The Anthem

[Tea]

The crowd reaction on Box of Rain is right there with St. Stephen at MSG, Dark Star at Hampton, Casey Jones at RFK, and the Unbroken Chain at Philly.  While I wish I would've been able to experience that bust-out with Gr8tfulpair, the rest of that show is like weak coffee - on tape anyway.  I realize we talkin Spring '86 so Jerry was actively falling down into that hole.

 

An honorable mention bust-out that wasn't, was the attempted Cosmic Charlie on 2/27/94.  You can hear the crowd energy build and swell and then the loudest collective groan when Jerry takes a left turn into Wharf Rat.  Some say it was a planned tease but I think Jerry just hit the emergency eject button.

[Greg from Chestertown]

St.Stephen at the garden? Grateful Dead? Really? I was there for RFK Casey Jones bust out. Pretty cool with train horns. A friend was at unbroken chain breakout. He said the whole place just went Naaah! At the same time. 

[Tea]

1 hour ago, Greg from Chestertown said:

St.Stephen at the garden? Grateful Dead? Really? 

Huh?

[Greg from Chestertown]

your post implied that the Grateful Dead brought Saint Stephen off the shelf and broke it back out again. I wasn’t aware of that if they did. I don’t have deadbase, enjoy learning more about the band based on what the cat dragged home, whatever comes my way. Foreplay is the best.

Just googled it. Wow! You learn something new every day. ....don’t be surprised if you find me dreaming too....

[BillK522]

Saint Stephen played three times in 1983

after a 352 show absence.

10/11/83  MSG

10/15/83  Hartford

10/31/83  San Rafael

I did shows with a guy whose first two shows

were MSG and Hartford, and was like

"so they play this St. Stephen song every nite"

timing is everything.

I also love that the Anthem thread won't die.

 

Praise DSO.

[Greg from Chestertown]

That’s funny. Yea, I was reading on line. They’re saying Phil got a new Bass in’83 and wanted to try it out on St. Stephen.

[Rude]

12 hours ago, Tea said:

The crowd reaction on Box of Rain is right there with St. Stephen at MSG, Dark Star at Hampton, Casey Jones at RFK, and the Unbroken Chain at Philly.  While I wish I would've been able to experience that bust-out with Gr8tfulpair, the rest of that show is like weak coffee - on tape anyway.  I realize we talkin Spring '86 so Jerry was actively falling down into that hole.

 

An honorable mention bust-out that wasn't, was the attempted Cosmic Charlie on 2/27/94.  You can hear the crowd energy build and swell and then the loudest collective groan when Jerry takes a left turn into Wharf Rat.  Some say it was a planned tease but I think Jerry just hit the emergency eject button.

 

I wish my brain worked like yours

[Mojo Hand]

22 hours ago, Tea said:

The crowd reaction on Box of Rain is right there with St. Stephen at MSG, Dark Star at Hampton, Casey Jones at RFK, and the Unbroken Chain at Philly.  While I wish I would've been able to experience that bust-out with Gr8tfulpair, the rest of that show is like weak coffee - on tape anyway.  I realize we talkin Spring '86 so Jerry was actively falling down into that hole.

 

An honorable mention bust-out that wasn't, was the attempted Cosmic Charlie on 2/27/94.  You can hear the crowd energy build and swell and then the loudest collective groan when Jerry takes a left turn into Wharf Rat.  Some say it was a planned tease but I think Jerry just hit the emergency eject button.

I had the good fortune of being at the RFK Casey Jones and the Unbroken Chain in Philly.

 

The crowd reaction to Unbroken Chain was euphoric and big.  However, for me it was one of those nights that exemplify the downward trajectory of the band.  It was spring of '95.  The setlist that night featured an Easy Answers, Way to Go Home, Corrina, Mathilda, and a very poorly played Unbroken Chain.  The song never really meant that much to me, so the bust-out was not significant for me and it was very poorly played.  Numerous buzzkills in this concert, as was typical for the time period.  I've never listened back.  I'm sure there were some well played moments, but those '95 setlists could never hold me for very long. 

 

On the other hand......the Casey Jones bust-out was one of the highlights in the best week of my life.  What a day at RFK!  Not the best Dead show I have ever seen....but a great one for me and a day I will never forget.  I have never experienced group exuberance like that Casey Jones.  Casey Jones is also not a very important song for me.....but the moment was huge.  The colors, the smiles, the green grass, the sun, the dancing, the train whistle, the liquid!  I will never be able to adequately express what that moment felt like. 

[Greg from Chestertown]

The night before unbroken chain included a screaming Iko, I was laughing at the top of my lungs and could not hear myself. Also, best ever Visions of Johanna. 

[Tea]

51 minutes ago, Greg from Chestertown said:

.Also, best ever Visions of Johanna. 

That one was quite good - even if it was 1995.  My personal favorite was 3/30/95 - no flubs and a beautifully-emotive delivery!  

[Greg from Chestertown]

The lyrics were so appropriate, fitting for the place in life Jerry was at. Sung with raw emotion. It wouldn’t have sounded as good coming from a healthier, younger, better voiced Jerry. The song fit the condition he was in. He knew better than anyone just how bad he felt, how close he was. He had a great run and he fucking nailed the dismount!

[PoetryGirl]

The drop into China Doll is so sublime from Eyes jam ! Great stuff

[Mojo Hand]

15 hours ago, Greg from Chestertown said:

The lyrics were so appropriate, fitting for the place in life Jerry was at. Sung with raw emotion. It wouldn’t have sounded as good coming from a healthier, younger, better voiced Jerry. The song fit the condition he was in. He knew better than anyone just how bad he felt, how close he was. He had a great run and he fucking nailed the dismount!

I am not sure I agree with that statement. Jerry died an addict. He died a slow death. His end days were unhealthy by his own making. He was at a low point in his professional career because his playing was generally sluggish, sloppy, and uninspired. I would say that he definitely did not “nail the dismount”. 

[Greg from Chestertown]

yes, I hear you. Point taken. To elaborate, I am talking about how he gave it his all, singing with heart and emotion. Yes, his all towards the end wasn’t much. He probably sucked earlier and later that same night, but, for me, that song (Visions) , that night, was him saying goodbye. I could talk for a long time about the effect the late second set Jerry ballads had on my entire Grateful Dead live experiences.it was why I kept going to shows after Hornsby bailed. For that moment when he showed us his old self. 

 Keep in mind, one of the facets of the sixties ‘revolution’ was better living through chemistry’. The Grateful Dead was somewhat based in that thinking. They rode that wave for a while. I think Jerry was the epitome of that thinking. That logic didn’t work. That facet of the sixties was a failure. Jerry is Proof. Ultimately, it shortened his life. 

 I’m going to a memorial gathering later today for my ex brother in law. He just passed, three years younger than me. He smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish. Regardless, he was a fellow human being. I am going to speak to the younger people there about the need to take care of themselves, mind, body, and spirit. I have been on this planet long enough to know that life has a way of catching up With us. I would love to see the ones after me nail the dismount, even though I won’t be around to see it. 

[Tom Banjo]

Warning opinion based subjective post. I know you guys are talking about GD versions but the best visions of Johanna were performed by DSO and JK. 

[Tea]

4 hours ago, Mason's Child said:

Warning opinion based subjective post. I know you guys are talking about GD versions but the best visions of Johanna were performed by DSO and JK. 

GD - 1986

https://archive.org/details/gd86-04-22.aud.eD.13583.sbeok.shnf/gd86-04-22d1t03.shn

 

GD - 1995

https://archive.org/details/gd1995-03-30.sbd.miller.119786.flac16/gd95-03-30d3t02.flac

 

DSO - 2008

https://archive.org/details/dso2008-12-02.sb.nak.matrix.shivaho.flac16/dso2008-12-02d3t04.sb.nak.matrix.shivaho.flac16.flac

 

DSO - 2018

https://archive.org/details/dso2018-11-23.nakamichi300.cp1.cp4/dso2018-11-23t03.flac

 

Here's some to try

 

[Greg from Chestertown]

If you were there, that’s the best.

[Rude]

7-8-95 best visions ever because 1st time I ever heard it and only song not flubbed. When compared to all other songs that day it was played at a higher level than any song the dead ever played compared to other songs in any other show. It’s like a new local dead band played the rest and then Jerry blessed by god was able to do one song perfectly. Play the Althea then play visions and you can see the insane contrast. There’s my subjectiveness. It’s like the Boston 95 so many roads that makes me cry thinking Jerry was singing about himself even though the rest of that show wasn’t nearly as horrible. 

[PoetryGirl]

08/18/2017 -> GDTRFB  Pisgah. :-D

[John A]

I think, at least as it comes across on tape, the most insane audience reaction to a bust out was that Box in Hampton '86.  Honorable mention to Dark Star Hampton '89 and Stephen both MSG and Hartford '83.

 

Rude - as for why Visions was unflubbed while most other songs were mistake laden, Jerry would have been using the teleprompter early and often for Visions, but likely not at all for the songs he should theoretically have known cold. 

 

The best Visions I've seen was done by JK at Terrapin Crossroads. Perhaps this was 8 or so years ago. Phil was doing a free bar set with JK and a few other musicians, and a transformer blew in the neighborhood shortly before the set was to start.  When it became clear the power wasn't going to come back on anytime soon, they announced that they were scrambling to come up with acoustic instruments and that there would still be music played.  Apparently there had to actually be a run to Phil's house to procure them. So the set was played to candlelight, the audience was fully respectful (what choice did they have?  There was no vocal PA), and JK just nailed the most haunting Visions one could imagine.  Just wow.

[Tom Banjo]

That sounds like magic John. 

[John A]

I found the power outage show - it was 5-23-12. Just a random Wednesday in Marin. 😆

 

The other highlight was Peggy-O.  Phil's voice, sans amplification, was so soft, fragile, and delicate.  And given the utter silence in the room, it worked beyond any preconceived notions I may have harbored.

 

Here's the list with a photo that gives a decent general idea of what it looked like. They brought out some heavy candle artillery. 

 

http://www.deadheadland.com/2012/05/24/setlist-phil-lesh-john-kadlecik-jon-graboff-terrapin-crossroads-bar-wed-may-23-2012-accoustic-set-by-candlelight/

[Ammagamalin Crew]

that whole week of shows looks grate