jg1991-11-06.jgb.all.aud-Brotman-Metchick.151224.t-flac1648
Skimming the cream is a natural tendency – who doesn’t like cream? But I need to post a more representative sample of things.
Generous benefactors have recently put together and circulated the integral collection of Dave Brotman / Jeff Metchick‘s FOBs of the November ’91 Garcia Band tour. Every show, same tapers, very nice for evaluative purposes because at least some factors are quasi-experimentally controlled. Oh, and the tapes KILL. I had a plan to listen through chronologically to the whole tour, but I won’t be able to do it. It’s one thing to do it with the Dead’s Europe ’72, when every night contains some of the best music ever made, *and* my OCD allows me to just listen while pedaling. It’s too much to ask to put Jerry’s bar band on, and to engage my OCD with notes, etc. etc. — not something I can do while doing other things, to the same extent. And the payoffs just aren’t that great.
That said, I did start with 11/6/91. My God, what a tape! Seriously, I have never heard something come out of that arena that sounded this good. So, first tip o’ the cap to the tapers, and thanks to all involved in getting these amazing field recordings into general circulation with reliable metadata, etc.
The show, conversely, does not move me. Even Don’t Let Go didn’t earn a single note from me. And this is not just a period effect: I have just listened to another show from the same tour/tapers, and it blew me away. I will post my report at some point. So maybe it’s just a mediocre night. Maybe just a warmup. Remember that this band had only played two shows –8/10 and 8/24– since May. It seems reasonable enough that they’d need to shake off some cobwebs.
So, there we are: AMAZING tape, meh show. But I happen to know that better things would be yet to come on the tour.
Jerry Garcia Band
Capital Centre
1 Harry S. Truman Drive
Landover, MD 20774
November 6, 1991 (Wednesday)
Brotman-Metchick MAD shnid-151224
–set I (9 tracks, 8 tunes, 73:17)–
s1t01. ambience [1:37]
s1t02. Cats Under the Stars [9:24] [2:02]
s1t03. Stop That Train [7:53] [1:37]
s1t04. You Never Can Tell [7:52] [0:33]
s1t05. Run For The Roses [5:27] [1:10]
s1t06. Simple Twist Of Fate [13:18] [1:01]
s1t07. Ain’t No Bread In The Breadbox [7:36] [0:10]
s1t08. My Sisters And Brothers [3:52] [0:10]
s1t09. Deal [9:25] (1) [0:10]
–set II + encore (10 tracks, 8 tunes, 84:28)–
–set II (8 tracks, 7 tunes,
s2t01. ambience [1:48]
s2t02. The Way You Do The Things You Do [12:20] [1:20]
s2t03. Waiting For A Miracle [5:49] [0:15]
s2t04. Money Honey [7:11] [0:48]
s2t05. Shining Star [10:19] [0:52]
s2t06. Struggling Man [7:44] [0:18]
s2t07. Don’t Let Go [15:28] [0:17]
s2t08. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love [12:05] (2) [0:06]
–encore (2 tracks, 1 tune, 7:48)–
s2t09. ambience [0:39]
s2t10. What A Wonderful World [6:56] (3) [0:13]
! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #21b
! lineup: Jerry Garcia – el-g, ac-g (s1t03 only), vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn – el-b;
! lineup: Melvin Seals – keyboards;
! lineup: David Kemper – drums;
! lineup: Gloria Jones – vocals;
! lineup: Jacklyn LaBranch – vocals.
JGMF:
! R: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; … = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [x:xx] = 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 [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the song really was, as represented on this recording.
! Jerrybase: https://jerrybase.com/events/19911106-01
! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/16671; https://etreedb.org/shn/85429; https://etreedb.org/shn/87588; https://etreedb.org/shn/87600; https://etreedb.org/shn/137703; https://etreedb.org/shn/151224 (this fileset)
! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/12/capital-center-usair-arena-1-harry-s.html
! venue: First Jerry Band show in this shed after 21 GD gigs.
! review: [positive] Joyce 1991. Took a few tunes to warm up, Joyce says, but “soon enough … Garcia, firmly underpinned by bassist John Kahn and drummer Dave Kemper, was unfurling long, flowing, effervescent guitar improvisations or yielding the spotlight to organist Melvin Seals, who waxed both earthy and ethereal on a Hammond console.”
! R: field recordists: Dave Brotman and Jeff Metchick
! R: field recording gear: 2x Schoeps CMC34 (ORTF) > Tao Research > M1000 cables > Panasonic SV-255mod (16/48) > Master DAT
! R: field recording location: FOB
! R: transfer: Master DAT > Panasonic SV-3800 (spdif out) > Digigram VX Pocket sound card > Panasonic Toughbook (spdif in) > Steinberg Nuendo > WAV 1648, by Anonymous. Edited & Mastered (Adobe Audition) by Joe Noel, December 16, 2020.
! R: seeder notes: – Thanks to Dave Brotman & Jeff Metchick for recording the show. – Thanks to Anon for the transfer, while hiding out away from the Bay Area. – Thanks to Ted Mattes, aka ‘Postmaster General’ for organizing this project. – Each tape was adjusted electronically & mechanically in the SV3800 to ensure proper play. – None of these tapes have emphasis.
! R: Right out of the gate, this tape kills. Oh man. Bravo, gentleman, and thank you! This fileset emerged in late 2020 with the entire tour recorded by these guys with this gear. I can’t wait to spend more time with these lovely recordings!
! P: s1t04 YNCT he is a little unsure of the words throughout.
! P: s1t06 STOF is extremely careful and gentle. John starts his feature about 5:20 and it is suitably fluttery until floating to a close at 7:30. JG brings a bit more volume after that.
! P: s1t07 ANBITB Melvin is playing piano here, and it’s really nice. Sounds kinds of Hornsby-ish.
! s1t09 (1) JG: “Thanks a lot. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
! P: s2t02 TWYDTTYD goes out around 8:40. Man, I love this vintage of the song. So interesting.
! P: s2t06 Struggling Man a little sluggish out of the gates. Definitely too slow for my taste.
! s2t08 (2) JG: “Thanks a lot. See ya later.”
! s2t10 (3) JG: “See y’all later.”
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