Grateful Dead General Thread

[Napoleon 8827]

Apparently this puzzle exists.

https://citastore.com/product/gfd-puzzle-1/

[Druggist 303]

That puzzle just popped up on my Facebook feed.  Looks pretty cool, but pricey.

i am listening to the Wall of Sound Road Trips.  And almost 9:30 into the opening China Cat from 6/16/74, Jerry plays the opening line of The Eyes of Texas during his solo.  Fun to hear even though I know he was probably quoting the railroad song.  Those discs have so much good stuff on them I wish they would have released both complete shows.  The Eyes> big river segue is badass and the other one and Morning Dew from 6/18/74 are among my favorite versions ever.  The 6/16 Playing is probably my favorite non-72 version.

[Hate 20247]

Well, I’m sitting in the spa looking for something new to listen to and now I have it. Muchos Gracias!

[Hate 20247]

It’s going to be a good show if they open with Bertha!!

[Hate 20247]

Shakedown Stream is showing the Grateful Dead movie tonight.  It started about 30 minutes ago.  Since it's youtube, I think you can rewind to the beginning if you would like to.

 

 

[Hate 20247]

I’ve been on a deal kick lately. I’m currently listening to the first time I heard Deal live...6/13/93. It’s actually pretty good.

[Hate 20247]

Where are all of the Deadheads??  This SIP is tailor fucking made for us.  We've got years and years to work through.  I'm currently working thorugh 6/19/76 from the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ. 

[Hate 20247]

Shakedown Stream tonight has new material for tonight.  It's June 11, 1993 (I wish they had done my show two days later) from Buckeye Lake. 

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grateful-dead-shakedown-stream-series-988735/

[dcbc 14644]

 

Edited April 25, 2020 by dcbc

[Hate 20247]

Where are all of the Deadheads??  If there is any fan base made for weathering a storm like this it is the fans of the Grateful Dead.  Tonight is the 55th anniversary of the first time the Warlocks took the stage at Magoo's Pizza in Menlo Park.  What a long and unbelievably strange tri pthat was and continues to be.  The Music Never Stops!

[Druggist 303]

I got the new Dave’s pick yesterday and listened to the first two disks as I was finishing up an exam for the class I was working on.  The class has kept me really busy around going to work (drugs can’t fill themselves from home) and kept me from posting here too much.  The release ( Miami 74) is pretty good and from my favorite era. Can’t wait to hear the rest as I always loved the Spanish Jam on the So many Roads box set and the bonus disc is loaded. 
Also, I can’t  remember if I mentioned it up thread, but the Broken Record podcast where Rick Rubin interviews Bob is worth a listen. I really enjoy that pod even when I don’t know the artist.

[Hate 20247]

According to my local weatherman, the Midwest and Northeast get to listen to some great jams this weekend.

 

 

Also, today is the 43rd anniversary of what many believe to be the best Grateful Dead show of all time. May 8, 1977 may be the pinnacle of a fantastic spring tour that year. Seriously, you could pick any of the shows from Spring 77 and it would be fantastic. The highlights of the show for me are They Love Each Other and Brown Eyed Women. The BEW is so good I’ve gotten to where it’s about the only version of that song I can listen to. Anyway, I’ll probably drink some whiskey and listen to that show tonight!

[Hate 20247]

The Shakedown Stream tonight is 7/2/89 from Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. They were absolutely on fire in 89. I like 89 better than 90 because they were doing more Dylan songs I like and fewer Brent songs. I love Brent I’m the keyboards and organs, but I never really got into his songs much. It seems like they were really playing more Brent songs then.

[Druggist 303]

The Dancin in the Streets is my Barton Hall highlight.  I work with a guy who grew up in New Jersey and his sister took him to that show for his birthday.  He went to at least 5 or 6 all time classic shows that have been officially released including Roosevelt stadium 74 and Englishtown Raceway 77.  He is kind of a weird old loner now, but it is so interesting when I can get him to talk about some of those shows.  He saw a shit ton of songs that are #1 on Headyversion.  So jealous.

[Hate 20247]

I need to listen to that Englishtown show. It’s almost as legendary as the Cornell show. I’m enjoying the Shakedown tonight. I think this is the 5th one and 3 of them have been kind of letdowns. They did some shows that have been released for a long time. Buffalo 89 was the same way, but I’m not going to complain since that’s my favorite show.

[Hate 20247]

This Dear Mr Fantasy is just fucking outstanding! Brent and Jerry just had that look and they fucking killed it!

 

And into Hey Jude?!!!??!!! Goddamn!

[Druggist 303]

When the guy was first telling me about the shows he saw, the Englishtown one (DiP 15) was the one that had him the most excited.  There are some pretty good articles online about it.  It was apparently an all day show with 100-150k attendees.  New Riders and Marshal Tucker opened.  The whole show smokes.  The Miss 1/2 step is real nice.  1st set TLEO, Peggy-O, Looks like rain, the music never stopped are all great too.  

the second set from Estimated on is amazing.  The Not Fade Away>truckin closer and Terrapin encore had to be so fun to see in a crowd that size.

some other shows he saw were Roosevelt 74 (DiP 31), most of the June76 run that was just released, 9/24/76 ((DaP 4), 9/25/76 (DiP 20) as well as some JGB shows from that era.  He said he quit going in the early 80s cause it just wasn’t the same anymore.  The things he saw boggles the mind.

they leave the streaming shows up for the week, so I will definitely check out the 7/2/89 show.  I agree that Summer and fall 89 were their late peak.  I have been waiting for an Alpine 89 box set for years.

[Druggist 303]

I am listening to the Not Fade Away from Englishtown now.  It is out of control.  The intro is longer than lots of their later versions. I would rate it as one of the best versions of any song they ever played (along with DiP 1 Here comes sunshine and DiP 3 Sugaree).

[Druggist 303]

Just started listening to a newish dead podcast called 36 from the Vault.  They are going through the Dick’s picks series.  I listened to the first two and am going to listen to Vol 3 before listening to the third one.  It is pretty good, the hosts are both pretty successful music critics who are big fans.  
In first episode, my biggest discovery is how good the He’s Gone is on Vol 1.  Keith’s playing is great.  I hadn’t really listened to it in years as I usually stick to disc 1.  Also, I never knew there is a 4 minute bass solo that Phil insisted be cut from the first Jam after Truckin for it to be released.  

[Hate 20247]

The Shakedown Stream tonight was 6/17/91 from Giants Stadium.  It's supposed to be a pretty legendary show and I know there are some big fans of this show that post here, but I haven't been able to get into it.  I've yet to hear a "Bruce" show that I really liked and I think it's because it's Vince and  Bruce.  It's just too much for me.  I would love to have heard them with Bruce only or maybe even with just Vince during that time.  To me there is too much sounds with Bruce and Vince there.  It's distracting to me.  I'm finishing up the night listening to 5/8/77.  There is a guitar teacher in Baltimore that has started a series where he breaks down Grateful Dead songs.  He gets really technical sometimes and I don't understand the "music" part of what he is talking about, but it's really cool to see someone catch the bug in real time.  You can tell every once in a while that the Grateful Dead is smacking this guy right in the forehead and it's starting to make a dent.  Here he is reviewing Row Jimmy from 5/8/77 and he's said over the next few weeks he is going to breakdown the whole show.  It should be pretty good.

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by Hate

[Hate 20247]

I’m listening to 6/18/76 from the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey & 6/21/76 from the Tower Theatre in Philly. It’s the download series Volume 4. Both are very solid shows. 1976 is sometimes a strange year for me to listen to. You can hear the beginnings of them being tight like 77, but it’s not quite there. It’s still a good listen on a Saturday night.

[Hate 20247]

And I just heard a song I've never heard before, Mission in the Rain.  I liked it.  I wonder why they stopped playing it?

[Hate 20247]

Holy shit! Phil is just fucking with everyone on this Scarlet Begonias. 

 

[Druggist 303]

I like that 6/18 show. For me, it is a cool one since I was born a couple hours before the show started.  I’ve always really liked Mission in the Rain. It stayed in the JGB rotation even though the Dead quit playing it.  
 

I really like the version from the Don’t Let Go JGB release recorded about a month earlier.  The whole show is great.  Keith and Donna are in the band, I love John Kahn on bass, and the drummer is Ron Tutt from Elvis’ TCB band and later Neil Diamond’s band.  They do great versions of Sugaree and TLEO and really everything else.  The After Midnight is one of my favorite covers from any band ever.  The find the perfect groove on it.  It is worth a listen and is my favorite JGB release outside of the Legion of Mary stuff.

[alincoln 2391]

 

[Guest Lobo]

Not the same show, but same venue (3 years later) which apparently underwent zero upgrades to their A/V setup.  Wonderful version of Reuben & Cherise with just Jerry, no band. 

 

[elguapo 4620]

Is this thread accepting recent converts?

[Hate 20247]

Absolutely!!! The Grateful Dead community always accepts anyone that wants to get on the bus! Post your favorites!

[elguapo 4620]

Loser is what really got me started down the rabbit hole, what a great fucking song.

 

[elguapo 4620]

On 3/28/2018 at 2:24 PM, Hate said:

Love this song

 

 

Love this Brent era version you posted on the first page

[Hate 20247]

Yeah, I’m a huge Brent fan. You should check out the Wharf Rat from that show as well. There are so many great recommendations on this thread. Check out the Truckin Up to Buffalo show on Amazon Prime that I’ve mentioned before. It’s outstanding from beginning to end.

[Guest Lobo]

7 hours ago, elguapo said:

Is this thread accepting recent converts?

i hope so, i've only just recently discovered this band "The Grateful Dead" and its many resulting incarnations---Jerry Garcia Band, The Dead, The Other Ones, Further, Dead & Co., et. al.  I certainly hope you'll allow me to post on your threads.  You must be the mixing board guy.  

[Onboard 2.0 9083]

One day we'll all listen to Jerry, and the boys...What a beautiful world that will be...

[Hate 20247]

I don’t need to wait until that day! I’m listening to Jerry right now! If the thunder don’t get you then the lightning will!

[Hate 20247]

@elguapo...One thing you'll see on your trip down the rabbit hole is how the songs changed over the years.  Here are 3 different Bird Songs all played very differently.  They are all outstanding!

 

[Hate 20247]

Tomorrow night's Shakedown Stream is from 7/16/90 in Buffalo.  This is the second show from Buffalo.  I was in Buffalo just 3 years later and can confirm that they always brought it in Buffalo for some reason. 

[Hate 20247]

Where you at [mention=1637]elguapo[/mention]?  Where you at fellow Deadheads?  If ever there was a time for this music and this band, it is now!  [mention=1637]elguapo[/mention]check out these different Eyes of the World over the course of 50 years.

 

 

 

Same song but different every time.  It's amazing really.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Hate

[alincoln 2391]

My favorite loser is from 8.6.71.  Also has an amazing Hard to Handle which is a Top-10 all-time GD moment for me.  Get the AUD.  I'm sure I've posted it before but it really has to be heard to be believed.  Much like the 10.12.68 The Eleven.

5.19.77 is also a much different but awesome Loser.

The 6.22.73 Bird Song is amazing.  Veneta is the standard for me (8.27.72)

As for Eyes, I am partial to 8.6.74 but there are literally dozens of impeccable versions.

 

[elguapo 4620]

I'm still here, Spotify has a pretty decent library of Dead concerts. I've been listening to the Dick's Picks albums, great stuff. If anyone has recs for specific concerts I'd love to hear them.

Song I've really been digging recently is Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo. It's very cool to hear how the songs are performed differently over the years. I can't say what time period I like the best right now, but I really appreciate what Brent brought to the band he was an incredible talent.

 

 

 

[Hate 20247]

Here is my favorite Mississippi Half Step. It’s from Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario 3/21/90

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by Hate

[Druggist 303]

For Half-step, I really like 12/2/73 (Dick’s 14) for an earlier version and 9/3/77 (Dick’s 15) for a slightly later one (5/25/77 is also really good).  I always liked the Copps one from Without a Net too.
 

A few of my favorite shows on which every song is a great version for the whole show front to back are 9/21&27/72 (Dick’s 36 & 11), 11/17/72, 11/17/73, 2/24/74, and 11/30/80.  I think most of these have a Bird Song as I tend to gravitate to shows with a good version.  The Cumberland Blues from Dick’s 36 is one of my favorite things ever.

For Eyes, the 6/16/74 version that segues into Big River might be my favorite.

And the newest Dave’s pick (Jai Alai Fronton 74) is amazing.  The bonus disk might be my favorite bonus disc of the series.

 

 

[Hate 20247]

I’ll have to check out the 11/20/80 show you mentioned. I’ve tried and tried to get into some early 80’s shows but I can’t do it. I don’t know what kind of keyboard Brent was using but I don’t like it. And you have to wade through several shows to find the ones when Jerry wasn’t too fucked up to sing. I feel like I’m short changing myself because when I look for new shows to listen to I almost completely ignore 80-86.
@elguapo, I’ll try to list some of my favorite shows later today when I have a little more time but you could always just listen to any show from Spring 77 (especially May) or from the summer of 89 or damn near any show from 72-74. They were pretty damn tight for just about every show during those times.

[Druggist 303]

The 11/30/80 show is really good.  It is known for having one of the best sounding AUD tapes out there.  So good that they used it to make the only officially released matrix for Dave’s Picks 8. Great Stranger, Bird Song, Deal, and Scarlet>Fire amongst other things.  
 

for later shows, I love all three Alpine Valley 89 shows (all of summer 89 is great), the two fall 89 Warlocks shows at Hampton, and 9-10-91 (only show with Branford and Bruce). 

[Hate 20247]

Here are some of my favorite shows.  A few of them are also available to watch on youtube which is always good to see the band playing.

 

This is my favorite show which I've mentioned probably too many times in this thread.  The whole band is on and it has a great setlist.  Brent and Jerry are on fire.  Brent gives Jerry the "shit's about to get real look" several times in this show.  Bertha to open is always a great way to start a show and the Deal to end the first set is just awesome.  Great second set as well and the Morning Dew after Watchtower??  It's pretty great.  Here is a link to just the show.

https://archive.org/details/gd89-07-04.aud.wiley.9045.sbeok.shnf

 

Another favorite is from just a few days later in Philly.  7/7/89 JFK Stadium.  It's my favorite Wharf Rat, a great Loser, fantastic Scarlet>Fire, and a really trippy Other One coming out of Space.  It's the show they are showing for Shakedown Stream tomorrow night.  You might want to tune in for it.  Most of the show is available in youtube already if you search for it by date.

https://archive.org/details/gd89-07-07.aud.wiley.7855.sbeok.shnf

4/30/77 from the Palladium in New York

https://archive.org/details/gd77-04-30.moore.minches.17952.sbeok.shnf

6/18/76 from the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NY.

https://archive.org/details/gd76-06-18.warburton.vernon.14449.sbeok.shnf

11/15/71 from the Austin Municipal Auditorium in Austin, Texas.  Great show!

https://archive.org/details/gd71-11-15.sbd.cotsman.12438.sbeok.shnf

5/8/77 from Barton Hall at Cornell University in Ithica, New York.  It's widely regarded as their best show.  It has a great setlist and the sound from this show is amazing.  I don't know that it's the best show, but it's really hard to find a better one. 

https://archive.org/details/gd77-05-08.maizner.hicks.5002.sbeok.shnf

7/2/89 from Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. 

https://archive.org/details/gd89-07-02.nak.8243.sbefail.shnf

Edited June 5, 2020 by Hate

[Druggist 303]

I will definitely have to check out the stream of JFK this week (they have been leaving them up for the week).    The show is on Spotify as Crimson, White, and Indigo if anyone wants to check out a great recording.  And agreed, the Scarlet>Fire is bad ass.

[alincoln 2391]

You certainly can't go wrong with the 9.3.77 Half Step but my go to is 4.15.78.  A rousing show opener to say the least.  The "ON MY WAAAYAYAY" leading into the pre-Rio Grandeo jam is an all-time Jer vocal moment.  11.6.77 is a beast as well

As for best shows, it is really an impossible question because the band was so different but so good during a bunch of different eras. That said, I subscribe to the POV that they were at their best from 72-74.  

 

[Druggist 303]

5 hours ago, alincoln said:

You certainly can't go wrong with the 9.3.77 Half Step but my go to is 4.15.78.  A rousing show opener to say the least.  The "ON MY WAAAYAYAY" leading into the pre-Rio Grandeo jam is an all-time Jer vocal moment.  11.6.77 is a beast as well

As for best shows, it is really an impossible question because the band was so different but so good during a bunch of different eras. That said, I subscribe to the POV that they were at their best from 72-74.  

 

I don’t think I’ve listened to that one.  I will check it out as I have always loved that tune.  I was lucky enough to see them open with it twice-at soldier field and in Vegas.

[dcbc 14644]

49 minutes ago, Druggist said:

4.15.78

Killing so far.  Thanks.

[Hate 20247]

Anyone else watching the stream?? Hey now!!

 

I just finished eating a ribeye and I’ve got my portable bar set up by the spa. Shit’s about to get real for a few hours!

[Hate 20247]

Where is everyone? Brent is about to go off on Blow Away. It’s not even close to my favorite song, but the jam coming up and Brent going off is pretty damn good. Damn, what a week for the Grateful Dead starting with the 7/2 show to 7/4 and then this one on 7/7. It continued with the Alpine Valley shows. 89 is up there with all of the great eras of the Grateful Dead. They were so fucking good!!