The last few weeks have been hectic. I have not been able to get on top of the heap. I am trying, but there’s just so much going on. There truly is enough time in the day to get all done.
One of the things that has suffered during this period is my iPod. That Gert received a new iPod during this time has just further complicated things as I had not set hers up until last evening. Doing so finally got me to re-visit mine.
I have had about 10 shows on the unit for three weeks and no reviews. I finally just decided to bag it and start fresh. There was a Van Halen show, some Dead shows, Jerry, Blues Traveler, Sin Doctors, etc. I haven’t even kept abreast of my podcasts as I usually do.
So off came everything. I loaded the fresh podcasts and took on the basement to pull out some commercial CDs to load. That was an experience. My Zero Here Goes Nothin’ disc is screwed. It will not play any longer. There is something that has eaten away at the CD. There were no discs in the Led Zeppelin II or Manhattan Transfer Live in Tokyo cases. Sigh . . .
The one case I brought up that had what it was supposed to was The Other Ones The Strange Remain. The Other Ones is an offshoot of the Grateful Dead. They played the Further Festival during the summer of 1998 and this two-disc set was the commercial compilation of tour.
The band was Bobby, Phil, and Mickey of the Dead. On keys was Bruce Hornsby, who was an honorary member. Rounding out the band were Dave Ellis (lots of familiar bands) on saxophone and vocals, Steve Kimock (Zero and virtually every other jam band including Little Women) and Mark Karan (from Ratdog) on guitars, and John Molo (from The Range and now with Phil’s band) joining Mickey on the drums.
I purchased this when it came out. The tour received decent reviews, although I passed on it. I think I was still in mourning at that point. I cannot recall the last time I listened to this and I am a bit out of the scene to be up on all that went down that summer. That made today listening to the show a fresh experience.
This was good stuff. I certainly would not have been disappointed to have seen them live. I always thought the Dead sounded great when saxophonists joined them. Ellis adds a lot to the sound of TOO. Once or twice I felt he didn’t fit, but on most tunes like Banyan Tree and Rainbow’s Cadillac, he fit perfectly with the jamming.
I recall when Bruce Hornsby and The Range hit the scene. It seemed like drippy music. It wasn’t too long before he started hanging out with the boys. I always thought it was a strange fit. Nevertheless, I love how he plays piano (and actually liked seeing him break out the accordion). He reminds me of Keith with his playing, which extends the playing. That’s a good thing imo.
I’ve never understood how compilations are put together. I am firmly in the camp that I would prefer to hear a complete show rather than a comp. I was surprised that China > Rider closed this two-disc set. Yet, TOO actually closed a show with that, so perhaps they were trying to put together a complete show. Hmmm . . . no. St. Stephen > The Eleven would be an awesome way to begin a show. It didn’t happen.
Bobby dominated these songs. I suppose that is to be expected. Phil broke out Mountains of the Moon. I like the song. It is something I would have enjoyed hearing with the Dead. Corrina seemed to have matured from the Dead days. I was never a huge fan of the song, but it sounded pretty good here.
Bruce’s White-Wheeled Limousine stood out on the first disc. The band really seemed to be in tune with this and Bruce shined. Sugaree was so-so. This is a definitive Jerry song that did not seem to work well here. Neither did Friend of the Devil. I believe Bobby has continued playing that, but it didn’t cut it for me.
The PITB > TOO to start out disc two was rousing. Good stuff there that got me moving. The aforementioned Banyan Tree was okay. Then Bruce’s Rainbow’s Cadillac. Eh. This isn’t a good song for this band. This is the syrupy Bruce and it didn’t work with TOO, imo.
Baba Jingo I liked. I could go for hearing more of that. Why didn’t Mickey sing with the Dead?
I enjoyed listening to this. I notice TOO haven’t regrouped since 2004, although the Obama Rally is essentially the same band. I wonder if TOO will get together again. Mickey is on the road with Kimock this summer, so this year seems unlikely.
To celebrate what better way than a beautiful version of Peggy-O by the Grateful Dead. This traditional Irish folk song was a staple for decades. Enjoy!
It was with sadness that I read Martin Fierro died today. Martin was a saxophonist. I saw him in 1988 with Zero. Fierro was in Legion of Mary, a favorite band of mine. He is probably best known among Deadheads as touring with the Dead in ‘73 in support of the Wake of the Flood material. Of course, ‘73 is my favorite year in the Dead’s career.
In honor of Meester, I am loading up Legion of Mary’s 75-04-19 from Milwaukee.
I am slowing down on how much I listen to recently. I think this stems from putting too many shows on at once that I feel overwhelmed. I need to keep it to three or four shows so I can cycle through the podcasts I like to listen to as well.
Coming off are:
Derek Trucks Band 08-02-23: Seafood & Blues Festival, Coachman Park, Clearwater, FL
I love listening to music that is this new. Derek Trucks is a favorite of mine. The energy seemed a little low on this show at the start. One can hear folks talking throughout. Grr . . . Get Out of My Life, Woman was not hot as it should be. Things began heating up with Soul Serenade. How could it not? Gonna Move continued the energy. Stand Back cranked the band into high gear. Awesome!
Grateful Dead 83-09-11: Downs of Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
What a nice show. This was Mickey’s 40th birthday. I really like the set list. There is an early West L.A. on this. The second set is really the highlight of this show. It smokes from beginning to end. My only complaint is that Bobby does not sing Wang Dang Doodle well. I love this song, but he pales in comparison to Koko Taylor. The Help > Slip > Frank is awesome as is Let It Grow.
85-10-28: Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA
I love ‘85 shows. The set lists were varied and a lot of blues was played. That was a blessing and a curse on this night. This was the first time Kansas City was played. Blech! A good song that Bobby misses completely. He rebounds later with a nice Smokestack Lightning. I always liked My Brother Esau, although there is nothing stellar about this version. The first set ended nicely, however, with Ramble On Rose, Cassidy, Row Jimmy, Promised Land, all played well.
The second set moves well. While Touch of Grey ended up being overplayed, it was expertly done on this night and almost compensates for the lack of Fire. This was a nice Man Smart, Woman Smarter. The Terrapin Station was nice, although not as powerful as some. I would take the following out of Drums > Space any day: Truckin’> Smokestack> Stella Blue> Around> Good Lovin’. Good stuff all around. It’s nice to even hear Day Job on occasion.
87-04-03: The Centrum, Worcester, MA
I was to attend this show. I saw the night before. But Worcester police didn’t like me sleeping in my car in a private lot. I was rudely awaken about 3:00 a.m. and told to get out of town. Grrr . . .
I used to have this show on tape. This is a hot show! A very hot show! Hell in a Bucket > Sugaree to open is a good way to get me dancing. Big RR Blues brought a smile to my face. Good stuff. Let It Grow > Don’t Ease Me In provides two set closers in one set (’87 was very predictable).
A smoking China > Rider kicks off the second set. Wow! The bridge is stellar. Another Man Smart, Woman Smarter begins a run with Crazy Fingers and Samson and Delilah. Man Smart was very well played. This was prior to Bobby going haywire with this song. Crazy Fingers is one of those songs I love and rarely heard the boys play. I downloaded this show because someone commented how Samson was sequed into and that didn’t happen much. Indeed. Out of Drums > Space we get a powerful Other One into Stella Blue (ah!) into a clear deep Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away. U.S. Blues caps off this hot night.
The Centrum run was a good one. Fire this one up folks.
Ratdog 07-11-16: House of Blues, Orlando, FL
Ratdog has always left me wanting. I am a Jerry fan and Ratdog seemed lacking. I saw them once and have heard a smattering of shows. Eh . . . Looking for something a little different last time out, I decided to load up a couple Ratdog shows from consecutive nights last November. This show definitely impressed me.
So much for the random set lists. There is no way to begin the show with Help > Slip and then a couple hours later end with Franklin’s and not have it staged. Things got moving with Even So. Good stuff there. Bobby plays a lot of Jerry’s songs. I have mixed feelings about that. Good songs are good songs, but what does it say that eight songs this night were Jerry’s? I didn’t think about that too long . . . Easy to Slip came on and I was pleasantly taken back to my college days. I always liked that song. And then the band hit a very groovy patch that basically remained for the balance of the night. I loved the toned down, hip Railroad Blues. The funk that was there was perfect.
The second set began with Been All Around This World. It was fair, then it was back to that funky rhythm. Me & My Uncle was totally re-worked. Awesome! The Weight too was funky with the audience joining in. Then came Althea. I was not particularly looking forward to Bobby handling this song. But my goodness it was good. Then a hot jam ensued. Ratdog was definitely in the groove here. The set ended with Ashes and Glass > Stuff > Days Between > Two Djinn. This extended jam just continued the good vibes.
The encore reprised Two Djinn and then sequed back into Slip> Frank. I would have liked to have seen this show live. This is by far the best Ratdog show I have heard.
07-11-17: Mizner Amphitheatre, Boca Raton, FL
This was another nice Ratdog show, but not as hot as the night before. Rooster was very nice. The nearly 23 minute Eyes was the highlight of the night. Awesome! There was that funky feeling again in Goin’ Down the Road. The rest of the show was fine. Yes, there was Dark Star and some other stuff. This all leads me to think that Ratdog has matured into a good band. I’ll have to check out more of their recent stuff.
It seems like I have been walking around with the same tunes all week. I finally finished the rotation and am preparing Silver for the weekend. Coming off are the following:
Grateful Dead 72-08-27: Old Renaissance Faire Grounds - Veneta, OR
There are legendary shows in the band’s 30-year history. This is one such show that I have listened to many times over the years, although it has been a while. The sound on this is excellent.
The set list is nice. Sunshine Daydream is interesting in its infancy.
92-03-02: The Omni, Atlanta, GA
Another show I attended. After Brent’s death, the band changed again. There was MIDI and Vince Welnick. I don’t listen much to 1990s Dead and this is why. While this is not as bad as the ‘94 show, in hindsight the band’s sound is not what I usually think of when I think of my favorite band. To be sure, I enjoyed the show. It just doesn’t hold up well with the rest of the catalogue. No standouts, but I enjoyed Hornsby helping out.
94-03-21: Richfield Coliseum - Richfield, OH
This show is highlighted as the show from 1994 to listen to. Somewhere I read that this was the last great Dead show. Hmmm . . .
Obviously, one thing that stands out is the Lovelight –> Stella Blue –> Lovelight. Everyone talks about it. On paper (in binary?) in looks wonderful. Forgetting just what this show was when I listened to it, my thoughts were that Bobby does a poor imitation of a blues singer with Lovelight. The song seemed forced. Stella is one of my favorites. It was good until the end where Jerry moaned offkey. Then to come back to Lovelight was a nice touch, but there was something about Bobby on this night . . . it just didn’t do it for me.
Peggy-O I thought was well-played. Another thing that occurred to me was how songs mature. I really liked West L.A. Fadeawy. When this song first came out, I was not thrilled. It was okay, but nothing I ever said, “Wow, they play West L.A. tonight!” This version smoked and had a nice jam in the middle. The song improved in the eight years since I first heard it. He’s Gone including the jam coming out of it was well done, but I am a huge fan of the song to begin with, so the standard is low.
Once again, New Speedway was unrecognizable until Jerry began singing. The band’s sound is radically different than the band I grew up with. While there are moments late in the career that are nice, the MIDI sound is just not interesting to my ears. I am not a musician, but it sounds lazy to me.
Jerry Garcia Band
80-02-28: Wilkens Theatre, Kean College - Union, NJ
Robert Hunter guested for a few songs at the end of the second show. Hunter, longtime lyricist for Jerry, adds a different sound altogether.
This show is good. It’s a simple JGB band without Merl or Melvin laying in heavy keys. I like the sound of this band, even if it is not as mature as other incarnations.
83-12-04: Gym SUNY Stony Brook - Stony Brook, NY
I’ve been listening to a lot of ‘83 JGB recently. This is a short show, but my goodness it shines!
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door is up-tempo with a reggae feel, much like Dylan played it in ‘78. I really liked this version. Really, this whole set soars, particularly from Knockin’ on. A very good Mission in the Rain and Rhapsody in Red then a stellar trio of Don’t Let Go –> Deal –> Tangled Up in Blue. Awesome! It just smokes.
I was just about to type to make certain you download it, but I just found out my favorite site has just received a cease-and-desist order from Rhino Records. The Dead have outsourced their distribution to them. Not much has happened since. :( But to shut down sites sharing free music . . . errr . . . GD Productions is going to loose a lot of customers.
It looks like it will be the Archive only for a while.
I was rudely awaken about 3:00 a.m. and told to get out of town. Grrr . . .