OAITW: Homer's Warehouse, July 24, 1973

**This is an update to a post originally made 9/19/2010, now updated as of 12/28/2014**

In a first draft of this post, I used the occasion of a listen to an Old And In The Way set from Homer's Warehouse in Palo Alto from Tuesday, July 24, 1973 to drop a few crumbs. I have revisited the material (shnid-11861), and will repackage, a little, add a little, update based on this listen and synchronic read through the promoter's account (Bernstein 2013, 149-152).

First, how was this show structured?

The fileset said this was a complete show. This is also all of the material which Bernstein (2013, 152) lists for the evening, but he shows a setbreak before Lonesome L.A. Cowboy. I think this must be mistaken, for several reasons.

Reason 1: this tape runs continuously, including across the putative set divide (t06-t07); Reason 2: The DJ (note 1) says there will be another go 'round the bases with Asleep At the Wheel and "Jerry Garcia and Old And In The Way", and that stuff's not here; Reason 3: Vintage 1973 Garcia would never inhabit a set structure that would give him two cracks at 53 minutes – it would be a decade before he'd inflict that kind of "cabaret economics" on his own fans.[1] Update: that's wrong. Sets at the Boarding House and Homer's, when they were in the early-late format, ran about an hour Reason 4: ear- and eye-witnesses. Corry, who listened to the show from home, says "I'm certain the broadcast was early in the evening. … I think part of the reason for the broadcast would have been to encourage people in the listening area (all near Homer's Warehouse) to come on over. I'm sure Asleep At The Wheel and OAITW played another set, as it was not a midnight broadcast." cryptdev: "I listened to and taped this show and Corry is absolutely correct. Two sets for each band, and KZSC only broadcast the first sets by AATW and OIITW, respectively". Attendee Anonymous: AATW was the 9pmish opener at one show. Then OAITW came on, played 'til the wee hours (1-2 am) … I know they took two breaks, as we gathered outside for warming ceremonies".[2]

I am prepared to call it on that basis. This appears to have been one continuous evening of music, running 1) Asleep At The Wheel, 2) Old And In The Way, 3) AATW, 4) OAITW, the first two of which were broadcast and the second of which is represented on shnid-11861. (Who has a copy of the AATW set, BTW?) What we have on the tape is piece #2 from the evening. Eyewitness Anonymous says things kicked off around 9 PM and stretched into the wee hours. If we assume that AATW played an hour, this set is starting at maybe 10:30 and going until midnight. And then it'd be AATW and OAITW another time 'round the bases. Nice.

It appears that this was only ticketed once, which would have been very much out of pattern for Homer's (or the Inn, or the Share) in this kind of situation. The first thought in the minds of these club proprietors is always that they can turn the house when Garcia's billed. Corry suggests it's soliciting traffic to the venue itself– a certain number of people within earshot may well have put on their sneakers and got on down to the club, later this same night or some other night. (The DJ does not make it sound very inviting in note 1 – sounds like it's already packed!) Whatever, it's a rather distinctive setup, for sure, with Asleep At The Wheel, Hell's Angels around, FM broadcast, and of course the legendary Vassar Clements, rightfully at the center of much of the interest and energy around these shows.[3] The promoter: "we had managed to choreograph a pretty sophisticated little production, bringing together a diverse group of people who spanned Tennessee [sic: Florida] (Vassar), West Virginia (Benson), and planets as yet undiscovered (the Dead family)" (Bernstein 2013, 149-150).

Second: "The Burden of Being Jerry" (Gans and Greenfield 1996)

No biggie, but it seems clear that Jerry would not have wanted the band called "Jerry Garcia and Old And In The Way". The DJs may not know much about this stuff (one of Corry's points in comments), but in any case I find it noteworthy that this is seen and discussed as a Jerry Garcia thing. Which it is, of course, but sort of shouldn't be, in a way. If you follow me. Better it should be a Vassar thing, or a Grisman or a Rowan thing.

Third: Jerry's Fans and Unamplified Music

After "Eating Out of Your Hand", at note 4, Grisman asks the crowd to refrain from clapping along, since it made it hard for the band members to hear themselves (unamplified instruments and all that). This is consistent with the view that the "Garcia" audience needed to be educated/acculturated into bluegrass. It probably didn't make things better that the clapping seemed to be dreadfully off-time, but in any case this is an interesting (if tiny) instance of the encounter between hippies and the bluegrass world, about which I'll have more to say at some point.

In comments, LIA draws our attention to Garcia's own discussion of the issue, in 1976: "We ran into a really weird problem in terms of dynamics which was that bluegrass music is like chamber music: it’s very quiet. And if the audience got at all enthusiastic during the tune and started clapping or something, it would drown out the band and we couldn’t hear each other" (Relix).

It's no big deal, but I thought it was worth noting a specific instance of the phenomenon.

Fourth: A Note on Asleep At the Wheel

Ray Benson had great respect for Jerry Garcia and wanted to play on a show with him before The Wheel left the Bay Area for good. Jerry's blue grass fans and the Wheel fans would love that, so we dropped the idea on Sam Cutler, who said he would get back to us. Sam also told us there would be a new musician with Old and in the Way. Vassar Clements, the most respected blue grass fiddler alive, had joined the band. In a few weeks, he would be making sawdust on our stage. The next morning, we got a call back from Sam that Jerry was okay with The Wheel opening the show. "Jerry's only request of them," he said, "is please don't blow the audience into center field with volume." When I called Benson to tell him the deal was on, he flipped. (Bernstein 2013, 149).

Fifth: The Performance

Meh. After listening to this again, I am underwhelmed. It's possible things are running slow, and/or that we're not picking up some of the instrumentation because of the technical challenges posed by sound (re-)production, which can be considerable. I had high hopes early on when Jerry takes a nice turn, but he doesn't knock me out this night overall, and rather the contrary. Things sound a little disjointed, almost fall apart a few times. This band needs more gigs! (I seem noncommittal about overall performance quality in my analysis of the 7/21/73 gig in Berkeley.)

More detail, references, etc. below the fold.

Old And In The Way

Homer's Warehouse

79 Homer Avenue

Palo Alto, CA 94301

July 24, 1973 (Tuesday) – 9 PM

54 min s1 FM shnid-11861 shn2flac

--part 2 of 4: OAITW, set I (12 tracks, 53:33)--

t01. talk (1) and tuning [1:59], Billy In The Low Ground [2:13] [0:10]

t02. [0:12] Going To The Races [3:09] (2) [0:19]

t03. (3) [0:46] Catfish John [3:54] [0:13]

t04. [0:37] A Good Woman's Love [4:48] [0:29]

t05. radio talk [1:35], Lonesome Fiddle Blues [3:34] [0:10]

t06. station ID, talk [0:45], Eating Out Of Your Hand [3:06] [0:14]

t07. stage talk (4) [0:48], Lonesome L.A. Cowboy [4:27] ( 5) [0:06]

t08. Hobo Song [5:30] [0:08]

t09. tuning [0:10], Pig In A Pen [2:48] [0:33]

t10. (6) [0:32] Panama Red [2:17] [0:27]

t11. (7) [0:35] Working On A Building [3:23] [0:12]

t12. [0:03] Hard Hearted [2:47] (8, 9) [0:33]

! ACT1: Old And In The Way

! lineup: Vassar Clements - fiddle;

! lineup: Jerry Garcia - banjo, vocals;

! lineup: David Grisman - mandolin, vocals;

! lineup: John Kahn - bass;

! lineup: Peter Rowan - guitar, vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! JGC: https://jerrygarcia.com/show/1973-07-24-homers-warehouse-palo-alto-ca/

! db: 

! JGMF: URL http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2010/09/oaitw-homers-warehouse-july-24-1973.html (this post).

! ref: Bernstein 2013, 149-152.

! venue: JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/10/homers-warehouse-79-homer-avenue-palo.html, consulted 12/28/2014.

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/vR7s7 -- this gives roughly the coordinates for where Homer's Warehouse was located, 37°26'26.1"N 122°09'38.7"W (37.440569, -122.160751). Thanks to Corry for spatial help.

! R: source: FM MSR > D > CD > shn, shnid-11861; shn2flac jgmf 9/9/2010.

! metadata: shnid-11861 had this as a complete show, but that's not right – it's a complete OAITW set, in an evening structured 1) Asleep At The Wheel, 2) Old And In The Way, 3) AATW, 4) OAITW.[4] This is part #2 in the sequence, the first OAITW set. Eyewitness says things kicked off around 9 PM and stretched into the wee hours. If we assume that AATW played an hour, this set is starting at maybe 10:30 and going until midnight. And then it'd be AATW and OAITW another time 'round the bases. Nice.

It appears that this was only ticketed once, which would have been very much out of pattern for Homer's (or the Inn, or the Share) in this kind of situation. The first thought in the minds of these club proprietors is always that they can turn the house when Garcia's billed. Corry suggests it's soliciting traffic to the venue itself– a certain number of people within earshot may well have put on their sneakers and got on down to the club, later this same night or some other night. Whatever, it's a rather distinctive setup, for sure, with Asleep At The Wheel, Hell's Angels around, FM broadcast, and of course the legendary Vassar Clements, rightfully at the center of much of the interest and energy around these shows.[5]

Anyway, as of now the evidence suggests it was a single ticket, four pretty tight sets. I wonder how much they charged? And, nice show: Bernstein: "we had managed to choreograph a pretty sophisticated little production, bringing together a diverse group of people who spanned Tennessee [sic: Florida] (Vassar), West Virginia (Benson), and planets as yet undiscovered (the Dead family). Lobster, Mike Lopez, and his guys needed a few days to once again turn the Purple Room into a broadcasting and recording studio. By Friday afternoon, the dressing room was toast, with cables once again running in and out of the warehouse walls" (Bernstein 2013, 149-150).

! R: The given lineage is "FM MSR > D > CD." I think the original is probably what I'd rather refer to as an MFR, a reel recording of the over-air KZSU broadcast. Bernstein narrates a little the whole broadcast setup. There is some audience micing going on, clearly audible between songs and as the songs end, less so during the songs themselves. There is lots of audience/DJ chatter. There are a few drops and snits but I didn't note the track times. The original shns (snid-11861) are non-seekable.

! t01 (1) radio talk: "OK, we got the stage – we got the stage up, Cory?" Someone says "This is it. This is Old And In The Way." First guy: "Yeah, Old And In The Way – Jerry Garcia". A bit later, around 1:11: "I tell you what – pieces – we've got Jerry Garcia is playing banjo, as far as I can see from here, which is *way back* - what? [stage announcement happening] And there's a fiddle, and a guitar, and there's a bass … I can't really see from here. This place is so crowded that, uh, if you wanted to sit down you'd be in big trouble. Looks like they're just about ready to go. I might also tell you that after this set there's gonna be a whole 'nother set with Asleep At The Wheel and Jerry Garcia and Old And In The Way. So … Homer's Warehouse'll still be cooking after we go off, after this set."

! P: t02 GTR Jerry takes a totally respectable run-around, Grisman sounds good, band is getting warmed up.

! t02 (2) crowd wants it louder.

! t03 (3) monitor and sound fiddling.

! P: t05 LSF feeling a little sluggish, which it should not! Check speed of recording. Garcia's run 3:59ish is not very impressive.

! P: t06 @ 1:58 things are absolutely fallen apart. Need some rhythm. Not together. Now some PA problems.

! t07 (4) Grisman asks the crowd to stop clapping along, since it makes it hard for them to hear with their non-amplified instruments. This is consistent with the view that the "Garcia" audience needed to be educated/acculturated into bluegrass. It probably didn't make things better that the clapping seemed to be dreadfully off-time. At some point JG: "You tell 'em, Dave."

! P: t07 pretty weak all around – this is pretty shambolic. Garcia's late 2 solo not good.

! setlist: Bernstein identifies a setbreak after EOOYH and before LLAC, but I am not so sure. The talk starting t07 feels pretty continuous between the two songs.

! t07 (5) DJ station identification: "You're listening to Jerry Garcia and Old And In The Way live //se on KZSU, Stanford."

! t10 (6) @ 0:19 DJ chatter: "Paul, are you down there?" @ 0:26, same guy: "Cory, this is Carl." Reply: "Yeah, Carl, this is Lobster. What's up, Carl?" 0:32 "I was just listening to you, it sounds real fun" // band starts in on "Panama Red".

! t11 (7) DJ/station talk calling Carl Schroeder – OK Paul, I'm back .. we switched the tapes and got the tapes rolling by the way. "Tons of fun."

! t12 (8) JG: "See ya later on."

! t12 (9) DJ talk, stage announcement "Jerry Garcia/Old And In The Way".

! P: Overall: After listening to this again, I am underwhelmed. It's possible things are running slow, and/or that we're not picking up some of the instrumentation because of the technical challenges posed by sound (re-)production, which can be considerable. I had high hopes early on when Jerry takes a nice turn, but he doesn't knock me out this night overall, and rather the contrary. Things sound a little disjointed, almost fall apart a few times. This band needs more gigs! (I seem noncommittal about overall performance quality in my analysis of the 7/21/73 gig in Berkeley.)

REFERENCES

! ref: Bernstein, Andrew J. 2013. California Slim: The Music, the Magic, and the Madness. Xlibris LLC.

! ref: Gans, David, and Robert Greenfield. 1996. The Burden of Being Jerry. San Francisco Focus (November), no further publication details. Republished online at URL http://www.levity.com/gans/SFFocus.html, accessed 4/22/2012.

! seealso: "LN jg1973-07-21.oaitw.b-live-all.sbd-PNW.113845.flac1644," URL http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2011/06/ln-jg1973-07-21oaitwb-live-allsbd.html.

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[1] See my "Cabaret Economics", http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2014/05/cabaret-economics.html. The Garcia show which most nearly falls foul of the Liza Minelli (45 minute) line is 5/31/85. See my "Bullshit! Bullshit! Reprise", http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2014/04/bullshit-bullshit-reprise-ln-jg1985-05.html.

[2] Note this last piece could be construed as contra my proposal, which implies at least three breaks. There is enough ambiguity in these terms that I am not too worried about this actually reflecting something different from what the other eyewitnesses propose.

[3] See my discussion of Vassar's Bay Area arrival at http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2011/06/ln-jg1973-07-21oaitwb-live-allsbd.html.

[4] Corry: " I'm pretty sure I actually heard it broadcast on the radio. I was 15 at the time. KZSU-fm was the Stanford radio station, 10 whole watts, not even audible in all parts of Palo Alto. But it was audible at my house, so I used to listen to it when I wasn't listening to KSAN. I'm not sure how I knew about this broadcast, but I listened to KZSU all the time, so I must have heard about it in advance"; cryptdev: "I listened to and taped this show and Corry is absolutely correct. Two sets for each band, and KZSC only broadcast the first sets by AATW and OIITW, respectively".

[5] See my discussion of Vassar's Bay Area arrival at http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2011/06/ln-jg1973-07-21oaitwb-live-allsbd.html.