No this thread will not fade away…
:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Count me in.
Somewhere between 60 and 70 shows between 1983 and 1993, about 300 hours on tape. Favorite show was my first: Merriwether Post Pavilion 6/23/83 (Boy, did it rain). Favorite song: Help/Slip/Franklin’s Tower (ok, so maybe it is 3 songs in one, sue me). Least Favorite: Row Jimmy (“Well, looks like I’ll be first in line for the bathroom…”). I’d also be perfectly happy never to hear “Cheesy Answers” again.
And I loved Donna Jean (screeches and all).
Favorite: Chinacat Sunflower
Least Favorite: Space
Any one else like Donna Godscheaux’s singing?
Am I the only One?
I was there too!!! Those air horns, combined with the flashes of light just blew me away!!! (and I’ve poslted many times in many threads about the wonder that is the “395 Drum Circle” - under the overpass.)
Um, if it isn’t too much to ask, could I get a copy of that tape?
:snif:
(that and “one more saturday night”)
I’d love a clean copy of 7-9-95, if it’s not too much to ask.I’ll mail out blank tapes and return postage!!
Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer in return. I guess I’m just looking for some “kynd music”.
I’m the Other One (grin). I’m listening to 2/3/78 as I type…Dane County Coliseum, University of N. Iowa, Dick’s Picks Numbah 18. Donna Jean abets herself honorably during this performance. Even on “The Music Never Stopped” and “Scarlet Begonias,” two tunes she’s notable for fucking up, she keeps it subtle and smooth and sounds remarkably unlike a scalded cat.
I like the idea of adding a female voice to the vocal mix, I just wish it had been a BETTER female voice.
Likewise, I always enjoyed it when a horn player sat in. Unfortunately, the only one I heard live was Branford Marsalis, a man I would like to kill with a farm implement. Was anyone here lucky enough to hear a David Murray-enhanced show? THERE’S a saxophonist who knew how to blend in with the Boys.
Anyone know if a horn other than sax ever appeared at a show? (Phil played trumpet during the ANTHEM OF THE SUN session, I know…there was also the alto sax in “Sing Your Blues Away” from the WAKE OF THE FLOOD album.)
Would’ve been interesting to hear a trombone or flute or trumpet weaving in and out. I hated that damn phony-sounding MIDI stuff they started adding in the '90s.
Ike:
The Dead travelled with a horn section for a few shows in 1973 (Wake of the Flood). I have a few tapes. It adds a nice flavor, but doesn’t quite work as well as you would think.
I also have several tapes by Legion of Mary (Jerry Garcia’s solo band with Merl Saunders on keyboard and Martin Fierro (who played on Wake of the Flood) on flute and saxes). Let me know if you want the tapes.
I’ve already gone on record as loving Donna Jean. In a smaller setting (with the JGB) and on the right material, she just shone. I have a few versions of Looks Like Rain, as well, where she and Bobby do a great vocal duet. I just dont’ think they (the Dead) ever had her monitored correctly and she couldn’t hear herself over the din. Plus, being between Jerry and Phil must have been awfully difficult - you know the psychic weirdness was just hellacious. My friends and I were convinced that being in the middle was made Weir so spaced out - he was having his brains scrambled.
Isn’t the Dane County Coliseum in Wisconsin?
Whoops, yeah, mis-read the box. The first part of DP 18 is 2/3/78 in Madison, WI; the remainder is Cedar Falls, Iowa, 2/5.
Thanks for the offer of the tapes…I’m still digesting the nice package of music you sent me last week!
Are you familiar with the 1997 disc MERL SAUNDERS & FRIENDS (FantasyJazz 7712-2), stuff recorded between 1971 and 1975 with a VERY eclectic mix of musicians? There’s a perfectly astounding “I Was Made to Love Her” on it, with the 1973 Keystone quartet (Garcia, Saunders, Kahn, and Vitt) plus Kenneth Nash on congas.
I haven’t heard the Saunders material you’re speaking of, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it wasn’t from Legion of Mary. I have great versions of “Leave Your Hat On,” “Boogie on Reggae Woman,” “Its No Use,” and a few pieces called “Bosse Martine” and “Flute Thing” (both featuring Martine Feirro)that’ll knock your socks off. I think Jerry particularly liked playing in that setting because he didn’t have to worry about carrying the vocal end of things - he could concentrate on playing. The same holds true for a few shows in '73 when he had laryngitis and couldn’t sing (two whole shows of nothing but Weir material). He couldn’t do the vocals so he channeled everything into his playing. Very, very tasty.
I have Saunders’ album “Fire Up,” which came out in 1973, and features the Keystone regulars (Saunders, Garcia, Kahn, and Vitt) plus Tom Fogarty on rhythm guitar and Bill Kreutzmann on a few tracks if you’d like to hear it. The material is super funky (I think one cut was actually included as the theme song to a “blaxplotation” flick - “Chocolite Puddin’” I believe is the name of the tune).
I don’t know if you have the vinyl version of the the first Keystone material, but if you do open it up and look at the cast of characters - a San Francisco scene if ever there was one. Its a back stage shot of the Keystone with a motley crew of hippies, band members, hangers on, a guy dressed in a nun’s outfit, groupies, and an old, black policeman who looks like he’s been slipped some windowpane acid - his eyes are just glowing (and its a black and white photo). Craziness, I’m sure, abounded.
My take on Donna: She had a beautiful voice but was not a belter. She shouldn’t have tried to belt out tunes like Janis Joplin. Other than that, I liked her.
I saw Robert Hunter perform solo a couple of times during the mid 70’s. A really nice experience.
I saw a whole slew of JGB shows during 1979-81, the most memorable of which was at the SUNY Stony Brook gym. This was the Cats Under the Stars tour. It is hard for me to believe that this was 20 years ago.
Let me again cite the website that has a couple dozen shows that can be listened to for free: http://www.deadshow.org
There was a comraderie to following the Dead that was unique, I think. We loved seeing familiar faces and places, as well as traveling to parts of the country we might never have otherwise seen. We were also in hopes of catching that monster, legendary show. When a super group like Pink Floyd or The Rolling Stones tour, it really doess’t matter whether you see them in NYC or Indianapolis. They are choreographed down to the smallest detail. But with the Dead, you had the excitement and anticipation that on any given night in any given city it was possible that they would play one of their greatest shows ever.
when is deadradio.com going to be back up? You used to be able to link directly to their archives - but I’ve lost the link. Anyone have a clue?
I’m always on the lookout for Jerry Band from '78. In a handful of those shows, they performed I’ll Be With Thee, a groovy little gospel tune that I just love. The only one I’ve been able to find is 3/18/78, and the quality is pretty low.
The View from the Vault II DVD is very poignant. Hornsby just has this look on his face like “I can’t believe I’m improvising and trading licks with Garcia.” I haven’t even looked at set 2 yet. Sorta like dosing: I’m waiting for the right set and situation. I find it pretty difficult to watch Dead videos without eventually being hit with feelings of bleakness and loss.
When I was a young headbanger smartass I would bait the Deadheads with “The Dead is nothing but bad country.” Thankfully I grew out of it. One of the more up-to-date digs I’ve come across is, “Jerry’s dead, Phish sucks. Get a job.” Aw, dang, Phish is dead now too. 
But that’s for another thread.
Ok, I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t the only Donna fan.
I have a 3/18/78 that’ll melt your speakers. A FM recording of Harder They Come, Simple Twist of Fate, Mystery Train, Second That Emotion, I’ll Be With Thee, and Lonesome and A Long Way From Home. Actually, Ike has it, too, now. GET IT!
Deadhead checkin’ in.
Reading Uke on the Dead, I’m reminded of a doperfest in NYC a year and change ago, when I made a brief appearance and you, Uke, had a bet going with Saxfaceon whether or not I was into the Dead. I don’t think I ever knew which side you took, but I’m glad to know that my love of them benefitted someone with a beer that night.
Anyway, I’ve known a fair share of Donna fans, but very few Sunrise fans amongst them. I love Sunrise
Fav. album: Blues for Allah
with Anthem a close second.
Sunrise is made all the more beautiful if you know the story behind it - Rex Jackson, a long time crew member (and husband of Betty Cantor-Jackson, sound engineer extraordinaire and the person most responsible for getting early sound boards into circulation, hence ‘Betty Boards’) was killed in a motorcycle accident. A Native American friend of the band organized a ceremony, held at sunrise, to release Jackson’s soul to the heavens. You get a bit of it in the lyrics.
UMO Fieldhouse Fall 1970–their best song that night was Johnny B Goode. It rocked, and it ended.
Huge Deadhead. Huge Donna Fan. Listening to that crazy chick wailing on Scarlet>Fire totally enhances those tunes.
Rex Jackson is also the namesake for The Rex Foundation.