The December '85 Garcia Band Shows

LN jg1985-12-14.jgb.all.aud-CC.137723.flac1644

LN jg1985-12-15.jgb.all-1.aud-CC.137724.flac1644

LN jg1985-12-21.jgb.all.aud-gale.14980.shn2flac

LN jg1985-12-22.jgb.all.aud-gale.14981.shn2flac

seealso: LN jg1985-10-14.jgb.all.aud.138028.flac1644

Earlier this year I posted listening notes on four JGB shows from August 1985, and here I do the same for December of the same year. It's relatively feasible to do this for Rock Bottom shows because they are fun sized, with sets regularly clocking in below 45 minutes.

The shows make for nice comparison pieces in this regard.

Recall these set lengths from August:

DATE      s1      s2           TT      
8/4/85    46:03   31:04      77:07
8/5/85    49:31   48:37      88:08
8/9/85    42:26   38:32      80:58
8/10/85  37:08   34:14      81:22

Here are the December equivalents:

DATE         s1        s2            TT      
12/14/85    47:22   39:24       86:46
12/15/85    42:31   29:02*     71:33 *missing Cats, probably about 8-9 minutes
12/21/85    50:11   34:09       84:20
12/22/85    40:03   44:03       84:06

So, things are not very much different four months on. More than half the sets fit on a tape side (5 of 8 and 6 of 8, respectively). In the case of the December tapes, this is not due to tape discontinuities: Jerry runs from one song to the next with very little time between, and the taper kept things rolling. That sub-35 minute 12/21 II, looks mighty short, but it probably doesn't enter the bottom five for shortest electric sets.

The big difference, then, is in personnel: the August shows involve THE Jerry Garcia Band, #21b, which ran with only a single interruption from ca. July 10, 1984 to November 19, 1993, Jerry's longest-running aggregation. The interruption happened October 1985 - February 1986 when, for reasons unknown, David Kemper was not drumming, replaced by the legendary Oakland funk master Gaylord Birch. Clean inference would really require blind listening, of course. Here I know Gaylord is in the the house, I am listening for distinctive style, and boy do I hear it. Lots more snare and hi-hat, generally busier, not as much in either respect as Kool-Aid Chemist Paul Humphrey, who played with Jerry and Merl in '74, but closer in style to him than, say, the 50-caliber Greg Errico.

This is Birch's third Garciaverse appearance. He played a few gigs in early '75 (January 21-22) with the Saunders-Garcia aggregation, certainly the funkiest and some of the most challenging gigs Garcia ever did. He next manned the chair from January-September 1979 with Reconstruction, again, an outfit that pushed Garcia out of his comfort zone, the last "challenge band" outside the Dead he ever regulalrly played with. (Not coincidentally, also the last band he'd regularly play with that didn't bear his name.) Finally, we find this little interregnum, nine gigs in six months subbing for David Kemper in the Garcia Band.

Table xxx. Gaylord Birch in the Garcia Band, 1985-1986

(Hopefully that gets a little bigger if you click on it! Otherwise, just click the link above the table.)

(Note that Mid Moon ended every show except the first one. The great Walter Keenan has pointed this regularity out to me before, and here we see it plain as day. The Jerry Band setlists never varied as much as GD setlists did, but this is ... striking even for JGB.)

Anyway, Birch simply amazes me at ever turn here. He had played four gigs in October (7th-8th not in circulation, 13th and 14th), then nothing for two months, then returns for these four in December. I doubt there was an awful lot of practicting going on in the interim, though I don't know anything about that for certain. And, yeah, some of these tunes, like "How Sweet It Is", are going to be straightforward enough, even as the Garcia Band's loose-to-unraveling arrangements, gas-brake tempo fluctuations, and general approach to things would have defied a lesser drummer. But then there are the Garcia originals and tunes played in so many different genres that it's hard to imagine Gaylord had thought much about over the years, less still played. Maybe they threw some charts at him or something, but whatever the preparation they provided him, the '85 Garcia Band would certainly have been pretty darn hard to drum for, I'd imagine. Yet Birch seems to have no trouble at all, with anything. He plays most every tune like he's been playing it for years. It's not perfect, but man is it great, and man oh man is it impressive.

I will paste listening notes below the fold. Nothing will really surprise you here, so let me just sketch some moments I dug. Thanks to the legendary Erik VanO for the ticket stub scans!

12/14

s1t01-GOOMLW great way to kick things off. Melvin sounds great, Jerry finds some liquidy goodness midway through.

s1t02-Garcia steps in the Mutron with a big click and a wahh and the crowd hoots appreciatively, knowing that Catfish John is about to happen.

s1t04-Love In The Afternoon, a song he would never have played outside the GD, Gaylord just shines. He does some stuff 6:50-7 that knocks me out.

s1t06-Deal: there will be no surprises here. "The voice during Deal is horrifying. Big scrubba dubba doo later on 6:49, though. Yow! Go to 7 and hear the Great Barcia wail."

Overall, I had more to say about set I than about set II.

12/15

It's getting toward the holidays, and the crowd sounds drunk and ready to party. Elmer Fudd is definitely in the house vocally. But one of the things to note is that Garcia is figuring out, on the fly, how to sing with his now powerfully limited vocal range. He can't just numb up and try to power through. He has to dial back the force and dial in a little bit of singing nuance. This is really the beginning of the rounding, softening of his style over all. In '83-'84, he'd just BLAST. Here, we see the start of a little more circumspection, more befitting a man of his age.

s1t03 my love of pre-coma 80s JGB Knockin's is well known (to myself). This one is just wonderful. From the notes: "Right at 4:01 or so he hits a terrific guitar combo, and a crowd member yelps at it. 4:45 I love the feel of this - it's like the sound of recovery. Oh my, at 8:35 you hear a thing only Gaylord Birch could ever have done with JGB. Trust me, and check it out. What a drummer."

s1t04 a characteristically shreddy balls-to-the-wall wailing guitar Deal

s2t04 I find him doing some interesting picking in Midnight Moonlight, which is really uncommon at this stage.

12/21

Looks like the weakest show of the run on this set of listens - almost no notes.

Interesting to note the following recollection at Jerrybase: "I stood five feet from him the whole night. He didn't open his eyes once. He also stood at the mike, or one step back or at his amp. Not much movement. The show was great." Those observations and that assessment are, of course, not mutually exlcusive when it comes to Rock Bottom Jerry.

12/22

s1t01 CUTS man, yeah, listen to Gaylord! Yowwww!!! And they don't circle aroud too much at the end. Nice.

s1t04 after a nice salty Think (s1t03), Deal is big, as it was wont to be in this period. Gaylord double-timing some 6:15, crazy high-neck Jerry tone 6:30, even higher 6:49, doesn't sound possible. Big raging Deal here for sure. I can't imagine how loud this must have been in situ.

s2t01 Kahn does some neat stuff in HTC. Attaboy, John. Chin up.

s2t05 somehow my silly mind coins another silly acronym: MAMMM: a mile-a-minute Midnight Moonlight. Gaylord's going to need a cortisone shot after this one.

In Sum

All in all, I don't really have many complaints about these. There's lots of good stuff happening. If you need a haircut, go to Deal on any given night. But, generally, I do think there's something to be said for the effect of fresh blood on ol Jer. Looking back at my August notes, I summarized "Overall, I guess I'd say totally characteristic. Some really good guitar work, some lyrical fumbles, vocals getting rougher by the minute." I think these shows are stronger. I would certainly not play these for the unitiated - the vocals are still pretty terrible. (The tapes have the featurebug that the vocals are buried.) But I hear many interesting moments, and a higher average level, here than I did in August. Some of the credit, I think, has to go to Gaylord. This is no knock on Kemper, whom I love. But it's the same way that people sometimes let themselves go after marriage - no need to impress. But if you are looking to get with someone new, or with someone new, you want to sharpen up a little bit. So you're maybe a little more together ex ante. And, then, the new person brings new stuff - surprises. So you need to listen a little more carefully, and you  have some new stuff to respond to. That's all to the good.

This could all, of course, reflect the narrative fallacy. I know Gaylord is here, and I dream up some story that could plausibly flow from that kind of situation. You should certainly go back and check my work, if you are so inclined. But this idea that the fresh blood brought forth better from our guy is my story here, and for now I am sticking to it.

Listening notes below.

Late '78 Kahn (JGB at Paramount Theatre, Portland, OR, October 26, 1978)

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Not a ton to report. Kahn sounded absolutely amazing on this tour. Really, all through 1978. I don't know if he changed something, if the sound people just dialed him in especially well, or something else, but the bass was big and fat. Great recording by Mark Severson, full of ambience. Garcia strong.

Apparently young Buzzy had let his union membership lapse, because the Portland Musician's Mutual Association, A.F. of M Local number 99 sent a "Dear Sir and Brother" letter, fraternally hoping that notice of Buzzy's delinquency would give everyone "sufficient opportunity to avoid a repetition of this occurrence in any A.F.M. Local's jurisdiction, which could result in files being filed against" ol' Jer.

Jerry Garcia Band

Paramount Theatre

1037 S.W. Broadway

Portland, OR 97205

October 26, 1978 (Thursday)

Severson shnid-148655 flac2496

--set I (7 tracks, 6 tunes, 64:14)--

s1t01. ambience [1:16]

s1t02. Harder They Come [10:53] [1:57]

s1t03. Mission In The Rain [10:11] [0:16] % [0:49]

s1t04. Simple Twist Of Fate [10:38] [2:04]

s1t05. They Love Each Other [7:08] [1:56]

s1t06. It Ain't No Use [7:58] [0:19] % [0:17]

s1t07. Mystery Train [8:18] (1) [0:14]

--set II (7 tracks, 6 tunes, 64:20)--

s2t01. ambience [0:43]

s2t02. Love In The Afternoon [10:26] [1:46]

s2t03. Reuben And Cherise [5:37] [1:33]

s2t04. Tore Up Over You [7:50] [1:33]

s2t05. Gomorrah [5:56] [0:08] %

s2t06. /I'll Be With Thee [#5:09] [1:32]

s2t07. Lonesome And A Long Way From Home [21:45] [0:14] % dead air [0:04]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #4a

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

! lineup: John Kahn - el-bass;

! lineup: Buzz Buchanan - drums;

! lineup: Keith Godchaux - keyboards, harmony vocals;

! lineup: Donna Jean Godchaux - backing vocals;

! lineup: Maria Muldaur - backing vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; # = truncated timing; {x:xx} = time as tracked on this recording; [x:xx] = recorded even 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/19781026-03

! db: 

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/BNUjS75ANNs

! JGBP: URL https://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/08/paramount-theatre-paramount-northwest.html

! ad: Sunday Oregonian, October 8, 1978, p. 16

! ad: Capital-Journal (Salem, OR), October 13, 1978, p. 14-A

! seealso: Nick, "10/24/78: floundering in the snow," URL http://deadthinking.blogspot.com/2017/11/102478-floundering-in-snow.html

! seealso: Corry, "October 26, 1978 Paramount Theater, Portland, OR: Jerry Garcia Band/Bob Weir Band," URL http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2011/02/october-26-1978-paramount-theater.html. Corry suggests that Garcia found himself increasingly socially isolated in this period, couldn't go out to see other bands gig, and so was scouting talent from bands that opened for the GD or the JGB, noting "Garcia's primary keyboard players from 1979 to 1990 were all in bands that opened for him in 1978".

! historical: Bob Weir Band opened. Western flight #215 from SFO, landing PDX 5:09 PM: R. Taylor, Garcia, Kahn, 2x Godchaux, Muldaur, Buchanan, Healy, Loren, and GUITAR all ticketed. GUITAR doesn't get its own ticket on other flights of the tour until the end.

! R: field recordist: Mark Severson

! R: field recording gear: 2x Sony ECM 270 mics > Sony TC-158

! R: Transfer Info: Master Cassette (Nakamichi CR-7A) > Tascam DA-3000 (DSF 1-bit/5.6 MHz)> dBpoweramp (24/96) > Adobe Audition CC 2019 > TLH flac2496

! R: Notes: - Thanks to Mark Severson for the master cassette recording - Thanks to Charlie Miller for the transfer and coordinating this effort - Thanks to Pat Lee and Matt Smith for the Sony 18n source which supplies the first 5:05 of "Love In The Afternoon" - Thanks to Joe B. Jones for verifying the pitch. Mastered by Scott Clugston December 2019.

! P: s1t02 HTC @ 4:25 KG plays a terrific first lead, while Kahn is rumble-shredding beneath him. This band was so good, and sounded so good, on this tour. Hard to believe they'd only play a couple more shows.

! P: s1t03 MITR @ 3:40 Garcia decides he wants to play loudly, and does so.

! P: s1t04 STOF I have been repeatedly struck by how great Garcia's guitar work is. Late 6 here I especially note it again. Brimming over with stuff to say. No JK solo in this STOF.

! s1t07 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a little while, we'll be back in a few minutes."

! R: s2t06 IBWT clips in

! P: s2t07 LAALWFH JG takes it out right over 6, and it comes back to the tune at 18:15. 12 pretty good, noodly minutes. And then they really stretch out the post-return piece - more than I ever recall in any other version. Donna moaning, Maria harmonizing nicely - lovely!

Kemper's Last: JGB at Hampton Coliseum, November 19, 1993

The great drummer David Kemper joined the JGB on Wednesday, July 20, 1983, at the Keystone Palo Alto, probably for a few hundred beer drinkers at a show with gross potential of something like $5 grand. He played his last gig with the band at the legendary Hampton Coliseum on November 19, 1993, before a sellout crowd of just about 14,000, a show of gross potential of $291,000 (net of taxes, so "net gross potential").

One of the big personnel mysteries of the Garciaverse is why Kemper was let go after over a decade of stalwart service, keeping one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes for the highly variable Jerry Band. Talking to Barry Smolin a few years later, the drummer himself seemed unclear on this.

We did that tour in '93. It was financially our most successful tour. We played big venues and sold out a large portion of them. But the success didn't translate into the music. It wasn't any different musically from the ones before. But everything else felt different somehow. I felt that Jerry was starting to change in some way that I don't really understand to this day. Maybe he was tired of me.

[Smolin: How were you informed of your termination?] 

I got a call from [Big Steve] Parish in January of '94, saying, 'Well, here's that phone call you've been expecting for ten years. Where do you want us to send your drums?' I said, 'Well, Steve, why don't you send them here to my house. ' And he said, 'Don't you want them sent to your cartage company?' I said, 'No, have them sent here to the house. ' And he said, 'Oh, by the way, we have a new drummer already. ' I said, 'Oh, okay. ' And he said, 'Well, I don't know what else to say but good-bye.' I said, 'Well, Steve, you know, you always had a way with words.' And that was it. No explanation, nothing (Smolin 1997, 21).

When the JGB next materialized at the Warfield, on February 4-6, 1994, former Starship drummer Donny Baldwin was in the chair, where he'd remain until the end.

Deadheads gossip like suburban Karens. In this case, word on the street was that someone else in the band wanted more money, and Kemper was traded out for a cheaper model. Unless Big Steve dishes, it seems unlikely that we will ever know the reasons for the change. 

update: David K has finally dished, and Big Steve was the one who wanted more money. So the gossip was half right (I had heard it was Kahn).

What I feel pretty certain about is that having Big Steve do your dirty work, canning a guy who had played well over 300 gigs with the Jerry Garcia Band, speaks to Our Hero's well-worn instinct to avoid interpersonal conflict. At least have the courtesy to call the guy yourself, Jer! But that was not his way.

Anyway, I wanted to love this last show, also the Jerry Band's final show in the eastern time zone. And it was fine, the way the fall '93 shows generally are. The voice is a little frail. The guitar playing offers more pluck than power, though it has its charms. The 84 minute second set speaks to a guy still wanting to play. And, I gather from eyewitness testimony that anyone who was present for this 25+ minute "Shining Star", with extended band-audience singalong, remembers it fondly. I have no complaints at all. It feels just like any other show, and I wonder if it felt that way to David Kemper, too.

Jerry Garcia Band
Hampton Coliseum
1000 Coliseum Drive
Hampton, VA 23666
November 19, 1993 (Friday)
Schoeps Miller shnid-77281 rename to sets

--set I (6 tracks, 54:26)--
s1t01. [0:06] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [7:27] [0:57]
s1t02. Stop That Train [10:18] [1:18]
s1t03. Money Honey [7:54] [0:16]
s1t04. Lay Down Sally [11:16] [0:04]
s1t05. My Sisters And Brothers [3:51] ->
s1t06. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love [10:57] (1) [0:07]

--set II (6 tracks, 84:04)--
s2t01. Shining Star [25:10] [0:08] %
s2t02. [0:25] Struggling Man [10:42] [0:04]
s2t03. The Maker [12:30] [0:08]
s2t04. Don't Let Go [17:47] ->
s2t05. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) [10:05] ->
s2t06. Midnight Moonlight [6:59] (2) [0:06]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #21b
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums;
! lineup: Gloria Jones - vocals;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - vocals.

JGMF:

! R: 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/19931119-01

! db:

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/xGt3Bg1Hekzt9Quj8

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/01/hampton-coliseum-1000-coliseum-drive.html

! band: THE Jerry Garcia Band, JGB #21b (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html)

! historical: final show for David Kemper. Final east coast Garcia gig.

! data: Contract dated 10/20/93 (unsigned by JGB): $75k guarantee vs 80% of net box office receipts after taxes and employer's reasonable and actual direct concert expenses as approved by artist whichever is greater, plus $21,250 estimated for artist-supplied production. Capacity 13,800, net gross potential (NGP) after 5% tax of $291,428.57.

! R: field recordist: unidentified

! R: field recording gear: Schoeps MK4 -> Dat (48k)

! R: field recording location: FOB

! R: Transfer Info: Dat (Sony R500) -> Samplitude Professional v7.02 -> FLAC (2 Discs Audio / 2 Discs FLAC). All Transfers and Mastering By Charlie Miller charliemiller87@earthlink.net September 2, 2006

! R: Notes: -- Fixed drop-out in How sweet It Is -- The audience sings backup vocals during last half of Shining Star -- Thanks to Ryan Shriver for the Dats -- This has the fixed Shining Star

! P: s1t01 HSII Jerry's guitar playing sounds wonderful. His voice sounds thin, but not uncharacteristically for the period.

! P: s1t02 STT Melvin does some lovely piano work late 6. Jerry playing beautifully layered stuff.

! R: s1t01 HSII drop/gap at 0:29

! P: s1t03 MH has the extra arrangement on the ending

! s1t06 (1) JG: "Thanks a lot. We'll be back in a few minutes."

! P: s2t01 Shining Star big pitch-bending in 10. Jerry much softer vocalizing late 18. Now around 21 ladies and crowd singing, Jerry picking some in response. I know everyone who was there remembers the singalong fondly.

! R: s2t02 not sure why there's a tape discontinuity, and sounds like a short repeated section from end of s2t01 and start of s2t02.

! P: s2t04 DLG fragile voice. Mumbly lyric @ 2:57. Kind of a weird drop to the guitar/vocal comping, very low but also sooner than I expected. I like the doubling late 3 over 4. Nice and low and easy. He drops the vocals @ 4:30 to modal tone. Pretty nice dangerous, urgent feel to this DLG.

! s2t06 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."

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

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

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

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

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

Rhapsody In Red? Yes, please.

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

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

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

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

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #21a
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals - keyboards;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch - backing vocals;
! lineup: DeeDee Dickerson - backing vocals;
! lineup: David Kemper - drums.

JGMF:

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

! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19840114-01

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

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

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

! R: field recordist: Andrew Faintych

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

! R: s1t04 WIPMM clips in

! P: s1t04 WIPMM Jerry sounds engaged

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The "Little Cash Cow," Fall 1991 Edition

 

Table xxx. JGB Gig Income, Fall 1991 Tour

Table xxx. JGB Gig Gross and Income, Fall 1991 Tour

Venues not attached to specifics

So I have been trying to cull information from the Big Steve show, which is just amazingly rich with all kinds of wonderful little anecdotes and tales. They don't always line up with the historical record precisely, but the man has an amazing memory and it's all right even when it's not strictly correct.

A few venues have popped up that he discusses for which we have no known specific dates, all mentioned in the context of Garcia On The Side (GOTS). I would love to hear if anyone has memories of Jerry playing these places, or any additional information. Will probably post more as I come across them. update: I have started adding venues thought to have been played, reportedly played, not form the Big Steve Show, but from everywhere.

Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA: experienced and reliable SoCal Deadhead "Paula S. Morgan" said on twitter that she recalls seeing Jerry Band play here in ca. spring 1980.

Frenchy's, Hayward. Big Steve came into the scene in the late 60s, so he is not referring to Warlocks playing there. He seems to discuss it in context of GOTS. But we have no GOTS dates for this venue at Jerrybase.

Paul's Saloon, San Francisco. Grisman had said that Old And In The Way played here (Forte 1979a, 34). It was the center of the Bay Area bluegarss universe for a minute, when bluegrass had its first really huge moment right at the time OAITW was happening. I think a weekly bluegrass show was broadcast from here, as well. But no specifics have ever emerged. Update: in a 2010 correspondence which I just rediscovered, David said "I think Jerry & I dropped in there one night and played a few tunes (in the early days when the back of the stage was in the front window) but the band never had a gig there"

Sand Dollar, Stinson Beach, mentioned in the same breath as the Red Whale (later, The Brigg) and in the context of Old And In The Way and the Stinson period.

Scoreboard, San Rafael: Just seen on FB: "Jerry and Merle would play at the Scoreboard [bar/club] when the Dead were not on the road. The Dead office was two blocks away in downtown San Rafael. This was mid to late 70's." My money is on January 3-4, 1975. More on that eventually.

Stepping Stone, Willits, CA. JGBP has hipped me to a youtube comment indicating that Great American String Band played its first gig at the Stepping Stone in Willits, CA. An online piece says that JGMS played there ca. early '74, and an attendee recalls such a thing.

"Whitey's Place", San Rafael: JGMS "play at some little clubs around Marin, but mainly at Whitey's place in San Rafael" (Scully 1996, 201). This is Whitey Litchfield. Not clear if he is referring to Pepperland, or whether there was a bar attached to the uber-seedy Bermuda Palms (home of a large number of events figuring on the local police report over the years - lots of prostitution, robberies, stabbings, drug deals, etc.).

Woody's Tavern, San Francisco. Harry Angus has sniffed around this one for me, and has found Woody's Tavern, 41 Powell Street, Owner Joe Francisco, listed in the Polk's Directory 1969-1973, then gone.

xxx Rehearsal space next to Red Tillman's automotive shop, Jacoby Street (now a different street name), San Rafael, ca. September 1971 when Keith was being rehearsed.

Best Visions

 I know you all know this, but oh my God.

Southwest Jerry with the JGB #15b No-Longer-A-Mystery Singers: Mesa and Austin, October 30 - November 1, 1982

LN jg1982-10-30.jgb.all.aud-maurins.120334.flac1644

LN jg1982-11-01.jgb.all.aud-dogman.100575.flac1644

I have recently copped to the fact that I have no idea who the backing vocalists are from October 24, 1982 to November 15, 1982, comprising a swing south to LA and Arizona, east across Texas (Austin and Houston) and to New Orleans, and up the eastern seaboard. It hurts me to have failed you so (thus far!). I will work harder!

update 20211227: they have now been identified

That cleared my brain to be able to post a couple of listening notes from Arizona and Austin. I don't have a lot to report except that, as I have noted before, Greg Errico hits like a linebacker.

Not much noted for the afternoon show on 10/30 in Mesa, AZ,, except noting that he takes about 20 seconds to set the desired tempo for the Midnight Moonlight encore. I did like the JGC attendee recollection that "There was a Halloween costume contest in between the Bobby set and the Jerry set. The winner was dressed in a home-made Magic Mushroom costume and he beat out a guy in a store-bought E.T. costume by crowd affirmation". Ouuccchhhh.

Two Errico highlights on 11/1 at the Austin Opry House: during HTC, around 9 minutes in, he starts banging double-time to get Jerry out of a rut, and it works. Being so forceful here, there's no denying him - fast and loud, and Garcia has to get faster and louder in response. Then, in Deal, Errico just jackhammers for like a minute and a half from 5:30-7, so deep that it has a kind of pacemaker effect on the listener. My heart felt like it wanted to synchonize with what the drummer was doing, leaving me a little lightheaded.

Pretty good stuff, I'd say average shows for this tour with the as-yet unidentified vocalists.

Jerry Garcia Band

Mesa Community Center Amphitheatre

201 N. Center Street

Mesa, AZ 85201

October 30, 1982 (Saturday) - 1:30 PM

80 min (patched, complete) ambient recording by Kaj Maurins shnid-120334

--main set + encore (10 tracks, 79:54)--

--main set (9 tracks, 71:38)--

t01. tuning [0:35]

t02. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [8:07] [1:05]

t03. They Love Each Other [8:02] [0:29]

t04. Valerie [7:13] [0:31]

t05. That's What Love Will Make You Do [8:32] [0:29]

t06. Run For The Roses [4:58] [0:27]

t07. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:31] ->

t08. Dear Prudence [11:54] [0:28]

t09. Deal [8:49] [0:29] %

--Encore (1 track, 8:16)--

t10. Midnight Moonlight [7:54] [0:22]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #15b

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

! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;

! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;

! lineup: Greg Errico - drums;

! lineup: Elisecia Wright - vocals;

! lineup: Shirley Faulkner - 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/19821030-01

! JGC: http://jerrygarcia.com/show/1982-10-30. JGC lists early and late shows, but I believe this to be in error. User Fran Dostillio: "Outdoor Show in late October in Arizona! There was a Halloween costume contest in between the Bobby set and the Jerry set. The winner was dressed in a home-made Magic Mushroom costume and he beat out a guy in a store-bought E.T. costume by crowd affirmation."

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/33805 (unknown aud); https://etreedb.org/shn/120334 (this fileset)

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/TCs9oAV8hVr

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/08/mesa-amphitheatre-201-n-center-street.html

! band: JGB #15b http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html

! historical: Bobby and the Midnites opened. John Scher promoted. $20k guarantee for the two bands. Bobby and the Midnites to receive 100% top billing. JGBP lists capacity as 4950, my figure of 3,800 from Billboard reporting on the actual show. Ticket stub gives "Mesa Community Center Amphitheatre".

! ref: Billboard, November 20, 1982, p. 52, showing 2,147 paid, gross of $27,519.

! R: Recorded by Kaj Maurins: Aiwa cassette recorder and unknown mics;

! R: Transfer and FLAC encoding by David Minches: Master played back on Nakamichi Dragon> Korg MR-1000(DSF [1-bit 5.6448 MHz Stereo]) Korg AudioGate > WAV [24/96] > Adobe Audition 3.0> Ozone 4.0 > flac1644. Speed/pitch Correction by Joe B. Jones.

! R: t03 tape flip @ 7:01?, patched with shnid 33805.

! R: t08 DP tape flip @ 4:25-10:00 patched with shnid 33805. 10:25?

! P: t09 Deal gets really hot, but for less time than the really long and hot Deals of, say, February 1981 or June-December 1983.

! P: t10 about 20 second drums to start Midnight Moonlight, as Greg Errico finds the pocket. He's there. Interesting!

~~~~~~~~~~

JERRY GARCIA BAND 

Opry House

200 Academy Drive

Austin, TX 78704

November 1, 1982 (Monday) - 9 PM

Dogman MAC shnid-100575

--set I (7 tracks, 59:00)--

s1t01. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [8:09] %

s1t02. /They Love Each Other [#7:42] % [0:17]

s1t03. Love In The Afternoon [10:24] [0:03] %

s1t04. /Let It Rock/ [#8:37#] % [0:13]

s1t05. I Second That Emotion [8:37] %

s1t06. Knockin' On Heaven's Door [9:58] ->

s1t07. Run For The Roses [4:52] (1) [0:07] %

--set II + encore (7 tracks, 74:58)--

--set II (6 tracks, 

s2t01. [0:06] Sugaree :07-12:48 [0:02] % [0:08]

s2t02. Harder They Come [13:39] [0:03] % [0:07]

s2t03. Valerie [7:33] % [0:09]

s2t04. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:11] ->

s2t05. Dear Prudence [14:10] ->

s2t06. Deal [8:10] (2) [0:04]

--encore (1 track, 8:56)--

s2t07. Midnight Moonlight [8:51] [0:05]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #15b

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

! lineup: John Kahn - el-b;

! lineup: Melvin Seals - organ;

! lineup: Greg Errico - drums;

! lineup: Elisecia Wright - vocals;

! lineup: Shirley Faulkner - 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/19821101-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/26940 (same master, multigen, s1s2p, shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/85489 (aud); https://etreedb.org/shn/100575 (this fileset).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/mhSzK9jdGQn

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/06/austin-opry-house-200-academy-drive.html

! band: JGB #15b http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html

! personnel: Listen at the start of HTC to hear the backing vocalists clearly. This would be a good segment to compare over time to hear the different voices.

! historical: I note the last three songs of this show plus the encore are the same as the last three songs of the previous show (10/30/82 in Mesa, AZ). Probably not all that common for that to have happened, though clearly show-to-show setlist variability was much lower for the Garcia Band than for the GD.

! R: field recordist: Alan "Dogman" Miller

! R: field recording gear: Sony Walkman

! R: field recording location: deck placed on stage in front of Jerry

! R: source: 1st Gen cassette (MAC > C) used for transfer, kindly provided by Randy Gardner. Transfer: TDK SA-90s > Nakamichi DR-8 (no Dolby) > Edirol FA-66 > Wavelab > R8Brain > CD-Wave > TLH > FLAC 1644. Transfer by Andrew F. 08/2009

! P: s1t02 TLEO voice sound a little rough already.

! R: seeder notes: Same recording as ID-26940, complete & big sound upgrade. Thanks to CBass for assistance with this project.

! R: overall: very nice aud pull.

! R: s1t02 TLEO clips in

! R: s1t04 LIR clips in, clips out

! P: s1t04 LIR is hot as hell.

! P: s1t06 KOHD was quite tasty

! s1t07 (1) JG: "Thank you. We're gonna take a break for a few minutes. We'll be back [inaudible]."

! P: s2t01 Sugaree the round and round we go in 8 is pretty tasty. Fast, fluid, fluent, full of finesse, fine, flourishing fun.

! R: s2t01 Sugaree significant tape speed problems in the final minute

! P: s2t02 HTC Jerry's voice suddenly sounds a little fatigued. But man, he steps into gloriously fluent guitar around 2:40, and I forgive him. Synthy Melvin 5:23ff. At 9 Errico does a totally unique double time type thing - don't recall ever hearing this. And he hits so hard, he forces Jerry to pick up his pace and not lose amplitude. Neat!

! P: s2t03 Valerie he flubs first lyric, starting off with tell me what you want me to do in the first verse.

! R: s2t05 DP 0:08 > 0:14 patch from SHNID-85489

! P: s2t06 Deal flubs with a lot to win in the second verse as well as the first, corrects course. From 5:38 for more than a minute and a half Errico is a freaking JACKHAMMER. It's actually throwing my heartbeat off a little bit - I may have to visit the nervous hospital.

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

I Have A Confession To Make

I do not know who the JGB backing vocalists were between October 24, 1982 and November 15, 1982

Update: they are now known: Shirley Faulkner and Elisecia Wright.

I have posted many, many times about the early 80s backing vocalists (see Appendix below). Our understanding of who was who, and when, was greatly abetted by the fact that Corry Arnold took notes from the GD Ticket Service ("thank you, and stay in touch"), which also announced Jerry Band shows and tours and sometimes identified personnel. Here's how I currently understand things. This is all catalogued at Corry's "Jerry Garcia Band Personnel 1975-1995" post at LLD, or eventually will be to the extent that he agrees with me.

June 24, 1981 - August 23, 1981: Essra Mohawk and Liz Stires

The starting date of this configuration is not certain (see the discussion here), but overall this seems pretty solid.

September 7, 1981 - June 22, 1982: Liz Stires and Julie Stafford

Intrepid researcher slipnut found some reference to Liz Stires's sister singing on the first gig in this window, but I have shown the picture below to Julie Stafford, and she thinks that is her (left of the picture), and wasn't entirely sure but thought it could indeed have been her first night out.

JGB at Concord Pavilion, 9/7/81
photo credit: unknown

As far as the end of this window, Liz told me that she left the group just before the tour ended, after a gig in Richmond (6/22/82).

June 23, 1982 - June 24, 1982: Julie Stafford

We are fortunate that a review of the 6/23/82 show mentions "the female vocalist", confirming that Julie carried on as the lone backing vocalist, presumably for the last two nights of the tour.

October 24, 1982 - November 15, 1982: unknownShirley Faulkner and Elisecia Wright

At one point, I thought Jacklyn LaBranch and DeeDee Dickerson began here. But Jacklyn has said very clearly that she and DDD started together at the Keystone in January 1983. I had also wondered whether Julie continued through the end of 1982, but she has said she did not.

So, as of now, this is a three-week hole in my personnel knowledge that disconcerts me, on the one hand, but also delights me because we still have mysteries to unravel.

January 13, 1983 - May 20, 1984 (?): DeeDee Dickerson and Jacklyn LaBranch

With Jackie's clear statement that she and DDD began in January '83 at the Keystone, the start of this period seems clear. I used my unreliable ears to pin down the end of this window, noting the very different vocal sounds and stylings between May (DDD) and July/August (Gloria).

update: as of 2024, I still have questions about when DDD ended and Gloria started. There is evidence for both of them in May 1984 ...

July 10, 1984 (?) - April 23, 1995: Jacklyn LaBranch and Gloria Jones

The front end of this period is not entirely certain. I had originally thought Gloria started on 7/28/84, because there were no known electric shows between May (DDD) and then, while at the same time we know Gloria was with the band out east in August, so must have been in the fold for the local gigs in late July and on Jerry's bday. But then in 2018 I discovered previously undocumented Keystone Palo Alto gigs on July 10-11, and it seems extremely likely that these would have been Gloria's first with the band. It is not quite an iron law, but a clear regularity, that the Jerry Band liked to break in new members on off-nights, off the beaten path, or both. A Tuesday-Wednesday down in Palo Alto fits that bill pretty well.

Appendix: Mistakes along the way

10/24/82 with Julie? Apparently not

thought 7/20/83 was Gloria's debut, was wrong | thought 7/21/83 was her second, was wrong

late '83 tour: used to think this was Gloria, then discovered it was DDD

late '83 tour: further confirmation that it was DDD and not GJ

thought Gloria debuted 1/8/84, but I was wrong because 5/19/84: DDD still in the house per a review

thought Gloria debuted on 7/28/84, but 7/10/84 is more likely And May 1984 remains possible!

Wabbit Hunting with Garcia and Kahn in Oakland and Guerneville, August 17-18, 1985

I shouldn't be mean. But posterity might not recall that many characterized Jerry's vocal sound in 1985 as resembling Elmer Fudd, so I am doing it for future generations. You can thank me later.

Not much to report. While the Dunsmuir House and Gardens maybe have been a cool place to see Jerry on an August afternoon ... 

Jerry and John in dappled sunlight on the grounds of the Dunsmuir House, Oakland, August 18, 1985. Photo credit: Tim Schonholtz

... he sounds quite bad on this August 18th while delivering two sub-40 minute sets.

The night before, at the sweet little River Theater in groovy Russian River town of Guerneville, is a little bit stronger, to my ears.

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
River Theater
16135 Main Street
Guerneville, CA 95446-8301
August 17, 1985 (Saturday) - 9 PM
Corley MAC shnid-20898 shn2flac

--set I (6 tracks, 42:48)--
s1t01. Deep Elem Blues [7:29] [0:08]
s1t02. Little Sadie [4:57]
s1t03. Valerie [6:14] [0:37]
s1t04. Friend Of The Devil [7:31] [0:08]
s1t05. Simple Twist Of Fate [10:33] ->
s1t06. Run For The Roses [4:50] (1) [0:22]

--set II (6 tracks, 40:12)--
s2t01. [0:46] When I Paint My Masterpiece [7:19] [0:10]
s2t02. I've Been All Around This World [6:15] [0:06]
s2t03. Jack-A-Roe [4:27]
s2t04. Bird Song [11:23] [0:07]
s2t05. Gomorrah [5:08]
s2t06. Ripple [4:23] (2) [0:07]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - ac-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - ac-b.

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/19850817-01

! JGC: https://jerrygarcia.com/show/1985-08-17

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/20898 (this fileset)

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/dYyvu55qka62

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/06/river-theatre-16135-main-street.html

! R: field recordist: John Corley

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi 700 > Sony TC-D5M

! R: lineage: MAC > ? CD > DAE (EAC0.9b4, offset corrected, secure mode QPS QUE2410) > editing (SF6) > tracking (cdwav editor) > sector boundaries confirmed (shntool) > SHN (shorten3.4) via C.Ladner. Thanks to J.Powell for the source CDR. misSHN in the rain, 12/03.

! R: seeder comments: Very clean recording without any significant flaws other than intermittent loud close up audience noise. s1t01 - master recording levels during the first 25 seconds were extremely low, i applied a +10 dB gain to this small segment using SF6 to bring it line with the remainder of the recording.

! P: s1t01 DEB voice already sounding rough

! P: s1t02 Sadie second verse he sings "standing on a corner" twice, then gets to "oh yes, sir", so a flub but a recovery.

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

! P: s2 Elmer Fudd most definitely in the house. Almost can't sing Bird Song at all. Ouch.

! P: the set II vocals are ... not good. But, then again, you knew that.

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

~~~~~~~~~~

Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
Dunsmuir House and Gardens
2960 Peralta Oaks Ct.
Oakland, CA 94605
August 18, 1985 (Sunday) - 3 PM
Menke MAC MOTB #0210 flac2496

--Set I (6 tracks, 35:00)--
s1t01: [0:05] Deep Elem Blues [6:56] [0:02]
s1t02: Friend Of The Devil [6:25] [0:08]
s1t03: [0:17] Little Sadie [6:51]
s1t04: Valerie [6:15] [0:03]
s1t05: I've Been All Around This World [4:59] ->
s1t06: Run For The Roses [4:49] [0:11]

--Set II (6 tracks, 38:25)--
s2t01: [0:30] When I Paint My Masterpiece [6:02] [0:04]
s2t02: Jack-A-Roe [4:31] [0:09]
s2t03: Bird Song [9:52] [0:04]
s2t04: Gomorrah [5:37] ->
s2t05: Ripple [4:19] (2) ->
s2t06: Goodnight Irene [6:52] (3) [0:25]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia and John Kahn
! lineup: Jerry Garcia - ac-g, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn - ac-b.

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/19850818-01

! JGC: https://jerrygarcia.com/show/1985-08-18

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/13520 (this master, shnf, deprecated); https://etreedb.org/shn/88019 (Holtz Nak 100s MAC flac1644); https://etreedb.org/shn/88020 (Holtz Nak 100s MAC flac2496); https://etreedb.org/shn/98629 (Taz Yamaguchi and Jamie Poris MAC); https://etreedb.org/shn/141508 (supposed CSBD); https://etreedb.org/shn/141509 (supposedly Sandy Troy MAR); https://etreedb.org/shn/149863 (Jonathan Mow MAC flac1644), https://etreedb.org/shn/149864 (Jonathan Mow MAC flac2496).

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/93RVX3dF7812

! JGBP: https://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2011/09/dunsmuir-house-2960-peralta-oaks-court.html

! R: field recordist: Bob Menke

! R: field recording location: 15' from stage slightly off-center

! R: field recording gear: 2x Nakamichi CM 700 > Sony TC D5M

! R: field recording media: Maxell MX 90

! R: Analog Sound Preservation: MAC > Nak DR-1 > Korg at 5.6 mhz. Transfer By: Bob Menke. Mastering By: Derek McCabe.

! R: MOTB Release: #0210 24/96, release date 2012-08-19. Note: "flacs are tagged, enjoy!"

! P: s1t06 RFTR is deeply painful to listen to. Garcia absolutely crashes as this song begins, and he barely brings it to the finish line.

! s1t06 (1) JG: "We're gonna take a break for a few minutes, come back. Tune up, and stuff."

! P: s2t03 Bird Song in the 4-minute mark, Kahn is doing some really interesting and unusual modal-sounding stuff. As they round the 5-minute mark, he's still playing very creatively. I am not sure he's pulling it off, mind you, but he's trying. In the first half of the five-minute mark, Jerry hits several clammy notes, to my ears. Not that they don't work with what John's doing, but that they don't work with what Jerry's doing. 

! R: s2t03 are those speed warbles in the 6-minute mark, or is Jerry really playing that shit? E.g., 6:58-6:59?

! s2t05 (2) JG: "Thanks a lot."

! song: Goodnight Irene (s2t06): I have always wondered if, in singing the "jump overboard in the river and drown" line, Jerry became 4 year old Jerry, little Jerry, and replayed his father's drowning in the Russian River. One would think not, because that would seem a little morbid, to say nothing of painful, for our boy. But maybe he didn't go there. Or maybe he went there and he was OK. But it's hard to imagine that a person imprinted with that memory, that vision, wouldn't go there. Who knows.

! P: s2t06 GI The acoustic setting lets Jerry not oversing too badly, as of course he'd have to do with the Grateful Dead, and to a lesser extent, with his electric band. In that sense, and because the tape is so clean, we get another view on Garcia's voice in August 1985. He sounds better than he did in the GD, that's for sure. But it ain't entirely pretty. He is very limited, and his talking and singing voice both have the nasally, I-just-shredded-my-already-bleeding-sinuses timbre characteristic of Crosby's voice during this same time period, as well as a certain wascawwy wabbit huntew. Just Say No to Cocaine, Kids.

! s2t06 (3) "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."

! P: Total show time 73:26. Brutal, Jer.

Nice RAC, Señor: JGB at the Warfield, April 25, 1994, set II

Not much bandwidth these days, so some bullets.

1) I am way behind on posting listening notes. I have lots backed up, and many of them are pretty spare. I have sometimes threatened to post these kind of notes in batches, just to get them out of my mind, and not always followed up. This time might (or might not) be different.

2) I wonder what the story is behind the random 90s JGB board tapes that circulate? I suspect every one of them has an interesting story, because there was not systematic leakage of these - Cutler kept a pretty tight lid on things, and there was just less demand for these than for contemporary GD tapes.

3) Jerry sounds old, but much better here than five days earlier. Higher asymmetric --downside-- variance in this period than any other. The Rock Bottom period had higher overall variance, comparing the killer high guitar peaks with the killer low vocal troughs. Ten years later, the highs don't get so high, but, as on 4/20/94, the lows could get really low. 4/25/94 II is pretty good, nothing too problematic.

3) "Money Honey" got a re-arranged ending somewhere in the late period. I would kind of like to pin down when it showed up.

4) Nice "Reuben And Cherise" here. It's my favorite Garcia Band song, and I think I hold it to a pretty high standard. It sometimes went 'round the bases too many times at the end, stuck in the same rut that its album-mate "Cats Under The Stars" often found. But Jerry is mindful here to throw in enough wrinkles to make things interesting.

5) Final JGB "Señor". Sigh. I love love love love love this tune so much. He mumbles a fair share of the lyrics, but there's some good stuff here, too, like the growly "magnetic field" and a repeated "I'm ready when you are" at the end.

6) Crazy dense period for Jerry at the Warfield: April 18-19-20 and 25-26-27 with JGB, then May 4-5 with Grisman. Maybe Deborah needed some new shoes, and goodness knows that golden eggs don't lay themselves.

Jerry Garcia Band
The Warfield
982 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
April 25, 1994 (Monday)
s2 sbd shnid-77711

--set II (7 tracks, 59:56)--
s2t01. Harder They Come [12:12] [0:41]
s2t02. Mission In The Rain [9:55] [0:14]
s2t03. You Never Can Tell [7:00] [0:02] % [0:04]
s2t04. Money Honey [7:07] [0:10]
s2t05. Reuben And Cherise [9:05] [0:27]
s2t06. Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) [6:47] ->
s2t07. Midnight Moonlight [6:09] (1) [0:03]

! 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:

! 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/19940425-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/12257 (same root tape, shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/77711 (this fileset); https://etreedb.org/shn/97864 (Vasseur MAD, complete).

! band: JGB #23 (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: SBD > 1C? > DAT? > CD > flac. Seeded 8/2006 by Teddy "GoodBear" Selby. A Teddy "GoodBear" Production ~ www.goodbear.com :wave: 

! P: s2t03 YNCT some mumbly here and there, e.g., around 6:25. Jer sounds old, but good not bad.

! P: s2t04 Money Honey w the newly arranged ending

! P: s2t05 RAC Donny is offbeat. It takes 45 seconds at the start to set the 1. That said, I think he nails every word of the lyrics! He has finished singing the lyrics 5:28, goes around several times, goes higher up 5:40 and Melvin synths a little alongside. A little bit of variation in the phrasings in the 6 minute mark. Now I fear this is going to get stuck going around for too long without enough happening to justify it. And I find myself there 6:45. Jerry needs to mix things up, or end it. A little more wrinkling right over 7, longer phrases than one might often hear in RAC (not sure), but good that he is making it more interesting. Descending bit 7:45 good. He's hitting the deeper chords to signal the end 8:30 and so forth, then digs in to finish it 8:50. A very good late era RAC, I have to say!

! song: Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) (s2t06): final Garcia performance.

! P: s2t06 Señor a few lyrical stumbles. 1:48 is that mumble mumble still playing in that hay-cant lot. 2:27 mumble mumble, maybe should have been "I can't stand the suspense". Then mumble waiting there Senor. 4:40 mumble I remember. Returns to eyes glued to the door, instead of picking himself off the floor.  He does some nice low growly stuff, as on "magnetic field", which is how Bob did it and I don't recall Jerry doing it so much. He repeats "I'm ready when you are" in the last line, rather than "can you tell me what we're waiting for", but it WORKS.

! s2t07 (1) JG: "Thanks a lot. See y'all later."

The still-unidentified funky instrumental from 8/20 and 8/30/75

UPDATE: researcher David Kramer-Smyth spoke with Hadi al-Saadoon, who identified David Kessner as the composer. David Kessner confirms he wrote it, but is not sure if it had a name.

At Jerrybase, we are now calling this "David's Tune (Gm)"

On August 20, 1975 at the Great American Music Hall, and again on August 30, 1975 at the Orphanage, both times with Garcia, the Keith and Donna Band played a funky instrumental number the title of which has eluded me for well over ten years.

Looks like I asked about it five years ago.

Someone must be able to identify this tune.

I post mp3s of the two versions here to aid in that identification.

Please help!

untitled-19750820 from 8/20/75

untitled-19750820 from 8/30/75

The August '85 Electric Shows

LN jg1985-08-04.jgb.all.aud-connor.11041.shn2flac

LN jg1985-08-05.jgb.all.aud-connor.11121.shn2flac
LN jg1985-08-09.jgb.all.aud-connor.11131.shn2flac
LN jg1985-08-10.jgb.all.aud-connor.11145.shn2flac



Waaayyyy back when, in the early lossless era, when shn ruled the roost and files could best be had by FTP (though some grabbed binaries from usenet groups), Charlie Connor's August 1985 Jerry Band tapes were pretty special. They still are, in the sense that they sound nice (patched out of Corley's "Silly Hat" setup, after all), that there just weren't that many '85 JGB shows, that they give more insight into the Rock Bottom period for Our Hero and, nowadays especially, they make for some good coherent listening across the Days Between, including a relatively rare August 9th show. I wish the last night of this cluster of shows, 8/11/85, would show up - one suspects it was taped, but one finds no evidence of it.

Here's some 'base for your face, to see what I am referring to:

https://jerrybase.com/events/19850804-01
https://jerrybase.com/events/19850805-01
https://jerrybase.com/events/19850809-01
https://jerrybase.com/events/19850810-01

I have already written up the August 9, 1985 show, noting the characteristic brevity of these sets, both clocking in below the 45-minute Minelli Line. (I should call it the Judy Garland line, as Jerry did in discussing "Cabaret Economics", but this formulation alliterates it to the Mendoza Line in baseball, the "rock bottom," barely acceptable, .200 batting average named for very light hitting, ca. 1970s-1980s Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Mario. Grant me a little license, please and thank you.)

I have just revisited all four shows and, yeah, they're all short. Now, true, these tapes are tightly edited, and tuning breaks could take up a good bit of time wherever Garcia was found. On the first night of this set of shows, 8/4/85, set II clocks in at 31:04. This is currently the second-shortest electric set I have found, after 9/16/84 I  and just ahead of (i.e., below) 3/2/85 I  and 3/22/84 I. (Note, though, that there's probably a minute or more missing from Cats, the addition of which would land this squarely in the normal range for a show from this era.) Of course, I doubt any electric set will ever underperform the acoustic 5/23/85 set I in Denver - at 25 minutes, one can only hope --really, really, hope-- that the tape is incomplete.

Here are the timings for the August '85 electric shows:

DATE      s1      s2           TT      
8/4/85    46:03   31:04      77:07
8/5/85    49:31   48:37      88:08
8/9/85    42:26   38:32      80:58
8/10/85  37:08   34:14      81:22

So much for quantity, how about quality? Overall, I guess I'd say totally characteristic. Some really good guitar work, some lyrical fumbles, vocals getting rougher by the minute.

Night one: Jerry sounds pretty punchy right out of the gate, overcomes some lyrical fumbles in show opening ITAM to rage pretty hard on Sugaree. Killer guitar tone, fantastic playing, much to the appreciation of the hometown Stone crowd, which mostly seemed to prefer boogeying to judging. Kemper is SIMPLY WONDERFUL on Cats, and then Jerry struggles lyrically a little bit in Gomorrah and a lot in Reuben And Cherise, the latter of which is nothing short of tragic, becaues it's my favorite Garcia Band tune, bar none. I do think I hear some Melvin synth in there, which is cool. Midnight Moonlight gallops hard into the barn.

Night two almost fills up a whole XLII90, the longest show of the set by almost 10%. Again, frisky out of the chute, though I don't note anything from the first set until the long Tangled Up: "Not a single thing wrong with the range of ideas he expresses, the fluency and power with which he expresses them, etc. Even some interesting extended stuff 12. Very good. Kemper marching 12:30 for Jerry to wail around." This feels spacious and killer. I suspect that ol' Jer wasn't drinking tea with honey and lemon during the setbreak, because he comes back scratchier in the throat than before. Audience member astutely calls for Don't Let Go, but he'd have to wait two and a half more years for it to reappear, after landing on the shelf at the end of '84. Not a lot to report, but Kemper is absolutely flying to keep up with Midnight Moonlight, and boy must his arms be tired. *rimshot*

August 9th. I have already written it up. I don't remember what I said three years ago. If you want to check how reliable my notes are, please feel free to compare them. Good energy upfront, rough vocals, brief.

Night four, 8/10/85 - thirty-six years ago to the day as I type this. Elmer Fudd has arrived to sing, more than over the previous week's shows, to my ears. Very last "Rhapsody In Red", which gives me a sad, because it was a rocker. It wouldn't have worked post-coma until maybe late 1990 and into 1991, IMO - before then he's just too clean to grunge it up, and after he's just not powerful enough. But it coulda been good in that window. This Reuben he remembers the words, more or less all of them I think, and I do love those words. But the voice is pretty weak at this point and maybe it's best that he just raced through Midnight Moonlight -- four consecutive shows as a show-ender and sought refuge back at Hepburn Heights.

Listening notes below the jump.

The Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast: Season 3 - Episode 9: Skull & Roses 50: Garcia

All about Jerry's first solo record, Garcia, recorded 50 years ago last month. Great stuff, and then also a little pedantry from yours truly.

The Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast is a national treasure!