Furthur - Barclay's Center July 11, 2013

Last night was the first show of Furthur's Summer/Fall Tour 2013.  The venue was fairly empty in the upper deck which was a surprise considering how well they do at MSG.  I was a little apprehensive after Bobby's "illness" back in May and the show did start out a little hesitantly with a very ordinary Stranger>Rag>Hell in a Bucket.  Things did pick up a bit in the second half of the set with a pretty darn good Cold Rain & Snow > Friend of the Devil > Jack Straw.

The second set was much better IMHO.  The playing was a bit looser and it kind of flowed really well.  In particular the Uncle John's Band > The Wheel > Uncle John's Band just killed.  Here is the complete setlist.

Barclays Center
Brooklyn, NY

July 11, 2013

Set I (8:13 pm - 9:20 pm ET)
Feel Like a Stranger (BW)
Doin' That Rag (JK)
Hell in a Bucket (BW)
Cold Rain and Snow (JK)
Friend of the Devil (BW)
Jack Straw (BW)

Set II (10:13 pm
Here Comes Sunshine >
Reuben and Cerise >
Greatest Story Ever Told
Uncle John's Band >
The Wheel >
Uncle John's Band (reprise) >
Unbroken Chain >
Weather Report Suite Part 2 Let It Grow

donor rap

We Love You >
Weather Report Suite Part 2 Let It Grow (reprise)

I'm a little bummed the tour has so few dates this year but I am looking forward to Phil with John Scofield at Gathering of the Vibes in a couple of weeks.  Maybe we'll get an MSG show added around Thanksgiving.

Recent Vinyl Releases

I've been getting a little lazy getting reviews out so I am going to try to shorten them up a bit and do more at once.  I spent a lot of years working in a record store and I used to slap short review blurbs on the inventory sleeve to "entice" potential buyers so I figured I'd go with that format for a bit.

Record Store Day Black Friday Releases

This limited release (7500 copies) features most of the second set from 5/30/71.  This was recorded during the same run as Skull and Roses and has that same kind of vibe.  Do we need another 15 minute version of Lovelight?  Why yes.  Yes we do.  And the sound is fantastic.

Released in 1968 but still reflecting that Summer of Love "glow", Forever Changes has grown in stature over the past 40 or so years.  In fact it was #40 on the Rolling Stone Top 500 of all time (if that means anything to you).  It has some really high points but does sound very much of that era so if you've missed this over the years give it a listen.

This was released as a numbered limited edition of 1000.  The album sees its official release on 12/9 so I was happy to grab it early.  The great Buddy Miller who can pretty much do no wrong teams up with roots legend Jim Lauderdale.  Great music pours out of your speakers and massive smiles pop up around the room.  Love it.

Some Other Recent Releases

I kind of dig the Drive By Truckers and found Jason Isbell's last couple of albums interesting, but I absolutely love this live CD.  A great band playing great songs and a kick ass Neil Young cover.  What else could you ask for.

The first two Marshall Tucker Band albums recently got the 180 gram treatment and were quietly released a couple of weeks back.  Does anyone care?  Damn right they should.  Two stone cold classics from the early 70's hey day of southern rock.  Much more country than the Allman Brothers and tastier playing than the Charlie Daniels Band.  There is way more to these albums than Can't You See.  Two classics from one of my all time favorite bands.

One of rock music's original angry young men is no longer very young, but he is still a little angry and his pen still writes razor sharp lyrics.  Politicians, hipsters, and society in general are all targets that are attacked with wit and wisdom.  Nothing really rocks but that's OK...we're all a bit older.

Last but certainly not least...The Beatles Remasters on Vinyl!  I wasn't going to buy them yet again, but I have begun to cave.  I picked up 4 recently (Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper and Let It Be) and the sound quality ranges from good to pretty damn wonderful.  Rubber Soul in particular is just tremendous.  I have some complaints with parts of Sgt. Pepper but the rest of what I have heard is worth the investment.  Am I going to buy the rest?  Probably. 

Grateful Dead Dick's Picks 1 & 2 On Vinyl!!!

I am lucky enough to be listening to Dick's Picks 2 on vinyl this afternoon.  On vinyl you say?  Why yes, yes I am.  The good folks at Brookvale Records will be releasing both of these albums on Tuesday, November 20th at Looney Tunes CD's here on Long Island and also at independent record stores around the country.  Both of these releases will be limited to 2000 copies, so you are going to want to look into this like yesterday because brother...they sound fantastic. 



Dick's Picks 2
Columbus, OH
10/31/71

1. Dark Star/Jam

2. Sugar Magnolia

3. St. Stephen

4. Not Fade Away

5. Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad

6. Not Fade Away This is the shortest of the Dick's Picks and it features a chunk of the second set from this show and it starts off with a stellar Dark Star > Jam.  Jerry just goes nuts on this one and leads the band into all kinds of tasty places.  I don't always dig where Dark Star goes but this one is a favorite.  This seems  a little short at one cd (57:39) but on vinyl it spreads out over two lps. You can't quibble with the set choices this night from a kickin' Sugar Mag right on though GDTRFB and Not Fade Away.  It jams, it rocks and it is all kinds of sweet. So how is the sound on vinyl?  They sound really good actually.  These were originally two track recordings so there are limits to how much can be done during remastering.  The spacing of the instruments is fine, but I find the vocals to be a bit too "out front" which can't be helped based on the "warts and all" tapes.  Will it stop me from playing this one again...uh no it won't. Dick's Picks 1 Tampa, FL 12/19/73 1.  Here Comes Sunshine 2.  Big River 3.  Mississippi Half Step 4.  Weather Report Suite 5.  Big Railroad Blues 6.  Playing In The Band 7.  He's Gone 8.  Truckin' 9.  Nobody's Fault But Mine 10.  Jam 11.  The Other One 12.  Jam 13.  Stella Blue 14.  Around and Around DP #1 was never one of my favorites...it's not bad rather it is a kind of weird place to have started the series.  I'll start off by saying the sound is very good, perhaps a bit better than DP #2 which was pretty good to begin with.  This was recorded towards the end of 1973 kind of in the middle of the endless track to support Wake of the Flood.  This is a different Dead than you had only a year or so earlier.  PigPen is gone and the band is less bluesy and psychedelic and more jazzy sounding.  The 60' are now clearly over and the 70's are in full swing with the Dead morphing along with the times. This set has some great moments in Here Comes Sunshine, a great jam during Playing in the Band and a wonderful He's Gone.   What was great about the Dead is that they played a lot of these songs over their entire career and they had a different vibe in different eras.  Many of these songs would take on a whole new feel in a couple of years and its great to have such a wide selection to compare, contrast and enjoy. I'm glad to see the Dick's Picks series getting a vinyl release...now I want DP #8!!! Go down to Looney Tunes or visit them online and grab yourself both of these fine additions to your Dead collection. Here's a link to pre-order the lp's if you are so inclined.

A Great One-Two Punch

I've been feeling pretty crappy the past couple of days and pretty much just vegging out trying to beat this bug.  TV sucks so I played a bit of music and got caught up on some reading.  I had some Dead on and as per usual I got around to my favorites...Workingman's Dead and American Beauty (I also really love Reckoning).  I know these are the "hit" albums that everyone likes but that is for a reason...these are two pretty much perfect albums.

I was not a big Dead Head in my youth.  Yes these two have always been in my collection but the rest...not so much.  To this day I still can't stand Dark Star, The Eleven, The Other One, and don't get me started on the waste of time that is Drums>Space.  I love so much of what they did over 30 odd years and at the same time I can't stand the rest of it.  Maybe that's why I love the 1977 shows.  The Dead were so on and so much more melodic that year.  Focused jams and well played songs!

Way back in 1970 the Dead were heading into the studio with very little cash to record their fourth studio album (they had been ripped off) and went with a stripped down, back to basics sound that hearkened back to their roots rather than continue on with their psychedelic explorations.  Good choice.  This is very much a cousin to the first couple of Band releases but with a more West Coast vibe.  How can anyone find fault with these tracks:

Uncle John's Band
High Time
Dire Wolf
New Speedway Boogie
Cumberland Blues
Black Peter
Easy Wind
Casey Jones

These are some of my all time favorite Dead songs, and I suspect some of yours as well.  I never get sick of playing this album and it is probably my favorite Dead album.  Now American Beauty, also released in 1970, might also get that award.  Slightly more Rock & Roll than Workingman's Dead, it still has that great homespun sound.  Great songs played very well.  Hell, they even sang some pretty good harmonies.  The Dead would never sound this good again on any record (aside from Jerry's first "solo" album).

Box of Rain
Friend of the Devil
Sugar Magnolia
Operator
Candyman
Ripple
Brokedown Palace
Till the Morning Comes
Attics of My Life
Truckin',

The over-all tasty goodness that these two albums delivered got me thinking about other great "one-two punches".  So I'm listening again to a bunch of artists who have delivered just that...two great, I mean great not merely good, records in a row.  This should be fun.  Check back over the next couple of weeks and see what I found.

Sunday 'Toon

I've been feeling like crap all weekend, but this one made me chuckle.

Furthur - MSG 11/10/11

Furthur rolled into MSG last Thursday night for the fall stop of their 2011 tour.  Bobby and Phil may be the only original members playing in this line-up so it's really not the Dead, but it is a pretty good group just the same.  In fact, aside from a few Phil shows back around 2000, I have to say this is pretty much my favorite post-Jerry lineup.

The first set was just so much fun.  I took my son for the first time and he loved it.  Kind of a Best of the Dead set.  The second set really stretched out a bit with a fine The Other One > St. Stephen.  It was even great to hear the Disco Dead of Shakedown Street.  Larry Campbell guested on a number of songs and his always fine playing was a wonderful addition.

Here's a photo of the setlist...

This was my first time seeing this line-up.  My last couple of experiences were less than great (Dead @ Nassau 2009 and Ratdog at Westbury) but this might draw me back again next year.  This was a good time folks.

You can download the show at the Internet Archive.

Grateful Dead - Cornell 77 and Veneta 72

Here's a pair of classic Dead shows for your listening pleasure.  If you haven't grabbed them before, now is the time.  First up is the Veneta, OR show from August 27, 1972.  This is one of my favorites and the sound is stellar for the era.

Grateful Dead
08/27/72
Old Renaissance Faire Grounds
Veneta, OR

SBD Recording

Set I
Promised Land
Sugaree
Me & My Uncle
Deal
Black Throated Wind
China Cat Sunflower->
I Know You Rider
Mexicali Blues
Bertha

Set II
Playin’ In The Band
He’s Gone
Jack Straw
Bird Song
Greatest Story Ever Told

Set III
Dark Star->
El Paso
Sing Me Back Home
Sugar Magnolia
Casey Jones
One More Saturday Night

Download it here.

Next I have perhaps the most famous Dead show ever...Cornell 77. Some say it is overrated, which may be true, but this version of Scarlet>Fire is worth the download alone. I guess it holds up so well for so many because it was one of the first pristine soundboards that circulated back in the day.

Grateful Dead
May 8, 1977
Barton Hall
Cornell University

Set I

1. Minglewood Blues -> (AUD splice provides beginning of track)
2. Loser
3. El Paso
4. They Love Each Other
5. Jack Straw
6. Deal
7. Lazy Lightning -> Supplication (Aud Splice during transition)
8. Brown Eyed Women
9. Mama Tried
10. Row Jimmy
11. Dancin' In The Streets

Set II

12. Take A Step Back/Tuning
13. Scarlet Begonias-> Fire On The Mountain
14. Estimated Prophet
15. Tuning/Dead Air
16. Saint Stephen->
17. Not Fade Away->
18. Saint Stephen->
19. Morning Dew
20. Encore: Saturday Night

You can get this here.

Keep checking back. Many more shows to come over the coming days, weeks and months. I have collected a lot over the years and it's time to give back. As always...thanks to the tapers wherever you are.

Grateful Dead - Aiko Aiko - Anaheim 1987

Just because...

Sweeeeet

New Releases on the Horizon

Foo Fighters - Greatest Hits (11/03)
U2 - The Unforgetable Fire 25th Anniversary Edition (10/27)
David Bowie - Space Oddity 2 CD Edition (10/?)
Grateful Dead - Winterland 1977 Box Set (October)
Nirvana - Live At Reading (11/03)
Tom Petty - Live Anthology (November)
Lyle Lovett - Natural Forces (10/20)