| Author | Message | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 1188 Registered: 9-2003 |
Finally got my pre-ordered "Dead Ahead" DVD. Because I ordered thru the Dead's Official Store, I got the bonus CD of the additional songs included on the DVD release. Sound quality is very good. Video is decent...but belies it's 1980 vintage video tape origins. The Franken-Davis stuff is pretty awful...thank God it's brief. Are/were those guys actually Dead Heads? Was it John Scher's idea to make those guys MC's and include skits in the video? Wow, has it really been a quarter of a century since those historic Radio City shows? I was there during the run...the acoustic sets in particular were great. Unfortunately, there is very little in the way of acoustic material on the disk. The bonus material adds a little more, but there's still not enough to satiate all you "Reckoning" fans. While I was never a big Brent Mydland fan, he more than acquits himself decently here, and the majority of shows I've been to were Brent-era anyway. I prefer Pig Pen and even Keith/Donna Godchaux to Brent, but then again, Brent was more consistent in his singing and playing than the others were, IMHO. While I used to dismiss most of the "Goes To Heaven" material, excepting "Althea" and "Alabama Getaway" (neither of which are on this disc), the two sound-alike tunes from that disc represented here (i.e., "Lost Sailor" and "Saint Of Circumstance") have held-up exceedingly well after all these years. Hell, I went back a few times to ck em out! Almost like a more modern "Weather Report Suite"...almost. It would have been nice if they had recorded more material, say enough for a full-length concert, but it was not to be. I imagine the time limitations of VHS tape, along with added cost, was what kept the quantity of documented songs down. It's a shame that there isn't any more...they were great shows. After seeing that vid, I'm wondering what happened to my Radio City tee-shirt? It was heather gray with (what became) the "Reckoning" cover art on the front, and the marquis with "Sold Out" over the dates with ma and pa SN'R skeletons leaning on it on the back. I bet I still have it somewhere...and I bet I can still fit in it, LOL! BTW, am I the only one that was there that thought the renditions documented on "Reckoning" and "Dead Set" weren't the best of the best? I distinctly remember being disappointed that, depite my decent hi-fi, the versions on the "albums" weren't as good as the ones I had witnessed personally at the shows when those albums were first released. To me, the Dead had a knack for never picking the "best" versions of tunes for their 'official' live releases. Just my $0.02. There is still NOTHING like a Grateful Dead show! | ||
| flaxattack
Senior Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 675 Registered: 4-2004 |
please send me the drugs you take kev- lol keith better than brent? take a listen at some of the 87 shows, which i cansider a highwater mark for the dead. i can remember watching keith nod out from the heroin while onstage in 78-79. yes he was good in 73/74 but thats about it for this deadhead i agree on your dvd comments though. amazing how far we have come technology wise. was hoping for better sound etc, but its a good encapsulement of some very fine shows, some great memories of sleeping under atlas' statue while waiting in line and playing frisbee on 5th ave at 4 in the morning in front of st patty's the best part was that this was the first time they created a list of people in line for tickets and when the scalpers tried to crash the line, the cops used the list and chased them! and of course LOOK HOW YOUNG THEY LOOK! and yes- we did scrutinize phils tribute and noted the larger size of his bass. and p pickups? oye... | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 1189 Registered: 9-2003 |
Flax: Well, I did qualify my opinion of Brent...I'm just a traditionalist and Keith/Donna came in while Pig was still with us. That Europe '72 line-up is still my favorite incarnation of the band...'69's Live Dead period being my second (apologies to Tom Constantin!). I hung out at that bar catecorner from Radio City getting drunk prior to the show. They didn't bother carting in those days, so a 17yr. old could get served, LOL! I almost didn't go...I cut school to party all day in preparation for the show and got caught by my Grandparents and Mom tried to punish me by grounding me, Du-oh! Luckily, I temporarily talked my way out of it and into going, LOL! I screwed myself out of a Bob Weir Band/Jefferson Starship ("Heaven Help The Fool"/"Earth" tours, respectively) show prior to that, so I guess she felt sorry for me, LOL! I still have that damn unused ticket stub somewhere, LOL! Man, I can't believe that show run was so long ago. The Dead did look young, didn't they! I blinked, and it's 25yrs. later! Oh well, I may now be 42, but my taste in music hasn't changed...Philster's show on my B'day in lovely downtown Newark, NJ, LOL! Yeah, I forgot to mention about the bass. I thought about you as I watched. That bass was not cocobolo like Jerry's Tiger. While it did appear to have the carved top, It was painted red. It did have the back lams and no volute a la Alembic, though. | ||
| kilowatt
Junior Username: kilowatt Post Number: 25 Registered: 12-2004 |
Kevin & Jeff, I was also at these shows. I had a blast waiting on line for tickets and laughing at the scalpers when the cops gave them the boot! I also remember Franken & Davis being a joke. As for the shows, I thought that they were great. I have to agree with Flax though, because Brent was on fire on the nights I was there. I loved the sound of the Hammond and his harmonies helped out big time. I also remember going to one of the bars,(I was 16 at that time) and drinking up a storm. I miss the goo old days of touring around and damaging my memory banks! I will have to check this DVD out for myself. P.S. Kevin, I still haven't found the time to call your guitar teacher/luther to work on my Jazz Bass. I have been working alot and trying to get out on the Harley as much as I can while the weather is still nice, but I will call him as soon as I get a chance. Pete | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 748 Registered: 7-2004 |
I went to, IIRC, 7 of 10 shows they did over a two week period at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco, just prior to the Radio City stand. I'm at the office right now and don't have my CDs to look at, (not that I could read the micro-miniature print found on CDs - a definite advantage of albums), but I seem to recall that at least some of Reckoning (the acoustic album) was recorded at the Warfield. I remember that one cut has Bobby saying "that's Otis" during the intro, I believe. Otis was a (Bobby's?) dog that walked on stage during the show. Some type of big goofy looking brown or golden retriever as I remember. I loved the acoustic sets, especially when Brent played the harpsichord on China Doll. Bill, tgo | ||
| flaxattack
Senior Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 677 Registered: 4-2004 |
bill with all due respect this be radio city we be talking bout- warfield? lol- ex new yorker ex new yorker yes many tunes from the cd are from SF..... one night in ny , weir did the acoustic song right before blues for allah,,, sage and spirit i think its called. audience was so loud(unfamiliar with the tune) and he was so soft- barely heard it,,,, and kev.... i know you know thay my tribute will look and sound better right?... right........ :-) | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 749 Registered: 7-2004 |
Flax: "one night in ny , weir did the acoustic song right before blues for allah,,, sage and spirit i think its called. audience was so loud(unfamiliar with the tune) and he was so soft- barely heard it" You're right, it's NY you're talking about. In S.F. we listened. Bill, tgo | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 1190 Registered: 9-2003 |
You guys are great, LOL! I finally found a place where crotchety ole' b*strd Dead Heads like myself can reminisce about the good ole' days, LOL! Flax..you were right about that 'China Doll'...that was on "Reckoning" I think as well. It was a very loud audience in RCMH...more so than usual due to the good acoustics and relatively small venue size. I don't remember ever hearing the Dead sound better than at that place...even the Capitol Theatre didn't have the acoustics that RCMH had. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 750 Registered: 7-2004 |
Kevin: "Crotchety old deadhead" my ass! If you're going to give the flax man credit for my China Doll comment, I want royalties dagnabbit! The acoustics at the Warfield are wonderful, so long as you don't sit on the floor under the balcony. Also, if memory serves me right, the Warfield is smaller than RCMH. Of course the last time I was actually in RCMH was in 1968 when my dad took me and a few friends for my 13th birthday to see the first run of "2001: A Space Odyssey", complete with the extra 18 minutes of going to Jupiter that was cut soon after release. A great movie - maybe a little over a 13 year old's head - but ultimately no comparison to the "Space Odysseys" I experienced a couple of hundred times or so over the next 27 years with Jerry and the boys. Flax: Yes, as you know I plead no contest to the ex-NYer rap. It was 1973, I had just graduated from High School. California was the Promised Land, the Dead played more often in California than in NY, and my parents lived in NY. All good reasons to move out west. I saw the Band and the Dead at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City on Jerry's 31st birthday, August 1, 1973, and headed west 12 days later. I've never regreted the move. As I like to say, NY is a great place to be from ... with "from" being the operative word! nyuk, nyuk! Hey Flax, before you get all huffy, didn't you just move out of NY too! LOL Bill, tgo | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 1200 Registered: 9-2003 |
Sorry Bill, my bad. Must be the ole' eyesight is heading south in my advanced age. As far as going west young man, I feel like that old Twilight Zone episode "Ya done real good <bill>, real good!" Being from Joisey my whole life, and not appreciating most of it, I regret not going to Cali years ago. Unfortunately, I'm only a dozen years away from a full pension and lifetime health benefits, so I'm stuck here for a while. I've got one of those white unicorn lifetime jobs everyone wishes they had but'd hate it if they did, LOL! I stand by the Methusaleh comments, though, LOL! Excepting the Capitol, there wasn't a lot of places left in the NYC-Metro area in the late '70's/early 80's where you could see the Dead in an intimate acoustically correct setting. Radio City was an extraordinary treat for an audiophile teenage Deadhead like yours truly (was). The acoustic set(s) were a rare treat that hadn't been seen in almost 10yrs. prior, and weren't repeated, if memory serves (Grateful Dawg nt withstanding). | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 1201 Registered: 9-2003 |
FWIW, everyone knows the Radio City dates were completely sold out. I couldn't afford scalper's prices, so I earned my tix the old-fashioned way: I bartered. I used to be a decent artist, especially with pencil and pen & ink. I did a full-size Aoxomoxoa design by hand in pen and ink on the back of a guy's denim jacket. I met him at the show and traded the jacket for the tix! I spent a week or so working on that damn thing, but it looked awesome and the show was worth all the trouble and time I put in to earn the tix! Next stop...the Twilight Zone! Doo doo doo-doo, Doo doo doo-doo, LOL! | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 753 Registered: 7-2004 |
I bought a ticket for every one of the Warfield shows that I could afford and get my hands on. I got into another by waiting on line overnight at Cal (U.C. Berkeley) where I was a sturdent. Cal had a deal with BGP to provide volunteer student ushers. The next show a friend and I forged a couple of more ushering passes. After we got in, they caught someone else with a poorly forged pass and started double checking. Before they got to us, we confessed. They brought us into a room to talk and one of the supervisors said we were good ushers, so they let us stay. (My ushering partner on the row we had been assigned to was useless - he was tripping heavily on 'shrooms which rendered him not very good at ushering). Then a girl who worked security for BGP liked my dead t-shirt, so I gave it to her in exchange for her getting me on the security staff the next night. My job was to watch a section on the side of the balcony that was reserved for backstage people who wanted to come out front. Most of he seats went unused, so I let regular people into the section to briefly take pictures. On guy came up to me, told me I was the coolest security person he'd ever encountered, and gave me a nice chunk of hash! Those were the days. Bill, tgo | ||
| flaxattack
Senior Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 679 Registered: 4-2004 |
gee bill yes i did move.,,,i hr away you dirty sob.... lol I KNEW I SAW YOU SOMEPLACE BILL!!!!!!!!!1.... i was at roosevelt too... great great show,.,,,thanks for the doob ya passed me... i still remember it... bill audiences in cal are definitely quieter... its due to the high grade acid in the drinking water....and the overabundance of u v rays burning your poor brain cells hey congrats on rookie of the year award... kev- when bill comes east again- i will rent some studio time at universal in NYCfor a jambolaya. BILL IS AN EXCELLENT guitar player...,you will join us please.... flax | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 1204 Registered: 9-2003 |
You guys are too much! I'd be honored to join you guys. Be aware, however, that 28yrs of playing and lessons for almost the last 3yrs. have done little to alter the fact that, unlike Bill, I am NOT an excellent guitarist. I just have some disposable income that I can lavish on my whims. | ||
| flaxattack
Senior Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 684 Registered: 4-2004 |
hows this kev... bills pretty good.... make ya feel better? i had the pleasure of sitting in last night at an open mike blues night with 2 excellent guitarists never saw these guys in my life one of which had a 58 strat with him... i am only getting used to open mikes. so i just got up there,said screw it,,, and put the wolf into third gear. the drummer was ok?, so i had to man the pocket every so often to keep him on the beat. we did 2 tunes as is the norm= was so good we were asked to do a third song... first time... as i told bill,.... i had stashed next time you see me in my pocket and whipped it out and did it justice... one thing about the wolf... wherever he prowls,,, he is the best looking gear in the house.. and not trying to be egostical- he was being pointed at while i was playing... i was so ••••••• proud...and it showed in my music...  | ||
| kmh364
Senior Member Username: kmh364 Post Number: 1225 Registered: 9-2003 |
I'm not even a pretty good player. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 756 Registered: 7-2004 |
Kevin: First of all, Flax is being too kind. I ain't the greatest, but I have FUN which, in the great scheme of things, is really what it's all about. All you gotta do is know a few chords - (wait, you're a bass player ... heck you don't even need to know a few chords ... just a scale or two) - and keep your ears and mind open. I used to be a brutal self-critic when it came to my playing. I thought I only knew some easy stuff and I was just fooling people who told me they liked my playing. Even when I started to feel like I was getting decent, I'd hear a player that would just blow me away and make me feel that I was BSing myself and I really stunk. Over the years, though, I began to notice that the players who blew me away were getting better and better! I also noticed that when I heard someone play something that seemed hard, and then I learned it, my perception was that it was really easy to play. Then it dawned on me like a bolt from the heaven's! My personal definition of easy vs. hard when it came to playing was this: if I knew how to do it, it was easy - if I didn't know how to do it, it was hard. (I preach this to my 10 year old - with a little effort, "hard" things become "easy" things). With such a definition, I would never be able to play "hard" pieces. These days I don't really worry about it. I certainly ain't Jerry, Carlos, Eric, or Robbie (Robertson - underrated IMHO), but I have a blast playing with other people and I (usually) don't embarass myself. Unless there's a stadium full of people who each paid to see YOU, the only thing that matters is having a good time. In an interview long ago, Jerry was asked why the Dead don't use stage props, fog machines, etc. He replied that the best show possible was a bunch of musicians on stage thoroughly enjoying themselves. That's the GREAT TRUTH! I'd love to get a jam together next time I'm in NY. Bill, tgo | ||
| flaxattack
Senior Member Username: flaxattack Post Number: 688 Registered: 4-2004 |
fun is the key bill..... |
