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Posted

Thirty-one years ago tonight I saw the Grateful Dead for the second time. I wish I could go back in time and do it again!

 

Posted
On 3/18/2025 at 10:36 PM, Hate said:

 

Best Terrapin ever (most complete, anyway), and probably my favorite NFA. I first got turned onto that show on the GD Hour and I still have the cassette I recorded off the radio because it includes a couple great interviews with Garcia and Hunter on the writing of Terrapin. I’ve searched but I’ve never found those interviews online. They’re probably out there. I just haven’t found them.

I’m pretty sure I’ve posted this pic before. Probably recorded this tape in late ‘88/early ‘89.

IMG_3069.thumb.jpeg.0a5bc2ec3200d1bc60e309ed876e4078.jpeg

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Posted
On 3/13/2025 at 1:50 PM, Willfully Horn said:

“Enjoying the Ride” is the title of a newly issued box set. Sixty CDs to celebrate their sixtieth anniversary, taken from unreleased live shows. 
 

https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/60th-anniversary/enjoying-the-ride-dead.net-exclusive-[60-cd]/081227813048.html?srsltid=AfmBOoohOGb8wWE5J6rTh_eVw1y5yPVxJLkxgzkCXEEGHmBsnj_Q1L8T

There’s some of this that is appealing but probably not enough to justify the price. My first impulse when it was announced was that I should probably get it because it would beef up some years in my collection that aren’t very well represented, particularly ‘79 and ‘81-‘83. And I can always use more shows from ‘69 when the jamming was fierce and they played Dark Star (practically) every night. But one of those shows is on cassette which is a cute gimmick, and which I can play, but will I play it more than once or twice in the next decade? Maybe, maybe not  I’d put the Over/Under at 2.5 and the smart money probably takes the Under  

Speaking of Dark Stars, that’s a metric by which I can judge any release. In this one there are 7 of them. Or 6.5, really, since they only sang the first verse on 3/17/93. And that’s a post-Brent show which isn’t exactly a selling point. The second set looks interesting but the first set, not so much. So that’s a strike.

One of those Dark Stars I already own on a good soundboard copy. 4/13/84 at the Greek had a rare Dark Star bust out for the encore and that show is represented here. It’s not the greatest version but it was historic. That whole 3-night run was strong and I’ve got the SBD’s of all of them. The second set on 4/13 opened with Scarlet > Touch > Fire and they released it as a sample on YouTube. Trouble is that there’s a fade out and clear edit during the segue from Scarlet into Touch. I don’t know what’s up with that. On my copy it’s an uncut smooth transition. Did they intentionally alter it on the sample to prohibit piracy? Surely it can’t appear that way on the official release. If so, that’s a deal breaker.

Not the greatest Touch in the world, Jerry fucks up the lyrics a few times. But the surprise segue was a highlight and they can’t fuck that up. Touch is followed by a swift segue to a solid Fire.

That whole run of shows was great. The second set on night 2 opened with Phil singing Why Don’t We Do It In The Road? Night 3 included one of the few renditions of Brent’s I Don’t Need Love which I like, unlike Jerry who didn’t. I think they should release that whole run on its own. As it stands, given my uncertainty of the quality of the official release vis-à-vis the quality of the recording I already own, this is another strike.

Another show in the set I already own is 4/27/71, the Beach Boys show. That’s a great show and I already own a good copy. Mine also includes the NRPS opener (which unfortunately cuts off the start of Lodi). I’ll bet that’s not part of this official release. But since they don’t include track listings (another strike), I can’t know. There’s a portion of the show where the Dead leave the stage and The Beach Boys perform alone. I assume that’s included. Certainly the copyright of that material is reflected in the price of this collection. Unless it’s not there in which case that would also be a deal breaker. I can’t imagine that would be the case. But again, we can’t know. It was certainly a unique show. I know I’ve posted this before but here it is again. What a bizarre collaboration.

Oh, and they include 4/25 along with 4/27 in this collection. Not 4/26 and 4/28, both from the same venue, and both which included a Dark Star. Grrrr  

It’s 17 full shows and 3 compilations. 2 shows I already own so it’s 18 new “shows,” 15 complete. Subtract 1 because of the pointless cassette. For $600 dollars plus $25 in shipping because of the elaborate packaging. Even $30 per show seems pretty steep. Where’s the bulk discount? And given all the strikes it really comes out to a lot more per show. And it’s like 5 Dark Stars I’m excited to hear. That’s over $120 each.

How long would it take me to listen to every show? Having listened to them all, how long would it take to listen to them all a second time? The show from ‘93? Probably a long time.

I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger. I’d like to get the Deer Creek show from 7/15/89. I was there and tried to get into that show. (Kind of a shame that they’re basing this release on favorite venues and only including one from Deer Creek, but whatever.) The venue had just opened. The box office didn’t have tickets and we couldn’t find tickets in the lot which wasn’t remotely close to full. They could’ve easily fit us on the lawn. We should’ve bribed some young attendant at the gate to let us in but that was a tactic I hadn’t considered until years later.

We listened to the Bertha opener from outside then headed back to my friend’s place in Muncie where we ate mushrooms and he played a video tape of Raising Arizona which blew my mind. Then we went out to see a local jam band called the Mystic Groovies whose guitar player had been to the Dead show and was wearing cutoff jean shorts and said if it was good enough for Bobby, it was good enough for him. Stick the knife in me, why don’t ya? The next morning we headed for Alpine Valley and pulled into that awesome parking/camping scene the night before the historic 7/17/89 show.

There are some other interesting nuggets in there. Like the Playin’ > Crazy Fingers opener on 9/15/82 and the Touch > Scarlet opener on 9/16/87, etc. But all things considered, I think I’m going to have to resist the temptation and sit this one out.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Posted

Goddamn, 85 was a great year.  I need to just go ahead and listen to every show.  Maybe it's because Brent had 6 years under his belt and had a lot of confidence?  Maybe I just really like the songs they were playing then?  I don't know, bu I've yet to listen to a bad show form that year.  Here is one from 3/22/85 where Bobby goes full rock star during Sunshine Daydream.  Cocaine is a hell of a drug.

 

Posted

There is a lot to choose from on this date.  It was a tough choice but I settled on 3/25/83.  I'm going to keep exploring an era that I had largely written off because I had heard a few "bad" shows (mostly shows when Jerry seemed to be too high to remember words).  But even on those nights, I'm finding that the music didn't slip. 

 

Posted

And another great show from this date, 3/28/81 from Rockpalast in Essen, Germany (although back then it would have been West Germany).  This show has terrific sound and video.  I'm not really sure why, but I was thinking about YGIFS today and this show has a solid "He's Gone". 

 

 

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