I was right up close at the last show on 7/9/95 and I still remember tearing up the first time I heard that track on the So Many Roads box when it first came out. I can picture myself playing it and having an emotional reaction and then playing it 3 or 4 more times in a row.
Listened to a few Peggy-O's ranging from Dijon '74 to Landover '90. No obvious candidates, although Dijon was a very nice very *band* version. The break just after the halfway point is more like really, really, really mellow bluegrass. What I'd never noticed before, though, was that Jerry apparently raised the key (I'll guess a full step) after the hiatus. The two or three '74s I checked ('cause at first I thought maybe tape speed), lower. The several I checked post-'75, higher.
Love a lot of the suggestions for the Peggy-O shoot out but wanted to add one more if I could. I was on a back and forth one day drive to VA yesterday and spun 7/3/78 St. Paul from the "Chuck Box". Thought that one was very good and hasn't been mentioned. So I hear by nominate 7/3/78 St. Paul Civic Center. What are the thoughts on the two solo versions Peggy-Os? I know your thinking two solos have got to be better than one right and what could possibly be wrong with that, but I am not sure I'm there. Seems like some of the two solos ones are because Jerry may have gotten a little lost and just goes with a solo. I generally prefer the one solo version as they tend to rock a little harder. Also the later day '90 versions seem to have an extra beat or cord thrown in there and the timing of the lines are different.
Yes, through 1975 (they played it once in '75 at Winterland in June) Peggy-O Was in G Major and sometime starting in '76 or '77, it moved up a full step to A Major. However, the first version from '76 I can find is 6/29/76 and it's still in G Major. Will research the inflection point more thoroughly and report back. Edit: OK, for the first version played live in '76, on June 29, it remains in G Major. That was the last show of that tour and the next time it was played, on 7/13/76, it moved to A Major (and the tempo was increased slightly).
I saw the last one and still enjoy hearing it occasionally. It’s a plucky version, with a more uptempo pacing Also saw the last Stella Blue and it’s a heart wrenching version. There was a huge rain and lightning storm during the song. Same storm system as the porch collapse after the show. The brown eyed women (not a ballad obviously) also has some good vocals. The age works in his favor
The two versions from June 1976 (both in Chicago at the end of the month) were also in G. First version in A was 7/13/76.
I like that whole final disc from the box set. The lazy river road, whiskey in th jar, and so many roads get regular play in my car
Combining two different recent themes here (re:bathroom brakes & worst songs), I'd almost always stay for Drums, Space not as much, but any Brent & most Bobby tunes during second set were my cue to hit the head during my main touring days. It wasn't the most popular decision, but the lines were way shorter than during the set break or D/S!
Jerry band night. Pure Jerry: September 1 & 2, 1989 Merriweather Post Maybe not as creative or adventurous as the 70s bands but this version of the group is great in their own way. Pure Jerry is an apt description. Get Out of My Life Woman just started up and it’s punchy. Kemper and Kahn are locked in. Nothing fancy, just tight playing and plenty of room for Jerry.
That's why I like the song but don't start to *really* like the performances of Brokedown Palace until the '80s (so far, 4/1/84, to be specific). The years (and the B3) make the experience for me on top of the masterful writing. np: 10/1/94 from the 30T. I never hardly bothered looking at post-Hornsby shows to download, tbh. More recently, I had read the comments about Garcia's expressive vocals on 10/1, but wow, they were not exaggerating. It makes me happy for him on/for that specific moment just to hear his delivery through the first set. And there is nothing wrong with that Scarlet > Fire, no sir. Now on to the Saint > Terrapin ...
I knew this, but didn't remember it - China Cat, Dire Wolf and Bird Song are three others they modulated - any more? Was that you next to @Jerry in that picture they showed last week?
While others find their satisfaction dissecting the instrumental interplay nuances of various versions of Playing in the Band, I personally get more entranced when Jerry launches into storytelling mode, and wringing the last feeling out of his sublime guitar solos and forlorn singing of the medieval/renaissance/timeless ballads of the unreachable Peggy-O and the not to be denied clever heroine of Jack a Roe. Something for everyone, as they say.
I was on the right side of the photo as you look at it, but out of the frame on that one, I think. I've tried and tried to find myself in the larger photo in the booklet that came with DiP 15, but my eyes no longer work that well, even with the 2x readers. I was wandering around in the crowd that evening, taking in my first experience with both that band and lysergic substances. Between trying to avoid NJ Hells Angels who were twice my size, and looking askew at deadheads with glow in the dark sticks shouting out that they had Grateful Dead underwear for sale, I still managed to enjoy the music.
In accordance with my adherence to the spirit of dichotomy that defines this band, I tend to like them best when they are either really simple or really complicated. It's that stuff in the middle that just runs off for me. Speaking of Jack-A-Roe, the first version that they ever played (5/13/77) features another strong element to Jerry's playing: the vocal melody solo. A more or less faithful recitation of the vocal melody line. His first pass through the form is basically the melody, albeit somewhat embellished; then he takes it a bit further next time through. Peggy-O is another good example of this. Getting back to the simple and complex thing, while I love Dark Star, TOO, Playin', WRS, etc., I think I almost equally love Dark Holler (LOL, it's been a while) and I've Been All Around this World both from Bear's Choice Vol. 1 (snicker) and Reckoning.
Yet another reason I like to hang around here - getting hit with perspectives that probably wouldn't have popped up in my own mind, and which add to the rich panoply. Who needs to mine bitcoin when you can mine the history herein instead? My simpleminded take is just that I go for whatever moves me - sometimes simple, sometimes very complex, and probably some in the middle too. Knowing why it moves me is the puzzle I probably never want to solve.
Definitely a hallmark of his style and one of my favorite things about listening to jerry play. I threw on the 7/3/78 Peggy-O that was just being discussed. Love the tempo and the drums are thundering along and then Phil starts to dig in a bit during Jerry’s first solo.
