Category: listening notes
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JGB in Binghamton, November 20, 1977: first night DLG + LAALWFH = 1/2 (two weeks later DLG + LAALWFH)
LN jg1977-11-20.jgb.all.sbd.141495.flac1644 First night of the fall ’77 Garcia Band tour (22 gigs in 22 nights), third live gig for young Buzzy Buchanan in the drummer’s seat. The great Jerry Moore had some nasty thoughts about him, but I think he sounds fine here. Keeping time for this group could not have been a picnic. I…
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Makes Up In Enthusiasm What It Lacks In Precision: JGB at Keystone Palo Alto, November 12, 1983
LN jg1983-11-12.jgb.all.mtx.141451.flac1644 update: d’oh! Already posted this one. Crispy clean but flat and unbalanced sbd meets in-your-face but unbalanced Menke aud to make for a sweet matrix. Thank you Andrew F. for your work! The show? It’s late ’83. The sets are getting shorter. The DLG is fucking killer, and the Deal makes up in enthusiasm…
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These sets aren’t getting any longer: JGB #21a at the Beverly Theatre, October 1, 1983
One of the things that I expect will become possible at some point is to get some relatively valid data on set times across the years. One of the reasons I try to be so precise with my timing notations is that I am going to want to train a machine to parse song, set…
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First JGB at the Keystone: October 11-12, 1975
The JERRY GARCIA Band Prior to fall of 1975, Garcia’s side bands had mostly a) been relatively loose aggregations and/or b) not had his name on the marquee. All of this preserved a kind of informal quality, maybe some plausible deniability, a little bit little less spotlight to go with his insatiable appetite for gigging.…
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Farewell to Ronnie at the Rainbow: JGB in Denver, November 19, 1981
LN jg1981-11-19.jgb.all.aud-unk-vamarty.25792.shn2flac If Garcia’s local gigs paid for his smokes and such, his east coast jaunts paid the big bills. In the book I will try to narrate coherently (ha!) that late 1981 through 1982 showed Garcia trying to straighten out his financial and business affairs (including a relatively local early 1982 “tax tour” that never…
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Feel Your Oats, and Race Back to Eat Them: JGB opening for Frank Zappa, UIC Pavilion, University of Illinois Chicago, August 18, 1984
Last night of the August ’84 tour, which was really strong, amazingly strong given the shape Garcia was in. Zappa headlined the ads, but Garcia played second. Not much to write home about, except, on the theme of “oats”. 1) Garcia is feeling them in the big guitar tunes CUTS, GOOMLW and Deal. Man –…
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What It Is All About: Jerry Band Monday at the Keystone, August 16, 1976
I love love love the mid-1976 versions of “After Midnight”, with Donna seconding on “what it is all about”. (Happy 73rd birthday to DJG the day of this post, BTW!) I also like the “Stop That Train”s from this era, both imprinted on my brain from some tape I played the hell out of. This…
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They Really Are a Scree-um: Legion of Mary at Keystone, Thursday, May 22, 1975
LN jg1975-05-22.lom.all.aud-menke-falanga-motb-0044.87156.flac2496 I just revisited 5/21/75, and it left me a little bit … whelmed. By contrast, at some point between downloading the files in 2011 and today, I listened to and noted the next night, and I *loved* it. The Bob Menke – Louis Falanga aud belongs in the freaking Smithsonian. This stands as…
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Take the Road Before Us and Sing a Chorus or Two: Legion of Mary at Keystone, May 21, 1975
jg1975-05-21.lom.all.mtx-tobin-motb-0050.87219.flac1644 I recently gave 6/16/82 a listen to evaluate whether it merited its lofty reputation, or whether it might be exhibiting a case of the Cornells. I decided it was as good as its reputation. Staying with that démarche, a week ago I spun 5/21/75, Legion of Mary at the Keystone, which has long circulated…