Actually no, I keep getting fixated on particular runs haha. Time to branch out though I think. So the hiatus was really only about 6 months?
More or less. The Blues For Allah material developed around that time. One of my favorites.
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My #1 favorite studio album of theirs.
Happy May 8th to all who celebrate!
https://archive.org/details/gd77-05-08.sbd.hicks.4982.sbeok.shnf
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Not sure how much Dead youāve listened to at this point. Iām by no means an expert as my most heavy Dead listening was over 20 years ago. If you havenāt gotten to this one yet, its a favorite, but Iām a sucker for Mississippi Half-Step and Weather Report Suite. The opening Here Comes Sunshine and closing Stella Blue are pretty special too imo. I usually come back to Dickās Picks Vol. 1 and Santanaās Caravanserai on the first warm evenings of the year, which happens to be tonight.
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Wow that really is a strong opener, I hadnāt heard Vol. 1 yet but Iām listening fairly consistently to the point where theyāve cracked my top 6 most streamed artists ever haha. Listening habits are totally scattered (but still 70s only really) but Iām feeling like Florida shows tended to be pretty light and fun.
Iām picking through Paul Grushkinās The Very Best Dead Letters at the moment:
Absolutely fascinating for anyone involved in a fan art scene like we all are. Its essentially an archive of all the best decorated envelopes received by the Grateful Dead Ticket Service over the years, organised into themes and motifs with a couple of pages of context and stories on each. Lots of great little points of view from people outside of but close to the band, and importantly some good tips for shows to seek out. There was a little segment on famous/well known Dead Heads that really surprised me, particularly all the politicians.
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Yesterday I got back from Vegas. Went to see Dead and Company at the Sphere. I canāt even put into words how incredible it was. These were my eighth, ninth and tenth D&C shows and it felt like each one beat the last.
The visuals are so good, videos and photos donāt do it justice. Itās crystal clear and at times it does really feel immersive. So much of it was based on their history. Different iconic venues, marching bears, skeletons, it was really cool to see it all. The original visuals were great too, the way every show starts and ends at Haight Ashbury is so cool. The sound in there is really good too, I noticed it most in Drums/Space. Theyād spin the sound around the entire arena. Pair that with the haptic seats and it physically shook my body. The band was playing well too with some really good sets. Got to hear a lot I never heard until this point (El Paso for example). I donāt think Iāve ever smiled more at a show than at these three.
If youāre a Deadhead with the time and money to go, go for it. It was one of the coolest things Iāve ever experienced.
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Looks incredible. Iāve got tickets for Julyā¦ gonna be a hot one! How hot was it inside?
Nice! Itās not hot at all in there. Thereās actually a slight breeze that goes through sometimes. I wouldnāt say you need a coat or anything but you do feel it. Make sure to stay hydrated out there though. Have a water bottle on you. They allow empty bottles in and it was well worth doing.
Incredible! It makes a lot of sense but I didnāt realise the audio was ācircularā, or that there were haptics too.
Spinning the audio around seems fun, mayb a little in the spirit of some of the Deadās audio tech experiments, playing with the physics of directing sound to the point that the venue becomes an instrument.
Very jealous. The concept of the Sphere still gives me the creeps a little, but if there was one band to see there I think this makes sense. With Gizz Iād still rather see them somewhere as intimate as possible.
So my recent revelation of Ripple (maybe Hunterās best lyrics?) has led me to discover that they did acoustic shows.
No idea how I went this long without knowing that, but it makes so much sense and I am loving it.
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Have you come across the factoid that lyrics for Ripple, Brokedown Palace and To Lay Me Down were all written on May 24, 1970 in one afternoon on Hunters 2nd trip to England?
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Such an incredible thing. And I always think of Neil Young writing āDown by the River,ā āCowgirl in the Sand,ā and āCinnamon Girlā in the same day (while fighting the flu and a high fever).
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Wow! I have not. I got the complete annotated lyrics book but am only picking through it, things like that are a bit scattered throughout.
I am getting the strong impression that his writing was largely inspirational like that, like with the synchronicities between him and Jerry too. Like with Terrapin was it something like they had worked on each of their parts for years and then independently finished it on the same day totally separately?