"Bloody Hell"

A while back I posted some listening notes from the Jim Cooper audience tape of the Jerry Garcia Band (JGB) show at Colden Auditorium, Queens College, Queens, NY on Thursday, October 30, 1975.

When called to summarize the show in a headline for my etree list, which is a date index for the site, I said "a pretty good night for Nicky Hopkins." And I do think that this is a strong performance by Nicky Hopkins and the whole JGB. Everyone plays well, every song is played well, and some of this, such as "Catfish John" and "Edward" is outstanding, top-shelf stuff. If you wonder what Garcia had in mind in bringing the especially troubled Nicky Hopkins on board as a business partner (Garcia-Kahn-Tutt-Hopkins dba "Jerry Garcia Band") in fall 1975, check out the show-opening "Let It Rock" from this night, a revelation, channeling melody and time, spirit moving bone. Garcia had never played with a guy like this on piano.

I mean no disrespect to Keith Godchaux in saying this. Keith was a piano maestro in his own right. Garcia on Godchaux (5/12/80, Rowland 1980):

Keith is one of those guys who is sort of an idiot savant of the piano. He’s an excellent pianist, but he didn’t really have a concept of music, of how the piano fit in with the rest of the band. We were constantly playing records for him and so forth, but that wasn’t his gift. His gift was the keyboard, the piano itself.

I am willing to accept Garcia's judgment and framing around this - what the hell do I know? It's a very interesting way of expressing a pianist's strengths and limitations, in any case: the fingers and the keys were as one. The piano provides some beautiful terrain for the realization and display (and thence, third-party appreciation) of human possibility. Listen to Keith's playing in October-November 1971, when he first started with the Grateful Dead, and be witness to instinctive brilliance. He's like a trail-runner, meticulously picking spots while running downhill full-bore with nary a tweak of the ankle. Mistake-free at full speed. If you read fast, or you type fast, or if you speak fluently, or knit or darn or dream - unconscious fluency --what pschologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi calls "flow"-- is a joy to experience and behold.

But, Hopkins! Instinct and musicality, melody and percussion, note and time … This is human accomplishment, between terra firmaand cosmos.Nicky's playing, at its best, orchestrates my mind. It's agile and powerful and instinctive, totally terrestrial, mathematically precise and impossibly, celestially, colorful. In this show, as in Nicky's whole tenure, there are flashes of all of that.

Now, any empirical scientist will tell you that triangulation is good (for me, the locus classicus is Campbell and Fisk 1959, but there are probably others, and earlier). So after listening to the Cooper tape I decided to check the show out from another point of view, an audience recording by Gerry Moskal (shnid-92780). This particular tape has some banter that the Cooper aud lacks, and it reveals a little of the rabbit's-eye view of my little Tuscan idyll, a good close look at the creepy, crawly underbelly of the natural condition, and a sense of the yin-yang co-constitution of the dark and the light.

After a sprightly version of "Catfish John", Nicky talks to the Queens audience.

·         Nicky Hopkins: "How you all doin', a'right? Hold on a minute? One of the things I would like to say is that outside, when I was in the bathroom, just before we went on, I heard some glass smashing against one of the outside doors, because the place has been booked solid for quite awhile. So there are about twenty people outside …

o   [interrupted by crowd members yelling stuff]

·         ... hold on a minute, please, shut up please ... and I mean that politely."

o   70s Queens dude, very near taper: "You shut up!"

·         Nicky: "There are about twenty people waiting to get in."

o   Crowd guy, possibly same: "Let 'em in!" [other hollering from crowd]

·         Nicky continues "Now wait a minute, please, we'll save time, and we'll get more numbers done that way. In particular, a blond-headed guy was throwing bottles or glasses or whatever at the door ... and then, I just blew it. Because of that. Because ... I had a weird trip that went down, many years ago ... I had a pet cat that chewed on some broken glass that some *bastard* had smashed."

o   [the crowd is laughing at Nicky. And I swear in here someone hiccups very close to the mic. It might be snickering.] [crowd dude yells something at Nicky]

·         "And every time I hear glass smashed, that really just triggers me off. I mean, normally I'm pretty cool, man."

o   [This comes off as desperate, and audience bully guy smells weakness. Guys in crowd are laughing at him. More hollering.]

·         "I mean, let me ask you ... hold on ... please ... just a few seconds silence, before we continue ..."

o   Crowd guy, real loud: "What is this, church?" The crowd is cat-calling Nicky, mocking him, shouting him down, while he begs for silence.

·         "Hold on. Hold on! [sounding like a frustrated parent] Please? Quiet ..."

o   Crowd is just mocking him, viciously.

·         Sounds like Nicky says "OK" or "Oh fine" ... [something inaudible off-mic] Nicky: "Listen. To continue ... before we continue ... bloody hell ... fuck it!"

o   Garcia is strumming "the center cannot hold" chords, smirking a little bit behind his beard, but hopefully not cruelly.

o   Crowd guy, laughing: "We gotcha! So that's your attitude, huh?!?" Crowd just taunting poor Nicky.

And the recording cuts out.

Julian Dawson's excellent 2011 biography talks about how Nicky's personality was just about perfectly ill-suited to spotlight stardom, and his painfully awkward emcee'ing and crowd engagements through his short three months in the Garcia Band illustrate the point in spades. If I ever stop polishing (or pushing) the rock of my 10/17/75 notes, I'll present more evidence and analysis.

In the meantime, what do you do if you are a brilliant pianist who has just had a painful, awkward, embarrassing moment? You play.

"Pig's Boogie" is a great song choice. Yeah, Nicky, you are cool, baby! Fuck yeah you are. If you've ever heard "Gimme Shelter", and you'd better have, Queens guy, you need to STFU. This is Nicky fucking Hopkins, Edward, the Session Man. So, hell yeah, take a feature, tear it up! Jerry's solo in the mid-1 minute mark is real upbeat, too. He knows that was just a weird moment, and he knows, or by this time it's perfectly clear to him, that no good comes from talking too much. Just play. And they do. Around the 4-minute mark, vocal crowd dude correctly identifies and calls out "Pipeline!" Yeah, dude, you are right, there is a little Pipeline break in Pig's Boogie. @ 4:30 John Kahn takes some bass lead that is very rare to hear this late in the game, another descending run for him late 4-minute mark, over 5. He puts a little skip in it, now climbing back up, hits a local bottom at 5:18, Jerry starts picking it up behind him, 5:30 Nicky sharp glissade, now barrel-rolling over the six-minute mark. Jerry is tearing it up to 6:30, now with some double-time chords, calling a too-quick end to it at 6:40, but everyone catches it, and they land clean at 7:00. Wow. Totally different context of hearing it after the "bloody hell" encounter. One last great Nicky fuck you here: "Pig", of course, was his cat, though not, I think, the one who died from the glass. What a great private joke for Nicky and the band. And I think it comes out in the spirited performance. Way to go, Nicky. And by the time he has scalped the room with "Edward" to finish the set, he has the crowd at his fingertips, so to speak, right there where there's control, and comfort, and brilliance. Even as they pose their own challenges, flesh and bone don't talk back.

Incomplete listening notes from the Moskal tape and references below the fold.

JGB at Queens College, October 30, 1975

LN jg1975-10-30.jgb.all.aud-cooper.124251.flac2496

Have barely had time to write a word about the Hopkins-era JGB these last 4+ years of blogging and hiatuses. That remains true, so the writeup will be short. Bottom line is that I think Nicky sounds really good (i.e., reasonably sober). I sort of figure that the day off the day before had done everyone some good. The tempos are upbeat. Pretty good tape of a pretty good show.

Jerry Garcia Band

Colden Auditorium, Queens College

Kissena Blvd.

Flushing, NY 11367

October 30, 1975 (Thursday)

Cooper MAC 2496 shnid-124251

--set I (8 tracks, 85:02)--

s1t01. / Let It Rock [10:38] %

s1t02. Sugaree [8:09] [0:02] % 8-12-9:29

s1t03. That's Alright Mama [11:35] [0:03] % [0:45] % [0:25]

s1t04. Catfish John [10:39] %

s1t05. /Pig's Boogie [#6:54] % [0:23]

s1t06. I'll Take A Melody [12:21] % [0:55]

s1t07. Money Honey [8:48] [0:02] %

s1t08. [0:23] (I'm A) Roadrunner [10:51] %

--set II (10 tracks, 98:15)--

s2t01. //It Ain't No Use [9:54] [0:02] % [0:27]

s2t02. Russian Lullaby [8:36] % [0:10]

s2t03. That's What Love Will Make You Do [10:47] [0:02] % (1) [0:59]

s2t04. Friend Of The Devil [5:38] % [0:15]

s2t05. Lady Sleeps [5:09] [0:03] %

s2t06. [0:56] Mission In The Rain [5:49] [0:04] % [0:01]

s2t07. Mystery Train [13:01] [0:02] %

s2t08. [1:08] The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:11] [0:05] % [0:03]

s2t09. Let's Spend The Night Together [18:26+0:17] ->

s2t10. [-0:17] Edward The Mad Shirt Grinder [7:02] (2) [0:03]

! Band: Jerry Garcia Band

! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;

! lineup: Nicky Hopkins - piano;

! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;

! lineup: Ron Tutt - drums.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19751030-01

! band: Jerry Garcia Band #1 (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html).

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/124251 (this fileset), http://etreedb.org/shn/124248 (1644 fileset, same source), http://etreedb.org/shn/92780 (Gerry Moskal aud).

! map: https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Colden+Auditorium,+Queens+College,+65-30+Kissena+Blvd.,+Flushing,+NY+&hl=en&sll=38.997934,-105.550567&sspn=7.374835,16.907959&t=h&hq=Colden+Auditorium,&hnear=Queens+College,+65-30+Kissena+Blvd,+Flushing,+New+York+11367&z=16&iwloc=A. As of this date (11/9/2013), Google Maps locates Colden Auditorium on Reeves Avenue. The [hard contemporary evidence] says "Kissena Blvd." (no number). JGBP gives street number 65-30, but I don't quite know, so I am sticking with the hardest contemporary evidence, for as far as it will go.

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2011/09/colden-auditorium-queens-college-65-30.html

! R: field recordist: Jim Cooper

! R: field gear: Sony ECM-22P > Hitachi TRQ-232, Maxel UD-C90, no NR

! R: transfer: Nakamichi Dragon > benchmark ADC1 24/96 > pc > adobe audition 2.0 > cd wave > flac. Transfer & seeded by Rob Berger 3/13.

! R: seeder notes: “brilliant!”

! R: running slow? Reporting now during TWLWMYD, and it sounds just fine.

! historical: $9,000 guarantee plus $1,500 lights and sound. Staying 5 nights at the St. Moritz on Central Park South, so this was just a drive to Flushing from Manhattan. Candace doing the lights.

! seealso: JGMF, "Bloody Hell," http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2014/01/bloody-hell.html.

! P: s1t01 LIR Nicky some really nice runs at the start of the song

! P: s1t02 Sugaree JG pretty nice solo over the 6-mark.

! P: s1t03 TAM sounds like After Midnight to start. Nicky sounds great.

! R: s1t05 PB clips in

! P: s1t07 MH @ 5:30- JG guitar solo, starts off low and a little fuzzy, then 5:45 he sharpens up with a jagged run that's very, very, nice. A little faster run 6:10-6:23, they pick up the energy a little bit, swinging more now. Jerry playing very well. Fanning @ 6:45, Nicky errs late in the 6-min mark, not letting the solo play, then he's gone for awhile, until Jerry settles back into the swooping hook that is really the trademark of "Money Honey". Still not hearing Nicky much until late in the 7-min mark. Maybe he was cleaning his mirror?

! P: s1t08 IARR Jerry never quite settled on how he wanted to present Roadrunner in terms of key, tempo, etc. In every iteration, it reflects the idiosyncrasies of its human and pharmacological context. A temporal cipher. In early '74, it was young Jerry running a little too hot (e.g., 2/9/74), with tons of color from Merl's organ. With JGMS and LOM it really benefited from Martin's saxophone as well in terms of the overall palette. The Garcia-Hopkins JGB was a lot more stripped down, of course. Especially on a tape (night?) like this, where Nicky is really hard to hear, things are just too percussive, or something. Nicky solos in the 5-min mark, the rest of the guys chugging behind him. Sounds like Jerry practically had to write him an engraved invitation to take a run. With that said, the Garcia-Hopkins tempos are generally pretty good, still some juice like earlier, but not the swampy dirges of 1976-1978. So, this is a pretty good tempo for IARR, even though I don't find this version to be very good. It just never really cooks.

! R: s2t01 IANU cuts in, not much missing

! P: s2t02 Russian Lullaby: Love this tempo! Very upbeat. Such great Hot Club swing, Nicky providing some really nice saloon groove. Coffee or whisky? Why not both? Jerry's attack in the 2:30 mark is really inventive, like he's skipping two notes down instead of a more continuous scale. In the late-5 over 6 minute mark Jerry has almost a Midi sound, very interesting. It's rather trumpet-like, his playing here. Nicky another solo late-6 over 7 minute mark. NB that RL did not have the bass solo at this point.

! s2t03 (1) After John runs through the chord progressions for FOTD, knowledgeable fans call it out. Good call!

! P: s2t04 Crowd clapping enthusiastically to the familiar (because played by the GD) "Friend Of The Devil". This tempo is great, very upbeat. Nicky's playing shows lucidity that was too rare during his time with JGB. Jerry takes a fine solo over the 4-minute mark, compact but reasonably dextrous. He's getting warmed up, I hope.

! song: "Friend Of The Devil" (s2t04) [Jerrybase]: One of the rare tunes Jerry played inside and outside of the GD with any regularity, this one, like other switch-hitters such as "Sugaree" and "Deal", a Garcia-Hunter joint that Jerry just seemed to love.

! setlist: s2t05 was listed in this info file as "Waltzing Matilda", but it is "Lady Sleeps".

! song: "Lady Sleeps" (s2t05) [Jerrybase]: Nicky wrote and performed this pretty piano instrumental as a solo, spotlight piece during his time with the JGB. In most live JGB renditions he segued it into the unfortunate "No Time", a forgettable nasal lament which also appeared on Nicky's 1975 release No More Changes (Mercury SRM 11028). Here it stands on its own, and nicely, a velvety soft, gentle feel sharpened by Nicky's clean strokes.

! P: s2t06 MITR: These early versions of MITR are so great. There was only really a brief window when he could truly handle the vocals, including the opening lines. Here he flubs some lyrics in the mid-3 range.

! P: s2t09 LSTNT some nice fanning over the 10-minute mark. Late in the 14-minute mark there appears to be some discord, not sure who contradicts whom, but Jerry and Nicky don't seem on the same page as one of them returns hard to the LSTNT theme, the other stiff-arms. Now to mid-15 minute mark they are dueling vigorously, late 15-minute mark Tutt picks up the tempo, and they get into a very tasty romp, a little bit to the tempo of "Caution" for the GD fans, Jerry running around now, building to some nice fanning @ 17:15, back to LSTNT theme 17:30, Tutt banging like an animal late in the 17-minute mark, some great drumming, Jerry rises in response late 17-minute mark, now everyone digging in real deep, Jerry more theme then winds down into Edward.

! R: s2t09 LSTNT a brief splice @ 16:46?

! P: s2t10 Edward is a tremendously exciting piece of music, getting Jerry to sound like John Cipollina and David Gilmour in one song is no mean feat. Tip o’ the cap to ya, Session Man.

! s2t10 (2) JG: "Thank you. See y'all later on."

! Staying at St. Moritz, 30 Central Park South, New York, NY, 10019 (http://goo.gl/maps/gQOgv), five nights. Jerry's the only one of the traveling party with a double room, so I presume he's with Deborah Koons or another woman not named Mountain Girl. Players Nicky Hopkins, John Kahn and Ron Tutt, manager Richard Loren, and drivers/'quippies Steve Brown, Kidd Candelario, Steve Parish, and B. Zachary all get single rooms. The band members had hit the road on Tuesday the 21st, the drivers probably a few days earlier, so everyone's a week or more on the road. Nine shows in seven consecutive nights, Wednesday (10/29) off in NYC, then, starting this night, six shows on four consecutive evenings, flying home the next day (Monday, November 3rd). "You've 'ad yer fun ... now pay fer it!" Back to the old salt mines. Hop in the limo, dozen mile ride to Queens, and play this long-ass gig.