The December '85 Garcia Band Shows

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LN jg1985-12-21.jgb.all.aud-gale.14980.shn2flac

LN jg1985-12-22.jgb.all.aud-gale.14981.shn2flac

seealso: LN jg1985-10-14.jgb.all.aud.138028.flac1644

Earlier this year I posted listening notes on four JGB shows from August 1985, and here I do the same for December of the same year. It's relatively feasible to do this for Rock Bottom shows because they are fun sized, with sets regularly clocking in below 45 minutes.

The shows make for nice comparison pieces in this regard.

Recall these set lengths from August:

DATE      s1      s2           TT      
8/4/85    46:03   31:04      77:07
8/5/85    49:31   48:37      88:08
8/9/85    42:26   38:32      80:58
8/10/85  37:08   34:14      81:22

Here are the December equivalents:

DATE         s1        s2            TT      
12/14/85    47:22   39:24       86:46
12/15/85    42:31   29:02*     71:33 *missing Cats, probably about 8-9 minutes
12/21/85    50:11   34:09       84:20
12/22/85    40:03   44:03       84:06

So, things are not very much different four months on. More than half the sets fit on a tape side (5 of 8 and 6 of 8, respectively). In the case of the December tapes, this is not due to tape discontinuities: Jerry runs from one song to the next with very little time between, and the taper kept things rolling. That sub-35 minute 12/21 II, looks mighty short, but it probably doesn't enter the bottom five for shortest electric sets.

The big difference, then, is in personnel: the August shows involve THE Jerry Garcia Band, #21b, which ran with only a single interruption from ca. July 10, 1984 to November 19, 1993, Jerry's longest-running aggregation. The interruption happened October 1985 - February 1986 when, for reasons unknown, David Kemper was not drumming, replaced by the legendary Oakland funk master Gaylord Birch. Clean inference would really require blind listening, of course. Here I know Gaylord is in the the house, I am listening for distinctive style, and boy do I hear it. Lots more snare and hi-hat, generally busier, not as much in either respect as Kool-Aid Chemist Paul Humphrey, who played with Jerry and Merl in '74, but closer in style to him than, say, the 50-caliber Greg Errico.

This is Birch's third Garciaverse appearance. He played a few gigs in early '75 (January 21-22) with the Saunders-Garcia aggregation, certainly the funkiest and some of the most challenging gigs Garcia ever did. He next manned the chair from January-September 1979 with Reconstruction, again, an outfit that pushed Garcia out of his comfort zone, the last "challenge band" outside the Dead he ever regulalrly played with. (Not coincidentally, also the last band he'd regularly play with that didn't bear his name.) Finally, we find this little interregnum, nine gigs in six months subbing for David Kemper in the Garcia Band.

Table xxx. Gaylord Birch in the Garcia Band, 1985-1986

(Hopefully that gets a little bigger if you click on it! Otherwise, just click the link above the table.)

(Note that Mid Moon ended every show except the first one. The great Walter Keenan has pointed this regularity out to me before, and here we see it plain as day. The Jerry Band setlists never varied as much as GD setlists did, but this is ... striking even for JGB.)

Anyway, Birch simply amazes me at ever turn here. He had played four gigs in October (7th-8th not in circulation, 13th and 14th), then nothing for two months, then returns for these four in December. I doubt there was an awful lot of practicting going on in the interim, though I don't know anything about that for certain. And, yeah, some of these tunes, like "How Sweet It Is", are going to be straightforward enough, even as the Garcia Band's loose-to-unraveling arrangements, gas-brake tempo fluctuations, and general approach to things would have defied a lesser drummer. But then there are the Garcia originals and tunes played in so many different genres that it's hard to imagine Gaylord had thought much about over the years, less still played. Maybe they threw some charts at him or something, but whatever the preparation they provided him, the '85 Garcia Band would certainly have been pretty darn hard to drum for, I'd imagine. Yet Birch seems to have no trouble at all, with anything. He plays most every tune like he's been playing it for years. It's not perfect, but man is it great, and man oh man is it impressive.

I will paste listening notes below the fold. Nothing will really surprise you here, so let me just sketch some moments I dug. Thanks to the legendary Erik VanO for the ticket stub scans!

12/14

s1t01-GOOMLW great way to kick things off. Melvin sounds great, Jerry finds some liquidy goodness midway through.

s1t02-Garcia steps in the Mutron with a big click and a wahh and the crowd hoots appreciatively, knowing that Catfish John is about to happen.

s1t04-Love In The Afternoon, a song he would never have played outside the GD, Gaylord just shines. He does some stuff 6:50-7 that knocks me out.

s1t06-Deal: there will be no surprises here. "The voice during Deal is horrifying. Big scrubba dubba doo later on 6:49, though. Yow! Go to 7 and hear the Great Barcia wail."

Overall, I had more to say about set I than about set II.

12/15

It's getting toward the holidays, and the crowd sounds drunk and ready to party. Elmer Fudd is definitely in the house vocally. But one of the things to note is that Garcia is figuring out, on the fly, how to sing with his now powerfully limited vocal range. He can't just numb up and try to power through. He has to dial back the force and dial in a little bit of singing nuance. This is really the beginning of the rounding, softening of his style over all. In '83-'84, he'd just BLAST. Here, we see the start of a little more circumspection, more befitting a man of his age.

s1t03 my love of pre-coma 80s JGB Knockin's is well known (to myself). This one is just wonderful. From the notes: "Right at 4:01 or so he hits a terrific guitar combo, and a crowd member yelps at it. 4:45 I love the feel of this - it's like the sound of recovery. Oh my, at 8:35 you hear a thing only Gaylord Birch could ever have done with JGB. Trust me, and check it out. What a drummer."

s1t04 a characteristically shreddy balls-to-the-wall wailing guitar Deal

s2t04 I find him doing some interesting picking in Midnight Moonlight, which is really uncommon at this stage.

12/21

Looks like the weakest show of the run on this set of listens - almost no notes.

Interesting to note the following recollection at Jerrybase: "I stood five feet from him the whole night. He didn't open his eyes once. He also stood at the mike, or one step back or at his amp. Not much movement. The show was great." Those observations and that assessment are, of course, not mutually exlcusive when it comes to Rock Bottom Jerry.

12/22

s1t01 CUTS man, yeah, listen to Gaylord! Yowwww!!! And they don't circle aroud too much at the end. Nice.

s1t04 after a nice salty Think (s1t03), Deal is big, as it was wont to be in this period. Gaylord double-timing some 6:15, crazy high-neck Jerry tone 6:30, even higher 6:49, doesn't sound possible. Big raging Deal here for sure. I can't imagine how loud this must have been in situ.

s2t01 Kahn does some neat stuff in HTC. Attaboy, John. Chin up.

s2t05 somehow my silly mind coins another silly acronym: MAMMM: a mile-a-minute Midnight Moonlight. Gaylord's going to need a cortisone shot after this one.

In Sum

All in all, I don't really have many complaints about these. There's lots of good stuff happening. If you need a haircut, go to Deal on any given night. But, generally, I do think there's something to be said for the effect of fresh blood on ol Jer. Looking back at my August notes, I summarized "Overall, I guess I'd say totally characteristic. Some really good guitar work, some lyrical fumbles, vocals getting rougher by the minute." I think these shows are stronger. I would certainly not play these for the unitiated - the vocals are still pretty terrible. (The tapes have the featurebug that the vocals are buried.) But I hear many interesting moments, and a higher average level, here than I did in August. Some of the credit, I think, has to go to Gaylord. This is no knock on Kemper, whom I love. But it's the same way that people sometimes let themselves go after marriage - no need to impress. But if you are looking to get with someone new, or with someone new, you want to sharpen up a little bit. So you're maybe a little more together ex ante. And, then, the new person brings new stuff - surprises. So you need to listen a little more carefully, and you  have some new stuff to respond to. That's all to the good.

This could all, of course, reflect the narrative fallacy. I know Gaylord is here, and I dream up some story that could plausibly flow from that kind of situation. You should certainly go back and check my work, if you are so inclined. But this idea that the fresh blood brought forth better from our guy is my story here, and for now I am sticking to it.

Listening notes below.

Wabbit Hunting with Garcia and Kahn in Oakland and Guerneville, August 17-18, 1985

I shouldn't be mean. But posterity might not recall that many characterized Jerry's vocal sound in 1985 as resembling Elmer Fudd, so I am doing it for future generations. You can thank me later.

Not much to report. While the Dunsmuir House and Gardens maybe have been a cool place to see Jerry on an August afternoon ... 

Jerry and John in dappled sunlight on the grounds of the Dunsmuir House, Oakland, August 18, 1985. Photo credit: Tim Schonholtz

... he sounds quite bad on this August 18th while delivering two sub-40 minute sets.

The night before, at the sweet little River Theater in groovy Russian River town of Guerneville, is a little bit stronger, to my ears.

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
River Theater
16135 Main Street
Guerneville, CA 95446-8301
August 17, 1985 (Saturday) - 9 PM
Corley MAC shnid-20898 shn2flac

--set I (6 tracks, 42:48)--
s1t01. Deep Elem Blues [7:29] [0:08]
s1t02. Little Sadie [4:57]
s1t03. Valerie [6:14] [0:37]
s1t04. Friend Of The Devil [7:31] [0:08]
s1t05. Simple Twist Of Fate [10:33] ->
s1t06. Run For The Roses [4:50] (1) [0:22]

--set II (6 tracks, 40:12)--
s2t01. [0:46] When I Paint My Masterpiece [7:19] [0:10]
s2t02. I've Been All Around This World [6:15] [0:06]
s2t03. Jack-A-Roe [4:27]
s2t04. Bird Song [11:23] [0:07]
s2t05. Gomorrah [5:08]
s2t06. Ripple [4:23] (2) [0:07]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - ac-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - ac-b.

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.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19850817-01

! JGC: https://jerrygarcia.com/show/1985-08-17

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/20898 (this fileset)

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/dYyvu55qka62

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/06/river-theatre-16135-main-street.html

! R: field recordist: John Corley

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi 700 > Sony TC-D5M

! R: lineage: MAC > ? CD > DAE (EAC0.9b4, offset corrected, secure mode QPS QUE2410) > editing (SF6) > tracking (cdwav editor) > sector boundaries confirmed (shntool) > SHN (shorten3.4) via C.Ladner. Thanks to J.Powell for the source CDR. misSHN in the rain, 12/03.

! R: seeder comments: Very clean recording without any significant flaws other than intermittent loud close up audience noise. s1t01 - master recording levels during the first 25 seconds were extremely low, i applied a +10 dB gain to this small segment using SF6 to bring it line with the remainder of the recording.

! P: s1t01 DEB voice already sounding rough

! P: s1t02 Sadie second verse he sings "standing on a corner" twice, then gets to "oh yes, sir", so a flub but a recovery.

! s1t06 JG: (1) We're gonna take a little break. We'll be back in a few minutes."

! P: s2 Elmer Fudd most definitely in the house. Almost can't sing Bird Song at all. Ouch.

! P: the set II vocals are ... not good. But, then again, you knew that.

! s2t06 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See ya later."

~~~~~~~~~~

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
Dunsmuir House and Gardens
2960 Peralta Oaks Ct.
Oakland, CA 94605
August 18, 1985 (Sunday) - 3 PM
Menke MAC MOTB #0210 flac2496

--Set I (6 tracks, 35:00)--
s1t01: [0:05] Deep Elem Blues [6:56] [0:02]
s1t02: Friend Of The Devil [6:25] [0:08]
s1t03: [0:17] Little Sadie [6:51]
s1t04: Valerie [6:15] [0:03]
s1t05: I've Been All Around This World [4:59] ->
s1t06: Run For The Roses [4:49] [0:11]

--Set II (6 tracks, 38:25)--
s2t01: [0:30] When I Paint My Masterpiece [6:02] [0:04]
s2t02: Jack-A-Roe [4:31] [0:09]
s2t03: Bird Song [9:52] [0:04]
s2t04: Gomorrah [5:37] ->
s2t05: Ripple [4:19] (2) ->
s2t06: Goodnight Irene [6:52] (3) [0:25]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - ac-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - ac-b.

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.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19850818-01

! JGC: https://jerrygarcia.com/show/1985-08-18

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/13520 (this master, shnf, deprecated); https://etreedb.org/shn/88019 (Holtz Nak 100s MAC flac1644); https://etreedb.org/shn/88020 (Holtz Nak 100s MAC flac2496); https://etreedb.org/shn/98629 (Taz Yamaguchi and Jamie Poris MAC); https://etreedb.org/shn/141508 (supposed CSBD); https://etreedb.org/shn/141509 (supposedly Sandy Troy MAR); https://etreedb.org/shn/149863 (Jonathan Mow MAC flac1644), https://etreedb.org/shn/149864 (Jonathan Mow MAC flac2496).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/93RVX3dF7812

! JGBP: https://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2011/09/dunsmuir-house-2960-peralta-oaks-court.html

! R: field recordist: Bob Menke

! R: field recording location: 15' from stage slightly off-center

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi CM 700 > Sony TC D5M

! R: field recording media: Maxell MX 90

! R: Analog Sound Preservation: MAC > Nak DR-1 > Korg at 5.6 mhz. Transfer By: Bob Menke. Mastering By: Derek McCabe.

! R: MOTB Release: #0210 24/96, release date 2012-08-19. Note: "flacs are tagged, enjoy!"

! P: s1t06 RFTR is deeply painful to listen to. Garcia absolutely crashes as this song begins, and he barely brings it to the finish line.

! s1t06 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a few minutes, come back. Tune up, and stuff."

! P: s2t03 Bird Song in the 4-minute mark, Kahn is doing some really interesting and unusual modal-sounding stuff. As they round the 5-minute mark, he's still playing very creatively. I am not sure he's pulling it off, mind you, but he's trying. In the first half of the five-minute mark, Jerry hits several clammy notes, to my ears. Not that they don't work with what John's doing, but that they don't work with what Jerry's doing. 

! R: s2t03 are those speed warbles in the 6-minute mark, or is Jerry really playing that shit? E.g., 6:58-6:59?

! s2t05 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot."

! song: Goodnight Irene (s2t06): I have always wondered if, in singing the "jump overboard in the river and drown" line, Jerry became 4 year old Jerry, little Jerry, and replayed his father's drowning in the Russian River. One would think not, because that would seem a little morbid, to say nothing of painful, for our boy. But maybe he didn't go there. Or maybe he went there and he was OK. But it's hard to imagine that a person imprinted with that memory, that vision, wouldn't go there. Who knows.

! P: s2t06 GI The acoustic setting lets Jerry not oversing too badly, as of course he'd have to do with the Grateful Dead, and to a lesser extent, with his electric band. In that sense, and because the tape is so clean, we get another view on Garcia's voice in August 1985. He sounds better than he did in the GD, that's for sure. But it ain't entirely pretty. He is very limited, and his talking and singing voice both have the nasally, I-just-shredded-my-already-bleeding-sinuses timbre characteristic of Crosby's voice during this same time period, as well as a certain wascawwy wabbit huntew. Just Say No to Cocaine, Kids.

! s2t06 (3) "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."

! P: Total show time 73:26. Brutal, Jer.

The August '85 Electric Shows

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Waaayyyy back when, in the early lossless era, when shn ruled the roost and files could best be had by FTP (though some grabbed binaries from usenet groups), Charlie Connor's August 1985 Jerry Band tapes were pretty special. They still are, in the sense that they sound nice (patched out of Corley's "Silly Hat" setup, after all), that there just weren't that many '85 JGB shows, that they give more insight into the Rock Bottom period for Our Hero and, nowadays especially, they make for some good coherent listening across the Days Between, including a relatively rare August 9th show. I wish the last night of this cluster of shows, 8/11/85, would show up - one suspects it was taped, but one finds no evidence of it.

Here's some 'base for your face, to see what I am referring to:

https://jerrybase.com/events/19850804-01
https://jerrybase.com/events/19850805-01
https://jerrybase.com/events/19850809-01
https://jerrybase.com/events/19850810-01

I have already written up the August 9, 1985 show, noting the characteristic brevity of these sets, both clocking in below the 45-minute Minelli Line. (I should call it the Judy Garland line, as Jerry did in discussing "Cabaret Economics", but this formulation alliterates it to the Mendoza Line in baseball, the "rock bottom," barely acceptable, .200 batting average named for very light hitting, ca. 1970s-1980s Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Mario. Grant me a little license, please and thank you.)

I have just revisited all four shows and, yeah, they're all short. Now, true, these tapes are tightly edited, and tuning breaks could take up a good bit of time wherever Garcia was found. On the first night of this set of shows, 8/4/85, set II clocks in at 31:04. This is currently the second-shortest electric set I have found, after 9/16/84 I  and just ahead of (i.e., below) 3/2/85 I  and 3/22/84 I. (Note, though, that there's probably a minute or more missing from Cats, the addition of which would land this squarely in the normal range for a show from this era.) Of course, I doubt any electric set will ever underperform the acoustic 5/23/85 set I in Denver - at 25 minutes, one can only hope --really, really, hope-- that the tape is incomplete.

Here are the timings for the August '85 electric shows:

DATE      s1      s2           TT      
8/4/85    46:03   31:04      77:07
8/5/85    49:31   48:37      88:08
8/9/85    42:26   38:32      80:58
8/10/85  37:08   34:14      81:22

So much for quantity, how about quality? Overall, I guess I'd say totally characteristic. Some really good guitar work, some lyrical fumbles, vocals getting rougher by the minute.

Night one: Jerry sounds pretty punchy right out of the gate, overcomes some lyrical fumbles in show opening ITAM to rage pretty hard on Sugaree. Killer guitar tone, fantastic playing, much to the appreciation of the hometown Stone crowd, which mostly seemed to prefer boogeying to judging. Kemper is SIMPLY WONDERFUL on Cats, and then Jerry struggles lyrically a little bit in Gomorrah and a lot in Reuben And Cherise, the latter of which is nothing short of tragic, becaues it's my favorite Garcia Band tune, bar none. I do think I hear some Melvin synth in there, which is cool. Midnight Moonlight gallops hard into the barn.

Night two almost fills up a whole XLII90, the longest show of the set by almost 10%. Again, frisky out of the chute, though I don't note anything from the first set until the long Tangled Up: "Not a single thing wrong with the range of ideas he expresses, the fluency and power with which he expresses them, etc. Even some interesting extended stuff 12. Very good. Kemper marching 12:30 for Jerry to wail around." This feels spacious and killer. I suspect that ol' Jer wasn't drinking tea with honey and lemon during the setbreak, because he comes back scratchier in the throat than before. Audience member astutely calls for Don't Let Go, but he'd have to wait two and a half more years for it to reappear, after landing on the shelf at the end of '84. Not a lot to report, but Kemper is absolutely flying to keep up with Midnight Moonlight, and boy must his arms be tired. *rimshot*

August 9th. I have already written it up. I don't remember what I said three years ago. If you want to check how reliable my notes are, please feel free to compare them. Good energy upfront, rough vocals, brief.

Night four, 8/10/85 - thirty-six years ago to the day as I type this. Elmer Fudd has arrived to sing, more than over the previous week's shows, to my ears. Very last "Rhapsody In Red", which gives me a sad, because it was a rocker. It wouldn't have worked post-coma until maybe late 1990 and into 1991, IMO - before then he's just too clean to grunge it up, and after he's just not powerful enough. But it coulda been good in that window. This Reuben he remembers the words, more or less all of them I think, and I do love those words. But the voice is pretty weak at this point and maybe it's best that he just raced through Midnight Moonlight -- four consecutive shows as a show-ender and sought refuge back at Hepburn Heights.

Listening notes below the jump.

In Case of Emergency, Break Glass: JGB at Keystone, March 22, 1984

 

LN jg1984-03-22.jgb.all.aud-corley.22191.shn2flac

Over the years, I thought that maybe February '82 was my least favorite JGB month, supplying a "warmish-dampish-Motel-6-towel feeling, without the hygiene", the drugs starting to really take their toll, not so much terrible as just vaguely gross.

Well, it has come to my attention that March 1984 is pretty bad, too. I lead my 3/4/84 listening notes with the title "A 35 Minute Second Set". True, the tape was tightly edited, and if DATs had been a thing the recording might have topped 40, maybe even approached the Minelli Line of 45. Well, here I am, having listened to Wednesday, March 22, 1984, and its set I, similarly tightly edited, checks in at 31 minutes and 17 seconds. As of this typing, only 9/16/84 set I comes to mind as a shorter, no-excuses electric set, at 30:54. (3/2/85 I nosed 3/22/84 out, at 31:08, but it had the excuse that the ladies apparently showed up late.) It is possible that some acoustic sets were shorter, e.g., 5/23/85 set I, but the circulating tape might be incomplete. In all of these cases, Garcia seems like he's trying to win his age bracket in the 10k.

Anyway, it would be one thing if these sets were hot, as at least one tape shows 3/2/85 I to be. But, to my ears, on this listen to this tape (a great Corley aud, the only one circulating for this date), it's just dull. When a server seems to drop a tray of glasses at 5:12 of Mid Moon, to me it feels far more like a metaphor for Garcia's health than the "orjersmic buildup" that my ol buddy neo_levo, Chris Ladner, heard in it. Your 6.1 miles may vary.

Jerry Garcia Band
Keystone
2119 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
March 22, 1984 (Wednesday)
Corley shnid-22191 shn2flac

--set I (4 tracks, 31:17)--
s1t01. [0:16] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [6:51] % [0:02]
s1t02. They Love Each Other [6:47] % [0:18]
s1t03. Rhapsody In Red [8:42] [0:02] % [0:02]
s1t04. Deal [8:05] (1)

--set II (5 tracks, 40:19)--
s2t05. [0:27] I Second That Emotion/ [10:01#] % [0:04]
s2t06. Someday Baby [7:09] [0:02] %
s2t07. Run For The Roses [5:31] [0:10] % [0:21]
s2t08. Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:07] ->
s2t09. Midnight Moonlight [7:22] (2) [0:05]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #21a
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - 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.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19840322-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/22191 (this fileset)

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/LDc43

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/02/keystone-2119-university-avenue.html

! venue: URL http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/12/2119-university-avenue-berkeley-ca.html; URL http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2011/01/jerry-garcia-and-keystone-shows.html

! band: JGB #21a (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html)

! seealso: JGMF, "A 35 Minute Second Set: JGB at The Stone, March 4, 1984"

! R: field recordist: John Corley

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi 700 > unknown cassette deck

! R: lineage: MAC > D > CD > DAE (EAC0.9b4, offset corrected, secure mode) > Soundforge 6.0 (+2.0 dB gain) > tracking (cdwav editor) > sector boundaries confirmed (shntool) > SHN(mkwact). D > shn via C. Ladner.

! R: seeder comments: Outstanding audience recording. Pauses between some tracks. Tape flip during space between t05-t06. t09 - the orjersmic build up @  the end of the main solo section beginning at 04:56 is punctuated by a seemingly? precisely timed either Jerry glass breaking somewhere close by @ 05:13 - guaranteed to make your pets stand up and take note. Thanks to J.Powell for the CDR source. misSHN in the rain, 2/04.

! P: s1t01 HSII flubs first lyric, opened my eyes at night and there you were

! s1t04 (1) JG: "[inaudible] take a break for lil while. We'll be back in a few minutes."

! R: s2t05 ISTE end clips

! song: "Someday Baby" (s2t06): one of those songs that came up in several different bands, only to disappear. In this iteration, it had returned in December '83, after almost three years off. Here it gets its final run for almost another three years (3/10/87).

! P: s2t06 Someday Baby horrible vocal clam @ 6:32

! s2t09 (2) JG, not perfectly clear, but I think "Thanks a lot, see ya later."

Alice Kahn Fall 1984 interview annotations

These are for my purposes, no pretense to completeness.

I find his comments about Joe Garcia to be quite revealing. There are a few other good nuggets in here. Man, even in the depths of his Rock Bottom period, he sounds engaged and articulate. What a mind!

~~~~~~~~~~~

The Shortest Two-Set Electric Show? JGB at the Stone, Sunday, September 16, 1984

LN jg1984-09-16.jgb.all.aud-jjoops.97573.flac1644

A little dive into the Rock Bottom period yields this pearl of an electric JGB show - two four-tune sets clocking in around a half-hour of music each. I don't really note anything much about the performance, other than its brevity and Garcia's unsurprising vocal limitations. I don't want to be mean. I am just calling 'em as I see 'em.

I have been doing some listening, but not making much in the way of notes. I guess "not much to say" is a datum, too, so I may post a bunch of stuff this weekend. Or not.

The Examiner has revealed that there was an opening act this night (Ron Price), and for more local early 80s gigs than has generally been appreciated. I suspect Jerry didn't come on until quite late, but I don't know that for sure. An opening act would have been useful to keep the beer-buying crowd buying beer while awaiting the big fella.

Jerry Garcia Band
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
September 16, 1984 (Sunday)
aud shnid-97573

--set I (4 tracks, 30:54)--
s1t01. //How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [#8:07] [0:20] %
s1t02. /They Love Each Other [#8:08] ->
s1t03. Run For The Roses [5:12] [0:23] % [0:11]
s1t04. Deal [8:29] (1) [0:05]

--set II (4 tracks, 32:12)--
s2t05. //Harder They Come [#10:04] [0:07]
s2t06. Like A Road Leading Home [8:08] ->
s2t07. Reuben And Cherise [6:57] ->
s2t08. Midnight Moonlight [6:44] (2) [0:12]

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

! JB: https://jerrybase.com/events/19840916-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1984-09-16

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/97573 (this fileset)

! band: http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/Vr6EBXU6KvA2

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/stone-mothers-412-broadway-san.html

! ad: SFSECDB-19840909p16. $8 show, Ron Price opened.

! R: Lineage: MA? > ? > CD (from the Jjoops Tupperware of Treasures) > Eac > Wav > Gems Edit Station > flac. Edited and Mastered by Jamie Waddell on the GEMS Edit Station; Trac'ed Cdwave, Flac'ed TLH Level 8 a **GEMS Production** www.shnflac.net.

! P: Garcia sounds absolutely terrible. Dreadful. This has to be one of the shortest electric Garcia shows on record, even with the tight editing of the tape considered. 5/23/85 acoustic was shorter (see http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2017/04/acoustic-at-denver-rainbow-jgjk-may-23.html), but as of 2/23/19 I cannot identify a shorter two-set electric show.

! R: s1t01 HSII cuts in

! R: s1t02 TLEO clips in

! s1t04 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a little while, be back a little later."

! R: s2t05 HTC cuts in

! P: s2t05 HTC Garcia can barely sing at all. Notwithstanding that. it's surprising that it ends when it does - most versions would take a turn or several more.

! s2t08 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See ya later."

Santa Cruz Blues

LN jg1985-10-16.jgjk.all.sbd-Miller.139756.flac1644

One of the most widely bootlegged Garcia performances, alongside the '82 Oregon State Penitentiary gig, is another Garcia-Kahn acoustic duet performance from the Catalyst in Santa Cruz on October 16, 1985. As with other beautiful recordings from this venue, an enterprising insider made a 4-channel tape combining stereo sbd feed and stereo ambient mics hung over the stage, and partly insofar as sound quality colors our perceptions of performance quality --and it does to a considerable extent, by what I think of as the Cornell Effect-- lots of people think highly of the performance, too.

The performance feels pretty standard to me, which is to say, since it's Garcia-Kahn in the Rock Bottom era, it's mostly OK, sometimes good, sometimes not so good.

I am more interested in drawing your attention to a review in the Santa Cruz Sentinel Spotlight by Dave Gingold. In this telling, the "fat man" made his fawning followers, who had been sprawling around town all day long keeping the bugs down with their characteristic homebrew of smoke and patchouli, waiting for more than two hours to start the early show.  Opener Paul Mehling claimed car problems, but "some cynics attributed the delay to nostril, rather than engine, trouble." Gingold liked the music, but then,

Poof! It was over. The audience was stunned at the barely 40-minute set, and took to 20 minutes of irate shouting and stomping to bring their deity back ... 'A dollar a song!', some muttered ...

Then, adding insult to injury, the operators turned the house, which Gingold calls nothing less than a "betrayal".

Maybe ol Jer just didn't want our intrepid recorder to have to flip his tape? Sheesh, take it easy on the guy.

Regular readers will, of course, recognize this dynamic from a Beverly Hills gig four and a half months earlier., when Jerry and John mailed in a sub-40 minute first show, eliciting angry chants of "Bullshit! Bullshit!" from the SoCal Deadheads, savvy enough about the biz to understand they'd been ripped off. Short sets were a key feature of Jerry's Rock Bottom period, of course. Hometown fans might raise legitimate questions --"awww, no last song?"-- or offer some heady wisdom --"Jerry's gotta clean up his act, man"-- , but often they'd just dance their asses off and sing along, knowing Jerry'd be back at the Stone soon enough, likely as not. Even as far away as Santa Cruz, though, visits were rare enough that even dready gon' raise a ruckus when things aren't right. When even the Santa Cruzers are irate and stomping, you know you've crossed the Minelli Line.

Sadly, Jer and John either didn't get the message, didn't care, or were too far gone to care, and the late show attendees got a mere 38 minutes. Deadheads are a very understanding and compassionate lot, but I conjecture that at least a few left shaking their manes, glad for the music but maybe worried about ol' Jer. He may even have lost a few fans this night, despite getting a "Ripple".

A few other random bits.

• I wonder if the idea for "The Fat Man Is Back" poster from Jerry's next Santa Cruz stop (2/24/87) was a "fuck 'em if they can't take a joke" reply to Mr. Gingold's earlier characterization? I know the phrase, which became a t-shirt and parking lot meme for the time, also appeared on posters for the Reno gig, but I do have to wonder of the Santa Cruz review didn't provide some inspiration.
• John Kahn picks a little bit of Mingus's "Haitian Fight Song" at the start of the late show, which almost redeems his otherwise-forgettable night for me.

Listening notes below the fold.

Acoustic Sing-Along at the Stone: Garcia and Kahn, September 27, 1985

I don't have a ton to say about this - it's about what you'd expect. Two sets below the 45-minute Minnelli Line, voice bad to start and shot by the end. But, besides the fact that this was taped by the lovely Don Dearth, who was my third grade teacher, the best part about this is the fact that the audience is just singing along enthusiastically with like every song. It has a real homey feel. They don't care too much about the vocals or whatever. It's a Friday night in late September in The City, probably a warm one that time of year, and Jerry's playing and the drinks are flowing and folks are singing and probably dancing and having a good old time.

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
September 27, 1985 (Friday)
Don Dearth MAC shnid-84821

--set I (5 tracks, 38:51)--
s1t01. [0:29] Jack-A-Roe [4:56] [0:03] % [0:14]
s1t02. Deep Elem Blues [7:36] [0:12]
s1t03. Friend Of The Devil 7:25] [0:11]
s1t04. When I Paint My Masterpiece [7:06] ->
s1t05. Little Sadie [5:10] ->
s1t06. Run For The Roses [5:20 [0:09] %

--set II (5 tracks, 44:20)--
s2t01. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry [7:45] ->
s2t02. Reuben And Cérise [6:40] [0:07]
s2t03. Gomorrah [5:57] [0:05]
s2t04. Bird Song [10:02] ->
s2t05. Ripple [4:11] ->
s2t05. Goodnight Irene [9:27] [0:05]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - ac-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - ac-b.

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.

! JB: https://jerrybase.com/events/19850927-02

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1985-09-27

! db: this fileset

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/Vr6EBXU6KvA2

! R: field recordist: Don Dearth. He was my 3rd grade teacher at Burton Elementary School in Lafayette. I saw him at one of the 12/87 Dead shows and hung out with him, so I knew then he was a Deadhead, but it still tickled me years later to learn that he was also a casual taper.

! R: field recording gear: Sony D6C with Sony stereo mic

! R: field recording media: MaxellXL2S90 (one tape would have done it).

! R: transfer Nakamichi CR3A playback (no Dolby) > HP computer > Sound Forge Vol@ 5.5DB and normalized, CD Wave to make tracks->Flac7->You! Transferred by John Moses.

! R: not high fidelity. I would track a little earlier than seeder has, in many cases.

! P: this is a full-on singalong all night long. I have never quite heard anything like this - neat. Garcia's voice is characteristically raggedy.

! P: s1t06 RFTR a few missteps in his guitar playing here.

! P: s2t05 GI at this point his voice is a totally shot.

Above Ground, But Below the Minelli Line: JGB, The Stone, August 9, 1985

A decade before the final fall, Garcia played another Friday night at the Stone. I still think of this as the Rock Bottom period, even though he is clearly recovering.

Two sets below the Minelli Line (45 minutes), the whole gig fits snugly on a single Maxell, with room for filler on the B-side. Nothing terrible, not even the voice. Just nothing worth noting. I'd happily plunk down eight 1985 dollars --$18 and change in 2016-- to see this show today.

jg1985-08-09.jgb.all.aud-connor.11131.shn2flac

Jerry Garcia Band
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
August 9, 1985 (Friday)
Connor MAC shnid-11131 shn2flac

--set I (5 tracks, 42:26)--
s1t01. /Cats Under The Stars [#9:02] [0:19]
s1t02. Catfish John [8:33] [0:08]
s1t03. Simple Twist Of Fate [10:46] ->
s1t04. Run For The Roses [5:13] ->
s1t05. Deal [8:18] [0:07] (1) %

--set II (5 tracks, 38:32)
s2t01. /I'll Take A Melody [#11:29] [0:03] %
s2t02. /When I Paint My Masterpiece [#6:28] ->
s2t03. Gomorrah [6:24] ->
s2t04. Reuben And Cérise [7:01] [0:05] % [0:02]
s2t05. Midnight Moonlight [6:54] (2)

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

! JB: https://jerrybase.com/events/19850809-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1985-08-09

! db: this fileset

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/Vr6EBXU6KvA2

! R: field recordist: Charlie Connor

! R: field recording gear: John Corley's disassembled Nak 700s clipped to brim of
hat for stealth > Sony TCD5M (3rd deck in a patch chain)

! R: field recording location: FOB. 20' from stage, first row of tables, dead center

! R: transfer: Nak DR-10 (playback) > Midiman Flying Cow 24bit/48kHz A/D > RME Digi96/8 >
Steinberg's Wavelab 3.0 (bit resolution & resampling to CDR redbook 16/44.1 > CDWav beta1.6 (tracking only) > SHNv3 (MKW ACT). Analog and Digital Mastering by Charlie Connor. Shn'ed, vined and seeded to fungus and abgd August 6, 2002. shn2flac by jgmf 1/1/2018.

! R: nice punchy tape.

! R: s1t01 CUTS clips in

! P: s1t01 CUTS band comes out with energy. Garcia's voice sounds pretty rough, but it's mercifully low in the mix.

! s1t03-s1t04 these guzintas are sortaguzintas, of the kind that were common in this period of short sets.

! s1t05 (1) no set break announcement

! R: s2t01 ITAM clips in

! R: s2t02 Masterpiece clips in

! P: s2t05 Mid Moon: nothing says "horse racing back to the barn" better than a Rock Bottom era Midnight Moonlight..

! s2t05 (2) JG: "Thank you. See ya later."

! P: It's not bad. It's just really short. Both sets under the Minelli Line.

I stand corrected: it is that bad

The pithy title I gave to a set of 8/24/84 listening notes (s1 only) was "It's not that bad, given how much Persian he was doing."

I stand corrected. Yes, yes it is.

It is *that bad*.

Here are notes on the three consecutive tracks of s2:
! P: s2t01 HTC ... these vocals are about as bad as they would ever be.
! P: s2t02 Sugaree ... the voice is absolutely *gone*. Even I can barely listen to it.
! P: s2t03 DLG these are the worst vocals in the history of Jerry

As of today, I hold that this, 8/24/84 is the worst vocal show in GOTS history. FWIW.

LN jg1984-08-24.jgb.all-1.aud.138021.flac1644

Jerry Garcia Band
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
August 24, 1984 (Friday)
all-1 DL AF flac1644 shnid-138021

--set I (5 tracks, 46:32)--
s1t01. Cats Under the Stars
s1t02. Knockin' on Heaven's Door
s1t03. Get Out of My Life Woman
s1t04. Let it Rock
s1t05. De/al

--set II (3 tracks, 1 missing, 41:58)--
s2t01. [0:11] The Harder They Come [13:03] [0:02] %
s2t02. Sugaree
s2t03. Don't Let Go
[MISSING: Midnight Moonlight]

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

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19840824-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/124940 (s1 only); shnid-138021 (this fileset).

! map: http://goo.gl/maps/L0BBt

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/stone-mothers-412-broadway-san.html

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

! JGMF: "It's not that bad, given how much Persian he was doing," http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2013/08/ln-jg1984-08-24jgbs1aud.html.   

! JGMF: "I love you Jer, but these vocals are below the bar," http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2014/12/ln-jg1984-08-26jgballaud.html.

! R: source: Unknown AUD (low-gen) kindly provided from the collection of DL.

! R: Transfer: Maxell XLII > Nakamichi CR-5A > Edirol FA-66 > Wavelab 2448 >
R8Brain > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644 tagged. Transfer by Andrew F. 03/2017

! R: Note: First Set from same root source as shnid-124940. Tape-flip at 1:21 in Deal, about a minute missing. Tape ends on first note of Midnight Moonlight.

! P: s2t01 HTC this band can play. Can barely aspirate the word "shine". But the mounting guitar buildup in late 2 just sounds stunning, this tape capturing hot and sweaty Garcia guitar at the Stone. From way down deep inside him, since shallower layers were pretty well numbed. More of the same guitar break 4, still playing wonderfully 4:30, charming, fluid guitar work, another go 'round, I think #4, 4:45ff. Left off 9:25, Melvin had been playing for awhile, nothing special. 11 these vocals are about as bad as they would ever be.

! P: s2t02 Sugaree the guitar work is working, but the voice is absolutely *gone*. Even I can barely listen to it.

! P: s2t03 DLG these are the worst vocals in the history of Jerry. Very late 6 Kemper drives Garcia to a savage space, very dark and moody. Kemper is really leading the charge here, and Garcia drops chin to chest and wails a little bit. Kahn walks it into a jazzier space, everyone where he should be.

this grey bar appears courtesy of Blogger

Acoustic at the Denver Rainbow - JGJK, May 23, 1985 (late show)

LN jg1985-05-23.jgjk.late.aud.137966.flac1644

These shows have been very elusive, and the early show still has not made a digital appearance.

Standard "Rock Bottom Era" take: croaking vocals and very good (acoustic) guitar picking. The one plus of the acoustic setting is that he can sing quietly, which works well on a relative rarity like "She Belongs To Me". The first set might be incomplete, but either way this show is pretty well below the Minelli Line.

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
Rainbow Music Hall
6358 East Evans Avenue
Denver, CO 80222
May 23, 1985 (Thursday) - late show (10 PM)
AF shnid-137966

--set I (4 tracks, 25:16)--
s1t01. /When I Paint My Masterpiece [#5:34] [0:08] (1)
s1t02. I've Been All Around this World
s1t03. Bird Song
s1t04. Run For The Roses [4:26] (2) [0:12] %

--set II (5 tracks, 32:01)--
s2t01. Simple Twist Of Fate
s2t02. Dire Wolf
s2t03. She Belongs To Me
s2t04. Goodnight Irene
s2t05. Ripple

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - ac-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - ac-b.

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

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19850523-02

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/137966 (this fileset). Nothing in circulation before 2017, and still nothing circulating for the early show.

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

! JGBP: Rainbow Music Hall, East Evans Avenue and South Monaco Parkway, Denver, Colorado. Jerry's Brokendown Palaces, October 29, 2012, URL http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/10/rainbow-music-hall-east-evans-avenue.html, consulted 11/17/2014.

! P: overall: Jerry's voice is in pretty bad shape here. First set material clocks in at 25 minutes - we may be missing at least a song or two, otherwise (and perhaps in any case) this set falls *way* below the Minelli Line. See also set II, at just over a half hour one of the shortest sets on record.

! R: source: Unknown AUD kindly provided from the collection of DL.

! R: transfer: Maxell XLII > Nakamichi CR-5A > Edirol FA-66 > Wavelab 2448 > R8Brain > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644 tagged. Transfer by Andrew F. 03/2017.

! R: seeder Note: The tape was not marked "early" or "late", appears to be the 1030PM late show since there's an annouced set break after Run for the Roses. [JGMF: I agree with AF's judgment, though we can't be 100% sure.]

! R: s1t01 WIPMM enters in progress. Nice tape.

! P: s1t01 WIPMM Garcia's voice is nasal and scratchy right out of the gate.

! s1t01 (1) "Thank you."

! P: s1t04 RFTR Garcia's guitar work is crisp, and the recording is loving the sound of the acoustic instruments.

! P: s1t03 Bird Song - my goodness, he is *croaking*. This is a pretty grim listen. Around 3 minutes in Jerry takes a nice guitar departure, and Kahn makes himself heard (or, I hear him) for more or less the first time on a somewhat background  listen. Ain't nothing wrong with Garcia's guitar playing here.

! s1t04 (2) [excuse-me cough] "Thanks a lot. We're gonna take a little, short break, and we'll be back [inaudible].

! P: s2t01 STOF very nice, low-down feel to this

! P: s2t03 She Belongs To Me is a relative rarity, and this is a fragile, interesting take.

During Gaylord's Second Stint: JGB at the Stone, October 14, 1985 (Monday)

These may be the shortest two JGB sets ever played. Gaylord Birch drumming.

See also "The December '85 Garcia Band Shows"

LN jg1985-10-14.jgb.all.aud.138028.flac1644

Jerry Garcia Band
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
October 14, 1985 (Monday)
CC shnid-138028

--set I (4 tracks, 34:48)--
s1t01. Cats Under The Stars [7:12] %
s1t02. When I Paint My Masterpiece [8:45] %
s1t03. That's What Love Will Make You Do [8:31] [0:04] %
s1t04. Tangled Up In Blue [10:15] %

--set II ( 4 tracks, 31:22)--
s2t01. Run For The Roses [4:54] %
s2t02. [0:20] Love In The Afternoon [9:22] %
s2t03. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:25] ->
s2t04. Midnight Moonlight [7:19] [0:02] %

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #22 (First show - October 7, 1985 Keystone Palo Alto; Last show - February 21, 1986)
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-guitar, vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - vocals;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Gaylord Birch - drums.

JGMF:

! R: 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.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19851014-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/138028 (this fileset).

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

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/stone-mothers-412-broadway-san.html

! band: http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html. This is ultrarare JGB #22, with Gaylord Birch drumming. This configuration debuted on a Monday-Tuesday, October 7th and 8th, 1985 in Palo Alto, then Sunday-Monday the next week in San Fran. Of those four shows, the last one, 10/14, is the only one to circulate as of March 2017. Four gigs in October, four in December (14-15 in SF, 21-22 in PA, weekend gigs, all in circulation), then one gig in February (2/21/86). These were the only JGB shows without stalwart drummer David Kemper between 7/20/83 and 11/19/93. We know so little about this period. Where was Kemper? Corry bands post: "I presume that Kemper had another commitment, and since Birch was an established quantity from his time in Reconstruction, he was a comfortable choice as a sub." Stylistically, I don't hear the kick bass as much with him, a lot more snare and high stuff. He remains probably the second snazziest drummer with whom Garcia ever played, after Paul Humphrey (1974).

! seealso: Arnold, Corry. 2012. Gaylord Birch – Drums. Hooterollin' Around, February 3, URL http://hooterollin.blogspot.com/2012/02/gaylord-birch-drums.html, consulted 11/15/2014.

! R: source: AUD (marked 2nd Gen) kindly provided by wk & http://jgmf.blogspot.com/

! R: transfer: Maxell XLII > Nakamichi CR-5A > Edirol FA-66 > Wavelab 2448 > R8Brain > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644 tagged. Transfer by Andrew F. 03/2017.

! R: "Very tight edits thru-out, most songs cut in and out abruptly with bits missing." The vocals are deeply buried, the bass isn't particularly audible, guitar is at least pretty upfront. As I am in s1t03, I'd say the guitar sounds great, drums are OK, everything else (e.g., bass and keys) is buried.

! historical: These tapes are tightly edited, but 35 minutes and 31 minutes for the two sets, respectively, is far below the Minelli Line, below which a good square effort for the fans becomes a Cabaret Economics ripoff.

! P: s1t01 CUTS is actually surprisingly together. The December 14-15 shows are the only other late '85 Jerry Band tapes in circulation as of this writing (3/24/17), and I had thought that at least one of them opened with some real timing misfires between drums and band. They manage to wrap CUTS up pretty tightly, not doing that thing of not knowing how to end it.

! R: s1t01 CUTS 34-seconds blank tape, cross-faded out at 4:52.

! P: s1t02 WIPMM Gaylord doesn't catch the ending, it sort of fizzles and fazzles to a close.

! P: s1t03 TWLWMYD Birch is great on this, right from the get-go. He has an extra beat going that really works well, and he nicely accents behind Jerry's chorus vocal. This is cookin'!

! P: s1t04 TUIB it's too bad the vocals are so buried, because they sound reasonably strong. compare with GD 9/3/85, or the September Red Rocks shows, and he sounds much better here.

! s2t02 LITA I may have to retract my statement about the voice - maybe sounding a little more ragged here later in the evening.

! P: s2t03 TNTDODD I have been wavering on the vocals, and here they are not terrible at first ... then they get pretty bad by 3 minutes into the song.

A 35 Minute Second Set: JGB at The Stone, March 4, 1984

LN jg1984-03-04.jgb.all.sbd-gmb.85294.flac1644

Sunday night, 3/4/84, Jerry races out of the building with a 35 minute set II. Maybe he was late for mass. Nothing much else to report.

Jerry Garcia Band
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
March 4, 1984 (Sunday)
sbd GMB flac1644 shnid-85294

--set I (5 tracks, 48:57)--
s1t01. //Rhapsody In Red/ [#9:42#]
s1t02. Sugaree [11:21] [0:03] %
s1t03. Simple Twist Of Fate [14:18] ->
s1t04. Run For The Roses [5:10] ->
s1t05. Deal [8:18] (1) [0:05]

--set II (4 tracks, 35:27)--
s2t01. Cats Under The Stars [8:16] % [0:04]
s2t02. Knockin' On Heaven's Door [12:57] %
s2t03. Reuben And Cherise [6:47] ->
s2t04. Midnight Moonlight [7:21] (2) [0:03]

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

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.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19840304-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1984-03-04

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/16915 (MSC shnf, deprecated), http://etreedb.org/shn/85294 (this fileset).

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/stone-mothers-412-broadway-san.html

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

! band: JGB #21a (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html).

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/stone-mothers-412-broadway-san.html

! ad: BAM, February 24, 1984, p. unk.

! R: Source: Soundboard Cassette Master > DAT

! R: Transfer: Panasonic SV-3700 > M-Audio Audiophile 2496 to Wavelab 5.0

mastering with iZotope Ozone 3 > CDWAV1.9 > FLAC (level 8). Transferred, Remastered and Seeded by Green Mountain Bros. May 24, 2007.

! R: hard to know via whom this soundboard tape entered the light. It is of a piece with 3/2, 3/10 and 3/21, all board tapes circulating from this month. The rumor back in the day was always that band insiders might have been inclined to trade the occasional tape for the occasional bindle of Bolivian Marching Powder, but I can't speak to the accuracy of these dirty rumors.

! R: s1t01 RIR cuts in, clips out

! P: s1t01 vocals are brutal

! s1t05 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a little while, we'll be back in a little bit."

! s2t04 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."

Fluent Guitar and Dissonant Vocals: JGB at Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center for the Performing Arts, Eugene, OR - December 5, 1984

Drummer David Kemper's laminate from the "1984 Winter Northwest Tour" of the JGB, December 5-8, 1984.

LN jg1984-12-05.jgb.s2.aud.79642.flac1644

I have been engaging this little mini-tour undertaken by the JGB in early December 1984 as a way to reflect on Garcia's Rock Bottom. I come away consistently impressed with his guitar playing and mortified by his singing.

12/6/84 listening notes;
12/7/84 listening notes.

The first night of the "tour", Silva Concert Hall in Eugene, is, as of this writing, only represented by a good aud of set II - if you have set I on tape, please consider having it digitized and circulated. It's utterly characteristic of the others. I absolutely love this "Dear Prudence", containing everything that was really special about JGB #21b, THE Jerry Garcia Band - tight players building strong scaffolding and Garcia clambering around like a Bay Bridge welder. But it also exemplifies, in particular in two clammy spots that I mark for reference, Garcia's inexcusably bad vocals during the period. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad.

Random note about the venue: it apparently opened in 1982, and it's one of the rare rooms that Grateful Dead and Garcia Band played more or less contemporaneously, with the following Jerry sightings per JGBP:

8/29/83 Grateful Dead
8/30/83 Grateful Dead
8/31/83 Grateful Dead
1/16/84 Jerry Garcia Band
5/6/84 Grateful Dead
5/7/84 Grateful Dead
5/8/84 Grateful Dead
12/5/84 Jerry Garcia Band

Here's a broader post on venues played by both GD and a Garcia side operation.

Note the little "filler" on the end of this fileset, Garcia's birth control PSA, using tape of him talking about parenting that I have heard, I believe from somewhere on GDAO. I do miss tape filler.

Jerry Garcia Band
Silva Concert Hall, Hult Center for the Performing Arts
7th and Willamette
Eugene, OR 97401
December 5, 1984 (Wednesday) - 7 PM
s2 aud shnid-79642

--fileset (7 tracks, 48:31)--

--set II (6 tracks, 47:35)--
s2t01. crowd and tuning [0:31]
s2t02. I'll Take A Melody [12:39] [0:08]
s2t03. Get Out Of My Life Woman [8:57] [0:06] %
s2t04. Dear Prudence [12:39] ->
s2t05. Gomorrah [5:57] ->
s2t06. Midnight // Moonlight [6:#31] (1) [0:07]

--filler (1 track, 0:56)--
s1t07. Jerry's PSA for birth control [0:56]

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

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19841205-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/79642 (this fileset).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/V3uHA

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/silva-concert-hall-hult-center-for.html

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

! seealso: listening notes from 12/6/84 (http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2014/03/ln-jg1984-12-06jgbs1s2paud.html) and 12/7/84 (http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2014/03/ln-jg1984-12-07jgballaud.html)

! historical: Michael Hedges opened. Note that as of 3/24/2015 there is no recording of set I known to me.

! P: Overall, a perfect microcosm of the period. Some amazingly fluent guitar playing alongside occasionally cringeworthily dissonant singing.

! R: Source: AUD > ? > C > Sony TC-D5M > Realtek AC97 > Soundforge > CD-Wave > TLH v.1.0.0.72 (for SBE-OK, FLAC compression & checksums) > FLAC, October 2006 by Andrew F.

! R: seeder notes: "There's a cut (tape flip) at the start of Midnight Moonlight.  Soundforge was used to adjust levels, correct the pitch, and to make fades. THANKS to Jeff Harrison and Jake Feinberg for the tape. ENJOY!"

! R: overall, this is a totally pleasant tape. Love how it picks up John.

! P: s2t02 ITAM Mule is pulling some big fat bass strings during ITAM. Vocal troubles, not all the way to a clam, on "I understand | how the old fisherman" around 4:15. I have heard worse.

! P: s2t03 GOOMLW Garcia is croaking

! P: s2t04 DP horrible vocals. One of the things I love about how they did this song in this period is exemplified from about 5. They have run through the first hunk of the song, and now Garcia wants to play a lot of scales, spend maybe 3-4-5 minutes chasing Dear Prudence around with a good, tight band. John sounds very engaged and good, keys are not overcrowded, Kemper is metronomic. JGB #21b on Dear Prudence at a nice upbeat tempo with clarion-Jerry is playing guitar ... it's good. Melvin is right there late 5 so Jerry can start double-timing from 8 - very nice scaffolding by Melvin, and Jerry is make good use of it, fast parcour over, under, around, and through. At 9, he starts stretching and pulling instead. It's amazing how fluently his playing, given priors about the timeframe. The ending catches a few players by surprise, but they are quick to fall in, and then we drop into a nice Gomorrah. The vocals are rough, of course.

! P: s2t05 Gomorrah: OK, if you want to hear what it means to hit a vocal clam, listen to the first vocals here, maybe late 20 second range. I put this here as a marker, but I strongly discourage you from actually checking out what I mean. There would be no winners. (BTW, there's another s2t06 @ 5:24.)

! R: s2t06 Mid Moon quick tape flip (good job, taper!) at start of song, not much missing.

! s2t06 (1) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later on."

! s2t07 I have heard this Garcia text before, I think it's one of the interviews at GDAO.

The vocals are as bad as Garcia ever inflicted on a paying audience: August 26, 1984

LN jg1984-08-26.jgb.all.aud-dearth.84568.flac1644

OK, turns out I was most of the way through a listen to this, so I finished it.

On the one hand, that wasn't so bad. I don't feel too unclean. On the other hand, as Jimmy Fallon's teenaged character Sara might say -- "Ew".

First, tip o' the cap to Mr. Don Dearth for heading down to Palo Alto, fresh tape and batteries, the mics and the deck, and walking out into the early summer morning with a fine aural commemorative. And thanks to John Moses for getting this tape into the world.

Second, my prior opinion of this show, that it may be the single worst Garcia performance in the canon, is based in a 2007 listen, only tersely noted. I now think that's an overstatement, but my main position now is just that it's hard to verbalize summary judgments of multidimensional phenomena. In brief, my assessment is that one aspect of the show is just so bad that it cannot help but color assessment of the whole show. I'll elaborate.

"Ew"

The vocals are as bad as Garcia ever inflicted on a paying audience. To my taste, late 1984 (this period through December) is Jerry's vocal nadir - he is just absolutely, fundamentally shredded up. Under the overall heading "Jerry sounds absolutely awful", I note the following specifics.

• ! P: s2t01 MITR starts off as one of Garcia's worst recorded performances. In 2007, more terse than I seem to be now, I wrote simply "MITR is a mess". Even though it's not quite as badly off-key as some other versions --he really had trouble arranging this song to suit his ever changing vocal abilities-- he botches the words and just sounds rather lost at the start. I think he was *this close* to asking for a mulligan. He finds his footing a little bit, "tonight I would be thankful for any dream at all". Indeed.
• ! P: s2t02 LITA Jerry again clams up the beginning, this time with some ill-plucked strings.
• ! P: s2t04 DLG Garcia has completely lost his voice.

On the Other Hand ...

There is some excellent guitarwork, including in sometimes-throwaway "They Love Each Other" and the new-to-the-repertoire hottie, Allen Toussaint's "Get Out Of My Life, Woman" (GOOMLW) -- "there is absolutely nothing wrong with this." Even 2007 me, even after the pooch-screwing that starts "Love In The Afternoon", conceded that "LITA has some pretty nice playing." Oh, and "Don't Let Go", as ever, is a treat that could bear repeat engagements. (That said, I think the next night's version outdoes this one.) If you had paid your however-much-it-is to get it, you would have seen some world class music being performed.

... and the servings are so small

What about quantity? Later, especially after getting busted in Golden Gate Park in January 1985, Jerry regularly crossed the entertainment industry's version of baseball's Mendoza line (a .200 batting average, honoring a light-hitting Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop) - the Minelli Line: 45 minutes of big show per paid admission, and that's it. Cabaret economics is like Manchester Capitalism, without the morals. You want more? Pony up for the next show, and pass me my drink and cigarettes. The most egregious example of Garcia doing this is probably an acoustic duet gig with John Kahn in Kahn's Beverly Hills hometown, May 31, 1985, when Garcia's often-fawning (and, at this point, regularly-suffering) fans brought a chant of "bullshit! bullshit!" down around him and forced him to cough out a few extra numbers before turning them out.

This first set dangerously skirts the Minelli Line, while set II is about an hour, a decent quantity that's more like batting .250. The show is not as long as the next night. But more importantly, this Saturday show just isn't as good as the next night. The weekend's pair of "Don't Let Go"s provides an easy contrast: 16 minutes versus 22, especially at the relatively brisk pace they were playing it with at this time (nearly optimal to my ears, BTW), is the difference between Jerry striking the fly or mostly just swaggering around it, seeing it, knowing he could reach for it if he tried, but the moment never quite culminates, for whatever reason. Interesting that I noted this on the Sunday version: "go-for-it' continuation early in 13 by Jerry. Very long and interesting DLG" - that's the difference between the two versions - on 8/26 he passes up the opportunity to stretch the song out, while on 8/27, at just the same point, he seizes it.

One way to think of this is the linear-and-additive-effects model - take the average. The guitar playing can be good, but there aren't enough of them. The vocals are horrible. DLG interesting. Below average show for the period (compare next night) but, as I said from the show two days earlier (8/24),

if this is rock bottom, it's not that bad.

But I just can't escape those bloody vocals. I want to suggest that there's something so qualitatively bad about these vocals that we must condemn this show as an affront to the professionalism that Garcia, for all of his travails, almost never failed to strive to achieve. (This is not weasel language. He failed to achieve a standard of professionalism many times, as anyone who's trying hard to do something hard to do must. The key is in being conscious of the standard, and in the trying to uphold it.) Those short sets in 1985 can define the show, to my satisfaction, as a ripoff, and thus a professional violation, a violation of the should-be-inviolable pact with your paying customers. And I might have to rule similarly about these late August '84 vocals, and say that keeping yourself in such a state that you can't, y'know, sing, and charging people to hear you try to do so anyway, to general icky embarrassment, doing all of that violates some standard of professionalism that Garcia professed to uphold, which he almost always did - except for during this period, 1984-1985.

And you know that on some level, for as extensively as he bandaged all those frayed endings in a poppy gauze, dulled the annoying sensibilities, he knew - he knew, and he was mortified. This is pure speculation on my part, of course. But Garcia's a smart guy. He knows the vocals are rough to such an extent, on some nights, that no amount of compensatory guitar wizardry can really make it OK. He's thought very consciously over a two-decade professional career about his relationship with fans, with customers, their respective rights and responsibilities to each other. He's violating that, in this window. He's violating that with 30-something minute sets (generally the next year), and he's violating that with cringeworthy vocals here. And I am sure that somewhere and somehow he regrets it. But, of course, sometimes it's as if one's hands were tied.

So, no, while I am not interested in blame, I am interested in evaluating Garcia as a professional musician, and, here, I don't want to give this guy a pass. I want to hold him to his own standards, to which he almost always held himself. But not in this period. For Garcia, a professional musician to the core of his being, that's Rock Bottom.

Listening notes below the fold for this Sunday night show during the busy and interesting month of August 1984 (see also 8/11/84, 8/12/84, 8/24/84, 8/27/74).