Killer Sugaree and final DDD: JGB at Country Club, Reseda, May 20, 1984

LN jg1984-05-20.jgb.all.aud-nak300s.79553.flac1644

This Sugaree is in the running for hottest ever, especially in the 6-10 minute range. It opened shows a lot in the 75-77 period, a little less frequently by this time, and it would leave the JGB fold in '86 to become GD only. But, for my money, the Jerry Band ones from this ca. '84 period were the very best. I am told that 8/13/84 is another smoker. I plan to revisit it soon.

I don't think Jim Rismiller still had the Country Club at this point, though I am not 100% sure. I am calling it The Country Club, though the tag still has Rissmiller's name to keep them together with other posts from earlier dates.

Last night out for DeeDee Dickerson. Thank you, DDD!

Jerry Garcia Band

Country Club

18415 Sherman Way

Reseda, CA 91335

May 20, 1984 (Sunday)

Nak 300s shnid-79553 retrack

--set I (6 tracks, 5 tunes, 53:59)--

s1t01. ambience [0:19] 

s1t02. Sugaree [15:32] [0:03] % [0:28]

s1t03. Love In The Afternoon [10:06] [0:02] % [0:02]

s1t04. Rhapsody In Red [11:42] % [0:03]

s1t05. Run For The Roses

s1t06. Deal [10:20] (1) [0:07]

--set II (5 tracks, 4 tunes, 40:31)--

s2t01. ambience [0:18] 

s2t02. Mission In The Rain [12:07] [0:03] % [0:02]

s2t03. [0:10] Harder They Come [14:21] % [0:03]

s2t04. /Gomorrah  [#5:48] ->

s2t05. Midnight Moonlight [7:30] (2) [0:07]

! ACT1: JERRY GARCIA BAND #21a

! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;

! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;

! lineup: John Kahn - bass;

! lineup: David Kemper - drums;

! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals;

! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals.

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/19840520-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1984-05-20

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/79553 (this fileset)

! band: http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html. DDD's last gig, and so last night out for JGB #21a. The classic 21b lineup with Gloria would debut ca. 7/10/84.

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/A6gX8hd4tfS2

! JGBP: https://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/06/rissmillers-country-club-reseda-theatre.html. 1,000 seat room which opened 3/28/80 with Merle Haggard (Jackson 1980).

! listing: Orange County Register, May 20, 1984, p. L7.

! seealso: JGMF, "The Auds Have It," URL https://jgmf.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-auds-have-it-jgb-at-irvine-meadows.html.

! seealso: JGMF, "There is World Class Guitar Playing Here," URL http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2014/02/ln-jg1984-05-19jgballaud-rossi.html.

! R: field recordist: unknown

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi CM-300 w/ CP-1 caps (no shotguns) > Sony D5

! R: lineage: MAC > ?? > DAT > HHB 830 CD Recorder (Stand Alone) > ?? > flac1644.

! R: Nice tape, brightness suggestive of improper Dolby decode.

! P: overall I like it less than the night before. Kemper sounds great on this tape. The Sugaree is pretty off the chain, otherwise not much that strikes me as special. The second set clocks in below the Minelli Line.

! historical: Garcia often undertook these compact SoCal tours in the early 80s. This one comprised four nights of earning: Beverly Theatre on Thursday 17th, Irvine Meadows (a very big space for the JGB of the time) on Friday the 18th, Arlington in Santa Barbara on Saturday the 19th, and this show to round things out. A logistics person might have wanted to run it north - south (SB, Reseda, Beverly Hills, Irvine) or the other way around, but I suspect Irvine had to be on the Friday or Saturday, so all bets were off. Robert Hunter opened the last three nights, as far as I am aware.

! P: s1t02 Sugaree in the 9 and 10 this thing is just going nuts. Returning some years or months later: yeah, yeah. Sugaree comes hot out of the gate, and never lets up. Some serious attack variation arises 6:19, goodness still a minute later. Each note has its own little existence, but he constructs half-phrases, half-paragraphs, up and down the fret board, fast-slow, loud and really loud, God damn, Jerry! Jeesus fucking christ, now Kemper 8:35 just CRUSHING to keep up with Jerry and Jerry is running circles like a fucking demon. Crowd is seems to be going crazy 9:10, but Jerry is playing so fucking loud and crazy that it's hard to know. Pure energy happening here. Mamma mia! Now starts some fanning 9:45, and it sounds like he has four hands, because he seems to be fanning chords and picking notes at the same time. Boy. Softens to set up a verse first half of ten, verse comes 10:30. After that verse 11:30 he comps for Melvin, and Kemper @ 12:20, I just love you, man. 

! P: s1t04 I hold my RIRs to very high standards, and this one is not above average.

! P: s1t06 Deal Kemper is a beast here.

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

! P: s2t03 HTC going a mile a minute. Right out of the gate, Kemper sounds awesome, John hits a huge note and a little slide!

! R: s2t04 Gommorah clips in

! P: s2t05 Mid Moon goes a mile a freaking minute, and tempo seems to pick up as the song plays. Kemper needs another leg and a couple of arms to keep up.

! s2t05 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."

Reuben's Electric Return: JGB at Portland Civic Auditorium, January 14, 1984

LN jg1984-01-14.jgb.all.aud-faintych.32333.flac1644

"Reuben And Cherise" (s2t06): first electric performance since 1978! Jerry had brought a bunch of the Cats stuff back in '83. This was the last to re-appear. (Gomorrah: 5/21/83 [electric]; Rhapsody In Red: 5/26/83; Cats: 6/3/83).

Jerry sounds good throughout, as, especially, does Kemper.

These pre-coma 80s JGB Knockin's are so sweet and lilting.

Rhapsody In Red? Yes, please.

A F pulled a killer balcony tape this night. Nice and full.

JERRY GARCIA BAND
Civic Auditorium
222 SW Clay Street
Portland, OR 97201
January 14, 1984 (Saturday)
Faintych balcony MAC shnid-32333

--set I (6 tracks, 5 tunes, 48:05)--
s1t01. ambience (1) [0:35]
s1t02. I'll Take A Melody [13:31] [0:05] %
s1t03. [0:09] The Way You Do The Things You Do [8:45] [0:06] %
s1t04. /When I Paint My Masterpiece [#9:01] [0:09] %
s1t05. Run For The Roses [5:11] [0:11]
s1t06. Deal [10:13] (2) [0:09]

--set II + encore (6 tracks, 62:59)--
--set II (5 tracks, 56:00)--
s2t01. [0:05] Harder They Come [12:20] [0:06] %
s2t02. [0:08] Mission In The Rain [11:30] [0:07] %
s2t03. [0:09] Cats Under The Stars [9:00] [0:06] %
s2t04. Knockin' On Heaven's Door [11:18] [0:02] %
s2t05. Rhapsody In Red [10:57] (3) [0:10] %
--encore (1 track, 6:59)--
s2t06. [0:05] Reuben And Cherise [6:47] [0:06]

! 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; [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/19840114-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/16710 (AUD, shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/28905 (Otto Rice MAC); https://etreedb.org/shn/32333 (this fileset); https://etreedb.org/shn/101128 (sbd); https://etreedb.org/shn/151289 (Severson 1648); https://etreedb.org/shn/151327 (Severson 2496).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/cwYVm4iqi6R2

! JGBP: https://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2011/09/civic-auditorium-222-southwest-clay-st.html

! R: field recordist: Andrew Faintych

! R: field recording gear: Sony ECM-99A stereo mic > Marantz PMD-340

! R: field recording media: 2x Maxell XL-II 90

! R: field recording location: Center Box 9, mic on the balcony rail just left of center

! R: transfer: MAC > Sony TC-D5M > Soundblaster > WAV > Soundforge > CD-Wave > TLH v.1.0.0.72 (SBE-OK, Flac compression, checksums) > bt.etree Jan 2006.

! R: taper/seeder notes: There was a tape flip at 9:39 near the end of Deal. This was patched using nine seconds from shn-id source 16710. I also used seven seconds from that source to cover the beginning of Harder They Come, which was missing. Masterpiece and Run for the Roses have clipped beginnings; these were also clipped on 16710, so no new material could be added. Also, Rhapsody in Red is missing the opening notes due to a tape flip after Heaven's Door. I used Soundforge to match levels and pitch on the patched-in bits. On the master, I used Soundforge to make fades, edit out blurry pause-button moments, and to even-out the levels where needed. This venue has since been renamed the Keller Auditorium, and has a seating capacity of 2992. This was the only GD related event held at this venue. Taped and transferred by Andrew F. ENJOY!

! P: overall: super high energy performance throughout. Jerry sounds rarin' to go! Kemper is a beast, and even Kahn sounds strong this night. It could all be this cool balcony tape, but that's how it feels.

! s1t01 (1) taper's neighbor: "Is this a microphone? Are you makin' a tape?"

! R: s1t04 WIPMM clips in

! P: s1t04 WIPMM Jerry sounds engaged

! P: s1t06 Deal Kemper banging, Jerry wailing, John hitting some big notes 7:30-8.

! s1t06 (2) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a few minutes. We'll be back [inaudible]"

! P: s2t01 Kemper does a thing at 9:15 that just slays me

! P: s2t03 CUTS good. I really like the guitar work 6ish.

! P: s2t04 KOHD early 80s versions of this tune were just picture-perfect. Melvin makes them great, loping and lilting. On this version, Kahn also sounds outstanding. The tape really gets him pretty well. Some vocal roughness, but he never totally loses it.

! P: s2t05 RIR great energy. Just because: https://whitegum.com/~acsa/songfile/RHAPSODY.HTM. Hugely layered guitar work in 6, big rock and roll. Huge fanning passages 9:30.

! s2t05 (3) JG: "Thanks a lot. See ya later."

! song: "Reuben And Cherise" (s2t06): first electric performance since 1978! Jerry had brought a bunch of the Cats stuff back in '83. This was the last to re-appear. (Gomorrah: 5/21/83; Rhapsody In Red: 5/26/83; Cats: 6/3/83).

! R: s2t06 for some reason a little more muffled for this tune.

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."

Upon Further Review: Various and Sundry Listening Notes on the Last Night of the Fall '83 Tour: JGB at Wilkins Theatre, Kean College, December 13, 1983

LN jg1983-12-13.jgb.early.aud-newberger-seaweed.133469.flac1644

LN jg1983-12-13.jgb.early-late.aud-minches.31253.flac1644

LN jg1983-12-13.jgb.early-late.aud-newberger.77710.flac1644

LN jg1983-12-13.jgb.late.aud-nak300.151810.flac2496

I first heard 12/13/83 in 2003, when Andrew Faintych sent me tapes from both shows recorded with Senn 421s from the 10th row by "Tom from Avon, NJ". In 2005, Bu lent me his DAT of an unattributed aud, and minches and I did our transferring and lossless thing as shnid-31253. shnid-77710 came around in 2006, and I think I listened to it in 2009. shnid-133469 came by in 2015, and I must have listened to it because I have timings, although I have no performance notes. Most recently came 151810 of the late show. It's a sign of my generalized appreciation for this show and tour that I have spun all of these, while countless hundreds of filesets, and probably a dozen or more from this very tour, sit unheard.

Given that weird batch of data, I thought I'd post all my listening notes, and present some extractions, maybe with rough datings, going in performance order. The listening notes comes last, the extractions of comments through the performance are in the middle, and the executive summary comes first.

1. What do we learn from this?

Probably not that much.

I am consistent in timing the blast-off of the early set Deal around 3:45 in, and I also note how it finds an open space at the end which I think is quite uncommon. Now of course I want to listen to the rest of the tour to see. But it's cool and worth checking out.

The late show setlist draws my eye throughout time, but I may well find that the performance doesn't quite live up to it (though my 2009 self raved).

One version of me called the late show "Catfish John" an all-timer, though others didn't bother to make a single note. Similarly, on the most recent listen I found the TUIB pretty compelling, but not so much on earlier listens (to other filesets). 2021 me also raved about the Rhapsody In Red from the Nak 300s, while others did not. The Don't Let Go gets similar notations re the vocal-instrumental doubling around 4 minutes in, and two mes also noted the sweet transition into Mid Moon. 2021 me made the particular note that DLG never returned to the song. On current thinking, that seems exceptionally rare. When did Garcia leave a song unfinished like that outside the Dead? Update: 12/4/83b DLG > Deal segue may be another case, need to double-check if DLG reprises.

2. Note Extractions

A. 1983-12-13 [Tue] Early Wilkins Theatre, Kean College, Union, NJ

2005:  Great setlists (especially the late show), and really terrific performances.  The vocals are a little rough, but there is some sparkling late '83 guitar work here, lots of energy.

Mission In The Rain

2006: the start of MITR is very off sounding. What a weird sounding tape. Where is John Kahn? It's a little cringeworthy for me, as MITR could sometimes be - once he lost the fall 1975 voice with which he originally sang it, it took him years to find an arrangement that really worked - probably not until 1987. I am really enjoying the raindrop notes Garcia's painting on the ceiling of the room, and, 8:20 and a nice note 8:40. Some excellent liquid playing. It's much better to play than sing, sometimes. Melvin stepping up a little bit early 9. I need to check how long this has been instrumental, and how much lyric this covers. Great instrumental break! @ 9:51 "all the things I planned to do I only did halfway ... tomorrow will be Sunday born of rainy Saturday"

 
They Love Each Other

2006: wanna hear what Kemper can do for you? Check out 3:04-3:08 of this TLEO. He just does a great driving run to enthuse Melvin for his feature, which sounds fine. Sounds like his fast hard start to TWLWMYD, but in a totally different context. Great drumming, looking way ahead and navigating the whole band to the '1', everyone gets comfortable.

Simple Twist Of Fate

2006: my God you understand exactly why Garcia loves this song. He is giving this great Dylan a great treatment. Carefully phrasing himself. John takes a lead ca. 6:50. Still leading early 9, Garcia has been playing an ethereal bowing sound behind John, who's still fluttering around until Jerry takes over 9:56. That was maybe a little abrupt on poor ol' John, but Jerry has something to say. John is still doing his lead style through 10:30, so a very nice dual thing from them. Good for John not to take getting cut off lying down, but I, for one, vote that it's Jerry's turn. John had stayed very forward into early 11, by 11:30 he drops back into his normal STOF swing. I think that, overall, this is an excellent STOF.

Run For The Roses ,
I Second That Emotion ,
Deal

2006: @ 3:55 this one had been dragging for me a little, then to trigger the frenzy, David Kemper just hammers down the drums and forces Jerry into action. Jerry snaps to a higher level, immediately dialing in some fuzz and juice. That piece right from late 3 over 4 is pretty smokin'. @ 5:13 Jerry writes a nice sentence, everyone is playing well. The drummer is a freaking MONSTER. Band is active but indistinct, perhaps recording or PA issue. Organ big and full in all of the spaces, painting in every contour. Jerry very high to frets 6:20. This Deal goes to a totally unique space 10 min mark, almost letting it breathe ... very rare for JGB to enter this space. They find the '1' and come back 10:50. John Kahn sounds lost, or is just not available. Not sure this is entirely successful, a little strange sounding. Unusual.

2009: found Deal hot, especially solo @3:45

Encore:

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

2009 found this hot

B. 1983-12-13 [Tue] Late Wilkins Theatre, Kean College, Union, NJ

2005:  Great setlists (especially the late show), and really terrific performances.  The vocals are a little rough, but there is some sparkling late '83 guitar work here, lots of energy.

Set 1:

Cats Under The Stars

 
Catfish John 

2005: The late show Catfish John is an all-time version of that song, tight all the way through and then really cooking from about the 10-minute mark.

Someday Baby

2021: s1t03 Someday Baby a big ol yikes on the vocal clam on the first "worry my mind". He slows down and girds himself for the second one and it's a little better.

 
Love In The Afternoon

 
Tangled Up In Blue

2006: TUIB and this whole set, Jerry sounds a little tired to me. Kemper picks up the tempo 1:30ff. Pretty good TUIB.

2021: TUIB is on fiyah, notes flying all over the place, spraying around indiscriminately at moments, but with laser focus at others. Around 9:30 Jerry takes TUIB a little out! Whoa, this is pretty bonkers.

Set 2:

2005: The second set of the late show is maybe just a touch disappointing, but probably only because the setlist raises expectations so much.

Rhapsody In Red

2021: HUGE chordal approach 5ff. The ladies tried to sing the chorus and Garcia just bulldozed, now 5:47 doing that syncopated galloping. Loud. Screaming again 9:34. John sounding strong here, too.

 
Gomorrah

 
Don't Let Go >

2003: Jerry does some really cool sing-along with his guitar in the 4-minute mark, and the jam over to Midnight Moonlight is pretty nice

2021: DLG nice vocal-guitar doubling 4. Steps out into a mode at 4:53. Man I dug this DLG. Garcia just put his head down and played with total determination for like 8 straight minutes. Melvin did some nice chunky stuff relatively early on, everyone else did their thing, but this version just found Jerry having a lot to say, and saying it. And then, fascinating true segue to Mid Moon - he never did reprise DLG, which is very rare indeed.

Midnight Moonlight

2021: Mid Moon has an extra special galloping quality to signify not just the end of the show, but the end of the tour. I don't know if it's the fastest version ever, but it's done really fast.

Listening notes below the fold.

Segueing Out of Stony Brook: JGB in Pritchard Gym, SUNY Stony Brook, December 4, 1983

Lawn Guy Land, and especially SUNY Stony Brook, stands in the pantheon as one of the ground zero sites of the birth and development of the East Coast Deadhead and, by derivation, of the East Coast Garcia Freak. The Dead played Pritchard Gym on campus very early on, and, as so often happened, the Garcia Band followed, playing it in '77, '80, and, finally, on December 4, 1983.

Garcia's Bands in Pritchard Gym, SUNY Stony Brook. Source: Jerrybase.

The fall '83 JGB tour, undertaken largely by bus, bears all the hallmarks of this year in Our Hero's life, a little grungy, previewing the troubles that would become even more marked over the next few years --shorter sets, vocal limitations-- but playing LOUD, raging guitar and generally making up in enthusiasm what it lacked in precision.

His Stony Brook swan song illustrates all of this. Here's the lede from a show review in the campus paper, The Statesman:

In today's world of molded plastic superstars Jerry Garcia is a breath of fresh air. Rick Springfield fans wouldn't appreciate Garcia; he is old, fat and looks like he's just a step away from burning out. A person not familiar with Garcia would be more likely to ask when his last hot meal was, and not for an autograph (Reiss 1983).

The reviewer, who probably didn't stand close to Jerry (where the air was presumably rather unfresh), extols his authenticity, offering very good perspective on this Garcia era: not a picture of health, but making good music.

SUNY Stony Brook Statesman, v27 n37 (December 7, 1983), Alternatives section, p. 1A.

He makes mistakes, but he recovers and even makes up for them with a little extra added something. He hits some vocal clams, but he blasts so loudly on guitar that maybe the fans --buying up all of the 2,200+ tickets, moving over $22k Jerry and Co.'s way, and *very* knowledgeable-- might not hear the next hiccups through their ringing ears. The band works with and around him, but mostly just gets shoved aside by Garcia's overflowing ideas, limitless playing vocabulary, and sheer decibels. The show is very good, and the closing medley, rare (for JGB) true segues of "Don't Let Go" -> "Deal" -> "Tangled Up In Blue", is absolutely outstanding. Every DLG is at least good, most are very good, and a great many are great. It was very well-played in this period, and the crowd, which recognizes it out of the gate, gets treated to a great one this night, which merits a "holy camoley" from me, earns the "monster" designation, and very neatly drops into Deal after a 20 minute journey which feels efficient, packing huge punch every step of the way. The medley is worth the 45 minutes of your ear time, and provides a fitting end to Garcia's illustrious Stony Brook career.

It ain't broken, but it's badly bent.

So good that he earned a rare-for-the-tour night in a hotel bed, at what I am sure is the lovely Holiday Inn in Hauppage.

Listening notes after the jump.

Makes Up In Enthusiasm What It Lacks In Precision: JGB at Keystone Palo Alto, November 12, 1983

 LN jg1983-11-12.jgb.all.mtx.141451.flac1644

update: d'oh! Already posted this one.

Crispy clean but flat and unbalanced sbd meets in-your-face but unbalanced Menke aud to make for a sweet matrix. Thank you Andrew F. for your work!

The show? It's late '83. The sets are getting shorter. The DLG is fucking killer, and the Deal makes up in enthusiasm what it lacks in precision, which summarizes the show as anything else I might say.

The ad is a great illustration that Garcia, alone among the GD guys, systematically refused to leverage his GD ties to sell tickets to his side projects. Here, we see Mickey showing no such reluctance. Of course, by this time Garcia didn't need leverage to sell tickets. He just needed a pulse and a guitar.

JERRY GARCIA BAND
Keystone Palo Alto
260 S. California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
November 12, 1983 (Saturday)
*Matrix* shnid-141451

--set I (5 tracks, 42:18)--
s1t01. [0:21] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [7:06] [0:25]
s1t02. Catfish John [10:07] [0:07] %
s1t03. [0:08] Simple Twist Of Fate [11:11] [0:15] %
s1t04. [0:05] Cats Under The Stars [7:24] ->
s1t05. Run For The Roses [4:59] (1) [0:08]

--set II (4 tracks, 47:36)--
s2t01. Rhapsody In Red [9:08] [0:13] %
s2t02. [0:13] Knockin' On Heaven's Door [13:20] [0:11] %
s2t03. Don't Let Go [16:03] ->
s2t04. Deal [8:12] [0:16]

! ACT1: JERRY GARCIA BAND #21a
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - 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/19831112-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/20746 (Corley MAC, shnf, not in circulation); http://etreedb.org/shn/22512 (4th gen sbd, shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/25629 (MSC flac); http://etreedb.org/shn/141450 (unattributed* MAC flac); http://etreedb.org/shn/141668 (Corley 4th gen flac); etreedb.org/shn/142118 (MSC flac1644); http://etreedb.org/shn/141450 (Menke MAC); http://etreedb.org/shn/141451 (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

! P: overall: two relatively short sets. I have been engaging the 90s a bunch lately, and sets were typically running 60-80 minutes. We aren't into Jerry's Rock Bottom period just yet, IMO, but short sets were a leading indicator. That said, while I didn't note anything particular from set I, the Don't Let Go in set II is outstanding, with all kinds of modal jazzy spacey goodness, and overall, as I say of Deal, the show makes up in enthusiasm what it sometimes lacks in precision.

! R: Sources: Matrix of SBD ID-25629 & AUD ID-141450.

! R: Transfer: WAV > Wavelab > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644 tagged, Andrew F 03/2018

! R: Note: Gaps in the SBD source back-filled with Corley AUD portions taken from ID-22512; How Sweet It Is 0:00 > 4:22, and Rhapsody in Red 8:34 > 8:49.

! R: What a great matrix. The sbd is flat as a pancake, all vocals no guitar, the aud is all guitar and drums, no vocals.

! s1t05 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a few minutes, we'll be right back."

! P: s2t01 RIR is energetic.

! P: s2t03 DLG this is really good. I can't pinpoint many specifics, but it's very jazzy and nicely spaced out. Late 15 again, but all throughout, this DLG spilled over with great ideas, then a true segue into Deal. Nice

! P: s2t04 Deal the Elmer Fudd vocals out of the gate are not great. He seems to skip a turn at a verse in the 3 minute mark, gets right to the guitar playing, which is strong. It's a little sloppy here and there, with Jerry just charging ahead and forcing various and sundry drummers and vocalists to adjust on the fly, but what it lacks in precision it makes up in enthusiasm.

These sets aren't getting any longer: JGB #21a at the Beverly Theatre, October 1, 1983

One of the things that I expect will become possible at some point is to get some relatively valid data on set times across the years. One of the reasons I try to be so precise with my timing notations is that I am going to want to train a machine to parse song, set and show timings from my listening notes. The data will still be noisy and need cleaning, but the basic idea is solid.

Case in point, two ca. 50 minute sets on October 1, 1983 in John Kahn's old 'hood. Nothing offensive, but we are definitely sliding down toward the Minelli Line of 45 minutes. We are on the road to Rock Bottom. It'll be a pretty timeseries graph at some point. In my mind, this also connects to the fact that, as I only recently came to understand, this show, and the shows around it, were makeups for the shows canceled in August, a month which laid Jerry low more than once.

Deadbase said that the August shows were canceled because Jerry had an infected foot. I know from photographic evidence that he was suffering from edema a year later, and by this point edema, or sores, or goodness-knows-what could have been possible. But, heck, maybe he stubbed his toe or stepped on a tack while doing his calesthenics - what do I know? Anyway, him canceling August shows for health reasons definitely holds historical resonance, and then seeing the makeup gigs clocking in a little short -- not the only time Beverly Hills would experience this -- all feels narratively consistent.

A few other quickies while I have the table in front of me. First, some of those August dates are a little sketchy to me. The ads and listings and such were a little all over the map. Check 'em out at Jerrybase if you are so inclined. Second, same goes with 10/4/83. I am not sure about it. Third, more San Diego cancellations. That down was filthy with 'em in the Garciaverse. Fourth, Palomino Station in Riverside strikes me, prima facie, as a potentially interesting dive bar. I don't know anything about it, but it screams downmarket to me. It ain't the Beverly, of that I feel pretty confident.

Anyway, 10/1/83 listening notes: I like the atmospheric aud pull by Joe Pinedo, very ambient and showing off the ragged seams of the pause button and 45 minute tape sides. The show is probably a little below average for the period, or maybe average The Cats is peppy, the Catfish John is awesome, and in TWLWMYD Kemper does some syncopated splashing that resets my pulse. Kemper plays very well throughout. There's no "Don't Let Go" or "Rhapsody In Red", which were pretty much necessary if not sufficient elements of a great '83 Jerry Band show, and the whole thing just never really goes BOOM. But YMMV.

Listening note after the jump.

p.s. Blogger sucks

The Auds Have It - JGB at Irvine Meadows, May 18, 1984

LN jg1984-05-18.jgb.all.fm-ladner.32156.flac1644
LN jg1984-05-18.jgb.all.aud-french.84138.flac1644

There is a famous story of President Abraham Lincoln, taking a vote in a cabinet meeting on whether to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. All his cabinet secretaries vote nay, whereupon Lincoln raises his right hand and declares: "The ayes have it!" (source)

Just had an interesting experience highlighting the variable reactions that different tapes can generate.

In trying to be methodical in dating the birth of the longest-running GOTS aggregation, JGB #21b, to July 10 28, 1984 with the arrival of Gloria Jones, I wanted to compare some sbd tape from that night with sbd tape from the mini SoCal jaunt of May 17-20, 1984. I did so using some choruses from "Cats Under The Stars" from Irvine on May 18, for which there is an oddly-lineaged "FM-sbd" tape which the great Chris Ladner put into circulation back in the days of the tol.etree.org FTP server, when he and I did business as "misSHN in the rain" an offshoot of The Music Never Stopped Project. I think I came up with the misSHN appellation, and quite proud of it I was, too - a relatively successful triple entendre --we were on a mission, shn was the prevailing file format, and "Mission In The Rain" was primarily a song from Garcia's side projects, which was our focus-- is not that easy to come by.

Anyway, I decided to listen to the rest of the show, because I love me some '84 JGB, including the next night (5/19) and a hot hometown show a week prior (5/12), which my third grade teacher, Don Dearth, had taped. I was also  partly inspired by a new-to-digital Doug Lamarre pull of 8/13/84, which I'd like to spin soon.

It left me surprisingly cold. Not believing my ears, I decided to return to the FANTASTIC audience pull made by Mike French (shnid-84138), his first solo taping effort before he and crew gained experience as the "Tapers From Hell". As I had remembered, the tape positively screams, coming at you 6' up (Mike's chin level), from 9th row center in the orchestra pit, and Garcia is a grungy monster. Anything I note about a performance leads with a P, and I said this:

It's amazing what an aud can do. The first P note, for example, involves the effect Garcia kicks in around 5:30 (track time) of CUTS. I hadn't even noticed it earlier in this day listening to the board. Now, I go back to the board tape to find the same piece, and it's really pretty flat on the board tape, none of the zing that this aud delivers. Night and day.

The P note in question now includes "Great guitar playing. Then about 5:25 he puts some huge hairy fuzz on it, crowd lit up ... Pretty filthy." Similarly, my listening self found nothing noteworthy in the FM-sbd version of "Catfish John", but said this about the aud version: "this is one of those really long CJs that makes you marvel at how much Garcia had to say around this song. Big wah on, real round and soft, then a little more glassine ...", etc. Totally different observations emerge from the tape. Same goes for RIR. The board tape version left me unmoved, while listening to the aud I noted "raging guitar playing over 8, crowd is duly appreciative. Filthy grungy fanning, crazy power."

Und so weiter. No "team of rivals" here. The auds have it. Second set was pretty short, three tunes, which I imagine must reflect a hard curfew behind the orange curtain. Listening notes below the fold.

Insert Pithy Title Here: JGB at Keystone Palo Alto, November 12, 1983

Killer "Don't Let Go", and two short sets that foreshadow darker days ahead. Great job on the matrix by AF!

update: d'oh! posted a second time about this one. DLG so nice, I had to post it twice.

JERRY GARCIA BAND
Keystone Palo Alto
260 S. California Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94306
November 12, 1983 (Saturday)
*Matrix* shnid-141451

--set I (5 tracks, 42:18)--
s1t01. [0:21] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [7:06] [0:25]
s1t02. Catfish John [10:07] [0:07] %
s1t03. [0:08] Simple Twist Of Fate [11:11] [0:15] %
s1t04. [0:05] Cats Under The Stars [7:24] ->
s1t05. Run For The Roses [4:59] (1) [0:08]

--set II (4 tracks, 47:36)--
s2t01. Rhapsody In Red [9:08] [0:13] %
s2t02. [0:13] Knockin' On Heaven's Door [13:20] [0:11] %
s2t03. Don't Let Go [16:03] ->
s2t04. Deal [8:12] [0:16]

! ACT1: JERRY GARCIA BAND #21a
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - 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/19831112-01

! db:http://etreedb.org/shn/20746 (Corley MAC, shnf, not in circulation); http://etreedb.org/shn/22512 (4th gen sbd, shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/25629 (MSC flac); http://etreedb.org/shn/141450 (unattributed* MAC flac); http://etreedb.org/shn/141668 (Corley 4th gen flac); http://etreedb.org/shn/141451 (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.

! P: overall: two relatively short sets. I have been engaging the 90s a bunch lately, and sets were typically running 60-80 minutes. We aren't into Jerry's Rock Bottom period just yet, IMO, but short sets were a leading indicator. That said, while I didn't note anything particular from set I, the Don't Let Go in set II is outstanding, with all kinds of modal jazzy spacey goodness, and overall, as I say of Deal, the show makes up in enthusiasm what it sometimes lacks in precision.

! R: Sources: Matrix of SBD ID-25629 & AUD ID-141450.

! R: Transfer: WAV > Wavelab > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644 tagged, Andrew F 03/2018

! R: Note: Gaps in the SBD source back-filled with Corley AUD portions taken from ID-22512; How Sweet It Is 0:00 > 4:22, and Rhapsody in Red 8:34 > 8:49.

! R: What a great matrix. The sbd is flat as a pancake, all vocals no guitar, the aud is all guitar and drums, no vocals.

! s1t05 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a fe minutes, we'll be right back."

! P: s2t01 RIR is energetic.

! P: s2t03 DLG this is really good. I can't pinpoint many specifics, but it's very jazzy and nicely spaced out. Late 15 again, but all throughout, this DLG spilled over with great ideas, then a true segue into Deal. Nice

! P: s2t04 Deal the Elmer Fudd vocals out of the gate are not great. He seems to skip a turn at a verse in the 3 minute mark, gets right to the guitar playing, which is strong. It's a little sloppy here and there, with Jerry just charging ahead and forcing various and sundry drummers and vocalists to adjust on the fly, but what it lacks in precision it makes up in enthusiasm.