DesertDead

Wise words, my friend. ”Everything will be ok in the end. If it’s not yet ok, it’s not yet the end.” Appreciate the thread. DD

July 22, 1984. Ventura County Fairgrounds. As most of you may know, this venue is literally on the beach. Skull and Roses Festival takes place there every year. Show has a Dancin opener, I Just Want to Make Love to You, Dew out of Space, and two encores. Also, apparently Jerry thinks that some woman named Bertha should not ever come around there anymore. https://archive.org/details/gd84-07-22.pcm-sbd.miller.30650.sbeok.flacf/gd84-07-22d1t02.flac

Today is July 17. iykyk

Agree with you, Tea. Saw the Phoenix show, was the best I’ve seen them since 2017 Boston, and possibly even better. We got a very cool setlist that included a first set Fantasy, Dark Star, Cumby. And no tempo problems all night. Chimenti played like he was finally told he could let loose. Recommend…

Wow, that 1st set!

Hi Unbroken Chain Hi post-space EOTW

Pump Song

I’ll hazard a guess that this is the first time in the history of the universe that We Can Run, Operator, Hurts Me Too, and Broken Arrow were all played in the same set. I mean, Mason’s Children->Eternity->Doin That Rag->Samba I can understand, but this shit is a crazy carousel of eras! 😝

(Waits for list to scan for Promised Land…)

If you don’t get any other leads on this, Vic, perhaps the venue can accommodate the group with some impacted by ADA needs. This can be achieved not just through those in wheelchairs, but could be vulnerability due to crowds bumping them or easier access due to walking problems. It’s subjective to the venue and PTB, but this can be a relatively low bar to chin if expressed thoughtfully. Certainly sounds appropriate from what you’ve shared. And obviously should not cost any extra. Just an idea. DD

I guess that Playin reprise from the original show whetted their whistle for the whole PITB? pretty neat

Some setlist last night! Did anyone attend? Did anyone watch? Listen? I only caught a little bit, was pretty neat. They sure did drain the big ticket items in that second set — wow, that’s just crazy to read. Dead & Co 5/8/23 setlist

Si, 2:00 showtime.

Race Is On for the Derby, as were a few of those that followed. Fantastic show, last time that China/Rider closed a first set. https://archive.org/details/gd89-05-06.dsbd.serifin.5423.sbefail.shnf/gd89-05-06d2t07.shn

Mikey was a helluva guitar player. Seems so neat that circumstances led to Jimmy finally getting that chair. He might be the only guy on the planet that could respectably play WSP music as it was designed. Miraculous, really. I’d say that the general explosion of popularity of the GD led to so many of the people who were not at the shows for the music was the problem. A lot of people who were the “problem” back then that I observed were not Phish fans. But, again, I get it. Some just don’t like them. Right on. (oh, and congrats on your show anniversary from Palladium 1977!) DD

Well acknowledging your parenthesized comment was more of a goodwill gesture. I just got off of tour and was going to share some of the experience anyway. Just had to remember how to type so it took me a few days hahaha. So, yeah, frankly the thread has zero to do with you directly, Tom, I promise. But since you’re here I was surprised that you soured on them so strongly after having been very much into them. But everyone has their own path, right? DD

Thanks to all involved for the OT discussion. I enjoy learning from others’ point of view. I think I am most surprised by yours, Greg, in that you have never even LISTENED to a Phish song in your life. That in itself is fascinating to me. It’s easy to understand that some people just do not like them, and I also get a bit of the haters with an air of competition with the Grateful Dead (“there can be only one” mentality haha), but since I know how much you all love GD and the greatest band playing GD music today, Dark Star Orchestra, I would humbly suggest that you at least just experience some Phish for yourself. Not because Phish could ever “replace” GD/DSO, but because it is absolutely a derivative style whose primary influence is the music you so passionately adore. Same with me, of course. And caveat here that none of my views are intended to change anyone’s mind, but only to share in the event that someone finds it interesting. I make no presumptions with this thread (although I did know going in what MC’s view was, given his parenthesized comment in his thread about partners digging our music; I didn’t want to hijack that thread but it did prompt me to start this one. Thanks for that share, Tom.) Like many of you, I had neither time nor interest in Phish while Garcia still roamed the Earth in human form. I found their vibe sophomoric and I only have so much bandwidth for music in my day, and that time is either GD or JGB haha. I tend to be an open-minded individual, but was definitely a skeptic when it came to Phish. I had already been a huge Widespread Panic fan, so between the GD and them I was fully sated for awesome music. But in 1996 I did see my first Phish show, and it was a party. Different and therefore not as comfortable as the 93 Dead shows I attended lol, but similar. I agree with a few of you that have found more similarities with WSP fans and Deadheads than with Phish. I get that vibe as a general stereotype as well. But generalized stereotypes don’t always apply, of course. Over the years I have encountered plenty of kynd, like-minded spirits and proven Deadheads at Phish shows. Some of which are huge DSO fans, like us. So I saw a spattering of Phish shows in the late 90’s and early 00’s, then I got married and adulted for a while, only seeing GD-based bands, including of course DSO. I periodically listened to Phish but never took my time to attend their shows. An itch I didn’t feel the need to scratch, if you will. Fast forward to 2021, and for a variety of reasons,I did attend a show out here in PHX, 18 years after my last one. It was a much more developed sound and therefore experience. The band had obviously written new music and changed/gotten better (not to say that they weren’t talented all along in my view, because these are uber-talented musicians by any reasonable measure). It was thick and funky and the space hit right. So I subsequently deadicated more of my time to exploring their catalog, which obviously includes a vast span of live music, again influenced by the GD. So again with zero presumptions in place, I will tell anyone brave enough to read this far that this recent Spring Tour of theirs was fantastic. They played 8 shows between Seattle, Berkeley, and Los Angeles. I went to the six California shows. Berkeley with a dear old friend who happens to be a long-time taper that some of you may know. Hollywood with a guy is as close to being a brother as you can get without being related. Needless to say, we partied and boogied hard (albeit quietly in the taper section haha). The following videos are from the Greek, one from each second set. If you have a 4K screen and some way to get loud, I suggest you do so. The Tweezer is 44 minutes and goes into Simple for another 19 or so. These are not simply spectacular because of their length, but if you want to see how they have transformed, buckle in. These songs are over 30 years old and they do have some of that goofy lyric thing happening (they are not Gamehendge, however). But these both have jams that get to be QUITE different and are anything but playful. Strongly recommend anyone here to party this Tweezer->Simple this weekend. If you have not heard Phish lately, prepare to be surprised. If you only watch one of these songs below, let it be the entire Tweezer. Around the 25-minute mark is not bad lol. The next offering is Fuego, a newer tune relative to the first two. This also goes places, swampy and funky places. From night 3 is Set Your Soul Free into What’s the Use? If you are going to experience this, settle in for the entirety with an open mind. None of this is Help/Slip/Frank, as no one else can ever supplant our first (only?) true love, but this is some quality and interesting music that is akin to GD in many ways. And I think I’m reasonably qualified to say that this is not some ordinary “jam band”. Interested in any reflections on any of what I’ve shared, and obviously these recent examples of what Phish is up to. Peace DD

Do you listen to Phish? Do you go to their shows? If not, why not? Share any views you have on them. DD

I was waiting for the HTH banter to ensue 😂

April 29 = my daughter’s birthday 😊 The GD show for this date is 1971 at Fillmore East. Final Second That Emotion and final Alligator. Killer show, overall. https://www.gratefuldeadoftheday.com/04-29-1971

April 15, 1970 is Winterland. When Cold Rain ends, stick around for a young Bobby screaming with joy. Fun stuff, killer 1970 show. https://archive.org/details/gd70-04-15.sbd.kaplan.14354.sbeok.shnf/gd70-04-15d1t01.shn

Sick of Europe ‘72? (said no one, ever) Take a trip to Irvine, California. (a lovely place) April 14, 1985. If you’re looking for mellow Jerry vibes, turn your head, for this ain’t it. (and I ain’t superstitious!) https://archive.org/details/gd85-04-14.sbd.jeffm.3667.sbeok.shnf/gd85-04-14d1t04.shn

April 13, 1983. The boys invade Phish country and play University of Vermont. This is an outstanding show that includes Scarlet->Fire Estimated->Eyes Space->Morning Dew among many other jams get in here: https://archive.org/details/gd83-04-13.sbd.sacks.1614.sbeok.shnf/gd83-04-13d2t02.shn

April 10, 1978 the Grateful Dead played in Atlanta. This has some interesting information about the Fox Theater. The Salt Lake City is soundcheck. https://www.gratefuldeadoftheday.com/04-10-1978 Here is a soundboard of the show: https://archive.org/details/gd78-04-10.sbd.miller.18098.sbeok.shnf And here’s a YouTube of Bobby regaling the crowd…

On this day 34 years ago, Brent Mydland brought the goods in Louisville, Kentucky… https://www.gratefuldeadoftheday.com/04-09-1989 And on this day 1,990 years ago, word is that a guy named Jesus did something cool of his own. YMMV, but Happy Easter to those who follow such things! 🐰