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jw harding

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Posts posted by jw harding

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Just realized today was the anniversary of my favorite unreleased show: 7/18/72.

    First 72 Birdsong and a Dark Star>Comes A Time! Plus one of the best MAMU versions ever. And a beautiful Stella. Hell, the whole thing is worth hearing.

    https://archive.org/details/gd72-07-18.sbd.cribbs.9067.sbeok.shn

    Appreciate the recommendation. Love Me & My Uncle, never get sick of hearing it - unlike some other first set Bobby staples. Not sure if I can rank versions, they're all pretty similar. Also not sure I knew it was referred to as MAMU. Very informative post. 

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    I saw The Q a good number of times from '99-'02. While I understand the idea of "showing off" - there was more than a little of that - it also COULD be amazing, as JW said as well. I really liked that band a lot, but then I was a huge Fusion/Prog fan as a young guy so that might explain THAT. There was a lot going on at times, almost an aural assault. But when they were all locked in and listening to each other it was some of the best GD music I've ever heard, certainly more exciting than the last few years of the Jerry-led band. Deer Creek 7/15/01 was just an amazing night - I've been to The Creek maybe 150 times or more over the last 30 years and it was a Top 10 all time Creek show, by any band I've ever saw there.

    Agree with much of that. The Q could be pretty thrilling, it was a fresh approach to the music that needed a kick in the ass after the last few years of the Dead. But like JRAD, not sure it stands the test of time. Can't say I'm itching to listen to the Q much now these days, and even when they've had little reunions over the past few years, it doesn't quite do what it used to. Would rather listen to Jerry.

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Last time I saw JRAD I was "whelmed" - not under or over. Was a ton of fun though. I think they did a 25 minute Tennessee Jed.

    Phil's Quintet lineup would do that kind of muscle flexing at times. Sure, it's amazing, but after a while, they're just showing off. 

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    Stumbled upon partial video of 7/1/79. The video quality is a bit blurry, but that just makes Jerry fuzzy and soft with the right kind of eyes. Sound is great, and the band was feeling confident and weird that night. Great (partial) setlist.

     

    https://youtu.be/z3qEJxb-R2Q

     

    Set 2 (partial)
    Terrapin Station
    Playing In The Band 12:11
    Drums
    Space
    Stella Blue
    Truckin'
    Around And Around
    E: Shakedown Street

    The Official Bob Dylan Thread

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

     

     

    - The sequence with Bob and Joan Baez ("Thought will fuck you up") was intense as hell, and might have been the most revelatory part of the movie for me. Like, "Why didn't we stay together and rule the world?" "Well...because...". It's obvious Joan loves that man so much it hurts in all of her Q/A.

     

    - Deadheads: Did you catch the Blues For Allah sticker on Scarlet's violin? That part of the film was late '75, the Dead LP came out in September of the same year. Interesting that the sticker was in place 2-3 months after the LP came out. And MY GOD she seems like she must have been a real firecracker. 

     

    I probably would've preferred a straight up concert film, though it was nice seeing Dylan talk, at times off guard, even if it was fabricated. Nice quote toward the beginning about how the tour really didn't mean anything at the time, just a bunch of stuff that happened that they are trying to impose meaning on in retrospect.

     

    Thinking that Dylan Baez scene was something improvised for Renaldo and Clara, so not a real commentary on their relationship rather something they were just acting out.

     

    Did catch the Blues for Allah sticker, tho it's not clear that Scarlet knows its a Dead reference. Maybe she just liked the sticker? Is the stuff about her being the girlfriend of the Kiss lead singer made up? That doesn't seem too likely, but who knows.

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    That's perfect. 

     

    I feel bad - there's a newish dad in the neighborhood, and we're all just starting to kind of hang out. He came to a St. Paddy's day party we threw, and he heard I was "into the Dead" so he was very excited to talk about Dead & Co with me, and I had to hold him up, saying that I really had no interest in the newest iteration with the band. He got kind of defensive, and it almost got awkward, but I wasn't being a dick about it - I just said I had no interest. I like the old stuff, Meyer's a fine player, but does nothing for me, the tempos are too slow, etc. etc. etc. 

     

    Anyways - fast forward to a week or so ago, he wanted to know if I was interested in going in on a Nugs livecast of any of the upcoming shows. The devil floating over my left shoulder was screaming "No you dipshit! Don't you remember? I said I had no interest. The last thing I want to do is sit on my couch listening to some band I don't want to be listening to." The angel over my right shoulder said "Be nice! Be kind. It might be fun to hang out." So I told him that if he wanted to order something up, I'd be game, and I'd head over once I put all the boys down in bed." The next day I couldn't resist telling him "full disclosure though, I'm really not a Dead & Co guy." I haven't heard from him since, and now I feel bad. 

     

    Weekend nights are MY time. You know? Would I rather watch Dead & Co plod through another 6 song 1st set, or do I want to watch the new Scorsese Dylan doc on Netflix? 

    Dude, there are a group of dad's in my neighborhood that got all excited for the new Avengers movie. Count your blessings. If he's a decent guy I'd hang with him. Maybe bring a Dead dvd or some youtubes to watch at setbreak to try and enlighten him. 

     

    But yeah, recently was wearing a stealie shirt, and some woman was like, "oh, I just saw them last week." Just nod and smile, slowly back out of the room. 

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    The article did a good job of describing the way he speaks, deliberate spaciness with weird phrases. The Jerry dreams were really cool too. Think I've heard part of them, but don't think he's discussed the whole thing before. I don't have much interest in what Weir is up to musically these days, am in the camp of people he tells not to come to his shows, but lots of respect and am happy he is doing what he wants. Weir continues to have one of the most uniquely American/Californian lives ever.

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    I saw this. I clicked the link from the article to the GD Youtube channel with no success. I'm glad they are doing it, but would waaaaay more prefer entire shows rather than single songs from shows. Still, it's a good thing.

    I would think they'd want you to buy the whole show on dvd or whatever. I guess you could make some good playlists though, pretty convenient for when you're too high to deal with dvd's. 

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    For me, I love Jerry's playing the most when it's tasteful and suits the original spirit of the song. The two things he did that I liked the least are:

     

    1) Overplaying fast stuff on songs that weren't that up-tempo (Deal, Sugaree, etc.). I can appreciate the wild and fast solos on Victim or the Crime; on mid-tempo songs, not so much.

     

    2) A ton of "fanning" at the end of a crescendo (as often happened in Morning Dew. Sometimes too much really is too much). 

    It's not that I'd turn off a '77 Sugaree, but I find that repetitive circling around a few notes he did in the post-hiatus versions to be very tedious. It actually reminds me of some of the Viola Lee Blues solos from the late 60s. Not my favorite Jer moments.

     

    All that being said, the guy is one of my favorite guitar players of all time. Maybe "embarrassing" wasn't the right word in this context. "Silly" would be better. Bob Dylan once said of Mick Jagger's stage moves, "You don't have to do all that. It's way hipper and cooler to be Ray Charles, sitting there but still coming across." I feel that about what I described above. There's a part of me that feels like, "Come on, you're Jerry Garcia, man. You don't have to do all that!"

    I've read pretty identical quotes of Jerry critiquing the Stones. Sounds like Jerry and Dylan discussed it. I'm not sure Jerry's pyrotechnics compare to Mick's gyrations, but interesting point. Safe moves they both relied on.

    The Grateful Dead

    in Someone Else's Song

    Posted

    The sunshine dream section

     

    Bobby must've spit on you.

     

    TN Jed haters - when was the last time you listened to the song high? That usually does the trick. I could never get sick of some of the lyrics, like "my dog turned to me, and he said..." Remember an interview with Bob in the last few years of the band, where he cited Jed as one of his top 5 tunes to play live in that era, as it has the jam section that opened up and allowed them to stretch out. 

     

    Levon Helm did nice things with it: https://youtu.be/fZaU3VtMfoM

     

    You can disagree with me, but if you disagree with Levon, well, good luck with that.

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