer. I like it here (and I just spent an hour and a half moving snow).

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Being I whined and wailed so much about what a sonic mess volume 27 was I felt I owed a thank you to Dave for pumping out two good ones in a row now, especially volume 29. Not only a great and historic show, but sonically it's very good. Well Done Dave and his team.

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Arrived last weekend. Just finished second time through. Sounds like some noticeable bass enhancement on the filler material. The bass on the Dew is pretty thick and chunky. Love it.

Subscribing is always the way to go with these. Onboard every year since they started offering subscriptions back on that last year of Road Trips. 2020 will see the Dave's picks series reach the same milestone as Dicks picks with 36 releases. Hope this goes well beyond the 50s and even into the 100s. Might take another 17 years to get there and by then when I'm pushing my 70's, maybe they'll finally release more late 80's and 90's shows. Hopefully much sooner than that. A Spring '89 Dave's Pick would be awfully nice....say Ann Arbor or Milwaukee....or the whole tour....

edit - Vol 27 is awesome and sounds great. It's an excellent show. Haters still abound here I see.

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In reply to by SPACEBROTHER

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I didn't take what was said as being a hater, but you can't make someone like something they don't like.. So he said he didn't like the sound, doesn't make him or her a hater. Strong words.

I do think for 83, the sound on 27 is quite good. It's a cassette master to be sure, but a good release and no one should be surprised it came out when it did. We will see more 80's and 90's as time goes on. I wouldn't act surprised or aghast when this happens.

These things shouldn't cause such a ruckus but adding hyperbole isn't going to make things any better, just worse and more quickly. I like 27, it's high energy GD. I like 29 too, I have always held this show is very high regard.

Have a good night all.. play dead, be happy.

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Why dice Eyes?

-editing here- There seem to be an awful lot of patches of both '80's releases so far. There are a heck of a lot more stand up performances in the 80's, so to choose ones with tape integrity problems is questionable as well. imo ymmv

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In reply to by wilfredtjones

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I'll take the cheese, please.

I jokingly refer to my man-boobs as "Monterey Jack" (on the left) and "Cheddar" (on the right). Things happen when you are 257 lbs.

Nothing _wrong_ with Wisconsin...I just don't miss it.

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Got #29 today, but where the LIMITED EDITION: on the back is, mine has no number. Anyone else????

I wonder if Phil has been enhanced on this release, similar to 8-24-72.

On my second pass through, catching things I missed the first time.
H/S/F just started...

Some people previously posted about Keith’s perfectly timed contributions. I really noticed it on Samson.

Kicking back now to enjoy this H/S/F.....

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In reply to by wilfredtjones

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I forgot about that.. you are correct. I overlooked it as the Help>Slip!>Franks shines fairly bright. Onward.

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Seemed like there might be one somewhere between 4:00 - 4:30, or they just spaced it.
I caught it while listening but didn’t get off the couch to rewind. Nor did I catch the exact time. May go back later to check it out.

Don't ruin this release for me man... Don't even think about it.

No splices, pops, skips, blems, patches, etc.

After the last box.. I am living a fragile existence. Nervous ticks, twitches, my friends say I am not myself.. They are starting to call me tweak.

The Swing is one of my treasured shows.. don't frack this up for me man..

:D

Don’t know if that’s a splice.
Sounds more like when your car tape deck ate your cassette tape but didn’t break the tape. From then on that part of the tape was a mish mash.

Tape artifacts are a part of history, so don’t let it get you down.
CD skips are a modern phenomena that are totally avoidable with competent quality assurance practices.

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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I am always humbled by the good folks here.. such a dedicated group of listeners. No matter the topic, there is always someone that knows more than I, has a better ear or is simply more rounded. You guys seem to listen to more music than me.

That being said.. the Swing (among a few other two dozen shows or so) has always been sacred ground to me. This release reminds me why. Three discs, three separate jam sequences that do somehow seem to achieve liftoff.

Sacred ground.. and I am not the biggest '77 aficionado. ..but I like it all, and 1977 was the last thing I listened too.. so it must be the best.

Special shoutout to Stolie.. for keeping it real and providing some much needed entertainment and injection of what it takes to keep us all in check. They played a song from one of those 81 shows discussed earlier in this thread today on SiriusXM. Sometimes I think the world does at least keep us in mind when shit happens.. like, if there was a ruling body and there was a director of random and seemingly meaningless events.. that person is clearly a rabid deadhead with a wicked sense of humor.

Probably one of the top three releases to date! Wow! Love all of it. The Eyes and Around and Around remind me so much of their previous gem, the Cow Palace New Year's show. What a bummer, the rest of the San Bernardino tapes are missing. Are the March Winterland reels in the vault?
If so, let's get them out.
I certainly agree with Spacebrother on spring 89 shows Dave's or Box. We need more!

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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If it ain't got the swing.

Finally released.. a testament of patience.

Be kind, be patient.. sooner rather than later.. it will get released.

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It's funny that Dave totally ignores the Gainesville show in the liner notes to Lakeland on the 30 Trips box. It's like it never existed. I wonder if that was an oversight, or a slight joke based on what goes on here.

What I don't get is why no one ever mentions Sporto/Hollywood/Pembroke whenever the hubbub re: Gainesville comes around again as it is destined to do...

...good morning everyone in Grateful Dead Land!
...speaking of 80’s shows, I’ve recently listened & enjoyed the Grateful Dead concert in Alaska, on 6/20/80 at the West High Auditorium. I really love the whole second set & the audio I’ve heard is great/primo as well as a fine mix on CD I played. I think this show would make a sweet Daves Pick IMO...especially the version of ‘Estimated Prophet’ & ‘The Other One’ , love it!
Have a grateful day my brothers & sisters, ✌️

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I see you're up to your old argumentative ways. If someone doesn't agree with your opinion about a show, he is a "hater". Or if someone points out a sloppy part in the performance, he has a tin ear, right? You would do better in your appeal for 80s era if you took words like "hate" off your vocab list, and didn't attack people with different opinions from you. Very intolerant - like someone else I know.

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roll away the dew
roll away the dew
roll away the dew
roll away the dew
roll away the dew

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How are Monterey Jack and Cheddar doin' ? Another foot of snow here in Sconnie land.

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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I’ve listened to this several times and i’m still not sure what the best part of the show is. A first set with playin>Wheel>playin? A HSF so good that when i was sick the other night, i swear Franklin’s Tower nursed me back to health. An Eyes>Dancin? A Dew filler? That’s not even mentioning the show opening Terrapin or the great Sugaree as well. My lord. That’s really all i can say. My lord.

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In reply to by 80sfan

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....what exactly did Spacebro say that was argumentative? I read "awesome", "nice" and "excellent". Never saw the word hate. I even read it three times.

I LOVE it all. Yup, every year.
I would also LOVE some late 80's or early 90's.

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In reply to by wilfredtjones

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MJ and C are just hanging around for now :)

Seattle doesn't get much snow. We got hit earlier this week (2 school-closed days), and there is a forecast of a bigger one on the way. 8 inches accumulation.

In Seattle, that's a whole lotta snow.

run me out in the cold rain and snow. or just snow. but I'd rather be indoors getting legally green and listening to the greatest band of all time.

God bless the Grateful Dead!!!

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