So my weekend is underway. I just unwrapped DaP 10 and am having my first listen to the 2014 Bonus Disc. Right away we get a killer Dark Star. I love the sound, I have no idea what the venue was like but it seems like we are in a small venue and I have staked out a perfect spot on the floor. Yeaaaaaahhhh
I googled and found some exterior pics and it was a movie theater, at least for a while. Now apparently called the Los Angeles Theater and they do Broadway stuff there. I would imagine it could hold 1,500 or so. The night before the bonus disc stuff they also played there and Stephen Stills joined in for a while. I wonder if they have that one?
Chuck- that black stone has major mojo, it's holding the energy of your treatments. Clear it out under cold running water once a day. And keep enjoying the music!!!!
Listening to 5/25/72 which opens with a ragged version of "Promised Land" where Weir sings "workin' on a stee-bone take" instead of "T-bone steak." Don't think I've heard that any other time.
Gladly received my new copy of Dick's Picks 18 last night. Disc 2 on my original used copy which I bought as "Like New" wasn't quite that and skipped mightily even on my disc player that plays almost any disc of any condition. This disc 2 sequence EP>Eyes>PITB>Wheel>PITB, which I was in the nether regions of the PITB, which was interrupted when I reluctantly got out of the car to go into work this AM, is the ultimate of what the post-hiatus band was capable of from what I've heard the past 6 months. For me the only stuff that is more off the hook is the Scarlet>Fire on disc 3!! I find this February 78 recording much better and more powerful than 7/8/78. I'm thinking about the April & May 78 stuff for future listening/exploration.
Spending my morning with May 6, 1978 in Burlington, thanks to back-to-back Deadpods from earlier this summer. Set 1 was nice, particularly enjoyed the seamless segue between "Me and My Uncle" and "Big River" on this one. Tuneless, shrieking Donna strikes in a big, bad way at the set closing "Deal" though. Egads. A shame, since I had found her earlier contribution to "Looks Like Rain" to be pretty tasteful. Just now launching into Set 2...
Listened to that last night. Just got it off eBay, as it was the last of the 22 shows I "needed" and Dead.net sold out long ago. At least I was able to get the other 21 shows from them (and many on sale). Really enjoyed that show. The first set was so much fun I listened to it twice while up late working. Tennessee Jed was a stand-out for me, but I just love that song, especially the jam before picking up the last chorus.
I wish they would release Roosevelt Stadium 8/4/76, so the patches and aud between the songs could be fixed. What a great performance from the year of slow shows. We used to call this show, when we had it on cassette, "Phil's Birthday" because he played like it was.
DP 18 is my distinct favorite of all the live releases, and I say this as a devout 72-74 fanboy. For some reason, that recording/performance just screams 'X Factor' at me.
Finished last half of the Playing sandwich - the very extended lead-up to the closing verse is throughly "Archtoppable". The quiet sections are very intense and reminiscent of some of the moments of some of the other cooler second set segues of 76-77 maybe like the 5/21/77 somewhat measured journey that centers on Comes a Time. Wonderfully subtle and sui generis to the Grateful Dead. This is where they come closest to the feel and vibe of some of the music I often see live. Just love the sound of these 77-78 shows care of Betty and the remastering folks. A local long time Dead Head here in Jersey told me Jerry knew a speaker blew out early in the show but loved the distorted sound and didn't want it fixed. I've never heard this elsewhere but me loves the sound of his guitar here very much. Me loves distortions, oblique references and complete abstractions of all sorts, so this whole sequence is an amazing combination of all of these things. Anyone know why no Donna here? Had child, listed on credits, was on the early 78 tour, etc. I don't mind the Donna wails but I like it a bit more without her just as I like the 12/2/73 PITB more without her.
Listening to the Archive, 4-7-88, Centrum, Worcester, MA. There is a box set of this run for sale here: The Centrum, Worcester, Massachusetts April 7,8,9 1988 Complete (7CD Box Set Limited Edition 1000 only) »
Hmm, you're asking about 2/3/78? She's there. On "Playing" she doesn't do the usual wails but sings with Bob on the choruses.
Post dredge (thanks to @Dahabenzapple for liking my old post). In the interest of gems, this is yet another. Phil is dropping incendiary devices at key moments during the transition and Rider is cool and clean. Yet another great moment or three from the oft-maligned show from 3/23/74: See Weather Report Suite: (8:12; 9:24; then very strong end jam; 11:48--> HOT!!!! 12:54-13:20 P+J) for more great fireworks. This show may not be in a top 20, but there are moments that make it top shelf.
Haven't listened to this one since shortly after it came out a few RSDs ago. Fairly strong 1971 show, from what I remember, although not earth-shattering. Pigpen at his raunchiest on the Lovelight. I'm on the second track, Cumberland Blues, and it's a pretty hot one, although they didn't fully hit their stride on that song until a little bit later.
Starting off this beautiful Jersey morning with WRS>Jam>U.S. Blues from 6/28/74. As has been mentioned up thread many times, peak Dead and therefore some of the greatest music ever played/recorded in the history of all music. And it was at the old Boston Garden where as a young boy, I saw Bill Russell in his last season,,,,
Agree with others who rate this Dave's as "spotty." On/off, on/off as far as overall quality. BUT, still in love with China Cat, will have a friend burn that track for me and "sew"'it to a different "Rider" as the one here is ruined by poor vocals. But check out the China Cat, it has a little Phil funk and some "shooting star darts "'from Jerry's guitar. Of course, I'm a sucker for any song by the Dead with the Feeling Groovy Jam!
Indeed. Plus, "A loose sequential feel across the three nights demanding an uninterrupted eight hour listen." Yeah, right. 2:43 at a time. I'll get back to you when I'm 70. No thanks. Although a slightly different era/vibe, might I suggest the terribly ignored Rider from 3/28/72 from DP 30? That's the best China--> Rider they ever did, IMO.* * Well, except for 12/1/79. Possibly. By the way, the Sugar Mag--> The Other One on that is great.
based on the conversation in other threads I've been getting into 'studio' releases, Anthem of the Sun (New Potato Caboose in particular, which is what LSD sounds like.) Also American Beauty. Sometimes as a deadhead who has listened to hundreds of concert recordings I take the studio releases for granted, I'm trying my best to go into them with unbiased ears. (though Workingman's Dead is and has always been one of my top 5 albums by anyone.)
Thanks for the tips! I do have the DP 30 in the very top echelon of China Riders Will try the 12-1-79, for sure. Right now my top three are : DP 12, Winterland 73 and perhaps the "sickest" of them all, IMHO, 6-16-74 Iowa Fairgrounds, Des Moines!
I apparently have selective memory. 6/16/74 is in the stratosphere. Put it this way: I have 5-6 China--> Riders as the best of all time. 2/24/74 is hot too.