Jerry Garcia Band SUNY Stony Brook Gymnasium, 2/24/80
When I'm looking through concert recordings, if I see a show played somewhere I know (especially in New York State), I tend to select it over others from far off places. When I saw that Jerry Garcia Band played SUNY Stony Brook several times in their career, I started working through those performances. I grew up in the nearby town of Mount Sinai. I came of age when Rollerblade's became popular. First they were a roller rink/ tool around the neighborhood thing. Then it was all about roller hockey for years. It started off as a casual neighborhood game then became a serious 3-5 day a week neighborhood game. We played in a cul-de-sac at the other end of the neighborhood from me. One of the homeowner's in the cul-de-sac, Mr Balafas, owned a welding company. He enjoyed watching the game and offered to build us goals. Even offered to store them in his driveway. A significant portion of the kids in the neighborhood game got so serious we started playing in a local league in Miller Place, the next town over. As I got more into my early teens, skate and snowboard culture started to get more mainstream exposure and the kids in the neighborhood starting getting in to that. People started modifying Rollerblade's to do some of the same tricks (grinds and airs) as skateboards and off we went getting in to the burgeoning sport of aggressive rollerblading. It was a short trend compared to something more enduring like skateboarding, but we had a blast and were constantly looking for places with sets of stairs and ledges. Finding SUNY Stony Brook was like heaven. We had a lot of adventures including running from the University police once it got pretty popular to skate there. That was especially fun for us, we got to know the tunnels below campus and would be able to disappear in one place and pop out in another. Until one day we popped out of a building and were surrounded by campus squad cars and bike officers. Brian Needles (my main skate partner/ partner in crime) and I got taken into the station and had our parents called. That ended our sessions at SUNY SB.
Well that was quite a digression to explain my sentimental attachment to this venue. I knew the Gym very well from skating there and from my sister's track meets. This show was just a few days before the famous Kean College shows released officially as After Midnight. It has the same super minimal line up as that recording: John Kahn on bass, Ozzie Ahlers on keys, and Johnny De Fonseca on drums. His story with the band is fascinating yet tragically short. Thanks to the Hooterollin blog for their beautiful work telling De Fonseca's story. With how hot the Kean college recordings are its perhaps not surprising they play a very hot show in Stony Brook as well. It's weird for me to hear JGB tunes without female vocalists but the deft and hard driving playing throughout make up for it. 'Sitting here in Limbo' is totally a vocal duet song to me but he does a phenomenal job carrying this one on his own. 'That's all right, Mama' is killer, as is 'Masterpiece' and 'I'll Take a melody'. The audience recording is crystal clear and very high quality taboot. I recommend you give it a listen.
Grateful Dead Greek Theater, Berkeley, CA, 4/19/86
Pristine Charlie Miller/ David Gans soundboard recording
First off, I found this great fan account of the run. always love hearing about people's experiences at shows. I tend to prefer listening to audience recordings from the early to mid-80's but got it in my head I wanted to hear the boards for this run. Taper and mastering genius Charlie Miller did his usual magic on this tape. It's a stellar mix and recording right out the gate for the 'Feel Like a Stranger'. Everyone is present and balanced in the mix which is great considering how tight and interactive this 'Stranger' is. 'Stagger Lee' and 'Friend of the Devil' also have some lovely moments, especially from Brent. The whole first set is fun and well played. They stretch the 'Cassidy' out nicely and rock through 'Big Railroad' and 'Saturday Night'.
The backstage pass for this show is a bit of a piece of fascination to me. When I first saw it I immediately thought about the Challenger tragedy and figured it was very close to the date. Turns out it had happened just three months previously, on 1/28/86. My first thought upon discovering that fact was, wow GDP, maybe in poor taste? I then figured the pass designs were probably already done when the accident had occurred. I was in Elementary school at the time and the launch was a huge deal. The first teacher to go into space Christa McAuliffe captured the nation's attention. Looking at it this way it's no surprise the dead chose this design. Plus, its got a cool psychedelic art meets the 80's graphic design thing. The second set is very well played and goes way out there. The drums>space>the Other One>China Doll segment is my favorite part of the show and gets very heavy and intense. The Crazy Fingers>Playing also gets very spacey. The whole second set is very improv heavy but with a mellow feel. Grateful dead in space! Lately the east coast vs west coast feel for shows has come up a lot in discussion. I 'm a firm believer in 'different but both great' for the two coasts. These shows (like the Marin 84 run I talked about here) are a great example of how a mellow and laid back show or run can still be engaging, masterfully played and thoroughly terrific.
Grateful Dead Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, 10/22/83
Incredible Dusborne Matrix Recording
Jerry kicks on that effect, you know the one, and the crowd oohs in anticipation. 'Shakedown' is about to happen. I listened to all of 1984 last year and came to the conclusion that the spring and early summer were my favorite parts. I backtracked to fall 83 and loved that just as much. I determined the sweet spot for what I like appears to be fall 83-spring 84. The quality of audience recording from this time period is just phenomenal. Its right at the apex of what analog could get to before primitive digital takes over and isn't so hot for a few years.
Back on to chasing shows from the old home land. I consider anything along the Erie Canal to be especially important (my work has gotten me pretty deep into NYS Canal history) so Utica, Syracuse and Rochester shows always take precedence. I'll also accept Binghamton shows since its connected to the Erie with the lateral Chenango Canal hahaha. Interesting side note I'm researching: Notice Albany isn't in the mix at all? Weird huh? Major city in that same corridor right? Might as well tack it on. Well there's a canceled show in 1970 and then 20 years without a show within city limits. Shows in the market, sure, but none in the city. I suspect a vast conspiracy.
The mix achieved on this matrix recording is tasty. Live and warm, but still crisp. The full hit of Phil's bass and the lower end Brent synth parts sounds amazing on my headphones. The groove is dark and always heading towards new ideas. Jammy without being too aimless or noodley. 'Wang Dang Doodle' scorches. This is a particularly hard hitting version of this tune. 'Candyman' has plenty of mustard on it despite it often being a tune the band can use to catch their breath. The second set starts off with a 'China>Rider' sequence that is tight and inspired and gets really hot by the segue. 'Terrapin Station' is chill-inducing from note one. The response from the crowdto its first notes speaks volumes. Jerry's voice is still very strong, and sincere as always. Phil is very active. The improv leading into the final verse of the 'Lady with a Fan' section completely deconstructs the themes and then surges forward with great power. Terrapin itself is triumphant and powerful. Jerry stays on with the drummers and rocks out for a bit before the drums section. Its labeled on this recording as the Hofman's Snappy jam lol. For those from outside upstate New York, white Hots are a popular cased meat treat in the Rochester/ Syracuse area. They are made with pork, beef and veal and are uncured, hence their white color. Hofman is a famous maker of the white hot. Drums>Space is top notch and who doesn't love a Space>The Wheel? This is a great time for that particular segue and this version does not disappoint. Hints of a Spanish Jam. The Set 2B and encore are rock solid as well.
The Vince era
Part of my complete fall for the Grateful Dead was my discovery of Brent Mydland. I LOVED his key playing, especially the Hammond B3 organ. I loved his voice and how he inspired Garcia's playing. His songs were dark and brooding, as was his musical energy at times. It more honestly rounded out the Grateful Dead's interpretation of humanity in their performances. Just a little darkness. Just a little light. So I adored the Brent era and especially fell in love with the famous spring 1990 tour. The playing was dynamic and exciting, building in quality and popularity continuously from after Garcia's coma in 1986. Brent's musical presence and increasing portion of the spotlight were a major driving force in why it was such a good tour. Summer tour kept up the heat consistently until it ended in late July. A week after tour ended, Brent Mydland passed away tragically. Learning this information, as I was falling in love with the man's music was heartbreaking.
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| Vince's first show: Richmond Coliseum 9/7/90 |
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| 3/29/93 @ the Kinckerbocker Arena |
9/7/90 Richmond Coliseum
9/8/90 Richmond Coliseum
9/10/90 The Spectrum
9/11/90 The Spectrum
9/12/90 The Spectrum
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