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

Terrapin Station
May 19, 1977
Fox Theatre

People talk about 5/7, 5/8, and 5/17 all the time - and for good reason: amazing Terrapins. This one, oddly, gets a little overlooked. I think it's a classic w/Weir attacking in the coda and the whole song a beautiful tension-and-release exercise. I put this one in the pantheon. And not just because the word "pant" is in there.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Jan. 24, 1971
Seattle Center Arena

This sort of fills a gap - just before they move over from the two drummers, so it sounds like '70 except there's a warmth that presages a very toasty '71. Kinda has its own thing - and I dig it.
Brown Eyed Women
April 25, 1977
Capitol Theater

Some of my favorite 6:30 in sports - Spring 77 Brown-Eyed Women. This is liquid perfection. All the players are dancing and Garcia sings it perfectly. Just the right vulnerability.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
April 10, 1971
East Hall, Franklin & Marshall College

Fine-tuned little monster. And, again, the bass never sounded better. Ever. I don't know if Garcia's using a frying pan or what, but it sounds big & kick-ass. A bounty. A Mountie. No joke there - just a momentary ... nothing. The guitar transition, btw, is a battle to the death! Or at least Nichols & May.
Not Fade Away
May 14, 1970
Merramec Community College

Mighty & organic. Powers through effortlessly. Or so it seems. Who doesn't dig May 1970? Don't tell me. I don't want to know. I CAN'T know. Jeezo fuck this is ferocious primal rock music w/an insane lead guitar player.
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