'88 Bridge Benefit is Good

A lot of good material at the Bridge Benefit, 12/4/88 in the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

It's not like 15-20 minutes was very demanding, but Garcia sounds much more enthusiastic belting out the backing vocals here on "Wang Dang Doodle", and giving "Friend Of The Devil" a sprightly run-through, than he did on either of the two previous nights with JGB at the Orpheum (12/2, 12/3).

This is one of the very few documented Shared Stages between Garcia and "Mr. Forever Young", as Bob calls him, Neil Young, who drops some decent harp on WDD.

These Listening Notes May Be A Touch Unreliable: JGB at Orpheum, December 2, 1988

LN jg1988-12-02.jgb.all.aud-webber-small.xxxxxx.flac1644

In my neck of the scientific woods, reliability refers to the reproducibility of empirical measurement. My  measurement is reliable to the extent that another scholar can follow my procedure (which must be made transparent, of course) and arrive at the same value. For measurement that involves subjective judgment (how prevalent is corruption in country X, or whatever), we have multiple people make independent valuations and correlate their judgments. This, we call intercoder reliability.

Why do I mention this here? Well, I hate to break it to you, reader, but the quality judgments I offer in my listening notes maaaayyyy not satisfy conventional reliability standards. Heck, intercoder reliability between myself at two different points in time would probably fail to satisfy reviewer #2 at any given journal. I have mentioned this many times before - my own subjective feeling surely colors my evaluation of what I am listening to. And it just came up again. I recently posted how disappointed I was with JGB 12/3/88 at the SF Orpheum, wondering whether it was the weakest show of that year in which not many were played but many, such as 2/5, 7/10 and 10/31 were very good. I then decided to check out 12/2, and in listening notes completed 12/1/2020 I was thinking it might be just as bad. But now, two weeks later, I picked up where I left off, and I found it to be better. In particular, I have some stuff going on in life that makes "Like A Road Leading Home" feel really helpful, even essential, and sure enough I dug it. I liked the rest of set II, too. Nothing tremendous, but solid. So now I just can't tell if Garcia finished the show relatively well, or if it's just my head space. I dunno.

"The Way You Do The Things You Do" comes back after almost three years away (2/21/86), Jerrybase tells me, which is one of the little reasons I love Jerrybase so much.

Jerry sounds very fatigued throughout most of the show, and just about every song flubs some lyrics. Nothing stretches out. I remember not being blown away by the Caesar's Palace shows last time I listened to them (maybe 11/4?), I used to love the Wilterns but now am wondering how they hold up, and 12/2 and 12/3 find Jerry sounding worn out and sluggish. I don't quite know what to make of all of that, because, as noted, I have always loved the first half (or so) of the year. Maybe it really is a tale of two semesters. Or maybe I listened to the early part of the year in a mood to find good stuff, and here am checking out the last shows of the year a bit grumpier. Dunno.

Sean Webber-Small was a legendary relatively early digital taper, and I believe this pull is his. Crowd around him was rather chatty. There's some taper talk at notes 1 and 2, the second of which has someone near or even with the taper talking about how Stewart charged him 50 bucks for the tickets. When I hear "Stewart", I now think of the SNL skit "The Californians", and want to ask "w-w-what are you d-doing here, Stew-wart?" Face was $18.50, so maybe he was counting his ill-gotten lucre.

The Orpheum was Wolfgang's (and thus Jerry's) base of operations while the Warfield was being renovated, I believe. Ol Jer (outside the GD) played it once in '76, three times here in '88, and four times in '89.

Listening notes below the fold.

Jerry Garcia Band
Orpheum Theatre
1192 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
December 2, 1988 (Friday)
Webber-Small MAP noshnid

--set I (6 tracks, 50:11)--
s1t01. //How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [#3:49] [0:54]
s1t02. Waiting For A Miracle [6:44] [2:24]
s1t03. I Shall Be Released [8:48] [0:31]
s1t04. That's What Love Will Make You Do [7:45] (2) [1:02]
s1t05. Stop That Train [7:30] [1:52]
s1t06. Tangled Up in Blue [8:38] (3) [0:12]

--set II (7 tracks, 52:47)--
s2t01. ambience [0:17]
s2t02. Harder They Come [10:16] [0:39]
s2t03. Mission In The Rain [9:08] [0:21]
s2t04. Like A Road Leading Home [8:30] [0:27]
s2t05. Think [6:07] [0:21]
s2t06. Evangeline [3:35] [0:08]
s2t07. Don't Let Go [12:06] (4) [0:49]

! 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; [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/19881202-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/19969 (this source tape, shnf);  https://etreedb.org/shn/20833 (Reutelhuber MAC).

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

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/mr3oJuLND6u

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/08/orpheum-theatre-1192-market-street.html

! historical: Bob Weir opened.

! seealso: "Weakest Show of '88? JGB, December 3, 1988, Orpheum SF," URL http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2020/11/weakest-show-of-88-jgb-december-3-1988.html

! R: field recordist: Sean Webber-Small

! R: field recording gear: 2x Schoeps CMC44 > Sony PCM F1 > Sony SL2500

! R: lineage: Sony SL2500 playback > Sony SL360 Beta/1 > Sony SL-HF450 playback > Sony PCM-601 > Digital Domain VSP-P > Digital Audio Labs Card Deluxe soundcard > Cool Edit 2000 > Shntool > FLAC. Transfer and FLAC encoding by David Minches.

! R: Relatively low levels, but quite a nice tape. Some up-close clapping at start. May have been taped "under the overhang"

! R: s1t01 HSII cuts in, muffled to start. There is up-close clapping. It would seem that someone asks the lady to stop clapping around 2:30, but she declines the request. She does seem to stop after this tune, mostly.

! P: s1t02 WFAM JG sounds tired. Lots of lyrical misses. JG guitar run 3:30ff totally flaccid. No bite at all.

! song: That's What Love Will Make You Do (s1t04): returning from almost three years away (2/21/86).

! P: s1t04 TWLWMYD languidly paced.

! s1t04 (1) Taper talk: "If you could, just make sure my jacket's underneath the seat."

! s1t05 (2) Taper talk: "People are really fucking noisy." Stewart charged someone nearby $50 for the seats.

! s1t06 (3) JG: "We'll be back in a little while."

! P: s2t02 HTC lyrical flubs all over the first verse. Rough voice - he sounds exhausted this night.

! P: s2t03 MITR pretty up tempo, though we get a first mumblyverse right out of the date. Garcia sounds absolutely exhausted. His voice is quite rough.

! R: s2t03 MITR muffled for about 10-15 seconds near end.

! P: s2t04 LARLH note that I am coming back on 12/15 after leaving off here on 12/1. And in the meantime, I have had some life stuff that makes me particularly open to being soothed by LARLH. And, soothed I am. It ain't perfect, but it works for me right now.

! P: s2t05 Think this song killed in 1988, so I have high hopes. Still sounds just a little sluggish, and he trips over a few words. Nice raunchy tone 1:20ff, but not super loud. After Melvin's turn, Jerry decides to play loud 4:20ff, and he does so. Very good grunge for a short turn, and that inspires him to put some oomph into "give up my woman".

! P: s2t06 DLG pretty straightforward start, goes into the jam part 4:22, 4:57 interesting pull, more over 5, sustain. A nice little jump up at 7:59. After a decent little exploration, Jerry signals the return around 10:15, jumps right into the last verse 10:35 or so. Hits a cool low singing note late 11.

! s2t07 (4) JG: [inaudible?] "See y'all later."

Weakest Show of '88? JGB, December 3, 1988, Orpheum SF

I absolutely love 1988 JGB. There's not much of it, but it's mostly all light and bouncy and healthy sounding and interactive and good. He does speak from stage here, as he did on 7/10/88. That's kind of noteworthy, I guess.

That said, just spun 12/3/88 and it left me whelmed. Bill Reutelhuber made a characteristically great tape, but the show never really goes anywhere. At around 50 minutes each, these sets are quite short. Maybe ol Jer was saving himself for the next night's Bridge Benefit. I dunno.

update: the night before no great shakes, either

LN jg1988-12-03.jgb.all.aud-reutelhuber.20834.shn2flac

Jerry Garcia Band
Orpheum Theatre
1192 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
December 3, 1988 (Saturday)
Reutelhuber shnid-20834 shn2flac

--set I (6 tracks, 47:58)--
s1t01. [0:09] Cats Under The Stars [8:02] [0:20]
s1t02. [0:20] Forever Young [8:27] (1) [1:15]
s1t03. Run For The Roses [5:47] [0:16]
s1t04. Someday Baby [6:15] [0:29]
s1t05. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:18] ->
s1t06. Deal [7:07] (1) [0:14] %

--set II (6 tracks, 51:02)--
s2t01. [0:11] Harder They Come [11:18] [0:45]
s2t02. Waiting For A Miracle [6:06] [0:27]
s2t03. Stop That Train [9:00] [0:36]
s2t04. Think [6:04] [0:05] %
s2t05. Throw Out The Lifeline [4:55] [0:14]
s2t06. Tangled Up In Blue [10:45] (2) [0:35]

! 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; [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/19881203-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/19970 (Webber-Small MAP shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/20834 (this fileset)

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

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/mr3oJuLND6u

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/08/orpheum-theatre-1192-market-street.html

! R: field recordist: Bill Reutelhuber

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi 700/CP701 (in hat) -> Reutelhuber P/S -> dbx type II Encoder -> Cm (Sony TCD5m)

! R: Transfer: Cm (Nakamichi Deck/Azmituth Aligned) -> Mytek Digital 8X96ADC -> Nuendo (using Waves Q10 and Waves C4, 24bit/44.1k) -> SHN. Transfer by Bill Reutelhuber, tracked and SHN'd By Charlie Miller charliemiller87@earthlink.net 12/1/03

! R: really nice tape.

! P: s1t01 CUTS totally unobjectionable, doesn't take too many turns at the end.

! s1t02 (1) Something happening that I can't quite figure out, but Jerry give the crowd a showbiz "Thank you, thank you", to general appreciation.

! P: s1t03 RFTR slowly paced, and some lyrical flubbing out of the gate, as had also happened with Forever Young. I know he played the night before, but he's sound a little sluggish so far.

! P: s1t05 TNTDODD hadn't been played in over a year (10/27/87). I like the intense stacking and picking guitar work 4:20ff, sliding down a string. 5 Melvin takes a turn, not as arranged, I think, but Jerry had already departed from it by doing verses out of order, I think. So he comps for Melvin, who swirls his stuff for a minute, JG digs a little deeper late 5 over 6.

! P: s1t06 Deal also a little sluggish

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

! P: s2t01 HTC I had been hoping they'd come out with more juice in set II, but this still crawls out of the gate a little bit.

! P: s2t02 WFAM also drags. So far, just about everything has.

! P: s2t03 STT there we go, around 2:20ish JG plucking some nice light stuff that sounds lovely.

! P: s2t04 Think - I could defend the argument that the '88 versions of this tune are the best versions.

! s2t06 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. [inaudible]."

Unscary Jerry: Halloween '88

Just another good, clean '88 Garcia Band show. By my count, the "Band Electric" only played 16 gigs the whole of the year, which is a shame, because Garcia's clean, relaxed vibe suits it perfectly.

"Werewolves" is fun, as always, Cats is fine, Forever Young and Stop That Train are both way above average, Think is *terrific*, Lifeline is delightful in its first of only three appearances --I think it would have worn thin-- and Don't Let Go has some great vocal work. Indeed, the vocals outshine the guitar on this night, though the grunge in "Think" is worth hearing. As I say, good clean fun.

Jerry Garcia Band
Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center
10 Tenth Street
Oakland, CA 94607
October 31, 1988 (Monday)
Reutelhuber shnid-21790 shn2flac rename

--main set + encore (6 tracks, 90:14)--
--main set (7 tracks, 86:13-0:13)--
t01. /Werewolves Of London [#5:40] [1:34]
t02. Cats Under The Stars [8:02] [1:05]
t03. Forever Young
t04. Stop That Train [6:32] [0:53]
t05. Run For The Roses [5:19] [2:23]
t06. Think [6:30] [0:31] %
t07. [0:18] Throw Out The Lifeline [4:48] [0:38]
t08. Evangeline [3:18] [0:03]
t09. Don't Let Go [12:05] [2:15]
t10. That Lucky Old Sun [9:33] ->
t11. Deal [6:52] (1) [0:13] % pre-encore [0:13]
--encore (1 track, 0:13+4:01)--
t12. My Sisters And Brothers [3:54] (2) [0:07]

! 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.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19881031-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/4378 (Travitz MAD shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/19857 (unattributed Nak 700 shnf, could be Bill R.); http://etreedb.org/shn/21790 (this fileset).

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

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/syxJeJyHJMB2

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/02/henry-j-kaiser-auditorium-oakland.html

! ref: Billboard, November 19, 1988, p. 26. Tickets $18.50-$22.50, $146,150.00 gross on 7,900 tickets sold (sellout).

! R: field recordist: Bill Reutelhuber

! R: field recording gear: Nakamichi 700/CP701 (in hat) > Reutelhuber P/S > dbx 221e type II encoder > Sony TCD5m

! R: field recording media: Maxell XLIIS

! R: field recording location: FOB; Each mic was in front of each stack on each side and about 25 feet back.

! R: transfer Info: Cassette Master (Nakamichi Deck/Azmituth Aligned) > dbx 224x Decoder > Mytek Digital ADC8X96 > Nuendo (24bit/44.1k) > SHN (2 Discs Audio / 1 Disc SHN). Process Info: 1) Processed to a 16 bit file with waves Q10 and L2. 2) Tracked and Normalized with Samplitude v7.02 Professional. Transferred and Process #1 By Bill Reutelhuber. Process #2 By Charlie Miller, charliemiller87@earthlink.net, 1/6/04.

! R: Note From Bill Reutelhuber: "Recorded due to the team effort of about 20 to 30 people!!"

! P: Garcia sounded consistently fresh and lively for '88 JGB shows, and this one is no different. Lots of good little articulations, good energy. He doesn't get all of his lyrics right, but I'd attribute that to the unusual irregularity of the band's gigging during the year: last show before this one was 7/10/88, three and a half months before!

! R: t01 Werewolves clips in.

! P: t03-t04 FY and STT were both very good.

! P: t06 Think: man this just has some great, raunchy guitar tone. Love it.

! song: "Throw Out The Lifeline" (t07): Public debut. Allen: "Based on a hymn by Edwin Smith Ufford, apparently written after observing a lifesaving drill at Point Allerton near Boston, Massachusetts in 1888." It didn't stick around very long, and that's probably fine by me - it's nice, but it just wasn't going to get very interesting, IMO, YMMV.

! P: t09 DLG Yeah! Garcia is growling, and he gives two "whoow!"s late 3, killer stuff. He had done some of this in Werewolves as well. Man, he sounds freaking fantastic. It doesn't get as far out as I might have liked, but it's tight as a drum, including the whole band sticking the final landing. Even the Russian judge gives that one a high 9.

! P: t11 Deal doesn't ever achieve escape velocity for me.

! t11 (1) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later on."

! t12 (2) JG: "G'night everybody."

'We're Havin' Fun" - Healthy, Happy Jerry at the Greek, July 10, 1988

LN jg1988-07-10.jgb.all.aud-reutelhuber.25416.shn2flac

God, this is such a fantastic fileset.

First, the legendary Bill Reutelhuber pulled a tape that just grabs you by the collar and forces you to listen. It is right in your face, in the best possible way.

Second --and I hope this isn't just a tape artifact!-- the show, too, brings tremendous power and energy. It ain't perfect, and in fact there are lots of vocal flubs and occasional group stumbles. But the guitar work elicits notes like "sear" (Like A Road), "incendiary" and "MASSIVE SCRUB" (GOOMLW), "grunge" and "huge peaky notes" (Deal), "extremely hot, with some major fireworks" (Think). Interestingly, the DLG didn't light me up, but I'd like to give it another listen. Garcia sings inventively and with gusto the whole afternoon.

After Forever Young, Jerry avers "We're havin' fun", and it sure does sound like it. I consider this period a peak one for Garcia's health and happiness. His band wasn't playing a ton, but throughout the year, when it did, it and he sounded glad to be making music. 1988 featured a number of guest shots (Howard Wales a couple of times), some rare stage talk (this show), and a number of musically compelling one-offs (Blues for El Salvador on 1/23/88) and sit-ins (Zero in Golden Gate Park before the Dead's Greek show six days after this gig, 7/16/88, a sit-in with Los Lobos at Laguna Seca on 7/31/88). I think we all agree that this probably indicates a Jerry who is relatively clean and loving life. Check it out, or play it for a Jerry-curious friend. You'll be glad you did.

Jerry Garcia Band
Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley
2001 Gayley Road
Berkeley, CA 94720
July 10, 1988 (Sunday)
Reutelhuber-Miller shnid-25416 shn2flac

--set I (7 tracks, 52:43)--
s1t01. [0:10] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [6:12] [2:45]
s1t02. Mission In The Rain [8:44] [0:44]
s1t03. Like A Road Leading Home [8:00] [0:24]
s1t04. Get Out Of My Life, Woman [8:00] % (1) [0:24]
s1t05. Run For The Roses [4:48] [0:16]
s1t06. My Sisters And Brothers [4:24] ->
s1t07. Deal [7:38] (2) [0:13] %

--set II (7 tracks, 61:35)--
s2t01. Harder They Come [10:18] [0:39]
s2t02. Stop That Train [8:05] [0:24]
s2t03. Forever Young [8:28] (3) [0:47]
s2t04. Think [7:46] [0:22]
s2t05. Evangeline [3:23] [0:04]
s2t06. That Lucky Old Sun [8:58] ->
s2t07. Don't Let Go [12:15] (3) [0:07]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #21b
! 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.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19880710-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/13988 (Dan Cole s2 MAC, shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/17635 (John Corley MAC, shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/25416 (this fileset).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/WkbbdJBKCKJ2

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/02/greek-theater-1815-4th-street-berkeley.html

! R: field recordist: Bill Reutelhuber

! R: field recording location: FOB

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi 700/CP701 > Reutelhuber power supply > Sony TCD5m

! R: transfer: Cassette Master (Nakamichi Deck/Azmituth Aligned) -> Mytek Digital ADC8X96 ->
Nuendo (24bit/44.1k) ->  Samplitude v7.02 Professional -> SHN (2 Discs Audio / 2 Discs SHN); transferred By Bill Reutelhuber, tracked and SHN'd Charlie Miller, charliemiller87@earthlink.net, 8/5/04; ; jgmf shn2flac 4/18/2015.

! R: Right out of the gate, this tape is a force to be reckoned with. Vocals a little low, instrumentation just shapely. This is a great tape - I love Bill Reutelhuber's work on every level - every tape of his sounds great. Nak 700s have a wonderful bassy fullness that really works when taper is in a great spot with the right angles, everything custom modified by Bill himself (in later years the DAT Brats and others would shorthand this his power supply as a Billbox).

! P: s1t01 HSII does Garcia start on the second verse? Does it go "needed the shelter" and then "opened my eyes at night"? So over 1, he realizes it, but he just decides to go with it. OK, 1:45 he completes the inversion of the first two verses, not in his head about it, sounds strong and focused. Then he does the second verse again, and all is well. (So he does it 2nd verse - 1st verse - 2nd verse.)

! P: s1t02 MITR sounds a little wonky out of the chute, but as they swing into the body of the song they have found each other and the groove.

! P: s1t03 LARLH I am hearing a lot of vocal flubs, which is not really that surprising - xxx JGB #21b dates in this period. Garcia sounds totally engaged, just a little rusty. Vocal inflection 3:22 is great, now his guitar solo late 3 is outstanding! The band swirling up scaffold and webbing, Garcia putting some sear on it.

! P: s1t04 GOOMLW Kemper doesn't jump this as hard as he sometimes did, but he is just such a wonderful drummer. 3:20 Melvin brings in some really bright organ. In 5 Garcia's guitar is as incendiary as 1984 - this is brilliantly urgent guitar playing, aggressive, expressive. @@ 5:57 does a MASSIVE SCRUB, but they lose the tempo for 15 seconds thereafter. I think the band was as stunned at what it was hearing as the crowd, which is gasping and hollering. They lose each other again a little bit. This show does feel like squeaking, rusty metal (which is a good thing) - tons of energy, but there's some grit to oil out.

! s1t04 (1) someone hollers "turn up the bass!", which is a good point. I think that awakens John a little bit, because on RFTR he is audible for the first time. (It's possible I merely perceive it because it was primed by the request - that'd be interesting.)

! P: s1t05 RFTR same flavor as everything so far: a little sloppy, but great energy.

! P: s1t06 Sis and Bros he flubs the lyrics, again!

! P: s1t07 Deal again lots of great grunge, Garcia taking long runs up and down the fretboard through late 3, blended bend right over 4, terrific energy, stacking 4:15. This playing is easily the equal of anything in the first half of the 1980s. At 5:33 they hit a great little platform, and Garcia, in great form, decides not to drop back to the song, but to play his guitar, loudly, for awhile longer. 6:10 huge peaky notes, crowd reports pleasure.

! s1t07 (2) JG set break announcement

! P: s2t03 FY is rather a clusterfuck. He screams at 7:25 ish and it's great, but things are just a little loosy-goosy. More yelling 7:56, screaming, very nice, long vocal sustain 8:08 on the word "stay" ... very cool.

! s2t03 (3) @ 9:00 JG: "We're havin' fun."

! P: s2t04 Think extremely hot, with some major fireworks late 5. Garcia sounds absolutely fantastic. Great feedback over extended notes 6. Man, this is great.

! s2t07 (3) JG: "Thanks a lot. We'll see y'all later."

Garcia's Penultimate Sonoma County Gig, and a Great 'Don't Let Go'

LN jg1988-02-05.jgb.all.aud-CC.121594.flac2448

My favorite year of the canonical Jerry Garcia Band, i.e., what I mean when I say The Jerry Garcia Band, i.e., Garcia-Kahn-Seals-Kemper-Jones-LaBranch.

Jerry's penultimate show in Sonoma County.

Top-three version of "Don't Let Go", along with the next night (2/6/88) and 5/19/89 in Irvine. some of my favorite Garcia music of all time.

Anyone know who has the master tape, or who taped it?

Jerry Garcia Band
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
1351 Maple Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
February 5, 1988 (Friday)
123 min Closet Call aud (complete) (flac2448) shnid-121594

--set I (9 tracks, 57:07)--
s1t01. ambience [0:30]
s1t02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [6:43] [0:04]
s1t03. They Love Each Other [7:55] [0:20]
s1t04. Forever Young [8:13] [0:22]
s1t05. Get Out Of My Life Woman [8:00] [0:23]
s1t06. /Like A Road Leading Home [7:20]
s1t07. Evangeline [3:32] [0:01]
s1t08. //My Sisters And Brothers [5:12] ->
s1t09. Deal [8:22] [0:07]

--set II (8 tracks, 66:26)--
s2t01. //Harder They Come [8:48] [0:15]
s2t02. Stop That Train [7:07]
s2t03. //Don't Let Go [12:22]
s2t04. //Think [6:12]
s2t05. //Mississippi Moon [8:37]
s2t06. //Run For The Roses [4:52]
s2t07. //That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) [8:32]
s2t08. //Tangled Up In Blue [9:36] [0:02]

! Band: Jerry Garcia Band
! Lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! Lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! Lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! Lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! Lineup: Gloria Jones - vocals;
! Lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: 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/19880205-01

! db: none as of 9/6/2009. https://etreedb.org/shn/121594 (this fileset); https://etreedb.org/shn/125717 (remaster of this fileset).

! map: http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=1351+Maple+Ave.,+Santa+Rosa,+CA&ie=UTF8&om=1&ll=38.435203,-122.699862&spn=0.014052,0.029182&t=h&z=15&iwloc=addr

! venue: Its official site gives venue as Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Hall.  Handbill from TJS bills gives "Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Auditorium". The Auditorium is a room in the Hall, holds 1200 for assembly and 1000 seated. Since the TJS ticket shows General Admission, I'll use the "assembly" number to estimate capacity in 1988 at 1,200, and I'll use "Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Auditorium" as my canonical venue name. The GD had played here in the 1960s (6/17-18/66, 6/27-28/69). This would be the fifth and last time Garcia would play the hall.

! band: Handbill from TJS bills "Jerry Garcia Band Electric".

! R: specs: xx gen audience cassette (Maxell XLII90 no Dolby) > Nakamichi BX-300 playback (no Dolby) > Pyle Pro cables >WaveTerminal 2496 > Samplitude 10.1 Download Version (record @ 24 bits/48kHz) > CDWave 1.9.8 (tracking) > Wavelab 5.0.1a (cross-fades, etc.) > shntool (stripped non-canonical headers) > Traders Little Helper 2.4.1 (FLAC encoding, level 8) > Foobar (tagging), September 6, 2009, by JGMF.

! R: This recording is not going to win any field recording prizes, but it's totally decent and unterrible. The only real problem is that every song in set II clips or cuts in. But who am I to criticize? The overall SQ of set II is inferior to set I. Things are probably running fast, perhaps considerably so. Mississippi Moon would be one to check.

! historical: I consider 1988 to be the very best year of the canonical Jerry Garcia Band of Garcia-Kahn-Seals-Kemper-Jones-LaBranch. The next night (2/6/88) is one of my all-time favorite Jerry Band shows, and this one, while perhaps not quite its equal, had provided a really high-level warmup. I also have big love for the July '88 shows (e.g., 7/10), and this period really holds up well to repeated auditions. While the Halloween (10/31/88) and Tahoe shows (11/4-5/88) disappoint me, the Wiltern (11/25-27/88) and Orpheum shows (12/2-3/88) are top-shelf (update: actually, 12/3 is pretty weak, 12/2 only marginally better), as is everything through May of 1989.

! historical: The geography of this show is fascinating. In earlier times, even into the early 1980s, Jerry would start off a new year, as he'd start off a new band, a little bit off the beaten path. In the 70s, this would have meant playing the Inn of the Beginning in Cotati or the River Theater in Gurneville (both Sonoma County), the Lion's Share in San Anselmo (Marin), etc. From the early 80s it seems like he mostly warmed up in Santa Cruz (The Catalyst) or Keystone Palo Alto in the South Bay. Garcia's previous Sonoma gig had been 1/21/83 at the Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma. This would be his penultimate appearance in Sonoma County, in which he spent a lot of his childhood, before the 7/7/88 JGAB gigs at the Cabaret in Cotati.

! P: I haven't spent enough time with the rest of the show to have a strong opinion, but my sense is that it is an appropriate start to  The real stuff is deep without dragging (see s1t06 Like A Road, s2t05 Miss Moon, s2t07 Lucky Old Sun). The latter, especially, is a song that I don't usually dig, but it's just really nice here, as are the others. I always love Like A Road, always, in every period. Period. The peppy/bouncy stuff is peppy and bouncy (s1t02 How Sweet, s1t03 TLEO, s1t08 My Sisters And Brothers, s2t02 Stop That Train, s2t06 Run For The Roses). The songs that are supposed to rock rock. Good stuff all around, but you'll remember it for the "Don't Let Go" -- see below.

! R: s1t06 Like a Road clips in

! R: s1t08 Sisters and Brothers cuts in

! R: s2t01-02 mic adjustments at end of HTC and start of STT

! P: s2t04 Think is also outstanding. Jerry's first solo is blistering hot. He was higher and feedbackier in the first go-round, then as he turns the second minute he drops down lower. Later in 2-min mark he's right in the middle range, drops some fanning @ 2:54, twist in some edge and feedback, drop to Melvin @ 3:20 or so. Late 4, he's fanning again, shredding pretty well. This is not early 1981 shredding, or mid-1983, but it's good. Enthusiastic on the vocals, rocking and swaying in whatever nondescript comfyshoes he's wearing.

! P: s2t05 Miss Moon Jerry starts with a little vocal flub, and I think he is too high up in the vocal register, though he seems to pulling it off.

! P: s2t03 Don't Let Go: I have been waiting years for this show, ever since the next night knocked my socks off. I was especially waiting for the Don't Let Go, which represents the return of the song after a 3.5 year absence (12/7/84). And it doesn't disappoint me. Listen to Jerry belt in the four-minute mark and tell me he isn't psyched. Like the next night and the other '88 versions, this one is very upbeat, but doesn't feel truncated. Jerry is already screaming and growling his singing in the 3:30ff mark and tearing ragged edges with his guitar, then drops down into some plucky lower-register stuff. Up high. Jerry explores lots of cool spaces with it. At the same time, it's punchy enough not to wander. From 10:30 ish Garcia is playing some super fast chords that remind me of the summer 1974 GD jams into U.S. Blues. The return to the song around the 11-min mark is super fast-paced, almost double-time ... yeah!! It may even be just a little too fast, but I gotta say everyone is locked in. It's structured just about perfectly, IMO. FANTASTIC @@ This is in my top three versions of "Don't Let Go", along with the next night (2/6/88) and the 5/19/89 monster.

! P: I haven't spent enough time with the rest of the show to have a strong opinion, but my sense is that it doesn't quite equal the next night in overall strength. Still, sixteen songs is a solid indicator that Our Man felt like playing on this night.

! R: s2t07-08 L channel very out from 2:09-3:24 of LOS, out again LOS 5:28- then low until 1:35 of TUIB.

! R: s2t08 TUIB some discontinuities (skips) at start, sound analog.

! Disclaimer: This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at getting missing Garcia dates into the digital realm. These are "warts and all" ... straight transfers of the source cassettes with editing only of the most offensive tape transitions and such. If you don't like hiss, possible speed problems, etc., etc., then move along. And, to anticipate a FAQ: no, I don't plan on doing 16/44s of these.Thanks to wk for supplying these tapes!

http://jgmf.blogspot.com

How JGAB Ended

Can't believe I have never posted about the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band (JGAB), a.k.a. the "Black Mountain Boys" (1987 model), a.k.a., in a weird little Bill Graham marketing campaign, "Jerry Garcia: The Band Acoustic". This is the wonderful band consisting of Jerry (ac-g, vocals), John Kahn (ac-bass), David Nelson (ac-g, vocals), Sandy Rothman (dobro, mandolin, vocals), David Kemper (drums), and sometimes Kenny Kosek (fiddle). I won't get into the details of the configuration's origins and playing history here, though it's a neat story from a neat time in Jerry's musical life.

Instead, I just want to say one thing about how the JGAB ended, based on a just-completed read of a great Sandy Rothman interview from ca. 1989 (1).

Sandy says that the JGAB was supposed to do a studio album, but ended up with the live album (Almost Acoustic) instead because the planned studio time never materialized. This was "partly because Jerry was in high gear on a couple of other projects and partly because a certain enthusiasm about playing with these old buddies had cooled off ...” (1, p. 18).

This last phrase really intrigues me. It's never been clear how the JGAB ended, though like so many other Jerry configurations it may just have withered for inattention. There were a few super-fun shows in the summer of 1988 (early and late shows at the tiny Cabaret Cotati on July 7th, and a sweet show at the Frost Ampitheatre on July 9th), and then nothing more. Ever, AFAIK.

The way Sandy phrases this interests me, too. The phrase "a certain enthusiasm" and the use of the passive voice are both constructions that seem intended to obscure whatever agency lay behind the sentiments. We are not told whose enthusiasm this was that had cooled off, less still why..

So my simple question, almost certainly strictly rhetorical, is this: Jerry's, or the GD's?

REFERENCE:
(1) Juanis, Jimbo. 1989. Old and Even More in the Way: An Exclusive Interview with Sandy Rothman. Relix 16, 2 (April): 15-18.