Grateful Dead

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From what you write, I get the impression that you started going to gigs in the late 1970s, and that you regard the early 70s as being a better period for seeing gigs. I started going to gigs in 1972, and I always felt that the same way about late 60s - that they were better, and that I had joined a party just as it was ending. I wonder if this is a bit of a mis-perception-that things were always better before we arrived, which is usually the opinion of those who were participants during the earlier era. If you stared going to gigs in the late 70s-that was probably the best time for going to gigs-for you.

I've always felt EXACTLY the same!! Every concert from'74 back to '68 was better than the 1,000+ shows I've seen since '75!! It's crazy how that goes. Also, if I didn't start listening to a band until album 3 or 4, I was hopelessly out of touch & behind the times. Even if the artist now has 15 or 20 releases. Case in point, the first Springsteen album I bought was "Darkness on the Edge of Town', #4. I believed I was so out of touch because I missed the first 3 albums. And now it turns out that after album #6, I pretty much don't like anything else. We music nuts have a lot in common with weird little minutiae like this. It's the beauty of sharing with like minded people!!

First, has anyone thought how fun this next week or so might be; not only do we get to WATCH the cup finals...we get a ring side seat for what I hope will be some amazingly entertaining “cup talk” between our very own Angry Jack Straw (Caps), and Vguy (Knights)..... Daverock, I think I was thinking lol, that musically, perhaps some of the bands then, could be considered to have been at their peaks?....I know crazy subjective nonsense, but just a thought. And of course we have recordings, as limited as they are comparatively, that influence this theory for many. So to see in cool venues at band peaks is I guess what I meant. i.e., 73 Winterland.....As lucky as I was to see/hear what I did, I’m sure shows like that would stand out? I think I have experienced and heard about enough of the venues/vibe thing to get that part. Perhaps one of the great parts of Phil and Bob getting back at it in the late 90s was everything was able to get small again. Seeing Further for the fist time at Broomfield made me think I was at a new, clean Rochester War Memorial. The place seemed half empty, everyone was on the floor, you could sit almost anywhere. The vibe was amazing. The venues, the tech, the vide, probably the stress etc, all got real small and laid back, so for us “youngin’s” Seeing say P&F at the Denver Philmore, gave us perhaps a glimpse of what it was like scene/venue wise waaay back. Obviously, “culturally”, ahem, there would be a big difference between 69 and 99.... And I saw enough and heard first hand about those old drafty 10k “war memorials” etc. To me, the ultimate vibe was portrayed in the Dead Movie....wanted to be that dude in the front row every night and have a intimate knowdlege of the music like that, not just some causal fan who came just to get high and dance. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s just we were young fans as well as budding musicians and sound techs etc, so getting in the front row was like going to college! “What pre amp is he using this tour?” ”Oh, that’s how he plays that.” Yeah know, that kind of stuff. It was on a whole different level for us, and of course I cannot begin to describe the connection with the band when you were up there.....phew, still gives me shivers.... The letting go, freaking out and dancing phase came later ; ) Hell, shows didn’t always sell out then, so often larger venues would be kinda empty. But to be at like winter land with 5k or what ever uncle Bilbo packed in, and just the lay out etc. And the vibe, seemed sooooo laid back. The band that era, and the Wall, to me that might of been up there at the top, well, let’s not go down the “favorite” dead end road again.... But it’s all Yin/Yang. Yeah the scene got too big etc, and general admission mostly became a thing of the past, and the crowds did change drastically, no offense to the Touchers etc., but it did. On the other hand they played some great venues, they got tight, the sound and lights got way better, they for a while became a tight knit, and dare I say professional working unit. Hell, for a while it was even cool/popular to be a Dead Head! So like everything else in the whole Dead equation, it constantly was changing for good or for ill....and one can find good and bad at any point, any era, any configuration. Luckily, with the right kind of eyes, there’s usually more of the former, than the latter! “In the strangest of places if you look at it right” Anyway, mostly just love R&R stories, so keep em coming all y’all.... Dave, love your insightful and detailed reviews/posts. How the hell do you have that kind of time to not only listen so intently, analyze and then write for us. You must be a lucky dog! Wuff!

Is it Mucic or Muclc? Until now, almost 23 years later, I was sure the mis-print was Muclc. Now I know and I used a magnifying lens to really see the "correct" mis-print. Thank you all for bringing this obscure detail to light. I remember calling the 1-800 number on the (printed) Grateful Dead Almanac and ordering this release. I was put on hold and Dark Star from Live/Dead was the on-hold Muzak playing in the background. When the operator got my call, I said to her after I placed my order, "I sorta wished I was kept on hold, I love that background music." We both laughed.

I have been a break from the dead lately. I tend to take a couple months off every so often to enjoy other music and to help keep fresh ears. Honestly the last few Dave’s Picks haven’t done much for me. I love it all but lately it has felt like more of the same when recieving them. While driving today I had a thought and I felt the GD juices beginning to flow again. That thought gentleman and Mary was some primal dead. That down and dirty mid to late 69 goodness. Then it all came into focus...... WE NEED THE ARC BOX! Now is the time Dave!

...hey hockey way. I am so excited about this upcoming series. The only game the wife went with me this season was against the Capitals. We shut them out 3-0. When Washington punched their ticket, she said "I remember those guys! We already beat them!" Honey. You ain't seen nothing yet.

I have a copy of DP 3 with the misprint. The cooler thing about my copy is the signature on the insert...the cover. I got Dick to sign it at the release party at the Fillmore. What a nice guy...he was happy to sign it.

Is what your feeling/experiencing now not unlike shortly upcoming pre-tour buzz?Just like the Dead, win, lose, or draw a good time will be had by all! Enjoy mi amigo, and AJS too! Been there once or twice, best, Bills/Dead fall 89!...”all was right with the world” (name that quote win a chicken dinner). Game On, eh! And for gods sake kids, be sure to be safe and put your seatbelts on. It should be one Hell’ava ride!

5-23-69Missed the anniversary the other day, but just played it. And it was a good choice for this One More Saturday Night. My 5-22-77 also has the typo.

....I see your mucic, and raise you One From The Vault's omission of Slipknot! on the tracking and printed setlist. Cheers. Slipknot! is not Help On The Way. As you were....

Enjoy the finals. And good luck Vguy. I will be pulling for the Caps for no other reason than Ovechkin has played his ass off. For years the NHL has promoted the Ovechkin Crosby rivalry. Neither one is particularly likable in my opinion, but I do admire Ovechkin's style of play. He's a hardass. Crosby a whining punk as I've said many times. These playoffs have been exceptional. We went to dinner tonight with a Canadiens fan who said the same thing. His kids are really into it and his daughter now wants to play hockey. Our oldest daughter, who rarely watches sports on TV was on the edge of the couch screaming during the last game. Vguy, I know it will be a big finacial hit, but you need to do everything you can to see a game in the finals. A once in a lifetime experience. It's not just hockey. It's playoff hockey.

I didn't know that about Jerry referencing Freddie, very interesting! Your take on it seems very sensible to me... Also, 6/18/74! Yeah, man! I'm with you and Jim on that, I love this show, been loving it for quite a while, that disc 2 of RT 2.3 is really something, and I always said it was my second favorite WRS (after my beloved 12/18/73, which WILL be released someday!), but sometimes it even takes first place prize, depending upon my mood ;)

Did anyone else cue up the famed Kezar show yesterday, 5/26/73. GREAT TIMES Every time I think I've heard the greatest DEAD show, I find myself face-to-face with another shiny gem. When I find myself listening, for a third time, to tunes like DEAL and ROW JIMMY, and a smile fills my soul, well, I know I'm staring into the heart of glory. Garcia's vocals are so pure. Every band member is locked and loaded. From end to end it's a thing of beauty, a three-set show in Golden Gate Park. ....here's a half a dollar if you dare, double-twist when you hit the air...ask the time, baby I don't know...gonna get there, I don't know... This famed, magicked 5/26/73 show occurred forty five years to the day (yesterday)....an afternoon show, under sunny San Francisco skies

I did not listen to 5/26/73.. but I like the way you think. Summer '73: I think this is the right date range. Little by little all at once or a combination thereof, these will all get released. ..and yes, the same surely goes for 12/18/73. 05/13/73- State Fairgrounds - Des Moines, IA 05/20/73- UCSB Stadium - Santa Barbara, CA 05/26/73- Kezar Stadium - San Francisco, CA 06/09/73- Robert F. Kennedy Stadium - Washington DC, DC 06/10/73- Robert F. Kennedy Stadium - Washington DC, DC 06/22/73- P.N.E. Coliseum - Vancouver, Canada 06/24/73- Portland Memorial Coliseum - Portland, OR 06/26/73- Seattle Center Coliseum - Seattle, WA 06/29/73- Universal AmphiTheater - Universal City, CA 06/30/73- Universal AmphiTheater - Universal City, CA 07/01/73- Universal AmphiTheater - Universal City, CA

What about 7/27,28,31,+8/1/73? Watkins would perhaps make a good Daves with 27 as bonus disc? Or not, I guess no covers on bonus....

go out to anniversary dinner last nightuse credit card, wearing formal pants this morning can't find credit card as I panic at grocery store wearing shorts wife comes to store and pays I call restaurant to see if I left credit card, wife freaking while waiting on hold find credit card in pocket of shorts when did I transfer credit card from formal pants to shorts? TWILIGHT ZONE!!! or maybe I am just getting deader in the head

It's known as a middle age moment. Might as well start getting used to it....

Thanks for the positive feedback I've had recently. I guess I am transparently retired, all the posts I write. The other thing is, none of the friends I have now have the slightest idea who The Dead are. They mainly listen to classical and opera music. It doesn't say much for me, but I just cannot get into this type of music. I have been lent cds-one by a composer called Teilhard (I think that's how you spell it) which I just couldn't like. The one I've got here, The Nutcracker Suite by Tschaikowsky is more to my taste-but I never feel like playing it. So this board is great for me, reading what other people think of The Dead, recommending great shows and also other music-which I really do like. I toast you all.

HaHa the joke is on me. It's not like I have a bunch of acid tabs laying around. These guys are way more "lysergic-centric" than the Dead. They should have named themselves Orange Floyd.I listened to Animals, Meddle, DSOTM, Wish You Were Here, and Atom Heart Mother. Meddle and Wish were my favorites. After diving into Floyd I gave Dave's 26 another listen. When Garcia's guitar solo on Big Railroad Blues kicked in I knew I wouldn't be going back to Floyd much. The Grateful Dead muse is a jealous mistress but I love her.

Throw away Tchaikovsky. For the basics it's Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. For edgier more modern music try Penderecki or Messiaen. You may also like some of the Minimalist school. Adams. Reich. Riley. Glass.

....See Emily Play. I would definitely catch them if they rolled into town.https://youtu.be/NiXJcRZk5eY Marmalade. I like marmalade....

You need new friends..... A lot of my friends also don’t listen to GD. But at least they listen to rock music. I don’t know what’s worse, classical and opera, rap and hip hop, or country. They’re all pretty excruciating to listen to. I might have to give the nod to rap and hip hop as the worst. It has no soul, just thump, thump, thump. Or is electronic dj the worst? Talk about not needing any skill or talent. Just use a mouse and let the computer do all the work, and you’ll be a god to all the millennials strung out on X.

Summer's here. I found myself listening to happy, feel good, but kicking summer music. There was this somewhat obscure bluegrass band from the 80's conveniently called The Bluegrass Album Band that captured my mood for the day. They had an album called The Sweet Sunny South, which I just got finished giving a spin. A very good album and the music is pure summer sunshine. I couldn't find their cover anywhere on YouTube.. this is the closest I could find to how those guys covered this song. I believe Garcia & Grisman covered in the 90's too, coincidentally. Old Crow Medicine Show also cover it and are playing at a little festival called Delfest about a half hour east of me later tonight. The tune scratched an itch that has been building up since the March snows and April / May rains. Summer's here and the time is right..... and yes, I do listen to other stuff beside the Good Ole Grateful Dead.

I pretty much agreed with Icecrmcnkd on the worst genres - rap, hip-hop and electronic DJs (the Dutch are big on such DJs) but when I thought about it, I realised that I can tolerate listening to these genres for maybe as much as a minute, whereas opera is something that I cannot listen to for even a few seconds. What a truly ghastly concept - singing theatrical plays or stories. Ruffle feathers time: So-called rock operas (Yep, Tommy, I'm lookin' at you!) are slightly more acceptable than the Italian language classical stuff etc., but the whole concept is anathema to me.

Ha.. enjoyed the comments on this today. I had to chuckle a bit and comment. Perhaps we all have some sort of underlying agreement on The Best...

Something of a supergroup, they released 6 albums (on Rounder) that I am aware of, all of which were great. The Sweet Sunny South was Vol. 5. Maybe Garcia learned the song from Tony Rice who was the guitarist in The Bluegrass Album Band. There is a Garcia / Grisman version to be found on "Grateful Dawg: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". It was recorded live at the Warfield Theater, San Francisco on December 7, 1991.

I came across this earlier in the year, and bought "A Rainbow In Curved Air" by Terry Reilly, which I mentioned at the time. Superb. I don't really think of it as classical music, which I normally associate with orchestras, string quartets or solo piano. Stockhausen is also considered as classical. I actually saw him in London a few years ago prior to a performance of Hymen and Kontakte, two of his electronic scores. I much prefer Rainbow In Curved Air to either of those pieces. There was a vogue in the late 60s early 70s for British progressive rock bands to lean towards classical music. It always seemed to me to be an example of the worst kind of social climbing, managing to upset classical music fans and rockers in equal measure.The Nice and Emerson Lake and Palmer were the worst offenders. Having said that, King Crimson's version of Mars, from Holst's Planet Suite is stonkingly good.

I'm curious to know what your classically-minded friends think of "A rainbow in curved air".

Good point-maybe I should lend it to one of them. Going off the stuff they talk about, and have lent me, I wouldn't think they would like it. They seem to go for massive romantic dramas-the exact opposite of "Rainbow.."

Just stumbled across Jerry reading the Stephen King short story My Pretty Pony..first time I've heard it, pretty cool. https://youtu.be/U_jyCHdMEec Too bad we couldn't have had him to read more Audible books, or dictate navigation apps. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind as read by Jerry Garcia.

Hope you are nowhere near the Maryland flooding, and, if you are, you and yours are staying safe. I'd make some inane comment about all the white water, but the images on teevee are too crazy. Be safe.

The Sweet Sunny South is in the box set Before the Dead performed in '62 by the Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers.. I'm sure that's what planted the seed in my mind to break out the Bluegrass Album Band's rendition today. It was buzzing around in my head all morning. J. D. Crowe covered it too I think as early as '71, which is probably how it wound up in their repertoire.. but who knows. God only knows who/what/where influenced Jerry in the early years. Funny.. I have never met anyone, at least in my music circles, that has heard of the Bluegrass Album Band. I got on a big Tony Rice tangent in the late 80's/early 90's which lead me to them. I have enjoyed everything I have heard from them.. but the fact that you can't even find a clip on YouTube from that album lead me to believe they were obscure. Go figure... thanks for clarifying. It looks like the song dates back to the 19th century (1840?).. perhaps written for a minstrel show. It interesting when un unravel the history of GD related songs.. where it might take you. http://amst312.umwblogs.org/2009/03/19/the-sweet-sunny-south/

No.. I am about 3 hours West of there in the mountains, but that is essentially where I grew up. My parents and brother live a few miles upstream.. It's a really cool, 250 year old downtown area.. most of the buildings on main street are all stone, the street is still original cobblestone. Antique shops, bars, eclectic shops.. etc. It's a really fun, historic town. At about 1:25 seconds into this second clip shows the flooding through the downtown a little better. Essentially the same as they had in 2016. Prior to that, the lesser floods were in 1972 (hurricane Agnes) and another in the 50's that my mom remembers.. but neither were as bad as the two in the last two years. It's high water where I live too.. but we did not get the storms they got today. Just good clean water fun in the higher country. Thanks for asking, Jeff.. No flooding for me today. Had an excellent, high water run on the river I live on though.. which gets very difficult as levels rise. It's a stout run at any level.

Wow! Two flash floods 22 months apart (7/30/16 & 5/26/18) Both floods looks very scary. Mother Nature must have it in for Ellicott City. I feel sad for that area.

4. Cryptical Envelopment>5. Drums> 6. The Other One> 7. Me And My Uncle> 8. The Other One > 9. Wharf Rat is to my liking. Thanks Dave!

Both are unprecedented in the 250 years of prior recorded history. It really is a cool place to hang out and have a few ales with friends. A classy, historic small city. I wonder if they will even rebuild this time.. they honestly just finished cleaning up from the last flood.. A lot of my deadhead friends from childhood lived there and my first job was about a half mile away in a local restaurant. Lots of heads there too, a few I still keep in touch with. Reminds a bit of what our friends in Texas just went through.. but on a much smaller scale.

.... sometimes you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. Speaking of getting shown the light, Stanley Cup tix prices are dropping. Resellers getting nervous. Good! Fuck em. I might just go tomorrow....

Really enjoying catching up on past releases, with all of the down time we have right now. Most recent latest 5:11/15/71-RT 3.2 12/12/69-DaP 10 9/17/72-DP23(possibly my favorite show with no Dark star,and favorite FOTD with no doubt). 11/17/72-DaP 11 Summer'71-RT 1.3 Regarding other styles of music......I feel that diversity is one of the things I love MOST about music. The Beatles started it off with me, but I've been very willing to be lead in all directions, with a lot of help from reading interviews with musicians talking about who influenced them,or who they like to listen to. There were not any other 13 year olds in my junior high school who wanted to listen to my Birds of Fire LP. But I LOVED it!! Keep it coming fellas, there's no bad music, just stuff you haven't gotten into yet!

Yup. Absolutely ridiculous what people listen to these days. For years I have stated that there are only three kinds of music. Good music that I like Good music that I don't like Everything else. Classical and Jazz fall into category two. For me at least. I understand that it is good. I just don't like it. That being said, clearly outliers abound. Watch Shawshank once and you realize that Opera has a place in this world. One of the most moving movie scenes of all time. Hip hop. Rap. EDM. Nothing but total bullshit. No way to justify any of it. Just total crap. Oh yeah. Vguy. If prices are dropping. Grab later game tix now.

.... everything else. The hammer hit the nail head. In a nutshell....

Not really my thing, especially the angry hateful stuff, but that said, I feel I must correct the record, as it's not all "crap." A few albums come to mind, if anyone cares to check them out: 1. Arrested Development, "3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of" 2. De La Soul, "3 Feet High and Rising" 3. Dream Warriors, "And Now the Legacy Begins" And my favorite so-called "Electronica" pfffft, really "Acid Jazz" album, which is a treasure in my collection, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, "Cool And Steady And Easy." Any album which attracts guest musicians the likes of Maceo Parker and the Tower of Power horn section can't be "crap."

True Story: Just yesterday, in the course of my work, I came across a written statement from a cop, and his name gave me pause... Of course, I was the only one who recognized the significance, such is my curse. The cop's name was Haile Selassie, officer Haile Selassie. So, someone named his kid Haile Selassie (or maybe he changed his name legally, I don't know), and he eventually became an NYPD officer. How cool is that?

....no. They are not. I will admit. This track makes me mop floors....https://youtu.be/yca6UsllwYs Sometimes the floors need mopping....

That and a few lines, will make you mop floors for 8 hours... Yeah, that's the definition of "crap."

Back into Manhattan (late night)...

Where am I on the spectrum, again? Yeah, that's what I thought. You wash your face in my sink In my sink You wash your face in my sink In my sink (sink) You wash your face in my sink In my sink (sink) You wash your face in my sink Simplicity with synchronicity make a mind meld Revealed if possible like a walk in a mind field Sadly you get up to bat and take a swing thing Should I Shouldn't I try? Too late You sunk into the sink that I wash my face You wash your face in my sink In my sink Tougher That's what I'm getting I'm getting rougher And you beat me? Suffer The attempt of an attempt well tried Well your side tried But my side will never be denied Cause I'm swinging it stinging neglection With an injection of truth I've come to untwist the twisted youth How does it feel now that I've got you all to think? Yeah, and wash your face in my sink You wash your face in my sink Here I go I here I go I here I go again I have a little place to send a little false friend Who tried to mess me up with little negative thoughts A little negative taught Me to never ever leave my fame into the hands of incompetence That makes sense So now I change the tune for the tune allows changes For you to take a breath while your brain rearranges What I just spoke into a language called speech You try to catch it but you just can't reach For you leave a ring around the basin When you wash your face in In my sink You wash your face in my sink Now the basin is clean to the gleam of the eye You constantly lie "when dove's cry" Out that you are not about what you say The image of the field you reveal and portray For never ever will I fall fall to the effects of bandwagonism So please listen Up not down For down is the devil So roll like a boulder and not like a pebble You roll like a rock, you roll like a rebel For this is pure pain Pick ax and a shovel Hear no command Hear just warning If you wake up in the morning And wash your face in my sink You wash your face in my sink Swing on the grounds of the play ground The wire to the amp to improve the sound I mean give me an M-I-C that is clean And witness the warriors of the dream For the bigger the orange Is the bigger the peel Thieves who steal Get a wheel for real A spin to infin or until I give a pardon Me, I never promised you a rose garden Or nourishment just punishment for a fink Who thinks he can wash his face in our sink You wash your face in my sink Open up the door Step across the wet floor You can make it You can tape it This rhyme forevermore Peer into the drain as the water goes down Why do you frown is the end of the sound * * * But bring back the rhyme For the rhyme is evaporated And all of the sucker mcs To the Jones is saying They would They could They think But never ever never dare try To wash their face in my sink

....this is considered an end times anthemhttps://youtu.be/2LhaXf3iTHo ....I don't know about that, but it's pretty powerful. Classical in fact

I have a little place to send a little false friendWho tried to mess me up with little negative thoughts A little negative taught Me to never ever leave my fame into the hands of incompetence That makes sense So now I change the tune for the tune allows changes For you to take a breath while your brain rearranges

....the next song in my YouTube queue was thishttps://youtu.be/IyYCpEh034I ...O.K. then