Forum MVP August West Posted September 7, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 7, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i8sGROhrHc&feature=share Ok so maybe not ever, but certainly one of the best of the 80's. Hit me up with some of your faves. I mean we all LOVE Bertha right??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP New York Steve Posted September 8, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i8sGROhrHc&feature=share Ok so maybe not ever, but certainly one of the best of the 80's. Hit me up with some of your faves. I mean we all LOVE Bertha right??? Happy Jerry! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timos25 Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 My personal fave is 10/29/1977. Everyone clicks http://www.archive.org/details/gd1977-10-29.sbd.miller.92085.sbeok.flac16 LOVE Bertha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwpolk Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 11-2-79 - Nassau. http://www.archive.org/details/gd79-11-02.sbd.macdonald.7920.sbeok.shnf 4-12-78 - Duke. (great video). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP August West Posted September 8, 2011 Author Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Damn straight!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topher44 Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 Damn straight!! One for the ages. It made me smile seeing Jerry having so much fun with his solos, and even Keith sounds quite engaged here, sparring with Jer at times. I also have a soft spot for 11/2/85. I was at that show, not far from the stage, and Bertha set a perfect tone for the evening. Having negotiated the cops and aggresive security to get into the Richmond Coliseum that rainy November night, this Bertha took on extra meaning as a crowd pumper... and it worked in spades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP John A Posted September 8, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 11/2/84 BCT does me just right. Every time. I just swoon over Brent's little keyboard line in the intro. Doesn't "best Bertha ever" have to be 2nd set? And post space to boot? I suppose not, but I still think it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted September 8, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 I like my Bertha's a little dirty most of the time but for those who are in the mood for a couple that are as clean and crisp as they get. Go here: You'll have to find your SDB copy of this one because it's a release, but here's an aud that doesn't do it justice, just in case you haven't heard it and have to know. http://www.archive.org/details/gd87-12-31.schoeps.ewing.16436.sbeok.shnf Here is just a taste from the real thing. Fair warning though: it's plagued by what all the official releases are plagued by...someone in the edit room that doesn't know where to leave the camera. Boo official releases! And here is another Bertha of the same ilk: http://www.archive.org/details/gd1989-10-23.sbd.walker-scotton.miller.83327.sbeok.flac16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP cm_hayden Posted September 8, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 My preference has always been 72-77 Bertha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakada Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 6/4/78 is up there on my list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP chuckvegas Posted September 8, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 I was there for several of the 70s Berthas mentioned here, but when I had two Stouts show me The Best Bertha Ever, it was a road to Damascus moment. The next day was the road to Newark, but the magic lives on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeanAY Posted September 8, 2011 Report Share Posted September 8, 2011 I was always partial to the Bertha from the Field Trip, 8/27/72. Loved that raging Jerry solo! For whatever reason - maybe it's just the mix - I also really love the one from the show a year and a day previous, 8/26/71 at Gaelic Park. On the recording I have, Phil's bass is very loud and clear, and you can really hear how intricate the bass line is. One of my favorites for that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP comesatime Posted September 13, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 Happy Jerry! I always loved to see "Happy Jerry" , his smile lit up the room !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsy Bob Posted September 13, 2011 Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 An interesting version by the Jeff & Donna Jean Band http://donnajeangodchauxband.info/Bertha_DJGB_4-17-09.MP3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Ammagamalin Crew Posted September 13, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 May 10th, 1986 @ The Frost in Palo Alto mainly because when they opened the show with Bertha a thousand roses came flying down on the stage area and it was a beautiful afternoon 2pm start with grass under my barefeet. The whole town seems to have roses growing everywhere. The echoes during the end of Est. are worth a listen of this whole show. http://www.archive.org/details/gd1986-05-10.sbd.walker-scotton.miller.81625.flac16 Next would be Syracuse Carrier Dome 10/20/84! (just one more saturday in a full blown Grateful Dead city decked to the tee with colors and smiles everywhere) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Tea Posted September 13, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 Grateful Dead Live at Oakland Auditorium Arena on 1979-12-28 The SBD was released as Road Trips 3, Vol 1. Here is the AUD: http://www.archive.org/details/gd79-12-28.rolfe.vernon.16117.sbeok.shnf Note the crazy placement in the 2nd set - Love this version! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted September 13, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 Note the crazy placement in the 2nd set - Love this version! I LOVE this show too, especially the Sugaree opener (Jon's mentioned it here before) and the Bertha definitely belongs on this thread. But that Bertha placement actually wasn't so crazy during that time. It was pretty common, starting sometime in '79, to have Bertha in the post space slot and slam into Good Lovin from Miracle. They seemed to really like that trifecta of Mirace>Bertha>Good Lovin and had it in the second set a lot and the and post space quite often too. That's basically the placement of John's favorite version at BCT '84 up above, which I think everyone should listen to. There was something REALLY awesome about Bertha when it was in this spot (before the Weir show closer) and it's really a shame they put it there it less and less after '79 or so because I thought it had some serious muscle...all sweaty and mean, like a overweight, lovesick and love scorned nurse Ratched or something. I could make an argument for the move (but I'm not making that argument!) because like GDTRFB in the post space, it would occasionally strip that crowd of the post space Jerry Garcia ballad and that's just not something anyone wants, but there were plenty of times where a place would get both the ballad and the Bertha...and those must have been some mighty fine post spaces--I never got near one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP John A Posted September 13, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 That's basically the placement of John's favorite version at BCT '84 up above, which I think everyone should listen to. Almost...my fav came out of a long, spacey Playin' Reprise before slamming into Good Lovin'. How many times was there a full blown Playin' Reprise in a show that didn't contain a Playin'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP jfolks Posted September 13, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 13, 2011 7-4-89 is probably my favorite.. (opener on the Truckin up to Buffalo DVD).. SMOKING version, whole band is firing on all cylinders.. jerry just lights it up http://video.yandex.ru/users/pdkmn/view/2/user-tag/grateful%20dead%20-%20bertha/ I'm also partial to the Bertha opener on Dicks Picks 18 (02-05-78) I think that a lot of people here are biased in their choices.. like people claiming mid 80's shows/versions are the absolute emotional peak of GD for this song or that.. folks on this board are just too damn sentimental about their teen touring days to hear the music clearly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP chuckvegas Posted September 14, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 7-4-89 is probably my favorite.. (opener on the Truckin up to Buffalo DVD).. SMOKING version, whole band is firing on all cylinders.. jerry just lights it up http://video.yandex.ru/users/pdkmn/view/2/user-tag/grateful%20dead%20-%20bertha/ I'm also partial to the Bertha opener on Dicks Picks 18 (02-05-78) I think that a lot of people here are biased in their choices.. like people claiming mid 80's shows/versions are the absolute emotional peak of GD for this song or that.. folks on this board are just too damn sentimental about their teen touring days to hear the music clearly True, which of course is why if it's not from '73-'77 it ain't shit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted September 14, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Almost...my fav came out of a long, spacey Playin' Reprise before slamming into Good Lovin'. How many times was there a full blown Playin' Reprise in a show that didn't contain a Playin'? Hence the word 'basically.' And I'll take that Playin Reprise over a Miracle as well. And that is a great trivia question...it's only happened a few times. The even more difficult question is how many times has it happened when there was no Playin in the run or the show previous to---that Reprise? That's even more rare. I think it's happened only once! The turly autonomous Reprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP John A Posted September 14, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 I think that a lot of people here are biased in their choices.. like people claiming mid 80's shows/versions are the absolute emotional peak of GD for this song or that.. folks on this board are just too damn sentimental about their teen touring days to hear the music clearly That's probably true in general, although I like to think that I don't generally fall into that group. But think about Bertha in the years one typically thinks of as the band's creative peak - was it in the ballad slot? Did it benefit from Brent's organ work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP John A Posted September 14, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 The even more difficult question is how many times has it happened when there was no Playin in the run or the show previous to---that Reprise? A question made more difficult due to Deadbase's incompetence regarding the delineation of Playin'. But we've discussed that before... BTW, David, I got a ticket for Guerneville. Are you still planning to make that show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted September 14, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 BTW, David, I got a ticket for Guerneville. Are you still planning to make that show? Hard to say at this point...don't like missing these guys when they come out here but I may have to this time. And I don't think you fall into that group either regarding the official releases and the Dick's stuff...when I said that I was talking about all of us, really. I mean, there's a reason for the official releases...and Dick knew what he was doing quite obviously, but there is a heck of a lot out there. More out there than any of us can even imagine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Dstone5553 Posted September 14, 2011 Forum MVP Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 That's probably true in general, although I like to think that I don't generally fall into that group. I mixed and matched things incorrectly and got all messed up. My bad...the above was intended for Jordan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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