headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3668


Submissions

1
Cumberland Blues
Dec. 13, 1969
Swing Auditorium

A cozy little delight - hand percussion, contemplation, great stereo drums, and some rip roaring riffage. Comes in under the radar, but worth a visit.
12
Sugaree
June 18, 1976
Capitol Theatre

As much as I love May 77 Sugarees, Spring 76 is where it's at for me. Subtlety, separation, and Garcia's whispery, silver-dipped guitar breaks.
6
Candyman
April 19, 1978
Veterans Memorial Auditorium

1978: Prime weather for Candyman. This performance, like many from then, highlights the bleak world of the narrator. Garcia's break: spidery.
4
Tennessee Jed
Oct. 29, 1971
Allen Theatre

Bubbly, bratty storyboard version. Character & twang for miles. I'd pay to see this band. Two for a tenner? Four please.
9
Terrapin Station
April 27, 1977
Capitol Theatre

This is a very sweet Terrapin. Everyone's fired up to play it. All you need to do is watch the vid to see the pure joy this brings Garcia. Memorable.
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Comments

Wharf Rat
July 8, 1978
Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Garcia's entrance is the stuff of dreams. I've never been in love with this show (at least proportionately to its renown), but this take is niiiiiiiiiiice.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Oct. 30, 1972
Ford Auditorium

Hear it pulsate throughout the room. Thrilling audience tape and a super tight, muscular delivery system. By the mid-point of China Cat, a switch is tripped. First-rate Grateful Dead here. Warm and bountiful.
The Other One
Dec. 6, 1971
Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden

It just dawned on my that Garcia flirts with The Eleven for a little while near the beginning. Wicked!
Playin' In The Band
March 19, 1977
Winterland Arena

Initially nothing super special, but once the spaciness starts @ 2:45 things gradually get bewitching. At about 4:45, Garcia extracts a rich, warped, stew of a guitar sound that seals the hatch and dives. In a year with some really great Playins, this one has its own real-thing thing - and it's moving up my list pretty quickly. I don't actually keep a list.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Aug. 24, 1972
Berkeley Community Theatre

Swings super hard out of the gate and then cruises perfectly over the mountains - electric circuit controlling magnets. That's what this is all about. Classic show. Holy fuck! The peak of the transition levitates. What Godchaux is doing is avant garde. That of course leads to Garcia taking a Strat where it's never been before or since.
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