To be a quibbling Deadhead, the last 20 years of their career would have been from 1975-1995. I’m thinking there are a couple two or three shows in there that would qualify as “prime.”
i’m not too certain about the mid 80’s, though. that’s when the heroin started getting into things (jerry and brent were dope buddies)…then there was that whole Go To Heaven deal…though there was some really good music in that decade, what with saint of circumstance, lost sailor, and althea which made for some brilliant next level jams…but you could definitely tell that brent influenced the band a lot more than keith. I think you’d have to go back to pigpen days to get that. keith was just kinda there…
april 1969 was amazing. every single show. the middle of the month they did a three night run in Boston, then a night in Chicago, and then the infamous labor temple set in Minneapolis.
1977, however, is regarded as the pinnacle. the gran cru, if you will. The Ithica NY and Lakeland FL shows will easily bear this out.
There were some moments with Brent I agree. His harmonies, for me, were much better than Donna ever contributed. Some of the China Dolls were downright beautiful. As a player I really liked Keith’s acoustic piano better than the Hammond of Brent.
I used to hold 77 in the highest regard, esp. May, but I really don’t think that they hold a candle to that Ark run in ’69. I’d actually take some of the jazzy ’74 sets (louisville, jai alai, etc.) over those peak ’77s.
dude, i hear what you’re saying. i have the entire ark>chitown>mpls run and…killer. killer. killer. seriously, if pigpen hadn’t drank hisself to death, the band would have been a totally different animal in 77. it really was the Pigpen show. but of course what we got out of that was pretty incredible.
i’m kinda hard on keith chiefly because of donna. i have a couple of those miami sets from ’74 and they’re nice…keith hadn’t been with the band all that long, and i think they were still feeling things out.
the lakeland ’77 show’s first set was perfectly ruined by a donnamated (donna dominated?) Passneger, but went on to pull out one of the best scarlet>fires i’ve heard outside any GDM release. the whole first set of that show, IMO easily tops Ithica.
I can’t tell you how many times I have been completely entraced and blown away by an early 70’s Playin’ only to have Donna come in after an incredible jam to shatter the whole thing. I cannot figure out for the life of me why the boys, who must have had great ears as musicians (esp. Phil with his formal musical education), added Donna Jean to the lineup. Sure, it must have been nice as a ‘head in the crowd trippin’ hard to just stand there and watch her sway in the purple light but she never really added anything IMHO musically.
I hear you about Lakeland 77. I’m also partial to Binghampton that fall and of course San Bernadino in Feb.
donna jean NEVER had a monitor just like zra said so kinda hard to hit it. i actually liked it when she would sing a bit off key. reminded me of bad girl group backround vocals like the dixie-cups etc. plus but i’ve seen jerry fuck up so many songs esp in the “bodyswell” 80’s (again zra nailed it -heroin) and what about bobby’s psycho LSD babble from the 60’s. they are not gods, i thought that was clapton.
I thought that Donna had a monitor but that it wasn’t mixed for her voice. No secret about JG’s heroin. Never said that they were gods but instead that their prime was early in their career. Clapton, if god at all, peaked during Cream (similar time frame to the Dead’s peaking IMHO.
Donna was in the band, cause she can sing. She is family. I like the entire body of work. Except Black Peter. I’m old enough to know that Furthur does not equal the Grateful Dead. Hearing any of the remaining members perform the stuff is good, check out Kreutzmann’s band 7 Walkers. I even know a dude in his 30’s who is going to his first family show including GD. How fun is it to see someone get turned on to the stuff that has made me so very happy.
Right, Donna can sing when she can hear herself. I don’t really think that she added much flavor to the band however.
I’m walking on eggshells heading down the Northrup in November. Been a long time since seeing any incarnation of GD. My run of shows wasn’t that long (’81-’87) and I never listen to that era. It pains me to hear JG’s voice start to “age” in the late 70’s. It will be very weird to see Bob and Phil in their more mature phase. Certainly the setlists leave me drooling which is why I’m going. Hopefully the music will be good and the patchouli won’t choke me out.
the thing keeping me from the northrup is its ready to cave in around you. i was stuck in the balcony for a joan armitrading show and it was moving so much just due to foot tapping that i thought we were all done for.
overheard at dead shows:
“look at that dude’s ballon! it fits his face”
and my all time fav from the 5-0
“shut it down mr. falafal pita man”
Thankfully I’ll be up close and far from the balcony this time. Saw Neil Young this summer under the balcony and not only did the show suck but so did the sound from that vantage point.
i think that was the same year we were sitting behind the stage up in the stands (more shade than the stadium floor, provided by the scoreboard…
behind the band on the stage was a couch with about 5 folks sitting on it. each had at least one balloon. on a equip crate next to the couch was a green army duffel and a tank inside. for the better part of an hour, we watched as these folks hit off the tank over and over. after a while, the on;y one left was a woman who’d fill her balloon, drain it, fill it again and repeat…she did that a few times, passed out on the couch for a half hour and then woke up and started it all over again…
Wow! That is tough on the brain. I never noticed many balloons at Dead shows. I did see colored notes coming off of Jerry’s guitar a couple of times 😉
I recall going to private parties that Mpls folks threw whenever the Radiators would come up. I suppose this was about ’82-83ish and there were big Hefty bags floating about. I was more about puffing than huffing I guess.
hippie crack is (or was, as of 96-2000) pretty popular around the spreadhead community. i used to work harmony park, and did for the first two spread shows. we confiscated so much goddamn x and a dozen tanks…still didn’t get them all…
I caught the original band the first swing through. You’ll forgive me if I sit this one out.
Enjoy yourself though. Really! The (Grateful) Dead shows were some of the most fun and enlightening experiences of my young adulthood.
I am going to the show but to be honest, the Dead without Garcia (regardless of how hot his replacement is) just leaves a lot to be desired for me.
I still listen to the Dead but tend to focus on their prime rather than the last twenty years of their history.
The setlists from the Further shows so far are truly a Deadhead’s dream. Too bad they aren’t being played with a young Jerry rippin’ on the SG!
To be a quibbling Deadhead, the last 20 years of their career would have been from 1975-1995. I’m thinking there are a couple two or three shows in there that would qualify as “prime.”
Have fun at Furthur.
OK J I will agree. Some fine ’77s in there to be sure. For me, prime GD was ’68-74 (esp. 68-69!).
All depends on what floats your GD boat. I’m a second set afficiando.
2 words – donna jean
@ carolyn…give that broad a monitor!
i’m not too certain about the mid 80’s, though. that’s when the heroin started getting into things (jerry and brent were dope buddies)…then there was that whole Go To Heaven deal…though there was some really good music in that decade, what with saint of circumstance, lost sailor, and althea which made for some brilliant next level jams…but you could definitely tell that brent influenced the band a lot more than keith. I think you’d have to go back to pigpen days to get that. keith was just kinda there…
april 1969 was amazing. every single show. the middle of the month they did a three night run in Boston, then a night in Chicago, and then the infamous labor temple set in Minneapolis.
1977, however, is regarded as the pinnacle. the gran cru, if you will. The Ithica NY and Lakeland FL shows will easily bear this out.
zra,
There were some moments with Brent I agree. His harmonies, for me, were much better than Donna ever contributed. Some of the China Dolls were downright beautiful. As a player I really liked Keith’s acoustic piano better than the Hammond of Brent.
I used to hold 77 in the highest regard, esp. May, but I really don’t think that they hold a candle to that Ark run in ’69. I’d actually take some of the jazzy ’74 sets (louisville, jai alai, etc.) over those peak ’77s.
We could go on and on about this 🙂
dude, i hear what you’re saying. i have the entire ark>chitown>mpls run and…killer. killer. killer. seriously, if pigpen hadn’t drank hisself to death, the band would have been a totally different animal in 77. it really was the Pigpen show. but of course what we got out of that was pretty incredible.
i’m kinda hard on keith chiefly because of donna. i have a couple of those miami sets from ’74 and they’re nice…keith hadn’t been with the band all that long, and i think they were still feeling things out.
the lakeland ’77 show’s first set was perfectly ruined by a donnamated (donna dominated?) Passneger, but went on to pull out one of the best scarlet>fires i’ve heard outside any GDM release. the whole first set of that show, IMO easily tops Ithica.
I can’t tell you how many times I have been completely entraced and blown away by an early 70’s Playin’ only to have Donna come in after an incredible jam to shatter the whole thing. I cannot figure out for the life of me why the boys, who must have had great ears as musicians (esp. Phil with his formal musical education), added Donna Jean to the lineup. Sure, it must have been nice as a ‘head in the crowd trippin’ hard to just stand there and watch her sway in the purple light but she never really added anything IMHO musically.
I hear you about Lakeland 77. I’m also partial to Binghampton that fall and of course San Bernadino in Feb.
donna jean NEVER had a monitor just like zra said so kinda hard to hit it. i actually liked it when she would sing a bit off key. reminded me of bad girl group backround vocals like the dixie-cups etc. plus but i’ve seen jerry fuck up so many songs esp in the “bodyswell” 80’s (again zra nailed it -heroin) and what about bobby’s psycho LSD babble from the 60’s. they are not gods, i thought that was clapton.
donna was (is) tone deaf. they never figured that one out.
she’s also one of them born agins now ain’t she?
I thought that Donna had a monitor but that it wasn’t mixed for her voice. No secret about JG’s heroin. Never said that they were gods but instead that their prime was early in their career. Clapton, if god at all, peaked during Cream (similar time frame to the Dead’s peaking IMHO.
Good discussion. I never understood Donna in the band.
Donna was in the band, cause she can sing. She is family. I like the entire body of work. Except Black Peter. I’m old enough to know that Furthur does not equal the Grateful Dead. Hearing any of the remaining members perform the stuff is good, check out Kreutzmann’s band 7 Walkers. I even know a dude in his 30’s who is going to his first family show including GD. How fun is it to see someone get turned on to the stuff that has made me so very happy.
Right, Donna can sing when she can hear herself. I don’t really think that she added much flavor to the band however.
I’m walking on eggshells heading down the Northrup in November. Been a long time since seeing any incarnation of GD. My run of shows wasn’t that long (’81-’87) and I never listen to that era. It pains me to hear JG’s voice start to “age” in the late 70’s. It will be very weird to see Bob and Phil in their more mature phase. Certainly the setlists leave me drooling which is why I’m going. Hopefully the music will be good and the patchouli won’t choke me out.
O it will be good, and you know the patchouli will choke you. Just stay away from those damn balloons.
the thing keeping me from the northrup is its ready to cave in around you. i was stuck in the balcony for a joan armitrading show and it was moving so much just due to foot tapping that i thought we were all done for.
overheard at dead shows:
“look at that dude’s ballon! it fits his face”
and my all time fav from the 5-0
“shut it down mr. falafal pita man”
Thankfully I’ll be up close and far from the balcony this time. Saw Neil Young this summer under the balcony and not only did the show suck but so did the sound from that vantage point.
*”it’s all because of nitrous.”* ~ out of it deadhead carrying a double fist full of balloons to his friend. dead lot, autzen stadium, eugene OR, 1994
I think that I could easily pass on hitting the balloon. But if the ope came floating by….
i think that was the same year we were sitting behind the stage up in the stands (more shade than the stadium floor, provided by the scoreboard…
behind the band on the stage was a couch with about 5 folks sitting on it. each had at least one balloon. on a equip crate next to the couch was a green army duffel and a tank inside. for the better part of an hour, we watched as these folks hit off the tank over and over. after a while, the on;y one left was a woman who’d fill her balloon, drain it, fill it again and repeat…she did that a few times, passed out on the couch for a half hour and then woke up and started it all over again…
so many brain cells…
Wow! That is tough on the brain. I never noticed many balloons at Dead shows. I did see colored notes coming off of Jerry’s guitar a couple of times 😉
I recall going to private parties that Mpls folks threw whenever the Radiators would come up. I suppose this was about ’82-83ish and there were big Hefty bags floating about. I was more about puffing than huffing I guess.
hippie crack is (or was, as of 96-2000) pretty popular around the spreadhead community. i used to work harmony park, and did for the first two spread shows. we confiscated so much goddamn x and a dozen tanks…still didn’t get them all…