headyversion

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hremarkandrei

brent fanboy

+76


Submissions

1
The Other One
Dec. 28, 1983
Civic Auditorium

Equal parts journey and freakout

Comments

Playin' In The Band
June 22, 1976
Tower Theatre

It sags a little in the middle if we're being honest (and I have a lot of patience for these '76 slow-moving PITBs) but it's worth checking out for the proto Fire and the delicious passage that segues into drums that sounds right out of '74 but with a second drummer.
Playin' In The Band
April 22, 1977
The Spectrum

This is a serious time warp of a PITB. It sounds like multiple eras of Dead at the same time. It's got that crisp but silky '77 thing going for it obviously, with some '76 pensiveness and some '73 mathy fusion impressionism. But as a few others pointed out, the weirdest thing here is Keith playing more synthesizer on one track that I can recall ever hearing before. His tones get very 83 Brent-like, which is truly an oddity. Instantly fell in love with this one.
Playin' In The Band
June 14, 1976
Beacon Theatre

I really can't get enough of the subdued "In A Silent Way"-style PITBs from 1976, but this one is even pretty high on that list. It coheres into a few beautiful passages, almost sounding like they're considering going into The Other One for a second. It does take a little while for Keith to really show up, but he guides the band back into a rumbling Main Ten.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Nov. 1, 1979
Nassau Coliseum

This really is the monster! Brent is the star on this one. It has a lot of that exploratory getting-to-know-you magic of Fall 1979. I can't deny it's a bit noodly as a result, but it's so hot I really can't be concerned with that.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
May 8, 1977
Barton Hall - Cornell University

In truth I could take or leave the Scarlet, but the FOTM is just immaculate and can pretty much stand on its own. Like 77 generally, it's not a 'monster' but it's just so competently executed (yeah Jerry flubs the lyrics a little but what else is new). I try to push this version in particular on my friends who like Talking Heads and more dance-oriented post-punk because I think reads very similarly.
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