#107 1970-09-19 There's a patient and dreamy feel out of the gate. A subtle, feedback-like note slowly rises up and grows in intensity. Bob and Phil are gently laying down the foundation and there's ample guiro in the mix as well. Once the rising note finishes Jerry pauses briefly and then starts a delicate, winding line. Meditative is a good word for it and the whole affair is beautiful. They gently glide through the theme and continue wandering out. Jerry eddies with some quick vibrating notes and then briefly shifts into bell tolling which fits in nicely with the overall feel. He continues on with delicate, emotive playing. They wind through velvety passages eventually coming back to the theme. At this point they pick up the volume and intensity while still maintaining the dreamy feel, moving through the theme again and then on to the verse. A wonderful opening. The first verse maintains the vibe after which Phil and Bob set the stage, again in patient fashion. Some brief, subtle bell tolling comes in and then they dissolve it into near silence. They take their time letting things unfold and some feedback and other weirdness enters. There's a swelling freakiness and gong or cymbal washes; things quiet again and it becomes a more melodic weirdness with gentle, periodic strumming that sounds really nice. After 12:00 the guitar starts to bubble and rise up and we get more freaky sounds that add a gentle, haunting feel. Then around 13:15 Sputnik rises up organically from the preceding soundscape. It quickens and builds with Bobby complimenting it with an almost harp-like sound. They keep it going and transition into a jam. The pace is much quicker now and Jerry adds some fuzzy edge to his sound while Phil and Bob interweave. Jerry's line is rising and rising and cutting through the sky. The groove ebbs briefly and they keep it cooking along at mid-altitude, again building in intensity. There's a real sharpness to Jerry's line and they're zooming along. After 16:00 they briefly hover with a repeating thing, pause for just a beat and then launch into Feelin' Groovy. Bob's got a bit of edge to his tone too, cowbell has been prominent for a good spell, and then Jerry comes in strongly and just soars. After this they take it down a bit but keep grooving along. After 17:30 it starts to sound a little Allman-esque for just a bit with Phil stepping forward and the others filling in around it. This shifts into some fuzzy revving and then they ease up and cruise along a bit more gently but still with some pace. They're winding and grooving and seemingly just enjoying this extended jam without trying to take it anywhere in particular. Things start to wind down; Jerry holds up while Phil and Bob keep it going and then Jerry re-enters and starts an ascent with Phil working it too. The pace quickens and Jerry's rising up but instead of going further and further upward he holds it at a plateau and then spills into a gentler mini Bright Star which then shifts into the main theme. From here they downshift considerably and find their way back to a more delicate space; a fitting bookend to how things began. They take their time seemingly in no hurry to move on; in fact out of the gentle easing they find themselves swinging back into an almost slow motion Bright Star. They start shifting back into the main theme but then the intensity picks up and they take a stronger pass at Bright Star again. From here there's a more pronounced pivot to the main theme and then on to the second verse. A truly remarkable version.
Thanks for writing up these notations. I agree that “theme” might not be the right word for it but it’s certainly a distinct and recognizable thing. “Two-chord variation” seemed ok too when you described it that way but perhaps that lacks a certain pizazz.
108. 1970-10-11 9500 Wayne, NJ 20:29 (cut) Main theme at 2:14 and 3:22. First verse at 4:08. Sputnik at 11:32. Main theme at 18:33. Second verse at 18:56. Goes into St. Stephen. This horrible recording cuts in right in the middle of the action, and it sounds like they’re going at it rather splendidly—everyone is playing aggressively as they hit an early peak. They slow down and stagger the beat before broadly hinting at the main theme at 2:14; however, they blast off again without committing to the theme, which they return to a little over a minute later. The post-verse space seems rather noisier than the last one as it gets underway. The song structure drops out, but there are cymbals and then a lot of whooshing and sproinging. At about 10:30 Lesh starts a really heavy riff and there is a remarkable segment that unfortunately doesn’t last very long. After some deliberation, Garcia turns to Sputnik to get us of space. We don’t get very far out, though, and things seem to collapse back into space again until Jerry starts playing a lead line that sort of gets them moving. At 13:30, Weir tries a rock and roll riff for a bit, and Garcia seems to me to be anticipating Soulful Strut at times. A rock jam coalesces. It starts to sound a little more like Feelin’ Groovy, at least rhythmically, but tonally it seems more of a Dark Star jam. Finally at 15:45 Lesh plays Feelin’ Groovy, but then Garcia seems to start the verse melody and Lesh starts playing the main theme pattern, which they then gravitate toward. By 16:50 they seem out of gas, and the whole thing stalls. Various directions are proposed, and Garcia starts hinting around at the main theme, and the band follows suit, but it takes Jerry a while to get all the way there. When the second verse starts, it doesn’t seem a moment too soon. There is, as usual, plenty to enjoy and admire here, including a pretty wild space section. But the band seems scattered, and at times they seem to run out of ideas and fail to keep things going. It’s possible that the bad recording magnifies the effect and there is something more going on I couldn’t hear. In any case, this one is interesting but inessential, and kind of painful to listen to.
1970-09-19. A surprisingly soft start -- Bob's up in this mix, and the inevitable guiro makes itself known. You can hear Bill's bass drum tapping too, which is not something I've noticed in other openings. Jerry's pause & feedback entrance at the start is something he's done quite a few times before, but is especially well-done here. Jerry's playing is very minimal at the start, like he's thinking "how few notes can I use?" It almost feels a little more like a laid-back 1973 version for a while. I was surprised by the flash of bell-tolling from Jerry at 2:50. They turn up the heat a little bit in the last minute before the verse, but overall this opening jam isn't full of action & incident, it's very calming. I'd agree that this is a "subdued and meditative" opening, very suitable for floating through inner space. (It's interesting that on the matrix, people are chattering at the start but soon fall silent for most of the rest of Dark Star.) The music fades out after the verse and silence takes the stage. The Dead quietly tiptoe back in with more bell-tolling, very restrained percussion, some feedback... After 10:30 a bass roar descends like a passing storm. In the aftermath more musical sounds & hanging chords appear, new forces are gathering. So far it's been a very quiet, muted Dark Star, but now things change. At 12 minutes Jerry makes a rather indescribable entrance, sweeping in grandly over a drumroll. I don't think we've heard quite this tone from him before -- how did he get that sound? He makes clouds for a minute with Bob supporting him, and it turns into a chimey little Sputnik. This doesn't last long; after 13:30 they've got a drumbeat & bassline going, Bob starts chopping out chords, and they're in what I'll provisionally call the Dark Star Strut, familiar from several other Dark Stars this year. Now all of a sudden they're rockin' out! A hot fast jam follows with a gorgeous Jerry, intensity off the charts as they build to a peak, then bam Bob tears into Feelin' Groovy. This one's a top version -- Jerry gets even lovelier, pouring out pure joy. At 17:30 it winds down and Jerry starts doing that Cosmic Charlie-style double-stopping, a common tactic this year when he's at a juncture and is figuring out what path to take next. This part does seem to allude to other song possibilities (I hear a strong China Cat tease), but they settle on a chipper straight-ahead jam. The beat goes on! At 19:10 Jerry steps out for half a minute and lets Bob & Phil hammer it out, then returns for another fervent hot peak, nailing a melodic hook over & over starting at 20:25 until he catches on one note, holds it, and falls into the Dark Star theme as the band tumbles into place -- a great moment. They settle into the theme but Jerry isn't done yet; lovely melodies are still trickling out of him, and he stops the beat altogether to build up to a proper slow-measured Bright Star at 22:10. (For me, this has always been the definitive Bright Star that all others are measured against, even with some missed notes.) After this grand finale, it's time once more for the theme & verse. After a subdued first half, this one really takes off in the second half in a pure rock flight. The great recording helps this Dark Star to stand out among months of audience tapes. If only the horrid audience tape survived, no one would talk about this show! But fortunately someone in the Fillmore had some sense.
#108 10/11/70 Wayne, IN: #20:29 (missing start) AUD Awesome intro with the cassette mics being rattled and the sound image gradually recovering. The band heads into it and is jamming right off the bat on this one, into a super rhythmic jam. Eventually they slow it down to deliver the theme. An amateur drummer near the mics. Verse 1 after 4 minutes, slow, but some nice interpretation especially on line 3 from Phil. Sounds like it sort of barrels into the refrain and then into the nightfall. It holds together for a bit, sounding like each player gets stuck in their own space and it decays away into cymbals. Slow windchimey hits from guitar sounds, sort of like a broken machine. Some sound back and forth activity. Atonal horror movie soundtrack plucks sounding like piano or koto strings. Given the cassette distortion on the recording you could isolate this section and claim it was some historical ethnomusicological recording. It’s a nice long sound jam with some sputnik tendencies toward the end by 12 minutes. When the wave recedes, Bill starts a nice FG groove, but it doesn’t exactly head that way and heads back toward Dark Star like the first part of this evening’s version, fast and energetic. Building to an almost chord progression and then superimposition of things, Phil kinda does a descending bassline but they obviously all look up and sync back to Dark Star-ish groove at 16 min. Odd hints at the theme out of time with everybody else, the rhythm falling apart and it dies off for a while before some attempt at pulse is established. It gets back to the them area a couple minutes later but Jerry is still spacing out and gets distracted by a swept chord for a while before hitting that long gliss up to the A for the theme and verse 2 at 19. Strong verse, intent rhythm and bass notes on line two but not so much upward movement on line three. Really ornate vocal outro with good Phil vocals, and into the counterpoint parts, some mic bystander is slack jawed and goes, “alright…” like, that was interesting! And to the chords into St Stephen. Nice upbeat presentation, too bad about the tape quality. I though it was definitely listenable, though, you can hear all the parts.
#108 1970-10-11 The recording clunkily fades into a nice groove with the band cruising along in the clouds. Jerry's working a sharp line that builds to a peak and then they take it down but keep moving with pace. Starting around 1:45 the drums become more prominent and the band makes staggered sounds heading into the main theme. From there things blossom a bit and there's a nice feel to the playing. They come back to the theme more fully and then move on to the first verse. After the verse Phil resets and then starts working a bass line that can be made out on the recording fairly well. Things slowly become more quiet and then some gong washes come in followed by bell tolling. It feels like they've drifted into a spacey void. They take their time working up various sounds that come and go. A creepier vibe starts to emerge with more insect-y sounds. Plunking of strings, some feedback and other weirdness. Phil comes in strong and heavy like a giant tromping and they launch into a cool jam of sorts with an usual tone to the guitars. It almost sounds a little metal-ish at times but also kind of electronic; quite unusual. This starts to run its course and Jerry shifts into Sputnik around 11:30. It moves along high and quick but by 12:05 they're drifting back into spacey weirdness. Around 12:30 Jerry starts a winding line but no one seems in a hurry to form a jam around it. Slowly things begin to coalesce and by 13:30 they're starting to get going more and there's a nice feel to the playing. They work in this area for a while building up some momentum. They interweave nicely although at times it's easier to make out Jerry and Phil than Bob. Jerry's rising and weaving; around 15:45 Phil steps forward with a FG-ish bassline but by 15:55 they're pivoting back into Dark Star and Jerry plays a soaring lead that has different tone although that might just be the recording. After 16:30 they ease up and hover for a bit, almost coming to a stop. They seem a bit sure how they want to wrap up; around 17:20 they get a little repeating thing going and slowly work into the main theme and then on the second verse. Not a top-tier version but there's some interesting stuff in it, particularly in the latter part of space after Phil comes in strongly.
10/11/70 concert was about 10 minutes from where I live. I’ve seen a few jazz shows in the room. Incredible to imagine the 1970 version of the Grateful Dead playing in that room (capacity 922). I was also blessed to see Dark Star Orchestra play their version of this show. Best cover of a Dark Star I’ve heard fwiw.
1970-10-11. The recording's bad but listenable; you can hear all the instruments (and, unfortunately, the fools yakking in the audience too). I wish some AI music program could be put to work on these noisier Dead audience tapes to "reconstruct" what they actually sounded like. Love the way it fades into this great jam that sounds like Dark Star on hyperspeed. One minute in and they're already peaking! Sounds like it could go anywhere, Dark Star or the Other One or parts unknown, and for a few minutes it's "parts unknown." It's a little ragged when they finally settle on the theme, but I don't think there's been another starting jam with so much raw energy. The verse sounds quiet in comparison (Jerry's voice seems a bit weak, maybe some vocal flubs?). Space starts out kind of moody and percussion-heavy, it gets to sounding like musique concrete, but then around 8:00 Jerry comes out with this bizarre Indian-style guitar sound that inspires Bob & Phil to get weird and it turns into some avant-garde soundtrack. (I like JSegel's comparison with an ancient ethnomusicological recording.) At 10:30 Phil starts stomping on bass and this strange little freaky jam pops out. After 11:15 Jerry's heading into Sputnik but it sounds different....he's playing with his wah in a way that hasn't been done in Dark Star before....this part almost prefigures a 1972 Playing in the Band jam. (I'm not sure if any of the previous Dark Stars had any wah playing? 9-19, maybe?) This space is really unusual & creepy & weird-sounding and points in new directions; it's more "musical" (in an odd way) than before... At 12:30 they get down to business with the main jam. There's an anticipatory feeling...they're staying away from the usual structure they've been using here, trying to find something new. They're a little uncertain to start with, but after 13:30 Jerry catches onto something, the playing gathers strength and slowly builds, and after 14:20 they take off, and by 14:55 they're peaking -- good lord, what a high! It doesn't last....at 15:45 they're coming down already, Phil suggests Feelin' Groovy, Jerry calls for Dark Star, but they don't settle on anything, they leave it unresolved and just float for a while after 16:30. Bzfgt hears them as stalling & out of gas here, but what I hear is a very slow & unusual transition back to the Dark Star theme with pretty chords and little teases (love the childlike part after 17:20) until they're all back in the theme. The verse almost comes as a surprise (feels way too soon), with busy drumming. It's been a few weeks since the last Dark Star and you can really tell the difference. In each section they took a new approach that we haven't heard before; they didn't play ANY of the usual themes after space. It's a little raw and sloppy sometimes -- and too short! -- but dripping with creativity and full of intense moments. Such a great Dark Star, I couldn't wait to hear it again.
109: 1970-10-17 119329 Cleveland 19:17 (cut) Bright Star at 13:13. Sputnik at 15:02. Main theme at 17:13 at 17:41. Second verse at Goes into St. Stephen. Here we have another imperfect audience recording. In fact, it sounds really bad. Garcia fiddles around with the verse melody in the beginning, but it does not go to the e minor, so it is unofficial. In any case, it is a very vigorous opening; they keep it close to home with the two chords going, but the playing is pretty intense. At 3:13 there is a sudden cut to the end of the verse, though, so we seem to have missed a bit of this very promising intro jam. After another descent into near-silence, space elicits some boisterous cheers when the bass starts rumbling. There is a rather scary swell, and then as it recedes Garcia is there with some Sputnik-like licks, although he does not go into Sputnik; rather, space continues with some volume swells. On the other end of this Garcia again flashes Sputnik and Weir plays the shimmering accompaniment that has become familiar. An alternately swelling and receding melody with a minor feel emerges here. As Garcia’s line becomes more pointed, someone is playing some bells (or a keyboard that sounds like bells?). A two chord jam coalesces here and gathers steam. Garcia takes the opportunity to build a stinging line, at times hinting at Bright Star, which is where it seems this will go, although it’s not time for it yet. Aha—there it is, coming together at about 13:13. They regroup off the back of Bright Star, and soon reach another peak, with Garcia from about 14:14 really howling and raising the energy level again with a repeated lick. There’s a pretty unique peak heading into the 15 minute mark that unexpectedly turns into Sputnik, so we have another familiar element that seems out of place. More frenzied jamming ensues, and what sounds like it’s going to be an elegant transition into the main theme turns awkward before it gets there. At 17:43 there is another cut that takes us into the verse, where it seems that Garcia is doubling his vocal with the guitar. This is a really gripping version, and we can only regret not having a better recording. The band seems eager to shake things up, and there is some outstanding jamming here.
I haven't read this yet but LIA has a piece on 1970 Dark Stars, where he lists a bunch presumed missing.
I believe this has the distinction of being the most recently surfaced "Dark Star," with the 12/20/69 version released on one of the Dave's Picks being the second most recent. (Looking at the Deadessays post about that Cleveland show, it surfaced in 2012. Maybe we're due for another new "Star" after almost ten years.)
#109 10/17/70 Cleveland, OH: 19#:17 (two cuts in the middle) AUD Lotta tuning and listening to tapers talk before it starts, a couple indications of the intro riff and then they go for it. A mellow intro area, wandering leads slowly over the top, but it coalesces and starts to groove with the shakers and such and picks up steam after a couple minutes, in a nice intro jam. Then suddenly a cut to the end of verse 1! No fair. After this it almost directly falls apart into space, cymbals washing away the music. Some string scrapes and small noises building with a bass drone at 6 min, then dropping again, leaving a very quiet sputnik-y arpeggio happening, though it is consumed by slide-on-string play, and after a while longer some notes emerge and a quiet area of melodicism happens with glockenspiel, though Bob is insinuating his G7 "two chord theme" that usually leads to the Tight Up jam later, it’s a very slow intro to that, maybe, though the build still sounds more like Dark Star in the melodies. Phil pulses on some notes and eventually there’s a slow Bright Star rendition at about 13:30. Jerry starts to take off on some fast long runs as Phil starts jamming a bit. Jerry is taking it up and it goes into a very rhythmic jam from which a Sputnik erupts and the volume drops immediately, but they stay with that pulsating rhythm. It goes on into a quiet but intense and fast jam, lots of forward momentum. Up and down a bit then an abrupt Dark Star theme statement from Jerry, then band falls in around it and they slow down as he does the gliss to the melody, then another tape cut to the middle of the verse at a slower tempo. Sounds like a nice reading of the verse, very relaxed and contrasting the fast jam that led to it. They continue from the outro chords to St Stephen. Odd version, good jams but very up and down and the tape cuts are jarring. And the quality isn’t very good, like many of the cassette taper versions that are available for a lot of this year’s shows, apparently.
#109 1970-10-17 "They sound really great." I'm sure that was the case in the hall that night but unfortunately this audience recording is poor. Despite that there is a mellow, dreamy feel to the opening. They take their time with Jerry, Phil and Bob interweaving nicely. After a minute or so Jerry starts winding upwards and the intensity increases. They get a nice groove going that is lovely even from a distance. And then unfortunately the tape cuts forwards to the end of the first verse. After the verse we get the usual reset which quickly dissolves into quiet. Gong washes and a subtle bass line (at least on the recording) that seems to foreshadow impeding creepiness. They quiet further; perhaps a faint bell toll and some slight feedback as well. String scraping comes in and then they quiet again. The crowd seems very pleased with where they've found themselves. A feedback-y rumbling rises up and grows. Around 6:15 we get the shimmering accompaniment that bzfgt mentioned which fits in nicely. They're keeping things fairly quiet but slowly some additional weirdness starts to come in. After 8:05 Jerry's faint line gets more melodic and the others fill in and there's a prettier feel to the proceedings. This ebbs and flows and gets a little darker but still patient and melodic. A prominent bell sounds enters the mix as well. Jerry's line gets stronger and by 10:30 it feels like a jam is emerging. There's a bit of a marching rhythm but still within the overall vibe of what preceded it. The volume increases and they're working it pretty well now and by 12:00 things are more Dark Star-ish again. Jerry rises up with a sharp, edgy line and the jam intensifies. He continues upwards and takes it into Bright Star around 13:15. They come down from the Bright Star peak and Phil steps forward while Jerry winds more in accompaniment. Lots of cymbal action here too. They start to rev it up and Jerry takes it higher and with a repeating line and they're moving with real pace. At 14:45 they ease up and then suddenly launch into Sputnik just after 15:00 which is neat. This runs its course by 15:45 and they start to work up the jam again. They build up some good momentum and Jerry is working lower lines than before. Then after 16:50 they start to pivot and work their way to the main theme. They dabble with it for a bit and then after what is likely a brief cut we're moved into the second verse. Definitely an interesting version and I wish there was a better recording. But the glimpse we get is still nice.
110: 1970-11-05 17182 Port Chester, NY 21:07 Main theme at :32, 3:33, and 4:25. First verse at 4:38. Feelin’ Groovy at 16:31. Bright Star at 18:37. Second verse at 19:32. Goes into St. Stephen. Once again the audience recording is far from perfect. Weir lays down a chugging rhythm, and from Garcia there is a variation on the main theme at about :32. I’ve listed this above, although it’s not always easy to determine what is to count as an iteration of the theme. The introduction has a blithe, happy-go-lucky feel, and after three minutes there still is not a clear sense of direction. At this point Garcia starts to heat up a bit, but we soon arrive back at the theme. The band drifts away a little, comes back, and the first verse arrives. Space emerges as a kind of gestalt this time, a surrounding ambience of foreboding that sort of oozes along. At 9:40 there are hints that a more familiar music might emerge, as we start to distinguish individual instruments and track their direction. However, there isn’t any recognizable movement away from space until 11:14, when hints of Sputnik are given. Weir does his shimmering thing, and then at 11:49 Garcia strikes up a melody. Somebody is out of tune. At about 12:22 Garcia does a rolling sort of thing which is not Sputnik, but may have some genealogical connection to the latter. By about 13:10 we seem to be in a new jam, which doesn’t sound much like anything we’ve heard before—we are out of space, but the foreboding heaviness remains, and this is almost a kind of funeral music. Are there hints of Feelin’ Groovy poking through this dirge? Lesh seems to be making a suggestion in that direction, while Garcia seems to be pushing it toward a more Dark Star-oriented jam. He alludes to the theme at 15:25. Weir is quite assertive here, and a guitar duet takes shape. At 16:13 Garcia is worrying at the theme again, but then at 16:31 Lesh again pushes for Feelin’ Groovy, and this time it goes through. This is a gentle rendition, with some very lyrical work by Garcia. The chord sequence dissolves shortly after the 18 minute point, and the band pedals along on one chord until 18:37 when Garcia brings out Bright Star. At 19:09 this transforms into the main theme pattern, although Garcia never plays the theme itself. At times the introduction felt a bit aimless, but the rest of this is quite entrancing. Dark Star is becoming a much less central part of the Grateful Dead phenomenon, but it will see a renaissance when Keith Godchaux joins the band. For now, though, they still seem to have something to say with the form.
1970-10-17. The recording didn't sound so great at first, but I could adjust to it; within a minute I was sailing away on a cosmic ride... The instruments are all audible -- and the inevitable guiro is still present! This opening jam takes no time getting deep, and it's really entrancing, one of the better starting jams in memory. So it's an odd disappointment when at 3:13 it suddenly cuts to the end-of-verse lines. Once they embark to space, there's just quiet percussion & faint noises for a while. But after the audience cheers at something onstage, the Dead get freakier with a threatening blast of weirdness. This subsides to a really quiet sputnik thing from Jerry, and they stay at low volume for a while until some volume-swelling and more freaky string stuff comes up. At 7:50 Jerry starts pointing the way out with a melancholy line, at first accompanied just by the cymbals & Bob's typical "coming out of space" pattern. But by 8:30 they're all together in a sudden new improvised theme. This is amazing & beautiful....it sounds like some funeral dirge played over an old warrior's grave. Jerry ends it with some feedback and by 9:50 they're moving on to a new jam. Now they're accompanied by what I think is a glockenspiel (gotta be Mickey playing, right?), with a very effective sound. The melancholy vibe is sustained even as they pick up the pace a little and Bob moves into his Dark Star Strut chords; the mood's very different from the usual Dark Star where they're rockin' out at this point. Instead here's a piece of chilling elegiac beauty with Jerry playing the loveliest lead from 10:55-11:50. Then he speeds up with some runs; the drums enter; the music gains power, but keeps its elegant stately feel; they're keeping firm control with a measured pace. When Jerry moves into Bright Star around 13:00 it feels grand and inevitable, like the culmination of this whole movement. Then by 13:40 they move to more of a regular fast-paced Dark Star jam, initially a Phil & Jerry duet with drumming; Bob finds his way in and this gets pretty spicy! The rhythm gets choppy with clopping drums; Jerry gets into the spirit -- it almost sounds like he's about to bust into Eyes, but then he suddenly does a little Sputnik turn at 15:00 and kind of fades out on that (similar to what he'd do in the '80s pre-drums segments). The Dead amble along in a pleasantly kickin' jam; then after 16:40 they slow down to their former pace in a very cool shift. The Dark Star theme starts creeping back in after 17:15, a piece at a time...it might sound awkward (or forced) like they're re-learning how the theme goes; you could imagine it being smoother but I give them credit for playing it differently. But at 17:45 there's another cut anyway, shortening the theme, and we're splat in the middle of the verse. (Jerry has always doubled his Dark Star vocal on guitar since they started playing it, by the way!) Gripping indeed; I was very impressed by this one. The whole middle part is just heavenly. Very dreamy yet intense mood til they get more scattershot toward the end. I have to give the audience credit too; after some concerning chatter at the opening they shut up for the rest of Dark Star.
#110 1970-11-05 The crowd is thrilled as things get underway. The recording has difficulty fully capturing Phil but the rest isn't too bad. Nice mellow interweaving at the outset with prominent rhythm from Bob. Jerry touches briefly on the theme and then around :50 he heads out on a gentle line with Bobby still forward and some cymbal action coming in as well. The volume increases and they get a mellow groove going with a Sunday drive kind of feel. Around 3:00 the momentum starts to pick up and Jerry comes out a little sharper; Phil is active too. They hit the theme at 3:33 and then a minute later return to it before starting the first verse. Not the smoothest vocal delivery but part of that may be the recording. Post verse they briefly reset and then drift into a fuzzy, feedback-y zone before a bell toll brings forth a moment of near silence with faint electric sounds still ringing in the background. They take their time; gong washes come in along with other percussive sounds. There's some string scraping and tolling and things start to swirl a bit. Around 8:30 you'd almost expect a Foxy Lady riff to come forth; things begin to get deeper and weirder and more ominous. After 9:55 there's some stronger guitar strums and oozy feedback that turns into a wailing sound. Around 11:05 they find the quiet again; Jerry starts to play with Sputnik notes but it doesn't fully emerge. They keep it delicate and things start to become more melodic but they aren't out of space yet. Soon after some stronger, edgier guitar rings out that becomes a transition of sorts into a jam sequence. Jerry is fuzzily at the forefront with Phil and Bob complimenting it nicely. The collective sound is compelling and they explore this area perhaps not exactly sure where it's heading. Around 13:55 Jerry starts to sound more Dark Star-ish and Phil's playing is patient and lovely. They pick up some momentum and the groove sounds really nice. Bobby comes in more strongly and plays off Jerry well. The pace ebbs and flows, Phil reaches deep and then at 16:30 they shift into Feelin' Groovy which again feels UJB-ish. Feelin' Groovy does its thing and creates a nice, upbeat vibe. They work it well and Jerry starts to soar upwards but brings it back into some winding lines. Phil is hitting repeating notes that build up some rev with good textures from Bob. By 18:00 things appear to have run their course and they downshift but keep moving and we get an Allman-esque feel for a spell as the crowd claps along. Then at 18:37 Phil hits the Dark Star notes and Jerry launches into Bright Star. They keep it to a mellow peak and then quickly shift into the main theme and then on to the second verse. I liked this one quiet a bit. They don't do a lot with the opening segment but space is interesting and the post-space jam is compelling. The latter portion isn't necessarily complex but I like the overall feel.
Yeah, I'm into the song form and its development. Especially because it informed the early (1968) jams in such a huge way. The way the band has played the "backing track" during the vocals has changed so much over these couple years also. And yes, he has always played the melody while singing it (that melody that came out of the Sept 3 1967 Dancin' In the Streets at Rio Nido).
#110 11/5/70 Port Chester, NY: 21:06 AUD Audience recording from the balcony, bass slightly overloading the cassette. Clapping audience out of the The Other One and they start the riff into a little jam (which in some ways has a little Main Ten idea to it, the rhythm of the E to G to A picking that JG is doing...) and it moves into a nice groove, some audience “woo!” and they’re off. Bob and Phil holding it down, Jerry slowly develops what he wants to explore, some specific notes accented, he’s playing with some riff idea for awhile. It’s a nice mellow groove that they build on for minutes, then at 3:30, the gliss up to the A and to the theme. This holds for a while as a typical Dark Star world and the verse enters a minute later. Nice verse, interesting stuff from Bob on line two, hammering it on on the last offbeat accent and then playing upward-moving melodic lines on line 3. The intro riff starts them into the middle section and the band slowly blows away reality and as it fades out there’s a single “bell toll” hit that heads into light feedback, then some bass tapping. (You can hear some heads starting to freak out nearby.) Cymbals, isolated hits, feedbacks, enharmonic sounds, a cavern of metallic noises and odd string noises. Tapping the strings with a slide, playing behind the bridge. Phil starts to take some forward steps at 10 minutes in, the volume goes up with some bass bombs and guitar feedback wailing, bass feedback coming up underneath, long drones. Really intense! It ebbs at 11 minutes and a Sputnik starts coming in for a second, but is abandoned and then a slow quiet melodic section comes instead. Bob starts the notes for his two-chord thing, A7 and G7, but not in rhythm. There’s still feedback happening, and when guitar notes start happening, it’s still arhythmic, until some runs happen a little before 14 minutes in and Phil starts a slow walk and it heads toward some idea of a slow pulse, in the Dark Star chordal world. Really beautiful transition into and out of space in this version. The tempo picks up a bit, but it has occasional rhythmic dropouts, and remains mellow, though audience start clapping along. By 16 minutes there’s some Dark Star theme elements, and then the Soulful Strut begins for real a little later, when Bobby starts the chord progression, though he veers off a few times. Claves are signifying, sidestick drumset grooving it. The Strut isn’t super ‘hot jazz’ this evening, but it moves into a chunka-chunk rhythm for a bit, and JG uses some feedback to transition to a Bright Star theme and they head back to Dark Star proper. They reel it in pretty quickly and verse two comes in at 19:30, at a higher energy than verse one, though not much movement on the lines 2 and 3. The outro sounds sort of ragged with all the parts and vocals spun around the hall, they head off to the outro chords and into St Stephen, people yell and clap. Nice transitions in this version, very fluid. The intro improv is mellow, and not tons of jamming in the latter half, but a beautiful space section. A relatively medium-to-low-energy version, and not a great recording.
