The Board Dot Boot Exchange!

[rango420]

someone @ me when we move on to Sublime

[monasterymonochrome]

1/22/78

Okay here’s my take on this show. As I wrote above, I chose it because it really is one of my favorite Dead recordings, and is a high-mark from my favorite year of the Dead. I only stumbled onto this show in March and probably listened to it in full - or at least in part - every day during that first, brutal two-week stretch of quarantine. Jerry’s guitar here, and through many 78 shows, is sharp and driving, bringing an aggressive energy to the rest of the band that, at their best, elevates old classics into absolute powerhouses.

The best example of that, as noted, is Set 1’s Jack Straw. Jack Straw is already one of my favorite Dead songs in any era, but this is my all-time favorite version . Jerry just goes *in* on the solo and muscles into the crescendo with complete authority. Then the whole band matches his intensity by practically doing gang vocals on the “Jack Straw from Wichita” verse? Kills me every time. The other highlight - which most of y’all, and John Darnielle, already pointed out - is the Peggy-O. I’m a sucker for folkie Jerry and this is one of his best guitar solo vehicles, especially in 77-78.

As for the rest of the the first set, I’m obviously a fan, but I will concede that it has its slower points. If I’m assigning a “bathroom break” song anywhere here (i.e. what song would you make a run for the concourse during), it’d probably be Minglewood. It’s a good song, don’t get me wrong, but let’s just say I’m not leaving the beer line for my seat if I hear its opening notes.

But I’m def higher on the El Paso > Jed combination than most of y’all. Jerry’s flourishes on the former keep me interested, and the latter’s played at a brisk enough tempo to keep me hooked. This song gets a lot of hate, and when the song drags I totally get it, but when they add a little pep to it, I’m on-board. Not exactly a Jedhead or anything, but I like it. TMNS closes off the set with an exclamation. I toggle between this and Greatest Story as the best Bob/Donna combo, but when Jerry shreds the outro like he does here, you can’t beat it. I used to go for runs back in April/May and listen to the stretch from Cassidy thru TMNS; it was awesome.

Bertha opening the second set is a treat. That’s a song that I love, but couldn’t point you to a singular, favorite version. It’s just always good to great. But, again, Jerry is all over this one. Not too much to say about Good Lovin thru Samson, it’s a fun run but nothing superlative. (Sidenote: I’m not a big Ship of Fools fan but would be open to suggestions if anyone knows a particularly cool version). The second set really takes off with Terrapin - it’s a faithful rendition that gathers immense intensity by the end, the drummers, Keith, and Jerry are just fucking hammering away at it in such a cool way. Bill and Mickey are pretty solid this whole show, but they’re next-level here. In fact, they actually make an 8-minute Drums somewhat interesting? At least, they make the drums section seem actually essential to the flow of the show, as it *literally* rockets into…

The Other One, which, alongside Jack Straw, is the marquee attraction of this show. I’ve been listening to a lot of Other One jams lately, and I’m getting to a point where I’d almost prefer it to a Dark Star jam? But, idk, why you’d force yourself to make a choice like that. This one is pretty damn perfect, IMO. Powerful and explosive while also spacey and exploratory. I’ve already spoken on the St. Stephen section, so you know I’m a huge fan. That flows seamlessly into another energy laden Not Fade Away. I’m particularly into the rhythm section here, Phil seems to be really shining through.

And finally, we have a Berry cover. Normally I loathe their take on Around & Around, but this is one of the versions where they basically play the song twice, once slower and again in double-time. And I actually love it? Look, if you’re gonna commit to playing Chuck Berry songs every night for 30 years at least have some fun with it and let loose, ya know? Sounds like the band is having fun here and it’s infectious enough for me to join along. You know you're really enjoying a Dead show when you don't skip the Chuck Berry set closers.

And yea, don’t have too much to say about U.S. Blues. It’s good! Good song. Good show. Good night.

[teekoh]

I finished this tonight and man the build up to and then including Saint Stephen is excellent. The rest was cool and fine, and I liked the concept of the two versions of Around and Around, but it feels like a bit of a letdown.

Cool first Dead experience! Don’t know how y’all listen to a lot of these!

[thebosma]

Jan 14, 2021 22:23:35 GMT -6 teekoh said:

Cool first Dead experience! Don’t know how y’all listen to a lot of these!

There tends to be a lot of variation in sound, especially in the early and later eras. I think my only criticism of the 77-78 run is that they don’t do *as much* of the wild shit but when you get into the late 80s and hear some of those Brent solos it’s awesome.

[teekoh]

I do plan on continuing to listen to the things y’all suggest are worth listening to. 3+ hours a pop is quite the ask, but I do it because I love you.

[thebosma]

You’ll be selling grilled cheese and balloons on the lot in no time

[chvrchbarrel]

I’m the only one who likes the chuck berry covers?

[monasterymonochrome]

Jan 15, 2021 6:45:03 GMT -6 chvrchbarrel said:

I’m the only one who likes the chuck berry covers?

It's not that they're bad or anything, I'd just rather they play like literally anything else in the encore / set closer slot.  BUT since this is the Board, let's make a list.

1. Promised Land
2. Fast Around & Around
3. Johnny B. Goode
4. Slow Around & Around

Anything I'm forgetting?  I'd also rather they play Greatest Story Ever Told, considering that's basically the Dead's version of a Berry song.  

[thebosma]

Overall I am much more middling on 78 than other years but this show has some pretty astounding cuts. Surprised by the El Paso/TN Jed hate on here because I thought it was nicer than a lot of the 77 ones (not quite as good as the 72 El Paso cuts but hey)

Almost certainly my favorite Jack Straw? I genuinely can't think of a better one but it's usually pretty great. Definitely the highlight for me but the whole show is solid, especially as others have noted, the second set. Ship of Fools is a little sloppy but honestly the earlier the better for those (6/28/74 is particularly good if my memory serves me correctly). Chuck Berry covers are fine to good at any point but I don't necessarily consider them "necessary" though I do love a good Promised Land.


Overall this is definitely a hot show and not one I remember hearing before so that was a big treat, thanks monastery! Jerry feels fairly vibrant here but I really hear Phil going ass wild on this one and it's fun to listen to. I look forward to doing this regularly here! I have a couple on deck I'd love to pick but cvrch asked first and also nicely so I will go after him.

[chvrchbarrel]

Go for it!

[thebosma]

I've been a Deadhead for a long time in all technicality, broken into a few segments in my life. One, when I was around 10 and my uncle gave me a copy of Dicks Picks 3 to listen to. Two, when said uncle took 15 year old me to Furthur and my interest expanded beyond a couple of shows into the studio records and a few more specific shows. And 3, where I'll stop for today, leading us to my foray into 60's Dead, something that developed after I got into more psych rock that was inspired by said era.

If you haven't listened to much yet, The Grateful Dead in the 60's is one of the craziest things to hear. There were multiple lineup changes, sit ins from other artists, and a whole lot of fucking acid. These were the initial exploration days of the band and you can definitely hear as they came into their sound at the start of the hippie movement in San Francisco. I haven't watched the whole doc but you can see some great footage of this in the first episode of Long Strange Trip.


With that I give you a show I haven't listened to in a long time but remains one of my favorites, 12-1-66 at The Matrix in SF. The Matrix is a venue that lasted through the late 60s whose opening house band was a little group called Jefferson Airplane. Multiple major artists played the venue including The Velvet Underground, John Lee Hooker, The Doors, Santana, and multiple dead offshoots (including the short lived Mickey and the Hartbeats, a group consisting of Garcia, Lesh, Hart, and Kreutzmann as Weir and Pigpen had been kicked out briefly for not wanting to practice as much). The venue is also referenced in a flashback scene in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as it was one of Hunter S Thompson's favorite hangouts.

The show features early (obviously) renditions of several of the classic longstanding tracks like New Minglewood Blues and Cold Rain and Snow. I'll share full thoughts after a fresh listen but I think everyone is gonna like this one.

[monasterymonochrome]

Oooh this is gonna be really cool - awesome pick! This is new to me and, according to my log, this will be the second oldest Dead show I've heard (behind the 3/12/66 show on Relisten). The next one I have is all the way in September 67 (the 9/3 show where they jam In The Midnight Hour out for 30 minutes). Tons of stuff here I'm not familiar w/ and tons of tracks I've only heard a few live versions of. Looking forward to it!

[thebosma]

I really wish I had kept a log, I’ve listened to hundreds of shows over the years and I have a hard time remembering which ones

[monasterymonochrome]

Jan 17, 2021 11:10:16 GMT -6 thebosma said:

I really wish I had kept a log, I’ve listened to hundreds of shows over the years and I have a hard time remembering which ones

Yeah that was a quarantine project of mine.  Fortunately, I've only been listening to shows for ~2.5 years (you can find me asking for recs on page 1 of talkin' dead!) so it wasn't impossible to go through my Spotify likes and Relisten downloads and cobble together something somewhat comprehensive.

[thebosma]

Yeah piecing together 15 years of memories doesn’t seem like it’ll be a great success

[monasterymonochrome]

First run-through of this tape this morning! Here's some immediate thoughts below, and a lil research about the venue and show itself, since I was curious about some setlist peculiarities.

-- Lots of blues! This is a real snapshot of the Dead in their earliest form. As such, nearly all the tracks here are blues, folk, country, and even like jugband covers. Pigpen features a ton on this, which is fitting considering he was basically the band's frontman at the time.

-- Tape fidelity might be a sticking point for some, but I'd recommend giving yourself 3-4 songs to adjust. After that, you'll barely notice anything more than a low hiss. And actually, for a small venue 1966 show, this is remarkably well recorded.

-- I'm obsessed with Pigpen's whirly, swirly 1960s organ. For a dude who was an electric blues acolyte, he really leaned into that carnivalesque SF psych sound. It's really cool adding unique texture to tracks like I Know You Rider and Beat It On Down The Line, which would later become setlist staples.

-- Jerry is already fully formed as a guitar god by December 1966. His accents and solos on the retry of Me and My Uncle are incredible - it sounds like he's pickin' on pedal steel. He adds little flourishes to a lot of the blues numbers too that elevate them beyond basic garage psych.

-- Cream Puff War is my early highlight. This is an early Dead original and shows up on their debut album, but it didn't last long in their live sets. But daaaamn that's a shame, because Jerry absolutely freaks out on its solo for like 6-straight minutes here. He's aggressive as hell and it's easy to imagine leaving a Dead show, even one this early in the band's career, as a devotee.

-- Viola Lee Blues is also a monster, as per usual. This was an old jug band song that became the Dead's first major jam vehicle. I love how it's always a way for Jerry to get really intense on its solos. This version is awesome - and, for the newer Heads, the Harpur College version from Dick's Picks 8 is one of my favorite Dead cuts, period.

-- Favorite track I haven't heard before is Betty and Dupree. This is a cover, and there exists a tape of Pigpen and Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane playing it
together in 1964. Apparently it was reworked by the Dead into Dupree's Diamond Blues. But I kinda like this take on it more than its later incarnation? Either way, really cool stuff.

[monasterymonochrome]

And now, for the heads. I was confused why this tape was nearly three hours long, featured a ton of blues tracks, and doubled up on Me and My Uncle. It seems that the 12/1/66 tape isn't all or entirely from that date. Some Relisten commenters speculate that it comes cobbled together from shows later that week, but I'm more compelled by the theory put forth in this blog post from Lost Live Dead.

The whole thing is interesting but I'll summarize the quick hits:

-- The Dead played 4 straight shows on weekday nights at the Matrix (Nov 28-Dec 1), a small 100-person club opened by Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane. It was the first time they'd been there since January of 66 and the last time they'd play there as the Dead. Jerry used the club a ton for collaborative jams and solo shows throughout the 60s tho.

-- The Matrix taped all their shows, starting in 1966, and usually compiled multi-night runs into a 'best of' tape.

-- "The November Matrix tapes seem to include a run-through of everything in the Grateful Dead's live set at the time. Whether they are from two, three or four nights is beside the point. The Dead wanted a recording of every song they did."

-- "The key was they were looking for a timestamped recording of their current live act so they could figure out what might work and what might not... It would make more sense if the group was treating the shows like a demo session."

-- "According to Dennis McNally, Joe Smith of Warner Brothers Records agreed to a contract with the Grateful Dead in October of 1966, although it was not completed and signed until some modifications in December 1966. The actual recording of the first album did not commence until January 1967."

This theory, then, posits that the Dead played the Matrix shows as low-stakes demo recording sessions in advance of their first studio dates with Warner Brothers. This makes sense to me, and explains the tape's setlist incongruities. What say y'all?

[Xamnam]

Jan 19, 2021 12:19:00 GMT -6 monasterymonochrome said:

What say y'all?

This set rips. 

[chvrchbarrel]

early thoughts: love the loose feel to this. i have a very similar thought on "i know you rider" because im super familiar with it, but it sounds like they're still finding their footing in it here which makes it a lot of fun to listen to.

"cream puff war" is my other favorite so far. definitely going to keep this on for another round or two throughout the week and get some more thorough thoughts together.

[chvrchbarrel]

Back on this one today. Pigpen rules.

[teekoh]

Getting into this one now. Quality already making this an interesting listen.

[teekoh]

There really was a lot of blues on this one, and I gotta say their take on it doesn’t do much for me. If I want to listen to the blues I’m probably gonna listen to somebody else, you know?

That said, the vocal performance from this show was so good. I loved seeing the difference between this one and the later years. The highlights on this for me were “I Know You Rider”, “Alice D. Millionaire”, “Cream Puff War”, and the combo of “Cold Rain and Snow” into “Viola Lee Blues” had me legit rocking on the couch.

I think I’m much more into the weird/experimental side of what they do, which doesn’t surprise me all that much. Overall, a cool listen even if the majority of it didn’t grab me.

[monasterymonochrome]

Alright gang, what are we listening to this week? I’m bored at work and need something “productive” to do with my time

[andrewvb]

forgot to post that i listened to the last one and it's definitely the earliest dead recording i've listened to. was suprirsed how much it almost sounded like a straight up roots band. i felt like i was listening to it forever the night i put it on, so checks out whoever said it seems like more of a compilation of every song they were doing than a single show.

[chvrchbarrel]

I am going to post more thorough thoughts on thebosma's selection because ive revisited it several times and its an era of the dead i am really not familiar with too much at all

but i am going to put together a small post in a few minutes with a show selection \m/

[chvrchbarrel]

i started picking through some articles about the dead when monastery gave us our first selection, and ended up being fascinated by the history of jerry garcia's guitars and how each was (essentially) completely custom built. the guitars are all so unique and the specifications all make them seem like completely different beasts - hence most of them being named after wild animals.

garcia's fourth guitar, tiger, was built with "time and money as no object" and weighs almost 14 pounds which is HEAVY for a guitar. with the dead being such an improvisational, intuitive band, and with one of the lead instruments changing so drastically over time, i wanted to explore one of the first shows jerry played with one of his new guitars, and i went with tiger.



tiger was introduced on 8/4/79 in oakland, ca, but i've chosen 8/5/79 oakland at the oakland auditorium arena. (the previous night's setlist has quite a bit in common with the first show we listened to)

not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but i did go further down the line and listen to the band's next show (one week later at red rocks), and i think you can clearly hear jerry getting a feel for the new guitar on stage. i'm not sure how long he had it in his possession before these shows but i'd be glad to learn.

features one of my favorite live dead jams, shakedown street. also includes a nice early frank, and a tasteful sublime w/ rome cover to kick off the second set.

Oakland, CA: 8/5/79 on Relisten

[monasterymonochrome]

Hell yea, I've excited for this. Despite my love for 1978, I haven't dug much into 79. Only two entries that year so far: a decent December show that was released as Dick's Picks 5 and the 1/11/79 show with the fiery Jack Straw. Excited to hear some early Brent!

[thebosma]

Gonna roll back to my pick really fast because I didn't do anything beyond the initial writeup but just wanted to say I'm glad people enjoyed it, some of my all time favorite cuts in there and I love hearing the building blocks of this insane band. The late 60s are full of these long, bluesey sets and it's so much fucking fun to listen to.


79 is a great year, love the theme that chvrch chose, really gets into the spirit of this. Can't wait to listen!

[monasterymonochrome]

Checking out 8/5/79 this afternoon - Jerry's unleashing some righteous solos early on this one. Franklins and Candyman were particularly moving.

Edit: Brent alert on It's All Over Now!  Hell fuckin' yea

Edit 2: Scarlet was nice, but this Fire absolutely fucks.  Jerry busts out some sleek, powerful tone that grabbed my attention immediately, and his solos are incredible.  True to form, he flubs some of the lyrics, but hey, that's the Dead for ya

[teekoh]

The guitar work/tone on this is reallllly nice. Tiger was a good purchase! The versions of Me and My Uncle, Althea, and Bertha clicked with me more on this one than the other versions so far.

I also got a lot out of Franklin’s Tower and Fire on the Mountain. Very good listen.