I need to get an Alligator sticker for a cooler/Nalgene/whatever. Got a wolf…where was ol Jer finding such badass stickers back then? Or was Alligator already on the guitar when Graham gave it to him?
They have em all here - https://www.garciafamilyprovisions.com/dept/accessories?cp=640_57729. I seem to recall his daughter or estate runs it so at least it’s (somewhat) in the family. I have this awesome sticker that’s the Jerry pic with the pyramids but it’s “glitched.” Got it at Lockn years back and have never seen another
Speaking of acid and the Grateful Dead, I recently learned that Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver basically owe their careers to the Grateful Dead. Watch this episode of Mike Judge Presents Tales from the Road (a great show in its own right). Bit about the Grateful Dead experience starts around 13:20
I stayed up last night during the storm listening to a bunch of late 80’s/early 90’s space (while stone cold sober lol). Got sucked into a real rabbit hole there. 3.26.90 was probably my favorite of the bunch. Full on 80’s techno/synth from Dracula’s castle vibes.
Richfield, Ohio in 1990 was the first show of the fall tour after Myland died. I could have sworn they played He’s Gone, but checking set lists to link it here, it looks like I have imagined that in my old age.
My 20 year old daughter and I saw Billy Strings and they were selling nitrous balloons outside. She doesn’t listen to Strings or anyone in the jam band category. She thought they were helium and wondered why helium balloons were a thing at that concert scene. I did not buy one, but briefly hesitated.
Brent on LRR >>> Little Red Rooster (10:33) • Grateful Dead • 1987-09-16 • Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1987/09/16/little-red-rooster?source=342566
A good matrix is better than anything that gets official release status, and you can’t convince me otherwise.
That Strawberry Fields blotter on the 90 fall tour tho....... also, you're thinking of the Knockin' encore.
I went to a couple of Dead shows prior to 1992, but I wasn’t immersed in the scene or a huge fan yet. By 1992, I was spending Spring Break in Detroit instead of Florida to see the Dead and hitting the Summer shows. I had a stretch for the 92 Buckeye Lake show and a 4th of July rafting trip on the New River immediately after it where I maybe slept 10 hours out of 96 hours in four days, none of it sober. That would kill me now.
Nods. I think any random weekend (or, lol, weekday) from the 1990s would kill me now. Get completely spun out for days in a row, no sleep, and then go to class or work the next day.
That’s what I am most proud to reflect upon, I almost never missed work or class, no matter what happened the night before.
Work, yes, but I can't say the same re class, unfortunately. Was kicking myself 10 years later when I was paying for an extra year of Penn State
73-74 are my favorite years, and what I consider to clearly be the band’s apex. But what Brent was able to do on the Hammond coupled with his backup vocals and repertoire with Jerry (for better or worse) was simply sublime.
I don't like comparing keyboard players, 4 of them died tragic deaths, and all 6 of the guys who played with the band had their ups and downs. I appreciate what each of them brought -- even Vince (I only saw Brent once, and the rest Vince and sometimes Bruce). Ditto all the guys on keys who played in Jerry's bands.
What I tend to listen to most is Jerry Band or other Jerry stuff from the Dead circa 1987-1991. I still listen to old albums, digitized. For live stuff, a top five is: 1. Jerry Garcia Band. 2. Almost Acoustic. 3. Europe 72. 4. Reckoning. 5. Live Without A Net For studio: 1. Mars Hotel. 2. Workingmans Dead. 3. American Beauty, but I only rarely listen to the studio.
I’m even more uncool than that. My 14 year old is into some obscure bands, one of which is called AJJ (formerly Andrew Jackson Jihad). I took him and his 17 year sister to a concert at a 1000 capacity bar in Lexington, KY. I was easily 25-30 years older than 99% of the crowd. I stood in the back and took in the show. Everyone there thought I was an undercover cop. Kids were going back to get high, would make eye contact, and walk the other way.
I think Without A Net is one of the best albums the Dead has released. This doesn't include all the Dave's, Dick's, and other less official releases. Favorite Jerry albums are Volume 1 (1980), Volume 2 (1990), and Live at Kean College (1980). Perhaps unpopular opinions: 60s Dead is the worst Dead, and Pigpen was the worst keyboardist
I much prefer the transition to more Americana from the early psychedelic days. With that said, I love some of Pig Pen’s vocals—Katie Mae on Bear’s Choice, Easy Wind, Operator.
Pig wasn't much of a keyboardist (I don't think he played at all in 1969), though I'll argue he did a good job on the songs in straight major, and minor blues scales, particularly when he played behind Keith in late 71 and the Europe 72 tour. That was a good tone for the band and they missed that Hammond after he died (just like they missed Brent's Hammond after he died). Pig would struggle at times on the improvisational stuff where they'd move from major to minor keys, anything mixolydian, etc. His singing got worse as his drinking ramped up and he was often way flat even on songs in his register. Was really bad from about late 68 - mid 71.
That's the move from Pigpen blues to the Jerry sound. Off the top of my head, Althea is the only true dorian song they wrote post 71.
I think Pigpen's vocals are also overrated -- not that they're bad, just prefer Jerry, Brent, and Bobby. He was a showman, and I'm sure got the crowd going, but that doesn't do much for me listening to the record at home.
Agree with all of that (Pig's vocals were sometimes completely cringe [but lol, so were everyone else's in the band at times -- like their entire history]) but also sometimes I like Pig songs because I play guitar but not very well and I can fake some of the Bobby vamps and Jer licks over Lovelight or something but have no hope of keeping up on the complex Baroque-ish songs about smoking DMT from the same era.
I went to a track meet last night, then came home to my wife and daughter watching women’s basketball with some wine. Started into a bunch of old Pig Pen stuff around 11:30 and ended up at Woody Guthrie by 1:00 AM.
Listening to this fire show from 35 years ago at the University of Michigan, (Jesus how can anything be 35 years ago) and you know, the usual with the weed and whatnot after a day of real work and then garden work... https://gratefuldeadoftheday.com/04-06-1989/ ... and got to thinking... has anyone ever done a college campus grateful dead show tournament? you pick the best show from each college campus and you have a comparison. I mean, figure schools like UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, and Cornell would be heavy favorites, but still.