Grateful Dead

Vguy beat me to it. I have been preaching for years, surely a couple times on these dead.net boards, that we should all squarely blame the Eagles Hell Freezes Over tour for the current state of concert ticket prices.

Rolling Stones, for example: saw them on Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge tours with what would be considered by us to be normal ticket prices and no special 'Golden Circle' tickets and special perks. Just buy a ticket at TM and go to the show. Would have to look at my tickets, but somewhere in the $30 range. Then the Eagles toured... By Bridges to Babylon there were pre-sales through credit card companies, 'Golden Circle' tickets for hundreds of dollars, etc... Now it costs hundreds to see them from the 'nosebleed' seats in football stadiums. I have no idea how all these teenagers afforded to attend Taylor Swift shows.

That said, touring is how current artists make money today. The GD makes the Top 10 album sales for selling 25k of a Dave's Pick. That wouldn't have been in the top 500 30 years ago. Bands like Tedeschi Trucks Band need to charge decent $ for tickets for this reason-- everybody streams the music and don't buy albums. Do the Rolling Stones and Dead and Co need the money? No, but people will pay it, so.... we are still a capitalist society.

Ozzy, this one hurt, even though I was not related to Ozzy, I feel like I lost one of my family friends. Let me elaborate, having switched to streaming a couple of years ago, I noticed on one streaming channel, that Ozzy's and Jacks World Detour was on, so we started to watch...it's a great show and on the biography channel. Was always a fan of Ozzy so when we found this show, we were already hooked. To see the interaction between Jack and Ozzy and the rest of the family was fun to watch and informative as they then went to all the "bucket list" places in the US that they wanted to see. If you have not seen the show, it's worth the watch. After watching this show (airing right now) we were allowed a visit into the Osborne's home life. Way better than the original MTV series. So happy for Jack and the rest of the clan that they got to do this and Jack decided to film it. Check it out if you can get this channel. Only got to see Ozzy once, it was 50 years ago. Looking back, it was 50 years ago almost to the day July 26, 1975. Great show with the opening band Frampton's Camel. This was before the live lp that made Frampton famous. Having been a fan of Frampton since his days with Humble Pie, and a fan of Black Sabbath, we left in the early afternoon for a road trip to Lakeland, Fl for the show. Frampton was great, just having a ball on stage playing his music, and during his set we drank a mushroom potion I had boiled up and put into a Tupperware drinking container that we had. We smuggled the sauce into the show and partook of the brew during this performance. Wow, what a show. Frampton played with a reckless abandon and had a mile wide smile on his face throughout the show. Starting to feel the brew that we brought; the stagehands began setting up the stage for the headliners. This large sail like banner was lifted up and attached above the band and their gear. This had a large cross imprinted on it, as did every member of the band, with Ozzy wearing 3 crosses and Tony too, decked out in black, with silver crosses beaming up from the stage it was quite a sight. Memory a bit fuzzy after this, as the band came on the ambience changed to a darker almost foreboding atmosphere as the band played, the mushrooms hit and we had a ball, the sound was incredibly loud, sinister and raw, rock and roll baby. in all it's glory. This was 50 years ago, tomorrow.
Golden earring, what can you say about this band and the rock they played, having just released their second album, Switch, we were ready for this show, also 50 years ago, they opened for Robin Trower. Another great show and having a great love for Trower and curious of Golden Earring, we were there in all our psychedelic glory. The one thing I do remember about this band is the mannequin that they had hanging from the rafters, it was the robot-like mannequin from the cover of their second lp, Switch. This thing took on a life of it's own, and every time I happened to look in its' direction, it had changed position, with an arm or a leg moved into another pose. I didn't stare at the object, but it was something that intrigued me and how it moved, seemingly by its self was a trip. They opened with intro, plus minus absurdio and played all their hits, and the great tune Candy's going bad, a personal favorite. A great band and only a rock God like Trower could top them. Trower was, and is, awesome, but that's for another time. Back in those days, I made it a mission to see all of them, all the great bands, and did, with the Dead being on that list and finally saw them for the first time in May 1977. Everything changed after that day, as a new Deadhead had been born. People say that if you remember the sixties, you weren't there, for me, that decade was the 70's. Fun times, for sure. Back in those days, 50 years ago plus now, we were at a concert of some kind almost every weekend, either to Lakeland or Jacksonville or down south for a show. Loved the laid-back atmosphere of Florida back in the seventies, alas, those times are gone. Via con Dios Ozzy and you too George, love to you both, we will meet again, save me a seat.

by the way, tickets were 6.00 dollars for both of these shows. So glad we went to all those shows in the seventies; to see them all now would cost thousands of dollars. So sorry for today's youth, to see a show today, just too much.

I can't remember when that term began to be used regularly. I do have an article here, one of a number I took out of the N.M.E for posterity, dated 10/6/73. Written by Charles Shaar Murray, it is titled " An Innocent Alone in the Heavy Metal Zone." Here he acknowledges various records from the 60's, but identifies Led Zeppelin as the first definitive heavy metal band. He tells us that Black Sabbath in the UK and Grand Funk Railroad in the U.S.A. were their successors as " Champion Metazoids".

I must have identified myself as liking what I though of as heavy metal round about then. That included who you might expect, plus Hawkwind with Lemmy, and "Raw Power" by Iggy and the Stooges. The staples were Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, The Groundhogs, Budgie, Status Quo, Stray, Robin Trower, Pink Fairies - even Rory Gallagher - although he alerted me to the blues. Many, many more, too.

Around 1979 - I think - there was another category - The New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which I really didn't like at all. I went more for punk in terms of heavy rock from 1976, and then moved backward and sideways into more exotic territory.

But, yes, I also remember how mind buggeringly loud and heavy Black Sabbath were. Deep Purple too. Being there made your hair grow long over night.

12/29/1977 $7.00 = $35 today
12/31/1977 $10.00 = $51

Jerry Band Keystone 1977 $5.00 = $25
Dead & Co $600 in 2025 = $115 in 1977 > Nobody would have paid that price back then.

When I bought records back in the day for 7$ it sure didn't feel like the equivalent of $35

Never mind the ticket pricing bollocks
Here's the music I like on CD
and archive
oh, and on you to ob as well

Just checked some examples, all Frankfurt:

Rolling Stones: 1973-09-30 (DM 15) = ca. USD 6,50
1976-04-29 (DM 16) = ca. USD 7,50
The Who - 1972-08-11 (DM 14) = ca. USD 6
Ten Years After -1973-01-28 (DM14) = ca. USD 6

Cheers G.

55 arrived a day early.

On to the rip

55 arrived a day early.

On to the rip

That's funny that quote, about Led Zep. & Heavy Metal. I say this because all throughout the 1980s and well into the '90s Robert Plant eschewed that very assertion that his band was the advent of 'Heavy Metal' as we know it. I can't remember where but I had read about this in some guitar magazine and seen a filmed interview of this on television.
He basically 'verbatim' eluded to how they {Zeppelin} considered themselves a 'heavy hippie' blues and rock band. Scour through all the albums and individual songs it makes sense to me what he's saying.
Seems like all the Heavy Metal bands of the 1980s were all Led Zeppelin fans as youth and it was THEY who attributed Zep to their 'metal' form of rock. Anyways it seemed like Robert Plant didn't feel that he was a spiritual ancestor to bands like Metallica or Slayer. Now Deep Purple and Black Sabbath are much closer in musical 'genetics' so to speak I think.
***edit** (summarization) The fact someone found an article dated from back in 1973, about Zeppelin and the term 'heavy metal' is astonishing and blows my mind a bit.

... for the psycho analysis of this on a Grateful Dead forum but Iron Maiden & Motorhead may be some of the first forays into what would become '80s metal' or the modern fast tempo type of thrash music. The stuff Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica would get famous for. R.J. Dio and Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow fits the style too.

Late 1960s – British rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath were playing what would later be considered "heavy metal," but the term wasn’t commonly used in the UK yet to define a specific genre.

1971 – The earliest known use of the term “heavy metal” in a British publication to describe music appeared in the underground press and some music magazines. At this point, it was still emerging and loosely defined.

1972–1973 – British music journalists and magazines like Sounds and New Musical Express (NME) began to more regularly use the term “heavy metal” in reference to bands such as Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, and Judas Priest.

1972

I am at a food event at Seattle Center
I go to a place that has a banner for various drinks including "spiked lemonade"
"One spiked lemonade, please"
"Uh, no spiked lemonade, it's the wrong banner."

Why am I getting grouchier by the day?

Hmmm...

Planet Caravan. For those not in the know, on Paranoid, Sabbath's 2nd lp. Also widely available on yootoob.

Surprisingly, Pantera's version is outstanding and quite faithful to the original.

Best thing they (Pantera, a bit thuggish for my taste) ever did, imo.

Best,

\m/

There are a series of compilation 3 cd box sets bearing that name that have come out on Grapefruit Records over the last few years. They feature some familiar names, but all sorts of bands lost in the mists of time. Subtitled " A Journey Through The British Heavy Psych and Hard Rock Underground Scene 1968-1972". It's the opposite of easy listening, which is a good thing.
With Black Sabbath I am more interested in the bands they co-existed with up to 1975 than who they influenced. Mainly because that was the soundtrack to the disturbing world of my adolescence. You can't stay 16 forever, though.

My copy has just come through the door. Labelled as 13287/22000. I thought there were 25000 released? Presumably a misprint on the cover.

Brent! Gone way too soon brother!

... 22,000 ...

got milk?
maybe
just got religion

OR
more
prankster phun

In life a little rain must fall.

Don’t worry about it Proudfoot. My wife’s been telling me for a while now, “You’re just a grumpy old man.” I guess getting close to retirement will do that… If you want to see some grouchy deadheads, go lurk on the Dead pages at the Steve Hoffman Forums.
Speaking of, looks like quite a few folks in the UK have received their Dave’s 55. Usually they seem to be at least a week behind us.
And not surprisingly, UPS jumped me from today to Tuesday for delivery.

Finally have gotten around to checking out the 8/12 red rocks show,…coincidentally on the sad anniversary of Brent’s passing. Just got a new headphone amp yesterday which is making the experience even better. Plus I didn’t realize this was a Betty Board (rare for 79 but appreciated ). Up to LLR with Althea next. Nothin’ left to do but 🙂🙂🙂

*for the audio folks out there it’s a teac 505t cd transport to schiit yggy DAC to schiit jot and about five year old Grado GS1000e

It’s a little known fact that just like you say lift and we say elevator, pram for stroller, chuffed for something? We say 22,000 for 25,000.

mislead me and do a "PSYCHE!"

Ever see the Monty Python FC cheese shop sketch?

Well, here's to Brent. He was 38, methinks.

And here's to a sane, peaceful world. Someday, hopefully, that will be the norm.

New Dave's today? Time will tell.

Venezuelan Beaver Cheese?

the cat's eaten it

My reverie on heavy metal has been brought to a timely end by the delivery the of vinyl Road Trips Vol3 No2 - 11/15/71 at lunchtime, and Dave's Picks 55 half an hour ago. It says on the back 21707/22000. Life is good.

On the Dave's 55 product page it states that, once again, there are 25000 copies whereas on the back of the Digipak it says 22000.
Has anybody got a copy with a number between 22000 and 25000?

Based on subscriptions and the unsold recent ala carte DaP’s, they have a good idea what demand is.

Goes back to my post the other day about scalpers and the new eBay tax law.

No need to store 3000 DaP 55’s in the warehouse if the demand is not there.
They probably cut production at the last minute.

During 1979, Betty Cantor-Jackson, the legendary Grateful Dead sound engineer who produced the "Betty Boards", is known to have recorded the following Grateful Dead shows:
February 17, 1979 at Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA.
April 22, 1979 at Spartan Stadium, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA (partial recording).
June 28, 1979 at Sacramento Memorial Coliseum, Sacramento, CA (partial recording, uneven quality).
August 4, 1979 at Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA (notable for the introduction of Jerry Garcia's "Tiger" guitar).
August 5, 1979 at Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA.
November 23, 1979.
November 24, 1979.
November 25, 1979.
December 1979 New Year's Eve run.

#55's on its way, supposed to be here Wednesday! Not expecting to be blown away by this one, but hoping I enjoy it at least as much as the '90s shows in the box.

I thought I remembered reading that 'heavy metal' comes from Naked Lunch, and that Lester Bangs was the first to use it in reference to rock music. I think I remember the term being used a lot in Creem magazine in the early '70s to refer to bands like Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult and even Kiss.

But to me, calling Zeppelin a metal band is like calling the Dead country rock. Yes, they did that, but they did so many other things it's misleading to put that label on them. Songs like, say, Immigrant Song or Black Dog were about as heavy as anything recorded in that era but those albums also had acoustic folk music and even elaborate things like Stairway that we really can't imagine bands like Sabbath or Deep Purple doing.

In a way, I think being a metal band involves a certain single-mindedness. Sure, Sabbath was going to put a ballad on every album, but the rest of the songs were going to be relentless riff-driven minor key rockers about Satan, nuclear war, astronauts who get turned into monsters and start killing everyone in sight, and the perennial favorite, losing one's sanity. Fairies wear boots and ya gotta believe meeeee!

In fact the definition of what is 'metal' seems to have gotten more and more strict over the years, to the point where you have all these sub genres (thrash metal, death metal, speed metal, metal core, black metal, industrial metal, blah blah metal). All of which seem to believe they are the only true metal.

Which is fine. I loved Sabbath and Zeppelin when I was a kid, still listen to them when I'm in the mood. And I kind of like Metallica, Slayer, Mastodon, and a few others. I can't get into the more extreme stuff, which often sounds to me like the Cookie Monster got stuck in the garbage disposal. But I like knowing there's people out there who live for that stuff.

....I admittingly slept on Ozzy's releases post Ozzmosis. So binging. Some good stuff in them. I cut my music teeth on metal as a wee lad.
Last five. Ozzy Down To Earth and on.

Don't forget Budgie, a great early UK 70s band. Metallica covered a coupla' their songs, Bread Fan and Crash Course in Brain Surgery.

First mention of Heavy Metal I know of is in Steppenwolf's Born To Be Wild("Heavy metal thunder")

One of the greatest lines I've ever heard
😂😂😂

As the late, great Lemmy sez, "We are Motorhead, and we play rock n roll"

just received an email from Tommy Chong about the future of legal hemp products. Seems that the republicans are trying to reverse the headway that hemp has enjoyed thru the farm bill that was passed in 2018. They want to repeal all and any laws that helped give hemp it's somewhat legal status that it has enjoyed since this bill was passed. Once again, these stinking republicans are trying to put hemp and hemp related products back to the dark ages where people must purchase these products thru the black market instead of at their favorite head shop. It doesn't matter who you support, this madness must be stopped, and not just stopped, thoroughly defeated. Contact your representatives now and tell them that if they push hemp products back to the dark ages, they will be voted out from their cushy little job. End the war on hemp NOW. Contact your reps now.

They sound like heavy metal to me on their live albums. I know they covered a few blues songs, but they didn't really sound like blues the way they did them.

I think Led Zep's reputation for this is based mainly on their first two albums, and a smattering of tracks on the other albums. And how they sounded live. Apparently their 3rd album wasn't that well received at the time, due to the acoustic songs.

A lot of bands made heavy rock songs without having the singularity of vision that Crow refers too. Mott The Hoople recorded a couple of corkers on their first 4 albums - Thunderbuck Ram for one.

Speaking of misprints, does everyone's copy of the ETR '94 show just say "Drum?" I'm pretty sure there was more than one in there

Good for you for making The Bite PF - any good? Super crowded? Thinking about Bumbershoot this year

Interesting comment by Dave in the booklet - " Wembley Arena in London was also much smaller than the typical arena in the U.S." Yet it was the biggest arena I ever saw a gig in ! At Page and Plant in 1999, I was so far away I don't consider myself to have actually seen them.

In a recent book that I’ve read (can’t remember which) there was a quote where Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce said they were playing free jazz in Cream with Clapton playing the Ornette Coleman part, they just didn’t tell him.

....saw a video comparing that to someone trying to put out a raging house fire with a bucket of water.

The Bite is like a massive picnic (well, i guess you kniw that...); food of course but free to get in and various booths of things for sale. Enjoyable vibes and fun people watching.

We sat in the beer garden mostly (with the "Oops Wrong Banner" incident) listening to a few bands then walked around a bit.

Worth going for 2-3 hours of sensory entertainment.

The free open admission is what makes it ultimately worthwhile.

Crowded? Not bad last evening, but I would imagine this weekend many more folks.

We got lucky with parking on street for 4 bucks. Garages charging a whole lot more (30 - 40 bucks).

Or trying too hold back the ocean with a corn broom?

From the Marijuana Herald:

STATES 2.0 Act (H.R. 2934)
Introduced by Representatives Dave Joyce (R-OH), Max Miller (R-OH), and Dina Titus (D-NV), this bill would shield individuals and businesses following state or tribal marijuana laws from federal interference. It would also allow interstate cannabis commerce between compliant jurisdictions and enable marijuana companies to access standard federal tax deductions.

Veterans Equal Access Act (H.R. 1384)
Sponsored by Representative Brian Mast (R-FL), this bipartisan bill would allow Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) physicians to recommend medical marijuana to veterans in states where it’s legal. The measure would eliminate VA rules that currently block doctors from discussing or recommending medical cannabis, even in jurisdictions where it is authorized.

Veterans Cannabis Use for Safe Healing Act (H.R. 966)
Filed by Representative Greg Steube (R-FL), this bill would prohibit the VA from denying benefits to veterans solely because they use medical marijuana in accordance with state law. It would also allow VA physicians to discuss marijuana as a treatment option.

Military Construction and VA Appropriations Act (H.R. 8580)
The U.S. House voted 290 to 116 last month to adopt an amendment into this $1.5 trillion appropriations bill that would prohibit the VA from enforcing internal directives that prevent its doctors from recommending marijuana. The language is modeled on the Veterans Equal Access Act and was adopted with broad bipartisan support. It must now be approved by the Senate before it can be sent to President Trump for consideration.

PREPARE Act (H.R. 2935)
Filed in tandem with the STATES 2.0 Act, the PREPARE Act would create a federal commission to guide the development of national marijuana regulations in anticipation of federal legalization. The commission would make recommendations on how to harmonize state laws with federal policy.

Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act (H.R. 8219)
This bill from Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate marijuana’s continued classification as a Schedule I substance, assessing whether it reflects current scientific understanding and how it affects research access.

No Deductions for Marijuana Businesses Act (S. 471 / H.R. 1447)
Filed by Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) in the Senate and Representative Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) in the House, this bill would block marijuana businesses from claiming any federal tax deductions—even if marijuana is rescheduled. It is the only marijuana-related bill introduced this year that seeks to further restrict the industry.

House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill (Hemp THC Ban)
Advanced by the U.S. Senate and House Appropriations Committees, this bill includes an amendment that would ban all consumable hemp products containing detectable levels of THC, effectively banning hemp THC nationwide. Backed by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the measure would dismantle the current hemp-derived THC market, including popular products like delta-8 and THCA. A one-year delay in implementation is included.

Hemp Economic Mobilization Plan (HEMP) Act
Introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), this bill takes the opposite approach of the appropriations amendments. It would raise the legal THC threshold for hemp from 0.3% to 1% and move testing requirements from raw plant material to finished products. It also includes protections for transport and documentation, easing legal burdens on farmers and manufacturers.

Cannabis Rescheduling Under Review
While none of the bills above would directly reschedule marijuana, a significant potential federal reform remains under active consideration: the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is currently reviewing a proposed rule to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This process was initiated after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended rescheduling in 2023, but the DEA’s review has since been paused, though it is still officially underway. A public comment period resulted in over 40,000 comments, with less than 10% in support of keeping cannabis as a Schedule I drug.

In recent weeks many of former President Donald Trump’s advisors and allies have spoken in support of rescheduling cannabis, with sources telling us that he has been privately promoting the move for weeks now. Some have suggested Trump may be waiting to publicly promote the move until Terrence Cole is confirmed by the Senate as DEA Administrator.

With the exception of a couple of losers there are some good bills from both Republicans and Democrats pending in the current congress regarding Cannabis.

....I typed something that I regretted.
My bad.

Thanks to all for the super analysis from many different perspectives on Heavy Metal, et. al.. As always these Dead threads are very informative to me, ironically not always Grateful Dead related, or at least directly. Anyways,.... Someone a few pages back mentioned many of the modern 'metal' hybrids and evolutions and what a trip to examine all that!

However, there was another one, kind of elemental 'metal' that I saw not mentioned (the yadda yada?). I first heard of this sub-genre about ten years ago, it was called "Gent. Metal" as in Gentleman's Metal. I believe it was mostly instrumental, like what some guitarists might refer to as 'Math Rock' because of all the complicated chords & note structuring. A sort of Jazz~Metal for lack of better terms but from the sample I heard that was exactly what it sounded like. Hard Bop late '50s Jazz but done with electric guitars. The whole song like one great big solo with everyone all the time on overdrive. Somewhere in the metal midst a melody forms, real trippy stuff indeed! Come to think of it some one earlier also mentioned jazz and the group Cream, and they were hella jazz influenced. Trippy how some things are more connected than they may appear.

Keep on Trippen' & ENJOYING THE RIDE.... Still enjoying the Box set!

... The last rant is not to be confused with "djent" metal. That's a whole nother beast in itself. All are probably considered "Prog" metal.

I wouldn't have said they were heavy metal if Ginger Baker was still alive. Bit excitable by all accounts.

Didn't Cream have an influence on West Coast rock after their first visits in 1967 ? I remember reading somewhere that Jack Cassady and Jorma Kaukonen were impressed, and that this was partly why Jefferson Airplane got heavier and louder. Plus Hot Tuna of course.
Maybe they also had a influence on the Dead's decision to sack Pigpen and Bob Weir in 1968 and play as Micky and The Hartbeats.

In '67 Jerry and Mic attended a Cream concert. Mic said, Jerry this must be the best band in the world! Jerry said, well tonight they're! Hahaha