The Group Probably Will Be Short-Lived, Because Hopkins Has Other Contractual Obligations

The titular line comes from an interview Garcia gave ca. November 22, 1975 to a Twin Cities journalist, Jon Bream, and references JGB #1. It could be that this was true all along, and the plan was just to monetize the Jerry Garcia name in the new Band, as well as Nicky's name, for the couple of tours the band did in October and November 1975, and then to call it quits in the new year. That's not how the conventional narrative, deriving from Blair Jackson's interviews with John Kahn, has it. The conventional narrative has it that Nicky was just too much of a wreck and was cut loose, the implication being that the band ended before John and Jerry had initially planned.

The quote is consistent with either story. It could be that this was always the plan, but no earlier interviews elicit the information. But it's also possible that by Thanksgiving Jerry had had enough with Nicky, and the "contractual obligations" were the musical equivalent of "irreconcilable differences" in marriage settings and "spending more time with the family" in political ones.

Anyway, the November 22, 1975 show at the St. Paul Civic Center Theatre was a very long one, something like three hours of music, and was mostly captured in a totally beautiful recording by Greg Overlid which especially picks, without much beyond air in the way of mediation, the play of Jerry's fingers and strings. The "Let It Rock" shows off Nicky's virtuosity, "Russian Lullaby" benefits from a peppy tempo, and there's a singleton goof with "Blackbird" as well as either a single or rarity, noted in one of the reviews, of "Old Man River", composed by Jerry's namesake Jerome Kern.

But the show, on this listen, doesn't slay me. The closing medley of "Let's Spend the Night Together -> Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder" was the band's big, huge jam vehicle, and as it goes, usually so goes my assessment of a JGB #1 gig. In this case, it never really achieves escape velocity, so I find myself a little disappointed, overall.

LN jg1975-11-22.jgb.161mins.aud-overlid.141918.flac2448

Jerry Garcia Band
Civic Center Theatre
143 W. Fourth Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102
November 22, 1975 (Saturday)
Greg Overlid aud, unlineaged cassette copy flac2448 shnid-141918

--set I (8 tracks, 81:43)--
s1t01. //Let it Rock// [taper moves seats]
s1t02. Blackbird tuning jam -> Positively 4th Street [11:55] [0:07] %
s1t03. tuning [1:02], All By Myself [8:45] % [0:02]
s1t04. [0:09] They Love Each Other :10-
s1t05. Pig's Boogie
s1t06. tuning and Nicky Hopkins intro (1), Mississippi Moon
s1t07. Sugaree
s1t08. [0:17] Roadrunner [11:44] (2) [0:11]

--set II (7 tracks, 91:28)--
s2t09. tuning [1:30], How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [6:19] [0:09] %
s2t10. Catfish John [11:07] [0:07] %
s2t11. Russian Lullaby [8:35] [0:40]
s2t12. Friend Of The Devil
[MISSING: Lady Sleeps > Ol' Man River {suspected setlist location}]
s2t13. Mystery Train
s2t14. I'll Take A Melody
s2t15. tuning -> Let's Spend The Night Together ->
s2t16. Edward The Mad Shirt Grinder [11:15] [0:18]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #1
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: Nicky Hopkins - piano, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;
! lineup: Ron Tutt - drums, 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/19751122-04

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/nYdwPE5yV8J2

! JGBP: https://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/05/st-paul-civic-center-143-west-fourth.html

! venue: Band itinerary calls it "St. Paul Civic Center Theatre". Contract cover page also says that, as does contract p. 1. That satisfies me: I am changing the last word of the venue from "Arena" to "Theatre".

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/20552 (s1p aud shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/138733 (3 source compilation); http://etreedb.org/shn/141929 (this source, flac1648); http://etreedb.org/shn/141918 (this fileset).

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

! preview: Minneapolis Star, November 7, 1975, p. 9B

! listing: Minneapolis Star, November 18, 1975, p. 4C

! preview: Minneapolis Star, November 20, 1975, p. 6C

! review: Bream 1975, Anthony 1975

! historical: Price $5.50 pre-show/ $6.00 day of show. Cloudy day, high temperature of 37 degrees. JGB guarantee of $5,000 plus $1,250 for lights and sound. Anthony identifies capacity crowd, ca. 2,900, but boxoffice says 2,628, a sellout, gross of $14,454. I had a larger capacity for the room, over 4k, but no source for that info. Promoter John Ballard/Edgewood Agency had taken a bath on the 4/75 Legion gig in Milwaukee, I think, asked for good terms; Zippy didn't want him to cry over spilled milk.

! R: field recordist: Greg Overlid

! R: field recording gear: 2x Shure 545 microphones > Nakamichi 550 cassette deck

! R: field recording location: front row

! R: first digital circulation of 3 songs from set2- CFJ, RL and ITAM (27 mins of new music)

! R: missing first notes of Mystery Train patched with SHNID-138733

! R: taper notes: "The Jerry Garcia Band / Garcia / Hopkins / Kahn / Tutt / St. Paul Civic Theatre / Saturday, November 22, 1975 / Nakamichi 550 w/Shure 545's / Sandy / "Tex" / Joey / Greg / Rhesa  / Dikel / S & Ggg get stage passes / get in before general admission crowd /  get us front row seats / not 10-15th / pulled out at end of first number by usher / talked to John Ballard, prom. / missed 1 to 1-1/2 min. Let It Rock / 1 to 1-1/2 limbo / Nicky Drunk!! /  DUBS: Buddy & Nancy / Stu K. / Rhesa / Jeff S./ Russ F./ Dave P. / Jeff C./ Joe S. / Steve B."

! R: lineage: From the collection of Jeff Knudsen. Recorded by Greg Overlid. Archived & Transferred by Tom Markson. Critical Assistance by John Wenzel, Andrew F. and Joe Jupille. Speed Correction by Jason Chastain. Edited and Mastered by Jamie Waddell, 24 bit 48 kHz.

! R: provenance: Jeff Knudsen has been an avid Jerry Garcia, Grateful Dead and San Francisco Sound music fan for over 40 years. From a letter to Dead Relix Magazine asking for help cultivating a tape collection, Jeff developed a relationship with Dick Latvala and many other tapers, building an enormous music collection.  He also taped many Jerry Garcia shows at venerable institutions like the various Keystones. Jeff loved to share tapes in a twinkle of an eye.  He was a key player in leaking the Betty Boards back in the day.  A few years ago, he decided he should pass his collection on to someone who could properly archive and transfer.  After a few years of offering it publicly, there were no takers. In 2008,  Arizona LL members Jamie and Tom felt the Knudsen collection was too valuable to let go.  After a flight so bumpy that we almost cried, and a great visit, albeit too short, with Jeff... 1200 lbs of tapes, gear and cds were lovingly packed at his Florida homestead.  The next era of his beloved collection summer camp for the tapes in the desert... an ongoing process of cataloging and transferring the contents to share.  Born from decades of Jeff's passion for live music collecting and the archival efforts of many, it's an honor and a privilege to share the Knudsen Tapes with you.  Enjoy! originally shared at www.shnflac.net"

! R: this is a really pretty tape. The finger-string interplay is directly audible, and it sounds sweet! Over and over again, strings directly recorded, nothing between them and the mics but air.

! R: s1t01 LIR clips in, cuts out; taper moves seats after the tune. Nicky very prominent - love it! The end cut is a COD.

! P: s1t01 LIR comes in amazing, Nicky truly doing the virtuoso thing right out of the gate. Jerry is filligreeing a lot, matching Nicky who continues to just play some beautiful stuff.

! s1t06 (1) JG: "Nicky Hopkins on piano".

! s1t08 (2) JG "...take a break"

! P: s2t10 CJ some great glassy picking by ol Jer.

! P: s2t11 RL I love this peppy tempo.

! P: s2t15-16 LSTNT > Edward never really achieves escape velocity. Tutt does a little drum feature late 7 of Edward, which is uncommon and neat.

NRPS-Matrix-1970 06 of 7: LN19700902: Wednesday, September 2, 1970

NRPS-Matrix-1970: a seven part series discussing New Riders of the Purple Sage (NRPS) gigs at the Matrix, 1970, including listening notes on the circulating tapes, speculation on dates, observations on playing, general pontificating.

1. Introduction
2. LN19700430: Thursday, April 30, 1970
3. LN19700707: Tuesday, July 7, 1970
4. LN19700729: Wednesday, July 29, 1970
5. LN19700730: Thursday, July 30, 1970
6. LN19700902: Wednesday, September 2, 1970
7. Analysis and Conclusions

Overall Impressions

The 86 minute sbd-sourced recording identified as NRPS at the Matrix on Wednesday, September 2, 1970 captures some really loose moments. David Nelson is absent this night, out sick, and so Garcia is more forward both in terms of instrumental leadership but, especially, in terms of harmony vocalizing. He just didn't do too many harmonies behind the pedal steel, ever. I think he really had to focus on his hands, knees and feet (which sounds like enough to occupy anyone!). But here he jumps in with enthusiastic harmonies, at little cost (that I hear) to his steel playing. Nice. Marmaduke is slurring very, very heavily in set I, though it affects his banter with/to the crowd more than his singing, which is obviously more important. He seems to set himself straight a bit for set II.

I have no idea how many people are in the room. Sounds like a small but enthusiastic bunch. To my clumsy ears the tape is sonically superior to the 7/29 and 7/30 tapes. My instinct is that it sounds more like 7/7 in terms of sound quality, but I need to try out a specialized listening enterprise to make any tape comparison with any kind of confidence. This is one of the more complete tapes of the NRPS-Matrix-1970 set, with lots of off-mic chatter and tuning available for transcription. I have done what I can in that regard.

Dating and Venue

Like every other NRPS-Matrix-1970 tape, this one has some dating ambiguity. Chicken on a Unicycle's state of the art Matrix list shows Seatrain and Kracker Jacks down in the Marina this night. There is no known basis for a NRPS entry except the tape, and we know that those can be unreliable, at best. The only thing that I can hear on the tape that helps with dating is the "Big Yellow Taxi," which the 7/29/70 tape suggests they picked up in Hawaii in June 1970 (see those notes for details). So all we can really conclude is that this show takes place after that, i.e., the second half of 1970 or later. I don't hear anything else that might help me identify the date with any precision. Based on some of the uncertainties around Matrix newspaper ads and listings, I am coming around to the view with most of these tapes (except 4/30) that they are approximately correctly dated. Indeed, I feel pretty comfortable just continuing to list this as 9/2/70, despite the lack of any corroborating evidence.

Regarding venue, I asked this question in re 7/29/70, but does anyone know if Matrix showed "weird movies" at setbreaks during this time frame? Dawson references it again at the end of set I here, as he had done on the earlier-dated recording.

Historical Interest

The whole premise of this series is that there's historical interest in the NRPS-Matrix-1970 interface.

The obvious things here are a couple of setlist rarities. Foremost among them are another version of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" (which also appears on 7/29/70) and, especially, the only known NRPS version of the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun." [check that - 4/25 and 4/28/71, around the famous Dead/Beach Boys set of 4/27. I am not sure how that escaped me - h/t Grateful Seconds] To hear Garcia playing pedal steel over this number around Labor Day 1970 is just too amazing. Had he ever played that song publicly before? What about surf music in general? I don't have anything in my notes (but confess to not having checked The Sources) about him playing surf music, but I'd bet it's absolutely possible. He grew up and was playing in coastal California in the first half of the 60s, for goodness sake. Why the hell not tear it up a little bit, lay down some fuzztone and try to get some chicks? Specifically, though, to find a Beach Boys connection in the setlist fascinates. Is there any other Beach Boys-Garcia connection besides the unbelievable 4/27/71 Fillmore East encounter?

I don't know what "Little Boy" is, the song said to follow "Glendale Train" on the Jerry Site's list. Anyone? It might be "Two Little Boys", apparently a traditional played in an earlier Garcia life by the Black Mountain Boys, but without being able to hear it I can't say.

Everything else is standard NRPS: mostly Dawson originals with a few country covers thrown in. Lots of good Bakersfield sound here, even without Nelson's picking.

Far and away, though, the feeling is what's so interesting. This entire enterprise I am involved in began with the observation that Garcia On The Side was supposed to be about "music without bullshit", i.e., playing in front of an audience, but without all of the baggage of being Jerry Garcia Of The Grateful Dead. And being able to hear Garcia so relaxed, so loose, so open to playing whatever, just playing, is fantastic. Quite often on these tapes one can hear the band talking off-mic about what to play, and Garcia just basically being pretty agreeable to play whatever. So nice! Then you get a little sardonic Jerry humor, as they are looking to replace some strings after "I'm In Love With You". Garcia, affecting a sneer:

They use the good steel for the war. [crowd laughs] They do man, really, it's awful.

Big deal, I know. But, as I have said over and over again, before too long Garcia would rarely find himself in a performing situation in which he felt comfortable saying anything at all to the crowd, let alone anything humorous or even obliquely (anti-) political. I am sure that in future years he would lament his perceived inability to just go down to the bar and fuck around. Thank goodness we have tapes that display him doing it for as long as he felt he could.

Listening Notes after the jump.

NRPS-Matrix-1970 04 of 7: LN19700729: Wednesday, July 29, 1970

update 7/18/2026: at Jerrybase I now pin this as 7/27/70 at the Matrix.

NRPS-Matrix-1970: a seven part series discussing New Riders of the Purple Sage (NRPS) gigs at the Matrix, 1970, including listening notes on the circulating tapes, speculation on dates, observations on playing, general pontificating.

1. Introduction
2. LN19700430: Thursday, April 30, 1970
3. LN19700707: Tuesday, July 7, 1970
4. LN19700729: Wednesday, July 29, 1970
5. LN19700730: Thursday, July 30, 1970
6. LN19700902: Wednesday, September 2, 1970
7. Analysis and Conclusions

The 133 minute sbd recording traveling as New Riders at the Matrix on Wednesday, July 29, 1970 has all of the qualities you'd expect at the NRPS-Matrix-1970 intersection. A pretty good tape, largely complete (so it would seem), including tuning and off-mic stage talk. It's a period of NRPS's development that is underscrutinized (beyond the overall neglect of the New Riders) since the tapes don't circulate widely. Both because of tape and east coast bias, more is known about the touring band of the rest of 1970-1971, the one that opened for the GD in medium-sized college rooms and theaters across the land, than this mid-1970 band that's woodshedding in tiny Bay Area joints such as the Matrix, the Lion's Share in San Anselmo, or Mandrake's in Berkeley.

There's also a characteristic shroud of doubt around the date/venue combination. I'll address date and venue in turn.

Regarding dating, first, this recording apparently used to travel dated "7/30/70". Ouch. It helps even less that this set I is the same as "4/30/70, set I." Most confusingly, the evidence from this week at the Matrix is all over the place, and none of it supports the presence of the NRPS at Matrix on Weds.-Thurs., July 29-30. LIA has recapped all of this in his thorough way, so I won't go over the same terrain -- see his post "The Hartbeats - July 1970".

I was hoping that a forensic listening to the recordings of the NRPS Matrix Tapes dated July 29-30, 1970 would shed some light on all of this, but my hopes have been dashed. Here's about the only date-relevant information from 7/29, from John Dawson introducing the New Riders' version of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi":

We're tryin' to do 'Big Yellow Taxi', which was number two in Hawaii when we were there. And Hawaii has this big pink hotel right there on their famous boardwalk, right there on the beach.

Now, Jerry and the Grateful Dead were in Hawaii twice in 1970, in January and in June. But as I understand it, the NRPS only accompanied them in June. (McNally [1999 p. 351] narrates the first trip with no mention of the Riders or any member, and the dog is silent everywhere as far as I know.) If true, that would eliminate the "4/30/70" dating for this material. Hypothesis: 4/30/70 was an erroneous transcription of 7/30/70, the old (apparent mis-) date for this same material. All we can know, then, is that this NRPS set takes place after mid-June. Unfortunately, this doesn't get us any closer to figuring out the late July 1970 dating confusion.

I hear only two things that might shed some light on the venue. The first is Dawson's setbreak announcement: "Thank you, we'll see you after a few weird movies here." Can anyone say whether this would have been the Matrix, the Lion's Share, or somewhere else? Or is it just too vague? The second is that the recording has some of the amplitude changes that I associate with the '68 Matrix Tapes, where the mics seem to be sound- (or maybe pedal-, but I don't think so) activated. Anyone know what I mean by that?

What do I conclude from all of this chasing my tail? My instinct is that the July 29th dating is very approximately right. The contradictory listings for the Matrix this week suggest that there was a lot of fluidity, for whatever reason. Who knows? Under such a cloud of uncertainty, where the contradictory evidence contradicts itself, the tape is likely the best we are likely to do with dating this stuff. So I'd propose on the basis of this analysis that we all ding the "4/30/70" listing and keep 7/29/70.

I won't spend much time on the performance, except to say that it's sloppy. "Big Yellow Taxi" is really the only song of any historical interest, insofar as this would seem to be the first of only two known NRPS renditions.  Inchoate listening notes after the jump.