JGB Debuting Señor and Tears of Rage: The February 1990 Warfield Run

LN jg1990-02-02.jgb.all.aud-darroch-paul.86658.flac1644
LN jg1990-02-03.jgb.all-1.sbd-seaweed.114060.flac1644
LN jg1990-02-04.jgb.all.aud-buick.30811.flac1644

The Jerry Garcia organization embraced a "no taping" policy, for reasons that aren't entirely clear given the principal's own experience recording bluegrass in the Sixties, his oft-stated indifference to audience taping in the Grateful Dead (GD) context ("when we're done with it, they can have it"), the Dead's own allowances in the form, from 1984 forward, of an Official Taping Section (OTS) just behind Dan Healy's soundboard and, frankly, the low commerical appeal of the Garcia Band. What was gonna do, etch some bootleg vinyl of yet another show closing "Midnight Moonlight"? Yet, nevertheless, there the policy was.

Enforcement was another matter, and seems to have been highly variable. Some busts happened at various places and times, tapers such as John Corley seem to have felt that stealth was called for (dismantling his Nak 700s and wiring them up through the top of a very "silly hat"), but generally a lot of tapes walked out of a lot of Jerry shows. Anecdotally, the no taping policy was most assiduously enforced at the Warfield in 1990, which one imagines relates to the fact that Jerry and Co. were recording themselves for an official live release (Jerry Garcia Band, Arista 18690-2), which arrived August 25, 1991 with material culled from Warfield shows in April and August of the prior year, sweetened in some cases with some vocal overdubs, at least.

Campolindo High School alumnus and sound engineer extraordinaire Marcus Buick kept a little journal of his own and his taping buddies' battles against one particularly dedicated Warfield security guy, by the name of Oren David Green. Apparently, at least in '89 and into '90, he was not a BGP bluecoat, but worked for VIP security. Bu kept a running score, and it was good guys 4 (successful complete shows pulled) and Oren 2 (busts) after the last Garcia Band show of '89. Oren then went on a little run to start the new year. He seems to have successfully kept the tapers away from the best recording location in the house, "The Spot" on the first drink rail. Rob Darroch and Sara Paul managed to pull complete analog masters from there the first night, February 2, 1990, but the digital tapers got busted during the first song. On February 3, Buick, Rick Katzeff and Tom Hughes (Campolindo '87) were able to pass equipment, hop seats, and relocate to get the 1st set from row M of the upper balcony, but got busted set II. On Sunday the 4th, Bu finally managed to digitally pull a whole show, but only by jamming his Josephsons into the right floor speaker stack from about a foot away, far too close. Oren thus played the digikids to a tie for the weekend, impressive given how committed and enterprising they were. (To give an indication of this, note that some soundboard material circulates from this run, derived from recordings made by splitting wire running to the hallway speakers, a technique first accomplished at the Lunt Fontanne in 1987, as far as I know.)

So, the tapes are generally sub-optimal, and I know well that this can color my listening experience. Historically, I have found these shows to be just sort of "meh", perhaps partly because of recording limitations and perhaps also from reasoning motivated to support my "one year too late" thesis about the double-live album: as great as that album is --and I do think it's great--, I think it would have been even better if they had taped in '88 and '89, when things were fresher and peppier. By 1990, to my ears, Jerry is sounding a little more fatigued. I like the March 1-2 shows a good deal, remember finding the April shows to be "meh", definitely find the June shows to be relatively weak, have formed no opinion on August, and think things are hotter in November, after GD keyboardist Brent Mydland had died and Jerry seemed to transfer some amount of energy over to the JGB.

I want to revisit all of these and see how my older assessments hold up, and I began over the last week with the February 2-4 shows. The key setlist interest here is the arrival into the Garcia Band repertoire of Dylan's "Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)" and Dylan and Richard Manuel's "Tears Of Rage", both of which were added, I imagine, with the album in mind. The Señor from 4/15/90 did make it onto the release, while Tears of Rage would wait to be released until the version from that same date appeared on the posthumous How Sweet It Is record (Grateful Dead Records GDCD 4051, April 1997). The former stuck around for over four years --note that Jerry had also played it once at the Warfield with Dylan, way back in 1980-- while the latter lasted less than a year in the repertoire, much to my chagrin. Both find Jerry reaching way down into deep darkness, full of mournful pathos that well-suited his old man period. On their maiden voyages of this February weekend (Señor appeared all three nights, Tears the last two), they show their newness. Things aren't entirely pinned down in terms of Jerry's own or the backing vocals, he hasn't settled into the tunes yet, and so they sound a little uneven. But that is not to say they don't sound great - they do. Whoever picked these tunes for the Garcia Band --one presumes either Jerry or his musical director, bassist John Kahn-- picked well. 

Generally, the shows exhibit I haven't-played-live-in-a-month-itis, which is perfectly reasonable. Jerry headed out to Kona and took no fewer than 26 plunges with Jack's Dive Locker between January 6 and 29, 1990. January '88 found him tan and healthy in a Hawaiian shirt playing the "Blues For Salvador" benefit with Wayne Shorter, Carlos Santana, and lots of others. January '89, again in post-scubal bliss, found him warming up the first night out (1/27/89) and then dropping a true masterpiece of a show on 1/28/89, though the Dead shows the next week were, well, pretty weak. 

None of these February 1990 Warfield shows reaches those peaks, though there are plenty of strong moments. The first two nights, especially, he flubs all kinds of lyrics, like throughout practically every tune. The first night is pretty short for a 90s Warfield show, though I note some nice peppy tempi and an "I Second That Emotion" that is worth a listen. The second night, I don't note much. The set II opener, "Harder They Come", is not present on any circulating tapes, though we can pretty well imagine what it must have sounded like. 2/4/90 is the best show of the run, to my ears, though it's still pretty uneven. I took real notice that he went up an octave to sing the last stanza of Señor, "this place don't make sense to me anymore", which gives it a really worried tone fit to put weaker listeners into the nervous hospital. I think it was like that all three times here, and I doubt it would ever be that way again.

All in all, I enjoyed listening to this three shows as a whole run. I think I will do more of that. Because even though things can get repetitive, it does provide something like a consistent baseline, allowing little things (like the pretty fun "Let's Spend The Night Together" to open set II on 2/3) to stand in sharper relief. I wouldn't tell you to grab these as a first choice from the year -- go ahead and get the record for that. But they do strike me as pretty straightforwardly representative of what the Jerry Band was up to as the 1990s got going.

Listening notes below the fold.

Slowly Unraveled Over You: JGB 3c at Keystone Palo Alto, April 9, 1977

Obviously I am catching up on posting some listening notes. Quality will be even more variable than usual.

LN jg1977-04-09.jgb.all.aud-bunjes.13361.shn2flac

Some tapes travel unlikely paths to our ears. Here's an unattributed aud tape, the only one circulating, which went to Germany before coming out into the broader world. I really love the feel of it. It's not amazing, but it's got character.

The show features what I presently list as JGB 3c. JGB 3 is the basic Keith and Donna version with Tutt, starting in '76. Not least because the JGB was relatively uninstitutionalized at this point, many variations popped up around the invariant Jerry, John and Keith core. I have proposed cataloguing them as follows:

3b: #3 + Maria - e.g., 9/12/76

3c: #3 + second guitarist - e.g., 11/20/76

3d: #3 + John Rich - e.g., 12/21/76

3e: #3 + Maria + second guitarist - e.g., 2/5/77

3f: #3 - Tutt + Errico - e.g., 6/23/77

3g: #3 - Donna + Maria (e.g., 7/3/77)

3h: #3 - Donna (e.g., 7/8/77)

3i: #3 - Tutt + Kreutzmann - e.g., 8/12/77

I know that's a little bit ridiculous, but it has the nice taxonomic quality of the categories being mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.

So, I say I say I say, 4/9/77 features variant 3c, the basic group plus the second guitarist. He is pretty far in the background most of the night, as he was on every night he played. He plays tastefully throughout, though, seems to eschew a feature opportunity in "Stir It Up" and steps forward a little more, seemingly because everyone else in the band was insisting that he take the space that they were giving him, during "Tore Up". This is his last known appearance with Jerry, though we can't really be sure. At the setbreak announcement, Jerry says something about getting things straightened out, which might be nothing, might be equipment related, or might indeed be about attempting to find alignment with the visitor.

The post title speaks to this version of "Tore Up Over You", which doesn't involve Hank Ballard's sudden rending so much as a soft disentegument. Clocking in at almost 20 minutes (!), this has to be the longest version of this tune ever played by anyone. It finds some nice quiet and open spaces, and Jerry even bends some strings for a bit, but to me it stands as a cautionary tale and monument to the excesses of JGB #3 - whatever the suffix.

Set II is short for the period, 3 songs and 47 minutes (heh heh). I wouldn't be surprised if a tune or two preceded Midnight Moonlight, or happened in between the songs presented here. We can't tell, since there are tape discontinuities after every song. We do know that Tangled Up bumped up against closing time in Palo Alto. (No, not 9 PM, you Weisenheimers.)

All told, very glad this tape made its way into the world, though it does nothing to dissuade me from the view that JGB #3 was most often kind of a snooze.

Jerry Garcia Band

Keystone Palo Alto

260 S. California Avenue

Palo Alto, CA 94306 

April 9, 1977 (Saturday)

aud shnid-13361 shn2flac

--set I (6 tracks, 72:43)--

s1t01. They Love Each Other [8:08] % [0:11]

s1t02. That's What Love Will Make You Do [11:06] [0:05] %

s1t03. Stir It Up [15:40] [0:06] %

s1t04. [0:05] Simple Twist Of Fate [14:02][0:09] %

s1t05. [0:06] Mystery Train [10:22] [0:03] % [0:05]

s1t06. The Way You Do The Things You Do [12:13] (1) [0:20]

--set II (3 tracks, possibly incomplete, 47:17)--

s2t01. [0:08] Midnight Moonlight [14:59] [0:02] %

s2t02. [0:16] Tore Up Over You [19:48] [0:08] %

s2t03. Tangled Up In Blue [11:30] (2) [0:13] % dead air [0:11]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #3c

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

! lineup: Keith Godchaux - keyboards, vocals;

! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;

! lineup: Ron Tutt - drums, vocals;

! lineup: Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals;

! guest: [redacted] - el-g.

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/19770409-01

! db: shnid-13361 (this fileset)

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/6U9QR2V8UV4YwBDh9

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/11/keystone-sophies-260-s-california-ave.html

! band: JGB #3c (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html). This band features second guitarist XXX, who was also around on 1/29-30, 2/5-6, and 4/10, at least. This might even be considered a separate band, since that's most of the shows from the first part of '77, and possibly some in late '76 as well.

! setlist: Jerrybase lists starting time, presumably from the contract, as 9:30. If we allow for starting very late and for a very long setbreak, and in view of that fact that TUIB definitely lands on closing time, it's possible this set II is complete. But in the absence of other information, we can't really know. I would not be shocked if another song or two preceded Mid Moon.

! historical: Keystone $750 contract

! ad: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook, April 3, 1977, p. 43

! R: MAC (unknown taper, equipment, location) > reel > playback on Uher reel-to-reel machine > Marantz standalone CD recorder master CD > Plextor CD extraction using EAC (high, secure, offset-corrected) > .shn encoding using mkwACT. Reel > CD by Thomas Donhauser, EAC > SHN and seeding by Hanno.

! R: s1t01-02 needs retracking

! P: s1t02 TWLWMYD I hear the second guitar now, hadn't heard it in TLEO

! P: s1t03 SIU Keith on electric keys. Second guitarist some very gentle stuff 12ish, as if it were his feature.

! s1t06 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a little while. We'll be back a little bit -- later, see if we can get things straight."

! P: s2t01 Mid Moon should have ended it around 13, Jerry was sort of trying to, but it just kept choogling, so he took another spin with it.

! P: s2t02 TUOY guest takes a feature late 11 over 12. He sounds pretty good! The tune enters an extremely quiet section in 16. I can't believe they will end up playing this song for almost 20 minutes? Jerry bending some strings 17:20.

! s2t03 (2) Emcee: "Thank you, thank you very much. Folks, it's 2 o'clock. [inaudible, maybe 'we've got to go']"

! s1t06 (1) JG: "We'll take a break for a little while. We'll be back a little ... later ... soon as we can get things straight."

Let's Spend the (Wednesday) Night Together

November 21, 1990, a Wednesday night, Garcia played a killer "Let's Spend The Night Together," featuring what the seeder notes as "relentless, furious" guitar work. Indeed. "Tears Of Rage" and "Tore Up Over You" also stand out.

Pack of Wolves opened, for the record.

Jerry Garcia Band
The Warfield
982 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
November 21, 1990 (Wednesday)
B&K 4011 MAD flac1648 shnid-141474

--set I (11 tracks, 7 tunes, 65:51)--
s1t01. crowd [0:37]
s1t02. Cats Under The Stars [9:26] [0:02]
s1t03. crowd and tuning [0:53]
s1t04. Stop That Train [6:21] [0:06]
s1t05. crowd and tuning [1:21]
s1t06. That's What Love Will Make You Do [9:03] [0:55]
s1t07. Lay Down Sally [8:57] [0:06]
s1t08. crowd and tuning [1:05]
s1t09. Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:13] [0:40]
s1t10. Throw Out The Lifeline [5:10] ->
s1t11. Let's Spend The Night Together [11:52] [0:05] %

--set II (7 tracks, 68:18)--
s2t12. The Way You Do The Things You Do [11:50] -12:26
s2t13. You Never Can Tell [7:41] [0:56]
s2t14. Tears Of Rage [10:24] [0:24]
s2t15. Tore Up Over You [10:28] [0:35]
s2t16. Waiting For A Miracle [5:46] (1) [0:28]
s2t17. Struggling Man [6:40] [0:05]
s2t18. Tangled Up In Blue [12:22] (2) [0:04]

! ACT1: JGB #21b (THE Jerry Garcia Band)
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - backing vocals.

JGMF:

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

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19901121-01

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/22087 (Bill R. shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/22226 (B&K 4011 shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/111702 (Da Weez, incomplete s1 flac1644); http://etreedb.org/shn/141474 (this fileset).

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

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2013/02/warfield-982-market-street-san.html

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/ZW52vfHTbjs

! R: field recording gear: B&K 4011s > Panasonic SV 255

! R: lineage DATx copy Archived and Transferred By Stuccoholmes 2018; Edited and Mastered by Jamie Waddell in Wavelab 7.2, 16bit 48kHz FLAC Level8 in TLH. originally shared at www.shnflac.net   **gems**

! R: seeder comments: "Sounds as these tapers got a better location than the 20th, and were rewarded musically - no info on DATs"

! P: seeder comments: "Let's Spend The Night Together is EPIC - relentless, furious Garcia licks"

! R: Man, the crowd is crazy chatty.

! P: s1t02 CUTS he's having a hard time with the lyrics.

! P: s1t06 TWLWMYD JG sounds vocally fatigued, if you know what I mean.

! P: s1t07 LDS 6:15ff Garcia bends a huge note, to a hint of feedback. Awesome.

! song: "Throw Out The Lifeline" (s1t10): this had a weird performance history. Debuted 10/31/88, played twice more in late '88, then on the shelf until this version, first of five in the late '90 - early '91 period (last 1/29/91), then one laste time on 4/30/92.

! P: s1t11 LSTNT as the seeder notes, this LSTNT has Garcia absolutely SHREDDING, especially from the 7 minute mark forward. This tune features some truly exceptional guitar work. Man, what I wouldn't give to hear a soundboard tape of this. WOW - still cooking in late 8, and he is really playing the shit out of his electric git-tar.

! song: "Tears Of Rage" (s2t14): this is the penultimate Garcia Band version of this stunning, incredible Bob Dylan / Richard Manuel tune (1/31/91).

! P: s2t14 Tears Of Rage: God, I love this song so much. He does a good job with the lyrics, and sounds appropriately mournful.

! P: s2t15 TUOY has some awesome guitar stuff in the late 4. Again in 8 he is doing some amazing stuff - in both of these ranges, he has things tuned just a little "off" - I lack the musical vocabulary to explain it, but he's in an odd key, and it sounds great. I think he flubs the lyric coming back in early 9, but the guitar was so smokin' that he probably left a smoking crater of his own mind - quite understandable, and easily forgiveable.

! s2t16 (1) young lady in the audience yells "Love you Jerry!" and the crowd seconds the emotion.

! P: s2t18 TUIB sounds a little ponderous coming out of the gate.

! s2t18 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See ya later."

Unscary Jerry: Halloween '88

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

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

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

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

! ACT1: JGB #21b (THE Jerry Garcia Band)
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - backing vocals.

JGMF:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

! R: field recordist: Bill Reutelhuber

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

! R: field recording media: Maxell XLIIS

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

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

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

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

! R: t01 Werewolves clips in.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Body ... Bent and Broken

LN jg1994-09-10.jgb.all.aud-vasseur.23791.shn2flac

Man, these late era shows are really changing my understanding of Old Garcia. I have been saying it in these recent posts: his lacks lung-power, his voice is weak, his muscles are atrophied and his wrists are sore. He is prone to forgetting lyrics.

These physical limitations dictate his vocal and instrumental approaches. Vocally, we find clearer enunciation and articulation. He wants to be in key, unlike Dylan, but this is interpreted pretty liberally. The grooves are slower and deeper, but a light swing touch can also work. He can still bop his head and swing his shoulders, even if he can't dig in, ass and hips and all, like he used to with his guitar, with respect to which expressiveness trumps power, and, really, the latter doesn't make much of an appearance through the whole show.

It's deeply flawed stuff, but if you know and love Jerry it's really, really good. The post title is a little dark, but he delivers that line from "The Maker" so amazingly, I just couldn't resist.

Random thoughts from the notes below:

! song: "Johnny Too Bad" and #death: He sings it as "one of these days "gonna hear a voice a say come" is JG, instead of "when you hear". I am certainly parsing too finely, his expressive variations were mostly driven by lips, mouth, lungs and brain, but I like it. "Gonna", as a declarative, penetrates more deeply in a probability sense, while the passive "when" leaves some space for at least momentary human delusion and denial, suspending the certainty of the outcome if only for a flash. For ol' Jer, it's gonna happen, And That Right Quick. And Johnny Too Bad, in my mind's eye, ends more The Lord Of The Flies than The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: there is, as the song reminds us repeatedly, no rock. Might as well play some reggae.

! song: "That Lucky Old Sun" and #race #musics and Old Garcia: As you might imagine with decrepit Jerry, "Lucky Ol' Sun" offers some real possibilities, and he takes especial advantage on "fuss with my woman | toil with my kids | sweat till I'm wrinkled and grey". As commenter Nick and others have helped me understand, Tin Pan Alley tunes like this derive from jazz but crossed the racial divide, with whites appropriating and deploying black tropes and affectations - not unlike good old rock 'n' roll itself. On the other hand, crossing over is his American birthright, and ol' Gar owns it lovingly, inclusively, the tender vocal delivery full of feeling, the band providing a spare backing for Jerry's gentle drop-sparkle string work. These tunes can really evoke Garcia's painting of himself and John as old Mission Street players, even from the loftier confines of the Warfield balcony or an 8,500 set amphitheatre on a hot Reno evening.

Jerry Garcia Band
Reno Hilton Amphitheatre
2500 East Second Street
Reno, NV 89595
September 10, 1994 (Saturday)
?Vasseur? shnid-23791 shn2flac

--set I (8 tracks, 50:15)--
s1t01. crowd [01:00]
s1t02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [5:45] [1:17]
s1t03. Stop That Train [7:06] [0:33]
s1t04. Get Out Of My Life Woman [7:27] (1) [2:13]
s1t05. Run For The Roses [05:14]
s1t06. Ain't No Bread In The Breadbox [08:04]
s1t07. My Sisters And Brothers [03:54]
s1t08. Deal [07:42]

--set II (7 tracks, 61:37)--
s2t01. The Way You Do The Things You Do [10:14] [0:22]
s2t02. The Maker [12:29] [0:10]
s2t03. What A Wonderful World [4:44] [0:19]
s2t04. Johnny Too Bad [11:05] [0:20]
s2t05. Don't Let Go [12:22]
s2t06. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) [04:21]
s2t07. Midnight Moonlight [05:10]

! ACT1: JGB #23
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, v;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Donny Baldwin - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - backing vocals.

JGMF:

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19940910-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1994-09-10

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/23791 (this fileset, shnf); http://etreedb.org/shn/97863 (absent from my archive).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/fAbuJCQB6zt

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/reno-hilton-amphitheatre-2500-east.html

! R: field recordists: [presumed] Chuck Vasseur and Janet Vasseur.

! R: source: MAD (Vintage Neumanns) > D > C > CDR > WAV > SHN; shn2flac jgmf 5/23/2017.

! R: seeder comments: [INCORRECT: "First public performance of 'Johnny Too Bad'"] -- the 3rd song off the "Harder They Come" soundtrack that Jerry would play with JGB (others are "Harder They Come" and "Sitting In Limbo"). This is the second of five times out for JTB (9/1/94).

! R: seeder note: "Minimal hiss, more distant sounding than the typical Vasseur Warfield."

! R: lineage: DAE (EAC) and sbe-free SHN encoding by C.Ladner, May '04.

! R: something swishy and wonky about this tape, panning or something out of phase. By the time I am in "The Maker", it is sounding downright good.

! s1t01 HSII starts with "opened my eyes at night" in06-s2t07 stead of "I needed the shelter". He comes back to it for the second verse - attaboy, Jer! 2-3 he has done some very fluent guitar playing, sounds energetic. Melvin steps up to his big swirling-sweeping piece 3:30, Garcia sounds happy to comp 3:45 behind him. Jerry remembers the next verse, 4:40 ish Melvin provides tasty piano accompaniment with a barrelhouse feel, more after 5.

! s1t04 (1) JG: "We have a little technical problem," as things are being pounded. Melvin hits a little piano thing, JG signals RFTR. FF to s2t01.

! P: s2t01 TWYDTTYD right at end of 5 he puts on his Grateful Dead guitar, wahh-ing in a way that was very uncommon for JGB. Long vocal piece with the ladies out front, him emphasizing behind.

! P: s2t02 Maker John is doing some bowing-type stuff at the very start. Overt religiosity. @ 0354 "oh my body is bent and broken" with feeling. Fragile stuff, glorious. Big pitch-bendy stuff 6.

! song: "What A Wonderful World" (s2t03): this is the Sam Cooke ("don't know much about history", etc.).

! P: song: "Johnny Too Bad" (s2t04): second live version (9/1/94). He sings it as "one of these days "gonna hear a voice a say come" is JG, instead of "when you hear". I am certainly parsing too finely, his expressive variations were mostly driven by lips, mouth, lungs and brain, but I like it. "Gonna", as a declarative, penetrates more deeply in a probability sense, while the passive "when" leaves some space for at least momentary human delusion and denial, suspending the certainty of the outcome if only for a flash. For ol' Jer, it's gonna happen, And That Right Quick. And Johnny Too Bad, in my mind's eye, ends more The Lord Of The Flies than The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: there is, as the song reminds us repeatedly, no rock. Might as well play some reggae. ^P This has lots of interesting pieces, and credit ol Jer for working it, but the band keeps expecting it to end, and he croaks another go-round. The song is quite repetitive, and that's part of what's so compelling but also challenging about it - huis clos. A for effort, lower for execution.

! P: s2t05 DLG nice to see the ambition. He mumbles first verse. Baldwin sets a fine pocket here. 4 very cool little song-voice piece, set to the weak lungs, allowing him to just not strain. 4:20ff some very plucky plucking. Garcia 4:40ff in a bassier tone, keys are right on it, bass has been inaudible. Heading over 5, it has that worried urgency that an earlier tune with Merl, "She's Got Charisma", also provided in spades. It's a game effort, doesn't knock me out on two listens.

! P: s2t06 "That Lucky Old Sun": As you might imagine with decrepit Jerry, "Lucky Ol' Sun" offers some real possibilities, and he takes especial advantage on "fuss with my woman | toil with my kids | sweat till I'm wrinkled and grey". For book, should probably write Tin Pan Alley up here at the end. Sort of a crossover genre in that it seems to have been whites appropriating and deploying black tropes and affectations - not unlike rock 'n' roll. On the other hand, ol' Gar owns this stuff fully, bringing sincere love and tenderness to the vocal delivery, full of feeling, over a spare band arrangement that lets him play his display a little gentle drop-sparkle string work, too. These tunes can really evoke Garcia's painting of himself and John as old Mission Street players, even from the loftier confines of the Warfield balcony or an 8,500 set amphitheatre on a hot Reno evening.

! P: s2t07 MM I love that Jerry loved this song. At this point, he must have had a real Skinnerian involvement with it, since MM = end of show = nicotine = whatever else. Not that he deprived himself before or during, mind you, but the chance to sit down in a comfy chair and unwind, change your sweaty shirt, soundsl ike a nice prospect, too. So the San Franciscan plays Pete Rowan's paen to another city with a Mission, San Antonio, good music. This version delivers nothing special, and September 10, 1994 goes on its merry way.

The Garcia Band's Last Gig (and list of contemporary late-era posts)

I have finally been dipping my toe into late-period JGB, let's call it the Donny Baldwin era, JGB #23. See:

• 9/1/94: I came for the Johnny Too Bad, I Stayed for the Don't Let Go
• 9/2/94: Lots to Like About This Old Jerry
• 9/10/94: Oh My Body | Is Bent and Broken
• 11/11/94: Simple Twist of Fate: JGB #23 at the Kaiser, November 11, 1994
• 1/13/95: Never Get Yo Cornbread Made | LN jg1995-01-13.jgb.s2.aud-sisler-goodbear.79638.flac1648
• 3/4/95: "I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes"
• 3/5/95: Old Garcia Running to the Rock for Rescue
• 4/15/95: Il lui manque du souffle
• 4/21/95: JGB at the Warfield: April 21, 1995
• 4/22/95: Penultimate JGB

Well, here's the end of the line for the Jerry Garcia Band: April 23, 1995. A fair bit of confusion, but some great spirit, and, to my ears, of all things, a "Think" for the ages.

LN jg1995-04-23.jgb.all.aud-unknown-ladner.17557.shn2flac

Jerry Garcia Band
The Warfield
982 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
April 23, 1995 (Sunday)
aud shnid-17557 sh2flac

--set I (7 tracks, 61:13)--
s1t01. [0:03] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [8:41] % [0:16]
s1t02. Stop That Train [8:53] %
s1t03. Simple Twist Of Fate [13:27]
s1t04. Run For The Roses [06:31]
s1t05. You Never Can Tell [10:05]
s1t06. My Sisters And Brothers [04:12]
s1t07. Deal [09:04]

--set II (6 tracks, 54:54)--
s2t01. He Ain't Give You None [11:09]
s2t02. Struggling Man [7:19] %
s2t03. Think [9:3] [0:02]
s2t04. Reuben And Cérise [11:26]
s2t05. Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [8:03]
s2t06. Midnight Moonlight [7:25]

! ACT1: JGB #23
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, v;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Donny Baldwin - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - backing vocals.

JGMF:

! historical: Last JGB show.

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19950423-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1995-04-23

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2013/02/warfield-982-market-street-san.html

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/ZW52vfHTbjs

! db: shnid-17557 (this fileset, shnf);

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

! R: Source: AUD (taper and gear unknown) > DAT > CDR > WAV > SHN; shn2flac;

! R: DAE (EAC0.9b4, offset corrected, secure mode) > digifuzz attenuation and dropout removal (soundforge 5) > tracking (cdwav editor) > shn (shorten 3.4) > sector boundaries confirmed (shntool) > FTP via C.Ladner/candyman FTP. Another installment of the MisSHN in the Rain branch of The Music Never Stopped Project - 5/03.

! R: seeder comments: Technical issues:  There are flaws with the CDR source I have for this show that I initially didn't want to SHN it up, but because of its place in the chronological order of shows and the apparent lack of other circulating sources, people seem to be interested in checking it out, so c'est La Vie.  Despite the flaws the show is highly listenable.  If you have a lineaged source without the below describe flaws or fades please email me at:  candymansiteop@hotmail.com.

! R: seeder comments: There were fades and pauses between most songs on the masters with the intervening "crowd noise" removed.  Several tracks begin with a fade in on the first note of the song so that it is clipped - darn.

! R: s1t01 - significant digifuzz @ 05:10

! P: s1t01 HSII giving it a lot of extra moaning and so forth, even as it goes on a few measures too long. Good spirit.

! P: s1t02 STT nothing wrong with this through 5:45.  FF to You Never Can Tell.

! R: s1t03 - First note of Simple Twist of Fate clipped, noise @ 00:22.

! R: s1t07 - minor digifuzz at 00:20.

! P: s2t01 HAGYN sounds confused on the start.

! R: s2t01 - level changes during the 30 seconds of the recording were evened out using SF5.

! R: s2t02 - small subsecond dropout @ 7:09 removed with SF5.

! P: s2t03 Think hamina hamina there is some hot stuff in the 6 minute mark, molten guitar playing. Excellent version. Great stuff.

! P: s2t04 RAC He gets a bit confused at the start, I think, takes a few extra turns with some neat phrasings, still trying to lock in a minute and a half in. Yikes, he finally jumps on it 1:35. I was following along with the lyrics, and he pretty much gets them all - no mean feat. What a great, great song. It goes far too many times around at the end, with nothing much happening.

! P: s2t06 Mid Moon Melvin getting realy train-choppy with it, say, 4 min mark.

JGB at the Warfield: April 21, 1995

LN jg1995-04-21.jgb.all.aud-vasseur-ladner.21900.shn2flac

Third to last JGB gig, on the home court. A little bit of historical background, some analysis of the musics figuring in the setlist, and a brief note on "Johnny Too Bad" ("my God, this is just great, so full of feeling") will figure in the listening notes below.

Jerry Garcia Band
The Warfield
982 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
April 21, 1995 (Friday)
Vasseur shnid-21900 shn2flac

--set I (7 tracks, 56:08)--
s1t01. The Way You Do The Things You Do  [10:10]
s1t02. Forever Young  [10:38]
s1t03. Money Honey  [07:35]
s1t04. Run For The Roses  [05:26]
s1t05. Ain't No Bread In The Breadbox  [08:48]
s1t06. My Sisters And Brothers  [04:52]
s1t07. Deal  [08:36]

--set II (5 tracks, 59:00)--
s2t01. Shining Star ->  [22:39]
s2t02. Johnny Too Bad ->  [7:07]
s2t03. Don't Let Go  [13:32]
s2t04. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)  [09:36]
s2t05. Midnight Moonlight  [06:04]

! ACT1: JGB #23
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, v;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Donny Baldwin - drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - backing vocals.

JGMF:

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19950421-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1995-04-21

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2013/02/warfield-982-market-street-san.html

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/ZW52vfHTbjs

! db: shnid-21900 (Vasseur shnf, this fileset)

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

! historical: This is Garcia's third-to-last Garcia Band GOTS gig, and knowing this, and that he'd be dead in three and a half months, naturally biases the llistening experience. Blind randomization of listening would be the way to do it, but who was time to genuflect before the infererence gods? Anyway, it's good to do. Chris Ladner's misSHN comments also informed my listen. I only listened to set II, featuring the 40 minute Shining Star -> Johnny Too Bad -> Don't Let Go medley. It's not great in any conventional sense. Garcia can't sing very powerfully, and his whole body is frail, his wrists are sore. He probably doesn't weigh as much as you'd think, because he's bloated and his muscles have atrophied. He was still diving as of February, whether or not you believe he last-minute canceled the February 10th show from an encounter with a jellyfish, and Bay Area Deadheads of the day harbored some doubts, and diving would be like the only physical activity he'd engage in to confuse his muscles from playing, sitting around, driving around in his day-to-day. He was mostly struggling against an enlarged heart, diabetes, a forty-year several-pack-a-day smoking habit, etc. etc.

! P: Garcia gives the fans an honest's night music, especially in view of the fact (that we only know for sure ex post) that the man is dying. He offers up a tasteful selection of postwar American music. The Garcia Band gave Jerry the chance to play R&B, which the Dead just didn't do. The show opens with TWYDTTYD, the scrappy Great Migration lament "Money Honey" gives the old man a chance to belt a little, while the second set-opening "Shining Star" calls forth the rituals of the Warfield and of the Garcia Band at the end, church is in service, nice and easy call-and-response, Jerry gets the chance to sit back, lovingly play with sound, make some music for the assembled, trusting the band to frame it while he paints. "Don't Let Go" was JGB's "jam vehicle", such as it was. This one shows plenty of verve, nothing really to complain about (except maybe the singing, but I discount very heavily since it's near the end).

! setlist: So: 4 R&B (TWYDTTYD, Money Honey, Shining Star, Don't Let Go); 3 white contemporary Americana (Dylan-Forever Young, Norton Buffalo - Breadbox, Pete Rowan's Midnight Moonlight); 2 Garcia originals: Run For The Roses, Deal; 1 traditional gospel: MSAB; 1 reggae: JTB; 1 other: "That Lucky Old Sun". Written by white guys (Haven Gillespie and Beasley Smith), first done by Frankie Lane, lots of black and white greats did it. Written 1949 - what would we name the musical genre? answer: Tin Pan Alley.

! R: field recordists: Chuck Vasseur and Janet Vasseur

! R: field recording gear: 2x Neumann KM54 > DAT

! R: lineage: DATx > CDx > DAE (QPS QUE 2410 EAC0.9 offset corrected secure mode) > editing as above (SF6) > tracking (cdwav editor) > sector boundaries confirmed (shntool) > SHN (mkwact) via Chris Ladner. shn2flac jgmf 5/19/2017.

! R: seeder comments:  Highly listenable audience recording with relatively minimal close up chatting.  Rates a 2.4 on the "Hey Dude" index.  Charged first set with beautiful Forever Young with Jerry wailing it out, hard drivin' Money Honey (this is not your teleprompter Jerry).  Second set kicks off with a stellar Shining Star that instead of dying off into a lagging audience chant Jerry keeps Shining Star going with a reggae beat and drops perfectly into "Johnny Too Bad" which drifts right into the self-explanatory Don't Let Go - over 43 minutes of continuous jamming.  Not what you'd expect for the 3rd to last JGB show.

! R: seeder comments: Thanks to Jim Powell for the source CDR. misSHN in the rain, 1/2004.

! P: s2t02 JTB my God, this is just great, so full of feeling. John doing some interesting things 7, Jerry switches gear real fast to DLG.

! P: s2t03 DLG voice totally shot.

The Final "After Midnight": JGB, March 7, 1983, The Stone

Garcia played J.J. Cale's "After Midnight" a bunch --by my count, 96 times starting 6/30/72-- with a number of different personnel configurations, for about ten years. But then, after Monday March 7, 1983, he just dropped it.

A new fileset of 3/7/83 shows me some killer guitar work in "After Midnight", "Catfish John", and "Tore Up Over You".

Listening notes follow:

Jerry Garcia Band
The Stone
412 Broadway
San Francisco, CA 94133
March 7, 1983 (Monday)
MSC tuppeware CD shnid-135946

--set I (4 tracks, 36:34)--
s1t01. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [8:30] [0:49]
s1t02. Catfish John [11:48] %
s1t03. [0:10] After Midnight [10:19] [0:03] %
s1t04. Run For The Roses [4:46] (1) [0:08] %

--set II (5 tracks, 59:24)--
s2t01. Mission In The Rain [10:50] [0:31]
s2t02. Tore Up Over You [10:09] [0:25] %
s2t03. Simple Twist Of Fate [15:10] ->
s2t04. Dear Prudence [14:10] ->
s2t05. Midnight Moonlight [8:06] (2) [0:04]

! ACT1: JERRY GARCIA BAND #15c
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-guitar, vocals;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - vocals;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals;
! lineup: Greg Errico - 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/19830307-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1983-03-07-the-stone-san-francisco-ca/

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/102491 (unknown low-gen aud via Brad Tenner); http://etreedb.org/shn/135946 (this fileset).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/Vr6EBXU6KvA2

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/stone-mothers-412-broadway-san.html

! band: http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html. Note that Corry has not updated this band post in some years, and what he calls JGB #15b reflects an incorrect understanding of when Jacklyn and DeeDee arrived, which was at the start of 1983. So I have dubbed this aggregation JGB #15c.

! personnel: because of the mix, this tape provides a great opportunity to hear Gregg Errico with the JGB. He brings some serious thud to the proceedings. He also just about never misses a beat. The other weird thing I didn't quite pin down is the backing vocals - they were only in on a few numbers, that I could hear.

! historical: Big Saturday night at the Santa Cruz Civic was followed by Sunday and Monday night at the Stone - this is Monday. We'd expect him to sound a little ragged, but he actually sounds quite good ("for the period", he thinks). The guitar work in the first set is exceptionally good - now I want to hear more from this period. The vocals are mostly pretty good for the period, not too much mumbling around lost lyrics. The first set is short and hot - 36 minutes is about as short as a JGB set ever got. It sounds considerably amped up - I wonder if they were late driving over the Golden Gate and picked themselves up with a little too much gusto? The second set actually stretches out to a good length, but it compelled me less. CJ and After Midnight both burn very hotly with some outstanding guitar work. I'd even give them a @@. Tempos a little squirrely, as they can be on a horse scampering to barn, on "Midnight Moonlight". All told, a good night's music for your Monday night $xx.

! R: Source: SBD > ? > CDR > WAV, via the jjoops tupperware collection.

! R: Transfer: Wavelab > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644 tagged. June 2016.

! R: Seeder Note: "Mostly mono monitor mix (mmmm!) heavy on snare & bass drum. ID-102491 patches as follows; How Sweet 0:00 > 0:49, Run for the Roses entire track, Mission 0:00 > 0:07, Tore Up 2:45 > 3:44, and Simple Twist 0:00 > 3:05. Thanks to Gems and jjoops... enjoy!"

! P: s2t01 CJ is awesome 6 min range, Garcia's fluid lines give John a rubber wall to bounce off of. @ 10 good climax to the "born a slave" verse. Very good. The singing is very forward in the mix, and we can hear Jer sounding all right.

! song: "After Midnight" (s1t03): last known Garcia performance of the JJ Cale classic. JB shows 93 performances as of 3/14/2021.

! P: s1t03 AM I don't like this tempo on the song. I am not hugely fan of the singing here, which is pretty perfunctory. On the other hand, by 4:45 the guitar is *wailing* - this would have left some ears ringing in the club. Long expressive phrases continue through 5:15, he works that really molten sound and is just doing the whole guitar god thing. Whoa. I stopped pricking my ears up after 6 something, but even on the basis of the first six minutes I'd call this very hot.

! s1t04 (1) setbreak announcement mostly inaudible, sounds like "We're gonna take a break for a little while, we'll be back in a little bit".

! P: s1t04 RFTR the ladies don't back him on "chicken to die", as they later would. They aren't even woo-ing during the verses. An interesting arrangement. It's possible that they are just completely absent from the mix, because I am not sure I heard them, but thought I might have, chorus late 1.

! P: s2t01 MITR was good, no major flubs.

! R: s2t02 TUOY in the 4:30ff range Garcia's guitar work shines. The bass is totally inaudible on this recording, drums way forward, organ audible but not loud. There's an argument to be made that TUOY was about as hip-thrusting as guitar got - Hank Ballard -- never hit a note like the one right at 6 in his life -- anyway. Man, very incendiary tone 6:15, glass shredding 6:23. 6:40ff Melvin doing some lead, while guitar comp is still dominant in this monitor tape. Over 7 Melvin is swinging too, taking a good turn -- good piece 7:24ff, classic B3 sound. Man could play some R&B. @ 7:46 Garcia just stomps all over him to the front of the stage for another run - you had your minute, big guy, now step aside. A bit rude. Nice strong finish.

! R: s2t03 STOF when he does another verse, vocals are way loud in the mix. Bass feature 7:06. Having just listened to a 1979 Reconstruction show and then listening to this, four years later, the man's playing has fallen off the face of the earth, his power has dissipated. Garcia re-enters 9:55. That bass feature was lame.

! P: s2t04 DP harmony vocals are back. They have been inaudible most of the tape, need to double check where and not.

! P: s2t05 Mid Moon this is a long version of the song ("for the period", my brain is saying). They could have ended it late 6, but Jerry does the "if you ever feel sorrow" verse again - I feel like he is smiling over to one of the singers, who hit a lyric one extra time that last time 'round - redemption.

! s2t05 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See ya later on."

August 9th

This August 9th finds me thinking more about 70 years since Nagasaki than 20 years since Jerry Garcia, though that, too, is on my mind.

Might as well go straight for the cream: cue this one up from about 5:40 to hear Garcia wail. In the alternative check out the whole smokin' hot, first-night-of-tour set I closer, Wednesday night, February 4, 1981 at the Warner in Washington, DC:

"Tangled Up In Blue"

Thanks to taper Dave Redman, who also seems to have shepherded the tape to the DAT kingdom and from there, through the agency of unidentifed but much-appreciated agents, to the lossless realm (shnid-30859).

Turn it up!

p.s. Jim Vita also taped this hottie of a show (shnid-83742), and it's worth hunting down.

p.p.s. my notes for the Redman fileset below the fold.

Jerry Garcia Band
Warner Theater
513 13th Street NW
Washington, DC
February 4, 1981 (Wednesday)
Redman MAC flac1644 shnid-30859

--set I (7 tracks, 62:36)--
s1t01. ambience [0:04]
s1t02. I'll Take a Melody [13:16]
s1t03. //That's What //Love Will Make You Do [#6:#32]
s1t04. Mississippi Moon [11:06]
s1t05. Sitting In //Limbo [13:#04] [0:14]
s1t06. How Sweet It Is [8:54] ->
s1t07. Tangled Up In Blue// [9:23#]

--set II (8 tracks, 74:06)--
s2t01. ambience [0:09]
s2t02. Harder They Come [14:13] [0:03]
s2t03. /Mission In The Rain [10:46]
s2t04. //They Love Each Other [#8:10] [0:02]
s2t05. //Russian Lullaby/ [#12:36]
s2t06. Dear Prudence [12:25] (1) ->
s2t07. Deal [7:39] ->
s2t08. Midnight Moonlight [8:00]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #12b
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;
! lineup: Jimmy Warren - el-piano;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;
! lineup: Daoud Shaw - 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/19810204-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1981-02-04-warner-theater-washington-dc/

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/30859 (this fileset); http://etreedb.org/shn/83742 (Vita MAC all-1)

! map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Washington,+DC+20004/@38.8961209,-77.0296101,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x89b7b7976efcc7c5:0xb764664d930ed128

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/07/warner-theatre-513-13th-e-streets-nw.html

! review: [mixed] Lindsay, Dave. 1981. Garcia’s Solo Jamming. Eagle (American University), February 13, 1981, p. 7.

! R: field recordist: Dave Redman

! R: field recording gear: xx Nakamichi 300 > Sony TC-D5M

! R: lineage: cassette master > DAT > CD > EAC > FLAC.

! R: seeder: misSHN, 9/2005

! R: seeder notes: "Where it's good, it's quite a good recording. It may run a touch fast, but I am not really capable of judging that. There are also numerous patches of oversaturation, a good number of  cuts (and in general very tight editing), and a very chatty crowd. Beyond those presumed attributes of the master, there are a great many warts on this particular copy which would make a new transfer most welcomed.  I will try to list some of those warts below, but I am sure that I have not noted all of them.  Caveat auditor."

! P: seeder notes: "The show itself is extremely hot, IMO a contender for hottest show of the great month of 2/81.  Of note: a sweet version of Sitting in Limbo, a second solo in TUIB (around 8:40) that is absolutely filthy (watch your speakers!), and a pretty nicely executed transition from Deal into Midnight Moonlight.  A really fun show"

Late Jerry

On a forum of which I am a part, poster Elliot makes a very interesting observation about our hero in 1995.

I suspect he was putting in as much effort as he was capable of. He was definitely serious about that learning [Unbroken Chain]. Before the first night of the May '95 Seattle shows we could hear the sound check while waiting in line. After running through a bunch of songs (including Tough Mama), everyone left the stage except Jerry. As we were entering the venue, Jerry was still on stage. He stayed there for about 15-20 minutes, running through every possible variation on his leads for UBC. That was the only time I ever entered a venue to find Jerry on stage practicing his leads. This was certainly contrary to the image we have of him during this time period.

The man was dying, we now know, but he was also trying. It must have been very painful to witness this decline - I am glad I decided to do other things during the last five years of his life.

The Fat Man Is Back - LN jg1987-02-24.jgb.all.aud-pinney-gems.82610.flac1644

Poster for JGB 2/24/87 at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium on Tuesday, February 24, 1987, image courtesy of Wolfgang's Vault.

Since I gathered an ad and a few listings in Santa Cruz, I gave the 2/24/87 JGB show at the Civic Aud a spin and discovered a great tape (a single one in circulation, thanks to taper Tom Pinney and all involved in getting his tape into the Official Record) of a Garcia Band sounding really good and band leader who sounds cogent, focused, engaged, and increasingly frisky. I'd need to listen to more of the surrounding shows to get a really clean sense, but I if I draw a straight line between some of the Rock Bottom shows (and even some of the early 1986 shows) to the great 18 months that would begin on 8/29/87 and end on 5/19/89, I pass right through this show on the way up. (I do now see that I wasn't doing backflips over 3/14/87.)

I cannot believe Bill Graham Presents ran this with what we might render today as #thefatmanisback, nor that the Garcia people allowed it to run. But here we are! That Lucky Old Sun is a stunningly improbable highlight for me. I never thought I'd hear of it highlighting, less still writing of it. I usually find it a bore. But of this version, on this listen, I have nothing but love. Let's use TLOS as a window on the show.

! song: That Lucky Old Sun [Allan | deaddisc]: The great Tin Pan Alley songwriter Haven Gillespie wrote this reverie with the lesser-known Beasley Smith, a glimpsed-thought-turns-philosophical-truism solar daydream, which makes a really good point. Americana? How about Frankie Laine, Sarah Vaughan, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and Louis Armstrong covering your song -- in 1949 alone! Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Bing Crosby, Bobby Darin, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, the Righteous Brothers, and too many others to name would follow.

Jerry put it in his repertoire immediately after the coma, draping it in mournful hopefulness, the man who six months earlier lay at death's door, three weeks in the hospital coming back to something like life, thinking "Man, if I get out of here, I'm gonna play every chance I get" (Vaughn 1987, 80), now coming back to health, regaining strength, maybe the coma wrung the junk-sickness out of him, too, because he's clear-headed for the first time in forever, like more than a decade depending on how you reckon it, and he's playing a neat little gig at the Santa Cruz Civic, the breathtaking little Civic Aud, and he's working his craft. Check out the Jerry Band on a Tuesday night, a worknight, February 24, 1987, and hear him right where he belongs, in a sweet little room working up a slice of Americana for an appreciative listener. It's not perfect, but it's careful, attentive arranging, singing and guitar playing. The song is perfect for JGB #21b because Melvin can swirl up a sweet, colorful Sunday garland right around your ears, drape it around you a little, the ladies supply the backing diaphragm that lets Jerry focus on articulation, phrasing, breath management, and the band simmers it just right, so there's room for the same guitar feel, well plucked and articulate rather than face-melting (though Jerry still plays LOUD!). You don't have to love Garcia to concede him his place, doing this song – see 2/24/87 for what I hope is the open and shut argument.

The whole show and tape have this sweet feel. Garcia sounds great, the band sounds great, the tape sounds great, and I wish I had been able to sit in deco splendor on this night, maybe drink some club soda and commune with the Jerry Band. "The Fat Man Is Back," indeed!

Jerry Garcia Band
Civic Auditorium
307 Church Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
February 24, 1987 (Tuesday)
Pinney shnid-82610

--set I (7 tracks, 50:09)--
s1t01. //Cats Under The Stars [#7:52] [1:34]
s1t02. Forever Young [8:48] [0:17]
s1t03. [0:20] Stop That Train [7:49] ->
s1t04. Run For The Roses [5:22] [0:11]
s1t05. And It Stoned Me [6:45] ->
s1t06. My Sisters And Brothers [4:10] ->
s1t07. D//eal [6:#53] (1) [0:08]

--set II (6 tracks, 57:29)--
s2t01. [0:47] Harder They Come [9:49] [0:17]
s2t02. I Shall Be Released [7:23] [0:09]
s2t03. [0:10] Think [7:49] [0:07] % [0:16]
s2t04. Dear Prudence [10:55] [0:06]
s2t05. That Lucky Old Sun [9:53] ->
s2t06. Tangled Up In Blue [9:38] (2) [0:09]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #21b
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - backing vocals;
! lineup: David Kemper - 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/19870224-01

! JGC: https://jerrygarcia.com/show/1987-02-24-civic-auditorium-santa-cruz-ca/

! db: http://etreedb.org/shn/82610 (Tom Pinney MAC, this fileset, only known source!).

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

! venue: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2011/09/civic-auditorium-307-church-st-santa.html

! handbill: http://images.wolfgangsvault.com/jerry-garcia-band/poster/memorabilia/SCC870224-PO.jpg

! ad: Good Times, February 19, 1987, p. 21;

! listing: Good Times, February 19, 1987, p. 30;

! historical: Rather remarkably, the WV handbill has the tagline "The Fat Man Is Back". Jerry must have been in a sporting mood about it, I guess. Tuesday night gig, Garcia sounds amazingly clear and focused. This show is a delight to hear, after the darkness of the Rock Bottom series. This is a man working his craft with newfound enthusiasm. He is still regaining strength and stamina - the sets are about an hour. But he definitely sounds like he's getting stronger. Two snaps up on this vintage 1987 JGB.

! R: field recordist: Tom Pinney;

! R: field recording equipment: 2x Beyer M88 (XY 90 degrees) > Sony D5 MAC;

! R: field recording location: FOB Center - 20' from stage;

! R: lineage: cassette (1), Tape from the collection of: Russ Cansler;

! R: Cassette Transfer: By Todd Evans: Cassette (1) > JVC TD-V1050 cassette deck -> Lynx Two A/D (24-bit, 44.1kHz) -> Wavelab 6.0. Transferred February 15, 2007. Edited and Remastered:  Wavelab 6.0 with Waves Plugins and Ozone. Dithered L2,type2,ultra 16/44.1  SBE FREE by Jamie Waddell. a www.shnflac.net **GEMS** production  February 16, 2007.

! R: seeder notes: "a very solid recording"; "first circulating source of this show, 20 years later";
"very strong version of Think"; "tape flip at the start of Deal"; "seamless transition between the discs"

! R: seeder notes: "Big Thanks To Todd Evans for the Transfer! And Sincere Gratitude to Tom Pinney for Taping and Russ Cansler for the generosity and insight to share this missing show with GEMS and the community as a whole!"

! P: Jerry sounds in great voice this night. Very nice. This is an excellent all around show, not a weak spot in it.

! R: s1t07 Deal tape flip at start

! s1t07 (1) JG: "We'll be back in a few minutes."

! P: s2t05 TLOS is a great example of Garcia being attentive and careful in his vocal delivery. He's locked in. This version has some deliberate guitar playing, but nothing super-incendiary, which he could sometimes achieve in the unlikely setting of this song. Hits something cheeky at 6, again 6:25, reminding you he's playing rock, big downward thing 6:33, Melvin comes in big, on cue, scrubbing 6:59. This is an excellent version of a song that I normally don't pay much attention to. Melvin' swirly thing across 7:30. He always plays it the same, but it works; i.e., this is a good arrangement. Nice careful singing 9:15ff, nicely done. Very, very nice. Sounds gorgeous.

! song: That Lucky Old Sun (s2t05): The great Tin Pan Alley songwriter Haven Gillespie wrote this reverie with the lesser-known Beasley Smith, a glimpsed-thought-turns-philosophical-truism solar daydream, which makes a really good point. Americana? How about Frankie Laine, Sarah Vaughan, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan and Louis Armstrong covering your song -- in 1949 alone! Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Bing Crosby, Bobby Darin, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, the Righteous Brothers, and too many others to name would follow. Jerry put it in his repertoire immediately after the coma, draping it in mournful hopefulness, the man who six months earlier lay at death's door, three weeks in the hospital coming back to something like life, thinking "Man, if I get out of here, I'm gonna play every chance I get" (Vaughn 1987, 80), now coming back to health, regaining strength, maybe the coma wrung the junk-sickness out of him, too, because he's clear-headed for the first time in forever, like more than a decade depending on how you reckon it, and he's playing a neat little gig at the Santa Cruz Civic, the breathtaking little Civic Aud, and he's working his craft. Check out the Jerry Band on a Tuesday night, a worknight, February 24, 1987, and hear him right where he belongs, in a sweet little room working up a slice of Americana for an appreciative listener. It's not perfect, but it's careful, attentive arranging, singing and guitar playing. The song is perfect for JGB #21b because Melvin can swirl up a sweet, colorful Sunday garland right around your ears, drape it around you a little, the ladies supply the backing diaphragm that lets Jerry focus on articulation, phrasing, breath management, and the band simmers it just right, so there's room for the same guitar feel, well plucked and articulate rather than face-melting (though Jerry still plays LOUD!). You don't have to love Garcia to concede him his place, doing this song – see 2/24/87 for what I hope is the open and shut argument.

! s2t06 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See ya later."

REFERENCE:

Vaughan, Chris. 1987. (Grateful) Dead Fingers Talk. Spin 3, 4 (July): 74-76, 80.