Grateful Dead Dave's Picks 2018 Subscription

not that I can blame you but you aren't looking close enough. Pants come late in the show but not before the damage is done

 

This one?

 

Not for the first half of the show. Makes me glad I didn't get the blu-ray.

 

Wait, it's coming back to me now. Thanks so much.

 

That's neither a Ferrari nor a Merc. That's a Ghia with a bird sitting on the hood.

 

Close. That's 430 Scuderia. I have a 430 Spyder.

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one mostly unimpressed by the BCT 72 show. There is some straight sloppiness to the playing at that show. It's still a 72 show mind you, but... I had no problem letting my hard copy go on Ebay.

 

Pretty sure that’s Ozzy with a bird sitting on his head.

 

This is an opinion I don't share. A more agreeable statement might be that Red Rocks has the greatest variety of sound quality across different seating areas. It is true that the sound can be hollow and terrible towards the top, especially on a windy day. But if you're sitting in the sweet spot--about 10 rows behind the board, DFC--the sound is heavenly.

Also, I know for an unfortunate fact that the Philly Spectrum had no such "sweet spot."

 

Yeah I only saw the Dead at the Spectrum once, and I was in the lower tier (a rare occurrence!) and the sound left much to be desired that night. It wasn't one of those nights when they simply weren't loud enough, either....

 

I like the subscription. Don't have to worry about missing anything, and the selections tend to increase in value. And while I am a hardcore 1967-1978 fan, I am nearing saturation for those years and would not mind 1-2 carefully selected shows from 1980-1990 each year, maybe 1991, but nothing after 1991.

 

What 1983 shows do you recommend as the best examples?

 

The way I look at it, each year's subscription should be bookended by real hot corkers (circa '67-'78) for that year's 1st and 4th pick, pick 2 being reserved for a either a monster length show requiring 4 discs or something of the sort that makes good use of the "bonus disc," and leave pick 3 for a "wild card" selection out of the decade of the '80s to provide a fix from that under represented era.

 

I really enjoy 10/17/83 and think it’s one of the best of that era.

 

exactly

 

You may always paint your car like this (Ferrari will surely refuse to buy it back) and flip it on eBay!

 

12/28/83 set 2

 

I was there, and I concur.

 

Thanks.

 

That's ridiculous. There aren't THAT many flippers out there. It's much more likely -- and supported by the math BTW -- that this project makes just enough money to cover expenses and justify the next release. Otherwise, there'd be no point to doing limited runs at all.

 

Other than not wanting to alienate the flippers, (because they see them as an important segment of the customer base) what's a good explanation of why they don't just print and sell more copies when the demand is obvious? Who but flippers would even care if they did?

I'd be interested to see the supporting math - this year they seem to have sold a lot of subscriptions, even if we assume only 15,000 at the early bird price, that's 1.5 million in revenue. Are they really costing anywhere near $375,000 per title to produce? When they started out they only printed 10,000 - I have to assume they decided on a sustainable number from the beginning, and even then must have figured on some profit to kickstart the next release.

 

A copy of Dave's Picks Vol. 2 (no bonus disc) just sold on eBay at auction for $422.00.

 

I think we can safely assume they're trying to maximize profit rather than cover expenses.

I'd say the explanation of why they don't just print and sell more is that the sense of limited supply amongst the customer base spikes immediate demand for the release and ensures they get that wack of revenue right away rather than over a period of time.

I know we're talking about the Dead here, and there's this perception of incompetence or flying by the seat of the pants, but the individuals making this decision from Rhino's end (i.e. Mark Pinkus) are Business School grads/experienced music industry execs who we can assume have thought a lot more about the economics of this than a bunch of music message board enthusiasts.

 

I saw a about a dozen shows in '83. I thought Saratoga Springs and first night of Merriweather in the summer were excellent. I loved Hartford '83 in the fall as well. The first night of Merriweather in June 83 was one sick ass show, but probably one of those if weren't there you'd never understand nights!