Garcia said “We were great for seconds on end.” I was lucky to see Jerry play for about 1,000,000 seconds exactly. Thanks for your 1,000,000 views here . Dave Davis wrote this blog for 500 posts and 5 years from 2015 to 2019. Contact me at twitter @gratefulseconds
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
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.
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.
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
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.
edit: April 15, 2020 likely April Fools day in Canada is April 15
Thanks for this Charlie Miller and gang.
Another Gerry Garcia reference in the U Mass paper, someday I'll write about this :)
To Jimmy, who's death on 9/11 was senseless.
To Demon, who contacts me every April 23 to remind me of this show. Happy 40 Michael.
Thanks again to David Lemieux for releasing all six Dead shows I saw between April 30 and November 5, 1977. Soon you can consider adding a seventh. (If you release Colt Park and Binghamton that would make 11 in a row :)
Edit 11-6-77 with the release of Binghamton, Springfield is the only show of 8 I saw in 1977 without an official release
This was a beautiful and unique sounding show. Listen. And don't forget between It's All Over Now and Scarlet, there is a nice little Blackbird tease. Thanks, Bobby Weir for that.
On the bottom left, I'm currently looking for some 1976 tapes from shows I saw. I already had 6-12-76 since it was on the radio. looks like I was able to score New Year's at the Cow Palace fast too
Ten years ago, on the first day in June 2007 that dead.net pages created pages to discuss each show , I made the first comment to the Springfield 1977 page:
A few notes on my tapes of this show. These were my 88th and 89th tapes in my collection, so among my first 50 shows I owned. I taped over my audience tapes of the first set of Chicago 2-1-78 and second set of Milwaukee 2-4-78 for these babies. These were taped by Dave Weidner (who I will blog in detail later, who also supplied tapes to Dick Latvala). And my pal Jimmy Roux wrote on Slipknot! "real good" You can listen to the not available before AUD of Dave Weidner's here:
So 1976 passed by and 1977 entered. Back then it may have been 3-5 months before Dead Relix detailed the Cow Palace New Year's Eve Monster in Volume 4, number 4 (available at the GDAO archive here) So we were left with our memories of June and August and no real idea of what the gang has been up to since then. For the 1976 shows, Blues for Allah had been released September 1, 1975, so we had plenty of time to absorb that before the June 1976 shows. However, Terrapin Station followed the more normal pattern of being released AFTER the shows (July 27, 1977), so we were flying blind to modifications to the band's repertoire for eight months, except for a little fragments from the Fall tour.
Cubby, Tom, Demon, Jimmy and I came to Springfield with open airs and open minds and little knowledge of what deal was about to go down. Demon said he and Cubby hitchhiked down from Lewiston to Andover to my dorm on Saturday morning. Tom and Jimmy had been camping and came with the car to Andover too. We all said hello to Mr. Cobb and off we went west to Springfield.
See that guy up on the time next to me, on the right at the very very top of my blog. That's Demon. He was there. It not being summer, I put on my shirt, for the April show in Massachusetts.
This night it poured. Demon, who really, really, really loves this concert told me recently that he and I got separated from Tom, Cubby and Jimmy (which I don't recall) and we got swept up in his massive human flow into the show once they opened the doors. This was this cool hippie-ish dude who was talking to us, and he saw his brother being detained by the police and he yelled "My Brother, my Brother" and ran back away from the flow into the show.
The great photographer Jim Anderson has some amazing pictures of this night. Demon and I (and likely the other guys who may have come a bit later) ended up about where the @james appears, about a third of the way back, a little bit left of center. Or in the second photo below, all the way to the leftside of the photo about midway between the top and the bottom.
As soon as we arrived, another fine gentleman came by with a friend of his looking a wee bit frazzled. Turns out his name was Dave Weidner from Temple, PA. And Dave started to pull things out of his clothes like mike stands, and microphones, and cassettes and tape deck. Dave later provided me with many tapes, including this show. He is one of the best tapers whose recordings are not on the archive except for two, although I have a number of them. I later found out Dave provided at least 10 tapes to Dick Latvala in two batches, but I will get to that story soon in a later post.
The first set is sharp and solid. Sugaree amazing. But after the Blackbird tease the Dead spank into Scarlet, which is the first time I have seen it since song 3 first set of my first show June 9, 1976. I likely didn't realize at the time that Scarlet at end of set will likely top Scarlet at beginning. And of course it did. And then Donna started chanting, and then everything starting getting really trippy like it sometimes happens at this show and the Dead are continuing on into something new. It took me at least a few moments, if not minutes to realize this is no longer Scarlet Begonias and something new. Sometime that it beginning to feel like Fire, Fire on the Mountain. Wow. What a wonderful moment, maybe like no other than I have ever felt at the Dead show. Well, I must be exaggerating as readers of this blog know that I have many. many discovery moments, or grateful seconds, that I have felt at Dead shows, but this first time transition of Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain.
Set two is unique in my 1977 experience starting with three standalone songs
Estimated Prophet, my first listen. "California" I wrote down on my pad.
Bertha
The Music Never Stopped
A fairly rare trio of songs to open a second set in 1977. Estimated was found all over sets one and two in 1977, but only opened set two twice after this on 4-27 at the Capitol and 5-4 at the Palladium.
Bertha was also rare in set two, especially after the opener slot, and Music saw a little set two action in 1976-1977, but not in middle of the set.
Then I finally got to see Help on the Way>Slipknot!>Franklin's Tower which continued into Around & Around>Goin Down the Road>Not Fade Away, which was more of a 1974 thing than in the late 1970s after the fishing trip. This is magical and not repeated in any similar fashion in my seven additional travels to Dead shows in 1977. There was something magical about this jam especially the Help sequence. This was also the only time I ever saw the Dead use Around & Around in the middle of the set. Happy 40th Springfield. I got to see two more great shows here in 1978 (at the Mescaline show) and 1979 (with the I Need A Miracle>Shakedown Street frenzy). Soon I would be moving to California in 1980 and leaving you behind.
Later that night, we had four crazed individuals with designated driver Tom behind the wheel in a massive Massachusetts rainstorm where we ran into the dark and put up a tent maybe 10-20 miles east of Springfield in some place we really couldn't identify due to our crazed state. Tom saved us and probably put up 95% of the tent.
The next morning, I woke and walked out the tent and saw that we were about 20 feet from a huge body of water I believe as part of a dam. Wild. Didn't even know we were near water. After this I saw 76 more Grateful Dead concerts. I realize now that this may have been my favorite one. I saw some better shows, many in 1977 even, but this was the one I'll always remember.
I have provided a number of sources and reviews here including a great review of Thomas W Keffer, who was a Harvard student in 1977, the Dead Relix Jerry Moore review, Dead Listening comments, pieface from dead.net and my own 2007 comments, and some nice photos from Jim Anderson and from the U Mass student paper (full page of photos, no review). I don't like the Wall Street Journal's review, but alas it's still interesting.
A Long, Strange Trip
The Grateful Dead in concert at the Springfield Civic Center April 23 coming Boston Garden May 7
AS I PONDERED the shadows cast by the milling crowd on the cement floor of the Springfield Civic Center, a tap on the shoulder and a low voice accosted me. I had not understood at first, but the voice was saying, "Any 'cid?" Not having been at a Grateful Dead concert for some time, I was baffled. "What?", I asked. "Trips--you know, LSD," replied my prospective customer. (And I never thought I looked like the type.) "No. Sorry," I said, but he had already moved on.
I had almost forgotten the atmosphere of a Dead concert, but this solicitation brought back the distinctive flavor. Dead Heads--the band's followers--are a unique and dedicated group, with a language and ritual of their own. They see the Grateful Dead as the last bastion of the Sixties' drug culture. Jerry Garcia, the focal personality of the group, presides as a hip, trollish figure who was there and remembers it when it all happened. Garcia generates the energy of the concert, not with sudden dramatic movement, but with a sparkling liquidity, both in his guitar rills and his cool, mirror-shaded appearance. Dead Heads know his subtlety well. There is still an engagingly underground appeal about the Dead.
Musically, the Grateful Dead have always been most skilled at their own kind of jam. At each song's end, they break down the rhythms and patterns into an elaborate, jazz-like chaos and then reassemble the component parts into another song. These acid-jazz jams comprise some of their best music, like "Dark Star," "Walk Me Out in the Morning Dew," and "The Other." Dead concerts unfold like four-hour medleys as each song gradually gives way to the next. The great theme of the band is departure and return--the trip, metaphorically or literally. Not only does their music describe this pattern, but their lyrics almost invariably deal with travel (I doubt that any group sings the names of cities more often), fantasy voyages, and explorations of the lifestyle they have come to represent.
In their current concert tour, the Dead carry on in this tradition. At Springfield they played for nearly three-and-a-half hours, but performed only 19 distinguishable songs. They came out jamming, and this is a good sign. The critical problem for the Dead in the last few years has been the individual emergency of the personalities within the group. That emergence has reached such proportions that the Coop has opened a new record section for their "solo efforts." This divisiveness has turned some of their concerts into a series of songs, each featuring either Bob Weir or Garcia or Keith and Donna Godchaux. Individual billing fosters a highly stylized and self-indulgent kind of music; it destroys the group's integrity and inventiveness. But in Saturday's concert older, less selfish songs prevailed.
The great length of the concert also shows the band's faithfulness to their tradition. Common wisdom has it that they cater to the four- or five-hour peak of an acid trip, and so they did at Springfield. The size and anxiety of the crowd indicated an equally enormous amount of commitment and planning. Thousands stood in line in the rain as early as five o'clock, and many were showing the signs of a "heightened awareness" by then. The gentleman to my left, for example, who had shaved half his head and tied what was left of his hair into a ponytail, crooned continuously about the moon melting and the pavement swelling. When the police made a move as if to open the doors, the mob pressed together so closely that someone's elbow forced my camera to take a picture of the inside of my poncho. For more than half an hour everyone struggled to breathe and not to let anyone cut in front, as if such mobility were possible. A scene like that makes one wonder if promoters should hold general admission concerts at all. It shows what Dead Heads will put up with, or put upon each other, in order to be two paces closer to the stage.
Once inside, however, the crowd was treated to better concert sounds than the Dead has produced in years. The show began with a slow rendition of "Sugaree." Despite its domination by Garcia's guitar and whiny voice, the song serves well as an introduction because of its rousing and familiar refrain. Having warmed the audience, the band used a faster tempo to create unusual versions of "Cassidy" and "Me and My Uncle." The first set roamed through Dead history from the early "Too Too Minglewood Blues" and "It's All Over Now," to a new song that must be called "Fire on the Mountain" if the endlessly repeated refrain is any indication. The song worked well as it followed "Scarlet Begonias" after a transition of some smooth and intricate guitar and wah-wah pedal work by Garcia. The unfortunately heavy-handed emphasis on refrains took something away from many songs. The Dead tried too hard to make its tunes resound in the listener's ear.
The second set began with another new song, again commanded by Garcia, and continued with "Bertha" and a lengthy set of songs from "Blues for Allah," the group's most recent album. (There were rumors about an album to be released soon. The rumors are probably true--most of these tours are out to promote something.) The Dead ended the night with three well-known rockers, "Around and Around," "Feelin' Bad," and "Not Fade Away." After soaking up ten minutes of applause, they returned for an encore with a strident version of "One More Saturday Night." In all, the show was a good blend of popular favorites from past albums and newer material; certainly the selection was not a blatant promotion effort for their predicted new album.
To decry the prostitution of countercultural standards becomes tiresome. Perhaps no group of musicians should be severely judged on the basis of its desire to be popular. But the music of the Grateful Dead has clearly suffered by its packaging over the past few years. This concert was by no means a 90-minute platter of hit songs, but there were signs of a mercenary attitude. Although the Dead had played for hours, the crowd's enthusiasm called for a less reluctant encore. In order to avoid performing a second encore Weir stepped up to the microphone and said, "Good night, folks," in a condescending tone that meant "Go home now." This arrogance, coupled with the disregard for spectators' comfort and safety before the concert began, is not very endearing. It indicates a distance from the audience that smacks of commercial manipulation.
Hopefully, though, these are minor logistical problems that can be ironed out for future concerts, like the Boston performance set for May 7. The character of the Dead's performance in Springfield suggests some of the old cohesive spirit. And they still haven't turned up on Wolfman Jack's Midnight Special.
pieface is correct in every regard
from U Mass Student Paper April 1977
The best reviews I find are from the super fans
MIT student wants to bag the vast Garden for the Springfield Civic Center; even trade
Here we have a stand out show from the Spring. Great copies of this show have stood the test of time very well. There are two masters up on archive.org now. I've opted with the Jerry Moore recording here. You will not be disappointed. This show has just the third performance of Fire On The Mountain, and it is wonderful. The Dead are locked in to this new groove, and clearly feeding off of the energy of all the new material. Sticky syncopations and that psychedelic shuffle-slip-n-slide prevail. Jerry is dipping deeply into the creative well again and again. Just when you think he's turned a last corner, he hasn't, and you can only smile along for the ride.
While they sometimes soared, the most lasting impression their concert performances made on me, besides a recognizable refrain here and there, was on my inner ear. I sometimes think the band’s greatest legacy is the problems I have these days hearing pretty much anything anybody is saying to me at cocktail parties.
If seeing Mr. Garcia up close constituted a peak experience, I can also pinpoint the low, a concert at what was then the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Mass., in probably 1977.
We’d driven down from Stowe, Vt., a three-hour journey. And come intermission my traveling companions were heard to say, as if under hypnosis, “We’ve got to get closer… we’ve got to get closer…”
They meant to the stage.
I don’t mean to suggest that I was stone sober, only that I’ve never understood the appeal of zombies, especially when the undead include people I’d formerly recognized as friends.
So I fled the arena, in the process almost getting run over by the Dead’s limousines, arriving to spirit them away at show’s end. Dressed in overalls—for the first and last time—I crossed the deserted street, huddling in the doorway of a McDonald’s. At that instant the fast-food chain seemed no more or less a brand, a symbol of capitalist triumph, than the sold-out arena across the street.
I didn’t stay huddled for long. My New York City boy instincts kicked in when some locals issued from a car wearing predatory smiles. Perhaps it was just paranoia, but I got the impression they saw a freshly scrubbed Dead Head as easy pickings. I wasn’t going to hang out long enough to find out.
The Grateful Dead, including several original members, on Sunday before what they said was their final concert, at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The Grateful Dead, including several original members, on Sunday before what they said was their final concert, at Soldier Field in Chicago. PHOTO: JAY BLAKESBERG/REUTERS
Against all odds I made my way back to our car, my friends still in the throes of their trance-like bliss when they returned at concert’s end (they hadn’t even noticed I was missing). Most of the discussion on the way back to Vermont was spent on a learned analysis of that night’s set list.
I recall with relief a song of Steely Dan’s coming on the car radio, their music sounding like the antidote I’d been seeking all evening; it resonated with a willful inscrutability that seemed designed to dissuade idolatry.
Don’t get me wrong. At their most melodic, life-affirming best, the Dead are right up there with the Beatles.
“Scarlet Begonias.” “Ripple.” “Friend of the Devil.” “U.S. Blues.”
It hardly matters how many times you’ve heard the songs. Wisdom has rarely been delivered in such digestible doses.
But that’s its beauty. It need never say farewell.
Then first two on my list, I've always called the Most New Songs shows.
2-18-71 Capital Beautiful Jam Show
From Deadlists:
OneBertha [5:19] ; Truckin' [8:14] ; It Hurts Me Too [4:59] ; Loser [5:57] ; Greatest Story Ever Told [3:45] > Johnny B. Goode [2:32] ; Mama Tried [2:47] ; Hard To Handle [7:50] ; Dark Star [7:02] > Wharf Rat [7:15] > Beautiful Jam/Dark Star [7:21] > Me And My Uncle [3:18]
TwoCasey Jones [4:17] ; Playing In The Band [5:09] ; Me And Bobby McGee [5:48] ; Candyman [6:38] ; Big Boss Man [4:41] ; Sugar Magnolia [5:32] ; Saint Stephen [6:05] > Not Fade Away [4:33] > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad [4:54] > Not Fade Away [3:55] > Uncle John's Band [5:56]
First Versions of Bertha, Greatest Story Ever, Loser, Playing in the Band and Wharf Rat, 5 of the first 10 songs in the first set. I would hated to be late to this show.
2-9-73 Stanford First Versions of About 30 Songs :)
From Deadlists:
One[1:27:57] ; The Promised Land [2:55] ; [0:56] ; Row Jimmy [7:17] ; [0:35] ; Black Throated Wind [6:31] ; [0:30] ; Deal [4:29] ; [0:15] ; Me And My Uncle [2:57] ; [1:18] % [0:08] ; Sugaree [7:31] ; [0:08] % [0:09] ; Looks Like Rain [6:#28] % Loose Lucy [6:36] % Beer Barrel Polka Tuning[0:40] ; [0:26] ; Mexicali Blues [3:11] ; [0:11] & [1:13] ; Brown Eyed Women [5:07] ; [0:06] % [1:01] ; El Paso [4:18] ; [0:20] % [0:57] ; Here Comes Sunshine [9:38] ; [0:07] % [1:14] ; Playing In The Band [18:#59] ; Dead Air [0:03]
Two[1:36:15] ; China Cat Sunflower [4:51] > I Know You Rider [5:49] % [0:45] ; Jack Straw [4:43] % [1:25] ; They Love Each Other [4:36] ; [0:07] % [0:09] ; Truckin' [7:#56] > Eyes Of The World [17:09] > China Doll [6:00] ; [0:06] % [0:08] ; Big River [4:54] % Ramble On Rose [6:23] ; [0:06] % Box Of Rain [5:05] ; [0:14] ; Wave That Flag [5:#20] ; [0:09] % [0:20] ; Sugar Magnolia [8:39] ; [0:51] ; Uncle John's Band [7:17] ; [0:04] % [0:33] ; Around And Around [4:46] ; Dead Air [0:27]
Encore[7:21] ; Casey Jones [7:21] ; Dead Air [0:04]
First versions of China Doll, Eyes of the World, Here Comes Sunshine, Loose Lucy, They Love Each Other, Row Jimmy, Wave That Flag (Later US Blues)
In 1976, at 17, I saw 3 Grateful Shows. At 18, like Janis Ian at 17, I learned the truth.
I was lucky, these are my 1977 Grateful Dead shows:
Phillips Academy Saturday's Escapes
April 23, 1977
April 30, 1977 OFFICIALLY RELEASED AS DOWNLOAD SERIES 1
May 7, 1977
May 28, 1977 OFFICIALLY RELEASED AS TO TERRPAIN
Bowdoin College, Freshman Year
September 3, 1977 OFFICIALLY RELEASED AS DICK'S PICKS 15
November 4, 1977 OFFICIALLY RELEASED AS DAVE'S PICKS 12
November 5, 1977 OFFICIALLY RELEASED AS DICK'S PICKS 34
November 6, 1977
Notice something interesting about the three shows that were not officially released? I do.
They are probably better shows than the five released shows I saw. In my opinion, they are on-par, at least, with the 27 shows that have been released
I present to year the 28th, 29th, and 30th best shows of the year.
Springfield 4-23-1977 Flac
Boston 5-7-1977 Flac
Binghamton 11-6-1977 Flac
On Stage, Boston Garden, May 7, 1977
Oh my God. These shows are the bomb. let's sample some Reviews:
Here is the well written Grateful Dead Listening in 2008
Here we have a stand out show from the Spring. Great copies of this show have stood the test of time very well. There are two masters up on archive.org now. I've opted with the Jerry Moore recording here. You will not be disappointed. This show has just the third performance of Fire On The Mountain, and it is wonderful. The Dead are locked in to this new groove, and clearly feeding off of the energy of all the new material. Sticky syncopations and that psychedelic shuffle-slip-n-slide prevail. Jerry is dipping deeply into the creative well again and again. Just when you think he's turned a last corner, he hasn't, and you can only smile along for the ride. Read more: http://www.deadlistening.com/2008/02/1977-april-23-springfield-ma.html#ixzz3pujXjiME
From Archive.Org
Reviewer: musicphotos77 - - February 14, 2013 Subject: the great start of the best GD tour you have to LOVE THIS SHOW!! I was at this show, and it still remains the favorite of the 70 shows I saw between 1973 -1995....Then out of NOWHERE comes a quick 1-2-3 drum beat, and SCARLET BEGONIAS !! Often I think one can judge the quality of a show not just by the songs that are played, and how well they are played, but WHEN the songs are played! A rousing Scarlet into the first (for many of us) Fire on the Mountain to end the first set- set this crowd 'on fire' and we were pumped up for a great second set. Which led off with another new song, Estimated, we knew this song would be a 'keeper!' Then we kicked up the tempo again with Bertha (which in my mind became the 'theme' song for this special spring tour), nice vocal harmonies from Donna & Bobby. This up beat tempo 'never stopped' throughout this entire second set, which I never would find duplicated at any other show! Listen to this set and you will agree!! The Music Never Stopped kicked up the energy level again, and the crowd kept the tempo going with energetic clapping, and the band kept it going with Help / Slip/ Franklin's, and even though we did not think we could be any more pumped up, this Franklins Tower totally put us up into a frenzied level that only the GD at their best could do!! Not to be outdone Bobby picked another rocker, Around & Around, followed by GDTRFB, WHICH KICKED OUR BUTTS EVEN MORE and Not Fade Away. A slow Jerry encore? No way, it being Sat. night we rocked out of town with OMSN. Over they years to follow I would see many great shows, but never did I hear the band sustain such energy over the entire evening, especially during the second set. every spring around this date I play my cassette copy of this in my car, nuthin left to do but smile smile smile.........! https://archive.org/details/gd77-04-23.sbd.jerugim.1827.sbefail.shnf
Then There is Boston, 500,000 Archive downloads.
Half Step->Big River. Music. Never, Stopped. Terrapin. Eyes->The Wheel->Wharf Rat. Alot of people think better than Cornell (which has one song officially releases called Dancing In The Street
Reviewer: Mind Wondrin - - January 29, 2015 Subject: 1st show of trilogy, always compared to 2nd Where's those time machines they promised us by 2010 back in 1970? If they existed how many people do you think would be hoping for a miracle outside this show? What a show for which to have a Bertha source (let alone an Eaton AND a Miller!) - first night of The Holy Trilogy. ...This show is the one (of the three) with the equipment problems that causes large gaps between songs. This hurts the flow and therefore the energy compared to Barton and War/Buff. If that weren't the case, this might have been a better show overall than Barton. But it would have been too hot, spinning the planet onto a new plane of existence (so we're probably lucky in that respect). The streak from Peggy-O to MNS is one of the greatest in the giant history of the band. There is no equal to this MNS, it's just A+. There's no better Samson, though there are a dozen that tie. https://archive.org/details/gd77-05-07.sbd.eaton.wizard.26085.sbeok.shnf
Reviewer: RFKROX - - February 20, 2008
Subject: Best show of 1977!
Anyone that gives this show less than 5 stars needs to have their head examined!!...Now for the show… First of all, forget about the equipment repairs that last several minutes in between some of the songs. They only helped the perfection of this awesome concert, as well. When you burn your _vbr.mp3’s to disk, you don’t have to burn the equipment repair fillers, anyway. The 1st set is as good as any 1st set I’ve heard. Bertha – Cassidy – Deal – Jack Straw is smokin’! Peggy-O is definitely a top-3 of all time, and New Minglewood Blue sounds better than the Barton Hall version, without a doubt!
Now we get to Mississippi Half-Step. Another user stated he thought the best Half-Steps were from ’80 and ’81 until he heard this one. I couldn’t echo that any more! This Half-Step is without a doubt, the fucking bomb!! I have “NEVER” heard Garcia’s guitar transcend my mind like it does on this song! Absolutely, breathtaking! If anyone can find a better Half-Step, then I’d sure like to know! It actually reminds me of Jerry’s guitar on the Dark Star from “Live Dead”. It’s that good, folks!! Big River, Jed and TMNS round out the 1st set, that just doesn’t let up!
And the 2nd set is about as good as I’ve heard for a 2nd set. Terrapin into Sampson just blows me away! Friend of the Devil and Estimated Prophet will have you jammin’ no matter what you are doing. Eyes of the World is very good and Drums is not drawn out, but Eyes is certainly not a top-10. However, The Wheel leading into a 15-1/2 minute Wharf Rat is ridiculous and one for the ages! Around and Around is solid, but the U.S. Blues culminates this show into a top-5 show of all time, IMHO. By the way, Jerry breaks a string before U.S. Blues, but fixes it before the finale.
Go listen to Barton Hall, and then listen to Boston Garden. If the 5/7 Boston Garden had a version of Scarlet > Fire from the 5/8 Barton Hall show added to the 2nd set, then this Boston Garden show may have been the best show of all-time! Definitely would have been the best show in 1977. If they only could have played Good Lovin’ after Bertha before Cassidy! OMG!! Can you imagine that??
Danny from Northern Virginia outside of Washington, D.C.
East-Coast Deadhead
rfkrox44@hotmail.com
And then don't forget 11-6-77 Sunday night in Binghamton. I only have two eords for you Truck. In'.
Reviewer: PFflyerkid - - January 2, 2009 Subject: Moments of greatness Like many, had this last show of tour tape soon after and to this day still listen to some of the finer moments of this show. The Half-Step is truly a great one IMHO with Boston and Englishtown in the same league (w/ the later two topping this one). 1977 was a kind year for Half-Step and I find that certain vintage years of each song have higher merits than others. I like the early '79 NYC/Philly Jack Straw's, and think '79 was the peak Jack year more than any '77, but this is surely a super strong effort for the year.
The Music Never Stopped had a bunch of can't-miss rockin' renditions from the '77-'78 era and this one certainly doesn't disappoint. What made this song special was that it was such an easy, free-wheelin', upbeat jam for anyone to follow and The Dead delivered these a dime a dozen. Jerry pops this one at the 5:15 mark, lays out a great solo, switches to rhythm, scrambles it and the band rejoins. Actually, hearing this on headphones, and better quality here, Keith is clearly out of sync near the end (sadly, the same much more obvious in the final bars of Truckin' but he does make it into the fold).
I have to agree w/ others that this Scarlett/Fire has never been at the top of my list either. Maybe it's the slow opening pace or the fact that Jerry barely plays the first section. His first solo and lilting notes around the 4:15 mark are nice but much of the work through Donna's thing he's awol. This Scarlett transition is an acquired taste for those that like a less-is more-approach. The band lets this version breathe and subtle would be an apt description. Hard to say much about Fire except there are a lot of verse flubs in both main Jerry sections. Jerry wah-wahs his way through the first solo nicely, and makes up for the flubs in the second, peaking around the 8:30 mark before they bail back to Scarlett.
Besides the Half-Step, "side 2" of the second set tape was what this show was always all about, especially when I was a budding 'Head. Sure, Jerry noodles and drifts for ideas a bit during St Stephen but the NFA gets the syncopation goin' and Jerry plays hard strings low on the fret board for quite a bit. They decide against Truckin' next and climb into a Wharf Rat that yields a jam not to be missed post 7:00 mark. Certainly one of my personal fave versions.
If you haven't heard the last 5 minutes of this version of Truckin'...you probably need to. Jerry fires off riffs against the bands rhythm all the way to the end until they all come together. If you were in attendence (not I)I think it would be so obvious you were witnessing jaw-dropping greatness. April 23, 1977 is this Scarlet Fire, my first
When I first heard Help on the Way->Slipknot!->Franklin's Tower, it was September 1, 1975 and I had a just run down to Lisbon Street and paid about $3.99 for Blues for Allah, and it was pure joy. I think Jimmy Roux and my brother Ralph were there and we were up in the attic with a J.
Soon, I would hear the Make Believe Ballroom bootleg (probably $7 found in Cambridge, MA) and the to-this-day unbelievable Bill Graham intro into this.
At my first show June 9, 1976, the Dead didn't play this, but did encore with the only-ever standalone Franklin's Tower encore. It wasn't until April 23, 1977, with Mike Barr, Geoff Maclean, Jimmy, and Tom Fake, we got to see it live. It was the 22 version out of 27 during the Crown Jewels era, but easily in the top-5.
My second wasn't until Halloween in Marin in 1983. I think you all should listen to the first 27 below. I will add links soon
Some of my other favorites are the historic ones:
6/19/76 the early FM tape which opens the show and goes into Music Never Stops
8/4/76 the second set jam, one of my first surprise SBDs taping tapes when I was expected bad audience tapes in a trade
9/24/76 slips in a 5 minutes drums in the middle
9/27/76 sandwiches the Other One and Wharf Rat
12/31/76 oh well NFA and Dew instead of Franklins
5/22/77 Dicks Picks 3 beautiful
6/9/76 another masterpiece
10/11/77 Norman so sad to see you go
In the Comeback in 1983-1985 every single version opens the second set.
It's not until the Third Era, that it starts to appear in other places. On 10-11-89, it finally opened the show again.
Don't miss the 30 Trips Bradford version at the Garden 9-10-91 and the next one ten nights later in Boston that goes into Fire On the Mountain instead of Frankin's.
Era 1, 1975-1977, The Crown Jewels
1. 6/17/1975 Winterland Help On The Way (no lyrics) > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; Only Instrumental Help; Closes Set 1
2. 8/13/1975 Great American Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower (Gold Standard); Early Bootleg Make Believe Ballroom; opens Show
3. 9/28/1975 Golden Gate Park Help On The Way > Slipknot!; Dirst Incomplete (One Set Show); Franklin's played later
4. 6/3/1976 Portland Help On The Way [5:01] > Slipknot! [13:04] > Franklin's Tower [11:04]; Set 2
5. 6/4/1976 Portland Help On The Way [4:26] > Slipknot! [10:59] > Franklin's Tower [11:38]; Set 1
a. 6/9/1976 Boston Standalone Franklin's Encore (My First Show); only standalone Franklin's encore in Grateful Dead history
6. 6/10/1976 Boston Help On The Way [4:14] > Slipknot! [7:28] > Franklin's Tower [10:24]; Set 2
7. 6/14/1976 Beacon Help On The Way [5:19] > Slipknot! [11:59] > Franklin's Tower [6:17#]; Set 2
8. 6/17/1976 Passiac Help On The Way [4:24] > Slipknot! [8:35] > Franklin's Tower [10:18#]; Set 2
9. 6/19/1976 Passiac Help On The Way [4:34] > Slipknot! [7:18] > Franklin's Tower [9:34] > (1) The Music Never Stopped [5:10] ; Opens Show Early FM Tape
10. 6/21/1976 Philly Help On The Way [4:06] > Slipknot! [9:13] > Franklin's Tower [11:09]; Set 2
11. 6/24/1976 Philly Help On The Way [4:10] > Slipknot! [9:50] > Franklin's Tower [9:42] > Samson And Delilah [5:55] ; Set 2
12. 6/27/1976 Chicago Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > Sugar Magnolia; Set 2
13. 7/12/1976 Orpheum Help On The Way [4:32] > Slipknot! [7:44] > Franklin's Tower [14:11] ; Set 2
14. 8/4/1976 Jersey City Help On The Way [6:20] > Slipknot! [10:21] > Franklin's Tower [11:57] > Dancing In The Street [14#:01] > The Wheel [5:57] > Samson And Delilah [6:50] ; Set 2
15. 9/23/1976 Duke Help On The Way [#5:21] > Slipknot! [9:28] > Franklin's Tower [11:38] > Looks Like Rain [7:05] ; Set 2
16. 9/24/1976 William & Mary Help On The Way [4:14] > Slipknot! [5:51] > Drums [5:36] > Slipknot! [5:24] > Franklin's Tower [8:05] > The Music Never Stopped [5:49] > Stella Blue [7:29] ; Set 2
17. 9/27/1976 Rochester Help On The Way [4:54] > Slipknot! [7:33] > Drums [5:50] > The Other One [9:55] > Wharf Rat [10:39] > Slipknot! [2:21] > Franklin's Tower [17:32] > Around And Around [7:01]; Set 2, First Split; LONGEST EARLY FRANKLINS
18. 10/1/1976 Indianapolis Help On The Way [4:07] > Slipknot! [12:52] > Franklin's Tower [10:18]; Set 2
19. 10/9/1976 Oakland Help On The Way [5:14] > Slipknot! [5:32] > Drums [3:51] > Samson And Delilah [6:50] > Slipknot! [6:36] > Franklin's Tower [12:#25] > One More Saturday Night [4:31]; Set 2
20. 12/31/1976 Cow Palace Help On The Way [4:20] > Slipknot! [12:02] > Drums [0:50] > Not Fade Away [10:38] > Morning Dew [14:38]; Set 2 second Incomplete
21. 2/26/1977 San Bernardino Help On The Way [4:55] > Slipknot! [8:05] > Franklin's Tower [13:20] ; Set 2
22. 4/23/1977 Springfield Help On The Way [4:25] > Slipknot! [8:53] > Franklin's Tower [10:24] > Around And Around [6:49] > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad [8:49] > Not Fade Away [11:14]; Set 2
23. 4/29/1977 Palladium Help On The Way [4:43] > Slipknot! [8:39] > Franklin's Tower [15:50]; Opens Show
24. 5/9/1977 Buffalo Help On The Way [4:41] > Slipknot! [7:37] > Franklin's Tower [12:57]; opens Show
25. 5/22/1977 Pembroke Pines Help On The Way [4:58] > Slipknot! [6:44] > Franklin's Tower [15:12]; set 2, Dick's Picks 3 verison
26. 6/9/1977 Winterland Help On The Way [4:21] > Slipknot! [9:42] > Franklin's Tower [17:10]; set 2;
27. 10/11/1977 Norman Help On The Way [5:03] > Slipknot! [4:52] > Franklin's Tower [15:02]; opens show, goes on unexpected 6 year hiatus
Era 2, 1983-1985, The Comeback (opens set 2 21 times)
3/25/1983 Tempe Help On The Way [3:15] > Slipknot! [4:26] > Franklin's Tower [9:57] > Playing In The Band[11:09] > Drums [5:39] > Space [4:41] > Throwing Stones [6:29] > Not Fade Away [5:53] > Black Peter [8:58] > Sugar Magnolia [9:24]; 2nd Set, first Brent
3/29/1983 Warfield Help On The Way [3:14] > Slipknot! [4:24] > Franklin's Tower [11:49] > Estimated Prophet [13:12] > Drums [6:04#] > Space [10:35] > The Wheel [6:01] > Throwing Stones [8:48] > Not Fade Away [4:41] > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad[6:14] > Johnny B. Goode [3:54]; 2nd Set
4/9/1983 Hampton Help On The Way [3:12] > Slipknot! [5:01] > Franklin's Tower [10:05] > Truckin' [12:36] > Smokestack Lightnin' Jam (1) > Drums [5:41#] > Space [5:53] > Throwing Stones [8:26] > Black Peter [7:48] > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad [5:42] > One More Saturday Night [4:14]; 2nd set
4/12/1983 Birghamton Help On The Way [3:17] > Slipknot! [7:26] > Franklin's Tower [11:17]; opens set 2
4/17/1983 East Rutherford Help On The Way [3:16] > Slipknot! [6:45] > Franklin's Tower [11:43] > Man Smart (Woman Smarter) [8:02]; opens Set 2
4/22/1983 New Haven Help On The Way [3:20] > Slipknot! [5:30] > Franklin's Tower [11:50] > Samson And Delilah [8:37]; opens set 2
4/26/1983 Philadelphia Help On The Way [3:12] > Slipknot! [5:11] > Franklin's Tower [9:45] > Man Smart (Woman Smarter) [6:56] > Drums [7:#07] > Space [11:38] > Truckin' [7:33] > Morning Dew [10:25] > Throwing Stones [9:32#] > Not Fade Away [8:21]; set 2
5/15/1983 Greek Help On The Way [3:02] > Slipknot! [5:41] > Franklin's Tower [13:13] > Samson And Delilah [7:26]
6/24/1983 Madison Help On The Way [3:15] > Slipknot! [5:38] > Franklin's Tower [15:23]; opens Set 2
6/28/1983 Poplar Creek Help On The Way [3:07] > Slipknot! [7:18] > Franklin's Tower [12:09] > Man Smart (Woman Smarter) [6:28]; opens set 2
9/2/1983 Boise Help On The Way [3:00] > Slipknot! [8:10] > Franklin's Tower [14:06]; opens set 2
9/6/1983 Morrison Help On The Way [3:05] > Slipknot! [9:28] > Franklin's Tower [13:13]; opens set 2
9/11/1983 Santa Fe Help On The Way [3:12] > Slipknot! [7:40] > Franklin's Tower [9:41]; opens set 2
10/12/1983 MSG Help On The Way [3:15] > Slipknot! [10:23] > Franklin's Tower [14:10]; opens set 2
10/20/1983 Worcester Help On The Way [3:05] > Slipknot! [6:31] > Franklin's Tower [10:31] > Samson And Delilah [8:49]; opens set 2
10/31/1983 Marin Help On The Way [3:04] > Slipknot! [6:13] > Franklin's Tower [12:58]; opens set 2
4/1/1984 Marin Help On The Way [3:12] > Slipknot! [5:29] > Franklin's Tower [11:27] > Samson And Delilah [7:32]; opens set 2
4/17/1984 Niagra Falls Help On The Way [2:59] > Slipknot! [9:38] > Franklin's Tower [12:19] ; opens set 2
4/21/1984 Philly Help On The Way [3:25] > Slipknot! [7:23] > Franklin's Tower [12:55] > Playing In The Band [11:56] > China Doll [5:17] > Space [0:56] > Don't Need Love > Drums > Space [9:48] > Wharf Rat [10:28] > Throwing Stones [8:53] > Not Fade Away [6:42]; set 2
6/27/1984 Columbia Help On The Way [3:32] > Slipknot! [8:53] > Franklin's Tower [11:23] > Estimated Prophet [11:36] > Eyes Of The World [10:19#] > Why Don't We Do It In The Road [2:45] > Drums [11:06] > Space [9:07] > Morning Dew [11:36] > Throwing Stones [8:57] > Not Fade Away [8:08]; set 2
7/4/1984 Cedar Rapids Help On The Way [3:11] > Slipknot! [7:04] > Franklin's Tower [10:19]; opens set 2
7/14/1984 Greek Help On The Way [3:52] > Slipknot! [6:37] > Franklin's Tower [10:34] ; opens set 2
10/9/1984 Worcester Help On The Way [3:12] > Slipknot! [7:27] > Franklin's Tower [10:22]; opens set 2
10/17/1984 East Rutherford Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower ; opens set 2
11/2/1984 Berkeley Help On The Way [3:07] > Slipknot! [7:30] > Franklin's Tower [11:43]; opens set 2
3/25/1985 Springfield Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower ; opens set 2
9/12/1985 Oakland Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower ; opens set 2; goes on 4 year hiatus
Era 3, 1989-1995, The Later Years
10/8/1989 Hampton Help On The Way [3:26] > Slipknot! [5:18] > Franklin's Tower [7:52]; opens set 2
10/14/1989 East Rutherford Help On The Way [3:47] > Slipknot! [5:26] > Franklin's Tower [8:37]; closes set 1, first set 1 since 10/11/77
10/19/1989 Philly Help On The Way [3:50] > Slipknot! [5:37] > Franklin's Tower [8:27]; opens set 2
10/22/1989 Charlotte Help On The Way [3:44] > Slipknot! [6:33] > Franklin's Tower [9:40] > Jam [7:#17] > Drums [5:55] > Space [8:43] > I Need A Miracle [4:04] > Stella Blue [8:36] > Throwing Stones [9:11] > Not Fade Away [7:51#]; first middle of set 2 since 4/23/77
12/8/1989 LA Forum Help On The Way ; Slipknot! ; Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
3/24/1990 Albany Let The Good Times Roll > Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; set 2
3/30/1990 Nassau Help On The Way (3:26)-> Slipknot! (6:03)-> Franklin's Tower (9:08); Opens Show first time since 10/11/77
5/5/1990 Carson Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; only mid set 1
6/15/1990 Shoreline Help On The Way [3:28] > Slipknot! [6:08] > Franklin's Tower [10:44] ; opens show
6/24/1990 Eugene Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
7/18/1990 Deer Creek Help On The Way [4:13] > Slipknot! [4:40] > Franklin's Tower [9:03]; opens show; last Brent
9/19/1990 MSG Help On The Way [4:16] > Slipknot! [6:34] > Franklin's Tower [13:16]; closes set 1
10/24/1990 Hamburg Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > Truckin' > He's Gone > Drums > Space > I Need A Miracle > The Wheel > Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > Around And Around; set2, first outside USA
10/31/1990 London Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
12/13/1990 Denver Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
2/21/1991 Oakland Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
3/24/1991 Albany Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
4/4/1991 Atlanta Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
5/5/1991 Cal Expo Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
5/12/1991 Shoreline Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
6/14/1991 RFK Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
6/24/1991 Bonner Springs Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
8/17/1991 Shoreline Help On The Way [3:46] > Slipknot! [5:08] > Franklin's Tower [9:36]; opens show
9/10/1991 MSG Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2 (with Branford Marsalis)
9/20/1991 Boston Help On The Way [4:04] > Slipknot! [6:04] > Fire On The Mountain [12:20]; Open Set 2. only Fire in the Mountain; first Boston Help since 1976
9/25/1991 Boston Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
10/31/1991 Oakland Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
12/31/1991 Oakland Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; closes set 1
3/5/1992 Hampton Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
3/21/1992 Hamilton Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show; only Canadian
5/31/1992 Las Vegas Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
6/23/1992 Star Lake Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
6/28/1992 Deer Creek Help On The Way [3:45] > Slipknot! [5:24] > Franklin's Tower [9:33] > Wang Dang Doodle [7:00] ; opens show
3/11/1993 Rosemont Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
3/22/1993 Atlanta Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
4/2/1993 Nassau Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > The Same Thing; opens show
5/16/1993 Las Vegas Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; middle set 2
6/9/1993 Auburn Hills Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > Little Red Rooster; opens show
6/22/1993 Deer Creek Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > Wang Dang Doodle; opens show
8/22/1993 Eugene Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
9/14/1993 Philly Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
9/22/1993 MSG Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > New Minglewood Blues; opens show
12/17/1993 Oakland Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
3/6/1994 Phoenix Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
3/25/1994 Nassau Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
4/4/1994 Orlando Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
7/2/1994 Shoreline Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
7/21/1994 Deer Creek Help On The Way [3:20] > Slipknot! [9:47] > Franklin's Tower [13:43] > Drums > Space [#8:51] > All Along The Watchtower [6:58] > Days Between [13:06] > Good Lovin' [7:43]; set 2
10/1/1994 Boston Help On The Way [3:20] > Slipknot! [5:32] > Franklin's Tower [10:55]; opens show
10/10/1994 Landover Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
10/18/1994 MSG Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
12/11/1994 Oakland Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens show
2/24/1995 Oakland Help On The Way [4:17] > Slipknot! [8:14] > Franklin's Tower [14:19] ; open shows
3/29/1995 Atlanta Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower > Corrina > Matilda, Matilda > Drums > Space > I Need A Miracle > Standing On The Moon > Not Fade Away; set 2
5/26/1995 Seattle Help On The Way [4:16] > Slipknot! [5:09] > Franklin's Tower [12:02] ; opens show
6/22/1995 Albany Help On The Way > Slipknot! > Franklin's Tower; opens set 2
