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

Friday, January 30, 2015

Up To Marin: Jerry Garcia Band with Phil in Fairfax 1981-08-22

So I am 8 months into my move from Maine to California and I have only seen some Jerry and Bobby shows at the Keystone Berkeley, as well as acoustic benefit in April at Berkeley High School and May 22 at the Warfield (my first visit as I missed the multi-week acoustic run in 1980 by only two months). Damn senior year!  Vist http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2009/07/may-22-1981-fox-warfield-theatre-san.html  for some great Corry342 analysis of those shows.

Then this show comes along. The other time I ever saw the Jerry Band without John Kahn. And his replacement is Phil. And many of my east coast friends are in town for the summer like Liza, Kelly and Pammie and Susan (?) and about one million more.  I think Buddah and Don and Jimmy had already left. Harriet can provide remember more than me. I do recall Steve Parish hitting on several of my female college friends that night too.

There are some awesome pictures that the amazing Bob Minkin took that night. Can I have permission to put one her Bob? I bought your book and am winning the KPFA bid on your 5-2-87 Jerry picture. For now, here is the link

http://www.minkindesign.com/photo/jgb/jgb_08-22-81-02a.html

Some say that Billy K was there this night, but I dont really recall.  I dont even recall if I say the shows in Berkeley the prior two nights, but I did know the first Greek theater shows were being held in Berkeley in less than two weeks and I was sitting pretty with tickets to each show.

This was a fun show at the little bitty venue in the famous town of Fairfax, many years before the Furthur rehearsal shows nearby in Mill Valley


My 596 of Grateful Seconds tonight is the second song in the first set: "Mission In the Rain"
I only heard the Dead play this once, during my 2nd show 6-12-76 from the Boston Music Hall, and since Phil was there, this was almost the Dead.  Enjoy

FLAC
Mission in the Rain mp3




Thursday, January 29, 2015

Wake Of The Flood Bookends in Providence Civic Center: 1978-05-14

This was my fourth show in May 1978 road trip (in 9 days), and my 15th overall since my start on 06-09-1976 (Road Trips 4.5). I had recently seen the Bob Weir Band at The Veteran's Memorial Auditorium down the street in March and Jerry play Rhapsody in Red next door in Pawtucket the next night, but my first of several Dead shows in Rhode Island.  This was the first Dead show at the Civic since the very cool Dick's Picks 12 show in 1974 (see Extra Seconds Feature Below)

By the way, Dick loved this show by his notes below (and Dave loves this show by making it the 1978 rep in the 30 Trips box set in the future):

Let It Grow...which Steve said is the greatest thing the Dead have performed in many years




At the time, 1978 was a disappointment after the Monster shows, one after other in 1977, mainly due to the more repetitive song selection and the beginning of a real first set/second set structure.



Can you see me in the second row??  I can't either. But below are Jim Anderson's awesome pictures of this show.  I think thats my brother Ralph right above Jerry's head

JIm Anderson's Awesome Dead pictures

HOWEVER, I recently got the Listen to The Dead app for my iPhone, and randomly hit upon the Charlie Miller version of the SBD of this show. First, I listened to the opening Mississippi Half-Step, and wow, it's up there with the Englishtown 77, Boston 77, and November Upstate New York 77 versions. Take a spin below.

After that experience, take a look at the 1,000 Second (17 Minutes!) Let It Grow that closes the first set.  Now this is one for the ages. I hope you will enjoy.

This was my first show after the famous Mescaline Show in Springfield 5-11-78 (Dick's Picks 25).  Note that I was not personally on Mescaline at any of these shows. In fact, I can't remember what I did between these two shows. I may have gone back to Maine to take exams, or hung out in Rhode Island with Rick Sullivan and his buddy John (did he ever go to Law school on the west coast?).

Remember, one thing about this show. 1000 Seconds Of Let It Grow Are Incredible.



Monday, January 26, 2015

Post 3.5 Bruuuce and Jerry Play In The Garden Prior To A Foolish Heart 1991-09-24

I never saw Bruce Hornsby  but I spoke with him briefly yesterday.  You can hear at here.




This is not a true post as I never saw Bruce perform. However, in honor of the snowstorm, I will bring you to a night in Boston in 1991 where Katie got great seats for Arnie and Liza. I did not know they attended this show until the last year or so when Arnie came west with the talented young Mr. Luke of Lunch Cult (https://www.facebook.com/LunchCult).











But, one day on Sirius, I heard this remarkable sound come of drums and move into Foolish Heart.  And that sound is right here now (and the Foolish Heart, if you wish Evan).


Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Mecca: Berkeley's Greek Theater


Open Letter to David Lemieux ( vault@dead.net.). Please correct a terrible omission and officially release a Grateful Dead show from Berkeley. I know, I know, Jerry shows from Berkeley are all over the place, but guys, out of the 57 Grateful Shows in Berkeley (of which I went to at least 15) there were none (until I wrote this, haha), please do the right thing. 




My brother esau  Ralph with later Dead doctor Jordan
When I first moved to Berkeley on January 2, 1981 (after getting to town in time to see the 5-night run next to Lake Merritt in Oakland, I expect to immediately get a repeat of the Dead in the 1970;s, but WTF, no shows until September 11! But the announcement came that the shows were going to be at the beautiful outdoor Greek Theater at UC Berkeley, only a fifteen walk up the hill from my job at Rasputin Records. Wow.  I did not realize at the time that the band had played there on 10-1-67 ("Potpourri" according to Deadbase IX, page 10, "A Benefit for The Economic Opportunity Program" of which I have not seen even the set list and 10-20-68, where is a nice recording at archive.org. At least we get to hear Pigpen once at the Greek.







I love the 1981 shows, and the audience tapes are excellent on 9-11 and 9-12, but I have yet to see SBD's so I discount releasing 9-11-81, Mickey's real birthday Bobby, 20 years prior to that horrific day in NYC.  
And there were so many great day/nights at the Greek, with Friday starting at 7pm, Saturday at 5, and Sunday at 3, it was kind of like moving time zones to see the shows.

So many great nights, the nights in 1985 when Jerry played Morning Dew, China Doll and Comes A Time in the same set (6-14-85, where I was shut out of tickets and listened to it with hundreds of people in the hills right above) and the breakout of Cryptical  2 nights later.  There was of course the Dark Star encore in 1984. And this is not even mentioning the shows at the High School where Phil had gone in the 1960s.  Yes folks, the Berkeley Community Theater is the high school auditorium.  The run prior to the Field Trip in 1972 is perhaps the mose seminal of the Dead during that era.  The 8-24 and sadly incomplete 8-25 shows (go for the Charlie Miller versions) are always exactly perfect.

I was lucky to enjoy a few shows there in 1984 and 1986, the One More Halloween Night encore on 10-31-84 (thanks to Rick Sullivan for the tickets) and the Maybe You Know Brent meltdown on 4-21-86.

The wealth of opportunity for our friend David at the Vault (who I love and support, check out Scarlet/Fire in Atlanta) is right here in the 150 hours in his grasp.  , My choice for official release is May 21, 1982. While a great tape exists already, few people know that there is my short video before the show, which I am presenting right here now: 



https://www.dropbox.com/s/wpnff0snoqk3yxj/Outside%20Greek%205%2022%201982.mpg?dl=0 if you would like to come. You can see that dude I mentioned earlier here, or perhaps yourself.  I think Rob and Kirk at at the beginning. Rick and Cormac.


From a Spy novel
Gans Interviews Bobby
From Phil's Book




This is a beautiful show and I promised in the last edition I would give 1000 seconds today.  Of course, my favorite part of the show is the Playing>Uncle Johns>Drums>Space>Wheel>Playing sandwich, with the taste of the similar Lewiston show still on my taste buds. My Grateful Seconds for you now is the 17+ minute Uncle John's Band which does interesting and strange things as it leads into the drums. Enjoy! And please David, just any show from Berkeley,even 1986 just so we know you have filled all the seminal places that the guys have played. Thanks in advance.









1000 Seconds of Amazing UJB and Jam into Drums

Friday, January 23, 2015

East to West: Grateful Dead Live at Oakland Auditorium Arena on 1980-12-26


This was my first show after I moved to California for good on December 24, 1980.
This was also my first 5-night stand in the same location. I didn't know it at the time but I had just seen my last Grateful Dead concert outside of California in Lewiston, Maine, the town I
 had lived in since 1967.

Never knew for almost 40 years that this was an "added show" which set the stage for several 5 night New Year's runs.  See http://www.gratefulseconds.com/2017/12/bay-area-1976-1991-16-years-57-new.html for more New Year's runs information.

I had finished my last college exam on December 13 and boarded the Green Tortoise bus on December 14 in Boston arriving in Palo Alto at Johnnie's house on December 24 for my new life in the Bay Area.  I had seen the Dead three times in 1979 in Northern California during my summer living with my Uncle in Novato as I had a summer job at my gf Harriet's dads company in San Francisco that summer, but here I had moved to stay.

Today's treat is my first "Spanish Jam", although it is a tease and not even included in the Bill Graham Vault video of the show.  The tease occurred just prior to Playing In The Band.















I was learning fast that the West Coast Dead shows were not always the intense, world is on a wire, northeast shows of the 1970's, but more a laid back family fun time. Spanish Jam had disappeared from the song list in 1974 (except for once in 1976), but was going to be working back into the roster in the 1980's. I didn't see a real full fledged one (and only one) until 12-31-1984.

Spanish Jam (mp3)
50 Grateful Seconds (Next Installment 1000 Seconds!)

Spanish Jam Tease (flac)

Please come to this place for the tease, but stay for the CC Rider.  Again, this does not come across so awesome on the video, but it's great for song 4 of the first set, in my first set since moving to California for good. I prefer Joanni's audience master. Until I figure out how to stream the flac's, I will put the mp3 and the flac here.

CC Rider (mp3)

CC Rider (flac0

Bobby adds the ad-libs and Jerry cooks and the crowd loves it. '


These are my Grateful Seconds for today.  Next time, I go across the bay to the Greek (where I moved January 2, 1981)


Dave
January 23, 2015




Thursday, January 22, 2015

Hi, I'm Dave


Hi, I'm Dave. I grew in Maine, went to high school at Andover outside Boston in 1975, moved back to Maine in 1977 for college, and on to the golden shores in December 1980.  I realized recently that I never saw the Dead outside California since the Lewiston show on 9-6-1980.

Here I am with Demon and Juliet and Ralph and Harriet around or in  1982
Me


brother Ralph
ralphie, Demon and me


Demon Juliet and some guy

Harriet and me, possibly Hampton

Juliet, Demon, Ralph and Craig for the Red Day Greek show 1982  Thanks Craig for all these photos in 2017


I was an avid follower of the Dead from 1975 to about 1987, but slipped away from the scene as the shows declined along with Jerry's health and substance abuse (which I learned about after his death).

I rejoined the flock in late 1994, and got to see one LA show prior to Jerry's death. Due to a workmate and good friend Evan, and the advent of the Betty Boards, I started listening more carefully and see the whole picture of the Dead, I became a bigger fan and active critic of the music.

As technology got more interesting, I became more interested in accessing and enjoying the experience.  As I have had to commute 50 miles a day total in LA freeway traffic, I have gotten the opportunity to listen carefully the last few years

This diary will point to interesting moments in my shows that I attended in somewhat random order.
I will start this week with a moment from December 26, 1980.
Hope you enjoy.

Dave
January 22, 2015

The fifth song I ever heard the Dead play from about 25 rows back in the Boston Music Hall with my friend Jimmy.