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Kvlt! posted:Touring was a big part of what killed Jerry too imo. The band had such a massive crew, a lot of which were personal friends and family of the band, that stopping touring meant a lot of people werent going to be able to put food on the table. I think if they had been able to slow down or just take more breaks Jerry would have been able to get healthier and get the rest and help he needed. It's a shame because by the end it seems he was trying to make a conscious effort to do *something* about his situation. I can't remember who said it but they did talk about how trying to give him an ultimatum wouldn't work because he would go and do shows with the Garcia band instead. While that's true, I also think maybe it's a case of trying to justify something in hindsight. Of course no one in the band knew he was going to die (though at times their final show with him makes it seem that way) but you have to do a lot of looking the other way to not see the reality of someone in that state. I just saw LONG, STRANGE TRIP for the first time (is there any difference between the 4 hour movie version and the TV show?) and arguably it makes a great case for why they should have ended it in 74. Though they would go on to be even more successful than they were, and play even better, the spirit of the thing was gone. There's that great anecdote about how at their last 74 show, among backstage fighting between cokeheads and acidheads, one of the crew camped at the top of the stairs making sure anyone who went to stage had to take a hit of acid, trying to force the old spirit of the Dead onto people. It's funny but revealing too. When Phil talks about those comeback shows and how everyone was even better players than before but he never shook the feeling that there was 'something missing' I think he hit on a similar thought as that crew member did. Anyway, good movie if not disappointingly vague at times. And it's less fun when their tour manager leaves given how hilarious he was. There's a great moment where Phil is talking about the wall of sound and how amazing it is and all this only to cut back to him saying "The Grateful Dead are loving stupid". DrVenkman fucked around with this message at 10:54 on Jul 8, 2021 |
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Jul 7, 2021 15:50
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After saying that it turns out we just passed the date of Jerry's last show with them. 9th July 1995. Can't help but think sometimes that by the end maybe it was a case of Jerry being done with it all and waiting on the inevitable. On that note it's jarring to watch videos on YouTube and go from a lively Jerry in 77 to strung out, broken voiced and grey haired Jerry of 1980. I'm not so versed in the 80s and I know the mid to back half of the decade was generally better for Jerry performances. But is it a case that most of those early years has him strung out? DrVenkman fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Jul 10, 2021 |
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Jul 10, 2021 10:31
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Yeah Dead and Co have been really good this tour. I don't know if they rehearsed more or if they're just naturally getting better playing together, but it's working. Mayer is such a talented player (and I never thought I'd say that). They've been dipping into the back catalogue quite a bit so I'm waiting for Bobby to bust out Alligator again.
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Sep 16, 2021 15:59
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Kvlt! posted:Interesting. Wonder if there was a problem with the tour bus company or the road crew or something? I think it's a polite way of talking about the vaccine stuff. Rumour was they were trying to find a way around getting fined just for trying to keep people safe which is why the cancellation is last minute.
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Sep 29, 2021 18:09
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Time to celebrate https://twitter.com/GratefulDead/status/1443283050838691840?s=19
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Sep 29, 2021 19:44
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BigFactory posted:Wonder if Phil gave his donor rap to the kids Smashing back Heinekens and telling the kids he needs a new liver.
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Oct 1, 2021 10:08
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It's a small but nice touch, but the Dead & Co show in Texas was themed around women. From the first set: Man Smart, Woman Smarter Bertha Queen Jane Approximately Brown Eyed Women Peggy-O Cassidy Sugaree https://twitter.com/BobWeir/status/1444392724560498689?t=Ils-Snkn1OYFLP_y8N99BQ&s=19
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Oct 15, 2021 13:55
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BigFactory posted:Isn’t cassidy about jack Cassidy Yeah but the name can go either way. Listen, it was either going to be that or Loose Lucy. DrVenkman fucked around with this message at 09:11 on Oct 16, 2021 |
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Oct 15, 2021 15:04
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Noise Machine posted:Looks like Billy won't be at N1 of Red Rocks tonight due to "Non-COVID Related Illness". Jay Lane will be sitting in tonight. Thankfully, Billy is fine. He said he had 'cold-like' symptoms but tested negative for Covid. He was advised not to play though because the altitude at Red Rocks can gently caress with you at that age, even when they're huffing on oxygen like a lot of acts do. Mickey did vanish towards the end of the show though and seemed a little checked out when they were doing 'Morning Dew'. He didn't come back for the encore.
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Oct 20, 2021 12:12
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:Hey thread. I don't know what feelings are about Billy Strings in here, but I think this is really cool. Billy Strings is pretty cool. I've enjoyed everything I've seen him do. I like Headyversion because it can turn you on to some great shows, but you do get some insufferable types in the comments who want to tell you why the Cornell Scarlet-->Fire isn't that great because Jerry hadn't mastered playing in the Mixolydian scale yet. And there's a pretty heavy anti-Donna bias with a lot of those types.
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Oct 20, 2021 20:39
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Dead Nerve posted:A little late on this but 30 Days of the Dead started on November 1st again. Continuing the tradition started in 2010, the Grateful Dead vault is opened up by David Lemieux who releases one unreleased live track each day of November. Don't worry if you missed any days this year, you can scroll down to the bottom of the link to find each days release. Hope everyone enjoys, they've already released some beauties so far. Yeah that stuff has been great. They just do a poor job of getting the word out about this and I always forget it's happening.
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Nov 11, 2021 21:55
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The complete Europe boxset is available on streaming services for those who have them. As are all of Dick's Picks (but not Dave's Picks).
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Feb 25, 2022 13:06
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Arms_Akimbo posted:The streaming services also have a version of dicks picks that's all the shows in release order in one "album" if you're a true madman There's a Spotify playlist that puts them in chronological order too.
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Feb 25, 2022 21:39
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:Hey who are Dick and Dave? I never paid attention to who actually curates all the live stuff. Dick Latvala was a tape trader and weed grower in Hawaii who became an archivist for the band because they just had unmarked tapes sitting in a warehouse (supposedly he used the weed to get access to the band, and became friendly enough with them that they asked him to work with them). Eventually he was able to parlay that into the Dick's Picks series because he was like hey, there's some awesome shows here in great quality but they're just hidden away. Funnily enough, given the merchandise behemoth they became, the band took a lot of convincing by Dick because this is out there for free anyway, why would anyone buy the shows? Choosing what shows to put out became a big saga, usually because Dick would have a choice of show lined up and either someone in the band or someone associated with the band (like Bear) would veto it, or demand their bass solos be cut. He also clearly didn't care for much of anything past 78 and I think if it was up to him he would have only released shows between 68-74. Dave became the video archivist, worked with Dick for a bit before Dick died and more or less took over the role after that.
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Feb 26, 2022 09:31
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Kvlt! posted:Are these available to watch after? I'd love to see it but can't watch it live If it's streaming through YouTube I should think they'll archive it as well. The others they've done are.
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Mar 24, 2022 23:29
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If you're going to start listening to the Europe '72 shows then now is the time (though if you've already heard the opening show enough I guess you can start tomorrow). Good news if you're on streaming services, they should all have time complete Europe boxset so there's no excuse not to listen to these great shows.
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Apr 7, 2022 10:25
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Trip Report: The Dead launched their European tour without knowing how well it would do (And it was supposed to be bigger than it was until everyone settled on the more modest one we got) but sold out London right away (Tickets were only £1 then). They were originally scheduled to play the Rainbow Theatre, but it closed weeks before the tour started hence the Wembley Empire Pool. I love the understated Sam Cutler introduction into a rousing 'Greatest Story Ever Told', before a fairly standard Set 1. 'Chinatown Shuffle' is pretty fun here and of course the 'China/Rider' is a highlight. It's good to hear Pigpen give lively performances given that his last performance with the band is about 9 weeks from now. His songs were always a good anchor point for the band and probably a nice palette cleanser for the audience. There's a pretty good 'Tennessee Jed', which is not a song I usually care for. Set 2 briefly comes into its own with an excellent 'The Other One' wrapped around a lively 'El Paso' before everyone is brought back to earth with 'Wharf Rat'. It doesn't have the lead in of 'Dark Star' as the performance later in Germany will (And what a pairing that one is) but this haunting, standalone performance of the song is a highlight of the whole tour for me. Also, it just sounds fantastic. Set 2 ends with the band not exactly in a hurry, but I don't think they're too keen to stay. As the encore we get 'One More Saturday Night' and we should probably address this now: it's going to come up a lot. Bobby doesn't care what night of the week it is. Night 2 opens with Sam Cutler letting us know that we can catch one of the later shows on Radio Luxembourg. Thanks Sam. Overall this is the better show of the two I think with the band giving multiple songs from the first night another go, even allowing for another 'Tennessee Jed' and a total flub of 'Bertha'. Set 2 highlights are 'Look Like Rain' (I'm a Bobby fan and there are dozens of us) and a all-timer 'Dark Star'. It isn't the psychedelic freakout of some versions, but a descent and crash nonetheless and when it all gets a bit too noisy the band find their way out of it again the clouds break into a beautiful final 5 minutes that segues into an explosive 'Sugar Magnolia'. If that had been the end then, well, what an ending. But we get an admittedly pretty good 'Caution' before sending the crowd home mild with a perfunctory repeat of 'One More Saturday Night'. Overall a success! The band, and us, take a few days off and come back on the 11th. I don't know what the Dead did between now and then, but I hope they didn't spend all that time in Newcastle.
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Apr 8, 2022 17:48
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Noise Machine posted:I'll try to search for it, but there's an interview with Jerry where he talks about just not connecting with Ripple's lyrics live and he knows people feel very special about that song in particular. It didn't seem right for him to sing lyrics that were important to everyone if he couldn't connect to them the same way. I always thought it's because there were some songs that Jerry said worked better acoustically and that Ripple was one of them. Once they stopped doing acoustic openers it fell out of rotation. It's the same reason they changed the arrangement of Friend Of The Devil.
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Apr 11, 2022 17:18
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Trip Report: Newcastle City Hall, April 11th. A grim day in a Northern Town and with a crowd that probably showed up because an American band were playing (There was certainly a contingent of local older ladies present, one of whom was Eric Burdon's mother) was a safe bet for what I thought might be a rote show on the tour but surprisingly they turned in a strong showing and maybe the best show of the tour to date? Set 1 doesn't quite bear that out. 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' is better than the one we got on the first night of the tour, but then it's a few well-performed and perfectly fine songs ('Deal, 'Sugaree' and, ugh, 'Tennessee Jed') before a lively 'Jack Straw' kicks things up again. Bobby gets a bit too lively on 'Brown-Eyed Women' and sounds like he falls out of time for a spell but makes up for it with a great 'Looks Like Rain' that sees Jerry on steel-pedal guitar. It makes for a lovely mournful addition to the song but don't get used to it because Jerry uses the guitar at (I think) the next show and we don't hear it again. We get a good 'Big Railroad Blues' with a playful Jerry vocal and a standard 'Casey Jones' closer. Set 2 kicks off with 'Good Lovin' and Pigpen is in great form again. I've heard a few shows in this set but not all and I think this and the next show are probably his best efforts. Rather than push it into anything else it comes to a slow close and Jerry sings 'Ramble On Rose'. Vocally this show is a great one for Jerry, who rings every bit of emotion out of what can be a bit of a filler song. The centrepiece of this one is 'Truckin'-->'Drums'-->'The Other One'-->'Comes A Time' with the latter being another on point Jerry vocal. He's in his prime during this time and it's great hearing him belt out these vocal performances. The crowd seem appreciative when it's over too. So of course the boys hit them with a lively 'Sugar Magnolia'. Rosie McGee wrote that Newcastle City Hall was "a dour concrete building in the midst of a grim industrial town with the warmth of a witch's teat." and that a cold and confused crowd became "stunned and bemused" before "the concrete walls somehow turned into green pastures." It's a lot, but you can feel it happening. The band and the crowd are a little apprehensive, but they get there and we end with a wonderful 'Brokedown Palace' before uh, 'One More Saturday Night'. That ends the first leg of the Dead's Europe tour, with the band leaving for Copenhagen. Next time they're in the UK it's at the Bickershaw Festival, where a young Elvis Costello gets the idea to start his own band. Bonus: Here's an interview Jerry did that day, about two hours before the band took the stage: http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2014/09/april-11-1972-jerry-garcia-interview.html
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Apr 11, 2022 18:26
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Noise Machine posted:I'll edit this post after I listen to Set 2 tonight - I'm pretty sure it's a bit later in this tour that Jerry starts sharing the JS vocals. It's always a little jarring to hear Bob do both parts and like 'The Music Never Stops', it doesn't sound right unless there's two vocalists.
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Apr 12, 2022 09:00
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Trip Report: Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, April 14th, 1972. The shows have been getting longer, and the Dead have been getting more comfortable. Right out of the gate with a 'Bertha' that sees Jerry in a good mood and a standard Set 1 except for the addition of 'Me and Bobby McGee'. There's plenty of early banter with the crowd too, even though only a small portion of them actually know what they're saying. There are a lot of short, sharp performances in the first set and while some nights can start to feel interchangeable, I think 'Bertha', 'Black-throated Wind' and, unbelievably, 'Tennessee Jed'* are worth checking out. The second set unleashes the jamming, most of it coming from the centre-piece that is that 'Dark Star'->'Sugar Magnolia'-->'Good Lovin''-->'Caution'-->'Good Lovin'. In sadder news, before that we had the last 'Looks Like Rain' of the tour, and it's a goodbye to Jerry's Steel guitar sound. It's alright though, later on Bobby and Donna will work on it and it'll come back stronger than ever. Another 'Dark Star' that's hovering around the 30 minute mark, and at this point it's probably going to be easier choosing which DS is the worst one of this tour because they're all pretty special. My only note is that I don't think the ending works. In the case of pointing out the obvious, it's worth highlighting how great Bill was at this time. It's easy to forget about him sometimes, and admittedly it can be hard to hear him when there's so much happening, but if nothing else listen to him on that DS. There's another Pigpen showcase in here, however if you're not in the mood for hearing about fooling around with 17-year-olds and running from their shotgun-toting fathers then it might not be for you. One of the best things about these Pigpen numbers is we're so close to leaving that whole era of the Dead behind, and there's already one foot firmly in what they would become in 73 and beyond, but we get to hear some of the piss and vinegar of that early Dead. If you have Spotify it's worth listening to Dick's Picks 22. It's the earliest show they've released from 1968. The venue is a converted bowling alley and it's such a scuzzy performance with the band starting at 11 and staying that way. There's an echo of that in the 'Good Lovin'/'Caution' on this night and again shows what a showman like Pigpen could do for the band. Dude just liked to entertain. Another member having a good one is Keith. I think it's because he's a little more prominent in the mix for this show and hopefully if nothing else these shows might dispel the notion that Keith didn't add all that much. I don't think the later criticisms of him are completely unfounded, but he was undoubtedly a core part of their sound and my personal preference is his accompaniment compared with Brent's overpowering. We end the show with 'Not Fade Away'-->'Goin' Down The Road'-->'Not Fade Away' and Donna is still settling in if we're being charitable. I say this with love as a Donna fan. I don't know if there are any bad performances of GDTR but this certainly isn't one of them and it gives the end of the show a great boost. The crowd sound happy. Good job the concert ends there and the band definitely don't come out and do an encore. The next stop is another quick University show in Denmark on the 16th, before we're back at Tivoli on the 17th for Night 2. *It's their 'Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da'. If there's one song I've sung to myself more than any other since we've started this, it's 'Tennessee Jed'. I don't know how to feel about this. DrVenkman fucked around with this message at 17:31 on Apr 14, 2022 |
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Apr 14, 2022 17:24
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Casey Jones is a song I love but one that gets pretty similar when they do it live. The only real standout for me is a later one where Jerry flubs the vocal and it leads to some great Keith playing. It was always popular, which is why they'd go back to it, but I never got the sense they enjoyed playing it all that much because there wasn't much to do with it. One song I forget we won't hear much more of is Chinatown Shuffle. I think it debuts at the end of 71 and when Pigpen has to quit in about 6 weeks time that's the end of it.
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Apr 15, 2022 11:43
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Trip Report: Aarhus University, Denmark, April 16th 1972 Aarhus had long entered into Europe '72 folklore. Prior to hearing it, the most notable thing about this show was where it took place. The Aarhus University cafeteria holds about 400, but that night 700 were crammed in sitting wherever they could, with some fans climbing up to the rafters. It's also about half an hour shorter than the last show so I wasn't expecting all that much from it, but this somewhat unique show was a blast. Maybe the compact nature of it did something to the band, but they feel more at ease here. The first set is what we've come to expect by now. With solid versions of a few songs before 'Beat It On Down The Line'. This feels a little faster than the previous versions and we get some more fun with Keith up and down the piano (He feels more of a presence in the first set over the second). We head into 'China/Rider' and the crowd love the harmonies on 'Rider' as much as I do. The first set with a rare showing of 'Dire Wolf' instead of 'Casey Jones'; it's fine. They hadn't played DW for nearly a whole year by this point, and it shows up like 2 more times throughout the tour. It's a welcome change though. Set 2 takes off with 'Good Lovin'. There's a similar Pigpen rap to what we've got on previous nights, but the band are going other places. It's probably the most experimental 'Good Lovin' we've had on this tour and gives the band an energy that flows through the rest of the set. Just listen to something like 'El Paso' here and how Jerry can't stop playing, or how Billy makes it sound like a shuffle. After 'Deal' it's 'Truckin' that serves the cornerstone for what comes next, with the song descending into a brooding jam and an unsure 'The Other One' before Bobby leads a willing band into 'Me And My Uncle', though Phil isn't ready to let go yet. Like the previous night that saw a reluctant Jerry join in 'Sugar Magnolia', Phil still plays around with 'The Other One' a little before he joins the rest. Then boys bring 'The Other One' back properly and go straight into 'Not Fade Away'-->'Goin' Down The Road'-->'Not Fade Away' for the ending and the crowd goes home happy. There's no encore this time, and somewhere Bobby weeps.
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Apr 16, 2022 15:06
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Trip Report: Tivoli, Copenhagen, April 17th 1972. For their second night at Tivoli the camera crews were ready, which is perhaps why we get some weirdly truncated sets for this performance. I think unofficially the concert is split into 3 sets with the third set coming after the cameras turned off. We don't get the exploratory Dead we might have had in the other shows but there's still some good to be had here. Its a night of firsts as we kick off with 'Cold Rain & Snow' which gets its first airing since the tour started. We get another solid 'Chinatown Shuffle' and at this point I don't think they're capable of putting out a bad China/Rider. Notable from this set is the debut of 'He's Gone'. There's probably some conventional wisdom about how your first performance of a song shouldn't be for a TV special, but the Dead certainly didn't heed it. To be fair, I guess it was somewhat low stakes for them, and the crowd likely didn't even realise. You wouldn't think it was new, given the Amsterdam performance is a definitive one and that's only a very short time away. There's not much of an ending here however, and Jerry sounds like he inadvertently veers into 'Tennessee Jed' briefly at the song's close. The second set opens with a fine 'Casey Jones', another fun 'Mr. Charlie' and the best 'Sugaree' so far. The highlights came with 'Hurts Me Too' and 'Big Railroad Blues'. The former sees Pigpen on fine form with Jerry's yearning lead and its sadder knowing that the Lyceum show which ends this tour is the last time we'll hear the band do it. Even more significantly, it's the same story for 'Turn On Your Lovelight'. Talk about the end of an era. 'Big Railroad Blues' sees Jerry tearing through it and was featured on the much less famous Europe '72: Volume 2. With the camera crew gone, it's the third set and we have another 'Dark Star' running some 31 minutes. Unbelievably, the later one in Rotterdam goes for 47 minutes so brace yourselves for that one. This doesn't hit the heights of the early ones for me and how you feel about this one might depend on how you are in general with the chaotic parts of the song. At 25 minutes in the boys get jazzy before collapsing into 'Sugar Magnolia' even though Jerry is clearly trying to carry it on into another jam. Phil is eager to get them into a fantastic 'Caution' that sees him and Jerry trading off. I guess this whole third set is the band letting loose after being relatively restrained for the cameras. Pigpen isn't quite there with them though and sounds tired now, even while he's spitting some filth. Bobby has already used up his Saturday night quota so we get the tour's sole appearance of 'Johnny B. Goode'. It's fine enough, but they probably should have closed with the previous song. And that's it for a pretty drat successful run in Copenhagen. You can watch the broadcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOKfWGfbpUo The next stop is the totally optional TV appearance on Beat-Club which is more of a curiosity I suppose. It's just a first set with 'One More Saturday Night' thrown in the middle where they let the producers decide which songs to air. If you're thinking they couldn't possibly have chosen the worst song on the list then you don't know the Germans. DrVenkman fucked around with this message at 13:41 on Apr 17, 2022 |
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Apr 17, 2022 13:36
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hatelull posted:Did the tv appearance that aired stop with "Truckin'" or did they broadcast the whole thing include that jammy "The Other One"? Apparently they only wanted like 2 songs or something and the band thought it was a waste that everything got set up for the sake of a 10 minute performance so they decided to run through a slew of songs with the intention that the producers could just pick what they wanted to air. They chose 'One More Saturday Night'.
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Apr 22, 2022 10:16
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Trip Report: Dusseldorf, West Germany, April 24th 1972. We're approaching the midway point of the tour and the band are striding as confidently through Europe as they would through America. They leave behind the televised band practice of a few nights ago and open the show with an energetic 'Truckin' and we're pretty much off to the races from there. We get a fun 'Tennessee Jed' and a great 'Black-Throated Wind' early on. The latter sees nice accompaniment from Keith. It's no surprise to anyone who has heard this show before that Keith is one of the standouts, particularly later on in the show. An early highlight is this version of 'China'/'Rider'. We've heard them enough times through this tour, but the transition between the two here sees the band branching out a little more. You can hear the early genesis of where they would eventually go with it, and it's exciting to hear them work through it in real time. The highlight is arguably this version of 'Good Lovin' that breaks down at about the 7 minute mark and for the next few minutes is an interesting push and pull between the honkey blues rapping of Pigpen and the exploratory instincts of the band. It's one of the parts of the night where the band can't help it, they're just so eager to play. The second set follows suit by opening with a fantastic 'Dark Star'. Melodic, spacey and then caught in its grasp is 'Me & My Uncle'. Cowboy psychedelia, vaguely threatening. 'Dark Star' takes over again, even if it only sounds familiar in the closing moments before it drifts off into another fantastic 'Wharf Rat', our first since the second night of the tour. We're blessed with another blistering 'Sugar Magnolia' with Bobby blowing out his voice and Jerry's fingers getting frantic. It feels like we're at the end but we're only part way through, so we get a decent 'He's Gone' where they still haven't worked out the intro, another great 'Hurts Me too' (And again, what a bummer that there's not many of these left). To close out, we get a tight set of 'Not Fade Away'-->'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad'-->'Not Fade Away'. It's shorter than usual, but the band pack those minutes and don't let up. Even Donna joins in. Next time, we get our second German show with a stop over in Frankfurt.
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Apr 24, 2022 16:05
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Trip Report: Jahrhundert Halle, Frankfurt, April 26th 1972. Here's one of those shows that was good enough for its own release* and in September 95 it came out as 'Hundred Year Hall'. That's a literal translation of the venue, Jahrhunderthalle. To Robert Hunter's recollection the Dead seemed to go through something while in Germany. quote:That run from Hamburg to Munich in two buses. Castles along the Rhine. Black Forest at night where werewolves roam. Bombed out ruins of old Heidelberg University. U.S. - Brit. post-war retaliatory blitz of gemutlich Germany, ancient before ever those snot nosed killers transformed high romance to schmaltz and wrecked the language for poets for generations to come. Too many lies had been told in it, concepts of the heart and the very words to say them expropriated for purposes of rape. We had lies of our own to tell, but not hateful ones. Told them with music. Had come to save the world but, starting in Germany, began to realize worlds cannot be saved. All are tentative. So we learned to dance on graves and be glad. None recover, they are just replaced. In 1972 the German Nation was still in shock, only halfway between then and now. We had Vietnam. All were crazy. None were sane. Hausfrauen at dawn, trying to scrub their patches of sidewalk free of blame, look up to see busloads of the Dead with red rubber noses waving, laughing. Register nothing. Continue scrubbing. Siehst du de Toten? Only the children see. The second of three nights in Germany saw the Dead in Frankfurt, some 3 hours away by bus. Maybe a bout of existentialism allowed them to feel freer in their playing, but they launch into an energetic 'Bertha' before 'Mr & My Uncle' and 'Mr. Charlie' introduce the audience to their singers this evening. It's pretty familiar but well played Set 1 stuff though I think the 'China'/'Rider' is another worthy addition to the cannon. Another highlight and maybe my personal favourite of the night is 'The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)'. A Pigpen original, it first came in just a few weeks earlier on 03/21/72. Pigpen's failing health wasn't a mystery at this point and it hangs over the song as he watches people drift away from him, onto new parts of their lives, into relationships, while he knows he's going to be alone. At the close of the song he yearns for love "just one more time" and it's hard not to separate singer from song. The band only performed this 13 times, the last coming at the end of this tour, but it feels seasoned. People can often point to Jerry's solo on the Cornell version of 'Loser' as him expressing the inner life of that character, but he's just as adept here some five years before. After is the standard closer of 'Casey Jones' and this one is only notable because of the gusto they bring to it. The second set opens with another great 'Good Lovin'. It's not as spacious as the previous performance was but it still hits some similar twists and turns in less time. The centrepiece is a strong 'Truckin'-->'Drums'-->'The Other One'-->'Comes A Time'-->'Sugar Magnolia'. Bobby informs the crowd that 'Truckin' is "numero uno in Turloch, California". Bobby also flubs some lines. After 'Drums' we get 'The Other One' and to be honest, this didn't do that much for me. It didn't help that I went out for a walk and it lasted the entirety of my walk. Sometimes, just sometimes, it feels like we're running up and down the scales waiting for something to happen. Others might feel differently, but I struggled with this. There's a lovely, delicate 'Comes A Time' before another great, leaping 'Sugar Magnolia'. Just when you think they might be done there's a rocking 'Turn On Your Lovelight' that is more or less standard for the time if not for some really fun Bob Weir playing. What's fascinating is towards the end as we hear the band trying to decide where to go next. Bob starts to play 'Caution' and then Phil joins him. Presumably, Pigpen didn't want to come out again (He often had to be dragged out as it was), so Jerry starts noodling around with the opening of 'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad', Bobby and Billy fight back with 'Not Fade Away' and it seems like they're going to play that one until Jerry eventually drags them back into high energy 'GDTRFB'. We simmer down with a lovely 'Bid You Goodnight' coda before, of course, 'One More Saturday Night'. It was a Wednesday by the way. Next time it's the last stop in Germany before the band head to France. *Bizarrely, it was chopped up with a good chunk of Set 1 missing. 'Lovelight', 'GDTRFB' and 'OMSN come at the end of disc one after being slot in after 'Playing In The Band'. And disc two solely comprises of the 'Truckin'/'The Other One'/'Comes A Time/'Sugar Magnolia' suite. Poor 'Two Souls' didn't even make it on the album, though it has been theorised it was because no one knew who had written it (given the butchery of that release I think they cut it because it was easy to). Eventually, sole credit was given to Pigpen.
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Apr 26, 2022 15:56
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Trip Report: Musikhalle, Hamburg. April 29th 1972. I don't know how everyone else feels about this one but there's not much to say. It's nearly an hour shorter than their previous show, which probably attests to their state of mind. I don't want to say 'perfunctory' because that makes it seem worse than what it is. But it's a well-played show that I'm sure sent people home happy (The crowd are responsive throughout at least) but put with the other performances we've heard so far it falls a tad short. We get a rare show-opening 'Playin' In The Band' to get us into the swing of things. I think 'Me & My Uncle' might have been the highlight? Both Jerry and Keith are all over it, with the latter adding some nice honky-tonk piano throughout. I haven't singled this song out yet for some reason even though it's always fun to hear and that's 'Big Railroad Blues'. They blast this one out in under 4 minutes and you can picture the crowd dancing and the beer spilling. Jerry tells the crowd they're going to hear songs they haven't heard beforeIs it just me, or does anyone else want these 'Casey Jones' to go just a little longer at the end? The second set opens with a stomping 'Greatest Story Ever Told'. Donna makes an appearance. Wah-wah can get overused easily, but I've always liked how Jerry uses it on this song. He's a master of tone that one. 'He's Gone' is still in its early days, with no real intro or outro to speak of. This 'Dark Star' is similar to the other night in that your mileage may vary, but I don't always love the space loaded Dark Stars' and I didn't get much from this until the last 10 minutes, an unfortunate thing for a 30 minute song. They kill with 'Sugar Magnolia'. I think Jerry cuts it short at the end and Bobby sounds like he's going to blow his voice out. Billy hammers on the drums. I had already forgotten they played 'Caution' this time. 'One More Saturday Night' is played on a Saturday. We do get a first with an encore of 'Uncle John's Band'. Well played, nice ending. Their voices sound tired. Kind of sums up the show. Reddit seemed to be high on this one so maybe I'm just out of step with it. Next time: France, buckle up boys. DrVenkman fucked around with this message at 16:31 on Apr 29, 2022 |
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Apr 29, 2022 16:27
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Trip Report: Olympia Theatre, Paris. May 3rd, 1972. The Dead were ready for France, and France was ready for the Dead. Maybe it was the few days of recuperation, maybe it was the wine but this show sees the band step up from a string of already very-good performances. With the show opener of 'Bertha' the band are off to a fast, raucous start. Keith is a presence from the beginning and a little piano tinkle between the first two songs gets a cheer from the crowd who seem to be a mix of French and American. Without the risk of repeating what gets said every show, the first set is more or less what we've heard numerous times except played near flawlessly. The 'China'/'Rider' would later be used (with some overdubs, though I think they sound great) on the 'Europe '72' release. About five or so performances after its debut, 'He's Gone' has settled into something more familiar now that the intro is more or less there. Jerry sings it like he means it, and the band let it space out a bit now that they're more comfortable with it. I don't think the song ever had a real ending. It gently trickles into silence but not before revealing the crowd who have been clapping along. They burst into cheers. A group of people ask for 'Uncle John's Band' but the band don't acknowledge it. 'Playin' In The Band' is shorter than it has been in other shows, running just a few minutes longer than the 'Tennessee Jed' which comes after (And was also the take used for 'Europe '72'. Personally I would have used one of the earlier shows). For the last few run of shows it sounds like 'Good Lovin' has been their Set 1 jam and that's no different here. For a moment the song seems like it's about to go to space but they keep it reigned in for Pigpen, who regales the French crowd with his horny raps. We hear the rare 'Sing Me Back Home', a Merle Haggard tune that they hadn't performed since the previous November and which would barely see 1973 until Jerry resurrected it 10 years later doing a few shows for the Garcia Band. Jerry really had a way to get at you with those sad songs. Set 2 opens with 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'. I've said plenty of good things about this song already, but this one really kicks the door in. Jerry's wah-wah can barely hold on. Pretty sure he briefly thinks he's playing 'Sugar Magnolia' as he throws in one or two familiar sounding licks from that one. After 'Ramble On Rose' and 'Hurts Me Too' we get a pretty big centrepiece, starting with 'Truckin'' and entering into a pretty jazzy 'The Other One' that's been different to the thumping versions we've had thus far. This is leisurely, walk in the moonlight, kind of version. That falls into 'Drums' and then I guess 'Bass and Drums'. The rest of the band join in for a Phil-led return to 'The Other One' though that doesn't last long and after more jazzy playing we're treated to another Phil duet, this time with Jerry. It's a detour with 'Me & Bobby McGee' (fine song but I wouldn't have put it there) before finally finishing off 'The Other One' and ending with a lovely 'Wharf Rat'. Phew. Not quite done yet it's 'Jack Straw', finally emerging as the version most people know with Jerry sharing the vocals. It's a slower groove than usual but it's done well, and the band liked it enough to also include it on 'Europe '72'. Not bad for an opening night show. The band show off with yet another suite, this time kicking off with a scorching 'Sugar Magnolia'. Bobby has blown his voice out but still sounds great, and pulls it out of the back for the 'Sunshine Daydream' part. They go into a jammy 'Not Fade Away', then Donna comes back and everyone joins in on 'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad'. It's the sound of the band giving everything they have left. A joyous, raucous ending before the soft landing. They finish off 'Not Fade Away' and somehow, despite the odds, give a pretty good 'One More Saturday Night' as the encore. Jerry had said around this time that the band were itching to get on stage. He didn't like the gap between shows, thought there were too many days where they weren't playing and I think in these shows you can feel the band get those frustrations out. They just want to play, and 50 years later we get to benefit from that. Pretty special stuff. Next time: Paris, again!
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May 3, 2022 21:46
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BigFactory posted:I loved hearing that Jack Straw that I’ve listened to a million times and was so familiar but without the vocal overdubs it feels so different. Someone must have put together a playlist that's just 'Europe' 72' without the overdubs right? I think that's Alligator, or at least a version of it.
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May 4, 2022 09:06
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Trip Report: Olympia Theatre, Paris. May 4th, 1972. If the first night was the party, this was the comedown. That's not so much a reflection of the quality as it is the temperament of the band. After the previous night's raucous 'Greatest Story Ever Told' to open the second set, we get it opening the first here albeit in a slower and more focused. I know it's not fair to compare the two, but they are good contrasts. There's a lazy energy to the performance that continues throughout the night, perhaps more weed than coke. A lot of songs are repeats of the previous night and they're played well enough, though nothing stands out until 'Hurts Me Too' late in the first set. Granted, there's another on-point 'Brown-Eyed Women' and a tightened up 'Playin' In The Band', but it's Pigpen who grabs my attention with his soulful rendition. There's not many more of them folks. Speaking of fleeting, after a big blast of 'Big Railroad Blues' it's the second go for 'The Stranger'. Jerry isn't as on here as he was there, but Pigpen is. Another heartbreaker. Pigpen must have been feeling good that day because he's back out to open the second set with 'Good Lovin'. It's another stormer without being played at the pace some of the others have been. The band find plenty of room to explore, Pigpen comes up with some filth we haven't heard him do yet and somewhere a young David Lee Roth gets some ideas. I like the mellow groove they fall into at about the 19 minute mark before building up into the main riff. I dig the later versions of this song too, but what they're able to do with it at this time is pretty remarkable. It's another Pigpen number with 'Next Time You See Me', though we get an amusing bit of business with a false start as the electric goes. There's another great 'Dark Star' with some exploratory business before the first verse. Like the rest of the show this is probably a mellow 'Dark Star' than we've had before with the band more interested in exploring melody than noise. For a while everything is on edge and Billy breaks into a short 'Drums' (That to be honest feels less like a separate thing and more part of 'Dark Star' itself. Thus, this should have been one track. That's my final ruling.) before the band join back in, finding themselves in a touch shaky 'Mind Left Body Jam' before a fantastic end that bursts into the main theme. The 'Sugar Magnolia' that emerges is the one they use for the album. Donna joins for the first time, and her chemistry with Bobby is apparent. This sounds pretty great, even if Jerry maybe flubs a note or two, that's what overdubs are for. I don't know why they redid the vocals though, they sound great here. It's worth noting how vocal these French crowds have been the last two nights. Not the say the other crowds haven't been, but it sounds so pronounced here and numerous times you can hear them clap during the songs. The recordings for both nights are worth a mention as well, they sound fantastic. That's probably the highlight of the show? There's a lovely 'Sing Me Back Home' again, before running through a grip of songs including a very nice 'Uncle John's Band' and 'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad' but you can tell they're tired when they get 'Not Fade Away' done in under 3 minutes. Not that it matters to that crowd. Periodic reminder that live music is a dying and unsupported artform. Next time: It's another one to buckle up for, as we head back to the UK for Bickershaw Festival.
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May 4, 2022 18:04
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trem_two posted:Pigpen, bruh, just go hire a professional iykwim To a French crowd though? That was probably all the encouragement they needed.
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May 4, 2022 21:47
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Trip Report: Bickershaw Festival, Wigan. May 7th, 1972 Bickershaw festival was a one-off. Organised in part by a man who called himself 'The Count', the festival was a way to make a bit of money off the counter-culture scene and to pull it away from London. Settling instead in the North of England in a farmer's field to the confusion of the locals (One shopkeeper noted to the news that he's been making a killing selling something he's never heard of but that the hippies liked; yoghurt). The Count bounced out of proceedings pretty early, leaving most of the organisation up to small-handed prankster Jeremy Beadle. Imagine if you were a public nuisance and the powers that be saw fit to give you a Saturday night TV show and you'd have 'Beadle's About', in which Jeremy Beadle would prank unsuspecting members of the British public, with the theme threatening "Watch out, Beadle's about". It was £2.25 for the whole weekend and it included a set by the Kinks, Monty Python (Only 3 members though, they couldn't afford the others), Cheech and Chong, Donovan and Captain Beefheart. In the crowd is a young Joe Strummer, who is blown away by Beefheart, and Elvis Costello, who has come to see the Dead. Was it worth it? I certainly think so. By now these first sets are played just about as well as you could hope, even if there aren't a lot of standouts. 'Truckin' is an ambitious opener, though it's not as stretched out as it would be if it was in the second set. Instead it's a tight, well-played version that sees the band in good spirits. From the off it sounds like one of those times where they're just itching to play. 'Beat It On Down The Line' is a belter, sharply played and out in 3 minutes. Afterwards Bobby lets the crowd know that Parliment have voted down an Anti-festival bill. There's a more or less fully realised 'He's Gone', there's kind of screw up in 'China Cat Sunflower' and run with it anyway until they find their way again, and sweetly get the crowd to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Bill (Who was turning 26) before giving Donna quite the introduction and getting to a great 'Playin' In The Band'. It's a little spacey, has a little edge to it, sometimes doesn't feel like '72 Dead and more like pre-70s. It sounds like they're having a great time with 'Tennesse Jed' and so am I. There's a decent 'Good Lovin' and 'Casey Jones' to finish things up. 'Good Lovin' has its moments but it doesn't really live up to the ones we've heard from the last few shows, particularly the first night in France. Sam Cutler reminds people to get off the towers, Bobby says that "you don't want a blooming catastrophe, so get the gently caress down.". Jerry's tone is pushed to the brink for 'The Greatest Story Ever Told', but it sounds great. These second set openers are becoming a highlight of the tour. Bobby being slightly out of tune (Though I think Jerry is too) I think leads the jam in the back end down an interesting road. I like the moment from about 4:40 in that, both Jerry and Bobby do some fun things. We get a nicely performed 'Ramble-On Rose' (I like this song but never have that much to say about it), before 'Jack Straw'. I didn't mention this on the last show, but the Jerry-sings-the-other-part experiment lasted all of one time. I wonder if it's a case of Bobby just forgetting. Then we get the centrepiece of the whole thing with 'Dark Star'-->'Drums'-->'The Other One'-->'Sing Me Back Home'. Someone in the crowd attempts a "knock-knock" joke before it starts. The 'Dark Star' is another one that's reminiscent of pre-70s Dead. Mellow, eerie and somehow easily sliding its way back to the main theme. There's a 'The Other One' tease very early on. It's shorter than I think all of the other ones we've had on the tour. It continues through 'Drums' into 'The Other One' which is a mammoth 30 minutes, but the overwhelming feeling I get is paranoia. TOO is a bit long for my liking, though I'm glad I heard it I don't think I'll be returning to this suite anytime soon, even with another lovely version of 'Sing Me Back Home'. I'm not too big a fan of its placement though and think it would have been better going into 'Sugar Magnolia' after 'The Other One'. There's a great 'Turn On Your Lovelight' that Jerry is all over. Pigpen really can work his magic on any crowd. I'm sure his rapping can seem a little lame, but I can imagine the effect it would have on those rooms (Or fields as the case may be). They attempt to start 'Caution' but that's aborted and it doesn't look like Pigpen wanted to come back out for it. The 4 hour show ends with an energetic 'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad' and 'Not Fade Away'. The sun came out during their set, and by now people from town were mixed with the hippies and everyone else, come to see what all the fuss is about. The oldest ones complained about the noise, as oldest ones are want to do, but everyone else sounds like they're having a good time. Next stop: We're going to Holland.
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May 7, 2022 16:17
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Trip Report: Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. May 10th, 1972. We're in the land of hash and other illicit substances for a sold out 2,000 seater show. This is notable for the use of 'He's Gone' for the 'Europe 72' album, though cheekily the outro they borrow from a show they'll play later on in July. We get off to a...shaky start with 'Bertha'. Jerry abandons a verse after flubbing a line. It's the most uncertain start we've had since the tour began with both 'Me & My Uncle' and 'Mr. Charlie' being politely played. Even 'China'/'Rider', usually something of a sure-fire on this tour is a little off. Naturally, your boy Bobby gets things back on track with a great 'Black-Throated Wind'. Both 'El Paso' and 'He's Gone' are standouts. The latter seeing a lovely vocal interplay on the outro. Another one I feel like they made needless overdubs for. Anyway, there's a fun 'Playin' In The Band', which has been kind of taking a backseat the last few shows. 'Tennessee Jed' continues to win me over, and it's clear that Jerry just loves playing this song. 'Greatest Story Ever Told' isn't played as frenetically as it was on the other nights, but there's some really nice playing between Bobby and Keith in the outro. The second set goes off in grand fashion with a suite of 'Truckin''-->'Drums'-->'The Other One'-->'Me & Bobby McGee'-->'The Other One'-->'Wharf Rat'. 'Truckin' is played confidently, any first set issues shaken off by now, and a lively jam gives way to a Bill Kruetzman showcase which rolls (Along with Phil) into 'The Other One' and has the band playing an electric jam before the first verse, before eventually spacing out into something that's jazzier and then darker before they pull it out with a lively main theme riff that finally, after some 34 minutes, gives way to 'Me & Bobby McGee'. This is as well played as you're going to get this but I still can't get with its second-set role. Once they finish out 'The Other One' we get a fantastic 'Wharf Rat'. Shockingly, this is buried on page 5 on Headyversion. Criminally underrated. The rest is another suite, this time of short ones. After a while you really do see the patterns emerge. Though to be fair, you only have so many 34 minute songs you can play on 1 night, so it's less a pattern and more just...necessity. 'The Stranger' is a highlight. I still think the early one is better, just for Jerry's solo, but if this is your favourite I wouldn't blame you. Another soulful, sad performance from Pigpen. Delicate backup from the band. After we get 'Ramble On Rose' and they can put out these great versions of like nobodies business, and this is no exception. It's another one that I think Jerry just likes to belt out. We have a standalone 'Sing Me Back Home' and the band kills it again. I wondered if the Dutch students could understand the words, but you don't have to for the feeling to get across. They end it strong of course with 'Sugar Magnolia' and instead of leaving the stage serve an encore of 'Not Fade Away'-->'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad'-->'Not Fade Away'. It's one of my favourite sandwiches they do, and it's hard not to want to join in at the end. With the last strums of 'Not Fade Away' they're done. The crowd could easily take more but they'll have to wait tomorrow until Dick Latvalas favourite show of the whole tour. Next time: It's Rotterdam!
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May 10, 2022 21:19
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Trip Report: May 11th, 1972. Rotterdam sees the Dead in better spirits than Amsterdam did. And while I think this show is certainly better than the previous night, I don't know that I agree totally with one Dick Latvala, but it has made me want to listen to this show again when it's all over, for that 'Dark Star' in particular. But we'll get there in a bit. First off comes the rare show opener of 'Playin' In The Band' and it's a great version. I think generally I prefer these shorter ones than the bigger ones they did, but even these shorter versions see some great jamming. 'Mr. Charlie' feels a little faster here than it has in the other shows and there's a fun early 'Mexicali Blues' before the 'China'/'Rider' makes up for the previous night. 'Hurts Me Too' follows. Pigpen sounds great, Jerry's slide also sounds great (soon to be eclipsed by one Bobby Weir of course). It's a pretty common first set. 'Jack Straw' sees Jerry share the singing again so maybe they've decided to make it permanent, there's another 'Good Lovin' that's worth a repeat listen. I've noticed that Pigpen loves to mention being on a "four day creep" to the point that it's going to start entering my lexicon. The second set opens with a surprise 'Morning Dew', our first one of the tour. It's nice to hear it, though I'm not a fan as a set opener. It probably would have worked coming out of 'Dark Star' at least. We get another rollicking 'El Paso' before 'The Stranger'. I've said enough about this song already and I'll probably have more to say about it but this is another great version, slightly angrier than the ones we've head before. This is true of the song as a whole, though it was only done a scant few times, Pigpen could sound wistful, with yearning, or just bitter. What a gift, and great accompaniment from the band again. The centrepiece is this mammoth 'Dark Star'. Taken as a whole it runs some 45 minutes, amazingly Garcia doesn't get to the first verse until about 25 minutes or so have passed. At one point you get a flurry of musical conversation as the band talk about where to go next. There's some 'Bird Song' there, some 'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad', 'Caution', maybe 'Wharf Rat' too before eventually settling on 'Sugar Magnolia' for another stellar performance before 'Caution' takes over. At one point I was sure they were going to go into 'The Other One' too but they restrain themselves before a tired Bobby sings 'Truckin'. There's no break, and the band are clearly spent (a running theme of these shows getting to be how tired they are at the end) and so they go out with 'Uncle John's Band'. We all sing along with the acapella part. Next Time: Lille Fairgrounds, where the Dead make up for a show they missed.
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May 11, 2022 21:47
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Trip Report: Lille Fairgrounds, France. 13th May, 1972. The story goes that on their second night in France, a student approached the band asking for a free ticket (though I did read another account that said he asked the band to play a free show). When the band waved him off words were exchanged, the student telling them they were Capitalist pigs, and Rex Jackson dumped Ice Cream over him. Later he came back, putting sugar in the gas tank and making sure that their equipment didn't make it to the next show. Bobby and Phil had to break the news to an angry French crowd who didn't care for the promise to make it up to them. Nor did the French promotor, who likely screamed obscenities at them as they climbed out of windows to get away. Still, the band returned to perform a free show, mostly in front of students and French families on a day out. The same promotor was in tears when he saw that the band did indeed stay true to their word. After some tuning shenanigans, the band kick things off with 'Bertha'. It's nice to hear some Pigpen playing organ in the background on this. There's a slower-paced 'Mr. Charlie' that doesn't do much, but a really nice 'China'/'Rider'. 'Me & My Uncle' and particularly 'Big Railroad Blues' are played hot. There's a very good 'Playin' In The Band' and 'Sugaree' before the standard set closer of 'Casey Jones'. The second opens with a lively 'Truckin' before 'Drums' and Phil sends us crashing into a near 30 minute 'The Other One' that at one point just becomes a siren. It crescendos from the deep before launching into the vocals, which then descends nicely into 'He's Gone'. There's another stellar 'Hurts Me Too' before a rollicking 'Sugar Magnolia' trips over into 'Not Fade Away' for the final suite of the show, 'Going Down The Road Feeling Bad' being the highlight again. Everyone sings along. The encore is a supremely energetic 'One More Saturday Night' that Jerry doesn't seem ready to let go of. See, even after all these versions there's still something good to say about it. All in all it was a decent show, some really strong playing and a nice respite before the final leg. Next time: Munich!
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May 13, 2022 21:16
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Trip Report: La Grand Salle Du Grand Theatre, Luxembourg. 16th May, 1972. In the Chekov's Gun of the European tour, the show that Sam Cutler mentions on the first night finally pays off in the third act. Playing to a small crowd of a few hundred in what was basically a sound stage, the Dead played a show for Radio Luxembourg. As David 'Kid' Jansen explains, this is going out pretty much everywhere. After a pretty great intro from Jansen the band launch into a lively 'Bertha'. It is played with a looseness that's reminiscent of the one later in Veneta. But this one lacks the special solo that one has. The band sounds great though, as does this recording, making this possibly one of the tour's best renditions. Technically before that we got two songs from their soundcheck, including them working out 'Big River'. They technically played this one before, in 1971, but they wouldn't actually play it on a show until September and we hear working out the arrangement. They're a bonus, but I don't think you really need them at the start. Similar to 'Bertha', we get another well played 'Me & My Uncle' that sits along the many like it. Most of the songs in this first set are along the same lines. The band is on their best behaviour for the Radio crowd. It's not until maybe 'China'/'Rider' that things get turned up. 'Hurts Me Too' is another highlight, played with a blistering tone by Garcia. As is 'Playin' In The Band'. We end the first set this time with 'Promised Land', a song they had performed a few times in 71 but hadn't played in over 50 shows by this point. It would, of course, go into regular rotation from here, still being played even in their final show. It occupies the same space as 'One More Saturday Night' for me. The second set is shorter and subdued, and we kick things off with 'Truckin'. There's some Pigpen organ as we fall into the jam (listening to these shows, of course Pigpen isn't the musician the rest are but he could still hang just fine with them. I never got the idea that they outgrew him really. But I think it's true the band loses something without him). We get a taste of 'Drums' before dropping into 'The Other One'. We get a little spaceish on this and on any other night I think they would have taken it to another place, but perhaps being cognizant of who this was for, Jerry pulls it back again and they round off the song. There's a brief stop before 'Sing Me Back Home' takes over and it's another beautiful version. I started thinking, I wonder if they picked this up again for a while because Donna joined. They perform it a bunch in 71 and then drop it come August, save for one performed in November, picking it up earlier on in this tour. They play it a few more times throughout this year before it pretty much dies out by the end of Summer. Oddly enough there's a couple (literally 2) of stabs at it again in 73 when they play it as an encore and then its gone. Jerry wrings every bit of sadness out of his vocal and the band are a worthy backup. They were pretty good at this singing thing too when they wanted to be. You know the rest, it's a pretty standard closer, impossible not to send the crowd home feeling good after this. 'Going Down The Road Feelin' Bad' is always going to get the crowd on their feet, particularly by the end. More Pigpen organ for 'Not Fade Away' though Bobby is doing the end bits on his own. Ominous end. There's not much more to say about this one. Played well all the way through. Excellent but not exceptional. Has the feel of a private gig. DrVenkman fucked around with this message at 18:21 on May 16, 2022 |
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May 16, 2022 17:36
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Trip Report: Kongressaal, Munich. 8th May, 1972. We're in the home stretch now with this being the last the Dead will see of Europe until their go in 74, which went somewhat less well for them. The remainder of the shows will be played in the Lyceum and we'll get to them in good time. For now, we have this German show which sees the band in great form. The first set in particular is a standout, and perhaps the stronger of the two? They kick things off with a boisterous 'Truckin' that the band eases up on towards the end, perhaps conscious that it was still only the first song. But their eagerness to play provides us with a nice 'Sugaree' and a lively 'Mr. Charlie'. Is this the song we've heard the most? It's been played near enough every show I think. Bobby steps over Jerry's part on 'Jack Straw', but it's still a decent early version. The 'China'/'Rider' is a little slower than normal and it gives the band some space to play. They give it a nice, leisurely go. 'Hurts Me Too' is another stormer. Jerry getting everything he can out of that slide. Pigpen sounds great. The first set ends with the triplet of 'Playin' In The Band', 'Good Lovin'', and 'Casey Jones'. 'Playin'' gets the band back to that 'Truckin'' place and they go for some deep jams which continue with another stellar 'Good Lovin' which apparently has Jerry playing the organ for the last minute or so. The second set opens with the rarely-played 'Sitting On Top Of The World'. Played mostly through 1969, it would reappear in the next Lyceum shows before vanishing again. Jerrybase has it noted that it was played at a soundcheck in 87, but after that it's just this parking lot performance with Los Lobos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuzp1TEl6AU Phil is ready to drop into 'Me & My Uncle' but the rest of the band isn't so the gently caress it up, but they quickly get back on their feet and keep their energy up through some great renditions before 'Dark Star'. Shorter than a few of the others we've had, this nonetheless plumbs the depths early with some sonic booms from Phil. Its loose and spaced out and really just seeing the band explore it rather than stick to a theme. Phil is all over this one, and again at the end gets some sounds out of his bass that probably sent some Germans to the toilet. No jokes now. Emerging from all that comes 'Morning Dew', which I think is probably the second time we've heard it this tour. They make for an appropriate thematic pairing and Jerry gets everything out of an impassioned vocal. As our friend hatelull said: quote:The Dark Star -> Morning Dew today was pretty righteous. There's a nice 'Sugar Magnolia' but apparently Jerry isn't content with sending people home happy so he rounds it off with 'Sing Me Back Home'. It's another killer rendition, particularly the backing vocals, and we finally say goodbye with another 'One More Saturday Night' that's sort of half played. For a moment I thought they had found a way to jam out that song, but instead it was just Bobby forgetting a verse. Next time: It's London, baby.
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May 18, 2022 17:23
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hatelull posted:Hearing these full albums makes the official Europe '72 release such a weird thing to me. That was probably my first exposure to the Dead back in the early 90's and I just took it as "oh, this is their thing." If that live compilation had even hinted at the stuff they get up to in those epic "Dark Stars" or "The Other One"s I would have got on the bus along time ago. I think more than one of them noted that they're perfectionists, and as we know their early adventures in studio recording was to waste a lot of time and money in getting things sounding just right. The overdubs and somewhat conventional tracklisting on the finished record felt like maybe there was a stab at mainstream play. I don't think anyone would argue that it has all the edges sanded off, it doesn't even try to reflect the general run of those shows. It feels less like a live album and more like an album put together of live takes.
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May 23, 2022 11:57
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 14:13 |
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Trip Report: Lyceum Theatre, London. 24th May, 1972. Finally arriving for the home stretch, the last run of shows see the Dead playing not in a hastily converted swimming pool from the start of the tour, but in the more suitable Lyceum Theatre. Eager to play, they burst out of the gate with 'Promised Land' and a version that's already better than the debut a few shows previously. It's still not for me though. Chuck Berry often only really works when Chuck Berry is doing it. Or maybe it's just that you can't help but sound like every single pub/bar band you've ever heard when you start those Berry riffs. 'Mr. Charlie' is another good one, though I guess hatelull will disagree on that front. I understand the reservations, particularly the "wooly bully" bits, but I don't mind the kitsch of it. With the riff as well it almost slips into novelty song. But it's a little too groovy for that. And it's one of those songs that they always sound like they're enjoying. A mid-set highlight comes in the shape of another great 'The Stranger'. And another 'Playin In The Band' (which I've pretty much run out of things to say about). There's a better 'Sittin' On Top Of The World' and uh, 'Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu'. Speaking of your novelty songs...I don't know about this one. Lets mark it tentative for now. Second set opens with the surprising 'Ramble On Rose' before we get into 'Dark Star'. Jazzy, exploratory but still contained, I don't think this one ever takes off but it does ride through a few different moments. There's a part at about 10 minutes where it should be 'Drums', but it's mostly a Phil/Bill combo until the others join back in. Jerry gets to the first verse at the nearly 20-minute mark, and after all that, we segue into 'Morning Dew'. Starts soft, goes big at the end. You know the drill. 'He's Gone' is nicely done and then we get another good 'Sugar Magnolia'. There's been so many good ones of these, they could probably do them in their sleep at this point, but it always works as a shot in the arm. They get brought back down to earth with 'Comes A Time'. Sparse and haunting, they wring it for all it's worth with Jerry's guitar, Phil's bass and Pigpen's organ despairing until the final definitive note. 'Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad' emerges softly out of silence and we get a roaring version that goes into the standard 'Not Fade Away', but here is the rare addition of 'Hey Bo Diddley'. They played this before, with Bo Diddley no less, in March of 72 in the run up to this tour. You can hear that one on Dick's Pick's 30 (And you should, the whole show is excellent). Jerry belts it out, barely holding on to his vocals, before dropping into 'Not Fade Away' again to close out the night with some attempts at fancy flourishes from Jerry. There's the nice encore of 'Uncle John's Band', but the band sound pretty spent by this point, and they still have more to give. Next time: We're not going anywhere as we hit Night 2 of London.
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May 23, 2022 21:24
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