Grateful Dead Dave's Picks 2016 Subscription Thread

Well your salad reference was on the nose on my case.

 

I would agree with that, especially in the tape days when fighting muddy sounding later generation tapes seemed like half the battle.

I just ran across that the band rehearsed in the Orpheum in late May for four nights it seems which was news to me.
Jerry's Brokendown Palaces: Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market Street (between Hyde St. & Grove St.), San Francisco, CA »
Lost Live Dead: Grateful Dead Rehearsal Spaces, 1965-1995 »

I ran across a bunch of Ed Perlstein photos that have them rehearsing on 6/1 according to Dead.net and one is below. Now that lighting set up almost seems like it was for a photo shoot; maybe they were looking for some promo shots, and if you search you will find a few more that seem that way. Also note those monitors are pretty odd looking; they were renting PAs then, for this first small-theatre return tour a hybrid PA from Jeff Cook, SoCal for vocals / Bearsville Sound, NY for instruments. More here

 

I know everyone has been on the edge of their seats waiting for my quarterly update on the circuitous and illogical journey of my current Dave's Pick.

Mine left Crozet, VA on Apr 28. Arrived in Edgewood, NY on Apr 30. On May 2 it was transferred to the US Post Office in Edgewood, NY. Not sure why it had to go from Virginia to New York just to go to the Post Office. Maybe it's a magic post office. It's been off the grid since, so keep the little guy in your thoughts and prayers.

 

Meanwhile, Muddy Waters is having lunch problems of his own:



Getting back on topic, I've now made it through all the 7/16/76 material in the box (loved the Not-milkin'-No-Turkey-Pong-Ping-Tighten-Up-Those-Marble-Eyes Jam and the Spanish Jam, Wheel intro as others have noted) and just a fine night of music all around, as well as the first set of 7/17. Sugaree was very nice, not on the same level as it would hit the next Spring, but there were some nice powerful Jerry scrubs there. I'm very pleased with the sound quality of this release. Looking forward to 7/17 Set II.

 

If I recall right Dick's Picks 20 used photos from that set (Jerry didn't dress like that often).

 

Or to get even more on topic, what's really for lunch is a Playing->Jam->Cosmic Charlie->Spanish Jam->Drums->Wheel->Playing sandwich, hold the Samson.

 

Beautiful pic.

 

Just got DaP 18. Listening to the wonderful Mississipi Half-step. This release certainly needs to be played with tone controls on. Started with the Pure Direct mode on (Yammy receiver) but doesn't sound right.

 

I can't read it, too small. Yikes I'm old !

 

I'm in VA and my recent order left the state and has been sitting in WVA for two days. Their shipping is the worst. I feel for you, being all the way out there.

 

Well Brother sorry to annoy you. I can't speak for others but what I was trying to convey was his knack of adding the right tone and rhythmn at precisely the right time in a way that complements Jerry's lead and sounds so "tasty".

 

This is easily my favorites Dave's Pick in quite a while. The Bonus disc is (once again) well chosen. Thanks DL and team.

 

As a '69-'74 guy (and staunch in my support), I'm quite surprised at how freaking great this release is. 100 *s and all that cal. Good on yer, Dave.

I'm currently listening to the jam out of Comes a Time for perhaps the 15th time, and it's so simple, yet so complex. There are so many elements mixed in there. I can't even begin to give a proper Archtop for you. And sorry to have presumed that my username is worthy of noun status, but y'all seem to think so. I ain't so sure...

 

Great articles...I had to double up on my reading glasses to get through them. They could have done a better job with the printing of those articles (assuming they want the majority of us to be able to read them).

 

I was never a big fan of '76 but this release and bonus disc are excellent.

The one thing about '76 is that it seems like they are always one note/one second away from a train wreck. At times the music and notes are so sparse the music just hangs there and your not sure whats coming next, its what they don't play as much as what they do play that makes it interesting and I'll admit it can also make it frustrating. It seems like they were never in hurry to get to the next song, let along finish the song they were currently playing. A lot of that is on display here, this DP is a must have.

 

To me, this is what embodies all of the early GoGD and what makes them so important. More often than not they didn't train wreck, and there's really something to be said for that. Not to belabor the point, but this is also why most of '77 is so irrelevant to me. It's cautious and calculated. It sounds nice, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't take chances. I want that sense of imminent failure.

8,000 feet; hatch open. Six to jump, five parachutes.

Jerry: Don't worry; we'll probably land in someone's swimming pool.
Phil: I don't need one.
All: Booyah!

 

Yeah that slow deliberate style with circles and threads. When Jerry started changing to that speeded up tempo in 79 it didn't work for me.

 

I was thinking hey how about a chance to download a hi res file of those, or log into some page that shows them. I so want to read them but short of a loupe I doubt I will try. Maybe they are in the UCSC online archives somewhere, I did not think to try as I am assuming they are driving a lot of the liner notes these days. The Grateful Dead Archive Online »

 

There's a really interesting dynamic going on in the first part of The Other One after the Comes a Time/Drums. At 2:23 it suddenly starts to sound like Wharf Rat and Jerry quickly reaffirms this at 2:26. This lasts for a while; perhaps until about the 3:05 mark (there are further suggestions up until about the 4:00 mark, but less well-defined), but they never develop it further. It just sits there as a possibility.

 

(To be read in a British gold announcer's excited whisper): There it is, ladies and gentlemen, the first Archtop from Dave's Picks #18. A bit tentative on his first go, not unlike the Dead's playing in 1976, but a good beginning nonetheless.

 

Who doesn't like archtop's see the trees forget the for rest analyses ?

 

Don't forget @Archtop also gave us the "Tighten Up Your Eyes" jam from this pick!

 

It's no lie that I cherry-pick nuggets, ranging from 0:01 - 3:00 or so and judge my shows based on that. Sure, there are a few long gems, such as 5/26/72 and 11/21/73, to name but two, but I literally got my $30 worth from Dave's 18 from the first few notes by Jerry on The Other One. That hollow (yet meaty), metallic, lonely sound is perfect for that track. It fully encapsulates what my vision of that track is all about. The jams out of Comes a Time, The Other One (labelled as "Space," but it's much more regal than that), and Eyes are literally gravy for me. Really good gravy, I should add; gravy with large chunks of duck fat in it. This is possibly the best Dave's issue yet and I was not at all revved up about this when announced.

@Rne hit the nail right on the proverbial head a week or so back when he proclaimed that there are some really great moments in there.

 

Eyes is spectacular