Yeah, I do like Seastones. I noted it the other day with the Jai-Alai Fronton show. There’s not much to this one, being only a short excerpt.
SPAC '84 show was my second time seeing the Dead and first outdoors. Phil's bass solo at the beginning of Playin' is not to be missed. The show started with a roar and ended in hushed silence. I stood like a wet statue on the lawn listening to Jerry sing "forget about the dead they will not follow you" his voice echoing with a slight delay from the 2nd set of sound towers - you could of heard a pin drop. I was in for good.
In retrospect, it was rather stupid of me to state that I distinctly recall anything about something that happened nearly 40 years ago, especially a GD show.
I’m afraid I don’t remember that exact moment in China Doll from SPAC 84. Though I certainly was blown away and thrilled by its inclusion in the set. Even if they started right on time, it must have been dark (or nearly so) by set break. I was lucky to be inside that night, so don’t recall the weather really at all. Well, I so very much resemble this comment. I guess if anything, I ought to be surprised at how much I remember any of the shows I saw. Even as I know I’m forgetting details, so many show memories are surprisingly indelible.
Here's the discussion in the Archival Release Thread: First show (9/25/76): Grateful Dead Archival Live Release Thread Second show (9/28/76): Grateful Dead Archival Live Release Thread
Here's a link to a SBD (it takes a few seconds to load). Jerry's riff is at 3:25 and Phil's is at 3:30. I think it may have disintegrated my pancreas. I certainly recall this quite vividly, as you've alluded to: relisten.net/grateful-dead/1984/06/24/china-doll?source=340685
If y'all haven't listened to the second set of SPAC, 6/24/84, it's highly recommended. I had to experience it while getting drenched by the most torrential rain that I've ever endured (a small price to pay; the set was hot). You get to enjoy it from the comfort of your music room. Pluses and minuses, y'know? Miracle--> Bertha--> Playin'--> China Doll--> Samson--> Drums--> Space--> TOO--> Wharf Rat--> Sugar Mag Satisfaction Baby Blue
This arvo’s listening is Hershey Park Stadium, Hershey, PA, 28/06/85. Ok, this is gonna sound silly, but I’ve just realised Hershey is the place where they make the chocolate bars! Anyhoo … Apparently it pissed it down before and during most of the show, soaking everyone in attendance. Hence, Jerry wearing a blazer jacket in the photo below. So … what better way to open proceedings than with a bangin’ Cold Rain And Snow—the hallmark of quality, “Don’t you know, don’t you know?!” … when this is the opener, you’re almost guaranteed a good time and just know a corker of a show is about to commence*; a pretty hot-rockin’ Promised Land is next; wait, what’s this … glancing at the setlist for the first time, straight away my eye was drawn to I Ain’t Superstitious > Down In The Bottom … well, I’ve never heard the Dead’s take on this one before—it sounds so similar to New Minglewood Blues, like almost identical but with different lyrics—it’s a searing blues-fest, very cool and quite a refreshing change than the norm; then whoa! … a Jerry triple-threat Bird Song > Comes A Time > Deal to close—yes, really! What an absolute treat—a shimmering Bird Song is blissfully dreamy and features some gorgeously gooey jamming that transitions beautifully into; a soothing, emotionally heartfelt Comes A Time, with Jerry’s gruffness lending this one a heavy dose of poignancy—pouring all his heart and soul into the performance, it includes a sublime mid-solo that’ll kick you right in the feels; and then a blistering Deal to conclude to the sequence, that absolutely rips the place apart. Sheesh! “Our highly-trained, crack equipment crew …[some weird, Healy echoed effects]… is going through one of its crazy operations, while we resume our, uh ... singin’ in the rain” … Wowsers, the 2nd set opens with a bang as an outstanding The Music Never Stopped blasts off and doesn’t let up—a massive ball of psychedelic energy featuring an exploratory mid-jam, with everyone playing their a r s e s off before they shuffle back into line for the much anticipated “drop” which is pure euphoria, then it keeps on going—this may be the longest outro-jammed version I’ve heard, it’s totally killer; this energy and enthusiasm carries over into a splendid Tom Thumb’s Blues, “When you’re lost in the rain in Juarez Hershey” … which is such a good time with everyone digging in deep and feeling it, playing off one another with such deft emotion, it throbs and bounces along wonderfully—a stellar rendition of the classic Dylan tune, closing with Phil’s, “I’m going back to San Anselmo, I do believe I’ve had enough” line …; there’s rumblings, then a huge and heady, monstrous-sounding Estimated > Terrapin with a magnificent transition jam—though Jerry seems to have been snoozing through Terrapin, which is a bit of a train wreck with missing lyrics/complete verses [looks again at Jerry’s photo above, yep] …; at first it sounds like TOO, but instead a hard-swinging Miracle comes booming out of Space; then, the show highlight is an intensely powerful and impassioned Morning Dew with foundation-shaking Phil-bombs aplenty and some incendiary soloing … Jesus Christ, it’s so thunderous I think it’s rearranged my internal organs; the rock ‘n’ rollin’ energy is back for a raucous Throwing Stones > NFA which has that big-boppin’ beat; and encore Day Job is a bit of a cheese-fest, and it always sounds like they kinda mumble and stumble through it lyrically, but it’s a rollicking load of fun and an upbeat closer. *Well, not quite. There’s some real strong highlights, no doubt, but Jerry sounds a little more out of it than previously, with his voice almost shot—although his playing is pretty dazzling. However, on the whole, I do think this is the weakest of the four ‘85 shows so far, yet it’s still pretty good and once again, I enjoyed it immensely. Regardless—y’know, this @LandHorses geezer might be onto something. “I started out on Heineken but I soon hit the harder stuff” … I: Cold Rain And Snow > Promised Land, Ramble On Rose, I Ain't Superstitious > Down In The Bottom, Bird Song > Comes A Time > Deal. II: The Music Never Stopped > Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, Estimated Prophet > Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > I Need A Miracle > Morning Dew > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away. E: Keep Your Day Job.
Grateful Dead P.N.E. Coliseum Vancouver, B.C., Canada May 17, 1974 I skipped most of the first set (not typical for me, but I got a late start - it’s after midnight!) and went straight to the set-closing 23-minute Playing in the Band (which happens to be track 1 on Disc 12 of the boxset). Ridiculously good jazz-fusion-rock improvisation is flowing into my head. Yummy.
Vancouver ‘74 Bobby does his best to muff the vocals on Truckin’. I mean, multiple times it seems like he has forgotten the words. However once the jamming begins, they really swing. I mean swing. They really lay into the triplet feel. And then Nobody’s Fault But Mine is de-li-cious. Creamy. It must be the best version I’ve heard. I’m probably forgetting one though. <— sneaks off to check Heady-versions.
Been a bit since I sat down and listened to a show from sea to shining sea, and have been meaning to scratch a primal itch, so that lead me to this gem. August 24, 1968 Shrine Exhibition Hall, Los Angeles, CA Two From the Vault (1992) Stray thoughts: Jerry is great on ‘Dark Star’, but there’s something that’s here that just brings the rendition down a notch, and I think it’s Pigpen’s recurring keyboard motif that runs throughout the song. Taken in isolation (and small doses), it’s fine, but for 12 minutes it doesn’t click. To me, the best ‘Dark Star’ is one that you don’t know where it’s going to go next, you don’t know how it’s going to sound and you don’t know when it’ll end. Having this recurring series of keyboard notes so prominent diminishes the power of the song. Well to me anyway. But it doesn’t ruin things. Just brings it down a tad… All-timer ‘The Eleven’, which is a song that I just continue to love and love more each time I hear it. I was all prepared to say the show hit a bit of a lull during ‘New Potato Caboose’ but the backend kicked in to high heaven and wow, that was great. Fab ‘...Lovelight’ as well. 17 minutes is just about the sweet spot timing for the song.
This evening’s listening is Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO, 28/06/91. The venue as it was, I believe. I thought I might as well wrap up the Dead’s Summer 1991 tour, and check out this final show in Denver. It’s high-spirited and sounds a load of fun—and there’s those Dark Star teases in the 2nd set, seemingly a feature of this tour. A rock-solid 1st set, with some unusually placed songs, opens with an excellent Touch Of Grey, which rolls and bops along buoyantly—it’s feel-good, high-octane stuff and that momentum continues through the next few songs, only slowing down for a breather mid-set with a pretty Peggy-O; a rare 1st set Iko Iko is a blast (there’s video below); and I rate Cassidy as the set highlight—this one is mega-jammy before segueing into; a rollicking Dough Knees closer. Iko Iko— A light and airy Eyes floats in on the back of a breezy wave of tropical island-like vibes which is quite lovely, opening the 2nd set before unexpectedly crashing into; (the divisive) hard-edged, rockin’ Picasso Moon; I don’t think I’ve heard as many Crazy Fingers’ in such a short period of time—this is another beauty with a gorgeous, lilting jam that melts and dissolves to almost nothing; then out of the ashes comes a foot-stompin’, smokin’ hot Saint with some searing interplay; the otherworldly, alien soundscape of Space features both TOO and Dark Star teases; then, there’s even more Dark Star teased during Wharf Rat—actually, it’s more than a tease—as forces coalesce into a swirling, whirling maelstrom of textures and sounds, a full-on Dark Star Jam appears, coming into focus for a couple of minutes before dropping back into the final verse of Wharf Rat—elegant, shimmering magnificence, it’s a very cool moment, and the show highlight; the now-standard, overly familiar pairing of rockers Throwing Stones > NFA closes; and finally, who can resist a sweet Box Of Rain encore to send ‘em on their way. No, it’s not the greatest show of the run, but it is a rockin’ good time and a real nice tour-closer. I: Touch Of Grey > Greatest Story Ever Told, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, Wang Dang Doodle, Peggy-O, Black-Throated Wind, Iko Iko, Cassidy > Don’t Ease Me In. II: Eyes Of The World > Picasso Moon > Crazy Fingers > Saint Of Circumstance > Drums > Space > I Need A Miracle > Wharf Rat > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away. E: Box Of Rain.
When I was a kid we did the factory tour, before they realized that having people leaning over the edge of the big chocolate stirring vats was maybe not the best idea. Afterwards we went into a little store next-door that sold souvenirs, my dad asked the gal at the counter if they had Nestle Crunch bars. The look of confusion on this poor gals face was priceless, and my love for "dad humor" was set in stone.
You got a picture of the original Mile High Stadium, which is proper for this show. Being a stadium show they had video screens to show the band to the folks up back. During Eyes they got a great shot of the moon, several days past full, rising over the Mile High City. The crowd cheered the shot of the moon, then within moments Bobby dropped into Picasso Moon. Whatever you think of the song it was a great, spontaneous moment. My impression of the first set was that they kept playing songs that commonly opened shows/sets- specifically Mississippi Half-Step and Iko Iko. A friend and I served that it felt as if they kept starting the show over again, an odd sort of temporal displacement on the field of an iconic football stadium.
