LSD appeared in Europe in 1943 at the height of Hitler's reich, like the subtle antidote of the small dot of Yin within the advancement of Yang. LSD is the Medicine sent by the benevolent universe to the technologically oriented branch of the human race as a method for cleaning the doors of perception. L S DNA Acid consumes 47 times its weight in excess reality. ~ Scribbled on the wall of a dorm tower elevator
michael-pollan-on-the-psychedelic-renaissance Midway through the twentieth century, two unusual new molecules, organic compounds with a striking family resemblance, exploded upon the West. In time, they would change the course of social, political, and cultural history, as well as the personal histories of the millions of people who would eventually introduce them to their brains. As it happened, the arrival of these disruptive chemistries coincided with another world historical explosion—that of the atomic bomb. There were people who compared the two events and made much of the cosmic synchronicity. Extraordinary new energies had been loosed upon the world; things would never be quite the same. The first of these molecules was an accidental invention of science. Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD, was first synthesized by Albert Hofmann in 1938, shortly before physicists split an atom of uranium for the first time. Hofmann, who worked for the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Sandoz, had been looking for a drug to stimulate circulation, not a psychoactive compound. It wasn’t until five years later when he accidentally ingested a minuscule quantity of the new chemical that he realized he had created something powerful, at once terrifying and wondrous. Michael Pollan
When-the-CIA-ran-a-LSD-sex-house-in-San-Francisco-7223346.php On an elegant dead-end block on the north side of Telegraph Hill is 225 Chestnut St., a swanky modernist building with panoramic bay views. It’s about the last place you would have expected to find a clandestine CIA program during the Cold War. Yet from 1955 to 1965, this building was the site of “Operation Midnight Climax” — a top-secret mind-control program in which CIA agents used hookers to lure unsuspecting johns from North Beach bars to what they called “the pad,” then dosed the men with LSD and observed the X-rated goings-on through a two-way mirror while sitting on a portable toilet swilling martinis.
Have been away for a few days, first day back with time to listen to some Dead. Decided to give a first-time whirl to: 10/27/79 - Cape Cod Coliseum Stray thoughts: Hoo boy, ol' Jerry's vocals are r-o-u-g-h at the start of Jack Straw. Hard to believe he's only two years removed from his 1977 vocals, which I love. Not sure I'm a fan of the arrangement in 'New Minglewood Blues' here. 'Saint of Circumstance' is better than 'Lost Sailor', by some margin. Well, here at least. Disco 'Dancing in the Street'... am I allowed to not like this? I find the arrangement to be too forced, and to me the Dead are at their best when the music that flows is effortless. Disco Dancing gets there sometimes, but it isn't an enjoyable listen to me and I think they could have found a better way to spend 14 and a half minutes. OK, that's the bad out of the way. Let's get to the good: Garcia on fire the whole show. There's that 'effortless' word again. His fingers just flow for the whole show. 'Stagger Lee'? Thumbs up. Not sure if I've said it before, but I love 'Brown Eyed Women'. Every time I see it on a setlist, I immediately think it's a safe set 1 song for the boys, but I never fail to enjoy it. An awesome 'Franklin's Tower' > 'He's Gone'. A fantastic half hour of music. Don't know if I ever won't love how much doom the boys get out of their instruments whenever they go into 'The Other One'. Sweet 'Black Peter'.
Quick query about the technical process behind soundboard recordings and as to why they sound so radically different from era to era, even show to show... This has always sort of eluded me... I know some of it had to do with who was behind it (Betty, Bear, Healy, etc.). But I guess there's more to the story... Like I know there's a difference between shows intended for commercial release where different output channels got their own reel and others where it was just a 2-track or mono feed sent straight to tape, sometimes cassettes. But then again, some of the Betty boards were two-tracks and sound amazing? Were there also different boards that these tapes were coming from? I know there's some Inner-Ear Monitor stuff from the early 90's that somehow surfaced. But did certain recordings come from the monitor setup intended for the band to hear or from the mixing board that went out over the PA to the crowd, itself (which would sound very ? And is it obvious which shows were which?
There’s a thread for that. Probably more info contained within than you really wanted, but you never know... The Grateful Dead Live Sound and Recording Legacy Thread
Giving this a spin finally. @SJR , you get yours yet? I mean, it’s June... Dave’s Picks 2020 Bonus Disc
Nope! I'm still waiting. It was posted 4 weeks ago this Saturday so should be here next week, I hope. 4-5 weeks wait isn't unusual at the moment.
Paramount Theater 1977-10-02 Samson & Delilah-> Scarlet Begonias-> Fire On The Mountain, Finiculi Finicula, Playin' In The Band-> Drums-> The Wheel-> Truckin'-> The Other One-> Wharf Rat-> Sugar Magnolia, E: Johnny B. Goode Epic Begonias>Fire! Especially hot 12min Fire! Maybe one of the best ever? Also, great sounding Betty board!!! Hofheinz Pavilion 1977-10-14 Bertha-> Good Lovin', Candyman, Playin' In The Band-> Drums-> The Wheel-> Wharf Rat-> Around & Around, E:Brokedown Palace-> E: Playin' In The Band Nice right!? The PitB reprise is a great way to end the show!
Some of the recordings came from a dedicated recording mix- Betty was the Queen of this process from 76 - 78, she also did a live 2-track mix in the recording truck on the E72 tour which sound awesome. The Wall of Sound recordings were a dedicated mix made by Kidd Candelario. In earlier years other members of the crew handled dedicated mixes, including the Bear, Rex Jackson, Ramrod, and Kidd. In late 78, for reasons unknown, Betty stopped making her dedicated reel mixes. Then Healy plugged a deck into the FOH board to capture the mix he was making, but being the FOH mix it did not have the same quality as Betty's dedicated mixes. Later in the 80's Healy and Don Pearson from Ultrasound (the PA company) began doing the UltraMatrix experiment, taking the FOH mix and blending in audience microphones positioned at the SBD location to create a more ambient mix. Kidd's WOS mixes, and Betty's late 70's mixes are the Gold Standard.
4 June: 1976- Paramount, Portland. Visited with the recently circulated Set 1 upgrade to begin the morning. 1978- UCSB. A frenzied outdoor show from the sizzling Summer of '78. Well, either sizzling or snowing hard backstage, if you follow my meaning. Either way the Bertha > Good Lovin' that opens the proceedings demonstrates a band firing on many cylinders. 1970- Fillmore West. For later in the day, an Acoustic + Electric combo from a glorious year.
5/9/77 was amazing! I still think I prefer Cornell, but 5/9 is at the same level - some of it may come down to setlist, as some of my favorites were at 5/8 but not the next night. That The Music Never Stopped...man, Jerry is absolutely on fire. Hopefully I'll be able to get to 5/11 today - should be good for at least part of it.
This (along with 5-21-77) was one of the first '77 shows to circulate in the CD-R trading era (ca. 1999-2000). I used to listen to it a lot but I haven't in dog's years. Thanks to you and the previous poster for mentioning this one. I might have to give it a listen.
Re: 10/2/77 One of my favorite shows from the tape trading days. When I was a young lad in recording college my Effects Processing instructor issued us a challenge to bring in any recording and he could match the tone, if he could not we would get an extra 5% on our grade. I played him Jerry’s first solo from Fire On The Mountain from this show and got the extra credit.
