Another Great 1977 Show: Jerry Garcia Band, Boston December 2, 1977

The complete show 

Last than a month after the famous three November 1977 Upstate New York Grateful Dead shows, I was back in the saddle for the short trip from Maine to Boston

Some Boston Jerry Garcia Band shows I attended at the Orpheum like my first October 24, 1975 were split into two separate entry shows with separate tickets. Fuck those promoters. My Bowdoin friends

Katie, Liza , Jimmy and I saw the early show so we missed the dude jumping off the balcony 

cassette 

SET 1

1. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
2. They Love Each Other
3. That's What Love Will Make You Do
4. Simple Twist Of Fate
5. I Second That Emotion
6. Gomorrah
7. Harder They Come

SET 2

1. Love In The Afternoon
2. Tore Up Over You
3. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
4. Mystery Train
5. Cats Under The Stars
6. Mission In The Rain

A Tale of Two Sugaree: Springfield and Hartford Bookend Spring 1977 Tour

An early fun re-post from 2017


For those paying attention, I am keeping in reserve my blog pieces on some of my favorite shows. So I let Springfield 77's 39th birthday slip by on Saturday and will do the full treatment on its 40th birthday in 2017.  However, let's discuss Spring 1977 for a minute here.

The six week Spring 1977 tour virtually started and ended in the Springfield/Hartford axis (after getting its Mojo back in Philadelphia).  And what bookended this tour was the two Sugarees; the great Springfield version and the out of this world Bertha>Good Lovin>Sugaree that opened the last show of the tour (To Terrapin) in Hartford.
Interesting iy you add the Deadlists timing of 11:17 on April 23 to the 18:43 of May 28 you get exactly 30 minutes of Sugaree Gold

2019 Edit: The awesome and JerryNote-crazed mind of Howard Weiner, the true Sugaree expert wrote this about the Hartford version. Get his book here
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012WSCF9G/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

My 18 year old AcidCrazied mind that night in Hartford loved to be reminded from both the To Terrapin and Howard's poetry.

So for your listening pleasure and for about 1,800 Grateful Seconds listen to this six week evolution, a tale of two Sugarees today if you get a chance.

The Jerry Garcia Fans Strike Back: Buffalo, November 30, 1977

Just a few weeks after the three monster Dead November 4-6 shows in Upstate New York (all officially released by the band), and six month after the famous May 9 Grateful Dead down the street in Buffalo, Jerry Garcia took the JGB back to the New Gym at Buffalo State on November 30, 1977.
There is a sweet audience recording here in FLAC and MP3.  All when well until...

All hell broke loose in Buffalo.

The usually reliable and loving Buffalo Spectrum newspaper send out a reporter, who in the midst of one Garcia's most awesome eras (and month!) and in the same state wrote an incredibly terrible review of Garcia. All I can say is fuck that guy.  As did all of these letters to the editor written the very next issue.

Reading these letters makes me proud to be a Deadhead and almost (just almost) makes me want to move to Buffalo.

Dick Latvala's Excellent Taper Source, Dave Weidner Allows The First Release of His Springfield 1977 Tape with a Huge Charlie Miller Assist

After 41.5 years, Charlie Miller released Dave Weidner's tape of the famous April 23, 1977 Springfield show, which marks the first time that this unknown legendary taper has allowed the release of a digital recording of his tapes, and more importantly the first time this taper is getting credit for his hard work that started forty years ago.   Much thanks to Charlie who got really did a great job pulling this off.

Charlie Miller master of Dave's tape is here.   with the mp3 here

Dave was one of the first and one of the best, hanging with guys like Jerry Moore in 1977 and supplying tapes to Dick Latvala in the 1978-1980 era.  I am hoping that soon we can hear more of Dave's tapes, if we are kind and say please.  This 1977 shows how good Dave was off the bat,  look what Latvala says in less than a year about Weidner's tapes.

This may be the first known audience of this night. This is also a Betty Board :)

The very first thing you should do now is listen to this unmastered pure copy of Positively 4th Street from the Tower Theater from February 23, 1980 on that famous Eleanor Rigby tour.

The second thing you should do is listen to this September 20, 1976 early Dave tape of Russian Lullay as his 42-year old daughter Melinda (of course), then one years old, tries to sing harmony along with Donna Jean.

Now the main course, the Springfield show.
April 23, 1977: Springfield, MA, Chance Meeting

Because of this chance meeting with Dave at my fourth show, I later named my son Chance.
You can read the whole story here:
http://www.gratefulseconds.com/2017/04/a-trippy-night-in-springfield-april-23.html

But here is the meeting Dave part.

I would run into Dave at various shows, he probably went to 200 or more, and he estimated he taped 50-100 shows including this one, Cornell, and many others that soon we will know.

1978-1979: Sending Tapes to Dick Latvala

A few years ago, in doing normal manic Dead research I discovered in Dick's note a whole series of Dave Weidner tapes. I forget to ask Dave if that was the normal Dick "trade" from Oahu.

Here are some comments from Dick
There are a more below.

May 9, 1980:  Bob Dylan in Portland, Maine
The night before the Boston Dead show and the night after Hartford, studious me was up in Maine and could only see the Portland show of the Serve Somebody tour.  Dave came up and taped the show and stayed with me at Bowdoin College that night before leaving.  Hoping I can get this show circulated soon.


2017-2018
I  got Joe Stralo, a deadhead and former student of Dave's in PA to get me his number and I called him out of the blue after about 40 years.  We have been talking since.   Here are some comments from this week from FB Grateful Dead Society from the 200 or so who listened to the Postively from 1980 since yesterday.

Only known Dave tape in Etree Database, I dont think its off the master.

After Slow Start, Dead Bring Englishtown-Like Elements to Midwest, Kansas City October 28, 1977

Any show where Phil says "And Goodnight" as loud as his bass playing is ok with me.

The next night would bring Fire to the Motel see De Kalb  http://gratefulseconds.blogspot.com/2016/07/fire-fire-in-motel-de-kalb-il-october.html,

but there was plenty of fire in Kansas City on Friday, October 28, 1977.

The show starts slow, I would say one of the lower-end 1977 performances, but there is a great They Love Each Other and I did like the Lazy Lightning>Supplication and Sunrise. However late in the show the Dead, as usual save the day. Music here

It starts with the 20 minute He's Gone.  Now I am a math guy, so if I am at this show I think ok, we will hear a Truckin>Other One>Jerry slow song or Other One>Jerry slow song like 95% of the time, but we get drums>Not Fade Away, so basically He's Gone>Not Fade Away just like a surprising transition at Englishtown seven weeks earlier.

However these KC versions are different, He's Gone goes on forever and forever and builds to a solo song October 1977 all-star.  Listen above please.

The Not Fade Away feels introspective and slow next to all-time 9-3-77 version, but it still sparkles and has its own unique power as it flows in a very beautiful Stella Blue which gets an added GDTRFB before Round and Round. Oh and then there is the Casey Jones.  So what started very mediocre turns into one hell of a show.  Walked my Great Dane this morning and heard this Lazy to the end (long walk). Couldn't stop.

Great review Corey, too bad you didnt hear the Casey Jones

Howard Weiner's take in Terrapin Nation (buy it!) "Pedestrian Affair"  sorry Howard love you but listen closer starting with He' Gone

Renown cool awesome Jesse Jarnow knows better

surely fun to be had if somebody boosted the gain & transcribed the interminable tuning break between THEY LOVE EACH OTHER & CASSIDY. [3/8]
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jesse jarnow‏ @bourgwick 28 Oct 2017

era when garcia stops focusing on new material, SCARLET/FIRE & TERRAPIN only played every few shows, most '75'-'76 songs now dropped. [4/8]
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jesse jarnow‏ @bourgwick 28 Oct 2017

stellar
1 reply0 retweets6 likes







CANDYMAN. A+ dynamics, soulful singin', warm harmonies, pleasant electric dixieland solo, bluesy piano asides, bass dabbles. [5/8]



jesse jarnow‏ @bourgwick 28 Oct 2017

shifting 56m down/up/down/up jam suite: HE'S GONE > DRUMZ > NOT FADE AWAY > STELLA BLUE > GOIN' DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD. [6/8]
2 replies1 retweet11 likes









jesse jarnow‏ @bourgwick 28 Oct 2017

HE'S GONE stretches to 20m without much happening, nice crossfade into DRUMZ, & long NOT FADE AWAY with diggable 4m jerry space-out. [7/8]
2 replies0 retweets7 likes









jesse jarnow‏ @bourgwick 28 Oct 2017

powerful STELLA BLUE with big jerry vocal, nice phil/bob color, astonishing solo, upshift into peppy/swinging GDTRFB. #deadfreaksunite [8/8]
0 replies0 retweets12 likes

Archive Comments:

Reviewer: clementinescaboose - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - May 4, 2015
Subject: He's Gone!!! Nice 2nd set.
People rave about the Casey from this show, and it's a hot one, although I'm not really sure if it's better than the 10/2/77 bustout.

For me the highlight is the drop-dead-gorgeous version of He's Gone - the outro jam is huge and absolutely SOARS! It's amazing and a must hear sleeper jam of 1977.

The 2nd is pretty satisfying all around though; not as legendary as the following night in Illinois, but a typically strong fall 77 outing. After He's Gone dissolves into drums, we get a juicy, laid back NFA, a very nice Stella, a sloppy but seriously kickin' GDTRFB, and the aforementioned CJ, of course.
Reviewer: Norman Clegg - favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite - October 18, 2008
Subject: CASEY JONES CASEY JONES CASEY JONES!!!!!
This show has it's share of highs & lows and won't flat-out disappoint you, but there's so much more from this monumental year that will FLOOR you......

.....having said that, the encore is my favorite "Casey Jones" EVER: it begins with a chuckling Weir harmony in the lyric and then the band PILEDRIVES it home. The longest, most FEROCIOUS version of all, taking on ALL comers from '71 > '72 and leaving them in the dust.

ESSENTIAL Grateful Dead....!!!!!!!

I'm gonna have to give this show 4 stars, based strictly on the merit of "Casey Jones". BettyBoard or AUD, it doesn't matter; Just Get It...!!!!!!!