The Grateful Dead

[Mr. Heartbreak]

https://archive.org/details/gd1979-10-25.sbd-set2.goodwin.4627.sbefail.shnf

 

Try this show, 10/25/79 New Haven, for some really funky keyboard sounds from Brent early in his tenure.  This is my favorite Shakedown Street ever and a lot of it has to do with what Brent is playing and how he is interacting musically with the rest of the band.

Great call, Shug. Sadly, I could have gone to this show, as I grew up in CT, but it would be another 3 years before I would get on the bus and head to New Haven for my first show. I am going to seek out a downloadable version of this board!

[winterland121072]

09-17-1982....

 

Brent during the Space / Spanish Jam on piano (not keyboard) is breathtaking...

[Lammycat]

Great call, Shug. Sadly, I could have gone to this show, as I grew up in CT, but it would be another 3 years before I would get on the bus and head to New Haven for my first show. I am going to seek out a downloadable version of this board!

Think we mentioned this at one point but (grew up in CT, too) my first show was New Haven 5.11.81.....

[Shug]

I saw just a few shows on the East Coast the year l lived in Boston, but none in New Haven.  3 nights in Worcester and 3 in Hartford Spring '88.  Too bad I missed the Meadowlands and Hampton on that tour.  And I really would've enjoyed East Coast Spring 87 had I been there, many great shows in that tour.

 

If anybody likes the funky Brent sounds in Fall '79, check out the transition jam between Scarlet and Fire from 11/1/79 from Nassau.  It gets good and weird!  https://archive.org/details/gd1979-11-01.sbd-repatched.miller.77363.sbeok.flac16

[IRememberDBoon]

Hampton 88 was what got me hooked for life.

[Lammycat]

I think I saw the most shows in a given year in '88, over 30. Spring tour from Atlanta to Worcester, Summer tour from Alpine to Oxford, Cap Center shows and the deep south mini tour from St. Pete to Dallas. The band was certainly on fire from 87-90. 

 

re: The person who is turned off by Brent: try checking out some shows on video with Brent. Part of his charm/awesomeness is in his interaction(s) with Garcia, often. The two of them would often just beam at each other while playing on a riff. I always appreciated the guy as he brought new life to the band, imo. He was charismatic on stage and added an aloof touch with his own tunes, often not necessarily pc-like tunes, too.....

[winterland121072]

I would agree with that. Jerry really liked Brent  (probably moreso than the rest of the band). He inspired better play in Jerry. With all due respect to 1978, it was not jerry's best year.

 

Jerry has always liked playing off of the keyboards (Saunders, Godchaux in 71-76, Brent, Howard Wales, Melvin, etc.)...

[mountain bed]

I saw just a few shows on the East Coast the year l lived in Boston, but none in New Haven.  3 nights in Worcester and 3 in Hartford Spring '88.  Too bad I missed the Meadowlands and Hampton on that tour.  And I really would've enjoyed East Coast Spring 87 had I been there, many great shows in that tour.

 

If anybody likes the funky Brent sounds in Fall '79, check out the transition jam between Scarlet and Fire from 11/1/79 from Nassau.  It gets good and weird!  https://archive.org/details/gd1979-11-01.sbd-repatched.miller.77363.sbeok.flac16

Oh hell yeah. Brent's Funky Scarlet. Certainly a top 10 version, and quite possibly the longest ScarFire ever at more than 35 minutes.

[El Picador]

I was going to suggest 10/27/79 for a great Brent show but really all of fall '79 is hot.

 

Also, Spring '90 was a hot year for Brent. He and Jer were so in sync every night. As was the entire band.

[Lammycat]

Brent would've been 61 yrs old now if he were still kickin'. Wild.

[Vacant Horizon]

Great call, Shug. Sadly, I could have gone to this show, as I grew up in CT, but it would be another 3 years before I would get on the bus and head to New Haven for my first show. I am going to seek out a downloadable version of this board!

 

i hate thinking about all the shows i missed before i got on the bus. i picture myself sitting in my room bored when, little did i know, the boys were playing down the street!  i wish i'd been in high school in the late 70s.  not only the dead, but all the other bands/artists!!

[Mr. Heartbreak]

i hate thinking about all the shows i missed before i got on the bus. i picture myself sitting in my room bored when, little did i know, the boys were playing down the street!  i wish i'd been in high school in the late 70s.  not only the dead, but all the other bands/artists!!

Well, I can't mourn too much, because I would not have appreciated much of this stuff before about 1980 or so. I was still too into Kiss, Van Halen and AC/DC to move toward the psychedelic side...

[Shug]

I would agree with that. Jerry really liked Brent  (probably moreso than the rest of the band). He inspired better play in Jerry. With all due respect to 1978, it was not jerry's best year.

 

Jerry has always liked playing off of the keyboards (Saunders, Godchaux in 71-76, Brent, Howard Wales, Melvin, etc.)...

I agree, Lammy and Winterland.  Don't forget Hornsby in the list of keyboardists that both sparked Jerry to play better and that he really connected with and loved playing with at times.  Hell, he probably even liked playing with Vince at times, although I didn't care much for listening to it, to be honest.  Lammy, I also love seeing Brent and Jerry smiling at one another in a tasty jam!  Brent had a sweetness in both his playing and his personality that his critics don't seem to pick up on, even though he had his demons that he could not shake, too.

[worldrecordplayer]

The band was certainly on fire from 87-90.

Agree, I consider that one of their golden eras, but would extend that through '91. The 5 Boston Garden shows I saw in September '91 were outstanding. They never reached that peak again, at least not in any post-'91 show I caught.

 

With all this discussion about Brent, it took me a long long time to get used to his playing, and his singing. I grew up with the Keith and Donna era, was a big difference having Brent 's vocals. But no doubt that Jerry loved Brent in the band.

[mountain bed]

For me the thing about Brent was I didn't appreciate him enough until he was gone. Then I realized what a true talent he really was. I'd say 2/3 or more of my 76 shows were with Brent, and we loved to rag on him (just as we did with Weir). Then Bruce came in and it was like WOW they still got it going on! After Bruce left it became VERY apparent that Brent's shoes were large, much too large for Vinnie to fill.

[worldrecordplayer]

For me the thing about Brent was I didn't appreciate him enough until he was gone. Then I realized what a true talent he really was. I'd say 2/3 or more of my 76 shows were with Brent, and we loved to rag on him (just as we did with Weir). Then Bruce came in and it was like WOW they still got it going on! After Bruce left it became VERY apparent that Brent's shoes were large, much too large for Vinnie to fill.

Same here, although the majority of my shows were likely either pre- or post- Brent, as I was off the bus from '81-September '87. 

[Lammycat]

I loved Brent from the get-go, bitches.

[Shug]

I would say try 5/1/81 or 10/9/82. Both are pretty great shows, and don't feature any Brent solo tunes.

 

https://archive.org/details/gd82-10-09.sbd.samaritano.23730.sbeok.shnf

 

https://archive.org/details/gd1981-05-01.sbd.miller.107437.flac16

  Thanks for the recs, Mr. Heartbreak.  Brent is indeed tearing it up on the Hammond on LIttle Red Rooster on 5-1-81 and that's what I love most about his playing, aggressive and soulful Hammond playing.  Nice Rhodes sounds on Friend Of The Devil and others, too.  He did have a nice keyboard setup in the early 80s.  It got a little too synthetic for my tastes in the later 80s).  Good show!

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Thanks for the recs, Mr. Heartbreak.  Brent is indeed tearing it up on the Hammond on LIttle Red Rooster on 5-1-81 and that's what I love most about his playing, aggressive and soulful Hammond playing.  Nice Rhodes sounds on Friend Of The Devil and others, too.  He did have a nice keyboard setup in the early 80s.  It got a little too synthetic for my tastes in the later 80s).  Good show!

My pleasure. I agree with you about his keyboard setup 100%. In fact, I especially loved the early versions of Touch of Grey, but was never crazy about what they did with that cheesy keyboard that was used when they finally recorded it officially for In the Dark. I suspect that that sound attracted a lot of the folks we used to derisively call "Touch-heads," but it repelled me. Lol

[calvino]

What surgery did he have?

 

Regarding Weir's surgery - Lambert gave more details this past Sunday - the surgery was in October, it definitely was on his shoulder (past collarbone break injury was causing pain all year). Weir is ahead of schedule with his rehab.

All according to Weir's manager.

 

 

Also, listened to the 1st set of  5/1/81 last night - definitely a very nice set --- only had the matrix on my hard drive, need to track down the audience.

[Mr. Heartbreak]

Also, listened to the 1st set of  5/1/81 last night - definitely a very nice set --- only had the matrix on my hard drive, need to track down the audience.

There are a few on archive.org. This one sounds quite well recorded, but says it's not a matrix. Anyone tell?

 

https://archive.org/details/gd81-05-01.wise.clugston.2218.sbeok.shnf

 

Sounds more "soundboardy" to me than the most recent Dave's Pick, at least on my computer speakers. Incredible.

[Analogman]

FOB = Front of (sound)board

[calvino]

There are a few on archive.org. This one sounds quite well recorded, but says it's not a matrix. Anyone tell?

 

https://archive.org/details/gd81-05-01.wise.clugston.2218.sbeok.shnf

 

Sounds more "soundboardy" to me than the most recent Dave's Pick, at least on my computer speakers. Incredible.

 

That's the audience source I was looking for - I looked briefly on Etree last night and did see it there.

[dagwave]

I loved Brent from the get-go, bitches.

yes.

from the Git-go.

[Analogman]

Something I did not know:

 

 

If you wouldn’t mind, can we talk about your Grateful Dead connection? We are Relix.

Harry Shearer: (Laughs) We. Are. Relix.

 

I heard recently that, when The Grateful Dead were busted in 1967, at their house in the Haight, that you had something to do with writing a statement for them.

Harry Shearer: Well I spent a lot of time in that particular residence because I was working in California, ironically at the California State Legislature in Sacramento, and one of my best friends at the time was the co-manager of The Dead [Danny Rifkin]. So on the weekends and time off I’d come down to hang at that house and got to know the guys in the band and everybody around that scene. My absolutely most vivid memory of it was Neal Cassady, who was a character in On the Road, the great Jack Kerouac beat novel, was hanging around The Dead at that point. I was one of the few people with a short, as automobiles were referred to in that scene, and Danny said, “Can you give Neal Cassady a ride, he has a doctor’s appointment?” Nobody else had a car and being a southern California man I always had a car, so I said sure. We’d never met though I’d seen Neil around and I knew his reputation, so he gets in my car and we now spend the next 45 minutes going from Haight-Ashbury to I think, the Castro District in San Francisco. It was a combination of him giving me very precise and very timely directions as to how to get to where we’re going and lapsing into the play-by-play of a 1945 Chicago Cubs baseball game. Just one toggle switch going up and down, up is directions, down is the Chicago Cubs game. I didn’t say a word, I mean, this guy was just like, turn left at Castro and then I forget even the names of the players but he goes into this most detailed play by play of a Chicago Cubs game. I have no idea what he was on, whatever it was, he was enjoying himself. Yeah, I was around and they knew I was a writer, and Danny knew me because I was the editor of the college newspaper when he was a reporter. So yes, they recruited me into the task of helping to write the statement that they made when the Dead were busted. I plead guilty to that.

 

Do you have any other Dead related anecdotes?

Harry Shearer: Oh, God. I guess the most memorable thing to me is that that was the time Owsley Stanley, the manufacturer of purple acid, was actually mixing the Dead shows. He was their sound mixer. So you have never heard rivers of reverb like what was slathered on Dead shows when he was mixing them. Somewhere back in there was the band and then there was [makes reverby noises]. So that’s my main memory.