Category: Ozzie Ahlers

  • How about the Mouth on that Beast? JGB at the Stone, February 2, 1980, as recorded by Bad Bob Menke

    LN jg1980-02-02.jgb.all.aud-menke-motb-0038.105635.flac1644 I recently revisited an old favorite, 2/17/80, and surprised myself by not noting anything about the “After Midnight -> Eleanor Rigby -> After Midnight” medley, to say nothing of an old favorite of another kind, “Positively 4th Street”. I have vowed to revisit these. Someone was also extolling old favorite 3/8/80 on its recent…

  • Positively Killer: JGB at Keystone Palo Alto, December 21, 1979

    I was recently surprised when I listened to JGB 12/17/79 and found the show totally lackluster. Jerry sounds listless, indifferent, tired, and he and Johnny D, the 21 year old Marin kid drumming live with Jerry for only the seventh time, seemed badly out of sync. So, I listened to the next show, 12/20, and…

  • UMass ‘Master of the Fretboard’: JGB, February 20, 1980 (late show)

    LN jg1980-02-20.jgb.late.aud-Sony_23F-Nak_550.131018.flac2448 The Jerry Garcia Band (JGB #11a) played 22 shows in the 29 days of February 1980, warming up locally and then touring college and off-campus theaters, reportedly to help pay for the film rights to Kurt Vonnegut’s “Sirens of Titan”. I have all kinds of information about John and Jerry’s quest for those…

  • Sebastopol Benefit: March 22, 1978

    LN jg1978-03-22.jgb.all.sbd-ladner.19832.shn2flac As a prelude to a review of the off-to-a-great-start GarciaLive 4 release of the Sebastopol 3/22/78 benefit show, here are some fragmentary listening notes from a year ago on the rough circulating sbd copy. It appears that I engaged the question of the pianist on that very date over at Corry’s post (probably…

  • Ozzie and Johnny D

    LN jg1979-10-07.jgb.all-2.aud-angus-hart.106528.flac1644 First night out for Ozzie Ahlers and John d’Fonseca (and hence, of JGB #11a). Sunday night is consistent with pattern of breaking in new guys on off-nights, but the Garcia fans don’t worry about work on Monday morning. Probably not surprisingly, this performance is not a world-beater. They are feeling each other out.…

  • Dealin’ on Johnny D’s Third Night: JGB, Keystone Palo Alto, October 14, 1979

    LN jg1979-10-14.jgb.s1s2p.aud-unk-moore-berger.122979.flac1644 Understood second third show for Ozzie Ahlers and John d’Fonseca. Update: I had this as the second show for this outfit, a week after its 10/7/79 debut, but it turns out they also played the Monday night, 10/8, in Berkeley. Excellent Sugaree and After Midnight, songs which this band made its own right…