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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

29
Candyman
Dec. 15, 1986
Oakland Coliseum Arena

Must hear b/c it's Jerry's first show back after the coma...crowd goes INSANE on "won't you tell everybody you meet that the Candyman's in town!"
14
Walking the Dog
April 8, 1985
The Spectrum

Midnite Hour>WTD>Big Boss Man to open the show-Wow!; Walkin' worth it just to hear Jerry sustain the vocal on "Pretty maids all in a Roooooooowww!"
9
I Need A Miracle
Jan. 10, 1979
Nassau Coliseum

Flawless deliver by Weir followed by extended, bluesy, gritty Garcia jam
80
Greatest Story Ever Told
Sept. 28, 1972
Stanley Theatre

Greatest STEPHEN ever Told. Jerry rips into a "St.Stephen" jam in the bridge jam before the reprise. 2d only to 8/27
37
Dark Star
Oct. 25, 1969
Winterland Arena

For those who don't care for the feedback/chase dog from the room DS's...this one is jazzy, jammy, rockin', & beautiful. No distortion; none needed

Comments

Playin' In The Band
Dec. 28, 1991
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Stadium

Especially impressed with this version, given that most latter day PITB's felt like throwaways with a lot of Jerry noodling & little focus or purpose other than getting into the next tune after some meandering, but this one melts beautifully into "Same Thing" after getting a seamless entry from a nice, if somewhat placid UJB prior, and feels self-contained in its mellow but interesting musical exploration. Glad I checked this out and the UJB>PITB>SameThing Trifecta (they do need to be taken as a triplet piece for best effect) is worthy of more attention.
Samson and Delilah
Feb. 5, 1978
Uni Dome, U of Northern Iowa

This has a lot in common with the Casey Jones from 10/2/77 in that they both benefit from--and become better because of-- an error. Here, it's the failure of Bob's mic that necessitates a longer intro jam that Jerry just decides to take into the outer reaches of intensity and into shredding legend....I'm not sure it's necessarily the "best" version ever (I still like 5/13/77) but it's a top shelf version for sure b/c of how they turned lemons into lemonade with Bourbon...it's a great save and a really great accomplishment how they handled it. (The Casey Jones from 10/2/77 similarly takes the occasion of Jerry forgetting a lyric to go into an extended bridge jam highlighted by a lovely Keith solo that no other version contains, and ultimately it emerges as what many agree is the best CJ ever.)
Big River
May 11, 1977
St. Paul Civic Center Arena

Yes indeed...I was pumped about the boxed set mostly for 5/13 and 5/17 but was more than pleasantly surprised by 5/11..I'll still put the Sugaree from that show up against any of the monsters from that year or any other.
Big River
May 11, 1977
St. Paul Civic Center Arena

Great rendition, extra points for St. Paul getting props in St. Paul
Sugar Magnolia
June 11, 1976
Boston Music Hall

Hidden gem alert, from a show that's beautiful and shy and gets little attention due to its more famous sibling just 2 days prior, but wow! This Sugar Mag might just be THE best of the June '76 shows, and that's saying something. It's got to be the most intense mellow jam I've ever heard on this tune, if that makes any sense. Jerry's guitar just floats notes on a string and it rolls along innocently beautiful and then the jam just takes off after the last verse and charges headlong to a great finish while never losing its laid-back vibe. It's kind of like everything that's great about 1976 encapsulated in this one tune & it needs to be checked out and bumped way up. And you get the added bonus of it going into a sweet Eyes before rounding back to Stella & then the SSDD coda. Terrific version that surprised and delights all at once.