springFallandWinter

yikes

isnt this the infamous 8 am show?

a little back story on the giza shows. when the dead went over to egypt for these concerts in sept of '78, they brought along alotta recording equipment because they planned on releasing a live album from the shows to help defray the costs of the venture. however, when they got home and listened to the tapes, they found that, due to internal medicine and external forces, the performances, sound, playing, vocals and recordings were, to be kind, pretty sub-par. they dtiched the entire project and never put out a record. so when we got to philly and saw the big ole camel on stage and heard the egyptian chant to open the show, it was pretty obvious we were being transformed back to the desert for one of the pyramid shows (we got the 2nd of the 3 nights). that would give one pause knowing how not-good these actual shows were. well all i can say is that the dso probably never listened to these actual recordings and just saw some of what they thought were interesting setlists. because this was one of those rare occasions where the show the dso put on, was actually waaaaay better than the original grateful dead concert. first set--- well theres not much even the dark star orchestra could do with that, though fotd was decent and loser was really powerful. a 7 song (8 if you count the opening chant) set ending with miracle/stagger lee, one of the weirdest vibe/image songs the dead ever wrote, was predictably uneven and short. both stagger and miracle were brand new songs that had only been played a handful of times in sept of '78 as the album shakedown street wasnt relased until november of '78, following the egypt trip. the 2nd set however was freakin nails with a jumpin jack straw complete with perfect bomb breaks between jeff, eaton, headband and skip. it was a monster jack followed by a beautiful ship, sitting in its normal placement for '78. the rest was just jamtastic---est/eyes/drums/terrapin (after drums)/sugar mag. eyes was dancin all over the place. terrapin, after-drums placement, was a fantastic sweet surprise and again, the breaks were built up and exploded. stellar. this was an out-there terrapin. really strong. and sugar mag was rollicking and perfect with eaton taking his sweet time in the break before starting sunshine daydream, and lisa giving him the hands on her hips, stink eye business. lotta fun goin on. yeah everyone just having so much fun. fun was the key word. this band is enjoyin each other and the audience so much and and the good vibes and energy just bounce back and forth which sets them apart. from the opening crowd chants of e a g l e s, following their teams demolition of the hated cowboys and clinching a playoff spot to eaton sparring with the crowd by stating "sorry, for me its all jets and mets" (2 of the phillies main adversaries), well it just got all the fun started. and since the giza shows were short and without an encore, it left plenty of room for an unofficial pre new years unannounced real 3rd set which was one of the great surprises you will ever see the dark star orchestra pull off. it was the energizer bunny. it just kept going and going. and it kept on going to the jaw dropping surprise and amazement of the crowd. first a blow out samson and delilah. then the band gem shape im in. everyone thought that was it. nah. not a by a mile. here comes a long, jammy, silky, sweaty the way you do the things you do. man oh man. ok well thats it-- right-- time to go. wait a second. band still isnt leaving. and then lisa just smokes it with look whats comin down the street..... got a revolution. crazy volunteers. franklins music hall was losin its mind. ok drive safe. see you next time. the end. right? nope. volunteers morphed into a sublime and jammed out brothers and sisters. pretty amazing concert and evening for a grateful dead show that the actual grateful dead thought sucked. this was a blowout. following the previous nights anthem statement, these were back-to back pearls. a great time was had by all.

john kadlecik is a dmv local. and since he was in town playin the state theatre (the place i first saw dso at way back when) friday night, we figured there was a good chance hed be at the anthem saturday night. and when we saw him scurrying around the stage at intermission, our hopes were confirmed. and listen im not getting into any of the old bad blood stuff between the band members. he was there and this had great possibilities of jeff and jk firing off double guitar leads. so what happens? band comes out for the second set with jk on stage BUT jeff is nowhere to be found. hes sitting on the side backstage watching. when guitarists joined the grateful dead for a jam........steve miller, carlos santana, mick taylor etc, they dont replace you, they join you. they didnt replace jerry, they joined jerry. instead of dual guitar duets and interchange, we get jk playin solo lead on, wait for it, feel like a stranger--- get it. and thats it. a little background vocal, a little solo lead, no dynamic dual bullets being fired off, and poof hes gone. made no sense. really too bad. twas a real missed opportunity for everyone.

setlist correction: no filler. just a special surprise 3rd set: samson & delilah, shape i’m in, that’s what love will make you do, volunteers > brothers and sisters

ok this was a pretty unique show in a buncha ways. right off the bat, ive never seen 1/2 step/i know you rider to open a show. actually ive never seen those two as a combo-- period-- by either the gd or the dso. matter of fact i dont think the gd ever did it at all. not sure dso has either. so thats pretty pretty pretty cool. and it was blasted out of the gate. beautiful. i love it. theyre perfect together like pancakes and syrup. what an opening sequence. peggyo was sublime. donna, er lisas chimes.... well she owns this. its become, her.......anthem. tangled is one of the best first-set closers you could hope for. even better than timothee chalamet could imagine. nice. (ill get to stranger and jk later.) i never saw a great gd speedway. seemed it was one of the rare songs which the live version never surpassed the recorded workingmans version. speedway last night may have been the best version ive seen. it was a train a rollin and a boogien. playin is always a treat--playin and simple. its a gem. this was short and oh so sweet. and uncle johns--- well its the big crazy uncle at your dinner table. hes big and loud. and he always puts a smile on your face. and when hes right the smile almost hurts. it was that kinda smile. its the big singalong. to see 2 jerry songs after drums with neither one of em being black peter, wharf rat or stella blue is pretty pretty pretty unusual and a treat. roanoke 87 comes to mind (first night- comes a time and crazy fingers, 2nd night wheel and morning dew.) so fire and china doll was neat. speaking of fire outta drums, again pretty rare. saw it once-- radio city halloween 80--the franken and davis broadcast show. never saw it since by the gd or dso. dont know if theyve ever done that. nice surprise and big big version. oh yeah, hey jude, nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah. gravy. and any show that ends with a wrapup back into playin is nails. just a really well-played unusual concert. good time had by all.

original. 1. 1/2 step/i know you rider, btw, peggyo, never trust a woman, tom thumb, biodtl, chimes of freedom, greatest story, tangled up in blue. 2. stranger (w/john kadlecik- no jeff mattson, jk left after stranger), speedway, playin/uncle johns/d/s/fire on the mtn/hey jude/china doll/playin. e. take a letter maria.

was watching some ole ed sullivan shows and it seems every band back in the day, including sf own jefferson airplane, was on. i mean everyone. any1 know why dead never appeared on sullivan?

question for any deadologists: what happened to jerry on this night in '73? anyone know anything? 2nd set after lucy, garcia didnt hit the mike again for an hour following 5 straight weir songs (which btw were all crushed---truckin/other one/weather report suite/let it grow/sugar mag. garcia did slip in a 2 minute instrumental nobodys fault.). pretty amazing sequence. and weird (no pun...). never seen that. thats some stuff.

rome was lit from point go. wednesday night up state ny and the joint was jumpin all the way up to the rafters. crazy scene. first set fuse was lit from opening notes alabama followed by what???? race is on. cmon. hot west la, bluegrass 70s style flash fotd. oh yeah....and it stoned me. yeah it did. and for the cherry on top, just an amazing first set ender with a not rough and ready for prime time day tripper. .........tried to please her, she only played one night......... yeah. what a freakin treat. 2nd set all gravy with beautiful almost a cappella tomorrow. wild night in rome.

kennedy ctr giving grateful dead its highest honor after it banned the jgb from ever playin there again after legion of mary shows in april of '75. bandwagon.

3 words never before uttered together.