Kemper's Last: JGB at Hampton Coliseum, November 19, 1993

The great drummer David Kemper joined the JGB on Wednesday, July 20, 1983, at the Keystone Palo Alto, probably for a few hundred beer drinkers at a show with gross potential of something like $5 grand. He played his last gig with the band at the legendary Hampton Coliseum on November 19, 1993, before a sellout crowd of just about 14,000, a show of gross potential of $291,000 (net of taxes, so "net gross potential").

One of the big personnel mysteries of the Garciaverse is why Kemper was let go after over a decade of stalwart service, keeping one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes for the highly variable Jerry Band. Talking to Barry Smolin a few years later, the drummer himself seemed unclear on this.

We did that tour in '93. It was financially our most successful tour. We played big venues and sold out a large portion of them. But the success didn't translate into the music. It wasn't any different musically from the ones before. But everything else felt different somehow. I felt that Jerry was starting to change in some way that I don't really understand to this day. Maybe he was tired of me.

[Smolin: How were you informed of your termination?] 

I got a call from [Big Steve] Parish in January of '94, saying, 'Well, here's that phone call you've been expecting for ten years. Where do you want us to send your drums?' I said, 'Well, Steve, why don't you send them here to my house. ' And he said, 'Don't you want them sent to your cartage company?' I said, 'No, have them sent here to the house. ' And he said, 'Oh, by the way, we have a new drummer already. ' I said, 'Oh, okay. ' And he said, 'Well, I don't know what else to say but good-bye.' I said, 'Well, Steve, you know, you always had a way with words.' And that was it. No explanation, nothing (Smolin 1997, 21).

When the JGB next materialized at the Warfield, on February 4-6, 1994, former Starship drummer Donny Baldwin was in the chair, where he'd remain until the end.

Deadheads gossip like suburban Karens. In this case, word on the street was that someone else in the band wanted more money, and Kemper was traded out for a cheaper model. Unless Big Steve dishes, it seems unlikely that we will ever know the reasons for the change. 

update: David K has finally dished, and Big Steve was the one who wanted more money. So the gossip was half right (I had heard it was Kahn).

What I feel pretty certain about is that having Big Steve do your dirty work, canning a guy who had played well over 300 gigs with the Jerry Garcia Band, speaks to Our Hero's well-worn instinct to avoid interpersonal conflict. At least have the courtesy to call the guy yourself, Jer! But that was not his way.

Anyway, I wanted to love this last show, also the Jerry Band's final show in the eastern time zone. And it was fine, the way the fall '93 shows generally are. The voice is a little frail. The guitar playing offers more pluck than power, though it has its charms. The 84 minute second set speaks to a guy still wanting to play. And, I gather from eyewitness testimony that anyone who was present for this 25+ minute "Shining Star", with extended band-audience singalong, remembers it fondly. I have no complaints at all. It feels just like any other show, and I wonder if it felt that way to David Kemper, too.

Jerry Garcia Band
Hampton Coliseum
1000 Coliseum Drive
Hampton, VA 23666
November 19, 1993 (Friday)
Schoeps Miller shnid-77281 rename to sets

--set I (6 tracks, 54:26)--
s1t01. [0:06] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [7:27] [0:57]
s1t02. Stop That Train [10:18] [1:18]
s1t03. Money Honey [7:54] [0:16]
s1t04. Lay Down Sally [11:16] [0:04]
s1t05. My Sisters And Brothers [3:51] ->
s1t06. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love [10:57] (1) [0:07]

--set II (6 tracks, 84:04)--
s2t01. Shining Star [25:10] [0:08] %
s2t02. [0:25] Struggling Man [10:42] [0:04]
s2t03. The Maker [12:30] [0:08]
s2t04. Don't Let Go [17:47] ->
s2t05. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) [10:05] ->
s2t06. Midnight Moonlight [6:59] (2) [0:06]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #21b
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - vocals;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals.

JGMF:

! R: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [m:ss] = 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 [m:ss] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19931119-01

! db:

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/xGt3Bg1Hekzt9Quj8

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/01/hampton-coliseum-1000-coliseum-drive.html

! band: THE Jerry Garcia Band, JGB #21b (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html)

! historical: final show for David Kemper. Final east coast Garcia gig.

! data: Contract dated 10/20/93 (unsigned by JGB): $75k guarantee vs 80% of net box office receipts after taxes and employer's reasonable and actual direct concert expenses as approved by artist whichever is greater, plus $21,250 estimated for artist-supplied production. Capacity 13,800, net gross potential (NGP) after 5% tax of $291,428.57.

! R: field recordist: unidentified

! R: field recording gear: Schoeps MK4 -> Dat (48k)

! R: field recording location: FOB

! R: Transfer Info: Dat (Sony R500) -> Samplitude Professional v7.02 -> FLAC (2 Discs Audio / 2 Discs FLAC). All Transfers and Mastering By Charlie Miller charliemiller87@earthlink.net September 2, 2006

! R: Notes: -- Fixed drop-out in How sweet It Is -- The audience sings backup vocals during last half of Shining Star -- Thanks to Ryan Shriver for the Dats -- This has the fixed Shining Star

! P: s1t01 HSII Jerry's guitar playing sounds wonderful. His voice sounds thin, but not uncharacteristically for the period.

! P: s1t02 STT Melvin does some lovely piano work late 6. Jerry playing beautifully layered stuff.

! R: s1t01 HSII drop/gap at 0:29

! P: s1t03 MH has the extra arrangement on the ending

! s1t06 (1) JG: "Thanks a lot. We'll be back in a few minutes."

! P: s2t01 Shining Star big pitch-bending in 10. Jerry much softer vocalizing late 18. Now around 21 ladies and crowd singing, Jerry picking some in response. I know everyone who was there remembers the singalong fondly.

! R: s2t02 not sure why there's a tape discontinuity, and sounds like a short repeated section from end of s2t01 and start of s2t02.

! P: s2t04 DLG fragile voice. Mumbly lyric @ 2:57. Kind of a weird drop to the guitar/vocal comping, very low but also sooner than I expected. I like the doubling late 3 over 4. Nice and low and easy. He drops the vocals @ 4:30 to modal tone. Pretty nice dangerous, urgent feel to this DLG.

! s2t06 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."