jw harding

Gotta give some more love to Torn and Frayed and Shine a Light.

The original Skynyrd lineup was pretty great. 3 great guitarists, not sure who was lead, and how much of their greatness was due to the production of Tom Dowd.

A lot of great stuff mentioned already. Will just add Sway, and all of Exile. I guess that's more than ten.

While I love the Dead, did Bob Weir really play rhythm guitar? He wasn't the lead guitarist, but don't think much of what he did had anything to do with rhythm, more providing textures or a web for Garcia to weave around. Guy is in his own special guitarist category.

How has no one mentioned CSNY yet? Pretty much any configuration of those individuals. Also, Dead, Band, Beatles.

How has no one mentioned the Allman Bros yet? Pretty much the first and best.

There is a youtube of that full show with Branford that you are referencing, I believe. The Slipknot is deep and nasty. Also, Big RxR Blues rocks!

I saw the 2nd to last Dead show, and cringed when they started my favorite tune, Terrapin. It got butchered. But then he pulled off the most amazing Visions, with all those verses - guess they had the teleprompters on for that one. Whatever the case, those post space Garcia ballads were my favorite parts of the shows, and why I could never leave early. The rest of the show was terrible, but that made it all worth while. Just wait for the "Even Mona Lisa must've had the highway blues...": http://youtu.be/xkIoj5iYTsI

You are right about the sound issues at Rosemont - one of the worst places to see a concert, but not sure if United Center is much better. Also right about those being Cutler's first shows.

There was some great stuff in that last Richfield run. The jam in Let it Grow on the first night, Phil getting weird on NFA. And the 2nd night, New Speedway bustout, plus Space>Lovelight>Stella Blue>Lovelight!!!! Hot shit.

I was 3rd row Jerry side for that show. Great setlist. Jerry did a little knee bend during Standing on the Moon. There were some sound issues that night, but great show. Might be the best version of So Many Roads...to heal my soul.

This article from back in the day does a pretty good job of describing how, at least in attitude, the Dead were the most punk band of all time: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/good-old-grateful-dead-19690823 To quote Bill Graham: "Ladies and gentlemen, the oldest juvenile delinquents in the state of California, the Grateful Dead..."

That picture is from the Jamaica festival in 1982. A friend who attended said the Dead didn't go on stage until about 3am, by that time most people had left. It is surprising to see Bob and Joe together, but Joe was a lot more than just an ignorant punk, really defies being categorized. Listen to his song Coma Girl, and it is clear he appreciates 60's culture, and references the Acid Tests. Great song. Also, Furthur covered London Calling about a year ago. Regarding the band's playing in the 80's, their demise has been greatly exaggerated. They really didn't start to stink it up on a c

Gotta include Tangled Up in Blue as one of the highlights, but every track kills. There's a great Dylan quote from the past ten years, where he says when he wants to relearn a song, he'd listen to the Garcia/Dead version to figure out how to do it. Senor too. Only Garcia understood how psychedelic that song is.

Phish's model is pretty good: sell soundboards to all shows, available for download about an hour after the show, plus if you bought a ticket you get a free copy. And they still allow tapers. Never heard of Pearl Jam's taping policy of not allowing external mics or whatever. Laughable. Not sure why Wilco is trying this expirement with the Geneva show though. Since it was on the radio and online, I would think quality rips of that show would be available.

Rolling Stone posted somethign about Roll on John being a tribute to John Lennon, with quotes from Come Together and A Day in the Life in it. It could be based on an older song though, Dylan tends to do that type of thing.

Greg Allman.

Wilco recently did a 7 minute version of California Stars with a bluegrass band sitting in at Red Rocks. Pretty sure that makes them a jamband now.

Pretty sure Bob has plans to write a book too.

I'm not Chris Rhodes, if that's what you're asking. My story from the show: behind the stage during the 2nd set, tripping hard for the 2nd day in a row, twisted. Corrina jam. Things start to get weird. The crowd starts cheering, it seems like they're singing along, reacting in unison. The music sounds really distorted, almost like the beginning of Shakedown St. I'm starting to freak out. What the fuck is going on here? A split second is an eternity. Maybe I should get the hell out of here. Then all of a sudden, the entire arena sings "Oh oh what I want to know, how does the song go?"

I'm a picky motherfucker. Don't hate the Crowes, just don't love them.

Saw a show at Richfield in fall 93 where Jerry did the midi trumpet during Ramble on Rose. Tripping my face off, and that trumpet sound was bouncing around the arena. Great show, even the Corrina was wicked. And I called the Bertha set closer, a rarity as a closer in those days. Guess I was feeling it: http://archive.org/details/gd93-09-10.dsbd.miller.28782.sbeok.flacf

Never was a big Black Crowes fan, though their live shows were fun in a derivative-Allman's southern rock kind of way. Really enjoyed youtubes I've seen of Chris's new band. A 70's cosmic cowboy Jerry band feel. Cover some great Dead related material, with Neal Casal really ripping it up on the guitar. Chris does a nice job with vocals on Dead tunes, whether playing with his band or Phil. Haven't heard the trio with Weir.

Pig was still alive when Keith joined, and later Donna. See Europe 72, Pig's last real tour. Grateful Dead keyboardist preference and their tragic demise is great message board fodder. Anyone care to share their feelings on Tom Constaten?

Lot's of great stuff on Brent and other keyboard players, so can't respond to it all. I will add that if you read the Dead Essays blog, very little thought was given to choosing Keith's replacement. Brent just happened to be in the right place at the right time. With Vince, the Dead did want someone who could sing the high harmonies, think Richard Manuel of The Band. I think Garcia's comments on Brent after his death say quite a bit about his personality that a number of people have picked up on here: Brent had a deeply self-destructive streak. He didn't have much supporting him in te