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    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.

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  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    Dennis For The Win!

    Yes, I'd forgotten Mr. Youngman. Another master of self deprecating humor.
    And now for something completely different.
    Three weeks until MSG.
    Cheers

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    If you're sad about order....

    .... think about how those poor bastards feel who bought the Lyceum digital. Now there's a bunch I feel for,,,, how can downloads not work????

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    a thing or two

    Got amazon email,,,, Miles boot 7 coming on 9/16 (cd and vinyl).

    Also, slow as I am,,, didn't realize that TTB I Am the Sun,,, sorry Moon,,, was a 4 part collection. Ordered all 4 yesterday,,, they are coming today,,,, thanks Vguy?

    Still no word on the vinyl release of the "from the vault" series?!?! (wiping tear now)

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    Fast Cars and Milton

    I check and indeed had Little Milton,,, nice cut.

    All that talk about fast cars,,,,, made me pull out Solomon Burke doing "Fast Train". (yes my mind make odd connections!) (if you don't know Solomon's cover of this tune,,,, find it!)

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    1st show, that mike and Rodney

    Just for the sake of busting balls,,,, take my wife is Henny Youngman (I think I'm right,,,, take my memory!)

  • Sixtus_
    Joined:
    Historical References

    ...not to chum up the fray, but more to jimmy's point about the CDs being 'master copies' to us lay-folk, many of us do understand these are our own 'master' copies, and, therefore, a typical first procedure upon receipt for those who want to preserve these historical artifacts is to immediately plop them into our CD burners and burn them to a hard drive for forever safe keeping. A second step then, for those who love CDs (aka, me, others, most of us), is to burn a 'working copy' of said CD to then tote around. This way, it can get scraped, scratched, chain-sawed, whatever - and we can still go back to the original well and obtain an exact duplicate, pristine copy. And, if we do it right, that copy will have all songs in chronological order if that suits the listener.

    Just my two cents.

    At the end of the day - healthy discussion, seeing all sides, finding a throughway string, and meeting in the middle are talents that more and more human beings are unable to implement. This forum does go a long way to implement these tools, and for this I know we are All Grateful.

    Be Well, People.
    Sixtus

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Re: Technology and Restoration

    I used to think all CD players are the same.. I mean, they playback identical digital information, right.. so if they do their job it should sound the exact same as the next player, right?

    Writing this, I understand 90% of the people here know audio equipment better than me and most have better systems than me. I bet others chime in with more accurate information..

    But there is a big difference between both players and the digital amps/preamps, etc. The digital encoder and playback functionality makes a big difference. The fact that your phone does a better job playing back your CDs than the CD player speaks more of the CD player and amp than anything else. Unfortunately.. things are not simple and rarely are as they appear. The folks that spend a small fortune on audio equipment are usually getting better sound and for a reason.

    As to the previous point on song order, complete shows, getting the encore from one show two releases down the line as filler on a subsequent Dave's Picks, etc, I don't think anyone is disagreeing with you. Your point is singular, however, and other variables exist. What most find amusing, including me, is your tone. I think you underestimate Dave and what he has to contend with on the corporate side of things. These are first world problems to be sure and the fix isn't really that big of a deal. The model they set up is basically a three CD model that tries to release complete shows (or as complete as 'possible') four times a year allowing one bonus CD per year. They have on rare occasion tossed in an extra CD free of charge for subscribers, but they do charge extra ala carte for these. It's a minor inconvenience to tackle ripping them, adjusting the metadata so they play in the right order and burning the set using an extra disc or two. If you are constantly playing the originals, one day you will likely create a 'mistake' with one of these soon to be priceless discs and then you might be horrified to find it hopelessly out of print and have a decision to make in replacing it on the secondary market or sending your kid to college.. (sorry little Johnny!). We got an extra show for free, a twofer, and a spectacular one at that so most here are delighted with this one probably including Dave. Plus as DaveRock chimed in Lemieux isn't reading this and if he is, he certainly would not be mining our opinions to improve the series.

    If it were my choice these two shows would have gotten their own release possibly meaning two 3 CD releases in the correct order with lots of black space on the discs (or some killer 69 filler) or they would have gotten stand-alone treatment in the form of Bear's Choice Volume 2. From my perspective, we would have gotten another 1969 release bumping up this neglected year. Both shows are release worthy, they sound great and the performances are worthy. I can only imagine the complaints we would have gotten, rotten tomatoes on the empty discs, etc.

    Anyway, their primary responsibility is to restore these mostly ancient and delicate analog master reels and remaster them using the best tools and sound engineers (really these guys are master craftsman/artists) and get them out before they decay into oblivion and are forgotten to antiquity. The lonely reels aging in the vault are decaying and breaking down, but the time to restore and our ability to pay for all this is limited. If you look at it that way they are doing a very good job. Is everyone happy 100% of the time? Are decisions made in the production, packaging and marketing we find unfortunate? Yes! Well, we are fickle bunch, we cannot agree on anything.

    Back your previously scheduled favorite keyboardist discussion complete with thoughtful analysis and detail supporting your points while still being very careful not to offend anyone who thinks differently.

    I hope I did not offend. As you were.

  • That Mike
    Joined:
    Jerry, Milton and That's What Love Will Make You Do

    Charlie - I never did know who did the original version of this song, and I was not familiar with Little Milton, but you are right, a great version, and some pretty sweet fretwork.
    It is incredible the wealth and range of music Jerry and the boys knew, considering the internet was not really a thing for most, if not all, of Jerry’s or the Dead’s life. We can check out new or recommended artists with a quick search, but these guys came by their influences quite organically. Jerry selected some real keeper tunes that he made his own during his solo career, and this tune was always welcome.
    What’s your favourite Jerry/JGB solo song? Don’t Let Go…Dear Prudence…That Lucky Old Sun…anything Dylan…???

    “Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain.”

  • daverock
    Joined:
    last two posts

    J3FF - I I have enjoyed reading your posts, but I think your'e barking up the wrong tree if you think anyone from Deadnet ( apart from Marye) reads them - let alone acts on them. To me, this is an outlet for discussion and expressing ideas - not changing policy. I think if I wanted to do that I think I send a pm to Marye, and ask her if she knew the best way of going about it.

    Peteh - I don't even own a phone! I know....I'm living in the past.

  • J3FF
    Joined:
    Downloading and fixing the Dave's Mix CDs

    If the point was to accommodate folks listening from digital downloads I would think they would sell digital downloads. It's a very common practice. I think vinyl releases should be designed for folks to listen to on vinyl, and CDs designed with folks who listen on CD in mind.

    I'm glad that it works for you folks who download your CDs and re-arrange them but I don't think that is a reason to not sequence the CDs in the correct order. If they put the songs in order you could still download them and have them in order (or shuffle them up if you wanted) and I could pop them in my CD player and have them in order.

    I posted my comment hoping that JUST MAYBE someone from Dead.Net might actually read the comments on the "product page"--not to start a debate. Of course everyone is free to respond however they see fit.

    But the point about how the customers can fix the messed-up CDs by downloading the music and not using the CDs seems silly. It's like if you gave a chair a negative review on Amazon because it arrived broken and I replied that it wasn't really a problem because I take all my chairs apart and make them into tables, so what's the problem with a broken chair-- they make great tables.

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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.

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11 years 1 month

In reply to by Oroborous

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the elation for this and for hints at what else remains in the vault.

Just what the doc ordered!

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9 years 8 months
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fans got their wish.
2 Dark Stars and plenty-o-pig.
Sounds good to me!
Cheers

Edit: Non-subscribers (Daverock?) better jump on this fast. Certainly one that will sell out in a day.
1300 Owsley reels in the vault did it say? A HUGE virtually untapped source.

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13 years 6 months
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I like Owsley's technique. That'll do, Pig.

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2 years 6 months
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just what I wanted. 2 shows from1969,. Thanks Dave, keep them comming.

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9 years 6 months
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Dave - You had us at Pig. A real nice release, and Owsley sound, too! (Blushing)

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9 years 9 months
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It took 8 years, but I finally guessed the right shows. Nevermind that I included the Boston Tea Party trio.

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10 years 2 months
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I'll take this one, thank you very much!!

Oro, you either get primal or you get Pig. I'm very pleased with this one. Did not see that coming.

Woo-hoo!

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In reply to by That Mike

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Sweet release for DaP43!

"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."

just want to highlight ". . . some of the oldest and rarest of all recordings of the Dead including . . ."

pray tell what other mysteries are there in the banana boxes?? to be continued.

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12 years 10 months

In reply to by bluecrow

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I think Dave was worried about a riot.. we forced his hand on this one.

I'm looking much more forward to this than the box set. No offense meant.. but this looks sweet to me.

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Beyond stoked about this DaP. There doesn't seem to be a track listing yet, but given the description (not one but TWO 20-minute-plus Dark Stars, AND plenty of Pig?) this promises to be epic. Audio quality is likely to be outstanding, given that it was recorded by Bear and evidently stored in a banana box for 50+ years.

Wonder what else is in those banana boxes? Guys, if you find any blue tablets, you should probably forward them to me for safe disposal.

The MSG box? Not sure I need 17 discs worth of '80s, so I'll probably just go for the breakout set from 3/9/81. I have to admit, this release makes me a little sad, because it makes me think that now it's going to be years, maybe longer, before they do the Berkeley Greek 1980s box some of us have been longing for. Can't see 'em doing two venue-centric '80s boxes in close succession.

And just btw: don't get Covid, if you can help it. Went on a business trip (got to go to NOLA, at least), came home and got sick. Despite being vaxed and boosted, it was sucky week. Not the end of the world, but pretty sucky. I mention this in the hope that it'll encourage others to be vaxed and be careful: that fucking virus is still out there. Be well.

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12 years 5 months
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Its so good to be wrong!!!!!! I thought for sure Dave would venture into the 80's the 60's are not the 80's. By the way I'm digging the gray hoodie, very understated.

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4 years 1 month
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I had jumped off of the subscription bandwagon almost as soon as I got on, after the disappointing DaP31. This year I reluctantly hopped on again because I liked the Baltimore show and absolutely salivated over the Winterland ‘74 with bonus disk. I was resigned to getting a throwaway ‘80s show this time around. Nope. I am virtually in tears as I type this, and best of all I have no worries of this one selling out because it’s already been ordered. It’s a beautiful day.

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I haven't browsed Deadbase yet to see if these shows are listed or the setlists, which I imagine are similar to others from the era. I also wonder if having been stored in sealed boxes all these years if they are uncirculated? That's always a nice surprise.

I'm a lifetime subscriber since the beginning. Glad to see Dave mixing it up.

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12 years 10 months

In reply to by SPACEBROTHER

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The sound on the archive is good.. assuming Latvala took a little peeksy into the banana boxes and shared. I'd still like to take partial credit for guessing Dave's 43 would be sourced using returned reels from the late 60's. I think I posted something to that effect a week or two ago.

Very glad to see these shows come to light. They seem to be very special, at least to these ears.

Enjoy people.. This one goes out to Hendrix Freak.. if there's a more enthusiastic 60's and fall 1972 person out there.. I'd like to buy her/him a drink and shake their hand.

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15 years 10 months
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Jim!!

That would be me. Strong coffee will do, looking forward to the handshake...........

Did anybody think my obsession was limited to 1971?!! OMFW!!!

The dice of Zeus always fall luckily.

Rock on,

Doc
Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust, like diamonds we are cut with our own dust......

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11/2 does not circulate, no set list
12/26 Circulates, Zephyr opened-acoustic set without Bill

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In reply to by wissinomingdeadhead

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not in Deadbase but SBD source of 11/2/69 is on relisten

not that i've heard it. includes a "classic suite" DS > SS > 11 > DDHNM

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In reply to by wissinomingdeadhead

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Strong Coffee I've got! Doc you are equally enthusiastic of the old stuff. Check your PM.

As for 11/2, it looks like a copy of this was seeded to the Archive back in 2004 and a more complete version appeared in 2009.. so someone had them. I'm going to head to the attic right now and see what's in all the banana boxes stashed in the corner.

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Who is the 4 fingered gal on the cover? Interesting that they did not go for a female skeleton.

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10 years 1 month
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This is great news Dave,its going to be well worth the wait, none of us are getting any younger,I'm looking forward to having this in my grubby little mitts in August.

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I'm a big fan of DaP 6 12/20/69 and 2/2/70 with 12/21/69 bonus disc with its two Dark Stars, DaP 30 1/2-3/70 with its great setlists capped off by that massive Dark Star> St Stephen> The Eleven> Lovelight, and DaP 10 12/12/69 and bonus from 12/11/69 scratches a similar itch, but I gravitate to the bonus disc for the whole Dark Star> St Stephen> The Eleven> Cumberland Blues, That's It For The Other One> Cosmic Charlie, because that's just fantastic. And now we add these two shows to that collection. Nonplussed on the box, but I reckon I'll likely get it sometime prior to release. The setlists are quite good, and only one Little Red Rooster.

Just listened to the Little Sadie and High Time in the Listening Party on my tablet speakers, and quite liked it. Jerry is in fine fettle.

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Sounds like an oxymoron to me, but who cares!! It’s primal 1969, JUST before 1970, which we ALL(well, almost all) have been clamoring for!! I simply CANNOT WAIT to unwrap this and push play!!

Thanks Dave, Music is the Best!!

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I will take a GD sbd from the '60s ANY day of the week, and the Dallas show has long been one of my favorites. I'm VERY glad that it's being released and that 11-2 show is no slouch although I've never heard it complete and never in this kind of sound quality either. I'm very happy these shows were chosen, can't wait to get my hands (and ears) on them. Thanks once again to Dave, Dick, Bear and the whole GD family.

Jeffrey Norman works for the GD and also the OSF, which has been digitizing Bear's 1300 reels. OSF is about two-thirds done with digitizing so possibly ~400 reels to go. Probably that's what Norman was doing.

Meanwhile, only weeks to go until two unique '69 shows are in our hands.

I'll have to quiet down for a while about NINETY SIXTY-EIGHT, just because Dave gave us a nice dose of late '69.

Heh heh heh... we don't need any contests here, this whole crowd is foaming at the mouth for this release. Jim, you sure know how to get folks riled up. (What the hell are "banana boxes"?)

In fact, the good doctor and I had often discussed how early, short shows shouldn't stop Dave from putting two together to meet the DaP three-disc rule. Here we are.

A good shout out to all who made the past couple months on this forum worthwhile with good discussions of literatue and music. I only have about 7-8 books to read and tall stack of CDs to listen to, as a result.

And thanks to Dave L. for an inspired choice. (I'm getting the 3-9-81 show and leaving the box alone, but sure wish I can get my hands on 3-10-81 at some point...)

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Its about time, one worth opening.

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In reply to by TJPD2

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ask any supermarket for them, very sturdy, heavy duty cardboard, great for storage. Not entirely closed, usually an opening at top and bottom. Check recent shipments for tarantula hitchhikers. Shucks, no release listening party for the 60s bunch at Jim's bear battered beer caches?

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Oh myyyyy! I don't post very often here, but I've been watching the discussion/speculation on DP 43 for months. I figured DP43 would be 1980s for sure (hello, box set) and in that regards I was hoping for a 1985 release. I didn't dare hope for '68-'69. I'm glad to be wrong!

I've never heard either of these shows - super excited for this release. I keep various Fall '69 rips in my car - 10/25, Dick's Picks 16, the DaP 6 Bonus Disc - so it's going to be nice to change things up. This time I even went and bought an extra copy so that I can wow somebody who will only realize what they've missed out on when they are sitting in my passenger seat. That's ~$40 well-spent. @Dave thanks buddy, this kinda drop is what keeps me subscribing year after year.

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In reply to by Obeah

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totally awesome

Daves in a (banana) box

loooooove it

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14 years 5 months
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Didn't know about the Dallas show. Double 1969 goodness - how sweet it is!

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13 years 6 months
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What I have:
Cold Rain
Midnight Hour
Seasons (this song is unknown to me, a first)
Mama Tried
Next Time You See Me
Good Lovin'
Big Boss Man
Casey Jones
Dancin'
Dark Star>St. Stephen>The Eleven>Death Don't

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I have this one archived in my cassette collection. Saw many shows at this venue. Great acoustics.

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Just looked up the setlists for these and saw Dave for once way undersold the length of the two Dark Stars, one 30, the other 24! Nice. But how about I've Been All Around This World? Always loved it from hearing the Garcia Grisman version, so stoked to see it's on here wih Little Sadie. Such a treat to hear Jerry sing these in such a strong voice. Now to avoid listening to the whole shows for three more weeks...

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11 years 6 months
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I know it makes me not a ‘head’
But no

Pig’s “white boy blues” makes wants me want to barf every time.
Hahaha i hear him open his mouth and it’s like I want to jump off a cliff

I hear somebody brag about a “half hour Lovelight” ?
Thanks, I know exactly what show to skip. 

Seriously no

ughhhh

We can all jam and no despite I hate it I’m not selling to at cost hahahah

There are people out there.

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16 years 7 months
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...deadhead but certainly a fool of high caliber. I agree with the Lovelights...sometimes, but damn take that tone and put it in the garbage where it belongs. The provenance alone of these tapes is enough to get my brain drooling and my ears lubed up.

Looks like they've reconnected the modem at the asylum. Nurse Ratchet must be on her first vacation in a few decades. 😬

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For those of you wondering why artist Matt J. Adams included her, have a look at the cover of "Live/Dead".

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…Oh Boy! 2 (two) “Primo” Primal Dead performances in one release (Pick)
“There’s Nothen left to do but Smile Smile Smile!” I’m as happy as a Pig in Mud! Lol ! 🤠
Have a grateful day my brothers and sisters.
there’s not a better feeling than having grateful fans dig’n The continuing Amazing Artworks involved year after year! Love it!
Take care folks , have a grateful day!
🙏❤️💀🌹

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