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grendel

Books and Music

+24543


Submissions

43
Estimated Prophet
April 19, 1982
Baltimore Civic Center

From the famous "ravenspace" show; the only version in which the main theme is reprised+lots of Bob yelling
64
Ship of Fools
May 9, 1977
War Memorial

Perfection. The "comes a time" for this show gets all the attention but this SOF is just as grand
64
Uncle John's Band
Oct. 12, 1984
Augusta Civic Center

Part of a 2nd set for the ages; flows in & out of PITB teases & then reprises into killer Dew
20
Terrapin Station
Dec. 31, 1987
Oakland Coliseum Arena

Hold on tight!
51
Bertha
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Sweet bass drop-ins by Phil on intro; extended Garcia solos in bridge jam; very intense and fun

Comments

Dark Star
Sept. 24, 1972
Palace Theatre

Right back atcha cgarces!
Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin's Tower
Oct. 1, 1994
Boston Garden

Stunned by how good this version is, especially the Franklin's, which really cooks and never meanders like many much longer versions...the jams are focused and energetic and Garcia delivers the vocals really well with no missed lyrics. Great percussion fills also into and out of Slipknot. I'm not impressed by much in '94 but this show delivers consistently (great Althea as well). This needs some ups.
Dark Star
Sept. 24, 1972
Palace Theatre

I don't know what to do about this version, it's really got me perplexed. On first blush it would seem to be the kind of Star I despise--heavy on the dissonance--in fact, the lion's share of the jam is a mad frenzy of aggressive Garcia-led fury with no time for any "beautiful jam", "MLB" or "feelin' Groovy" anything emerging from the chaos. It's relentless, it's angry, and yet it's also mesmerizing in its own way. There's a propulsive feel to this one. Even though it favors the darker side of the star than the light, it never veers off into isolated weirdness or aimless Phil bass soloing which has ruined (IMO) many fine versions from this and the next two years worth of Dark Stars. Everything moves forward in this version...I suppose the best analogy is that it's like a musical shark that has to keep driving forward or it'll die...and in fact it ends up merging into one of the finest China>Riders ever, so it never actually ever comes to rest. I suppose it's the kind of version I really have to be in a certain mood to listen to...and it does demand your attention. No casual listening or background music here. This DS will NOT be ignored, and I'll bump it here, even though it'll never be a warm and fuzzy "favorite" for me.
Althea
Oct. 1, 1994
Boston Garden

I'm sold. Some real nice vocal delivery on this one, especially given the year. Great outro jams, nice brisk tempo while still hitting all his spots, and Jer even has a bit of fun on the "little sympathy" line. He's feelin' it on this one.
Cold Rain and Snow
April 15, 1970
Winterland Arena

Garcia is really belting out the vocals on this one and it's got a bit of a longer jam break than many versions of this era. +1!