my top 5 daves in release order #10 - 12/12/69 Thelma #21- 4/2/73 Boston Garden #30 -1/2/70 Fillmore East #33 - 10/20/77 Dekalb #40 -7/18 and 7/19 1990 Deer Creek
#9 is tough for me to leave off. I won’t risk losing your friendship forever by saying I prefer it to... well I’ll stop there. If I just focus on 1974 I’d give it the nod over #34. The bonus disc, of course, changes everything. It’s a close comparison. Just something magical about Montana.
I could easily swap three out: #3 ~ Auditorium Theatre 21 & 22/10/71 #11 ~ Witchita 17/11/72 #29 ~ Swing Auditorium, 26/2/77 #23 ~ McArthur Court, Eugene 22/01/78 #34 ~ Jai-Alai, 23/6/74 favorite bonus disc: 2013 ~ Fillmore Aud, 21/12/69
#34: Jai-Alai, 6/23/74 #14: Academy of Music, 3/26/72 #30: Fillmore East, 1/2/70 #6: Fox Theatre, 2/2/70 & Fillmore Auditorium, 12/20/69 #22: Felt Forum, 12/7/71
#30: Fillmore East 1/2 & 3/70 #10: Thelma, 12/12/69 if the bonus disc is included, if not it's #21 #5: Pauley Pavilion 11/17/73 #14: Academy of Music 3/26/72 #18: Orpheum Theater 7/17/76 #21: Boston Garden 4/2/73 as alternate
Like moths to a flame, we all need to get our thoughts in. I think this ranks from top to "bottom": DaP 5 - Pauley Pavilion, 11/17/73 DaP 18 (plus bonus disc) - Orpheum Theatre, SF, 7/17 and 7/16/76 (one of their best releases ever) DaP 23 - McArthur Court, 1/22/78 DaP 34 (plus bonus disc) - Miami Jai Alai Fronton, 6/23/74 and 6/22/74 DaP 29 - Swing Auditorium, 2/26/77
10: Thelma 12/12/69 13: Winterland 2/24/74 17: Fresno 7/19/74 26: Albuquerque 11/17/71 29: San Ber’dino 2/26/77 Most underrated is 19: Hawaii ‘70, although if you had to pick only one from Dec ‘69 to Jan 70, FE 1/2/70 (Vol 30) or Thelma are better.
I only have 4 Daves Picks at present, although I've bought, listened and sold a few more over the years (Daves 9 was one, couldn't get over the guy whistling all the way through the quiet bits)... 10 - Thelma 69 (with bonus) 30 - Fillmore East 70 (with bonus) 13 - Winterland 74 34 - Miami 74 (with bonus) I've subscribed this year so very much looking forward to having the Winterland 74 one sitting alongside number 13. Number 5 is on my wishlist.
Well the mission statement for Dave’s Picks was to release complete shows. A non-scientific median length for shows would be in the 2:45 range leaving lots of room on 3 CDS. I notice Dave tends to put larger amounts of bonus material in less “premium “ years, ie the 1984 set from last year.
Indeed. Dave’s 29 (4/26/83) has all three discs packed to the brim, running about three hours and forty-five minutes in total.
I think it was just the fact that the 80s shows weren't as long, and there was room for relevant bonus material on the discs. This US Blues isn't really bonus like other stuff, it's just tacking it on so the complete 7/19/90 show is released.
Yeah, it's good, but I like 5-9-77 and 4-15-78 better. Maybe because I heard those ones first. In my limited experience of seeing the Dead live (and more extensive experience listening to tapes), it always seemed to me like the first night of a tour/run often had the feeling of "getting things together" and the music often flowed a lot more easily once they were a little more warmed up (it's not like they did a week of rehearsals before heading out on tour). That dynamic could certainly appear in one-off shows like this one, too. It's good, but they don't sound like they're really cooking until the middle of the second set.
I am guessing in the most premium years(72-74, 77 89-90,etc) he does not want to break up complete shows since these years get the most releases. 1982-1986 for example, much more apt to give us an hour of another show as bonus.
Can't wait to get my hands on that U.S. Blues encore. I'm gonna rip, tag, and bag that one like nobody's business. Bring it!
LOL, yes. I see no attraction to them. They'll get looked at once and put away somewhere never to be seen again, and I can think of better uses for $40 than that. At least the glasses might get used or displayed. But clearly there was a market for them. I hope folks enjoy them. I can't tell you my top 5 Dave's Picks for another four or five years but it's fun seeing other peoples lists...
DeKalb is a great release, IMO it “crackles” w/ energy from the 1st notes of Might as Well, I 1st heard this release circa 96/97 as the BB’s started showing up in trading community! An acquaintance of mine highly recommends 10/30/77.......it has been said many times before thank you Betty, Rob E and ABCD LLC for getting these tapes back into the vault.
I haven't bought a trading card since I was a young teenager. No sense re-starting another hobby at my age.
There is also the factor of the audience getting focused, or not, and how that influences a show. In my experience the pre-coma audience was better at this, the slower influx of people into the scene allowed for education and mentoring in regards to participating in the experience. With the infusion of new recruits in the Touch of Gray era there was less integration of new members of the community, less chance to mentor folks and help them to participate in a meaningful way. The band - crowd interaction was always at the heart of the matter.
