Category: listening notes
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I actually had to FF: JGB at Portland Meadows, 8/8/93
LN jg1993-08-08.jgb.all.aud-vasseur.145607.flac1644 Nick thought the titular show was OK, but the vocals were so catastrophically bad that I actually couldn’t really listen to this. The only other show that has revulsed me in the same way was 11/23/72, and that was as much about the recording (overloaded, especially on the vocals) as it was about the…
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What is the Opposite of a Bat Outta Hell? JGB at Keystone, September 10-12, 1976
I am not a huge fan of the syrupy tempos of 1976 JGB, the ultimate comfort band for Our Hero. There are some great sounding tapes, the occasional killer show (4/3/76b), and some spectacular specific songs (“Right Mighty High”, “Moonlight Mile”, “Who Was John” and others are some of my faves), but the overall vibe…
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Long Ago and Far Away: JGB at Cumberland County Civic Center, Portland, ME, June 20, 1982
LN jg1982-06-20.jgb.all.aud-lamarre.139447.flac2496 Great pull by Doug Lamarre, very good JGB from the strong month of June 1982. Bobby Cochran and Bob Weir from Bobby and the Midnites sit in on the encore, which includes the JGB singleton “Johnny B. Goode”. Jerry sounds quite strong. Two new tunes stand out. “Valerie” holds some serious heavy-metal appeal, and…
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Kean College Tour Closer: JGB, November 15, 1982 (Late Show)
jg1982-11-15.jgb.late-1.aud-vita-minches.78008.flac1644 Pretty standard late ’82 gig to my ears, not the equal to 11/11/82 late or 11/13/82, IMO. Errico’s Gatling Gun start to HTC is awesome. Three little oddities jump out to my pattern-obsessed brain. First, no early show tape. Hm. Second … , both the Vita aud and the soundboard tape are missing the encore. Hm. never…
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Second Night Out for Liz and Essra: JGB, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, June 25, 1981
update: the original title of this was “First Night Out”, but I have discovered a warmup gig on 6/24/81 at the Keystone Palo Alto (not in Salinas, as I had elaborately laid out). Liz Stires and Essra Mohawk appear to debut as backing vocalists on the night before this show. There are no singers on the late…
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“I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes”: JGB at the Warfield, March 4, 1995
LN jg1995-03-04.jgb.all.aud-sonics.141470.flac1648 I don’t feel like I have time or energy to do a full write-up, so let me try to sketch a few thoughts around a recent listen to taper Wilson66’s very enjoyable Sonic Studios DSM-6 drink rail tape of the Jerry Band on home turf, March 4, 1995. Tone and Technique > Lyrical Precision…
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Last Time in Irvine: JGB at Irvine Meadows, May 15, 1994
I forewarned a few posts back that I had some backlogged listening notes, and have been posting them this weekend. They were backlogged, in many cases, because I just didn’t have that much to say. I often check the date index for the blog in picking something to listen to, looking for gaps or inflection…
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Last Freddie-ish Gig on Tape: JGB at the Stone, May 28, 1987
update: I can’t believe I didn’t know that Freddie didn’t actually run the Stone and KPA. I knew the Coronas were involved, but Corry informs me in comments that they actually ran the KPA and the Stone, and Freddie really only had the Berkeley club. Learn something new everyday. I will still refer to this…
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At Wolfgang’s Orpheum: JGB with Clarence Clemons, March 3, 1989
The success of the Dead’s Touch of Grey didn’t only limit that band’s venue (and even city) options. It also impacted ol’ Midas’s bar band. Freddie Herrera’s last remaining club, the 700-seat Stone on Broadway, didn’t stand a chance, and a four-night Garcia Band run on May 27-28 and 30-31, 1987 brought the curtain down on Jerry and…
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The Shortest Two-Set Electric Show? JGB at the Stone, Sunday, September 16, 1984
LN jg1984-09-16.jgb.all.aud-jjoops.97573.flac1644 A little dive into the Rock Bottom period yields this pearl of an electric JGB show – two four-tune sets clocking in around a half-hour of music each. I don’t really note anything much about the performance, other than its brevity and Garcia’s unsurprising vocal limitations. I don’t want to be mean. I am…