The Sound Check for the Wall of Sound, March 23, 1974

otiginally publiched 2/28/19 3:49 PM
  The music is listening
Play on you tube 



This is another in the famous show series aka Dicks Picks 24. AKA The Sound Check.
Sadly this is the last of the three Playin in the Band>Uncle John's Band>Morning Dew>Uncle John's Band>Playing in the Band shows.  They almost couldn't get the initial Playin out of first gear.

The other other show ever with Playin>UJB>songs>UJB>Playin (aka Double sandwich) will occur in six years up in Lewiston, Maine.

As with all 1974 shows this one is FAB. And it comes with lots of newspaper and magazine coverage which you can read here. Have fun as usual.

https://www.prosoundweb.com/channels/live-sound/re_p_files_the_grateful_dead_a_continual_development_of_concert_sound/

Healy and the Grateful Dead became willing guinea pigs for John Meyer, then of McCune Sound; Ron Wickersham of Alembic; and others on the scene who were looking for ways to deliver music painlessly and efficiently at the often ridiculously high SPLs of the San Francisco sound and rock music in general.

“Those guys were long in the design and prototype area,” Healy explains, “and we were long in the criteria. We built a system and scrapped it, built another one and scrapped it. We never had a finished system, because by the time we’d get one near completion it was obsolete in our minds, and we already had a new one on the drawing boards.”

The concept of speaker synergy and phase coherency in particular was understood by the early Seventies, and several designers had come up with ways of implementing it. John Meyer and McCune Sound developed a three-way, tri-amped single-cabinet system with crossovers that reduced phase shift considerably. It was a significant improvement, but there was plenty of work yet to do.

While Meyer was in Switzerland studying every aspect of speaker design, acoustics and the electronics of sound, Healy and Alembic and the rest took off in other directions.

The Dead debuted a new system at San Francisco’s Cow Palace on March 23, 1974, in a concert dubbed “The Sound Test.” Bassist Phil Lesh calls it the “rocket gantry” and maintains that it was the best PA the Dead ever had.

“It was the ultimate derivation of cleanliness,” Healy explains. “No two things went through any one speaker. There was a separate system for the vocals and separate systems for each guitar, the piano, and the drums. You could get it amazingly loud, and it was staggeringly clean, cleaner than anything today. It still holds the record for harmonic and most especially intermodulation distortion.”

Healy calls this system’s theory of operation the “as above, so below theory. If you stack a bunch of speakers vertically and stand close to one, you hear the volume of that one speaker. If you move a little farther away, you hear two speakers; move away some more and you hear three. If you have a lot of them stacked up high, you can move quite a ways away and the volume stays the same.”

There was no mixing board in the house. Each musician controlled his own instrumental volume, because his speaker stack was its own PA system.

Guitarists Bob Weir and Jerry Garcia each had about 40 12-inch speakers in vertical columns, and bassist Lesh had a quadrophonic system. Vocals also were delivered to the band and the audience by the same speakers. Each singer had a pair of mikes, wired out of phase so that background sound arriving equally at both was canceled, while what was sung into one mike was passed on to the amplifier.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/9ksawj/whats_everyones_favorite_wall_of_sound_recording/

Grateful Dead
Dick's Picks Volume 24

Cow Palace - Daly City, CA

[March 23, 1974]

(Grateful Dead)

First Appeared in The Music Box, June 2002, Volume 9, #6

Written by John Metzger

The subject of Dick’s Picks, Volume 24 is the Grateful Dead’s concert on March 23, 1974 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. It is a performance that is notable not only for marking the debut of the "wall of sound" — the band’s homemade state-of-the-art PA system — but also for being one hell of a show. From start-to-finish, the band was in top-notch form, fully exploring each selection with astounding curiosity — a feat that was remarkable even by 1974-standards, a year filled with one groundbreaking concert after another.

The "wall of sound" was actually a massive array of small hi-fi speakers stacked behind the musicians. The arrangement eliminated the need for individual monitors, and the band was able to hear exactly what the audience heard. In addition, each member was able to have total control over his or her volume in the mix. Perhaps, this is why the music contained on Dick’s Picks, Volume 24 has an almost Beatle-esque quality to it in the way that the instruments slip and slide around one another with studio-like precision.

Then again, the Grateful Dead were masters of improvisation, and by 1974, the band had fully fused jazz into its Americana-based repertoire. The breezy flare of Bill Kreutzmann’s percussion drove the songs, anchoring them to a sometimes solid (Promised Land), sometimes nebulous (Playing in the Band) foundation, while each of the other musicians layered their instruments accordingly. On Brown-Eyed Women, Bob Weir’s rhythm guitar textures fed Keith Godchaux’s own keyboard accompaniment, and on Scarlet Begonias, all the sounds blurred together to form a joyously variegated dance. Deal began as a relaxed groove, but grew to a raging inferno, while on Cassidy, the band freely roamed in the space between each beat. And then there’s the breathtaking convergence of Playing in the Band, Uncle John’s Band, and Morning Dew — a highlight, not only of this concert, but of the Grateful Dead’s career.

In the end, the "wall of sound" proved to be too cumbersome to utilize. (It actually took three fully functional systems — one being torn down, one being set up, and one being used — to mount a tour). But for one year, at least, concert-goers stuck in the back of large arenas could actually hear what all of the musicians on stage were playing. Nearly thirty years later, we’re all still waiting for someone to top it. 

Dick's Picks, Volume 24 is available f

Read more: Grateful Dead - Dick's Picks 24 - March 1974 (Album Review) http://www.musicbox-online.com/gd-dp24.html#ixzz5gmKQoMOb

Art by Gary Kroman

It’s spring of 1974, Daly City, Calif., at the famed Cow Palace where Ken Kesey and many Dead associates piled into the psychedelic Furthur bus to see The Beatles in Tom Wolfe’s famed novel, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. The date is March 23rd, and LSD guru, obsessive soundman, and all around freak Owsley “Bear” Stanley’s vision of a kaleidoscopic skyscraper of speakers is coming to fruition. Even for seasoned roadies RamRod and Kidd Calendario, positioning the roughly 50 JBL speaker cabinets was grueling, backbreaking labor, but it paid off. Not only in the several ounces of premium weed that would fill their cubbies at the office each month, or the eternal throngs of beautiful hippie girls thrown at them from every direction, but in the band’s sound, which attained a dynamic so clear and sustained, that each note was as clear as a freshwater stream or a blue sky of deepest summer. On this night, Owsley’s Wall of Sound would propel the evening’s proceedings, which included debuts of nascent material, some hints of the forthcoming records Wake of the Flood and From The Mars Hotel, and most importantly, absolutely ineffable improvisation.

Set one starts with a very strong “U.S. Blues,” before channeling Chuck Berry via Bob Weir via “The Promised Land.” After an exemplary “Brown-Eyed Women” and a happy-go-lucky-cowboy-Bobby “Mexicali,” the band takes a step back, and lets the music relax and open wide for a mellow, downright sexy “Tennessee Jed.”

The key word in this set is patience. While many 60s, 80s, and 90s Dead shows featured a non-stop percussive assault from dual drum sets with very little space or room to breathe, the early-to-mid 70s had very precise, carefully emphasized, beautifully understated drums, as Bill Kreutzmann adapted and grew more comfortable holding the percussion reins following Mickey Hart’s departure three years prior. The fairly new keyboardist, Keith Godchaux, also revved the band up in a powerfully uplifting way. Nearly every song from this show is a near-perfect, key version, the band’s persistent work and time on the road clearly apparent.

European tour staple “Black Throated Wind,” which would leave the repertoire later that year and would not reappear for two decades, followed, and then the first “Scarlet Begonias.” A strong, yet elementary version, the cadence and rhythm would develop further with time, however the choppy-yet-symmetrical vibe and danceability were certainly present. “BIODTL” nods to the Dead’s earlier days, with Donna Jean Godchaux, belting her heart out more-or-less in key (Although Phil is actually more in key.) A delicate “Must Have Been The Roses” takes us back to cowboy town with “El Paso.” Both were strangely omitted from the official live release of this show, Dick’s Picks Volume 24. Jerry digs into his solo repertoire for “Deal,” followed by the debut of  “Cassidy,” the Weir-Barlow ode to their fallen Prankster brother Neal Cassady.  Next up is a baby-making sequence of “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” in which Jerry and Bobby’s guitars offer a sprightly dance that mimics the early spring weather and surely reflects the loving vibe of the crowd and the early 70s in general. The major descending riff that often pops in “Dark Star” also makes a brief appearance here. A lovely “Weather Report Suite” and “Let It Grow” cap the first set, with pedal steel from Jerry sounding not unlike Zappa’s “Watermelon In Easter Hay,” and with four part harmonies, due in part to the band’s recent vocal work with Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Set two has a very rough but turbo-charged beginning. “Playin’ In The Band” has a false start, as if the band is so eager to dive into the colossal jams of the evening that they trip over themselves in a jumbled rush to the goal line. A mere five minutes in, the deep, psychedelic underbelly of this set begins to show, via fervent, wah-infused cyclical Garcia licks, perfectly articulated in context by a road-hardened beast of a band and the superb clarity of the Wall of Sound. Around 10 minutes, the musical quilt thickens, as each member’s thread intertwines deeper and further into the song, like the roots of a tree extending and braiding, giving a stronger form and stability to the music. “Playin’” also begins a type of passage that the Dead inadvertently pioneered: the musical palindrome.

In a recently refined ability, the Dead effortlessly morph into “Uncle John’s Band,” which in turn delves into the post-apocalyptic “Morning Dew,” before the final phrases of “Uncle John’s” resurface, along with frenetic dashes of guitar from a buzzing Garcia. The music gradually spaces itself out, with emphasis coming from different directions and hitting varied, sporadic intervals, as the “Main Ten” riff (As it was called before “Playin’” was built around it) emerges, before some Donna howling signals the refrain and the gorgeous sequence of “Playin’ In The Band” > “Uncle John’s Band” > “Morning Dew” > “Uncle John’s Band” > “Playin’ In The Band” comes to its beatific conclusion.

Set two finishes in a rather straightforward manner, hardly approaching the energy or all-encompassing depth of that first hour. Crooner Jerry and cowboy Bobby switch off one-after-another for the remainder of the set, with “Ship Of Fools,” “Big River,” “Ramble On Rose” > “Me and My Uncle,” more Chuck Berry with “Around and Around,” a particularly emotional, lilting “Wharf Rat” into a raucous “Sugar Magnolia.”

The band brings it home for a slow, sultry encore of “Casey Jones” followed by a shit-kicking “One More Saturday Night.” The Wall of Sound looming behind them like a massive robotic tower, it must have been clear to see that the Dead were no longer a group of acid-loving California hippies from the cozy Bay Area. Rather, this was a finely tuned machine; a behemoth rock band with a painstakingly and expertly developed sound and ethos that exuded sheer excellence.

Read more: https://relix.com/articles/detail/dead_relics_brian8217s_pick_3_23_74_cow_palace/#ixzz5gmKcw6Rp

The Brief History of Dark Star>Morning Dew

Originally published on August 26, 2016 at 521pm

At the very height of the Grateful Dead, between 1972 and 1974, the band performed the magical medley of Dark Star>Morning Dew one dozen times. You can hear all of them by clicking above.

This combination is the very pinnacle of the Grateful Dead experience. And I believe it's the very essence of the Grateful Dead, the wild space of the greatest song ever written by the band moving beautifully into a pace-slowing cover song that the Dead made their own, run at the creation of the group.  It's funny, if you check the Dick Lavata clips below, he basically calls every version of Dark Star>Morning Dew, "the greatest version ever".   Some goodies are here

1972 Versions, 7 of 12

05-18-1972  Munich        Dark Star [26:28] > Morning Dew [11:12]   Europe 72 Complete
05-23-1972  London        Dark Star [31:12] > Morning Dew [11:17]   Europe 72 Complete
08-24-1972  Berkeley      Dark Star [27:14] > Morning Dew [13:00]   The Perfect Show
09-21-1972  Philly           Dark Star [37:06] > Morning Dew [11:05]   Dick's Picks 35
10-18-1972  St Louis       Playing In The Band [15:50] > Drums [2:45] > Dark Star [28:25] >                                                        Morning Dew [11:07] > Playing In The Band [5:13]    1st Playing Sandwich
11-13-1972  KansasCity  Dark Star [31:19] > Morning Dew [11:09]  Philo Stomp Dick's GEMS
12-15-1972  Long Beach Truckin' [11:37]> Dark Star [21:24]> Morning Dew [12:39]


http://www.agitators.com/gd/dick_1972.html

The 'Dark Stars" from 8/21 and 8/24 are enormous. I need to
re-listen to the 8/22 show, but it seems to me that the show from 8/24
might be the winner here.

 Now to the really exceptional material. First up is
9/21/72- Philadelphia Spectrum.  This show is one of my favorite shows
ever. This version of "Dark Star->Morning Dew" might be the best one!
(there is a jam segment that is very unique and thrilling, and one that I
don't really think that I have ever heard before.)

The next most exciting show, is the middle night of the run of three at
the fabulous Fox Theater, in St. Louis, Mo. , October 18, 1972. It took me
awhile to hear this show correctly, but now it is a clear example of one
of the very best, with a couple of unusual and unique treats within the
"jam" segment before "Morning Dew".

Long Beach (12/15) was
another matter. Although I don't think of it in the same class as the
shows at the end of November, it does contain some excellent playing in
the 2nd set jam that is highlighted by a long "jam" section that follows
"Truckin", which contains some improvisational jamming that is especially
unique, and then comes "Dark Star"! Sounds great, right?  Unfortunately
the only part that one notices as "Dark Star"  are the lyrics. As soon as
the words are over, the playing resumes in the unique style that preceeded
"Dark Star". This very interesting part continues for many minutes before
the chords of "Morning Dew" become apparent. 

1973, The Duo


09-11-1973  Williamsburg Dark Star [22:09] > Morning Dew [12:41]
10-19-1973  OklahomaCity Dark Star [27:04] > Mind Left Body Jam > Morning Dew [8:12]

http://www.agitators.com/gd/dick_1973.html

The 9/11/73-Williamsburg, Va. show is another favorite of
mine. Well actually it isn't a favorite in the sense of the whole
show, but it certainly has one of the finest examples of the famous
medley "Dark Star->Morning Dew". (which, BTW, I find the
9/10/74- Alexandra Palace to be one of the highest of the high
versions!!!)

I guess we can say with confidence that things take on new
meanings on 10/19/73 in Oklahoma. This could easily have been
the first of the DP series, except for the absolute awesomeness of
"Here Comes Sunshine" on 12/19 /73. This has to be yet another
example of the "top version ever", of "Dark Star->Morning
Dew"!!! (and the jam within this incredible medley, of course!)
There is another excellent version of "Eyes of the World" that
goes into "Stella Blue" as the first encore!

1974, The Trio


02-24-1974  SF                  Dark Star [28:57] > Morning Dew [13:35]
09-10-1974  London          Dark Star [30:53] > Morning Dew [12:37]   Dick's Picks 7
10-18-1974  SF                  Seastones [24:38] > Jam [17:40] > Dark Star [17:37] > Morning Dew    
                                            [12:56]

http://www.agitators.com/gd/dick_1974.html

I was never too thrilled by the opening 3 shows at Winterland. Clearly 
the 2/24/74 night is the one to get and give a good listen.

We all know how I felt about the shows at the Alexandra Palace in 
London (9/9->11). (see 1973)

Out of the 5 shows that closed the year at Winterland, I feel that 
the middle 3 are worthy of attention. I guess that 10/18 might get the 
nod over-all, but since these are multi-track recordings, I don't have a 
whole lot of effect on whether these are released or not.

With Filler

03-16-1973  Nassau          Dark Star [26:30] > Truckin' [8:26] > Morning Dew [11:33]
08-01-1973  Jersey City    Dark Star [25:34] > El Paso [4:12] > Eyes Of The World [17:27] >                                                        Morning Dew [13:29]

Kinda/Almost
08-17-1991 Shoreline        25 Years ago this month Smokestake>He's Gone>Drums>Space>70
                                            seconds of a Dark Star Jam>Morning Dew>One More Saturday Night

In Reverse :)
12-31-81      Oakland          > Space [7:40] > The Other One [11:09] > Not Fade Away [7:28] >                                                       GDTRFB [7:21] > Morning Dew [10:44];  Dark Star [15:16] > Bertha                                                   [6:32] > Good Lovin' [10:03]

timings from deadlists.com

In my era of the Dead, they once played this medley nearly in reverse. This was the only known reverse medley that ever occur, however the band played Dew followed by Dark Star on at least four occassions in the first set in shows in 1969.

Some comments are below
On The Bus: Review of May 23, 1972 in London
The "Dark Star" is everything you want from the song in 1972. The initial jam is melodic and fast, as the band finds new grooves and permutations of the theme to explore with fervor. They descend into a quick spacey jam that is cut short with a brief drum interlude. Phil joins Billy for quick, melodic drum-and-bass duet, and then it's off into deep space. Jerry plays wandering lines with that harsh yet clean tone, as Bobby, Keith, and Billy strive to find weirder and weirder ways to play the rhythm, ultimately settling on dissonance and chaos. Jerry finds some semblance of form coming out of the chaos, and Keith peppers his meandering notes with crashing piano chords. Billy swings like the rhythmic beast he is, and Phil helps steer the groove back to the light. Jerry takes some coaxing, but eventually they find release and re-emerge with the "Dark Star" theme, crisp and clear. However, it's clear this one traveled a long, arduous road to get back to the song. It must all seem trivial to Jerry, and he signals the dawn with the opening chord of "Morning Dew." What an epic way to end this sequence, with the gently building guitar lines eventually exploding into the crescendo and the nuclear ashes settling on the soundsphere. Ladies and gentlemen, we're not yet halfway through the first set!!

Review of December 15, 1972 Long Beach for Teens :)

Dead Listening
http://www.deadlistening.com/2009/10/1972-august-24-berkeley-community.html
http://www.deadlistening.com/2008/04/1972-october-18-fox-theatre.html
Blair (I am getting to you soon)
http://www.dead.net/features/blair-jackson/blair-s-golden-road-blog-dark-star-crashes?page=6
Reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/49pbpo/best_dark_star/
Heady
http://headyversion.com/song/184/grateful-dead/morning-dew/
Clubhouse
http://www.gratefuldeadprojects.com/dark_star.html
Kirkville
http://www.mcelhearn.com/the-darkest-star-shines-the-brigthest/

The Final Five At Winterland, October 16-20, 1974

These were once thought of as The End, the Retirement Shows.

All the run is combined here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Grateful_Dead_Movie

Too many highlights to mention, I recommend the great Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack
Or just the Grateful Dead Movie
On the third night was 12th and last Dark Star>Morning Dew which you can hear above.
that 10-17 He's Gone>monster jam thing goes on and on. And 10-20 is fun entirely

Weather Report>US Blues takes 50 Minutes And The Set-Long Sugar Magnolia Sandwich is Invented Show on June 28, 1974

The Wall of Sound played havoc with the Grateful Dead's 1974 summer show 45 years ago due to the sheer time to take apart, transport and reassemble the speakers.

It is appropriate then, on a couple fronts, that this three-disc set concludes a near thirty minutes of untitled jam immediately preceded by a quarter hour of rhythm guitarist Bob Weir's "Weather Report Suite."
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/dicks-picks-volume-12-grateful-dead-grateful-dead-productions-review-by-doug-collette.php    (you can listen above)

You can take 50 minutes of set two between Sugar Magnolia and Sunshine Daydream and simply write Weather Report>US Blues. But the > in the middle is a once-only highlight of the Grateful Dead's entire career.

Obv the Dead loved Massachusetts in June (or anytime). But this is my favorite Mass Dead ever.

Boston Globe, 12-31-1998

Mps of the show are:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rqxyb866joya2o8/AACKTsZAJvtrVkWX_-SwZV_2a?dl=0
http://www.gratefulseconds.com/2015/10/sugar-magnoliasunshine-daydream-splits.html
1st Sugar Sunshine split
12/10/1973 Charlotte Sugar Magnolia > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad [5:44] > Sunshine Daydream [3:50]


1st full set Sugar Sunshine split.   This split was also popular at Boston shows with 3 of the first 6 at Boston shows

Sugar Magnolia [6:00] > Scarlet Begonias [8:35] ; Big River [4:48] ; To Lay Me Down [7:43] ; Me And My Uncle [2:37] ; Row Jimmy [8:01] ; Weather Report Suite Prelude [1:16] > Weather Report Suite Part 1 [4:09] > Let It Grow [10:11] > Space > Mind Left Body Jam > Jam [27:39] > U.S. Blues [8:30] ; The Promised Land [3:00] > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad [8:16] > Sunshine Daydream [3:37]   (from deadlists.com)

First of 29, Landover July 29, 1974

Obviously because its Summer 1974, this show is extra groovy with plenty of everything for everybody but stay for the He's Gone-> Truckin'-> Nobody's Fault But Mine-> The Other One->  Spanish Jam-> Wharf Rat->Around & Around. You can pay $400 on ebay for the bonus disc on Dave's Picks 2 or simply listen to Charlie Miller's take.

Nice when the Washington Post, our hero today, kicks in with a fine analysis of the show. Grab the music here


The Promised Land ; Sugaree [6:43] ; Black Throated Wind [6:08] ; It Must Have Been The Roses [5:09] ; Cumberland Blues [5:38] ; Scarlet Begonias [6:52] ; Jack Straw [4:21] ; Deal [4:37] ; El Paso [3:58] ; To Lay Me Down [7:29] ; Weather Report Suite Prelude [1:21] > Weather Report Suite Part 1 [4:36] > Let It Grow [12:58]
Two Seastones
Three He's Gone [13:21] > Truckin' [8:35] > Nobody's Fault But Mine [2:49] > The Other One [14:39] > Spanish Jam > Wharf Rat [9:26] ; Around And Around [5:11] ; Peggy-O [6:05] ; U.S. Blues [5:34] ; Sugar Magnolia [8:56]
Encore Casey Jones [6:44]

hh