For you Dead Fans out there...

[thegenius]

(Other highlights from this show: Ferocious jam in the middle of Dancing In The Streets, a super mellow yellow Candyman, best campfire song non-Deadheads have never heard of, Dire Wolf, and a positively head bangin' version of That's It For The Other One. Then at about 06:22-06:55 during Turn On Your Lovelight Pigpen starts making up words telling the guys in the crowds to "stop standin' around looking cool and get their hands out of their pockets and stop wasting time playing 'pocket pool' 'cause there's ladies around so get busy"! or somethign like that ! ).

oooohhhhhh very nice transition from TOO to Dire Wolf. just so sneaky, silky, smvoothveee.

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[Birdstrike]

I've listened to JGB stuff, and I like it but it doesn't quite do it to me like the dead. For instance, I have no JGB shows on my computer but have collected like 600 Dead shows.

Does archive have a grand repository of JGB stuff?

They have a few. I've been listening to the 12 Garcia Live albums on Spotify, though. I like them. A lot. It's not Grateful Dead, though. You're right. Totally different. But that's what I like about it. When I get sick of the Dead, I go to Garcia Live. When I get sick of Garcia Live, I got back to the Dead. When I get sick of both, I go to Grateful Dead radio on Spotify! Then I'll go to Jimmy Buffett, to Bob Marley, then to Post Malone, then back to the Dead! Yeah, I got problems, I know.

 

[Birdstrike]

oooohhhhhh very nice transition from TOO to Dire Wolf. just so sneaky, silky, smvoothveee.

Yeah, that show's a sleeper. Listened to all of it between my morning run and my super slow coronacation/work day.

 

[Birdstrike]

Today I got up and spun Post Malone radio on my morning run. It sufficiently scrambled my brains musical centers, leaving me craving something organic and familiar. Now, back to Europe '72, Denmark 4/16/72.

 

[Birdstrike]

"Dear Prudence (Live) [VIDEO]" by Jerry Garcia Band, Garcia Live, Vol. 1, 3/1/80.

You're welcome.

 

[WilcoWorld]

Do we need a Beatles thread? I've got a LOT to say about the 2nd side of Abbey Road.

 

[Birdstrike]

Do we need a Beatles thread? I've got a LOT to say about the 2nd side of Abbey Road.

I don't know if we need a Beatles thread or not. But the Beatles were one of the first classic rock bands I obsessively got into when I was a kid. It was right around the time their albums started to come out on CD in the late '80s, and Sgt. Pepper was widely considered "the best album ever." I love the Beatles. They're locked away in my brain. I listened to them obsessively as a kid, and still go back to them from time to time. The Beatles are really, really, good. They're one of the all time greats for me, along with (in no particular order): Dylan, The Grateful Dead, Stones, Bowie, Zeppelin, Clapton, Buffett, Guns n' Roses, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Weezer, The Who, Hendrix, Bob Marley, N.W. A., Tupac, Biggie, Kanye, Miles Davis, the blues greats, and so many others.

 

[Birdstrike]

Real good Bird Song from 4/17/82, with excellent interplay between keys and lead. Also, really cool It’s All Over Now from this same show, with a nice mellow-cool piano solo in the middle from Brent. Also, highly rated, funky, jazzy Shakedown Street from this day, along with a Lost Sailor -> Saint of Circumstance that blends nicely into a tasty Spanish Jam, with Brent proving he owns this show with his jazzy, floating keys.

@RustedFox might like this super jazzed-up, funked-up Shakedown Street (?)

 

[Birdstrike]

Where’s the Beatles thread, @WilcoWorld? I wanna hear about Abbey Road side 2. Surprise me.

 

[WilcoWorld]

Where’s the Beatles thread, @WilcoWorld? I wanna hear about Abbey Road side 2. Surprise me.

Might have to wait until I've digested the new Fiona Apple album that dropped today. I also haven't had 2 days off in a couple weeks, so that may also delay...

 

[gutonc]

Might have to wait until I've digested the new Fiona Apple album that dropped today. I also haven't had 2 days off in a couple weeks, so that may also delay...

2 weeks ago I would have LOL'd at this but I just finished reading a really interesting New Yorker profile on her and I'm going to have to check it out.

 

[Birdstrike]

Listen to track 8, "Stage banter" where Pigpen threatens to hogtie a lighting guy then turn up the bass before they slide into a really good China Cat Sunflower (track 9) where Phil and Jerry light up dueling bass & guitar solos at the same time.

Honorable mention: Rare and really cool Second That Emotion cover (track 14), and a Hard to Handle (track 16), where Phil is slaying away on the bass, soloing like a beast. Phil owns this show.

 

[Birdstrike]

Unique and cool Estimated Prophet (track #13) from today in '82, the Raven Show.

Honorable mention: The Love Each Other, great lead work by Jerry (track #2). I'm often indifferent to Good Lovin' but Jerry's soloing on this one gives it a totally different danceable, party vibe. The whole show is on point, well worth a listen.

 

[WilcoWorld]

Speaking of Rick Rubin...he's got a podcast (with Malcolm Gladwell). There's a good episode on Tom Petty's Wildflowers, but more apropos of this thread - there's a new episode with Bobby up. Check it out here: Episode 39 - Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead — Broken Record

 

[Birdstrike]

Speaking of Rick Rubin...he's got a podcast (with Malcolm Gladwell). There's a good episode on Tom Petty's Wildflowers, but more apropos of this thread - there's a new episode with Bobby up. Check it out here: Episode 39 - Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead — Broken Record

This great. Thanks. Good find. Listening now. Will check out the Petty one next.

 

[Birdstrike]

Happy 4/20 from 1984!

Great Scarlet Begonias>Fire On The Mountain (tracks #11 & #12)

Honorable mention: Scorching, dirty lead by Jerry in Let It Grow (track 10).

 

[WilcoWorld]

dirty Jerry?! gotta hear this

 

[WilcoWorld]

this show's making a great soundtrack to doing some compliance training

 

[Birdstrike]

dirty Jerry?! gotta hear this

After you check that out, here's more dirty Jerry, with video, 7/7/89 Loser

cc: @RustedFox, check out the character painted by the lyrics to this one. Some dusty, humid, Wild West devastation.

 

[Birdstrike]

this show's making a great soundtrack to doing some compliance training

Like x 1,000

 

[thegenius]

I'm sitting around enjoying probably their best year, 1973. I think 1974 is probably a little better but falls due to the dearth of shows and them having to lug around gargantuan speaker sets.

Woke up and said "I want the Thinkin' Man's Dark Star." Fired up 11/11/73.

Then sorted through that until the end of the show, and said. Well what's next. The next show is what's next!!! 11/14/73 San Diego.

November 1973 will go down on the Mount Rushmore of best Grateful Dead months ever. There can only be 4, and Nov 1973 is one of them.

 

[Birdstrike]

I'm sitting around enjoying probably their best year, 1973. I think 1974 is probably a little better but falls due to the dearth of shows and them having to lug around gargantuan speaker sets.

Woke up and said "I want the Thinkin' Man's Dark Star." Fired up 11/11/73.

Then sorted through that until the end of the show, and said. Well what's next. The next show is what's next!!! 11/14/73 San Diego.

November 1973 will go down on the Mount Rushmore of best Grateful Dead months ever. There can only be 4, and Nov 1973 is one of them.

Narrow it down to only 4?

I'm still having too much fun trying to narrow it down to less than 300+

 

[thegenius]

Narrow it down to only 4?

I'm still having too much fun trying to narrow it down to less than 300+

Ha! yes there can only be 4 months. I would minimally include, in no particular order,
- Nov 1973
- Sept 1972
- May 1977
And the 4th is tricky...I want a 1974 but there isn’t a standout month among the others...there is prob a 1969 or 1970 but I don’t know those years very well, perhaps Europe 72? But that is over *2* months so it violates the inclusion criteria for this mountain. Maybe spring ‘90 but which month? Sorry the 80s don’t make it. There are random good shows but not consistently a good month. Heroin really killed it for Jerry.

 

[Birdstrike]

Ha! yes there can only be 4 months. I would minimally include, in no particular order,
- Nov 1973
- Sept 1972
- May 1977
And the 4th is tricky...I want a 1974 but there isn’t a standout month among the others...there is prob a 1969 or 1970 but I don’t know those years very well, perhaps Europe 72?

All amazing stuff. Agree 100%

Heroin really killed it for Jerry.

I'm not saying it didn't, but have you listened to this 4/20/84 Fire On The Mountain, yet?

It's absolutely ---king sick. I mean, seriously, it's otherworldly, savant level ****. I don't know if that means he took less, more, or was totally clean that day, but regardless, I'm glad did, whatever that was.

You're gonna thank me after listening to this one.

 

[thegenius]

All amazing stuff. Agree 100%

I'm not saying it didn't, but have you listened to this 4/20/84 Fire On The Mountain, yet?

It's absolutely ---king sick. I mean, seriously, it's otherworldly, savant level ****. I don't know if that means he took less, more, or was totally clean that day, but regardless, I'm glad did, whatever that was.

You're gonna thank me after listening to this one.

Yes I just listened to it. And I do thank you.

First thing I thought of was 1) nice SBD. It’s hard to get those in the 80s. Second thing I thought of, after the first thing, was 3) that outro of Scarlet into Fire reminded me of the Springfield MA show in 1977, can’t remember the date but I think it’s 4/23/77. Or around that time.

The Scarlet > Fire from 84 above is very good. Can’t quite put it on Mt Rushmore though. It is good though. I think Jerry had a cup of coffee during the intermission, that’s why it’s so good!

Have you seen headyversion.com? It’s a website of best-it’s for each song and year. I don’t necessarily agree with all the choices, but its a good reference point.

 

[Birdstrike]

Yes I just listened to it. And I do thank you.

First thing I thought of was 1) nice SBD. It’s hard to get those in the 80s. Second thing I thought of, after the first thing, was 3) that outro of Scarlet into Fire reminded me of the Springfield MA show in 1977, can’t remember the date but I think it’s 4/23/77. Or around that time.

The Scarlet > Fire from 84 above is very good. Can’t quite put it on Mt Rushmore though. It is good though. I think Jerry had a cup of coffee during the intermission, that’s why it’s so good!

Have you seen headyversion.com? It’s a website of best-it’s for each song and year. I don’t necessarily agree with all the choices, but its a good reference point.

Yeah, headyverison is great. The comments are usually pretty good. Not as full blown nutty as archive.com but still good.

 

[Birdstrike]

Awesome 60's Dead show, right here: 4/21/69 at The Ark.

Mostly fearless, raw and relentless jamming by the band. Has a cool, off the cuff Hendrix cover "Foxy Lady Jam" that leads into a big Dark Star. This is a much more aggressive band, different than when people think of the "Grateful Dead," and in a refreshing, good way. The playing during this stretch is just phenomenal and you can really hear Phil's bass here swirling up into the clouds and back, strong in the mix.

 

[Birdstrike]

Whoa. Just stumbled upon something:

RFK 1973: A Certified Killer

Blog about Best Music Seconds at Grateful Dead concerts I attended 1975-1994, Dead Stats and Classic Dead Shows

www.gratefulseconds.com

This rabbit hole goes deep, real deep.

 

[thegenius]

Whoa. Just stumbled upon something:

RFK 1973: A Certified Killer

Blog about Best Music Seconds at Grateful Dead concerts I attended 1975-1994, Dead Stats and Classic Dead Shows

www.gratefulseconds.com

This rabbit hole goes deep, real deep.

Oh yea I’ve seen this website before...it’s a terrible design, right? We see pics of this guy back then, would love to see what he looks like NOW.

 

[thegenius]

Today is 1973 PITB day. I've decided that all I do, while I do some computer and house chores around the house, is listen, non-stop, to Playin In The Band from 1973. I'm somewhere in March right now. Specifically, I'm on Nassau Coliseum 3/15. I might throw in a Truckin > TOO > Eyes or some combo thereof too, just to, you know....mix it up a little bit.

 

[Birdstrike]

I know a lot of people have other fave's from '77, but dammit, this first show on the tour is just sweet, sweet, sweet: 4/22/77 (starts as an audience tape but patches through to a crystal clear soundboard). Everybody is so on fire, including Donna & Keith, and the crowd is just going bonkers. I might even go for a second run tonight, so I can listen to more on headphones, as opposed to between patients.

PS: There are tons of great shows on April 22, in The Dead's history, including Brent's first show, 4/22/79.

 

[Birdstrike]

Today is 1973 PITB day. I've decided that all I do, while I do some computer and house chores around the house, is listen, non-stop, to Playin In The Band from 1973. I'm somewhere in March right now. Specifically, I'm on Nassau Coliseum 3/15. I might throw in a Truckin > TOO > Eyes or some combo thereof too, just to, you know....mix it up a little bit.

Today in '77 was a really good PITB, with a nice melt>jam in the middle. Not too many first set PITB's after this.

4/22/77 (track 9)

 

[Birdstrike]

The solo in Loser from 4/23/77 is as dirty, dusty, greasy and desperate as the character in the song. Great song, great recording, great show.

4/23/77

 

[thegenius]

I've had 3/28/73 Dark Star > Eyes > Playin' on ****ing repeat. It's so good. It's 60 minutes of a psychedelic cytokine storm. But it doesn't leave you dead. But it blows your mind!

 

[Birdstrike]

I've had 3/28/73 Dark Star > Eyes > Playin' on ****ing repeat. It's so good. It's 60 minutes of a psychedelic cytokine storm. But it doesn't leave you dead. But it blows your mind!

Oh, n i c e . Tomorrow I'm going on a 10+ mile run and maybe I'll put that show on. Or I might listen to tomorrow's GratefulDeadOfTheDay 4/24/78, which I've never listened to but is supposed to be incredible. Rockin' The Rhein 4/24/72 is another top option. It'll be one of those three.

I can't recommend enough that one picks up a hardcore long-distance running habit. It amounts to hours on end of pure, uninterrupted Dead-listening, soul-soothing meditation time. It's better than being stoned.

 

[thegenius]

Today in '77 was a really good PITB, with a nice melt>jam in the middle. Not too many first set PITB's after this.

4/22/77 (track 9)

Just listened to it.
Yup, there is a tasty little morsel in that version. Right around 10:30 or 11:00. It gets good.

Its like nervously biting into a See's Candy...not knowing whether it's good. You are pleasantly surprised and say "Wow! That is pretty good!"

 

[thegenius]

Oh, n i c e . Tomorrow I'm going on a 10+ mile run and maybe I'll put that show on. Or I might listen to tomorrow's GratefulDeadOfTheDay 4/24/78, which I've never listened to but is supposed to be incredible. Rockin' The Rhein 4/24/72 is another top option. It'll be one of those three.

I can't recommend enough that one picks up a hardcore long-distance running habit. It amounts to hours on end of pure, uninterrupted Dead-listening, soul-soothing meditation time. It's better than being stoned.

I wish I could. I should probably work my way up to that. I can't do that now.

I have gone in spurts of working out in my life, and over the past 20 years it has included the Dead. It really is a good time to focus on the music. Now it's hard for me as I broke my back a few years ago, and while I'm no longer in daily pain I feel like it's altered my gait and pelvis / low back mechanics indefinitely.

 

[Birdstrike]

I wish I could. I should probably work my way up to that. I can't do that now.

I have gone in spurts of working out in my life, and over the past 20 years it has included the Dead. It really is a good time to focus on the music. Now it's hard for me as I broke my back a few years ago, and while I'm no longer in daily pain I feel like it's altered my gait and pelvis / low back mechanics indefinitely.

Aw, man, I'm sorry about that. I'm glad you're no longer in daily pain. Your post reminds me of that story about Ben Hogan coming back from his horrendous, near fatal car accident.

 

[Birdstrike]

Oh, n i c e . Tomorrow I'm going on a 10+ mile run and maybe I'll put that show on. Or I might listen to tomorrow's GratefulDeadOfTheDay 4/24/78, which I've never listened to but is supposed to be incredible. Rockin' The Rhein 4/24/72 is another top option. It'll be one of those three.

I can't recommend enough that one picks up a hardcore long-distance running habit. It amounts to hours on end of pure, uninterrupted Dead-listening, soul-soothing meditation time. It's better than being stoned.

Wait. This contains a 45 min Dark Star>Me & My Uncle>Dark Star?

Wtf? Might have to listen to this one...


By the way, @thegenius, what are your thoughts on Pigpen?

 

[24GaugeEJ]

Sorry, I know you were asking @thegenius but I think on Pigpen a lot. My thoughts are that I’m sure seeing him in person is much different than hearing him on a recording half a century later. I have a friend who absolutely loves his singing, but I don’t care for it as much. That being said, in those shows during the late 60s, you can really tell how much he is able to pull the crowd into it. He sounds like a minister at one of those big, outdoor congregations - people getting the vapors and fainting, women shrieking, utter mayhem. I love the blues, blues rock, country blues (been on an Allman Brothers and Derek and the Dominos kick lately), but Pig just doesn’t do it for me. I think he had his own energy that was running perpendicular to the band’s too often. That being said, he is probably responsible for them developing as an actual band (someone had to pull them back to reality on occasion), getting them through some of those early growing pains, and giving Jerry and Bobby enough time to mature in their own way.

 

[24GaugeEJ]

Also, I do love his organ-playing, even though he considered it rudimentary. Absolutely ****ing fell in love with “Death don’t have no mercy” first time I heard it, largely because of Pig on that organ.

 

[Birdstrike]

Sorry, I know you were asking @thegenius but I think on Pigpen a lot. My thoughts are that I’m sure seeing him in person is much different than hearing him on a recording half a century later. I have a friend who absolutely loves his singing, but I don’t care for it as much. That being said, in those shows during the late 60s, you can really tell how much he is able to pull the crowd into it. He sounds like a minister at one of those big, outdoor congregations - people getting the vapors and fainting, women shrieking, utter mayhem. I love the blues, blues rock, country blues (been on an Allman Brothers and Derek and the Dominos kick lately), but Pig just doesn’t do it for me. I think he had his own energy that was running perpendicular to the band’s too often. That being said, he is probably responsible for them developing as an actual band (someone had to pull them back to reality on occasion), getting them through some of those early growing pains, and giving Jerry and Bobby enough time to mature in their own way.

Great thoughts.

I started to love Pigpen when I stopped judging him by his magnum opus coverslike Good Lovin‘, Lovelight and Schoolgirl, which I like but don’t love. I really started to appreciate him with songs like Easy Wind, Alligator and Mr Charlie. Those are sleeper gems which have grown on me and I wish they played more.

I think he was critical to that era of the band and some would say they reached peak with him (and Keith) in ‘72 and never got higher. Others would disagree. Either way, I think most Deadheads would agree he was a crucial part of that ‘65-‘72 era.

 

[24GaugeEJ]

Great thoughts.

I started to love Pigpen when I stopped judging him by his magnum opus coverslike Good Lovin‘, Lovelight and Schoolgirl, which I like but don’t love. I really started to appreciate him with songs like Easy Wind, Alligator and Mr Charlie. Those are sleeper gems which have grown on me and I wish they played more.

I think he was critical to that era of the band and some would say they reached peak with him (and Keith) in ‘72 and never got higher. Others would disagree. Either way, I think most Deadheads would agree he was a crucial part of that ‘65-‘72 era.

Have to admit, I do love Alligator, Mr. Charlie, and Hard to Handle!

 

[Birdstrike]

Have to admit, I do love Alligator, Mr. Charlie, and Hard to Handle!

There’s actually a great Hard to Handle and Good Lovin’ from today in ‘71. And the rest of the set list plays like an early Dead greatest hits. Worth a listen. This was my long run soundtrack today.

4/25/71 Fillmore East

 

[24GaugeEJ]

There’s actually a great Hard to Handle and Good Lovin’ from today in ‘71. And the rest of the set list plays like an early Dead greatest hits. Worth a listen. This was my long run soundtrack today.

4/25/71 Fillmore East

Jerry was so smooth back then. Not disappointed at all so far. The track titles are pretty funny too, e.g. “Morning Dew (this is where I *Got It!*)” I like this 90s grunge thing they start doing a little more than halfway through Hard to Handle. The breaks in truckin and loser are pretty awesome too. There’s definitely a couple points where I see Jerry chomping down on a live wire, in my mind’s eye, when he’s hitting those high notes.

 

[thegenius]

By the way, @thegenius, what are your thoughts on Pigpen?

Sorry overlooked this. I don't really listen to his musical contribution. I think he was a valuable and founding member of the Dead, and was great at "rapping", but he's a blues guy and I'm not into blues and I felt his style of music didn't meld well with the way the Dead were moving towards. I don't think he was a great organist either, but he had a role in the evolution of early Dead. Not a fan of Chinatown Shuffle, Mr. Charlie, Hurts me Too, Next Time You See Me, Easy Wind, etc.

If it wasn't for his untimely yet inevitable death from massive hematemesis, I think they would have soon enough separated anyway from him.

 

[Birdstrike]

I like this show from the '80s. Skip songs 1 and 2. 4/28/85 . Highlights: Bird Song, She Belongs to Me, Crazy Fingers and China Doll.


PS: Apropos of nothing, old Van Halen is incredible. Unchained, Why Can't This Be Love, Dance the Night Away, Panama and man, does the list go on. Listening right now. Pure fire.

 

[Birdstrike]

Today's show in '71 is a great, great show. There's so much great stuff here I won't even try to highlight it all. So much that a lot of it was officially released as an album. It's hard to imagine they ever got better than this, but amazingly they did. Most bands would kill to get half this good. I'm thankful to be alive during an era where I could discover and enjoy this.

"Where have all the people gone today?" - Morning Dew

So appropriate for our times.

4/29/71, Fillmore East

 

[Birdstrike]

4/30/77. Sweet show from a sweet year. Free stream here: *** but the best audio is Grateful Dead Download Series Vol 1 if you have access to it.

 

[thegenius]

4/30/77. Sweet show from a sweet year. Free stream here: *** but the best audio is Grateful Dead Download Series Vol 1 if you have access to it.

Amen to that. Anything with 77 and 4 or 5 or a 2 in it is, in the words of Bob Weir, “just exactly perfect”