Checking Myself: JGB at Keystone Palo Alto, December 20, 1979

I just listened to JGB 12/17/79 and found it to be ... off. Out of sync. Low energy.

Since I don't trust how my own frame of mind can color my listening experience, I decided to turn directly to a contemporary show, in this case 12/20/79. The big degree to which these are apples and oranges have to do with recording sources, 17th being a good aud and 20th being a hissy and maybe fast sbd.

It's a night and day difference. The most recently circulated version of 12/20/79 comes out like a bat outta hell, and I mean HARD - That's Alright, Mama screams, How Sweet cooks, Catfish John and After Midnight both bring the juice. Hypothesis 1 is that tape quality is driving this. 12/20 has more high end for sure and, even more problematically, may run fast. It'd be great if someone with good pitch could check it out, though the seeder, AF, has great ears and I suspect things are OK. Hypothesis 2 is that, indeed, 12/17 was just not as good - Jerry more recently off the road, a case of the Mondays, I dunno.

I am considering spinning 12/21 as well to complete this little study, another board which I remember being flat as a pancake, so it might give a third distinct vantage.

When I saw this clipping, I remembered that I remembered this strip comic strip Momma from this period. (I was ten.) We were a Chronicle and Contra Costa Times family, my parents being morning paper readers and us being in the east bay. It was a good combo, back in the times when two such papers would cover a good gamut from global to local news.

LN jg1979-12-20.jgb.all.sbd-AF.91965.flac1644

JERRY GARCIA BAND 

Keystone Palo Alto

260 S. California Avenue

Palo Alto, CA 94306

December 20, 1979 (Thursday)

sbd shnid-91965

--complete show (8 tracks, 79:56)--

t01. That's Alright Mama [6:51] [0:19]

t02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [9:56] [0:08] %

t03. Catfish John [9:04] [0:08] %

t04. After Midnight [12:24] [0:04] %

t05. Love In The Afternoon [9:25] [0:10] %

t06. Let It Rock [9:46] [0:10]

t07. Simple Twist Of Fate [12:15] [0:03] %

t08. Tore Up Over You [9:06] [0:08] %

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #11a

! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;

! lineup: Ozzie Ahlers - keyboards, synthesizers;

! lineup: John d'Fonseca - drums;

! lineup: John Kahn - bass.

JGMF:

! R: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [x:xx] = 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/19791220-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/22889 (same ultimate source tape, deprecated); https://etreedb.org/shn/91965 (this fileset).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/7AzlG

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/11/keystone-sophies-260-s-california-ave.html

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

! seealso: JGMF, "Sunday, Monday, What's the Difference? JGB #11a at Keystone, December 17, 1979 (Monday)"

! ad: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook, December 9, 1979, p. 24

! listing: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook, December 16, 1979, p. 18

! ad: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook, December 16, 1979, p. 30

! mention: San Francisco Examiner, December 20, 1979, p. 27

! setlist: It is claimed that this was a complete, single set show, which would be very anomalous.

! historical: Bill Belcher opened.

! R: Source: SBD > ? > Cassette. 

! R: Transfer: Maxell XL-II > Nakamichi DR-8 (Dolby off) > Audiophile 2496 > Soundforge > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC, by Andrew F. (May 2008) 

! R: Notes: This source is an improvement in sound quality over the currently circulating source (shnID-22889), with brighter sound and more consistent levels, although there is still some hiss. Both this and 22889 have the same eight songs, but in a different order. This version presents the songs as they appeared on the cassette that was transferred (four per side). The fades heard between the songs (tracks 2 thru 8) were there on the cassette. It is not clear if the cassette has the songs in the correct order as they were performed, or if this is the entire show, or possibly a compilation ... With my THANKS to Ted Gidley for providing the tape to transfer!

! P: t01 TAM is blazing a mile a minute. My goodness. Johnny D doesn't know when it's ending, but Jerry just forces the issue.

! P: t02 HSII Ozzie is soloing 4 and Garcia is comping grungily, really good. Then 4:40 or so Jerry steps up and starts wailing, Ozzie recedes, Jerry breaking off big ol shards of glass. Very good.

! P: t03 CJ late 6 over 7 just some great fanny guitar work.

! P: t04 AM as with 12/17/79 I don't think Johnny D is supplying the beat that it needs. Jerry goes around a few times rather than jumping right into the lyrics. Good high energy later in the tune.

! P: t07 STOF I don't think John had a feature here.