Listened to Dick’s 17 today (Boston 9-25-91) and the band sounded dialed in. Garcia was killing on guitar and his singing sounded inspired.
Yeah, I’m only through set 1 so we’ll see where it goes. 2nd set list certainly is an odd one. I saw that entire run and certainly was more impressed with some of the other shows but have rarely gone back to listen to any. I have all 6 boards so maybe that’s this weeks project.
Still very much worth listening to, IMO. But I was surprised, going back to that show after a few years, how sloppy it was. It didn't even register at the time, but I guess we were used to it. BTW if you have the unofficial soundboard (not the Dick's Picks release), you can hear Bruce quoting "Maria" (from West Side Story) during the pre-second-set tuning (which is a callback to the flatted-fifth interval that features in "Victim").
A Boston 91 box set certainly wouldn’t be a bad choice from that era. I saw a bunch of 91 shows and there was something about those Boston Garden shows that really was satisfying. 9-22 was outstanding and 9-24 was really fun.
That was a looooong day but a fun time was had by all. If I remember correctly, the original plan for the terrapin encore was to perform the entire suite but Mickey wasn't up to it following a car accident and it being his first show back. That would have blown a few minds.
The 2nd set from the Beacon Theatre, 15/06/76, is pretty epic and most unusual. A St. Stephen opener seguing into Not Fade Away > Stella Blue! I've never heard the Dead play that sequence before?! There's also a fantastic Dancing In The Street > The Wheel > Sugar Magnolia > Scarlet Begonias > Sunshine Daydream too. Woah! Scarlet Begonias sandwiched within Sugar Magnolia is pretty interesting and another sequence I've not heard before. What a great set.
I’ve got a bit more time to listen during work hours these days, and I’m thinking of doing the same thing. I’ve never listened to the Europe ‘72 tour in order and it might be the perfect time to rectify that.
I'm not one to embrace anniversaries of anything (why not celebrate anything and everything important to you every day: is the actual anniversary of any importance?). But you could do worse than listening to the whole E'72 tour at any time in your life. Shout out to 4/8, 4/16, 4/24, 4/26 and 5/26 for the record. Enjoy it all!
Here's my daily routine at the moment: Sit at my desk at home, log in to my work servers and get ready to start the business day. But I need a soundtrack. So I pick a show I haven't heard before/in ages and sit back to do my work with sweet tunes in my ears. Hear a particular performance (let's use 'Peggy-O' from 5/9/77) and get completely swallowed by it. Go to headyversion.com and see where it ranks. Find it only ranked third. Immediately have to listen to versions above it multiple times to see if they're right or wrong. Once satisfied, head back to the show I started and continue until I find next song to obsess over. Rinse and repeat. I can think of worse ways to pass my time.
Of course you're right.. I thought it was the 18th that I posted. So two versions then, back to back.
It's amazing how well Jerry's voice recovered after the croaky Mississippi half step opener. He's in excellent voice for 1982 for the rest of the show. He plays really good too.
This morning I listened to 4/16/72 (Stakladen). Damn what a great show. The Greatest Story opener might Ne my fave E72-version, and the China > Rider is just fantastic. The PITB is something else, wonderful jamming throughout. Also great versions of Black-Throated Wind, Mr. Charlie, Loser and Dire Wolf. Can't believe it took me until now to check this one out. I will def return to this one a lot to make up for that.
As I've mentioned before these shows were way oversold. I think the main ticket outlets sold as much as the smaller ones and doubled the capacity. Unlike the fillmore east shows later that month these were general admission so we decided to go really early and got there around noon. There was actually a handful of people there already. There was no security that I could see so folks just hung around the area. At one point we found an alley leading to the back of the building where the gear would be loaded in from. Standing near the back door we could here garcia playing inside. As the day went on various band members came walking up and went inside through the front entrance. That's when pig and his girlfriend came walking across the street from a local pub. He stopped for a little while and held court with a bunch of folks before going in. He was funny and pleasant. The new riders opened and this was when garcia was still with them. It was so crowded on the floor that after their set I wandered upstairs and found a comfortable spot to watch the dead. Pig did his final easy wind this night. Many folks consider this the weakest of the run but you don't really see that while you're there.
I’m the same way with dates actually. I’m thinking I’ll just get started right away and see how it goes!
I'm going to have to add the following shows, the keep the months balanced: 3 May- Paris; 10 May- Amsterdam; 18 May- Munich.
Man, watched an ‘88 Scarlet>Fire on YouTube yesterday that was RIPPIN’! I thought ‘88 was suppose to suck.
Truckin’ Up to Buffalo and The View From the Vault soundtracks are sadly missing from streaming services. A shame, the Bertha on Truckin’ Up to Buffalo is a damn good one.
