Positively Killer: JGB at Keystone Palo Alto, December 21, 1979

I was recently surprised when I listened to JGB 12/17/79 and found the show totally lackluster. Jerry sounds listless, indifferent, tired, and he and Johnny D, the 21 year old Marin kid drumming live with Jerry for only the seventh time, seemed badly out of sync. So, I listened to the next show, 12/20, and found it to represent a considerable improvement. Deciding to carry on, I spun 12/21/79 here on its 41st anniversary. This was a relatively rare soundboard tape in early circulation back in the day, was widely traded (insofar as Garcia Band tapes were), and has long been a fan favorite for the arc'ing, soaring "Sugaree" and, especially, for the long version of a relative rarity, Dylan's "Positively 4th Street".

I am here to say that 40 years of crowds have been wise to revere this show. It kills. Let me just mark a few points, but urge you to check it out yourself, perhaps especially from shnid-138677, which sparkles.

First, I guess Johnny D and Jerry just needed a little work together --they hadn't played since 11/18, and I doubt they had practiced between time. Yes, I'm talkin' 'bout practice. So we see monotonic improvement in how these two are sync'd, and that makes everything else work. By 12/21, I do not notice any problems at all - not a one. And I hear Johnny D doing some killer stuff, e.g., in Sugaree, that validates why Garcia wanted him in the band. He's really, really good.

Second, Ozzie Ahlers plays masterfully here, going toe to toe with Garcia with tremendous confidence. This would be less and less the case over the years of Garcia's side bands - Melvin Seals was wonderful, a perfect complementary player who could take sparkling features when it was his turn, but was certainly very submissive vis a vis Garcia. Here, Ozzie occasionally steps forward over Jerry, Jerry keeps playing loudly, and, rather than backing down, Ozzie ups his attack and amplitude. They really feed off each other wonderfully this night. Nick pointed out to me that there is no synth here, just electric piano, so maybe that gives his playing a little more oomph or something, I dunno. Or, like Johnny D, having played a few gigs has him feeling warmed up. Or, it's just a great night. Whatever the case, a great night for Ozzie Ahlers, the best I can recall having heard.

Third, Garcia plays very mathematically throughout, and alternates between loud, grungy rock and roll lead guitar on the one hand and some much more gentle, patient plucking on the other. I can't explain why it feels mathematical except that it's both arithmetic (like an expanding cycle) and geometric (lots of loop and circles). He also comps as well this night for Ozzie as he ever did. See especially "After Midnight", which rocks hard.

Fourth this "Positively 4th Street" more than earns its reputation as the BOAT version. Checking in at 17 minutes, it starts with some beautiful instrumental work, as Jerry patiently sets everything up. I wasn't following along with the lyrics or anything, but I think he gets all of the verses almost entirely right, and sometimes he just barely remembers a line in time but offers it up off the beat and a little faster, providing some really nice syncopated texture. I think he even has the verse order mostly right. His guitar tone works throughout, and he comps aggressively for Ozzie, including some fanning that would normally just be him but here serves the whole unit. By the end I just wrote "I am actually pretty speechless at this point. WOW." Check it out.

Fifth, I seriously doubt that HTC was really an encore. In this period, a 35 minute second set would only have happened if they were running up on closing time. But then they would not have been able to play an encore. So I suspect it's just a four-song, 50-minute second set.

Sixth, I also seriously doubt that this comes from master reels. Maybe I shouldn't - the tape sounds absolutely fabulous, and it sounds even better, on a quick comparison, via shnid-138677, than the "Bertha" version I got with. It sounds light years better than the cassette master of the next night, which doesn't circulate but which I have heard. But all of that said, I am just not aware of anyone running reels at this point. The last Garcia Band reels I know about date from summer 1978. Betty ran reels for Reconstruction at least into July 1979, but the Garcia Band tapes from after that were limited to cassette. I dunno. It seems pretty certain there is a cassette gen here, based on cuts in After Midnight and Harder They Come. Older circulating versions have also tended to be a little bit hissy. But, I dunno. Happy to be proven wrong!

So let me just close this fun little exploration that I do think 12/17/79 was quite weak, but the band gets better each night of the three I have engaged over the last few days. The 12/21/79 show is absolutely outstanding, holding its own next to anything JGB did plus or minus a few years. I have seen folks say that they use it to introduce novices to the Garcia Band, and I can see why - the tape sounds great and the performance is outstanding. True, I can hear the limitations creeping in to Jerry's voice, which is still sweetly high but which is starting to bump into tighter range and volume constraints. It ain't perfect, but it is excellent.

Listening notes below the fold.

Jerry Garcia Band

Keystone Palo Alto

260 S. California Avenue

Palo Alto, CA 94306

December 21, 1979 (Friday)

Bertha shnid-24642 shn2flac

--set I (4 tracks, 50:13)--

s1t01. //Sugaree [#16:01] [0:04] % [0:32]

s1t02. They Love Each Other [7:15] %

s1t03. Russian Lullaby [13:45] [0:02] %

s1t04. After //Midnight [12:#30] (1) [0:05]

--set II + encore (4 tracks, 50:22)--

--set II (3 tracks, 35:36)--

s2t01. //How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [#9:50] [0:07] %

s2t02. [0:03] % /Positively 4th Street [#17:32] [0:04] %

s2t03. Deal [7:52] [0:07] %

--encore (1 track, 14:46)--

s2t04. [0:13] Harder //They Come [14:#17] [0:15]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #11a

! lineup: Jerry Garcia - electric guitar, vocals;

! lineup: Ozzie Ahlers - electric piano;

! lineup: John d'Fonseca - drums;

! lineup: John Kahn - electric 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/19791221-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/4434 (shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/13232 (shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/24642 (this fileset); https://etreedb.org/shn/138677 (Gastwirt DAT); https://etreedb.org/shn/141499 (shnid-4434 "treatment", flac1644); https://etreedb.org/shn/141500 (shnid-4434 "treatment", flac2496). I believe all of these filesets derive from the same ultimate source tape, which traveled different paths to losslessness.

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/6U9QR2V8UV4YwBDh9

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

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

! seealso: JGMF, "Checking Myself: JGB at Keystone Palo Alto, December 20, 1979"

! setlist: I seriously doubt that HTC was really an encore. In this period, a 35 minute second set would only have happened if they were running up on closing time. But then they would not have been able to play an encore. So I suspect it's just a four-song, 50-minute second set.

! R: given lineage: SBD > MR > DAT > CDA > DAW (Bertha) > CDA/SHN. It's hard for me to know what to make of this lineage. Most obviously, the pattern of cuts strongly suggests at least a cassette generation in here. But beyond that, I would be shocked to learn that anyone was running reels at this show. There's just no hard evidence in support of this proposition. As far as I know, Betty stopped running reels after Reconstruction ended a few months earlier. With all of that said, these do sound amazing, much fuller, fatter, richer and cleaner than, say, the single Betty cassette of the next night, which does not circulate but which I have been able to hear.

! R: seeder notes: Digitally remastered using a custom built, Dual DAW, nicknamed Bertha, by jashley@deadacated.com.  Completed on 6/14/2004. Very light noise reduction (pure sample) applied to make the tape hiss a bit less noticeable. Dropout at 6:04 in After Midnight and at 10:20 of Harder They Come.

! ad: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook 19791209p24

! ad: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook 19791216p30

! historical: Bill Belcher Band opened.

! R: s1t01 Sugaree cuts in

! P: s1t01 Sugaree (Older notes, from undetermined date) This is sometimes considered one of the great Sugarees, and I don't disagree. I'd love to see a graph showing the mathematics of his work in the 12-13 minute marks, which is profoundly layered and temporally complex. He doesn't leave much room for his bandmates, but the guitar just sparkles. The voice, by contrast, is a little thin, reedy and frail.

! P: s1t01 Sugaree (2020 notes) Ozzie had done some really nice lead work 6-7, and he seems to have inspired Jerry, who spins and weaves some beautiful stuff, adding a little hop to it while digging in harder 8:20ff. Really good. Fanning 9:05ff, John dropping some rumbly stuff. All good. Another peak building late 12, and now I gotta give young Johnny D his props, because he is playing very well here. The whole band is locked in. Clocking in over 16 minutes, I had earlier said it was "probably the longest Sugaree ever played" before hearing the 22+ minute monster from four nights previous.

! P: s1t02 RL John feature 7:50ish until about 9:50. Jerry goes very very high right at 11, quite distinctive.

! R: s1t04 AM splice @ 6:04, probable cassette flip.

! P: s1t04 AM in 6 Ozzie is soloing hard and playing very well. Garcia's comping sounds pretty inspired, a little edgy and strong. @ 7:15 Jerry wants his taste and Ozzie drops off for him perfectly. Garcia playing his circular figures and it sounds great! This brings a nice edge. So far, nearing end of set I, this is the best of the three shows I am listening to consecutively (12/17 is bad, 12/20 is intermediate, and this one is very strong). Crowd gives a nice round of applause right around 9 as Jerry returns to the next verse. Wailing again right around 11:30. Man, this AM rocks hard.

! s1t04 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a short break. We'll be back in a few minutes."

! P: s2t01 HSII strong throughout. Ozzie is really impressing me - he totally holds his own in lead and in support. And right around 7:50 Johnny D does some double-time splashing that is fantastic. I also hear the absence of backing vocals, and it strikes me that by 2/80 Ozzie would be doing some high harmonies. Is that right?

! R: s2t02 4th Street clips in.

! P: s2t02 4th Street oh man, the stuff Jerry is doing at the start is already fantastic, and John is big with him. The guitar tone at 9:40 is wonderfully pure. More of that at 11:40. Goodness. Fanning behind Ozzie late 13 over 14. Never quite heard anything quite like this, the most aggressive comping he ever did. I am actually pretty speechless at this point. WOW.

! P: s2t04 HTC 9:20ff Jerry does some extremely beautiful low key plucking. He had done this at a moment in Deal, that I didn't note. My goodness. This is so good. By 12:30 his voice is sounding a little thinner.

! R: s2t04 HTC splice @ 10:01, presumed cassette flip.