Yes, this is really good, maybe not momentous but I like when the band is light and tight with that 1973 sound. This is less intense than many shows from this period. It has its own flavor, I dig it. Good call. I need to revisit 18 December soon.
The meat portion of 1973-12-18 is pretty sickified, even just on paper: WRS>Dark Star>Eyes>Wharf Rat>Sugar Maggies
Among the odd things about Bob Weir's long career, of which there are many, is the fact that he went through a phase where he didn't really pronounce the phoneme /r/, kind of like the "Biggus Dickus" guy. The weirdest though is the falsetto "thank you!" phase...
Did you listen to the whole sequence? Dark Star > Stella Blue > Eyes > WRS? Dick wanted to release the second set of this show along with the second set of the previous night.
No I got diverted into 12-18, I'm circling back now and starting with Dark Star again. Actually, this time I'm going to start with Big River...
I suspect it’s the back end of the site that needed an overhaul more than the front end, but hopefully the final results will be a good thing.
The filmmakers definitely got overly focused on/distracted by the nudity while trying to capture the overall scene, but I think it’s still a cool time capsule (not that you were suggesting it isn’t). It sounds funny but after the Dark Star sequence one of my favorite parts is the credits rolling to Greatest Story Ever Told. It’s a hot version and I like how they feature all the various people. I like the short documentary in the bonus features too.
There’s not that much nudity in the Sunshine Daydream film, from what I recall, most of it, excluding pole guy, was just during China Cat. The recent comments about it kinda make it sound like the whole film is focussed on a mass audience running around naked.
Hey doods, so I know Ned Lagin sat in with the band frequently, but according to wikipedia most of his contributions weren't captured on soundboard recordings due to his playing through the vocal subsystem. Ned's wikipedia calls out a couple shows that he played with them specifically on, but can anyone here recommend a show I could track down that's an aud or a matrix that has some really good representation of what he brought to the table?
I don't know that we have too many audience recordings of any of the shows where Ned is there but 'unmiked.' You can hear him on 2-18-71, though he's very quiet. I'd be especially interested to hear what he does on Dark Star on 4-8-71. NedBase Grateful Dead Guide: Ned Lagin I haven't heard this matrix, but Ned should be on Dark Star>Brokedown www.archive.org/details/gd1972-09-16.matrix.sb20.chappell.77442.flac16
Why wasn't 'I'll Be Your Baby Tonight' from 7-10-87 on Dylan and the Dead? Or Frankie Lee and Judas Priest from the same night? Dylan is always Dylan, but I can actually understand most of what he's singing on this night.
'78 is overrated IMO. Great Scarlet>Fire but the whole Dark Star>St. Stephen lacks energy IMO. My favorite NYE is 1982, with Etta James. 1972 is probably my second-favorite... one of the great 1972 Other Ones against a lot of competition. Otherwise, I haven't really listened to a lot of NYE shows regularly. Most of them are good, high energy, but not really exceptional. There are a lot of cases where the 12/30 show is superior IMO, e.g. 1989 and 1985.
I've never really liked 12/31/78. The long show and Dark Star plus full video will keep it highly regarded. I'm not a huge 78 fan in general, so take that for what it's worth. 12/31/82 with Etta James is a fun show. I need to check out 72.
I took my lovely wife to the JRAD show last night. Had never seen JRAD, nor really listened to them. Fantastic show and I cannot say enough about how talented the band is. Every darn one of them. A special shout out to the keyboard player who has just the right touch. In stark contrast to the keyboard player in CRB who often sounds as if he is wearing oven mitts. Great guitar tone and the Anthem in DC has an amazing sound system. Loud with no distortion. I believe they spent $14 million on the PA system. The "Eyes" was a great groove and the "China>Rider" was the highlight of the show. As far as JRAD jams and transitions, they sorta do a controlled crescendo thing that is more visceral than cerebral (in a good way). By the roars of the crowd, I'm in the minority here, but "Throwing Stones" went on way too long. But, hey, everyone needs a GD song they don't want to hear and my wife and I share this opinion. As @SBegonias17 noted, "Terrapin" was a monster. Lots of fun last night and I'll surely see JRAD again.
I still haven't made it through the DVD. I got distracted by Rogue One (with CGI Grand Moff Tarkin) and Watchmen with Russell Hammond (incendiary!) as Dr. Manhattan.
My feeling at many shows, including the time I saw JRAD is that much of the crowd (especially the loud ones) are excited by the lyrics. The cheering at the end of a jam often isn't related to what was just played but rather for the singalong that is about to start. That's not a criticism, just an observation. I remember listening to the aud tapes from Fare Thee Well in California. These were expensive tickets and the crowd must have been pretty dedicated fans. Still, there was a ton of talking during the quiet sections of Crypical and Dark Star. Not everybody goes to the show for the same experience. If everyone was like me, the crowds would be pretty dull for the bamd to play to. We need all kinds...
81-82 is my personal favorite (that all-important IWT factor). And that whole week holds up ok on tape, especially 12/31 and 12/27). Musically, 72 might take the BOAT prize (don’t think I’ve heard earlier years though). 78 must have been a great night to be there, even if its not the greatest performance wise... not that it’s bad, it’s just not transcendent.
1976, that's the one for me. Brilliant concert. 1978 is ok, but it pales in comparison with other '78 shows.
His clavichord contribution on 2/18/71 is unique! You can just about hear him on electric piano on 4/8/71, but otherwise he can't be heard playing with the Dead in any show (audience or soundboard tapes) until Sept '74. Along with 9/11, 10/16 and 10/18 are two other shows where Ned's presence stands out in full-band Seastones. And then there's 3/23/75 where the Dead rounded up every keyboard player they could find!
I’ve never had that thought even cross my mind at a JRAD or any other show. In fact the whole point of JRAD are the jams, their signing is mediocre. Maybe I’ve just been lucky with who I’ve been around at these shows though As for the fare thee well talking, I wasn’t at the Santa Clara shows just Chicago but in a huge stadium some of those long jams that are a little sparse are hard to follow and the energy dissipates quickly. For example, I think the Days Between at the Chicago FTW pretty much ruined the end of the show. Destroyed all of the momentum and energy they had going. Terrible placement
Yes, good call. Each of those segments with Ned and the Seastones>Full band jams are essential GD listening, IMO.
I thought the Dead went to LA to record the album not in mid-January '67, but at the end of January & the first week of February, so a 2/2/67 recording date fits right in. The Dead were only in LA four or five days... Then the Warner Bros bigwigs listened to what was done and declared they needed a hit single, so the Dead had better come up with another song....hence, the Dead wrote Golden Road to order and recorded it in San Francisco sometime in Feb. (I still wonder why Alice D. Millionaire didn't make the cut.) One of the bonus-track highlights is the attempt to cut Viola Lee Blues down to a radio-friendly 3-minute tune! Speaking of "basic and undeveloped," I think you could argue that Viola Lee and Midnight Hour never got more developed than they were in fall '67. There are no better Midnight Hours than 9/3/67.
5-9-79, Binghamton, this is some Sugaree, opening up the show. Was someone here at this show? @US Blues?