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Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3523


Submissions

4
Beat it on Down The Line
Nov. 14, 1971
Texas Christian University

Searing version - groovy false start, then Garcia soars like an acrobat. Plug in!
2
The Other One
Feb. 6, 1969
Kiel Auditorium

CRUSH. Hard to believe they brought this intensity and dynamic precision all the time then, but they did! Ace!
6
Bertha
March 31, 1973
War Memorial

Unknown Genre - iTunes. Kreutzmann drives this hovercraft - as he seems to in all of the great Berthas of this time. Look out for the guitars.
1
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Sept. 29, 1971
Practice Studio

Have always loved the San Venetia tapes - almost like an x-ray of the GD. You can so hear the guitar architecture. So tempted to make that one word.
8
Mexicali Blues
March 24, 1973
The Spectrum

'73 Mexicali? Smokesville, USA.

Comments

The Other One
April 22, 1979
Spartan Stadium - San Jose State University

Super lively take - Garcia comes out guns a-blazin'. Doesn't really let up either - Mydland's stuff is very subtle. Cool.
Uncle John's Band
May 25, 1972
Strand Lyceum

This could be The One. But even if it's not, it's got all of your Uncle John's Band bases covered. And then some.
Brown Eyed Women
Feb. 9, 1973
Roscoe Maples Pavilion - Stanford University

Really nothing not to like here. This show is close to perfect. For Brown-Eyed Women, they take it a smidge slower and really tease out all of the song's narrative depth. And it sounds fucking great.
Estimated Prophet
Dec. 26, 1979
Oakland Auditorium

Very strong! Some inspired, cool shit in this one. But blows 5-25-77 out of the water? I don't get that. This one, zesty as it is, is a bit of shaggy dog vs. 5-25-77's sick groove. My main issue is the Mydland tinkling - which doesn't always not work. Problem is mainly that sometimes it just strikes me rinky-dink. Also, though: the big solo peak post-bridge portion in the middle is just too long and they can barely find their way out of it back into the next verse. Just gets cluttered. Less is more and everything just sounds and feels better with Godchaux and Garcia rockin' the Bean. The outro is sweet, but nothing like the dark Garcia soliloquies of 1977 - the sound of out-of-body. Sonically, they're already making lots of sonic compromises by late 1979. I do like this version, though, I swear.
Brown Eyed Women
June 8, 1977
Winterland Arena

A band in complete control. A Hunter/Garcia masterpiece. Dynamics! The guitar break is cerebral and cool. Not much else you can ask a Grateful Dead song.