John A

Any talk of gulf oysters is proving Island Bro's point about how good they are from his 'hood. That said, limiting one's self to the Pacific Northwest is ignoring the likes of Baja California, Humboldt, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. And in general the smaller the better. I'm usually of the take that the more salinity the better. What makes them so special is that they can evoke so much of the sea. Just a couple drops of lemon and you're good to go. Those big fuckers are meant to be grilled or broiled with stuff that gives them flavor. Sure, a good oyster bingo can be tasty, but it can never be magical.

That's pretty slick how the whole show bobs and weaves around all sorts of eras. And how the first set bobs and weaves around 2nd set elements.

The potential for those transitions in and out of Lay Me Down seem intriguing.

This was the first Don't Ease since before the hiatus, and it never left the rotation again. I recall a story that Jerry was uncommonly fucked up before the show, apparently on some pills or something, and there was concern about him getting onstage. But of course he rallies, to the point of opening the show with an amazingly appropriate bust out!

You got it! Umm, that's Bordeaux. I only offered up Burgundy. 😜

When you can make it over the Golden Gate Bridge, I'm good for some. Grand Cru even. 🍷😚

10-12-84 was the first of about a dozen instances of a Playin' Reprise without a main Playin' having occurred earlier.... That's totally righteous DSO included the rest of the Playin' in the filler slot.

Would never have guessed Way To Go Home came out of space 7 times. Thought it was exclusively pre-drums material. God bless humanity for that tune to drive the coveted transition out of space slot. This prompted my own research re: Wave to the Wind. Could it have actually come out of space? Yep. It did so twice. Turns out I actually saw one of them. Better to have blocked that kind of shit out I suppose. There are also 2 occasions of Way To Go Home being followed by Wave to the Wind. Ouch.

I have played many an hour of pickup basketball at Barton Hall. The Big Red hoops game were played there until another (proper) arena opened about 15-20 years ago. Wildly cool facility in its own right. TERRIBLE place for live music though. Goes to show the Dead lay down their most famous show there. Because of course they do. 😆

I consider Days Between as much more than "holding up as a Jerry ballad." It's A-list, and I know that high praise, but it's simply brilliant. The only knock on it is that it came around just as Jerry was on his downslope. Listen to 12-11-94. Mesmerizing.

Back to Valley Road, The Dead seemed gung-ho about it, at least briefly. Of the 6 versions, the last 4 were all in Dec. '90 and all 6 were 1st set closers. And just like that, it was gone. 🤭 The other Hornsby song they did, Stander on the Mountain, also saw all 3 of its appearances toward the end of '90 and again all as 1st set closers. I wonder what made them shelve the "Bruce slot" come the turn of the year. Likely Bruce himself I suppose. Hey, one could ask him...

I was also at that Landover show with the lone GD Fever. That seems like something Eaton would want to bust out in an elective. Maybe they've recreated that show? Don't think anybody is gonna get a Samba at a DSO show. 😆

This kind of stuff and a '69 venture are my DSO wheelhouse. Nice.

Because the Grateful Dead is all about serendipity and coincidence, of course in my car yesterday when I tuned into the Sirius channel they were playing Greatest Story -> Bertha from Portland 6-24-73. Pretty damn sweet transition into Bertha to boot. 😀

Not so much "here and there", but this is correct. The combo itself was on hiatus from 10-18-74 through 6-7-80, and the show opening combo was on hiatus from 9-19-72 through 12-14-80. In fact, it was only an opening combo 3 times prior to 1980.

That was breakout #2, after the '85-'89 hiatus. Get your break-outs straight, man. 😜😂

Don't forget the 6-9-77 through Spring '83 Help > Slip hiatus.

Other tidbits I've heard to help fill this in... Come Together, Hey Jude, and a double band Makes No Difference / Shape I'm In. 3 set 2 Beatles songs, plus a double Band encore.

You rang? 😀 Bertha > Greatest Story was played 63 times, whether opening the show (obviously more typical), closing the first set, opening the second set (rare but not vanishingly so) or in the early 70s sometimes showing up in that order later in the 2nd set. Perhaps more surprisingly, Greatest Story > Bertha occurred 11 times - and this also spanning from '72 through '95!

Funny, but true. The last missing link chronologically to the Dead's long, strange trip. And yes, good blog about a strange little winter tour.

Good extended take on the shows / venue, Mango - thanks. I was just listening to a New Year's set 2 GD opener on Sirius XM in the car and I turned it off because even on the soundboard the balloons were brutal. As a former audience taper, you can imagine how I felt about them back in the day. 😠 I streamed the 12-30 show on my big TV / stereo. Sound, video, overall production, not to mention the band's playing, were all impeccable. Funny to read your rant about the repeated encore tandem, because once I'd realized the 12-30 show was almost assuredly a mid to late '78 recreation, I'm thinking shit like, "ok, now it's going to Samson, Estimated, or Playin' and anything else will be a shocker." As well as "Wharf Rat, Stella, or Black Peter - what else is possible?" And it's bothering me! Point being, how fucking spoiled are we to have such gripes? 😉

Gotcha all beat - Hey Jude. 3-1-69 then 3-22-90; 1522 shows. True, the Hey Jude finale showed up in '85 after Mr Fantasy, and also true the 3-22-90 version was more an attempt by Brent to sing the entire song than a successful stab at doing so, but still...

It's a solid app. I did beta testing for it, although I ironically don't have it due to all the beta versions timing out. But I definitely recommend it. Technically Stu Nixon is the only original DeadBase collaborator that is involved. John Scott, the main force behind Deadbase (he did all the programming) dropped off the grid some years ago and the software vanished along with him. It's a crime to pedantic Deadhead humanity that the print version can't be revised with the hundreds of updates and corrections that have surfaced since Jerry left us. That's why Deadbase 50 is such a let down.

It feels safe to proclaim that Eyes > Comes A Time is the first such pairing. Pretty brilliant call, actually. The reverse would seem quite awesome as well.

Having 6 copies of every DeadBase ever printed (kidding, I'm just kidding 😉), I count 14 second set Candymans, the last being 7-7-81 in Kansas City.