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Somehow I knew a pre-1970 was on deck. Here it is:

4/5/69 - Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco CA

Set One:

Dupree's Diamond Blues > Mountains Of The Moon > Jam > Dark Star > St. Stephen > Turn On Your Love Light

Set Two:

Hard To Handle > Cosmic Charlie ; China Cat Sunflower > Jam > Doin' That Rag ; Cryptical Envelopment > Drums > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment > The Eleven > It's A Sin ; Alligator > Drums > drummers' chant > Drums > Feedback > And We Bid You Good Night

Filler: Lindy > New Orleans ; Hurts Me Too ; Greatest Story Ever Told

Oh man...yikes! Looks like a Bay Area bomb to say the least. Please report to help with my vacarious needs!

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G

my god .hope gary got this stuff on video

Got the whole show. Hope to have some up today.

Connie said best DSO show she has seen. I have to agree.

Jeff did a good job of breaking in the Mattsoncaster II! Can't wait for tonite

Also there was an "Easy Wind" before Greatest

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WOW!!

Sorry I could only make the first show due to another committment last night. Would have loved to see a '69 Avalon show the night after seeing such a stellar '77 Winterland show. I'm thinking tonight may be a late 80's or early 90's Cal Expo show. That would make a remarkable contrast over 3 consecutive nights in GD Bay Area history. Having attending quite a few of the Cal Expo shows, that would also be a treat to see recreated.

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Guest Touch of Grey

Somehow I knew a pre-1970 was on deck. Here it is:

4/5/69 - Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco CA

Set One:

Dupree's Diamond Blues > Mountains Of The Moon > Jam > Dark Star > St. Stephen > Turn On Your Love Light

Set Two:

Hard To Handle > Cosmic Charlie ; China Cat Sunflower > Jam > Doin' That Rag ; Cryptical Envelopment > Drums > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment > The Eleven > It's A Sin ; Alligator > Drums > drummers' chant > Drums > Feedback > And We Bid You Good Night

Filler: Lindy > New Orleans ; Hurts Me Too ; Greatest Story Ever Told

Oh man...yikes! Looks like a Bay Area bomb to say the least. Please report to help with my vacarious needs!

I was at both shows -have to say some of the best DSO I have ever seen

Friday night was an amazing set list, and the band did a great job of recreating one of my favorite GD sounds- those silky Jerry riffs of the late '70s - I listened to the original recording the next a.m. and could see the attention paid to recreating the nuances of some of the songs (OK and a few places where they missed too),

We were promised "something completely different" the next night, and the stage setup and organ gave it away -we knew we would go way back, but the band again did an amazing job - what for me was most memorable was watching this early music performed live, and with great audio and lighting - the original recordings from this era are mostly mono and not great (even the soundboards lack in fidelity). So this was an experience - a '69 show with great audio and lighting. Performing real set lists is what it's all about IMHO, so if you have been dodging the shows for fear of an "original" set list, this is the tour for you . Have fun and post your reviews.

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Looks amazing!

Please include the link so we can all watch the video once it's posted.

My first time seeing JM with the band and what a force to be reckoned with! It's like I was taken to the mountains of the moon...cryptically enveloped....took a walk with some guy named Charlie who was holding a sunflower...and then safely returned to somewhere in san francisco...none of it was too hard to handle... :) hoping this coffee helps...all joking aside...awesome show!...I look forward to seeing the vids too!

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I refuse to join the love fest

Oh trust me, you want to be a part of this fest!

To put my comments in context: I'm a Bay Area Garcia Head (Dead Head 2nd, Garcia Head 1st). I groove on the occasional DSO experience and have done so for about 5 years, but I wouldn't travel beyond Sonoma County and I see one, maybe two shows when they come through. Nonetheless, when the band is in town, I rarely miss catching them, and I've been to about a dozen shows. Some are of course at a higher level than others, but I never fail to have a good time. I confess that I roll my eyes when I see comparisons to the real thing in its prime, but everyone's experience is subjective and it's all good.

Keep in mind that I'm trying to check hyperbole at the door here, but last night was the best Dark Star Orchestra show that I've ever witnessed. To see the band effortlessly ease their way into another, previously undiscovered Grateful Dead era would have been a sufficient foundation for a great show. But what Jeff Mattson accomplished in a hauntingly fascinating channeling of raw but just maturing Garcia essence sent the show to an uncharted plane. John Kadlecik has never blown me away to this degree. I don't know what I'd think of Jeff handling the later material, but his work on this era is mind boggling.

The entire band should get special mention for the Mountains of the Moon, which presented a breathtaking sonic tapestry. And Rob Barraco was playing dazzling fills all night on his organ.

While both sets were fantastic, the 1st set as a body of music is what really set the show on a pedestal. After Jeff delivered a brilliant double acoustic dose, the Dark Star unwound into territories far and wide. An Eleven jam was even included. St Stephen was as powerful as one could imagine, and Lovelight was extended and funky, with Barraco giving it the full Pigpen treatment. Even though he sounds nothing like Pig (note that Jeff sounded eerily like a young Garcia) his energy carried him.

The second set saw a seemingly mature Doin' That Rag (I'm guessing they have played that a number of times now), a lilting final jam in It's A Sin, and a powerhouse Alligator. And it took the 5th song of the mini-3rd set of filler for them to touch anything post '69!

I saw the band this Spring with Stu Allen, and while I liked his approach (and LOVE his vocals) the band was clearly not playing at the level I had known with JK. And how could they have? Stu had been with them for only a hand full of shows. Last night was a different matter. It's apples to oranges because we're talking about a new era being recreated and a new Garcia slot, but this show was easily on the level I knew of this band a year ago. Well done, Boys. Well done indeed.

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The first night had some strong points--the Music, Fire, Terrapin>Dew were all really good. What's up with having the middle verse "Almost Ablaze" in that '77 Fire? Count me in as a proponent of such decisions.

To my mind, however, there was a pretty big difference between that first night and the second night. The fist night was a ton of fun, but the second night was something that felt much more than that.

I have never in my life seen anyone do this era of GD like what was done to us by DSO last night.

From the very opening notes of the acoustic Duprees, it was like Mattson was different musician than what I saw the night before. So much subtlety and power and verve and uniqueness just oozing out of this guy, both vocally and instrumentally. That's not to say this was absent the night before...it's just to say how present it was on this night. He came off as someone who was born to play this music and like all of the great DSO shows, each and every musician was inventing magic at every turn.

The authenticness and passion with which this band approached these treasures was really pretty moving. In my opinion, the only way possible for them to pull this off has to lie in their genuine LOVE for this music. There is no other way anyone could do what they did last night without that, at least in my opinion. The Duprees> Mountains> D Star was mind blowing, I kid you not. The D Star was paralyzing at times. The power of songs like Stephen is something so unique to anyone who never got a chance to see early GD. When they did the William Tell Bridge into the Lovelight, it was clear what show it was but it didn't matter because everything was played in such a manner that surprises lay around every corner, and holy shit, there were a lot of corners!

Baracco's instrument sounded just like Pigpen's B 3 and what he did with it was incredible. He did a full Lovelight with about 6 raps in there, giving us lonely souls in the audience some pretty sage advice. When he got to Mance Lipscomb's "box back nitties" it felt like the place was going to implode on itself. That fist set was just something. The Eleven, Alligator Jam, Cosmic Charlie, China into Rag, Cryptical and really every moment of that show were all done with such power and creativity and care, it was thrilling to witness--I was actually pretty beside myself from the opening note of Dupress to the closing Bid U Goodnight. Fillers were also special.

Long live DSO.

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Guest Lisacat

not really sure what to say about last night's show besides it was a nonstop psychedelic dance frenzy and we rocked it hard on the floor. Left me feeling a little jolted at the end to be honest.....but I guess that's how it was back then. Barraco let his light shine for sure.... lovelight and hard to handle got down and dirty. Really enjoyed the its a sin...bluesy gooey goodness there. And thank you Lisa Mackey for coming out and gracing us with your unbelievable energy and vocals.

the aftershow hotel dance party was not so bad either...

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Such great reviews of a show that can only be described as a soul-shakin mind-fuk! Obvious students of the GD have blessed this forum with their thoughtful perspectives on what went down on Sat Nite. Thanks so much for the cogent reports - it confirms for me how much DSO is changing the game nite by nite.

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The fist night was a ton of fun, but the second night was something that felt much more than that.

There's something resonant about that statement. And it doesn't even require one to have gone to the first show; I didn't. There was just a feel that something here was adding up to more than the simple bliss of rocking out to a great band.

Baracco's instrument sounded just like Pigpen's B 3 and what he did with it was incredible

The level of musical genius Barraco exuded last night was staggering. I found myself soloing in on the B3 riffs time and time again.

He did a full Lovelight with about 6 raps in there, giving us lonely souls in the audience some pretty sage advice. When he got to Mance Lipscomb's "box back nitties" it felt like the place was going to implode on itself.

Sweet Mance Lipscomb reference, David! Indeed, that section of Lovelight (and Lovelight really was a multi-sectional tour de force) exploded beautifully. Barraco, Mattson, and Eaton erupted simultaneously. These are the words:

She got box back knitties

Great big noble thighs

Workin' undercover

With a boar hog eye

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Guest Due Reflection

i was extremely high and could have sworn they played Caution after Alligator but i know i am wrong about that.

wasn't previously that familiar with this show, not enough to know the set list anyway; so it unraveled for me quite surprisingly... when i saw the acoustic guitar come out for the opener i thought for a moment it was going to be some 1980 but there were full drum kits, no traps so i knew right away it wasn't.

haven't listed to this era in quite a long time so i'm still kinda blown away... admittedly a couple of the songs were perfunctory for me as i was never a huge Pig Pen aficionado but it's quite an extraordinary debut DSO show to have encountered Cryptical/TIFTOO Suite, The Eleven (only one i ever encountered was Other Ones at The Warfield in '98), a first set Dark Star after Mountains of the Moon and an acoustic to electric transition mid-jam... the awesomeness of it all is still kinda sinking in.

during the bonus time set, yelped out a longshot request for From The Heart Of Me but it went unrequited (wonder if DSO haved played it previously? i'll have to look it up)

Greatest Story Ever Told was most excellent.

*edit

the balcony was not open

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Must be why my throat is so scratchy today...

Maybe you should invest in :looky:

I NEED to see one of these 69 recreations. I'm getting so antsy reading all these positive reviews. I think Mattson is completely mind-blowing (especially with Europe 72 material) but i absolutely have to hear his psychedelic sludge in these 69 eras. Too good.

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Maybe you should invest in :looky:

I NEED to see one of these 69 recreations. I'm getting so antsy reading all these positive reviews. I think Mattson is completely mind-blowing (especially with Europe 72 material) but i absolutely have to hear his psychedelic sludge in these 69 eras. Too good.

I bought both 69 releases, they are both excellent esp the norva show. I too have yet to experience a 69, hoping for one on the nye run. Good times ahead! Have fun west coasters, soak it up while you can.

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Did you go to the show???? You gotta realize that statement is going to sound crazy...you get what you bring.

:dsorocks:

Those who know me

know I bring alot

and y'all ain't ready to hear what I have to say

I was at both SF shows and Sacto

bagged on Tahoe

will give Vegas one more try

I am working a full length post to come later

it will not be what you want to hear

no love fest here

sorry folks

the train is off the tracks

-e

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Guess she wasn't kidding around!

I don't think anyone should feel badly about honestly expressing their feelings about their experience at a show.

If it moved you then great and if it didn't then it didn't...it's not like any of us have a choice in the matter.

The annoying thing is when people negatively judge concert experience in which they weren't at...at least to me.

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