I love that Bird Song too. There’s some really cool guitar interplay after the first verse - probably only a second or two long but it took my breath away first time I heard it. edit: on second thought, that guitar passage might be on China Cat. I don’t have my notes handy. But the Bird Song is excellent regardless.
I never saw the Dead. Living in the U.K. at the time obviously didn’t help. Now, living in Oz I have no chance of seeing any of them. I was just about to turn 15 when Jerry died (I didn’t know him, or the Dead then). I subscribe to DaP’s and buy box sets. I also have no idea what JRAD is.
i found this in the used CD bin at my local record store, and I must say the sound quality is impeccable. It has what I would describe as Phil's perfect bass tone.
Lucky for me when my parents said that to me it was 1994 and I was able to sneak in 2 shows under the wire in 1995
I truly feel for heads in other countries who have no options for seeing GD music live or other jam bands. Its very unfortunate imo. Phish went to Japan in 2000 and I had hoped that was the beginning of a global venture, but its just never happened.
JRAD = Joe Russo's Almost Dead Joe Russo is the drummer from the Benevento/Russo Duo, a jammy experimental rock and acid jazz act, kind of like MM&W but not as good imo.
True. I'm not very knowledgable about post-95 Dead-related projects. I knew of Benevento/Russo Duo long before Joe's hook up with Phil and Bobby.
I wished the second set had more jamming, but they seemed to be trying to give us a good show after we stood for all that time in the rain, nine-song first set and a fun "Quinn" encore.
Is there a worse Dead song, lyrically speaking, than Money Money? Listening to 5/21/74 and enjoying Jerry’s guitar and it’s catchy enough, but I’m cringing at the words. I’m not surprised it didn’t last long in the set list (just the three 74 PNW shows); I am surprised it made it at all. Day Job may be the second worst.
Wow, that's a bold statement! I did listen to it twice back to back yesterday and agree it's something special, but I wasn't thinking about it in "best ever" context.
I’ve only heard Samba once and have never heard France. I’m gonna check them out. Edit : Samba’s lyrics aren’t good, but also don’t make me cringe. Musically speaking, the verse is pretty rough, but the chorus is tolerable, and the playing wasn’t bad. I listened to 10/14/94. France is pretty catchy in a 70’s soft rock kind of way. Too bad they never played it live; who knows what they could have done with it in 77? The lyrics aren’t good, but not Money Money bad. I’d take this song over Day Job, too. Way better than Samba musically.
11.10.73, Winterland, San Francisco, CA Beauty of a first set, nothing crazy but everything is played at a perfectly easy pace and sounds nice. It's a smooth listen in a good way. WRS picks things up at the end of the set with some energetic solos. Set II: PITB > UJB > Morning Dew > UJB > PITB, ahhh that's the stuff. The transitions in particular are really slick. Big River is welcome, perfect set placement. Stella Blue is time to catch a breather, then Truckin' > Wharf Rat > Sugar Mag is a great way to close things out. I love the crazy long buildup of tension in Truckin' right before they let loose and jam - Jerry's playing gets subtle and light as a feather on this one. Tremendous.
Joe Russo was nervous at the set break of his first Furthur show. Bobby spoke to him and suggested he eat some mushrooms. While Joe didn't follow that advice, the very suggestion helped him relax and find the groove. In time the combo of Joe and Phil Lesh became a monster in concert. JARD started as a "one off" project, a benefit show I believe. They got such a good reception it has become a thing, quite a thing.
