mountain bed

Obviously, the Jim Morrison Oedipus bit in "The End" was pretty goddamn disturbing.

I've never heard the 12/12/73 show you posted. Kind of an odd-looking setlist for the time - no Dark Star or Other One. But Playin' was never better imo than Fall '73.

Me too. This is another example of why I've always said I was born 10 years too late - I would have LOVED to see them in their heyday. The odd thing: I didn't really "get" their studio stuff that much, but live they were flat-out amazing. Example: the song Sweet Wine. The studio version is kinda tame, but the Live Cream Vol. 1 version is a tour-de-force of killer jamming. And the "Goodbye" version of I'm So Glad! Pure amphetamine-rush blues. It's too bad the reunion shows weren't all that great - but I guess if you have a 38 year hiatus it's bound to be a little rusty.

Gimme Shelter might have been Phil's suggestion. I seem to recall P&F playing that at the show I saw here in '06 and it was very good.

All the best to Jay. We certainly love him at the MB compound. I have a buddy who has had hip replacement surgeries on BOTH hips ( a couple of years apart) and he's fit as a fiddle now. Age 44. So I think the possibility for recovery is very good.

Oh man, Lammy is gonna be distraught. RIP Bea.

Cream was a blues band. They jammed, they got 'jazzy', but they weren't "trippy".

You make some very good points here. But what constitutes "psychedelic" is so very subjective - and in the time period we're discussing nearly every genre of music was touched by LSD. Who doesn't recall the first time they heard Bitches Brew, or Ascension, or Ravi Shankar, or even something like Leo Kottke's first LP while indulging in hallucinogens? And all of those records work as well to me sober as they did 30 years ago when I was a teenage freak. I don't necessarily agree that the term was purely a marketing tool, but when it became obvious to the "suits" that the "SF Sound" would make

I really really like the spaces from Brent's first year or two with the band. See "Dead Set" or Dick's #5 (12/26/79) for commercially released examples. Brent's use of synths during those years really make for a far-out sound.

Yeah. Atonal, "space" music has been an important part of the Dead almost since inception - it really sets them apart from nearly any other band (at least in the U.S.). I think we can all thank Mr. Lesh for that - they would've been just a great RxR band if not for Phil's avant-garde obsessions.

Me too. The previews look very interesting.

I'll look it up, but I do think the label "Space" first started being used in the Fall of '77 (maybe 10/29?)

Fixed it for ya.

Yep, lazy following a "lame-ass jug band" all over the country.

In the automobile world isn't a "classic" car defined as one that is at least 25 years old? I wish we could instate those rules here, because I haven't listened to about 99% of the swill that's been put out since 1984.

Since it's the 40th anniversary of the run, I have to mention how much I love the 3 nights at Boston's The Ark (4/21, 22 & 23). It gets overshadowed by the Fillmore West run in Feb/Mar, but it's a cryin' shame this run didn't get the DP treatment. I won't post all the setlists, but they are as sick as it gets. The Dark Star from the 22nd might be my favorite from Spring '69. The Viola Lee encore from the first night is raggedly beautiful. Set One from the last night is unreal. The dude who introduces them on the last night says something like this: "I'd never heard these guys live before

Hope your day was awesome, my friend.

A must-read, imo.

OK, I thought the thread was a little premature, but now that we're fairly deep into this tour I think it could be argued that the sets are a bit stagnant. We have a band that has been in place for over 4 years. Everyone is a stellar musician in their own right - and with Nels and Glenn you have guys that are capable of playing any song in the canon and making it sound fresh. But here's my beef: with well over 100 tunes to choose from things have been narrowed down considerably, to the point where the encores are almost predictable. I'm not expecting a GD/SCI -type run where there are NO re

Seriously, if you do not have the GD Movie, you MUST acquire it by hook or by crook. The DVD extras (interviews) are excellent. The NYE '78 Winterland is a must as well.

Well put.

Thanks for eloquently stating my feelings on this subject.