Fate Music

The Great Barcia

Rock Scully’s book occasionally referred to Jerry as “the Great Barcia“. I had originally thought it was Salvador Dalí, but looking back, I guess not. It still tickles me.

This
just came back to mind as I came across two ads, a month apart, for
Reconstruction at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz on 3/31/79. Someone at the Sentinel
was either a Prankster or confused, and not just about Jerry (see also
“Greg Kihm”). I wonder if Rock got this “Barcia” thing from the second ad posted here? Anyway, I am sure that, especially in Reconstruction, the
Great onedidn’t mind having some of his higher fans possibly thrown off the
scent.

update: commenter Nick points out that the Eldon Porray tapes understood as Reconstruction at the Catalyst on 3/30/79 are probably really from this date, 3/31/79. This pertains to shnid-11673 (deprecated) and the MOTB transfer, shnid-106004. He raves about the “Sama Layuca” as well, which you should take very seriously.

ad for “Re Construction” at the Catalyst, featuring mystery guitarist “Jerry Garsia”, Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 23, 1979, p. 16.

ad for Reconstruction at the Catalyst, featuring mystery guitarist “Jerry Barcia”, Santa Cruz Sentinel, March 23, 1979, p. 13.

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6 responses to “The Great Barcia”

  1. Nick Avatar
    Nick

    Waitaminute, there's a circulating Reconstruction (or Re:Construction) tape dated 3/30 at the Catalyst, not 3/31: http://db.etree.org/shn/106004
    Labeling error? Or a rescheduled show…unlikely, if the ad is from a week before the gig?

    Thanks for posting this — assuming it's the same show, then it's nice to have an extra visual to attach to a very hot performance.

    Reply
  2. Nick Avatar
    Nick

    also, re spelling, the dormant English teacher in me is wincing at "Jessy" (Jesse) Barish and *Gueen* (um, Queen) Ida, on the same date, no less. Yet, amazingly, the designer spelled "Cipollina" and "Merl Saunders" correctly. So it goes.

    Reply
  3. Fate Music Avatar
    Fate Music

    Yeah, I know, right? So, Prankster, or just really bad speller?

    I have 3/30 at the Keystone Palo Alto in my spreadsheets. Had never realized that the circulating tape says Catalyst. I suspect 3/30 was KPA and 3/31 was the Catalyst, so the tape is either right-date-wrong-venue, or wrong-date-right-venue, but I can't say which.

    Reply
  4. Nick Avatar
    Nick

    I think it's wrong-date-right-venue: I took another listen to the tape (id=106004) and there's nothing I heard that hints at the venue, but at the end of d1t08 (after Linda Chicana) someone in the crowd yells "April Fools!" — it seems like a reasonable assumption that it would have been near midnight on 3/31 at that point, hence April Fools Day, hence a case for this actually being 3/31 rather than 3/30 at the Catalyst. Alert the proper authorities!

    Reply
  5. Nick Avatar
    Nick

    er, actually being 3/31 at the Catalyst rather than 3/30 at Keystone Palo Alto, that is.

    Reply
  6. Fate Music Avatar
    Fate Music

    I have left a comment at shnid-106004 and made a note in the post, because I suspect that you are correct. Thanks!

    Reply

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