Grateful Dead Dave's Picks 2021 Subscriptions

I always love Space and I almost always loved Drums live. Sometimes I skip Drums on tape/cd/whatever.

 

start pre heating your oven at some point you will need to bake those babies - womp womp

 

Honestly, there's only one thing baked about this.

 

I’ve noticed this. I hear Phish too during hockey. I hear obscure funk I think only I and a few hundred others even know it exists showing up in tv shows. It bothers me mildly. Great sounds on tv/movies is an arm’s race.

I think where I come out is: we are everywhere.

 

On a lighter note and on another network. Dave on Sirius is playing the China > Rider from 7/18/90 and it sounds awesome. Just confirmed that the transition includes the da da da da da da da da da part. Bobby is crystal clear in this mix too! All's well in Dead land.

He also mentioned that the U.S. Blues encore from 7/19 would be included on DP41!

 

Not a good omen for 41, then

 

It's interesting that fans don't like 90's Dead, because they had no problem filling stadiums! It appears that a lot of people really liked the shows!






Their last show Soldier Field 7/9/95

 

Let’s hope this means he’s sticking onto a 68-77 show as opposed to another 90’s show for 41. While the former seems strange, the latter seems highly unlikely. I can live without owning this encore on cd.

 

I am sure many thousands of people had an amazing time at many many shows that don’t happen to hold up on tape.

 

Being at a show in the late-80's and 90's was a certain kind of experience that extended far beyond the music being played. Sitting down to listen to a show from this period is a whole different experience, and perhaps not nearly as engaging.

 

So for a good part of '88 - '95, (7 years) filling stadiums, having repeat of 30K + people in attendance will have to be word of mouth that the Dead are playing great shows. Unless they were selling that many tickets for such a long time period for other non-musical reasons, and people didn't care if the band was playing well or not. Hard to sell tickets if the shows sucked one would think.

 

A show does not have to suck at all to not really hold up as stand out tape out of a 30 year library of choices.

 

I am saying that I don't get why on the whole a lot of people disparage late era Dead shows. As most everyone knows, they were filling stadiums for a good part of 7 years, and you don't sell that many tix if the shows were bad or meh, word would get around fast and people wouldn't spend the money/time to go any more. One show being bad here or there, I get it, but not wanting or disliking most late stage Dead saying the shows (most of them) were bad or disliked the sound, goes against the grain because they were constantly selling tons of tix - apparently just to people to get hammered, regardless of the band.

 

I absolutely love listening to 87-7/90 shows to this day. The last golden era of the GD for me. I went to most of my 50 shows in that period, also. I did see the GD in the Vince era, every time they came to Chicago, and I had a very good time at all of those shows. But there is not one of them I would seek out to listen to now.

 

Listening to Dark Star>Stephen >Eleven>Lovelight from DaP 30. Haven’t heard this in while, forgot how good it is. I’d love to see a nice Dark Star in DaP next year.

 

It’s a very interesting show. One of the best ever Peggio’s, several debuts, one of 3 BFA’s. Some fairly ridiculous comments from taper’s helpers on my recording…

 

Dead & Co fill huge stadiums too OTOH none come close to 1973 GOGD at Watkin’s Glen.

 

I listened to it the other night and the Peggy-O really stuck out for me, too. Excellent show and sound quality. Big thanks to the taper

 

What I am saying that a band doesn't sell that many tix for that long of a time span without having mostly very good shows. Most people aren't going to spend the money/time to repeatedly see a band play if the band wasn't up to par. I get having an amazing time at the show, but if the band wasn't good, most people aren't going to go again. I have been to shows were I had a great time, but I didn't enjoy the band's playing, so didn't see them again ( even though I had fun). I can have an amazing time at home listening to shows that I like, and not have to deal with thousands of others seeing a band live that I don't enjoy now - unless I'm a masochist.

 

I’ve dabbled just a bit with 92-95 shows and I’m simply unable to listen to very much. The band is a shell of what they once were. Even compared to 1990 which for me although they are playing very well is also nothing compared to the band up through 1978/79. Then again I’m comparing their later live music to the greatest live electric band there ever was.

Yes I know I’m not supposed to compare

 

Closed-minded people who can’t handle the fact bands evolve over time and Keith isn’t tinkling away on the keys. A very small yet very loud minority. They think the band sucked for half its existence. Ignore ‘em. I do.

 

I don’t believe they sucked up through 1991. After that hard to listen to for me. I’m not the typical listener as besides some great 80’s/90’s rock bands ranging from Replacements, Husker Du, Pavement, Wilco, Yo La Tengo and post 88 Sonic Youth I primarily listen to improvised avant-garde music - both recorded and performed live.

currently really enjoying the two 1989 Giants Stadium shows from that wonderful box set

 

I was going to post pretty much all of this. ‘87-‘90 is indeed the last “Golden Era” for GD (I’ll include the Fall of ‘90 as part of that gold… MSG run, Europe shows, etc.)

Still kept going to shows right up to the very end (Soldier Field ‘95), but, in spite of some really good - even great -shows ‘91-‘93, I rarely reach for a ‘90s show to listen now (Been awhile, maybe I will this week… Or maybe I’ll stick with new St. Louis box).

‘94-‘95, it was clear things weren’t the same anymore. Most of that was due to Jerry’s decline, some of it the general sound of the band, some of it how big and problematic the crowds got. I did not particularly enjoy those last shows I attended. Couldn’t say “no” either.

Regardless, looking forward to DaP 40. Deer Creek was a special place, lots of great music made there.

 

In general I think you're right, but I think it becomes less true the more established a band becomes, as you have people who go just to check the band off some kind of list, and even more so when the band is like the Dead and there is a robust community of people whose social lives and recreational interests center around the band. It seems highly unlikely that the band wouldn't have continued to draw massive crowds even if it had continued, at the same pace of decline, for another ten years.

That said, I think the more critical difference is just that the kinds of nuances that reveal Vince-era Dead to be the nadir of the band's career were probably a lot harder to pick up on in person in a noisy crowded concert venue, and there is so much in the atmosphere of a live show to carry the good parts over the finish line. Recordings are just so much more unforgiving. Pearl Jam are a band I've followed for most of my life (since age 11, Spring '95) and probably 10-12 years or so ago, their performances hit that point for me - the shows are still fantastic in person, the band feels locked in, and you leave feeling like you've seen everything a rock show should be. But then you hear the recording and hear all these missed cues, garbled lyrics, vocal strain, etc. I'm guessing there was a lot of that at play through a lot of the Dead's career. Being a great live band, and a great live band whose recordings reward repeat listens because the music holds up apart from the event, aren't always one and the same.

 

Curiouser and curiouser. I guess we'll find out the next pick soon enough. I wouldn't have expected Dave to lean this hard into the late-period GD, but here we are. I'm willing to bet that he knows more than I do about what drives the sales of these things.