Category: Rock Bottom

  • Bullshit! Bullshit! Reprise (LN jg1985-05-31.jgjk.early.aud-pinedo.32007.shn2flac)

    updated 20140408 I have told the story once before of the Jerry Garcia/John Kahn acoustic duo early show on May 31, 1985, in the context of Bill Graham’s branding of the ’86-87 JGB tours down south as “The Jerry Garcia Band Electric“. I want to flesh out a bit more detail from the two named…

  • Great ‘Don’t Let Go’ on the Second Starry Night – Portland, OR, December 7, 1984

    LN jg1984-12-07.jgb.all.aud-young.127069.flac2496 Nice tape, and a good night if you can filter out Garcia’s singing. Jerry’s peppy and there’s lots of good playing here. I have argued that this period (August-December 1984) is rock bottom, but if it is, I gotta give the guy credit for slogging through it pretty respectably. Two arguments for rock…

  • Grungy: JGB at the Starry Night in Portland, December 6, 1984

    LN jg1984-12-06.jgb.s1s2p.aud-Rice.124941.flac1644 The second half of 1984 is Garcia’s Rock Bottom period. But it’s not all terrible, and some of it is rather amazing. Ain’t that always the way. My reaction to 12/6/84, a Thursday at the Starry Night in downtown Portland, is similar to my reaction to 8/24/84. The vocals are unprofessional, embarrassingly bad.…

  • It’s not that bad, given how much Persian he was doing

    LN jg1984-08-24.jgb.s1.aud-GEMS.124940.flac1644 There are lots of ways to interpret this performance. One reasonable way would be to say that this is just about the nadir of Garcia’s performing career (perhaps 8/26/84), a professional embarrassment shocking only because playing at least competently for a paying audience formed perhaps the only real commitment in his life, a…

  • Jerry Garcia Band Electric

    **update 1: final paragraph, 8:47 Eastern 20111212** Jerry Site administrator slipnut just updated the venue name for a show given as Jerry Garcia Band, California Theatre, San Diego, CA, on Friday May 23, 1986. Handbill follows: Handbill for Jerry Garcia Band Electric, California Theatre, San Diego, CA, 5/23/86. Possibly courtesy of Iver McLeod. The venue…