Little Legal Matters: JGB #1 at Keystone, November 8, 1975

LN jg1975-11-08.jgb.all.aud-castelli-motb-0151.109001.flac1644

ad for JGB 11/8/75 at Keystone, SFSECDB-19751102-p31

Not going to do long listening notes, so a few random bits from this one.

First, “Micky” [sic] Hopkins. Heh heh. We are easily amused here. Also @Corry: the ad says advance tickets at BASS, but that was absolutely not the case for any Jerry show at the Keystone in this period that I can recall – no stubs at all. Did they just not have room to say “except for Jerry” in the BASS notice at the bottom? 🙂 (I suspect the absence of tickets relates to the little legal matter referenced in point 3 below.) Also again, who the heck is opener Bobbie Kosser (billed on the monthly Keystone calendar)?

Second, in early CD trading days I had gotten a copy of this show listed as “sbd”, and it took me a minute to figure out it was an aud. When I mentioned it to Bob Menke one time, inquiring whether it was his, he said he didn’t tape it but knew who did. Then, some years later, the Robert Castelli aud comes out via Menke and the MOTB crew. I haven’t cross-checked them, but I’d be shocked if they weren’t the very same tape. How a copy ended up on CD before the MOTB release is not clear to me.

Third, the first set ends earlier than expected as the fire marshal stops by. Jerry is “more grin than beard”, as Weir once said, in bemusedly noting the issue, which I am sure Corry will recognize is flowing from the material facts of the Keystone Berkeley’s commercial strategy:

Seems the fire marshal is outside, so we have to take a break while everything cools out before we all get busted. Sorry, that’s the way it goes. We’ll be back in a few minutes, no sweat. Y’know, it’s just one of those little legal matters.

Fourth, in a burst of enthusiasm, Nicky riffs like this is a BBC Live presentation, doing a little piano thing that I imagine was theme music, though it might be something else. Anita O’Day features in this little scenario. I looked her up, and she sounds incredible! As ever, I am grateful to Jerry and Co. for broadening my cultural horizons, because I was quite unaware of her. Sounds like she had a few “little legal matters” of her own, to deal with, and did so with panache and without regret.

Fifth, Nicky sounds pretty together this night and plays some wonderful, beautiful stuff.

Sixth, fast FOTD FTW. Don’t @ me.

Seventh, how about the big beautiful showstopper of LSTNT -> Edward, the greatest setpiece of any Jerry Band, which shows what JGB #1 with Nicky might have been, in conception if not always in execution? This one is good, not amazing. For my taste it hews a little too closely to the root songs to be an all-timer. Jerry returns a few times to LSTNT instead of taking it out, and Edward, too, keeps close to  home. There’s some really interesting stuff, no doubt, including a little theme around 15 minute mark of LSTNT that might have a name, but it’s not the version I’d play for a novitiate to show off what this band could do. I think the version on Let It Rock (LSTNT from 11/17/75, Edward from 11/18/75) is really good, but I also absolutely love the monster version from 12/20/75, which offers up top-shelf, grade A JGB #1.

Listening notes after the jump.

Jerry Garcia Band
Keystone
2119 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
November 8, 1975 (Saturday)
Castelli MAC MOTB151 flac1644 shnid-109001 rename to sets

–set I (6 tracks, 58:03)–
s1t01. /Sugaree [8:43] [0:08] % [0:09] %
s1t02. Catfish John [9:24] (1) [1:40]
s1t03. That’s What Love Will Make You Do [9:56] [0:21]
s1t04. [0:26] Mystery Train [10:15] [0:15] %
s1t05. [0:13] Pig’s Boogie [6:57] [0:56]
s1t06. [0:27] They Love Each Other [6:42] (2) [1:23]

–set II (9 tracks, 8 tunes, 83:39)–
s2t01. ambience [0:38] %
s2t02. (3) [0:27] How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) [10:49] [0:36]
s2t03. (4) Let It Rock [9:00] [0:17] %
s2t04. Friend Of The Devil [6:05] [0:27]
s2t05. [0:52] Sitting In Limbo [13:32] [0:11]
s2t06. [0:50] Lady Sleeps [4:19] [0:22] %
s2t07. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [8:50] [0:34]
s2t08. [0:13] (5) Let’s Spend The Night Together [15:29] ->
s2t09. Edward [9:50] (6) [0:14]

! ACT1: Jerry Garcia Band #1
! lineup: Jerry Garcia – el-g, vocals;
! lineup: Nicky Hopkins – piano, vocals;
! lineup: John Kahn – el-b;
! lineup: Ron Tutt – drums, vocals.

JGMF:

! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / = clipped song; // = cut song; … = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [m: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 [m:ss] 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/19751108-01

! db: https://etreedb.org/shn/14041 (aud shnf, probably deprecated); https://etreedb.org/shn/109001 (this fileset). The MOTB crew did a 2496 fileset as well, but it does not circulate publicly. Given the source tape, it’s probably overkill.

! map: https://goo.gl/maps/LDc43

! JGBP: http://jerrygarciasbrokendownpalaces.blogspot.com/2012/02/keystone-2119-university-avenue.html

! venue: URL http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2010/12/2119-university-avenue-berkeley-ca.html; URL http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2011/01/jerry-garcia-and-keystone-shows.html

! band: JGB #1 (http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2012/01/jerry-garcia-band-personnel-1975-1995.html)

! ad: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook 19751026p35;

! listing: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook 19751102p07;

! ad: San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle Datebook 19751102p31;

! listing: San Francisco Examiner, November 7, 1975, p. 43.

! R: field recordist: Robert Castelli

! R: field recording gear: 2x Sony ECM 270 > Sony TC-152SD

! R: field recording media: 2x Maxell UDC90

! R: Analog Sound Preservation: MAC >> Nakamichi CR7a => Korg MR-1000 >> DSF [1-bit 5.6448 MHz Stereo] >> Korg MR-1000 => Korg AudioGate >> WAV [24/96]. Transfer By: Bob Menke. Mastering By: Derek McCabe.

! R: MOTB Release: 0151 16/44.1, Release Date: 2010-07-21; “All tape pauses are left in for use in future sources that may appear. Thank You—–The Management”

!  R: s1t01 Sugaree enters in progress, not much missing

! s1t02 (1) JG: “If we could get just a little more vocal in the monitors, it’d be real nice.” Nicky: “Yes a bit more vocals, please. A bit more guitar, as well.”

! s1t03 TWLWMYD the notes Jerry hits @ 7:45!!

! (2) s1t06 Nicky: “All right, we got a nice audience here tonight. Welcome. We’re just gonna tune up some more and then carry on.” @ 8:01 JG: “Seems the fire marshal is outside, so we have to take a break while everything cools out before we all get *busted*. Sorry, that’s the way it goes. We’ll be back in a few minutes, no sweat. Y’know, it’s just one of those little legal matters.” He is grinning behind his beard for sure.

! s2t02 (3) Nicky: “Welcome to the BBC Live program. Here we are with another program. [inaudible] and galores, and we have special actress, Anita O’Day!”

!  P: s2t02 HSII vocal variation @ 10-min mark “You been better to me than I been to myself | doesn’t mean I don’t love nobody else”.

! s2t03 (4) Nicky monitor talk

! P: s2t04 FOTD nice and peppy, and Nicky plays it amazingly. Crowd takes a while to recognize what it is. Not the big cheer I expected it’d get. No big, I guess?

! s2t08 (5) as Jerry starts strumming LSTNT, Nicky says “I need more drums, please. I’m really in need of them now.  Please do ya best. Gimme a bit more drums on the monitor. At least half as much, if not twice …”

! R: s2t08 LSTNT small pop @ 14:17

! P: s2t08 LSTNT Jerry floats it out at 6:27, nice brisk run. 9:25 ish Jerry puts an effect on, and it’s kind of symphonic. Nicky just beautiful. They descend together, with John, too, 9:51. Jerry quick back up the stairs 9:51. By 10:24 John starts digging in harder, faster tempo, everyone is on board. Waily 11:30, repeated little descent 11:45 fun, Jerry doing it a bunch, Nicky joining in every two or three. Garcia quotes LSTNT melody 12:05, then even the chorus sound 12:25, Tutt drumming hard, so Jerry wanders out on an effect again, sort of playing with the LSTNT rhythm and melody, returns to it again 13:13. Sort of interesting to me that he’s doing that, like he doesn’t plan to take it out to Edward. Tutt really not quitting here, things soften up 14:45ish, Nicky trilling, then 15:07 Garcia hits an identifiable theme, or at least a discrete theme, not sure what it is. 

! R: s2t08-09 I would have tracked at least 20 and maybe 40 seconds later, since the first 0:20 is the tag-end of LSTNT, the next 20 is an Edward jam before the characteristic keyboard flourish that really starts the song (IMO!). That comes in around 0:40.

! P: s2t09 Edward – I listened to this with intent to note on 12/16/2021 and it whelmed me. Not trusting my yesterself, I am spinning it again on 12/17/2021, and liking it more. Still, it doesn’t really get too far outside. The energy is good, but it lacks imagination relative to the monster versions. Jerry doing some great shit in 8, crowd into it. Nicky playing faster, but I still haven’t heard any breakout novelty from him here. Whole board back and forth runs early 9. Jerry signals the close and they wind it down.

! s2t09 (6) Nicky: “Thank you!” Jerry: “[inaudible, maybe good-bye] We’ll see y’all later on.”