4/12/70 = SSSMM

A day or two ago Mark, my friend, Deadhead brother, and tramp stamp addict nutjob, threw my name into the pot when handing out the following:

Yay. (This early in the A.M. one can only be so enthused... and the tunes in my ears are using up about 100% of my enthusiastic capacity at the moment.) I never really consider myself or my blog excellent... I just do it and if people dig it then cool. But now it looks like: Oh Shit, now I have a level of achievement to live up to. Yay.

More Dead and related posts would probably help. Music like this morning's is who I am... sort of. Who's my favorite band? The Grateful Dead. Who's second? Everyone directly related. Who's third? So far down the scoreboard that it almost doesn't even matter... and then to compile that list alone, well, it would take quite a long time looking at all that I've listened to in the past year... and that doesn't even include all that I haven't tasted in awhile!

In any freakin' case -- more Dead and related definitely needs to be posted here and I'll do my best. Everyday would be too much, but a couple a week would be better than 1 every 8 or 9 days!

So onward we dance! Time to shake dem bones to
Some Sweet Saturday Morning Music...

Grateful Dead April 12, 1970 Fillmore West San Francisco, CA also on the bill: Miles Davis Quintet

"If the Dead End Kids were alive today,
they'd be called the Grateful Dead."
--Bill Graham--

Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Casey Jones, Mama Tried,
China Cat Sunflower-» I Know You Rider,
Good Lovin'-» Drums-» Good Lovin',
Candyman, Deep Elem Blues, Cumberland Blues, Dire Wolf,
Dancing In The Streets, Black Peter, Uncle John's Band,
It's A Man's Man's Man's World, Viola Lee Blues-» Feedback

Do not be put off by the fact that over a half hour of this show is from an Audience source! The vocals are a little distant but in one way those songs are the best part of what's here. Seriously: compared to the Soundboard, when I was havin' a hard time pickin' him up, in the Audience tunes, Phil can be heard really well and all of the music comes through loud and clear. It's amazing what the digital age can give us when it comes to Aud recordings! In the olden days of analog, just a few cassette to cassette generations and many Aud sourced shows would hardly be bearable. Not so much the case anymore, eh?! Not at all!

The following I've taken the time to transcribe from my copy of Deadbase IX -- actually, I haven't done it yet, I'm about to as Good Lovin' is in my ears with Jerry blazin' the way... Keep in mind that Mr. Wood's review is from over 10 years ago and he didn't have the whole show exactly as we have it today...

In David Gans' book, Playing In The Band, the Dead mentioned how intimidating it was to have the late Miles Davis as the opening act: Who could blame them?!

Unfortunately, my 100-minute soundboard has most of the show's contents shuffled, starting with the "acoustic" set and a still-developing Candyman (which had premiered in Cincinnati, and was featured all four nights of this run.) Deep Elem was another of the showcased songs in the acoustic sets (although both this and Candyman are actually electric), and its jangly groove suggests a cross between Black Peter and the loose vitality of Dancin'.

The tape turns to the first electric set, as the show opening Schoolgirl features a healthy portion of Pigpen vocal/harmonica/bandleader interplay, augmented by healthy portions of Jerry phrases; including some lines that almost suggest New Speedway Boogie. Casey Jones is faithful to the Workingman's Dead studio version, as the band was clearly refining the song's dynamics. Apparently, there were a few sound bugs; as before Mama Tried, Weir asks, "Bear where have you wandered off to?? Please fix the monitor."

Although the "early" Dead specialized in engaging improvisation, there are those numerous occasions of recklessness. China Cat> Rider is the case here, with rough chord changes and awkwardly innocent vocals only a Deadhead could love; however, Jerry's spunky leads manage to compensate. Sadly, the following High Time is not on the tape, so we skip to a typically charged Good Lovin', with the tape flip during the drum solo. While Pigpen is still the catalyst, Jerry's feisty fills suggest the influence of the Bitches Brew-era John McLaughlin, and almost overshadows Pigpen's thunder.

The tape shifts gears to the final electric set with a strong garage-band Dancin': Phil's pumping, subtly melodic bass lines playing counterpoint to Jerry's inertia, both correlating together with the ensemble to formulate a rumbling peak, then approaching a D-keyed point in the jam whose structure predates the Uncle John-like transitions in '73/'74 China Cat> Riders. Next comes the joyous innocence of a rough-edged Uncle John's; while delivered in the same vein as Casey Jones, a mere blueprint compared to its ensuing years.

The potent one-two of It's A Man's World and Viola Lee Blues close, the former galloping at a sprite pace via Jerry's jazzy fills and Pigpen's driving vocals; its tone a clear San Francisco influence on the James Brown ballad-turned-shuffle. Viola Lee, as "usual", builds to an engrossing climax full of urgent Jerry sprinkles and enriching Phil, gradually building a wall of sonic dissonance that leaves the listener exhausted and sated, yet happily craving more. Despite the convoluted song order, this tape is a keeper.

--John J. Wood, from Deadbase IX

Source: Soundboard Reel Master > Sonic Solutions > DAT > CD
Casey Jones thru Deep Elem is
Audience Cassette Master > PCM > DAT > Sonic Solutions > CD
(as always, there's more info in the text file.)

the Soundboard-Audience composite of 4-12-70 is @ Archive for listening only.

-or-

Download The Show Right Here

Part 1 - Grateful Dead 4/12/70 Fillmore West

4/12/70 Fillmore West - Part II

4-12-70 a.k.a. 4/12/70 a.k.a. 70-04-12 320 kbps mp3 download & setlist