Shug
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Posts posted by Shug
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Ha, you're so right! I've been out of town and grabbed our tix from the road so when I saw the price I just swallowed hard and went for it. Called my wife and were lamenting that we went for the local show instead of opting for a road trip to Cain's. If you've not been to Cain's you are in for a treat! We attended the show a few years back that ended up on the Ashes DVD and it was among my very favorite and most memorable shows.
I count you as a very lucky man, that show at Cain's in 2008 has got to be one of the best Wilco shows ever, at least it seems to me from what I've seen in person and videos of old shows. Isn't that the one where Jeff was on steroids and wearing the Nudie suit? That Handshake Drugs is all time great, holy shit! I think Sky Blue Sky tour was probably the band's peak as a live ensemble, at least its my fave.
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Interesting. I've always much preferred the pre-hiatus Sugarees, especially '71-'72. I got so used to hearing those over the years that when I was exposed to the later versions, I felt they were overlong, and the crescendos a little embarrassing. I'm sure headyversion would confirm I'm in the minority on this one, though.
To me, like with so many Dead songs, those early versions of Sugaree are under-developed proto versions of what the song would become in 1977, which to me was its obvious peak. I don't understand what is embarrassing about a crescendo unless you are taking that kind of thought that a concise guitar solo is better that a long one and that there is some kind of self-indulgence in long solos (I don't think that way), but like you said, people just like different stuff. For me its not that longer is better, its that a passionate intense performance is better. When that coincides with longer, that is what I really like. Shorter versions can possibly be intense, but early versions of many songs were often played in a more tentative way, at least to me. I get that there can be beauty in concise and crisp playing, but that was not really the Dead's strong suit, I don't think.
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#3 - Fire. This song is COMPLETELY dependent on how inspired Garcia was at that moment. When he was ON it was inspiring, when he wasn't it felt repetitive - I mean there's no bridge, no key change - and God it could drag like a motherfucker.
I agree and i feel the same about Franklin's Tower and to a lesser degree, Sugaree. To be good to me they have to have huge crescendos and a driving rhythm section. Otherwise its sluggish, repetitive and flat, to me. The great ones are fantastic, but I get bored with most versions.
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The St. Stephen jam from 15 October 1977 still blows my mind....
any other similarly exceptional jams on par with that from 1977?
How about the NFA from Cornell? Last time I listened, I was blown away how hot the jamming was. I like it even better than the Englishtown version. If its your cup of tea the Dancin' from Cornell is hot too. Let It Grow from DeKalb?
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The question returns:
Is it possible to enjoy an artist's output and disregard their abhorrent behavior?
I'm not talking about buying concert tickets or new records, but does this mean 'Love is Hell' is no longer fun to listen to?
I struggled with this when Louis C.K. got into trouble. I so loved his work, and now I hate him as a dude. Haven't decided if I can keep those things separate, but I can understand both sides of the argument.
This is a good question. I struggle most with it or am most successful in separating reprehensible behavior from great music with Led Zeppelin. Page was pretty much a pedophile with the age of the groupies he went after but musically they are always in the top 3 greatest rock bands of all time for me, somedays they are #1. I don't know how I reconcile that in my mind, but I do.
With someone like Chris Robinson, its been easier for me to despise him because of his horrible treatment of his bandmates because his music, in my opinion, has sucked balls since Before The Frost and CRB is straight up unlistenably terrible to me. My opinion of his greedy arrogance is so low that I really don't like listening to even the good old stuff from the Black Crowes anymore and they were my favorite touring band for quite a few years (2005 - 2010).
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Yeah, this one hit hard for me, too. Kofi was part of musical collective who's life-mission is to connect through music in the spirit of love with one another and with any receptive listeners. As that becomes more rare in this increasingly harsh world, it becomes more valuable, important and noble. Kofi accomplished his mission and now his soul is free. Thank you, Kofi, you are loved and missed!
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Good to hear he is more consistent these days. i should go again! A buddy is going to one of the Vegas shows and wondered if he should go two nights. He can afford it, so I said yeah it ups your chances for a good show or a rare song, but good to know he's likely to get two real good shows.
This is what he played two years ago, I was freaking stoked to here all the older songs!
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We saw him in Vegas two years ago and he was on fire! I think we got really lucky to see him 1. do a great setlist with plenty of classic songs from his past and 2. see him fully engaged and living up to what he is capable of. I've seen him before years ago in the 90s and I know his reputation for often seeming disinterested or moody in live performance. I mean not really singing the old stuff with full passion and phrasing, mumbling lyrics instead, seeming to just go through the motions as if it were obligatory. So I'd say its always a crapshoot what version of Van you will get, but if you catch him on a good night, he can play with the complete mastery and genius that he has at his best. How often that happens these days or even in the past 30 years, I don't really know. I hope its a great one for ya!
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This is for the "jams only" guy. Maybe he IS the guy who compiled this?!
I like the songwriting, I like the jams too, not really in any camp, other than the camp of Really Good Playing!
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My post made no comment on their talent or abilities, just the selection process or lack thereof.
It sounded like you were saying they got hired because they were around, not for any other reason, like their talent, so my disagreement was that Brent and Keith got hired because of their talent. For Vince, its baffling because he had very little.
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Brent also got hired because he was basically around, already playing with Bobby. And Keith volunteered for the position. Not much thought went into picking the Dead's keyboard players.
I disagree. Brent was talented: played great, especially on a real Hammond and early on some great 70s electric pianos and sang both lead and high harmony great. Same for Keith, he played a real piano and could play the shit out of honky tonk stuff as well as jazzy stuff and lots in between. None of that is true for Vince, IMO.
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Nope....my first show was in 1988...Alpine....Saw them until 1993....Became too difficult to see Jerry / Vince...And other bands (Trey) was really worth seeing more than Vince.
I generally feel that Vince was the gravedigger for Jerry and the Grateful Dead. Musically, I don't think he was that interesting or impressive but really made it difficult was how joined Jerry in heroin. Jerry brought himself to it. But Vince joined him.
Oh to ponder about how Jerry could have aged into his 60s switching to only acoustic shows....
Is it generally known that Vince used heroin, too? Other than that, he was a baffling pick for keyboard replacement. I, too, find very little redeeming qualities in his playing, singing, or songwriting. I hypothesized that they picked him because he wouldn't challenge anyone and could easily be told what to do.
Billy says "“As for Vince, I’m not sure who invited him,” Kreutzmann writes in Deal. “We looked at other keyboardists [and] Vince Welnick was my least favorite. He was flat broke and desperate for work. Perhaps that played into our decision to hire him. Vince got voted in by default.”
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Led Zeppelin Physical Grafitti side one (Custard Pie, The Rover, In My Time of Dying)
Kate Bush - Hounds of Love side two (The Ninth Wave)
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I'm also liking the new Dave's better than I thought I would, as I'm not a fan of '76's slow tempos (T. Jed just crawls) and generally lethargic playing. But 6-17-76 is pretty good, I thought the Lazy Lighting>Supplication was strong, as was the Help>Slipknot and the Let It Grow is great, even with the drums interlude. I like a standalone Scarlet Begonias, sounds to me like they would concentrate more on the internal jam and this one is good. There were some cool inventive setlists in '76, like on this one and 12/31/76 Cow Palace.
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I like Bobby's f-bombs and agree with Lammy about early 80s LLRs for all those same reasons. I like this one from 4/20/83 Providence.
https://relisten.net/grateful-dead/1983/04/20/looks-like-rain?source=93920.
Really nice electric piano sound from Brent and Jerry flies, albeit in a shambling 80s Jerry way with wrong notes and all that, but endearing still to me. I will check that '85 version you linked, Lammy.
I also think that May '77 versions were probably some of the best vocal blends that Donna and Bobby ever got, I especially like the one from 5/5/77 New Haven!
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We are going to catch this tour, too. Its been years since I've seen Elvis live and I want to hear him at least one last time. One of my most impactful concert moments of all time was on the Painted From Memory tour (the album with Burt Bacharach) in Santa Rosa, CA in the late 90s. For the last song of the last encore (he usually does more than one encore and each one often has 3 or 4 songs) he sang one of my favorite songs that I never thought I'd hear, Couldn't Call It Unexpected, and he did it not only acapella but also with no amplification. Elvis has a fantastic voice for stuff like that and there is something really pure and powerful to hear a performer that talented with no electronics between their mouth and the audience's ears. What a great great moment that was for me. The only other time I got to have that kind of experience was at an industry/promo show by Richard Thompson in 1994 when he did a short set with no amp or microphone at the record warehouse I was working at. That one slayed me too.
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https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-feelies/2018/white-eagle-hall-jersey-city-nj-3b96a4d0.html
Looks like Rockin' In The Free World plus you are correct on the other covers!
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'92 saw "only" 57 shows....I know there were no NYE shows, but trying to remember why so few. No fall tour that year, I think, but forget the reason why.
Jerry got sick again and they cancelled a bunch of shows, if I recall. Wasn't that the year they were gonna do Veneta, Oregon again as the 20th anniversary and it got cancelled? I was set to go and was bummed, of course. There was no Fall tour that year, no shows between July and Dec.
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Deadset is an interesting release. I really like it. But, looking at that whole tour through warf saenger and radio city, there were markedly better performances...
Reckoning still floors me every time for the the rich, warm and basically perfect recording of those stellar performances. I watched Dead Ahead recently and man that 4 song selection from the acoustic set is fantastic. Jerry was all stoked, picking like crazy on Bird Song, gleefully doing the playful vocal response parts to Weir on On The Road Again, nailing To Lay Me Down and beaming a huge smile in response to the crowd's joy to hear Ripple!
Deadset could have been the same, but for me, its not that great, mostly due to the weird edits they did, shortening songs. Editing out stuff from the middle of a song on a Dead live album seems to me like it should have been an obvious thing that you just don't do.
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Yeah, I love that they played Albuquerque!
I thought, based on Lukas Nelson's comments in an interview early in the year, that they were gonna do a full summer tour. You can't count on anything for sure with Neil until its official, though. Maybe it was a pipe dream or never planned in the first place, but I am itching to get to see them again after the barnburner I saw exactly two years ago this week in Tucson. Must've been great at the Cap in Port Chester!
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Yeah, Hillman's website is not being updated, neither the Atlanta or Raleigh dates are listed. Pollstar isn't accurate either, the Atlanta show is on there, the Raleigh one isn't. It seems that Pollstar isn't consistent in how the shows are labeled by artists, sometimes calling it Chris Hillman with Roger McGuinn and sometimes Hillman with McGuinn and Marty Stuart. Or you can search by Roger McGuinn and get a different set of incomplete dates.
Its hard to get info on this tour, I've found. And frustrating that the dates are trickling in. If I had had more notice I would've been able to go to the Los Angeles shows in July.
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I believe he opened up some sort of clothing store when he left the band. I've always wondered about the story of how he came back. They could have just got a hired guy to fill in for Howie. There must be an interesting story there. I don't think they really talked about it much in the documentary.
It was a bikini shop. They couldn't really blame him...! He got tired of touring and the rock n roll lifestyle in general, I've read but he stayed friendly with them and would go see them play live after he left. I think Ron got hooked back up with them from the reunion for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, when Howie was near the end of his rope and was tragically so bad.
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Whoa, Long After Dark came in on my queue. It is fucking fantastic. It pretty much hits all the spots I want to hear from the Heartbreakers. The first 4 tracks are pretty much perfect.
I was waiting for this, ha ha ha! Deliver Me and then Change of Heart is one of the greatest one-two combos, and Deliver Me is like the King's Road of Long After Dark!
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Sure, static set lists is why I stopped going to see Tom Petty in the last 15 years, except when I knew it was gonna be special, like Stevie Nicks on the tour or a small venue. Even his shows promoted as “rarities” were not that different than what he usually played and still ignored 80% if his catalogue . But I was spoiled by being a Deadhead with setlist variety. Just saw Tedeschi Trucks and Marcus King two nights at Red Rocks with no repeats from either band. That’s why I went 2 nights
When will Wilco US tour dates be announced?
in Just A Fan
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evs5HjjL0PM
Money Becomes King
Tom Petty put this out in 2002 and it wasn't long after that there were platinum/gold circle seats at even his shows.