To this day 6/22/73 is by far my favorite show from the box but I also like Dave’s 9 (5/14/74) more than 5/17, 5/19 or 5/21/74. I like Dave’s 9 MUCH more than 5/17/74 and the lack of vocals bother me on the 5/19/74 - plus I think the jam out of Truckin’ is strong but not as great as I thought based on the RAVING I heard about - plus the NFA>GDTRFB also didn’t meet my very high expectations based on the buzz. I do think 5/21/74 is the best of the 74 shows and I’m sure my next pass through will reveal unheard brilliance within the other two 74 shows. Because.... My first pass at 6/26/73 left me feeling little affinity for this show. Months late I tried again and KA POW or WOWZA - that ending jam stuff during set 2!!! - plus a great HCS - plus the 15 minute PITB is another piece of 1973 Dead genius. Sometimes so many short tunes as played so ‘nicely’ yet ‘thinly’ as they did especially in 1973 can wear on me and I need to skip a few tunes here and there. 6/26/73 has a 15 song first set and up until that Playing in the Band, the only thing with any jam at all is a short for the year China Cat (only 8:08 including the Groovy) - unless you want to count a 9:06 Row Jimmy!!! I still think the 6/24/73 show is an average 1973 show (from what I’ve heard) even with the unique and inspired 27:46 Dark Star. I think part of the issue with the 73 shows is that the Alligator is not sounding as well as it did in the Spring for whatever reason. Kind of all minor quibbles as the box overall has met or exceeded all my expectations
Jerry's style of playing was changing during 1973. The sound of the Gator is actually morphing towards the innate sound of the Wolf. And Jerry was spreading things out in Summer '73. But if you want to hear the Gator bite, find the excellent Todd & Kaslow AUD of 1 July 1973 and listen to the China > Rider and Playing In The Band.
I appreciate this. As someone with so many releases left to hear for the first time, and in most cases so little prior relevant listening experience to bring to the table, first impressions are all I have to go on. I remember being really surprised by how little I connected with the shows in the PNW box, but I also know how many other factors might influence an initial impression, and not necessarily for the better. I'm looking forward to revisiting the 73s soon.
Regarding that awesome Aquarium Drunkard tape thing - I got on the bus in the late 1990s, so while taping was still definitely a thing, I was fortunate enough to be on a University campus with good internet connections and was able to get in early on what was available over the internet. I did end up getting a few Phish and Dead tapes through "b&p", but the internet was so much easier. One of my dreams is walking into an out of the way record store or antique center with a box full or tapes and/or an old taper's compendium. Those are two pieces of old Head culture that I would love to find around and miss dearly.
I say this all the time! I've even had dreams in which I find a musty old box of Dead stuff at a Peddler's Mall and the owner of the place is just like "Eh, gimme five bucks for the box, just get it outta here!" My wife thinks I'm crazy.
I'm sure you all haven't been able to sleep wondering, so ... the answer to yesterday's trivia question: As far as I can determine, Jerry didn't switch the "30" to "40" in "Ship of Fools" until he was 45 years old. The first instance appears to be Salt Lake City 8-20-87. He did backslide to "30" in at least one later performance (9-12-87), but it was pretty much 40 from there on out ... until he turned 50???
My taste in music is extremely similar to The Aquarium Drunkard. His blog radio show has turned me on to a lot of great stuff over the years.
It's more than just one guy, but absolutely. Killer taste in music. Theirs is the year end list that I look forward to most every single year - filled with things that I loved and other stuff that flew under my radar and I immediately have to track down. Off the top of my head, all of the artists below I discovered through that site: Nathan Salsburg 75 Dollar Bill Peel Dream Magazine Long Hots Tonstartssbandht Prana Crafter Nathan Bowles OMNI The Myrrors Kevin Morby
Get off my lawn! Of course, living in the high desert of New Mexico I do not have a lawn per se, but if you are out in the veldt here you've discovered the cactus and all the other plants that protect themselves by growing pointy stuff. April '95. Taurus, or Aries?
Just out of curiosity I just checked the final "Ship of Fools" (RFK 6-25-95). Instead going ahead to 50, Jerry went back to 30.
Now playing 8/13/87[Red Rocks]on TIGDH on SiriusXM's Grateful Dead channel via the webstream now playing Big Boss Man.
Aries Are you really in New Mexico?! Driving north of El Paso into souther NM in the gorgeous desert mountains while playing some 71 was one of the most perfect times ive ever had! 1971 is perfect cowboy music!
I have both a niece and a nephew that were born within the same 6 months as you. They’re not Grateful Dead fans as far as I know. They probably dig Post Malone though.
Outside of Santa Fe, that being the point, just about halfway. I hope some day you'll get to do more driving through the Western US so that you can see this beautiful continent up close.
My daughter loves Post Malone. Apparently he is da bomb! But her first two shows were Furthur shows at 1st Bank Center.
Great article man. You and I are similar. I was 15 when he died and similarly unimpressed, although you were maybe a little more passionate about it lol. I was just like, ‘oh that out of tune country band with the one cool song about being high on cocaine? Yeah and the guys that dig them that I don’t get along with? Bummer. Have you heard this Nirvana bootleg??...’ Also it looks like when you did get hooked, it was at a much deeper level, and closer to the roots (tape trading) than I ever got. I didn’t get that into it until well into our more modern era. Although it was a long slow burn and I remember really digging the albums and picking up several Dicks Picks in my late teens / early 20s. Thanks for sharing that!
Yeah, the availability of the tapes in digital form on the Archive played a large part in my growing obsession with the Grateful Dead. To be fair, while it’s not the same effort and dedication that it took in the tape trading days, it still was somewhat laborious to get the music. Dial-up modems - remember those? I mean, downloading a hot 16-minute Weather Report Suite could take the better part of an hour and remember - your phone was off the hook the whole time. Downloading an entire show was often a multi-day affair.
Well, Dancin’>Wharf Rat>Dancin’ on 10 October ‘76 is delicious. This pair of shows is rather special. The jamming is purposeful and liquid, at the same time. I listened via this, a somewhat distant but very satisfying AUD that captures all of the instruments and the vocals echoing around the stadium very well. Must have been some sound system they had in ‘76. I’ve said it before, I’m going to say it now and no doubt I’ll say it again and again: I think these shows were perfect for a May ‘74 box, maybe even with the 12 and 25 May shows as bookends. More coherent than the PNW box and would have left the powder dry for (a) Summer ‘73 box(es). Easy to say in hindsight.