I wanted to make this thread specifically for posts related to the Grateful Dead and the various projects from the core members of the band. Everything is fair game; studio albums, live shows, bootlegs, personal stories, whatever. Everyone is welcome to take this opportunity to share their records, tapes, CDs, favorite shows, and memorable experiences.
Personally, I have collected more stuff from the Dead than probably any other band. I attended hundreds of shows and have both audience and soundboard recordings of hundreds more, not to mention the official live releases, studio albums, etc, etc. I intend to spend a good deal of my free time over the next several years revisiting it all, and posting the most interesting things here in this thread. I hope everyone else does the same, whether they be a brand new fan or a seasoned veteran.
One of the greatest things about the Dead was the sense of community they and their fans fostered. I'd like to keep that going in this little corner of the internet with the hope that we will take it with us wherever we may go. So come on in and let your freak flag fly. There are roads to travel and songs to sing. Cowboy Neal is at the wheel, and who knows where this long, strange trip may take us.
This 3-CD/2-DVD set captures the Grateful Dead's final show together. Recorded at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 5, 2015, it provides a visually and sonically stunning document of one final great gig from a legendary band.
First up, let's tackle Trey Anastasio on guitar, filling in for the late Jerry Garcia. His playing is stellar here. He's not trying to be an imitation. Instead he brings his own unmistakable sound, which takes a bit from Jerry, a bit from Zappa, and a pinch of Robert Fripp (plus decades of developing those intense improvs with Phish), and fills the gap left by Garcia's passing quite well. And his vocal contributions on "Althea" and "Touch Of Grey" In the second set are not to be dismissed lightly either.
The rest of the band is simply astounding on this night. Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti are rock solid on piano and keyboards. Bob Weir may show his age physically, but still has guitar chops for miles and miles to go along with his commanding vocals, Phil Lesh is still playing his bass as if no one ever told him it's not supposed to be a lead instrument, and Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann remain two of the best percussionists to pick up sticks and pound out rhythms.
The first set opens with a pretty intense China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider and never lets up from there, right up through the closing couplet of Mountains Of The Moon > Throwing Stones. The second opens with Truckin', Cassidy, and the aforementioned Althea before we head off to outer space with an elegant take on Terrapin Station that slides into one last amazing Drums/Space and back out into Unbroken Chain > Days Between > Not Fade Away. The night finished up with a double encore of Touch Of Grey (complete with Weir muffing a few vocals) and an exquisitely heartfelt rendition of Garcia's beautiful ballad Attics Of My Life.
I was fortunate enough to attend all three of the shows on this run in Chicago, and the band truly saved the best for last, going out not in a whimper of nostalgia, but with a celebratory bang. Everything about this night was perfect for me. The sound was amazing, the visuals were better than ever and the band played a killer set. Even the music that was played between sets (available under the name Circles Around The Sun) was fantastic.
It may be unusual to start this thread at the end of the band's career, but from my perspective at least, this was a show that could match the Dead at the full height of their psychedelic glory, showcasing everything that made them an American musical legend.
This 12-CD box set compiles all five shows the Dead played in July 1978, from a strange one-set gig on July 1 (see post below) through to an epic performance at Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado on 7/8.
These are some of the fabled "Betty Boards" that were once thought to be lost forever. If you're interested in learning more about the history of these tapes, and a bit about the woman who made them, there is an excellent article on them here from Relix.
Included in this set is a beautiful book that has some stunning artwork and photos, a few essays on the summer '78 tour, and notes on each of the shows included. The front and back covers have pretty cool art, so I'm putting photos of these below.
I'm going to tackle these shows in individual posts. Each CD set has its own artwork, and these are some well mastered tapes presented on HDCD as is typical of Dead releases these days. These sets are made in somewhat limited quantities, with this one being numbered to 15,000.
This show was a bit unusual, even by the Dead's standards. Playing a single set (albeit one that stretched past the two hour mark) as a part of Willie Nelson's annual picnic, sharing the bill with Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Missouri, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Jessi Colter.
It's evident at the beginning of opener Bertha that a good portion of that sun-baked crowd was in attendance for the country acts. By the end, however, the band had won some new converts.
They reached back to the early 70s Americana sound they had such success with on albums like Workingman's Dead and American Beauty for a few of the early numbers here, playing to the audience with songs like Tennessee Jed, Jack Straw, Friend Of The Devil, and Big River. Even the eleven minute marathon of Terrapin Station is more chugging and rocking than the spaced-out gateway to psychedelic glory it could become on any given night. But, the Dead being who they are give way soon enough into a raucous Rhythm Devils/Space before working their way into the funky, reggae-tinged Estimated Prophet which in turn moved into a solid jam of The Other One > Wharf Rat > Around And Around and closed out with a rave-up on Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode.
The month was off to a great start with this show as the band left Missouri and headed off to Minnesota for an epic night in St. Paul.
