This past Friday's episode (Dec 6) of "The Blacklist" on NBC featured the Garcia/Grisman recording of "Shady Grove" during the opening scene, which happened to be a murder.
on, like, 72 hours notice! The logistical problems alone were sufficient to make a disaster of some sort practically inevitable. The Hell's Angels were Rock Scully's idea, I think. Based on the unrealistic frame of concerts in the Panhandle. A few thousand people. Not fifty times as many. More people, more problems. And then the stage being all of four feet high, at the bottom of a dish. Surrounded by at least a hundred thousand people. Insane. Who does that? The ad hoc Plan A was that the Angels would line their scooters up to act as the impromptu stage barricade, because surely nobody would mess with an Angel's motorcycle. And then the hordes show up, and the Angels begin to realize that crowd control is going to be a lot more of a challenge than anyone had envisioned. Because no-obody who has never encountered a crowd that large has any idea what it's going to be like in advance. They might think they know. But they find out otherwise. In this case, the Hell's Angels found out that they couldn't even secure their own motorcycles. Just like that, some of their bikes were toppled over like dominoes by the waves of the ocean of humanity pressing against them. And so, on to Plan B: everything spiraling out of control. The wrong setting, the wrong set, and a nontrivial amount of chemical amplification. Not an especially benevolent equation.
Hm... I’ll check for that. I ended up finding another source for what I wanted anyhow. Maybe I’ll play around with the “bad” files anyhow just to see. Thanks to all!
Revisiting some of my favourite shows, currently on the legendary 5/8/77. It’s just as good as last time I heard it. I mean, of course it is!
15 April 1978- The College of William & Mary. Another new April '78 transfer thanks to the Kindness of Tim Dalton. The band is on point from the first note, and this transfer brings more nuance and sonic detail than previous versions.
I also revisited One From The Vault earlier today. It features possibly my fave Crazy Fingers. So eloquent in its execution.
First one I ever heard, and still the benchmark all these years later. The crystal clear sound quality just adds to the performance. I really like the one on Dave’s Picks from June of 76, but that particular recording has a flat, boxy quality to it. Not bad really, but certainly not as good as One From the Vault.
Marc Maron posted an interview last week with photographer Ethan Russell who was at Altamomt. He says that the stage at Altamont was the same stage they used on the whole tour. It’s worth a listen, fwiw he doesn’t have very kind words for the GD regarding their behavior at Altamont Episode 1077 - Ethan Russell — WTF with Marc Maron Podcast
9 December 1989- LA Forum. LA is what it is, but this was a good night for our heroes inside the Forum. I attended as a future representative of this forum. Outside the Forum things were different, as the LA cops killed someone in the parking lot during this run.
Really fun Fall '89 set with a great Kevin Tobin matrix that really captures the electricity of The Spectrum (the greatest 'arena' ever to see shows or games) that night. The China>Rider>PITB>Terrapin run is worth the price of admission.
Big Sky Dead Dave’s 9 eternally grateful for Mr. U.S. Blues for my copy of this from what is now quite some time ago / and for his love of all things Grateful.. One of the all-time greatest Dead shows Best sounding WOS 2-track I’ve heard
8 December 1973- Cameron Indoor Stadium. Further evidence in support of the hypothesis that "they always played great at Duke!" The second set Jam sequence is superb.
New Vinyl coming from Real Gone Music! Dick's Picks Vol. 24, the first "Wall of Sound" Show. Details below. Here is a link to get a special preorder price of $40 off retail list Grateful Dead Dick's Picks 24 (4-LP Set) --Real Gone Music Continues Its Long Strange Trip Through the Grateful Dead Catalog with a Vinyl Release of One of the Most Momentous Shows in the Band’s Long History --Dick’s Picks Vol. 24—Cow Palace Daly City, CA 3/23/74 Captures the Dead’s Very First Show Using the Notorious “Wall of Sound” Concert PA --Built by LSD Chemist Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the Wall of Sound PA Offered Unprecedented Clarity in a Live Setting Even as the Freight Costs to Transport It Nearly Bankrupted the Band --Real Gone’s 4-LP Release of Dick’s Picks Vol. 24 Goes to Great Lengths to Preserve That Audio Clarity in the Vinyl Format --Mastered from the Original Tapes by Long-Time Dead Engineer Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering --Lacquer Cut by the Venerable John Golden at Golden Mastering --Test Pressings Rejected and Finally Approved by Mastering Engineer Jeffrey Norman, Grateful Dead Archivist David Lemieux, and Real Gone’s Own Gordon Anderson --Pressed on 180-Gram Vinyl to Minimize Warpage and Surface Noise --The Four LPs Are Housed Inside a Full-Color Hardshell Box and Come in Poly-Lined Sleeves --Includes a 4-Page, Full-Sized, 4-Color Insert That Includes Bear’s Original Notes for the CD Release --Never Before on Vinyl --The 3/23/74 Show Was Notable for the Premiere of Two Songs That Became Staples of the Dead’s Repertoire, “Cassidy” and “Scarlet Begonias” --Also Marked the Third and Last Appearance of the “Playing in the Band/Uncle John’s Band/Morning Dew/Uncle John’s Band/Playing in the Band” Medley, a Definitive and Daring Rendition --Limited to 1500 Hand-Numbered Copies
