Friday, June 17, 2022

Jerry Band SoCal '89

LN jg1989-05-19.jgb.all.aud-tfh.24537.flac1644
LN jg1989-05-20.jgb.all.sbd-miller.20679.shn2flac
LN jg1989-05-22.jgb.all.aud-ebay-liberation.150868.flac2448


The Jerry Band in SoCal

After the Jerry Band started in 1975, SoCal trips were mostly one, two- and few-offs - no real tours as we define them at Jerrybase. Starting in spring 1983, the band started doing what were called "tours" in-house, but were typically just a couple days, couple of rooms:
  • March 11-13, 1983: three nights, two rooms, five shows
  • August 1983: a few canceled gigs, not sure how many nights/rooms/shows were ever totally solidified
  • September 30 - October 4, 1983: makeups for the August gigs, five nights (one off), three rooms, four shows
  • May 17-20, 1984: four nights, four rooms, four shows
  • May 31, 1985: just the one night, two shows at the Beverley, fleecing the fans
These were all arranged between the Jerry folks (sometimes with John Scher brokering) and the local promoters. In 1986, Bill Graham took over Jerry's SoCal gigs, which for several years are Wiltern dominant. Here's the rest of the Garcia-in-SoCal story:
  • May 23-24, 1986: two nights, two rooms, two gigs
  • March 13-14: two nights at the Wiltern
  • December 3-6, 1987: four nights at the Wiltern in the acoustic-electric format
  • November 25-27, 1988: three nights at the Wiltern
  • May 19-22, 1989: four nights, three gigs, three amphitheaters
  • November 11-16, 1990: five nights out of six at the Wiltern
  • July 29 - August 2, 1992: five nights, four gigs, four amphitheaters
  • April 16-18, 1993: three nights, three gigs, two arenas
  • May 13-19, 1994: seven nights, five-and-a-half gigs, five amphitheaters
As with everything else in the Garciaverse, institutionalization is more or less the story. Things went from pretty fly-by-night in the first half of the 80s to professional, streamlined in the last decade. Graham wanted it all, and the fact that Scher ran Jerry's SoCal stuff apparently irked him. I suppose that Bill getting the Wiltern was the real pivot - he had a great room for Jerry to play that was appropriately scaled. You might say the same thing up north, especially as Jerry got too big for Freddie's clubs. And once the Warfield was renovated (I still have never seen a perfectly clear timeline for that), certainly by late 1989 through to the end, it was probably most efficient to have Wolfgang run the whole west coast.

There's more to say about Jerry in SoCal, which I will try to get to in Fate Music. In short, a disproportionate number of negative things happened to Jerry, or involving Jerry, south of, let's say, Gaviota Point. He was a third-generation San Franciscan, and the antagonisms between SF and LA (north and south more broadly) make all kinds of sense, what with the whole good-and-evil dichotomy at work there (heh heh). It is just kind of funny that SoCal had more than its fair share of bullshit.

That's one set of background conditions, more just historical than anything.

Expectations

My expectations supply a second set of background conditions. Here, they were extremely high. Here's how I described my sense of the overall period writing some eight years ago:
For my money, 1988-1989 is one of the great JGB periods, which a fresh and healthy Jerry (that's what starts to break down, for me, 1990-1991), solid band, some fresh material, rehearsed arrangements, and lots of classic American songs. Nothing too crazy, lots of good music.

In that same post, I had described spring '89 as "a peak period for me". All of that was based on the following, I think.
Another piece of the puzzle is instinctive contrarianism, and my long-held desire to assert the "year too late" hypothesis with respect to the 1991 Jerry Garcia Band double-live CD, which is pretty self-explanatory: they recorded it in 1990, but Jerry Band in 1990, I had in my mind, was not as good as Jerry Band in 1988-1989.

True, I found a couple of duds in that timeframe, such as 12/3/88, which I thought just kinda sucked. But even when we factor that in, I had high hopes. Whoever it was who said that "expectations are the enemy of happiness", or whatever the saying is, may have been onto something.

The Jerry Band SoCal May '89 "Tour"

The three shows in the mix here underwhelmed me. 

True, "whelming" is a function of expectations, and I have already noted that mine were high.

True, the 5/19/89 Don't Let Go is one for the ages. It's right up there with some of the early '80s classics, or the shocking 2/6/94 masterpiece. Definitely top-10, maybe top-5.

True, there are some nice tapes here, including the Tapers From Hell pulling 5/19, and some rare late '80s sbds (albeit incomplete) for 5/20 and 5/22. (Where in the world did these come from??) 

But the whole batch is quite uneven, in various ways.

5/19/89 may be the weakest of the bunch. The vocals are downright bad. As a newspaper reviewer put it, "Garcia's croaked singing ... has pretty much waned from endearing to abominable". WFAM and STOF exhibit some lyrical wobbles. Good hot guitar in "Deal", but the voice is just shot. The astonishingly great "Don't Let Go" may show the compensation effect at work, and of course could be said to redeem the show all on its own. I wouldn't argue. It's great.

I find 5/20/89 the strongest of the bunch. CUTS is clean and doesn't get caught cycling at the end. "Forever Young" has some great screaming and scrubbing, "Like A Road" is real sweet, "Sisters and Brothers" ditto, and "Deal" is shreddylicious - this "Deal" KILLS. "Think" has a nice edge. Things kind of fall off for me after that, though hard to say if the advent of the atmospheric Matt Xavier Nak 300s tape is driving this. (Note, too, young'uns - chomping is as old as the hills.) The second set clocks in at a pretty paltry 46 + minutes. Even with the between song stuff mostly edited out, I think a reasonable expectation in this period is a 55-60 minute set.

I characterize 5/22/89 as "below average for the period", but I think it's probably average, and "below my expectations" would be more accurate. The guitar work in "Deal" and "Think" comes in for more praise, but overall not much moves me here, and another sub-50-minute set II also takes it down a peg.

Let me make one final note: I do think drugs are playing a role here. Trying to pin down Garcia's opiate use is mostly a fool's errand. He seems to have been mostly clean in '87 and '88, though it seems he was probably chipping on and off (Jackson 1999, 406). If Browne's account is to be believe --and I absolutely believe it-- by the time the GD were really seriously recording Built to Last, Jer was back in pretty deep. I have long felt that darkness around 8/26/89 and 10/31/89, both of which I plan to revisit soon. And the Dead's hair-raising "Dark Star" from Miami on 10/26/89 certainly earns its adjective. Finally, as noted above, I have long that that 1990 Jerry Band was overrated and exhibited some of the telltale signs that Jerry was making problematic pharmacological choices.

We are smack dab --see what I did there?-- in the middle of this window, and I think there are issues. The negative reviewer from 5/19 (Washburn 1989) didn't dig ol' Jer dealing "six-string sedatives", and he may have been closer to some truth than he knew. Colleague Mr. Completely rightly warns against "drug reductionism", and I don't intend to reduce the unevenness of these shows to drugs. But I can't shake the feeling that they are playing their part. *sigh*

Listening notes below the fold.
Jerry Garcia Band
Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre
8808 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine, CA 92618
May 19, 1989 (Friday)
Tapers From Hell MAD shnid-24537

--set I (7 tracks, 59:09)--
s1t01. [0:38] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [6:48[ [1:34]
s1t02. [0:33] Stop That Train [6:40] [0:53]
s1t03. Get Out Of My Life Woman [9:12] [0:50]
s1t04. [0:04] Run For The Roses [5:22] [0:29]
s1t05. I Shall Be Released [9:16] [1:00]
s1t06. Hope It Won't Be This Way [4:49] [0:06]
s1t07. Deal [10:45] [0:08]

--set II (6 tracks, 69:27)--
s2t01. [0:07] Harder They Come [12:19] [0:05]
s2t02. [0:15] Waiting For A Miracle [6:06] [0:04] 
s2t03. [0:30] Simple Twist Of Fate ... [9:46#] % [0:06]
s2t04. Don't Let Go [22:48] [0:19]
s2t05. That Lucky Old Sun [9:47] ->
s2t06. Midnight Moonlight [6:59] (1) [0:14]

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

JGMF:

! Recording: 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.


! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/15189 (this source tape, deprecated); https://etreedb.org/shn/24537 (this fileset, deprecated); https://etreedb.org/shn/150313 (this source tape).



! historical: Originally 5/20. Michelob Concert Series. Bob Weir & Rob Wasserman opened.

! review: [neutral] Darling 1989

! review: [negative] Washburn 1989: he didn't like either act. "Garcia's croaked singing ... has pretty much waned from endearing to abominable", and watching him "distribute six-string sedatives" didn't do it for him.

! R: field recordists: Tapers From Hell, a large dedicated group effort. John H. on DAT knobs.

! R: field recording gear: 2x Senn MKE2002 HRTF stealth > Sony TCD-D10 1/4" mic in

! R: field recording location: FOB/DFC, section 2 orchestra

! R: lineage: DAT Clone #1 used for CDR master

! R: Transfer: DAT #1 via Tas DA20mkII > Tas cdrw700 for cdr master -> Marantz 500 dual well-> CDR.

! R: Additional Transfer: CDR-> EAC -> FLAC Frontend (16/44.1) by Brian Costigan (BCostigan@taperssection.com)

! R: seeder note: "Simple Twist of Fate was cut on the DAT. I was able to patch the balance of what the cassette master captured before it ran out of tape as well. So,... Simple Twist of Fate is cut, and is repaired to the best of my abilities. It is mostly there, but still just ...

! R: sounds sweet right out of the gate

! P: s1t05 ISBR nice world-weary version.

! s1t06 after this tune, as after the last couple ones previous, some young 'head is really giving it his best "Attaboy, Jerrreeyyyyy!!!"

! P: s1t07 Deal as with a few other numbers this first set, Jerry sounds a little tired. Actually, his voice is shot to pieces in the 2 minute range, "If you pour the wine for me". Guitar is pretty hot.

! P: s2t02 WFAM is done at a very slow tempo. Shaky on lyrics, and very scratchy singing. 

! P: s2t03 STOF totally lost on the lyrics. "felt a spark | lingle [sic] to his soul | that's when he lost control | and wished that he'd gone straight" ...

! R: s2t03 STOF fades out, incomplete

! P: s2t04 DLG gets dissonant 15ff. Way out scary 17:30 ish - wow - as spacy as JGB #21b ever got.

! s12t06 (1) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jerry Garcia Band
Open Air Theatre, San Diego State University
5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92115
May 20, 1989 (Saturday)
MSD > C > SHN shnid-20679 shn2flac

--set I (7 tracks, 56:39)--
s1t01. Cats Under The Stars [8:53] [0:13]
s1t02. Mission In The Rain [8:53] [0:13]
s1t03. Forever Young [8:10] [0:13]
s1t04. That's What Love Will Make You Do [8:29] 0:18]
s1t05. Like A Road Leading Home [8:44] [0:17]
s1t06. My Sisters And Brothers [4:33] ->
s1t07. Deal [7:40] (1) [0:05]

--set II (6 tracks, 46:16)--
s2t01. I'll Take A Melody [9:52] [0:16]
s2t02. Mississippi Moon [8:39] [0:18]
s2t03. Think [6:52] ->
s2t04. Evangeline [3:27]
s2t05. /Gomorrah [#5:48] ->
s2t06. Tangled Up In Blue [11:03]

JGMF:




! ad: Daily Aztec, May 17, 1989, p. 10

! R: Recording Info: SBD -> Dat -> Cm -> SBM2 -> Sonic Solutions -> CD -> EAC -> SHN. Last 3 Songs Patched w/ Nakamichi 300/CP1 -> Cm -> CD -> Samplitude v7.02 Pro -> SHN (2 Discs Audio / 1 Disc SHN). Converted To SHN and Patched By Charlie Miller, charliemiller87@earthlink.net, 11/19/03. 

! R: seeder notes: Patch provided By Chris Ladner - final three songs. I believe this patch is from the mostly-uncirculated Xavier master.

! P: s1t01 CUTS good start. Jerry's voice doesn't sound great, but everything is pretty punchy, lyrics are clean. They don't go 'round too many times at the end.

! P: s1t03 FY lyrical flub in 3. But whoa, killer energy 7:30, screaming and scrubbing. Right on, Jer!

! P: s1t05 LARLH lyric flub around 3. But my goodness, a beautiful version.

! P: s1t06 MSAB nice and careful articulation. Good ol Jer.

! P: s1t07 Deal KILLS the whole time. The guitar 5 min, 6 min is shreddylicious.

! s1t07 (1) JG: Thanks. We'll be back in a few minutes. Thank you."

! P: s2t03 Think was really good in this period. Lots of big stacked fanning chords, good grunty singing.

! R: s2t04 Evangeline the transition into the aud tape is pretty cool. Nice patch by cm. And then there's just tons of ambience, kids boogeying.

! R: s2t05 Gomorrah clips in

! P: short second set

~~~~~~~~~~

JERRY GARCIA BAND
Universal Amphitheatre
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
May 22, 1989 (Monday)
ebay rescue aud shnid-150868

--set I (7 tracks, 52:48)--
s1t01. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [5:59] [0:03] % [0:16]
s1t02. Stop That Train [6:35] [0:22]
s1t03. Mission In The Rain [8:04]
s1t04. Waiting For A Miracle [5:50] [1:08]
s1t05. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:13] [0:05] % [0:05]
s1t06. And It Stoned Me [7:05] ->
s1t07. Deal [7:56] (1) [0:07]

--set II (6 tracks, 47:57)--
s2t01. Harder They Come [10:29] %
s2t02. Forever Young [8:01] [1:08]
s2t03. Think [6:41] [0:10]
s2t04. [0:07] Evangeline [3:51] [0:26]
s2t05. That Lucky Old Sun [10:22] ->
s2t06. Midnight Moonlight [6:37] (2) [0:05]

JGMF:


! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/20505 (s1s2p sbd shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/150868 (this fileset).



! R: Source: AUD of unknown lineage > ? > Cassette rescued from ebay.

! R: Transfer: XLII > Nakamichi CR-5A > Edirol FA-66 > Wavelab 2448 > CD-Wave (24bit output) > TLH > FLAC 2448 tagged. Transferred by Andrew F. 11/2020

! P: overall: Below average for the period, IMO.

! P: s1t07 Deal very good Deal. Melvin making it choogle 6 min mark. Crowd digging Jerry's hot guitar.

! s1t07 (1) JG: "Thanks. We're gonna take a few minutes. We'll be back to it ... soon."

! P: s2t03 Think big guitar stuff. 5 he could have moved to "give up my woman", but he plays some big fanning stuff and gets there at 5:40.

! R: s2t01 HTC guy near taper is singing along enthusiastically. Very ambient tape, which is cool.

! P: s2t06 Mid Moon tempo picks up 4. JG sprinting to the barn.

! s2t06 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See ya later [?on?]."
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