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 performance (which I would actually like to revisit). But 8/8/93 JGB at Portland Meadows is just a man without a voice insisting, nevertheless, on singing. I bet the crowd would have thought it cool if he had just said “My voice is shot, we’ll try to do some tunes as instrumentals”, but for better or for worse the protagonist keeps singing.
These are the worst vocals since pre-coma, and among the worst ever. They had played the day before in Seattle, but before that he hadn’t played in six weeks or so, having spent some time in Ireland around the month of July (Greenfield 1996, 291). Maybe he was jet-lagged. I don’t mean to sound too critical – voices are sometimes lost. My judgment here is purely aesthetic – I just can’t listen to this.
The Maker is nice. The show has a few other moments. But, overall, a forgettable afternoon show (unless you were there, in which case maybe it was awesome).
Jerry Garcia Band
Portland Meadows
1001 N. Schmeer Road
Portland, OR 97217
August 8, 1993 (Sunday)
Vasseur shnid-145607
–set I (8 tracks, 7 tunes, 55:53)–
s1t01. [0:21] Cats Under The Stars [8:35] [0:22]
s1t02. [0:53] Mission In The Rain [7:04] [0:50]
s1t03. [0:32] That’s What Love Will Make You Do [8:02] [0:11]
s1t04. And It Stoned Me,
s1t05. ambience [1:05]
s1t06. The Maker [7:19] [0:11]
s1t07. Money Honey -5:42] [0:05]
s1t08. My Sisters And Brothers
–set II (7 tracks, 63:42)–
s2t01. The Way You Do The Things You Do
s2t02. Wonderful World
s2t03. Tore Up Over You [7:42] [0:46]
s2t04. Ain’t No Bread In The Breadbox [8:05] [0:06]
s2t05. Reuben And Cherise [7:52] [0:15]
s2t06. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [9:11] ->
s2t07. Tangled Up In Blue [12:17] (xx) [0:10]
! ACT1: JGB #21b (THE Jerry Garcia Band)
! lineup: Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn – bass;
! lineup: Melvin Seals – keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper – drums;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch – backing vocals;
! lineup: Gloria Jones – backing vocals.
JGMF:
! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; … = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [mm:ss] = recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item name is an attempt at getting the “real” time of the event. So, a timing of [mm:ss] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.
! JGC: https://jerrygarcia.com/show/1993-08-08
! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/6343 (Schoeps MK4 shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/13134 (DAUD shnf); https://etreedb.org/shn/34588 (Bearpalm MAD); https://etreedb.org/shn/78974 (Gindoff MAD); https://etreedb.org/shn/90483 (Severson MAC); https://etreedb.org/shn/145607 (this fileset); https://etreedb.org/shn/145996 (Primo Williams’s MAC).
! band: http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html
! map: https://goo.gl/maps/nyuwi57rKey
! JGBP: https://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/10/portland-meadows-1001-n-schmeer-road.html
! ref: Nick, “Aug 93: JGB up north and at home,” URL http://deadthinking.blogspot.com/2018/05/aug-93-jgb-up-north-and-at-home.html.
! R: field recordist: Chuck Vasseur
! R: field recording gear: 2x Neumann KM54 > DAT
! R: Transfer: DAT Master > CDR (Kyle Porter); Extract: CDR clone > EAC > WAV > FLAC16 (Bill Shaw aka Shark)
! R: seeder’s Source Notes: Sometime in the early 2000’s, Chuck loaned Kyle all of his 92-95 JGB masters to transfer to CDR. Kyle “mastered” the DATs to CDR, fading in/out as needed, adjusting levels (as needed) and tracking. Kyle then gave Chuck his masters back, with nice CDR copies of all of it. Chuck offered to clone the entire set for me, so I gave him a spool of 100 blank MITSUI CDRs and the next time I saw him, he gave them back to me, filled with his JGB recordings. Many of the Chuck V. JGB recordings do circulate already, but probably not all of them, and those that do may not be the Kyle Porter transfers. So, Here they are! –Shark
! R: great tape
! P: s1t01 CUTS sluggish out of the gate. Nice tone late 4 over 5. Managed to finish it without going around too many times, which is always good.
! P: s1t02 MITR IMO JG sounds absolutely terrible.
! P: s1t06 Maker is excellent. The guitar work mid-4 is very thrilling. He remembers most of the lyrics.
! P: s1t03 TWLWMYD off key and reedy. He screws up second verse, turns it into a nice little guitar piece.
! P: s1t07 Money Honey completely croaking by the end.
! P: s1T08 MSAB his voice is as croaky here as it ever was in 84-’85.
! P: s2t01 TWYDTTYD his voice did not get better over the break
! song: s2t02 WAWW is the Sam Cooke “don’t know much about history” one.
! P: s2t03 TUOY coming back to this a few days after hearing the first part of the show. God, his voice is painful to hear. But TUOY finds Melvin bringing some great energy and color, and Garcia tearing it up in the 5 minute mark. The guitar isn’t loud in the mix – wish it were louder.
! P: s2t05 RAC he forgets half a verse in mid-2. Man, his voice. I can’t wait for this listen to end.
! s2t07 (xx) JG: “Thanks a lot. See y’all later.”
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