Going with the Closing of Winterland DVD tonight. I’m watching all of the bonus footage first. Been a long time since I watched any of this. Happy New Years folks
"Whatever's going on in the rest of the world, if it's wars or kidnappings or crimes, this is a peaceful Sunday night with the Grateful Dead." Bill Graham. 4 years earlier at Winterland. (A hint, it's from the third show of the year)
"As it should be, on a Sunday night in San Francisco, The Grateful Dead!" Bill Graham. 8 months later at Winterland. (A hint, it's the final show of the year.)
The inlaws aren't going to dig it but I do plan on checking out once this situation where, as Lowell George put it, "my time is not my own" changes.
“Upon hearing that [Owsley] was around that New Year’s Eve at The Cow Palace, I grabbed my bottle of wine and held it close and made sure that I drank nothing else. I did not want a repeat of what had happened at The Fillmore. Well, New Year’s came after our first set. So far, so good... We then kicked off our second set and about an hour or so into the set, just before “Les Brers in A Minor”, that was to include Jaimoe and my drum duet, my drums started just drifting off into space. When I could actually hit one it was like hitting a marshmallow. I just went, oh hell, he got me again. I turned around and there stood Bill Kreutzmann, looking just like Jesus, complete with the halo, and I held out my sticks and asked him if he would play my drums, I couldn’t catch them. He did and went on to play what was to be my big time in the sun before an audience of millions. I moved to the side of the stage and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the show which included the following jam with Jerry Garcia and Kreutzmann still on my drums.” - Butch Trucks 12/31/73
31 Dec 1971- Winterland. E72 prep show, and interesting little segment: The Other One > Me & My Uncle > The Other One... After some nice spacious playing they dive into Uncle, then jump right back into The Other One and Bobby immediately sings the first verse of The Other One, so close it seems the two songs meld lyrically as well as musically. A treat. Also, the first reading of Big River by the GD with Jerry singing a bunch of the lead vocals. Also, the Dancing In The Streets that opens this party is "very fine."
There's a radio show on the Wesleyan station, 'Dead Air with Uncle John.' I was in the car earlier, and flipping through the college stations when I heard Weir's voice, part of that shows opening theme, so of course I left it on, and the sequence ended with that Bill Graham quote. However, rather than the familiar strains of 'US Blues,' the radio show opened with the studio cut of 'Feel Like a Stranger.'
Was listening to this same track, 12/31/78, on the other side of the world, when I read your post. Happy New Year!
Thieves! Skål, mann, og godt nytt år, som vi også sier. And the rest of you lot as well Slightly hungover today. (All of this is the GF fault as she found out that she and alcohol doesn't really react that well to each other anymore, so yesterday I was tasked with finishing the last bottles of red wine, the beer, the akevitt and a very nice Moët & Chandon Rosé before and not least after making roasted leg o' lamb w/red wine sauce, mashed potatoes and some fancy roasted vegetables. Today it is smashed burgers and store bought, frozen fries... If I can be bothered with getting if the couch. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. You can follow my stages of drunkenness in the Un-Grateful Thread. When I reach hair metal stage I'm usually in a good mood+) I must play some Dead.
Do I give 4/11/72 a first listen today? Or maybe more rotations of second set from 7/5/78? Question of the day with me waking up after an quiet relaxing New Years Eve with only 1 Honeymooners ending at 1:00 A.M. Great one - second hand vacuum cleaner and Ralph losing the vote to McGillicuddy Happy Dew Year!!!
4/11/72 is a somewhat languid show, and I can't speak to it on the whole, but during Truckin', Phil quotes Wayne Shorter's Footprints from 15:37-16:45, which was the genesis of the so-called Elastic Ping-Pong jam which was, in turn, the genesis of STDOMTT. So, it's important.
Not dissing the larger point but is that supposed to be a good thing?? I guess if they never went closer...