Just Play

Going through some scratched up old CDs, I found a copy of the Crosby, Stills and Nash release Carry On (Atlantic 7567804872, 2006). Entering some dates to trace Croz's whereabouts in the various periods in which he frequented the Garciaverse (most intensely, fall 1969-fall 1971 and again March-September 1975), I am reminded that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Ohio" was released as a single on June 4, 1970 [see also wiki].

Passing thought that Garcia could never have dropped a true protest song. On June 4, 1970, he played an amazing night of acoustic tunes (including two gospel numbers), country music on pedal steel guitar, and loud electric rock and blues.

Enjoy this incredible audience recording by Gerry Olsen (shnid-123798) that will put you into the comfy-as-home Fillmore West on a Thursday night. Yeah, "Darkness, Darkness", but sometimes it's better just to play.

 

JGB 9/15/76 S.S. Duchess, New York City Harbor, New York, NY

The relationship between the Grateful Dead and the Hells Angels has been pretty well discussed, though I am sure there's tons more to say. That's for others to do.

Here I'll just note that Garcia also worked with the Angels outside the GD framework. I have made a few posts with Hells Angels content. I don't have time to work it all out, but I am not going to let that stop me saying something, anyway.

In 2009 I briefly discussed the Hells Angels benefit at the Anderson Theatre in NYC on 11/23/70, NRPS-GD, mostly to update the setlists.  In 2011 I mentioned 3/25/72 at the Academy of Music in NYC, including this great picture of Bo Diddley and the Dead (billed as Jerry Garcia and Friends), at least parts of which were released as Dick's Pick's 30 (2003).

Jerry Garcia and Friends, 3/25/72, Academy of Music, NYC; photo by Chuck Pulin, published in Carr, Patrick. 1972b. One Full Week Running With: Grateful Dead. Grapevine (Toronto) no. 14, May 17, 1972, p. 15.

At some point I'll write up 9/5/73, on the S.S. Bay Belle, Jerry and Merl's first east coast performance.

Right now, I just want to pick my jaw up off the floor at the video that has just hit the streets: The Jerry Garcia Band aboard the S.S. Duchess, New York City Harbor, 9/15/76 [Jerrybase] in high quality color video:

Amazing. Thanks to all involved in getting this to where a schmoe like me can see it, from pretty much anywhere pretty much at any time. Like so much other great stuff, this was seeded by "Voodoonola". A tip o' the cap to you, sir or madam.

(Also of note: video of JGB playing "Not Fade Away" on the Jersey Shore, 7/9/77, also shared to Youtube. I have noted an audio listen to that, as well as the night before at the Calderone Concert Hall. I can't wait to watch it.)

This show offers awesome triangulation possibilities.

There are posters (IM's amazing poster site had one, but is no longer updated past 1976).

There are live action stills and other eye candy:

Pirates' Ball 9/15/76 photo spread, photogs Craig Silverman, Patricia, Ron Gaiella, Yipster Times, October 1976, p. 24.

Naturally enough, this being the Garciaverse, there's also tape. The legendary Ohr Weinberg had a cassette copy of unknown provenance, which Anne Cohen digitized and shared (shnid-86326).

Finally, there's also a great review:

! review: Moore, Jerry. 1976c. 6 Hours Before the Mast. Relix 3, 6 (October): 14-16. [pdf].

Moore tells us all kinds of neat stuff. This was a Hells Angels party, but adventurous public could join in at $15 a head. That would explain the posters. 2,000, including a couple hundred Angels, took part. By the way, this is the same vessel they cruised in 1973, just rechristened, and it reflects a second triple-crossing of the Garciaverse, Bo Diddley and the Angels (after the aforementioned 3/25/72, and penultimate to the Sandy Alexander Benefit crossing of 6/25/82).

More Jerry color (Sard Thee Well!):

In all that freaky crowd, the Angels were the freakiest. The first thing that hit you was that most of them were pretty big, inspiring awe by size alone. Their garb ran mostly to oily denim and leather, the kind of clothing that makes your nose wish it were in some other state. Naturally, they all wore their colors. Tattoos seem to be almost as popular among the Angels as motorcycles. Scars, missing limbs, and prosthetic devices (hooks and such) were very much in evidence, as were weapons ranging from knives to brass knuckles and chains. One Angel in particular, I wish I had a picture of. He was well over 6 feet tall, and must have weighed over 300 pounds. He was wearing only a·vest over his oily denims, and, wherever he went, his stomach preceded him by feet. He was so festooned with chains that he clanked with every step he took. He was so greasy and ugly that he was beautiful, a veritable human tank.

Moore describes four decks set up with nitrous tanks (free if you could fight your way in), packed bars and food services, speakers everywhere, and TV monitors "with a phenomenal color picture of the performance" (video - check!).

Moore narrates a few things which are confirmed by the video. (Indeed, one wonders if ol' JM didn't have a copy of the video? He always did have a remarkably good memory for stuff, though.) He notes "a rather stoned Angel stumbled onto the stage during the Garcia Band set, seizing control of a microphone long enough to drawl out 'Hey folks some cookin' music. Get it on with that boogie beat there,'" which we do get on the video. He also says, cheekily, "Jerry has a funny little trick of rotating his ass in circles to cue" the amazing, upbeat gospel "Mighty High" [Allan | deaddisc | Jerrybase], and there Garcia is on video, shaking his tail.

The order was an apparently forgettable Bay Area band called Cheyenne, Elephant's Memory, then Bo Diddley backed by EM, then, from 11:55-2:05 or so (actually 2:07 am), the Garcia Band. Jerry mentions a hot "Midnight Moonlight", which is not on the video. I need to revisit that.

I'll just finish with a few quick thoughts on what I got out of watching this incredible video, bullet-style.

• John Kahn mostly can't be heard, which would be familiar from later years. This is basically intended as a criticism.
• Nice to see Ronnie Tutt banging the start of "Mighty High"
• Nice to see Donna Jean singing the beautiful stuff she was doing this period behind "Stir It Up", her groove on "After Midnight", and her power on "Mighty High".
• "Mighty High" (Crawford, Downing) was, per Allan, "originally recorded by The Mighty Clouds of Joy and later covered by Gloria Gaynor". JGB only played it in 1976, it is my favorite song of 1976, and this video is breathtaking. It cuts out only a minute or two in, and as much as I want to lament the Cut Of Death, I must celebrate the couple of minutes that we do get. It's not present on Ohr's old tape, and here we get to listen and watch. Wonderful, amazing, glorious stuff. Thank you, Jay-zuss!

Who Was John? JGB at GWU, April 3, 1976 (early show)

 LN jg1976-04-03.jgb.early.aud-CC.xxxxxx.flac2448

OK, maybe the last post of my hiatus hiatus.

4/3/76a. This is probably the same source tape as shnid-82761. A nice show.

Jerry Garcia Band
Lisner Auditorium, George Washington University
730 21st and H Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
April 3, 1976 (Saturday) - Early show, 7 PM
80 min CC aud-1 flac2448 [upgraded version as shnid-138204]

(7 tracks, 80:10)
t01. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [8:00] [0:12] %
t02. Catfish John [10:00] [0:08]
t03. That's What Love Will Make You Do [10:40] [0:05] % dead air
t04. Who Was John [12:20] [0:08] %
t05. After Midnight [11:48] [0:05] %
t06. I'll Take A Melody [16:50] [0:05]
t07. Russian Lullaby [9:33] [0:04]
[MISSING: The Harder They Come]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #3
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Ron Tutt - drums;
! lineup: Keith Godchaux - keyboards;
! lineup: Donna Jean Godchaux - 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/19760403-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/82761 (slipnut aud, probably related to this one in ways unfathomable); http://etreedb.org/shn/138204 (optimal version of this CC source tape).

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/lisner-auditorium-george-washington.html

! band: Jerry Garcia Band #3 (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html)

! R: at least four gens of hiss on this sucker before it gets to this point. It runs longer than shnid 82761, but this doesn't sound fast to my unreliable ears. Nearly every song clips in. There ain't nothing wrong with this tape, overall. It sounds fine and is worth being represented in the digital realm, in my not-too-picky opinion.

! historical: One of the best shows Garcia ever played started about four hours after this one. The Lisner Auditorium late show, 4/3/76b, is justly revered. It's a great show, with a top-3 version of "Don't Let Go", two amazing recordings (the attributed one, by Scott Jones, is breathtaking, as is the anonymous one), a great vibe. Top-shelf Jerry. One of the tapes that you should share with your friends who are Jerry-curious. The 4/1/76 show (Palace Theater, Waterbury, CT) is also a beaut, well-taped by Steve Rolfe ?and Jerry Moore?, with a monster "Lonesome And A Long Way From Home" to close things out. Generally speaking, though, there are tons of holes in our understanding of March-April 1976, because there are a lot of shows that were only very badly taped, and some for which no tapes circulate at all. That has pretty much been  the case for this show, which only late-in-the-day made the jump from slightly-raggamuffin cassettes to the digital realm. So, being able to report on this show is a pleasure.

! P: This show is has a few stumbles, but it is overwhelmingly in the pocket. Home churned butter, a nice stone dish and a silver knife, and a hunk of fresh crusty bread. Everything is well- (though not flawlessly-) played. Garcia's voice is sweet and his singing expressive. Not rushed. He's not embarassed by his voice or trying to figure out how to sing stuff - he can hit it just as he wants. The white Travis Bean is liquid electricity, the fingers' voice. It is smooth and round when he wants it to be, by turns bouncy, swampy, threadbare, and a little jagged. Tempos are toward the fast end of 1976, which I take to be a good thing. More like 4/3/76b (the same night, of course) than 2/14/7 .... zzzzzzz ..... 2/14/76. All in all, a totally pleasurable listen. A good palate cleanser for the late show.

! P: t01 HSII Jerry sounds wonderful, lively, totally into it. Like young love, it is.

! P: t03 TWLWMYD nice scream of appreciation. Everyone is feeling the groove that the band has laid down from 'go'. Tutt is such a rock. Keith does a sharp piano run right around the 9-minute mark that just shows him totally engaged. They lose the handle a little bit in the 9-minute mark.

! R: t04 Who Was John fades in, not much missing.

! song: "Who Was John": t04: "Who Was John" is one of those songs that existed in its time (25 appearances, throughout calendar year 1976), with no real hint of it before or since. It really spoke to its period very well. It ties in with the story of Keith and Donna's entry into the JGB, which is known in bits and pieces, but needs to be told at length. (Maybe Corry has already done it!) The upshot is that, at least from late 1975, Jerry was spending a lot of time at Keith and Donna's, listening to old gospel records, hanging out playing and singing. I know that as of the end of the year, Garcia and Mountain Girl split up, leaving Stinson, potentially kicking around a few weeks over the holiday (Rakow's?), and showing up at Deborah's Victorian in tony Belvedere in January '76. With Nicky flaming out phosphorescently in a three-month stint at the keys, Jerry and John and Ron Tutt had tried out a bunch of keyboardists: Larry Knechtel (I believe), the mysterious "Tim Hensley" (i.e., Tim Henson), and the Bayou Maharajah himself, James Booker. None of these guys seemed to work out, for whatever reason. So Keith became the keyboard player, with the added virtue of Donna's gorgeous harmony vocals, with the added virtue that they had been practicing singing and playing some numbers that could be played live, as well as a bunch of Jerry and John's old favorites. Anyway, that's what happened, and "Who Was John" was a piece of that puzzle. It's in the same space as "A Strange Man", the Dorothee Love Coats biblical sometimes known as "Sumerian Woman".

! P: t04 WWJ Garcia's playing in the 9:30 mark is scorching. He is totally in The Zone. This version of WWJ is played a little faster than it would be at other times in 1976.

! P: t05 After Midnight is quite hot. A slow, but not too-slow boil. Who can resist Donna's little "What it is all about" line? I am in love with her everytime she sings it. Hot as hell. Listen to his soloing in the late- 6-minute mark, continuing into 7-min mark. WOW, absolutely incendiary.

! P: t06 ITAM Jerry does some beautiful scaling late 13-minute mark into 14. Fluid and gorgeous. Then @ 14:55 he does some angry tearing and scratching, just a little burst, then drops back into the chorus. Nice.

! P: t07 not clear why crowd member felt compelled to sing the chorus of Grand Funk Railroad's "We're an American band!" at the start of Russian Lullaby, but there you go. Perhaps he just came to realize that JGB was an American band, and that he was part of it.

! R: t07 Some inaudible taper talk, mic movement, in the first minute.

! Disclaimer: This is part of a "Closet Call" project aimed at making missing Garcia dates available for study. 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!

LN jg1976-03-12.jgb.1p-2p.aud-coplen.20700.shn2flac

If there were more time, I'd like to talk about "Who Was John?", elaborate on the racial structure of the music, the unevenness of this period (March-April 1976).  But there's not time, so just a data dump.

Jerry Garcia Band
Cahn Auditorium, Northwestern University
600 Emerson Street
Evanston, IL 60201
March 12, 1976 (Friday)
55 minute Eric Coplen aud, partial early (7:30 pm) and partial late (11 pm) shows

--(6 tracks, 55:09)--

--early Show, 7:30 pm (partial, 5 tracks, 40:17)--
t01. /How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [07:51] [7:52] %
t02. /Catfish John [10:41] [0:07] %
t03. After Midnight [11:50] [0:08] %
t04. (1) Mission In The Rain [7:14] %
t05. Who Was John?// [2:24]#

--late Show, 11 pm (partial, 1 track, 14:52)--
t06. Harder They Come [14:47] [0:05] %

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #3
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: Keith Godchaux - piano, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Ronnie Tutt - drums;
! lineup: Donna Jean Godchaux - 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/19760312-01 (early); https://jerrybase.com/events/19760312-02 (late).

! db:  shnid-20700 (this source); https://etreedb.org/shn/139524 (late show)

! venue: JBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/03/cahn-auditorium-600-emerson-street.html. See also http://www.pickstaiger.org/venues/cahn-auditorium. The data I have seen suggest that the venue capacity at the time of the show was approximately 1,100.

! seealso: https://jgmf.blogspot.com/2012/07/ln-jg1976-03-12jgblateaud.html

! R: "AUDMC > C > DAT > WAV > SHN. Recorded 2nd row, center left, with unknown deck with built in mics, 1st gen source tape from Eric Coplen. Cass > DAT by Ryan Shriver. DAT > SHN by Noah Weiner." But I think that's incorrect. I think's it's in the following note.

! R: I believe this to be correct. Taped by Eric Coplen from 2nd row, center left, built-in mics on unknown deck, with unknown media. Master cassette (or possible 1st gen?) transfer: played back on Philips FC-60 deck > Lucid AD9624 > Sony PCM-R500 DAT deck (record), by Rhan Shriver. Fostex D5 DAT deck (playback) > Turtle Beach Montego II Digital I/O > Sound Forge (wav edits and track IDs) > SHNTOOL (SBE fix) > MKW Audio Compression Tool (shn), by Noah Wiener, ca. 2003. This flac copy done by JGMF (unknown date), shns replaced; noted and tagged 7/15/2012.

! R: This is a good recording. We sometimes forget that we are fortunate. If one looks to this period March-April 1976, there are tons of holes in the taped record. Lots and lots of stuff missing, sometimes at places you *know* someone was taping, such as the Cap in Passic (4/2/76). Some absolutely ear-splittingly dreadful tapes for some shows, I mean they really leave you depressed. And then one of the crown jewels of musical field recording, Pat Lee's tape of JGB 3/6/76 at Moore's Egyptian Theater in Seattle (http://db.etree.org/shn/107734).

! R: Hard to say what parts of the early show might be present here. Every piece of music is discontinous to the next. That said, the designations seem very sound. The "Harder They Come" here is the same one on a lightly circulated tape of the late show, independent confirmation of the validity of Coplen's designations. Given, also, that none of these early show songs appear on the late show tape, it makes sense to believe that they do, indeed, come from the 3/12/76 early show.

! Metadata: venue: Jerry Garcia's Brokendown Palaces (JGBP): http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/03/cahn-auditorium-600-emerson-street.html. See also http://www.pickstaiger.org/venues/cahn-auditorium. The data I have seen suggest that the venue capacity at the time of the show was approximately 1,100.

! Metadata: event: Tickets were $5 in advance and $6 at the door.

! Metadata: time: There were early and late shows. I do not know the starting times, but know they were scheduled to be about 90 minutes each.

! Historical context, enthusiastic positive view: I am coming around to the view that this tour is a real highpoint. No one ever talks about it because the aural record is so patchy. These dates are really obscure, an obscure little tour in an obscure little moment. But I actually think it's a fucking masterpiece. Band was too laconic in January-February, but I think they were figuring themselves out. Garcia and Tutt have most recently been playing together in Legion of Mary and then with Nicky, and how this band plays is nothing at all like how those bands played (leaving aside the Garcia-Kahn and Tutt were all involved!). This JGB still scratches Garcia's itch to play 20th century black music, but, in a process that had started with Nicky, it's hybridized with some more white music (Catfish John?) and, not trivially, it's played by all white players. March 1976 is interesting because half the players are actually southern whites: Donna Jean Godchaux of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, native Texan Ronnie Tutt and Memphis-born John Kahn! In fact, the Jerry Garcia Band would not have its first black member until Melvin Seals arrived in early 1981, something that never crossed my mind.

! Evaluation, contrary to note just above, a couple of days later: very uneven performance. This material strikes me better than the late show material.

! R: t04 MITR some crackling at the start

! t04 (1) Taper, in recognition of Mission, says "Great!" Young lady next to him asks "Is this Mission?" Taper: "Yeah." These folks have been listening to Reflections. I love it when audience members are knowledgeable.

! R: t05 WWJ fades to cut pretty early in the song.

! R: t06 HTC battery failure becomes evident in tape speed fluctuations, getting worse as the tape nears its end.

! P: t06 the late show crowd is very fired up to hear Harder They Come. I have checked this version with a tape I have of the late show, and it's the same one.

LN jg1970-07-30.gd.33mins.sbd-cotsman.17077.shn2flac

Vegas is skeptical that I can do the NRPS-Matrix-1970 thing in seven posts, but I never claimed I'd do them consecutively. And, well, if I happen to cover related terrain, well, that's just how it goes. And it just so happens that LIA's post "The Hartbeats - July 1970" mentions some GD material that I'd like to post on right about now. ;) Specifically, I'd like to do Listening Notes on the GD sets dated Thursday, July 30, 1970 (Matrix, SF, CA) and Wednesday, August 5, 1970 (Golden Hall, San Diego, CA). Since LIA has posted such thorough analyses, I'll just post the listening notes I have written up (with LIA's analyses in mind), without further comment.


Grateful Dead
The Matrix
San Francisco, CA
July 30, 1970 (Thursday)
acoustic set; unknown if there was an electric set

SBD > ?? > CD > EAC > SHN (shnid 17077) > FLAC level 8 (TLHv2.6.0, build 168, 'convert encoding format' command).

(7 tracks, 32:46)
t01. To Lay Me Down [6:09] [0:38] {6:47}
t02. Dire Wolf [4:00] [0:06] {4:06}
t03. Candyman [6:29]
t04. stage banter (1, 2 3) [2:42]
t05. Rosalie McFall [3:32] (4, 5) [1:52] % [0:12] {5:36}
t06. A Voice From On High [2:49] [0:02] % (6) [1:04] {3:55}
t07. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot [2:54] (7) [0:14] {3:08}

Lineup:
Jerry Garcia - acoustic guitar, vocals;
Bob Weir - acoustic guitar, vocals;
Phil Lesh - (?electric?) bass;
Mickey Hart - drums (tracks 1-3 only);
David Nelson - mandolin, vocals (tracks 5-7);
John "Marmaduke" Dawson - ?guitar?, vocals (tracks 6-7).

Seeder Comments:
- This short acoustic set seems to be all that the Dead played in capping off a couple New Riders sets at the Matrix.
- Sound Forge was used for a slight pitch correction and minor edits.
- Part of The Music Never Stopped Project 2003
- Thanks to Chuck Gannon; edits/encoding by JCotsman.

JGMF Notes:
! 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.
! db: http://db.etree.org/shn/17077 (this recording, degraded sbd).
! t04 @ 0:16 (1) some drunk-sounding guy mutters something inaudible, and Garcia says "Go away, man. Get your own band." Guy: "What?" JG: "Get your own band." Guy: "My own band?" JG: "Sure." Guy: "What does that mean, 'get my own band'?" JG: "It means fuck off, man. Fuck off." Guy keeps muttering some stuff. Says something to Weir. Weir: "I don't care, man." A weird exchange, for sure.
! t04 @ 0:59 (2) JG: "Is Nelson here?" @ 1:04 Nelson, laughing: "Ha ha, take care of my boy there, Hart."
! t04 @ 1:18 (3) Nelson: "Are you guys gonna do some gospel numbers? Aw, you don't need drums on gospel numbers."
! t05 @ 3:50 (4) JG: "Where's Marmaduke?"
! t05 @ 5:15 (5) Weir: "'I Hear A Voice A' Callin''." I only note this to underline that this traditional goes under many names, as many traditionals do.
! t06 @ 3:27 (6) JG: [clears throat] "Is this gonna work? Just stand back a little [inaudible]. Turn the microphones up. Let's do it that way." Nelson: "Barbershop." [cross-talk] JG: "This is an old principle. It's called singing in a group."
! t07 (7) Nelson: "Thank you. Thanks a lot."