Two days left if anyone else wants to vote in matchup 2 - close battle this week Grateful Dead best ever China Cat Sunflower> I Know You Rider matchup 2
You might also want to link to the matchup 2 thread in the original thread (unless its already there and I missed it). I didn’t realize each matchup would be in a different thread so I missed this one.
1972.09.28, Stanley Theater, Jersey City, NJ Another standout show... Nothing too special in the first set, but the meat of the second set is insane, right up there with the best of this month if you ask me, and that’s a high standard. Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told was a hell of a way to start things off, with the St. Stephen jam. Things get down to serious business starting with He's Gone... Bouncy and upbeat until towards the end when it slows wayyy down to just bass/drums, transitioning into a really long jazz-heavy The Other One. It gets pretty far out there. Bobby sounds great on this mix too, with him and Jerry playing so well off each other. Keith is somewhat buried unfortunately but I'm sure he was instigating everything from his end. He’s Gone > The Other One > Me & Bobby McGee > The Other One > Wharf Rat
yes, thanks, and done. Should I also link to the new thread I'm starting for where everyone can complain about the versions not in the tournament? We're up to 123 choices for the 16 song bracket.
And it's interesting to note how this contrasts with most of the bands of the day. There's a famous story that when Cream got to San Francisco, the fans were screaming "Play all night!" and the band started stretching out their material. Based on concert recordings (I was a little too young to be attending rock shows at the time), most other rock bands from approx. 1968-1972 seemed to take this advice to heart, and started extending their material in concert, but unfortunately, most of them took the opposite approach, where a moderately interesting (if you're lucky) lick or chord progression was extended way past the point where it was entertaining. I think that has something to do with the critical blowback that the Dead often received (from rock fans, not just critics -- many critics were actually praising the Dead in the early 70s) in that a lot of people don't really listen to the music, so they assume that any band that stretches out the material is just wanking. A lot of bands were just wanking, so if you didn't actually listen attentively, you might assume the same about the Dead (certainly that was the conventional wisdom for a long time, see: Butch Trucks). I've mentioned this before, but one of the hardest things to "cop" from Jerry's style is the way he played in "long sentences" and even "paragraphs." Guys like Kadlecik can copy his tone, and the phrasing of individual licks, but Kadlecik's solos just sound like a collection of licks to me, with no continuity. If you listen to Jerry solo on a song like "Eyes," he'll play a melody that spans one or two whole measures, then play a "reply" to that lick, then a "reply" to the second lick, etc., almost like a "theme & variations" approach (combined with "call & response"). It's a very "compositionally-oriented" approach, as USB pointed out, and vastly different from the majority of guitarists in rock music (even in GD cover bands).
Tournament organizing can be tough job. And paring down China > Rider entrants is particularly challenging. But hopefully as the rounds advance you’ll get some good discussion going.
I was just getting to that point in the show when I posted my thoughts... Yes sir it's a winner! I went back and listened to The Other One again right after, and there are a few nice slow sections where Keith takes center stage. Beautiful version. Simply incredible that they could follow up 9.27 with a set like this the following night.
we can only hope this group will wake up! Next week is Europe 72 version vs Dick's 31 version. That might do it!
All the talk about being a better guitar player than Jerry reminds me of @bzfgt's "reaction dude" posts who won't play or teach Phish anymore because of the band's copyright issues.
My 9 year-old picked out this mug for me and made my wife order it because "he deserves a present". Feeling lucky even as the world falls apart.
Interesting timing, all this talk of Jerry's playing, as this was just posted on "The Institute for Jerry Garcia Studies" Twitter site: Jerry Garcia: The Complete 1985 Interview ...and yes that coffee mug is awesome!!!
It's interesting you say this about Jerry playing in paragraphs, because that is exactly how Jerry described Coltrane's way of playing. This is some of what Jerry learned from Trane. Jerry once said that Phil played much like a whale sings- long phrases that sometime would encompass an entire song without repetition.
Great interview. There's some discussion of it here: Jerry Garcia's Middle Finger: January 18, 1985: Strung Out and Busted
To save anyone else the google: https://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Cassette-Traders-White-Coffee/dp/B089VBSY7L
And I'll tell you for all the world, this 4/30/77 show is every bit as good as the May shows. Don't hold me to that until I listen to it a couple of times. But it's spot on from the start. Is it possible it may not have gotten it's due, due to there being only AUDs available prior to the official release? What is most stunning diving back in '77 after listening to 50+ shows from '65-'95 in order, is how damn pristine that recordings from '77 are, especially compared to the '80's and '90's shows. Yes, '70's, '80's and '90's Dead were three different bands. But I can't help but think the '80's and '90's stuff would have benefitted greatly if somebody was doing what Betty Cantor Jackson was able to do in the late '70s. '80's-'90's - Often overwhelming kick drums, sometimes keyboards WAY too loud, other times you can't hear one or the other guitars. Some shows, no bass. Some soundboards sound no better (or worse?) than AUDs. How is that even possible? '77- Everything's balanced, you can hear each instrument, there's good stereo separation and no one instrument over powers. The sound is near perfect. Hats off to Betty Cantor Jackson
