There is a lot of music out there and some artists have massive catalogs which can paralyze new listeners with overwhelming choices. This Beginners Guide series will attempt to give those new listeners entry points to some of these artists. Today we will look at: The Grateful Dead.
This post became very long so we are breaking it into two parts. This first offering will discuss the five places RtBE feels are the best entry points to the band. The follow up post will dive into the different eras of the Dead and pull out some well known and underappreciated shows for further listening.
In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic here in NYC the soothing sounds of The Grateful Dead helped ease my mind during a tumultuous sense of loss and uncertainty. Shortly after lock down, a co-worker reached out and mentioned they wanted more information on the band as they were just discovering them.
That request led to this series, so it makes sense that the good ol' Grateful Dead should be the first group we discuss when it comes to Beginners Guides. RtBE will take an extensive look into their career with a focus on new listeners and will provide links to youtube when possible, but feel free to buy all of the albums from the band themselves. We also wrote about the band in our Masters series previously ranking our favorite studio albums, official live releases and more.
Almost everything you could want is on the archive and usually with multiple recordings from the groups insanely dedicated fan base. The truth is the band could hit amazing highs any night they played and while they have the reputation of drugged out hippies, the quality of their musical output remained incredibly consistent and excellent for the majority of their careers.
We will dissect the bands shifting sound in part two of this post, for now let's start with the basics. Click the read more button:
For The Masters this month we are focusing on the Grateful Dead and we were lucky enough to catch RtBE's favorite Dead cover band Roses Grove Bandearlier this month.
The band took some time out to chat with RtBE about their personal "go-to" Grateful Dead shows and some of their experiences with the band. Roses Grove have a bunch of shows lined up this summer so check them out.
If you have the chance to catch the band, please do, even people unfamiliar with the Dead will enjoy the band as they put on a hell of a show. Now though here are some of their thoughts regarding the band they love so much they cover them live with great pride.
RtBE loves listening to new music and prides itself on keeping tabs on up and coming artists but in 2019 we are also going to have a monthly spotlight on legendary artists who we really love. We are calling this series The Masters. It will focus on the best albums, live records, transcendent shows and other odd ways we appreciate the artists and their contribution to music, culture and our formation.
For June The Masters focuses on the great The Grateful Dead.
Live music is the best thing out there. Being caught in the moment is religion. Palpable vibes of healing and energy are transmitted and shit...gets...real. For this month's focus, The Grateful Dead may be more tied to the live show than any other rock band in history. They developed a literal touring mini economy and because of the bands massive structure, had to be on the road almost constantly.
The group had many phases and multiple lineup shifts, but the stage is where they truly succeeded as a collective, playing in the moment and without net. The group soared more than non-fans give them credit for and that thrilling collective experience is what kept fans touring the country with their musical heroes.
For other entries in The Masters, when it comes to live albums there were some limits, with the Dead it is just the opposite, there have been so many live releases it is hard to limit this list to "official" releases as prolific taping, the Internet Archive and tons of other sites have made obtaining a certain night in the bands history incredibly easy.
However, since we have been using official releases for other entries of The Masters, we will stick with that for this post and move to personal "Go-To" shows at a later date. We know that times have changed and while One From the Vault and Hundred Year Hall were instrumental to our love of the Dead, these days people do not need official releases to get soundboard quality and are much more likely to just stream a solid show then purchase an "official release".
With Dicks/Dave's Picks, the criminally underrated Road Trips series and various completest Box Sets being offered up seemingly every month (their whole history will be officially released soon) it is hard to keep track of which shows are officially out there and which are still in the hands of tapers, so for this list we are skipping all of those and just going with live albums released officially by the band. Going to be tough, but we will give this a shot, below are our top five live albums from the Grateful Dead.
As always, these lists are designed to start conversations, not end them.
It is of Dumpstaphunk's 4/20/19 set at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY.
These guys are one of our favorite live acts and one of the best funk collective's going. Three great vocalists, all amazing players, killer covers, funky originals. Definitely check them out when you can. We plan on seeing them in just over a week when the take the main stage on May 2nd at the 50th Annual Jazz & Heritage Festival in New Orleans.
Also, extra thanks to the people at Brooklyn Bowl and the Band for the amazing tickets, RtBE normally don't take pictures at shows, but tough not to when you are this close.
Today marks the 20th Anniversary of Phil & Phriends Show from April '99 were the first true coming together of the Grateful Dead and Phish worlds. For those of use who remember the show announcements, the importance can not be overstated, this was going to be monumental, Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell would head west to join Phil Lesh along with Steve Kimock and John Molo at The Fillmore in San Francisco. These were the hottest tickets around and even more exciting the shows outshine the immense hype.
They remain some of the best live music produced by either outfits illustrious careers and deserve a revisit on their twentieth birthday. (Part 1, Part 2)
Today we look at the mid show of the run: 4/17/99:
(Listen through archive.org or watch through the youtube link above)
If the previous night was the Phish lead party night for this outfit, the closing night was highlighted by Kimock and Molo as the band got spacey, jazz directed and worked out some of the more intricate Dead tunes in relaxed, confident and down right jaw dropping fashion.
The opening huge tune/segue fest continued for night three and if asked what is the supreme highlight of this run, I would have to pick the opening segue magic of this show as the "Dark Star">"It's Up To You" "Days Between"> "Dark Star" > "My Favorite Things" is simply glorious.
The playing in and out of "Dark Star" would be another trait Lesh would take with him moving forward but on this night Kimock shines bright as his tune "It's Up To You" blends wonderfully with the Grateful Dead old jam war horse, and the most underrated song in the band's catalog "Day's Between". Always a personal favorite, this version is magical and we haven't even dipped back into "Dark Star" and the instrumental take on the Coltrane classic.
The whole thing is moved along so swimmingly by Lesh and particularly Molo as the band just seems in total command over the opening hour of music. Donna Jean rejoins the boys to help out as "Bird Song" has flashes of that Dark Star jazz flowing through it as Page delivers his vocal highlight of the run to close out the magical set of music even though not everyone will dig Phil's backup vocals.
Here is where I will put a caveat, if you don't like Phil's style of singing these shows may not take on the legendary status they have achieved in the RtBE clubhouse. Sure there is enough music (as well as vocals from Trey and Page) but Phil is the main vocalist and his singing just fine for us, but he is clearly not for everyone.
The second set opens with "Terrapin Station" as the band goes big and while not an all-time must hear it is a respectable version (with some vocal flubs but excellent playing roaming over twenty minutes) but the set shifts into a higher gear with "Down with Disease" acting as a rev up before the band melds back seamlessly into Dark Star's sung second verse; simply gorgeous.
The group moves into some fan favorites mid second set and while perhaps a killer "Eyes of The World" jam would have seemed a perfect fit, they went with "Friend of the Devil" and "Casey Jones" both solid if not world beating. Things are soaring again though for "Morning Dew" and the raging running of "Going Down The Road Feeling Bad"
This particular group of players seem like they could have kept it going forever, but they never played together again, and that is OK as these shows captured a truly magical coming together of musical worlds and connected generations through music, love and pure joy. RtBE makes it a habit to listen to these shows often, you should do the same.
Today marks the 20th Anniversary of Phil & Phriends Show from April '99 which were the first true coming together of the Grateful Dead and Phish worlds. For those of use who remember the show announcements, the importance can not be overstated, this was going to be monumental, Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell would head west to join Phil Lesh along with Steve Kimock and John Molo at The Fillmore in San Francisco. These were the hottest tickets around and even more exciting, the shows outshine the immense hype.
They remain some of the best live music produced by either outfits illustrious careers and deserve a revisit on their twentieth birthday. (Part 1, Part 3)
Today we look at the mid show of the run: 4/16/99:
(Listen through the Internet Archives streaming below and watch the youtube clips throughout)
With the mega opening and the huge closing yet to come the middle night of this run doesn't always get the love it should, but the show is straight up fun from the opening "Help On the Way" notes to the acoustic "Ripple" encore. If anything this night feels the most Phish lead with Trey and Page singing and playing in the forefront for the majority of the set.
This is the epitome of a Friday Night show as the band and crowd are in high spirits and the matrix mix captures that joy. The huge "Help>Slip Franks" continues the trend of historic jamming to open as the trio clocks in at forty minutes and while Trey gets the vocals going for "Help", it is the "Slipknot!" section which pays the best dividends with the group interlocking and weaving as if they had been playing together their whole careers; it is a snake sifting through the underbrush with slinky grooving ease. The wrap up of "Franklin's Tower" is joyful but surprisingly Page hits a few false notes with his vocals.
Unlike post Viola Lee from the first night there is no exhale to end the first set, the immensely apropos Phil lead vocals of "Wish You Were Here" is a winner. Here is where I will put a caveat, if you don't like Phil's style of singing these shows may not take on the legendary status they have achieved in the RtBE clubhouse. Sure there is enough music (as well as vocals from Trey and Page) but Phil is the main vocalist and his singing just fine for us, but he is clearly not for everyone.
You don't need singing to be moved towards tears during the instrumental Kimock led "Stella Blue" which weeps with majestic beauty; The ghost of Jerry Garcia is in those notes. "Tennessee Jed" is a blast of fun, a release while the players then throw down the most Phish sounding jam, and one of the individual highlights of the full run with a funk laden "Alligator" to close this set. This version was so well received fans were convinced Phish would pull it out at Big Cypress when the band rang in the millennium, but that wasn't to be.
Second set Donna Jean Godchaux joined and the fellas instantly fell into lock step with Trey leading the way on a spritely "Bertha":
The group segued into the twinkling sea song of "Prince Caspian" which found Molo hitting big drum fills as Phil played his relaxed style adding fluid, melodic bass lines underneath as the jam strolled out to fifteen minutes with Kimock feeling right at home in a Phish tune as he and Trey worked together to raise the tune to soaring heights. The middle of set was a Lesh spotlight as "St. Stephan" > "The Eleven" and "Unbroken Chain" all received huge shouts from the crowd.
The quintet's take on "Chalkdust Torture" is fine, if a bit wandering and the relaxed, "Mountains of the Moon" is a breather before the set closing double headed joyous jaunt through the beloved "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire On the Mountain" pairing.
A "Ripple" encore wrapped up the night with excellent supporting vocals from Page and Trey. A crowd pleasing set which still brings smiles to the faces of those listening twenty years on down the road.
Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the first Phil & Phriends Show from April '99. These were the first true coming together of the Grateful Dead and Phish worlds. For those of use who remember the show announcements, the importance can't be overstated, this was going to be monumental, Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell would head west to join Phil Lesh along with Steve Kimock and John Molo at The Fillmore in San Francisco. These were the hottest tickets around and even more exciting the shows outshine the immense hype.
They remain some of the best live music produced by either outfits illustrious careers and deserve a revisit on their twentieth birthday. (Part 2, Part 3)
(Listen through archive.org or watch through the youtube link above)
Sometimes things take a minute to really sink in, not this show. Phil brought out his sons Graham and Brian (with Steve Kimock playing guitar) to sing "Hello Old Friends" before the curtain even rose, proving how happy he was to be back performing after his liver transplant in 1998. There had been a smattering of other Phil and Friends shows in the past but this run cemented Phil's post Dead career by using the songs as merely a template for the music to springboard off of...and if there was ever an example of this it was the 4/15/99 opener; "Viola Lee Blues".
There are so many highlights from this three night run RtBE will probably not get to them all, but the first stinkin' song is huge and contains so many musical paths; it is cosmic that THIS run is special from the first group notes. Apparently when Phil first met with Trey and Page it was their idea to dig waaaaay back into the early days of the Dead and play tunes like this one and "Cosmic Charlie". The group are completely locked in and can't contain themselves, this is music in the moment, these are generations meeting on equal turf and blowing it the fuck out.
After the first song it was all gravy, however it could be argued that this version propelled "Wolfman's Brother" into the top tier of Phish songs (along with it's Slip Stitch and Pass version) as it was the first song of the Vermont crews which Phil wanted to play on. Trey had previously made a tape of songs he sent to Phil pre-show. The band proved all songs were game and ended the set with what I believe was the first "calypso" inspired "Uncle John's Band" which would go on to become a highlight in the powerful Phil Lesh Quintet during upcoming tours.
Even listening with a critical ear twenty years removed there are only some draw backs to this run, "Cosmic Charlie" never shuffles like it should, and if one set out of the these three shows is the weakest, the second set on this first night is it.
However, there are also glorious musical moments, such as the transitions from "Like A Rolling Stone's" killer jam seamlessly into "I Know You Rider" or the flow from the funky as hell Trey led "Shakedown Street" into a soaring version of the "The Wheel", the minor quibbles can be forgiven.
Here is where I will put a caveat, if you don't like Phil's style of singing these shows may not take on the legendary status they have achieved in the RtBE clubhouse. Sure there is enough music (as well as vocals from Trey and Page) but Phil is the main vocalist and his singing just fine for us, but he is clearly not for everyone.
The second Dylan cover of the evening "Mr. Tambourine Man" wraps up the successful first night. With the historic "Viola Lee Blues" opener setting the tone for the whole magical run something special was certainly in the air.
There is no shortage of Grateful Dead music out in the world today. There is the Internet Archive, there is the fantastic Relisten app and there is of course all of the official releases that seem to come out in all shapes and forms these days, Box Sets, Collections and the ongoing Dave's Picks series which started in 2012.
After the immensely successful Dicks Pick's series (named after tape vault archivist Dick Latvala and started in 1993) brought a full generation into the band's legacy with expert show selection and quality recordings the series ended when Latvala passed away. The archivists moved into the (underrated in RtBE's opinion) Road Trip Series which focused on show highlights as compared to full concerts.
Dave's Pick's went back to the that more popular formula, showcasing obscure shows from some far out locations and it took up until release #27 for them to get to the mid 80's one of the most maligned eras in Dead history. The band was about to hit a wall, Jerry was only a few years away from his diabetic coma and in general the players and crew were not happy in the mid-80's for various reasons; The Grateful Dead almost didn't make it out of the heart of the decade.
You need to dig deeper in the early 80's to find a good show (unlike say '72 or '77) and that is just what current tape archivist David Lemieux did. The board recording comes from a cassette tape captured by Dan Healey which was expertly mastered by Jeffrey Norman for this release. The sound is utterly amazing as those involved did everything they could to put the listener in Boise on this night with the best seat in the house.
Shockingly this is the only time the road warrior outfit ever played the state of Idaho and the band is a fun loving mood with Phil introducing the takeover. The concert has special vibe as the band selects "Wang Dang Doodle" as the opener marking only the second time they had tackled it onstage. The bluesy beginning drips into a powerful version of "Jack Straw" and Phil Lesh's bass in particular sounds thunderous in the mix throughout.
A pretty "They Love Each Other" and soulful "Brown Eyed Women", have Jerry forgetting a few words (reoccurring theme this evening) but using his six string expertly around the upbeat "Mama Tried" > "Big River" pairing which lets Brent Mydland and Bobby Weir tag team some twang.
It is the close of the first set where the band kicks this show into a second gear as the "Big Rail Road Blues", "Looks Like Rain" > "Deal" trio elevate the night. The energy of "Big Rail Road Blues" flows from both drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman, the whole band hops on board as conductor Garcia leads the fiery way; this is the best version of the song RtBE has ever come across.
While "Looks Like Rain" can become sappy and dull this version is anything but, really playing up the drama as Weir croons the tune before the band drops into possibly their longest version of "Deal" ever; just check out that guitar solo to end as Garcia picks up where he left off in"Big Rail Road Blues"; this "Deal" rivals 7/19/89 as the best in the groups history.
The second set starts with the segue trio "Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower" with Garcia forgetting most of the words to the opener but playing extra hard through the end including a very powerful "Slipknot!". The "Estimated Prophet" is par for the course rendition as is "Eyes of the World" (which features some audience tape in the middle) as the versions of both of these are fine but far from must hear. The end of Eyes however lends itself to some unique strumming and playing before "Drums" as Bobby and Brent start noodling around during "Jam". This sense of musical experimentation leads to a very listenable "Space" (don't skip this one) before a bouncing version of "Throwing Stones".
Garcia may not have had his singing/lyrical chops on this night, but he surprisingly pulls everything together to close out the show with an engaging "Black Peter" (not normally one of RtBE's favorites) and an upbeat "Sugar Magnolia". Jerry's most heartfelt vocals were saved for the encore on this night as "It's All Over Now Baby Blue" shows how dynamic Bob Dylan covers are when the Dead decide to tackle them.
We here at RtBE are huge Dead fans, (see this for more) so giving this a Star Rating is tough. Comparatively to all the excellent records released this year, this is solid, but nothing earth shattering. If you are new to the Dead, Dave's Picks #27 isn't the greatest place to start (go with the old standby Cornell '77) but for people who are fans already, looking for a quality show from an underrepresented era of the groups history, presented with pristine sound, where every player was pretty on-point, this is a damn good listen.
_________________________________________________
Support the band, buy the album and peep some video below (Please note: this isn't the remastered sound you get on the official recording):
Had the opportunity to review the 12 piece TTB at the gorgeous Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side of Manhattan on Tuesday Night. Great night of music. It is fun to see this group constantly improve as we caught them last year at their residency.
Here's to seeing them in 2017! Support the band, read the review, catch them live, peep some video below. You can also stream the whole show below or at archive.org.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This week...Pearl Jam!
August is a special month for us here at RtBE and the main reason why is the perfect little upstate New York town of Saratoga which blooms in full each summer. Live music at the gorgeous Saratoga Performing Arts Center is a major reason for that affection, so this month we will be picking shows from SPAC to present for our Full Show Fridays.
Now that we got rid of that dreck from last week (Editors Note: Easy...) we can all agree on the greatness of this band. Pearl Jam are American rock royalty and they bang out some damn satisfying music under starry skies.
This one is extra special because we were there. Another RtBE favorite Sonic Youth opened the set (wish that video was here) as they were touring behind their NYC Ghost and Flowers album. That was never one of our favorites, but the band still played old classics like "Teenage Riot", "Bull In The Heather" and "100%". PJ even tipped their hat to NYC avant-rockers during "Daughter" and added a bit of SY noise-rock in one of favorite tunes of theirs, "rearviewmirror".
For the main act the band seemed to put extra aggression into things to start before becoming nuanced later in the set. This was a long show, and one of my favorite memories was hearing "Yellow Ledbetter" wafting over the gorgeous grounds of the State Park with my friend Don who insisted we hit this show (Thank You!). This show reignited my love for the band and while the recording is on a video camera and a bit shaky the sound is excellent for a 2000 outdoor venue.
August 27, 2000
Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Saratoga Springs, NY
Breakerfall
Whipping
Spin the Black Circle
Hail Hail
Corduroy
In My Tree
Dissident
Given to Fly
Nothing As It Seems
Grievance
Light Years
Daughter/(Beginning to See the Light)(WMA)(Androgynous Mind)
Lukin
MFC
Wishlist
Better Man
Even Flow
Insignificance
Rearviewmirror
---
Sleight of Hand
Do The Evolution
Once
Timeless Melody
Small Town
Leatherman
Porch
---
Soon Forget
Black
Yellow Ledbetter/(Nobody's Fault But Mine)
Sometimes you catch magic out an aging legend. I can still recall the time in 2005 Bob Dylan played an simply jaw dropping version of "Visions of Johanna" at the Beacon Theater. With my friend Tom in attendance we were both astounded at an otherwise ordinary show Bob had dug deep and played a song for the ages, specifically singing like he hadn't sang in years. It was proof that legends are legends for reasons and have magic in their songs.
We search the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts and
post them to the site weekly, come back every seven days to help us
celebrate Full Show Friday's. These shows are of varying quality and
may not be here for long so enjoy them while you can...As always, please
support the artist every which way, but especially by seeing them live
(if they are still playing)...
This week...The Grateful Dead!
We go back to voodoonola for our GD videos and the date of 10-12-89 and we head to Jersey for a show that night in the Brendan Byrne Arena. We get some of our favorite first set songs here with Brent's "Blow Away" an opening "Sugaree" a Dylan Cover, hell this is one perfect first set on paper and in the ear drums. Turns out this video is actually missing the true opener of "Hell In A Bucket" but still will call it a Full Show....(Can listen to that here)
Second set isn't as consistently great but cooking "Cumberland Blues" the rumbling "Other One" and upbeat closer of "Sugar Magnolia" before the gorgeous encore of "Brokedown Palace". This was the 2nd show of a 5 show run in Jersey where the band was playing excellently, 1989 is an underrated year. Just a mega show from the boys, enjoy it on this great day.
Enjoy:
Set 1 Sugaree Blow Away Tennessee Jed Queen Jane Approximately Bird Song Jack Straw
Set 2 Hey Pocky Way Cumberland Blues Looks Like Rain He's Gone Drums Space The Other One Wharf Rat Sugar Magnolia
The free concert series that Madison Square Park puts on every year ended on the funkiest note possible as Ivan Neville and crew rolled up from the big easy to lay down an hour and a half of tasty tunes. With overcast skies all day the show threatened to get washed out but the rains held off and the skies actually cleared before the sun set and the funk got thrown down.
Opening with the pumping "Blueswave" the group got in gear right away as Tony Hall put down his bass and hopped on lead guitar closing the track with a ripping solo (Hall would alternate bass and guitar all night). During the first half of the show the group focused on their newest, excellent release, Dirty Word, playing a straight up "Dancing For The Truth".
During Dumpstaphunk's take on Graham Central Station's "Water", Ivan Neville's laser like zaps from his B3/Clav setup up shot out with precision. The newest song that seems to have improved the most from the album version was "Reality Of the Situation" which showed off a deep funking groove foundation laid down by Nick Daniels III while scatting along to his bass lines.
"If I'm In Luck" featured Hall on guitar again adding a bit more rock to things as Nikki Glaspie sung about wiggling her fanny behind the drum kit. Once the band started out "Put It In The Dumpsta" the crowd came alive singing along with the band who mentioned multiple times their love of NYC.
"Colorblind" put the spotlight on Ian Neville as the rhythmic guitarist took over with a throw-down solo on the six strings that was a set highlight. After that "Lt. Dan" started up and drummer Glaspie took over as she slapped her skins and rhymed in and out of a 15 minute medley that saw her cover Ludacris and Pharrell ("Money Maker") Jay-Z ("Public Service Announcement") and Q-Tip ("Vivrant Thing") ending with a touch of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" before dipping back into "Lt. Dan". All in all it was a fun if not the most high energy excursion from the rhythm section.
The band decided to throw it all together for the set closing "Meanwhile". Addressing the Katrina catastrophe in the lyrics while slapping syrupy beats with the double bass attack of Hall and Daniels. The duo hit their stride here soloing and grooving in lock step. Extending over 10+ minutes the playing kept building as Ivan moved from behind his keys to pick up a guitar joining the attack with fellow band members. The metallic flashes from the Neville's 6 strings rang loud while the rhythm flowed around them. The band peaked with this set closer.
Encoring with the Parliment/Funkadelic jam "One Nation Under The Groove" was just icing on the cake as the band finished up encouraging the crowd to singalong to the inclusive refrain. The group seemed to just be hitting their stride, but it is clear no matter how long they play that Dumpstaphunk are one of the best funk acts playing today.
_____________________________________________________________________ We loved the groups Dirty Word, we had a good time at this show, even if we would have loved them to play even longer, but the coolest thing about it is you can hear it for yourself. You can stream/download the show here or just listen to it below.
Thanks to the Internet Archive as always, MSG Park and Dumpstaphunk for bringing it. Hopefully we catch them again in October in NOLA.
Here are some videos of the show from nycejp
"Water"
On this day way back in 1942 Jerome Garcia was born and as we do every year we wanted to take a second to remember Jerry in the best possible way, by his music.
We recently attended a gorgeous wedding up in Rhode Island and our car trip up there allowed us to break into our tape collection for the trip as the old (but still top shape) ride only played cassettes.
Digging in we grabbed a variety of Grateful Dead and Phish tapes for the trip...as that are all that are in those massive boxes (Thanks Mark). We went with a few we knew (5-17-77 Set I and 10-31-94 Set III) as well as a few we hadn't listened too. One of those was 10-14-94 from the Grateful Dead who played on that night at MSG. How we missed this show we do not know...granted 94 has never been a much talked about year (In fact we didn't do one show from that year when we were doing our Monday Dead Series) but this show needs attention for one simple reason; the "Scarlet Begonia's >Fire On The Mountain" massive combo that opens the second set. Give it a listen right here:
This is a huge and really creative half hour of music from the band that seems just as jumping here as it did in the late 70's. Creative, fresh and energetic, phrases that are not easily applied to later day Dead, this combo proves Garcia still had it even less then 10 months from his death. If you are interested I posted the full show below, thanks to VoodooNola for the great vid. RIP Jerry, your memory still lives on.
Last year we searched the murky back waters of youtube to find full concerts
and posted them to the site monthly. That was all well and good but this year RtBE
is upping the ante with a show every week to celebrate Full Show
Friday's (props to Hidden Track for giving us the name). These shows are of varying quality and may not be here for
long so enjoy them
while you can...As always, please support the artist every which way,
but especially by seeing them live (if they are still playing)...This
week...The Grateful Dead!
How can we not start things off with one of RtBE's favorites? The Grateful Dead have been a part of this site since it's inception (literally our first day of posts) and the only band we would like to start this on going series with.
Today we get a show from the Capitol Theater in Passaic, New Jersey from 11-24-1978. You can stream the show here from Internet Archives as well as watch it below. The band is cooking from the beginning with a powerful "Jack Straw" starting things. Jerry's voice is a bit more ragged then usual but it can add to songs like on the second track "Sugaree". He was actually getting a case of laryngitis that would force the cancellation of the following nights Philly show. Maybe it was because his voice was shot that he plays a mean guitar on this night...or maybe it is just the fact that he is one of the best ever on that instrument.
Other then Garcia's vocals here and there this is a really solid show and setlist from 78 and anytime a late 70's funk fest of "Shakedown Street" gets rocking I am happy and this one is takes the listener up there. The sound is A quality and the video seems to be professionally shot, so you can enjoy the band in all it's 1978 glory. Give it a listen and enjoy the ride..until next week...
There is a fantastic article in the New Yorker that I need to point out by Nick Paumgarten on one of RtBE's favorite topics, The Grateful Dead and specifically their back catalog of music.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/songlyric
You can read the full article, titled The Vast Recorded Legacy of The Grateful Dead here. Fair warning it is a long one, but it is really a solid read from an obvious fan of the band who can easily communicate with non-fans.
I had never heard Brent Wood's characterization of the Dead as "Electronic Dixieland" but I love it. We have called the Grateful Dead, the best American Band and that description accentuates it nice-like.
In talking about the community and taping of the band this sentence stands out:
So a drug-addled, rehearsal-averse, error-prone band of non-virtuosos perfected a state-of-the-art sound system that created a taping community that distributed a gigantic body of work that often came to sound as sloppy as some of the performances.
Some of those sloppy tapes will always be my favorite (as I am sure they are for Paumgarten) and that was kind of the personal touch and generosity that really got me and countless others into the band. These tapes were mine, I owned them, shared them with any who wanted them for free, entering into a special kinship with the music.
Nick's recollection of the Fox Den tape is so fucking funny and spot on it is hysterical, and he is right, that transition from "Scar>Fire" is amazing, Grade A stuff. I wonder if the digital age is going to feel the same way with all of the top notch streaming shows on sites like archive.org as opposed to dusty old tapes?
Just the sheer volume of live tapes described in the article is staggering. While it is always sad when a person dies, having the musical legacy the Dead has is unequaled; new fans will be analyzing it for years to come and that is exciting.
Something odd also came out of reading the article, I realized after the latest mishap with my iPhone's music I do not have one Grateful Dead show on the phone...an error I need to correct this weekend, and that Fox Theater show will be on there.
Also I have not pointed out this year that once again the Dead are releasing a song a day for November, 30 Days of Dead. When they are all aggregated come the end of the month I will post a link for all of them, but feel free to jump in now and enjoy a pretty good version of "Playin' In The Band". Thanks to Paumgarten for a great article and a reminder of how important the Grateful Dead truly are
We here at RtBE have long admired Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia, and covering a Grateful Dead show per week was a staple when the blog got started. The Dead were unlike anything else and the primary reason for that was JJ Garcia's style, playing and all around attitude.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clender
There have been a lot of tributes to the man recently (one of which we will post below) but Garcia unlike say Hendrix, had the good luck to have the majority of his live playing career recorded by the most devoted fans on the planet. Today I wanted to showcase one of Jerry's side projects, Reconstruction. This fantastic show was played on July 8th 1979 in Berkley California:
We recently touched on Legion of Mary but this particular group had a cool funky feel that always struck me as a bit different the other things Garcia was up too...maybe it was the time period or the drugs or what was in the air, but just check out that jamming going on about 4 and half minutes into "Someday Baby" electric stuff. Really a stellar group of players and a stellar show to enjoy on this day (Setlist below) and click here if you want a downloadable copy.
A unique tribute by his living Grateful Dead band mates also went down this week, and it's lineup is impressive in their range and scope. Bob Weir put together Move Me Brightly to pay tribute to Garcia. Embedded below is the whole show and it is a doozy...you just know somewhere Jerry is smiling...and probably high...and jamming with Coltrane.
So this is starting to become a pleasant habit. Early this year it was the Beastie Boys, last year it was Phish, now it is the North Mississippi All-Stars. A couple of weeks ago we posted our review of the NMAS Brooklyn Bowl show, well while looking for some video we found these two treats. While not as professionally shot as the Beasties they are still more then listenable.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/memestate
The first is from the night before we caught them in April 2012. Turn your sound up as the volume is low but otherwise the video is fine, you can watch the full show right there:
Part1
Part 2
The next is a better video, sound is perfect except again very low volume wise, so turn it up. Playing a car show? Sure why not... just looks weird to see big Chew in a tie!
Happy New Year to all from the RtBE crew, Tom shared with us a list of Woody Guthrie'sNew Year's Rulin's from 1942. All though Woody gave these to himself on Jan 31st of that year, we wanted to share them now.
RtBE caught Phish on the 29th, (review coming) but otherwise the NYE was very quiet, so this link is a great way to catch up on the festivities. We are excited to hear Ween's crazy 33 song NYE show from Denver.
There is always interest in Gov't Mule at The Beacon and this years "Mad Mule & The Englishmen" shenanigans seem interesting so that one will get peeped as well,
RtBE hasn't focused much on the Dead in 2011, compared to last year at least when we talked about a different show each Monday, but the folks over at Dead.net have supplied us with another dose of 30 Days Of Dead that finished up on November 30th.
Those folks have summed it up nicely, you can download the whole thing, stream each song or or just snake individual tracks, your choice. Just click this link and pick your poison. Hopefully you will have some time this weekend to enjoy the hippies rock on out.
On the 15th day the site highlighted the "Uncle John's Band" from 12/28/1988, here is another version of the song from the same year that sounds delightful for you to enjoy right here and now:
"Uncle John's Band" 3/26/1988
Playing the famed Hampton, VA Coliseum on 3/26/1988 the band sounds top notch, especially Garcia and Brent...and Ahh Brent...
.png/800px-Grateful_Dead_(1970).png)
.JPG)
