So I hit up the Dark Star from February 1971, yes, that one. Went outside for a bit of star gazing but it was mostly a heavy milky cloudy haze up on the final frontier. No luck tonight. Back inside. I can use some grand piano. It sounds so good! A wee bit Keith Jarrett Köln 1975 vibe... By the way, I texted a couple of 1971 tunes to my friend. The legendary AUD recording of Hard To Handle and the Beautiful Jam from so many roads... and Looser and Wharf Rat
My fav from the "teens" of May '77. The next night is great too! The Dead played great in the south. I think they had something to prove because they didn't tour that area that often, right?
Yes. The Dead was on official hiatus in 1975 but they still played four shows. This is the most rehearsed one and it sounds great, mixed from the multitracks. You can stream it on all the regular places or buy it for decent price.
Or why not this? No midi, just pure guitar. The band sounds huge and epic, and when Jerry kicks into second gear on his second solo(6.30min) oh man, it's a beautiful thing. I think I like this version even more than the classic from Mars '78... more up tempo, more joyfull!
Now listening to 2/27/70[Family Dog SF Cal]on TIGDH on SiriusXM's Grateful Dead channel via the webstream now playing Monkey And The Engineer.
Yeah. Great sound(loud and clear, easy to tell everyone apart), and it got some video of Garcia’s playing... not a lot, but enough. Gotta praise Phil and Bob too, all around excellent version from the band.
Also be sure to track down 1975-09-28 Golden Gate Park. My favorite of '75. I think it's a better representation of the Blues for Allah sound, with Keith playing electric piano throughout, and unfortunately they dropped it when Keith went back to grand piano in '76. The AUD is really beautiful, but last time I checked the Archive transfers had a little digital glitch on one track, so you may want to go with the Hunter Seamons matrix. The soundboard was included in the 30 Trips box.
You, my friend, are suffering from @bzfgt syndrome. The Other One is from the Salt Palace on the 28th.
The following night is really exceptional, too, before they even get around to "St. Stephen". "China>Rider" and "Playing" are both exceptional versions, and this may be my favorite version of "space". "St. Stephen" is the least messed-up of the three revival versions, so it's got that going for it, but the whole set up to that point is really hot.
That was the first show for two different friends of mine. Agree that it's the best of the 3 '83 St. Stephens, as well as a hot show in general.
So I thought that I'd do something I almost never do and peruse first set material that I rarely, if ever, listen to from a first set. I chose 2/26/73 in a nod to corona virus and bzfgt syndrome. I chose Dough Knees (my favorite misnomer of all time), Looks Like Rain and Loose Lucy. Good enough, but I've reconfirmed why I listen to improvs that blast into the stratosphere. I've only got so many years (days?) left on this rock. Get me there, thank you very much!
My hypothesis is that they didn't like the unison ending part, and conveniently forgot it over the course of 71-72. When the original ending shows up in 72 they kind of half-ass it IIRC, and it never shows up again. Even in 80s and 90s two verse dark stars, they just do the intro as ending. I posted 4-16-78 on there, I think. I might have just mentioned it. I definitely at least liked a post that mentioned it.
Don't worry, folks, it's Corona virus only if someone keeps trying to shove a lime wedge into one of your orafices. Too soon? Probably, but not for Dick's Volume One.
I agree, 10/15/83 might be my favorite show of '83. 10/14 has a great second set, but 10/15 has a much better first set to my taste, and magic in the second set.
