headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Ernie5

No cholesterol.

+3668


Submissions

2
Bertha
March 14, 1971
Camp Randall Field House

At :30 Pig switches from tambourine to organ and we're off! These early '71 performances showcase Kreutzmann reveling in sweet space. Driving.
6
Loser
Feb. 19, 1971
Capitol Theater

A delicate, tight, searching super early version of a staple. Kruetzmann plays it light and springy and that 1971 Lesh caramel bass guitar!
3
Tennessee Jed
June 11, 1976
Boston Music Hall

If you know this smooth customer of a show, you know how drynamic [yes, I typed that] and user friendly this TJ is. An always welcome visitor.
2
Sugaree
June 26, 1976
Auditorium Theatre

Few things better than a June '76 Sugaree. Garcia with the first Travis Bean just sketches with the lightest, barest of precious metal filaments.
3
Tennessee Jed
July 22, 1972
Paramount Northwest Theatre

Summer '72 Jed: Sweet dynamics & precision engineering. Weir & Kreutzmann stir it up during Garcia's guitar break.
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Comments

China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Nov. 19, 1972
Hofheinz Pavilion

Fluid China Cat - Godchaux's in especially sweet form. Torrid transition - has it fucking all.
Bird Song
Aug. 25, 1972
Berkeley Community Theatre

It really shouldn't surprise how sweet and delicious this is given the time & place, but still plenty of unexpected pleasures lurk. As always, the guitars are relentlessly inventive & cool - Weir channeling Wes Montgomery at various points. Garcia channeling Garcia. Fall 1972 might be the peak of his note bending - so artful, emotive, and trippy. And, like most of '72, the group has complete control over all dynamics. Most rock bands who dip into improvising forget the dynamics part (everything is a repetitive build). 12:30 flies pretty quickly in this rendition.
Playin' In The Band
March 19, 1977
Winterland Arena

Still love this Playin' - one thing I noticed recently is just the buoyancy of the group and the crowd. A constant. And the group responds to this great ambience with some killer ambience of its own: patient, spacious, and on the QT. Great Playin' from a masterful show.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
Sept. 21, 1972
The Spectrum

How'd I miss this one? Textbook China>Rider circa 72 and not in a boring textbook way. Fall 1972 is endlessly sweet. Band at peak, Ex. A.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
May 8, 1977
Barton Hall - Cornell University

To be fair, I have loved this one since I first heard it - and it was not famous then. At least not as far as I knew. To me, the start, the transition, and the detail make this one absolutely one of the best. My vote for this one has nothing to do w/its fame. It’s famous b/c it’s great, not the other way around. The best? Who knows or gives a shit? I just know that when it’s over, you sense you’ve travelled a pretty epic path.
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