Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Dead Do D.C. - Soundboard Style

Hey Now. Want more crispy crispy?

********* THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, 2009 -- VOLUME 45 **********
The Dead on 4/14/09 at the Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

The Dead -- April 14, 2009
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.


1st Set
Cassidy, Passenger, Pride of Cucamonga
Easy Wind
Lazy River Road
Alabama Getaway, Big Railroad Blues

Set 2: Acoustic
Peggy-O, Glory Road
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Set 2: Electric
Space
Dark Star
King Solomon's Marbles Drums
Come Together
Dark Star
Sugar Magnolia

Encore: Uncle John's Band, Ripple

Night 2. An odd choice, methinks, to open a show, Cassidy is... but a faithful rendition that would fit well right near the end of a first set where we usually would find it. Chimenti knows this well from his years with Bob's Ratdoggie Dog and so he has plenty of space to shine on keys. Jeff's beautifully Brent-like at times, Bruce-like during others. Warren's guitar is Jerry-like here, more so than how he usually sounds, I think, and I swear, it's almost like I'm listening to the Grateful Dead. I don't know if that's good or bad. This is really the 2009 version of the Grateful Dead... sort of, no, not really, but kind of. After jamming it out for awhile, when they bring it back to finish off the song, a wave of emotion is unleashed from the crowd as it was from myself listening at home. Very nice.

Jeff Chimenti of Ratdog & The Dead on 4/14/09 at the Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.Warren's back to sounding more like himself in Passenger. Here we get an absolute ton of Phil's bass and some sweet Hammond B-3 from Chimenti. This is soooo good. The fact that Jeff is playing Brent's B-3 is just wild and really adding to how special this is. They completely rock this, shoulda been the set opener.

Easy Wind? Wow. I wasn't aware The Dead had played this in the past but they did a few times in 2004. It's almost one long, nice, mildly mellow jam that doesn't go out there but is always recognizable. Warren's vocals give it a nice bluesy feel that's different from Pigpen. He's also not channeling Pig the way Bob's been known to on Lovelight and Good Lovin', which helps make this version fairly original sounding rather than a knock-off copy.

The first notes of what's next had me positively captivated. There's been no verse swapping up to now but that's what we get here in Lazy River Road -- Bob to Warren to Bob and now Phil's verse has me in tears. I can't believe that they can be playing this song so perfectly. And that's followed by more marvelous Jeff on keys. Night 1 of the tour he didn't play as big a part as he already has here in Night 2. Aside from Jerry not leading the way, this is very Grateful Dead-like.

If LRR and Cassidy, and Passenger to a slightly lesser extent, had tremendous similarities to the Grateful Dead we know so well, Alabama Getaway seems to have somewhat of its own identity. Warren's got the vocals here and this woulda made a great second song: Passenger-> Alabama, Cucamonga. Oh well. I'm really noticing the furious pace Billy & Mickey keep throughout. The song slowly picks up steam and so do they. F'in' flawless! The crescendo they reach doesn't quite hit Mt. Everest heights but they get it to a point that's damn near close. All of a sudden you hear the crowd's approval erupt, letting the boys know they can come down now, thank you!

More blistering Dead in Big Railroad Blues finishes off the set. Bob's vocals are excellent and Warren's never pretending he's Jerry. More outstanding keyboard work from Jeff really delights the ears. Oh and then there's that silly Bob who, when the song is just, just, just so, so, so close to wrapping up, he launches into one final go at the chorus. This is nothing new for Chimenti or Weir as Big RxR, for Ratdog, has been in this first set closing slot for a few years now.

Acoustic Set by The Dead on 4/14/09 at the Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

"This is where we play quiet and you listen loud."
-Phil Lesh quoting Jerry Garcia-

The beginning of Set 2 is really the beginning of a mini-Acoustic set. Phil sings and strums his way through a song that seems perfect for him -- Peggy-O. Jerry did this a few times outside of the Grateful Dead, each time acoustic with John Kahn. It's perfect for not only Phil to be singing it but it's perfect to be played acoustically. Outstanding!

Glory Road is a song that Warren likes, a tune written by a North Carolina friend of his. It's nice enough but not exactly the lyrical magic of Robert Hunter or Bob Dylan. Bathroom break anyone? (That's so mean, isn't it? It's not that bad.)

Speaking of Bob, Bob gives the crowd a dose of Bob with A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall. This is new for The Dead but not new for GD Bob; he's been a-playin' this with Ratdog for about four years now. I hadn't a-heard an RD version but I imagine it's a lot like this. It's a perfect song for Weir considering some of his other Dylan selections, primarily Memphis Blues and Desolation Row. My primary thought during this tune: Jerry & John Kahn, Weir-Wasserman... how about Bob Weir & Phil Lesh?!!!? WOW!!!! Yeah... this song spectacularly exemplifies how Lesh-Weir shows would work so well. This Deadhead can only wish, I guess. Anyway, for the most part I'm feeling largely un-super-impressed with this... not that's it's bad, it's not. What it does is hum along just fine... but finally close to the end, I had, for two listens now, a feeling of immense appreciation for Weir adding yet another Dylan song to his personal repertoire, now included here with The Dead.

When the band begins playing fully electrically again, we get a dose of Space that is as incredible as any Space the Grateful Dead have ever done. Okay, well, maybe there are a few that are way, way out there mind-blowing but this one impresses the hell out of me! It's beautifully classic and modern rolled into one. Jerry? 'Zat you? I knew Jerry was here.

After awhile of floating around the galaxy on those noises and sounds, tis time once again to play everybody's second favorite fun time game -- What Song Is Next? Whew.......... [BIG SMILE] ... Dark Star! Phil Lesh of Ratdog & The Dead on 4/14/09 at the Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.The noodling around doesn't last long before Phillip leads the way in. We've not left space yet, per say, more like crossed the border into a different galaxy. This is the Grateful Dead, is it not? You coulda fooled me. Of course Jerry isn't at the mic but Phil, Bob, and Warren trade off to really make this their own yet maintaining, of course, a tremendous Dead feel.

Another galaxy is Dead ahead (pun intended) as Dark Star drifts way away, crossing yet another border, heading off into a place where the mushrooms grow wild and free. Please, indulge, have a nice trip, see you next song. This is free form spacey Deadness at some of its greatest, dare I say, ever.

In a short while the band begins coming back in order to set themselves up for something else. But what? Holy crap, we're goin' Blues For Allah! Mickey & Billy here are Stronger Than Dirt as they help Phil steer the way so's the boys can begin Milkin' The Turkey. Them's a lot of Marbles played oh so well. This is really another wow moment for me, a little less emotional but I'm awed at this. I'm a-tellin' ya, aside from the odd setlist order, this is the Grateful Dead! I know, I know, it's not and it can't be because Jerry isn't here... but he is here. He is. Ask the Core Four... Jerry's in all of them and that's what makes this music so friggin sweet!

Speaking of odd setlist and what's friggin' sweet -- here comes Drums. It's not really odd where it's placed but we generally automatically think Drums>Space but on this night Space was like forty-five minutes ago to start the electric portion of the set. Not very raucous but quite melodic and electronic, a terrific and inspired Drums led us to what would follow which had everyone wondering -- What Song Is Next? Who needs Beatles records when The Dead can play Come Together as nicely as they do here. This not being a Dead original, it's okay hearing Warren do whatever he wants to. Then the jam at the end makes for some great music as they shimmy and twist in the wind, each alone yet all playing as one together, until they find a single common thread (Phil) leading the way back into Dark Star. Lining up behind the elder, they begin as one their steady flight forward across the heavens. You can really tell that Phil is wearing the Leader Armband tonight while Warren and Bobby are merely just rhythm players at times.

The Dead lightning bolt in lights at Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 4/14/09

Bobstar completely takes the reigns, though, for a good old Sugar Magnolia to close out the set. For most of the song, instead of Warren throwing in blistering solos, he's really layin' back some to let Phil be an equal, if not even more dominant, force in the song. Including set breaks -- not present on the recording, of course -- how long has this show bein' goin now? Three and a half hours? And how old are these guys? Ranging from maybe 45 to 145? Nahhh.... they're all 35 tops!!! Okay, well, their most ferocious jams might not last as long as they used to, and they seem to need some time to pick up steam, but when they get rolling, they've got the atomic energy of a hundred volcanoes completely wired on a highly potent cocaine and Jolt Cola cocktail with a case of Viagra thrown in for added vivaciousness. These guys ain't asleep at the wheel by any means, I tell ya what! Perhaps evident most of all is their maturity. Jams flow like water for these guys, spilling and moving in whatever direction it pleases, before joining up again as one life-giving body. That which gives life, in this instance, in order to be able to give, needs to feed, as well. And this body on stage feeds off all the bodies in the crowd. One life force feeding off another in order to give. It's a continuous cycle.

And in the encore they give some more with a sweet UJB. For the first time in this show I'm really digging Bob's rhythm guitar. I miss so much the way he used to feed off Jerry and compliment Jerry's lead. We get a nice bit of that here in UJB between he and Warren. And for a big bow on the whole shebang, Ripple leaves everyone with a beautiful, peaceful feeling.

One final thought...
this is clearly a brotherhood, with Warren a new brother not taking the place of the one who isn't with us anymore, but there to help pay tribute to him. This is a brotherhood who needs to play music. And they sure as hell damn sure do!

I was happy they were getting together again for a tour but not super-enthusiastic about it. But listening to these soundboards has me so hungry for '09 Dead! I can't wait to listen to and post another!

Enjoy!


ARCHIVE HEADPHONESThe Dead 4/14/09 @ the Internet Archive:
Audience source only for Listening or Downloading.
ARCHIVE HEADPHONES
Download The Soundboard Here

Audio Quality:
Source: Digital Soundboard (Matrix)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3




The Dead on 4/14/09 at the Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
mp3 320 kbps SBD download + setlist - 4-14-09 aka 04-14-09 aka 4/14/09 aka 04/14/09 aka 09-04-14 District Of Columbia

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Brotherhood

I was planning on posting the next show this Wednesday afternoon (Eastern U.S. time.) The new Dead tour is, in my opinion, really freakin' good, much than I thought it was going to be. I've heard two shows now and Wow... I'm très sehr muy muy mucho excited to get more of it (in soundboard form) into the ears of whoever wants it. But you'll have to wait. A little while. Hopefully overnight (after midnight) or at the latest as dawn breaks on America's East Coast.

In the meantime, check out this video. It was posted in December a couple months following The Dead's 1-show tour stop in Pennsylvania. This is some cool stuff!

just a run

In the world of sports -- NY Mets suck. Lost again. Nice. Suck a little more? Worse than the Montreal Expos Washington Nationals yet?

NJ Devils, in Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, gave up 2 goals in the last 90 seconds of the game to lose to the Carolina Hurricanes. That was downright depressing. Devils are having quite a difficult time getting back to the Stanley Cup Final. Why do they so often bomb it in the first round?! Their freakin' website's already looking forward to next season. Got to wait a whole frickin' year for the playoffs again. Yay. Losers.

Well, it might not be football season but it's football season! UEFA Champions League -- Man U. v. Arsenal today on ESPN! I'm so glad European football is on TV here 'cause MLS is just plain pathetic. Silly Americans.

In political news -- nahh, I'd better no go there.

In health news -- exercise is important... so I went running...



The North Face trail running shoe -- good for use in the Appalachian Mountains ... but seriously, they are rather small compared to the Rocky Mountains ... Sierra Nevada are sweet, too.  Would definitely use 'em in the Alps, that's for sure.  One thing's for sure -- Jerry Garcia or Bob Weir or Phil Lesh or Blaise Compaoré probably never went running in Liberia, Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, Pyongyang, 평양 직할시 조선민주주의인민공화국 平壤直轄市 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國, Türkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Кыргызстан, Киргизия, Uzbekistan, O'zbekiston, Ўзбекистон Республикаси, Tajikistan, Тоҷикистон.  Probably the same with Brent Mydland.  At least that's my gut feeling.  I could be wrong.  I mean, there were a lot of drugs at Grateful Dead shows and the good Lord above, He knows I did my share!
Wednesday late morning Run: 25 min 35 sec
+32 sec
.
2 Days Since My Last Run

11:20 a.m. - 76° - mostly sunny

April's last run. Time and weather were both nearly identical to two days ago. Not nice out there. VERY nice for laying on the beach or in your backyard to soak up some sun and get some nice color goin'... but DISGUSTING for a run. I'm an idiot for not going earlier in the morning. Twas an almost crisp 54° around 8 in the a.m.... with no sun gleaming, very little sweat, and very little energy loss from heat, 'twoulda been so ideal, perfect short-sleeve running. Almost -- dew woulda made grassy/weedy parts of the trail wet and that woulda gotten my shoes plenty wet, but... but why'm I fantasizing about what woulda been?!

Not the best run but not a bad run. I did succeed in adding at least 30 seconds... which I didn't need to do because that was only to get me back up to 25 minutes. Eh, I forgot and added at least a half minute which I accomplished but not without some mildly horrendous internal complaining and that desire to just quit my run and eat donuts, what does it matter, get fat, be typically American. NO! It's good to beat those thoughts back and push forward, keep running, focus on music, just go. When I hit my End Cue, though -- stoppage, bent over, hands on knees, gasping for air. That, thankfully, didn't last long but when I resumed moving towards getting off the trail, I wasn't moving too quickly. Again I just wanted to sleep on the trail. But I made it back and while tired as all heck, I'm looking forward to my next run, my first in May.
April :: +12 sec· X
8 runs in APRIL:
3 hours 29 min
6 runs in March:
2 hours 28 min
*** FEBRUARY ***
3 hours 41 min
January 2009
2 hours 54 min
December
2 hours 42 min
November:2 hours 31 min
October 2008:2 hours 10 min

**********IMPORTANT***PART**OF**THE**POST----SEPARATOR**BAR**********
PHONOGRAPH

Wednesday's Running Playlist
included most of this album...
The Doors -- Strange Days (1967) (album cover) -- songs by Jim Morrison, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore.

The Doors

Strange Days

1967
Strange Days
You're Lost Little Girl
Love Me Two Times
Unhappy Girl
Horse Latitudes
Moonlight Drive
People Are Strange
My Eyes Have Seen You
I Can't See Your Face In My Mind
When The Music's Over
The Doors -- Strange Days (1967) (album cover, backside)

Should I even type anything about this album? It's classic. I might dig their debut a little bit more but the two together make a great hour or so of listening. This is a band that needs more listening to by my ears. Thanks to The Lost Boys soundtrack with a version of People Are Strange by Echo & The Bunnymen, I may have heard the song a thousand or two times too many in this life. Also mega-overplayed are Love Me Two Times and When The Music's Over... but they're still good, especially when put on the shelf for two or three years. Take it out after such an absence and it's good again. Since it didn't have the same radioplay as those three aforementioned hits, the rest will always be welcomed. Twas great to listen to this today a whole bunch of times in the past few days.

mp3 download

due to a severe lack of live Doors videos from '67 on Youtube,
no video today.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Back to the Old

Hey Now! Not too long ago, the lovely and groovy Sugarmag suggested adding some sample songs for y'all to listen to while you're here, if you wish to listen, that is... not that you have to, of course. Great idea, Babe, I like it! I've actually done it once or twice in the past... which isn't often considering how much has been posted 'round here. I don't know if I'll always do it, sometimes time is limited, but I'd like to when I can. Today I can...


Get a playlist! Standalone player


(I guess it's not working anymore. Sorry.)

As you can see, my musical selection for today is some good old ancient Grateful Dead. Twas December 1st when I last visited the year 1966... and that's way too long ago. My attempt to roll through the beginning of this band always gets sidetracked with, well, everything and anything else from not only the Grateful Dead but anything within the Dead family. I love it all!! I know lots of youse out there would dig more more more old timey GD... but this (what's posted here) is what I listen to and I'm known to completely mix it up! But I will from here on make a better effort to get back to the 60's more often. What we've got today isn't the psychedelic Dead that there's a lot of in 1966, something a little different from that...


Grateful Dead Steal Your Face plain designChronological History of the Grateful Dead -- Volume 008Grateful Dead Steal Your Face plain design

Grateful Dead 1966 (on Haight Street?) - copyright Herb Greene

Grateful Dead -- June 1966
Scorpio Studio recording sessions outtakes

San Francisco, California


Stealin'
Stealin' (Take 4)
Stealin' (Take 5)
Stealin'(with vocals Take 6)
I Know You Rider (Take 1)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 1)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 2)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 3)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 4)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 5)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 6)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 7)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 8)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 1)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 2)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 3)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 4)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 5)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Take 6 w/ vocals)
Don't Ease Me In Jam (Test Take 7)
You Don't Have To Ask
You Don't Have To Ask (Take 13)
You Don't Have To Ask (Take 14 with vocals)
Cardboard Cowboy
Cardboard Cowboy (Take 2)
Cardboard Cowboy (Take 3)
Cardboard Cowboy (Take 4)
Cardboard Cowboy (Take 5, with vocals)
Stealin' (Take 1)
I Know You Rider (Take 1)

This is... kinda neat stuff. A little repetitive, especially in the middle there. I do not know why there are identically titled tracks but there are... but they're not identical. Strange, eh? Essentially, for all intents and purposes, they are identical. It's almost like listening to Don't Ease for a half hour... but not a half hour long jammed out version, a 2-minute version on repeat. There's no banter or anything like that, just straightforward run-throughs. This ain't the live Dead from '66 which was sometimes getting into those psychedelic places they'd later be even more known for. Overall, this is more similar to the Warlocks (11-3-65) Autumn Records Demo which took place seven months before.

For a little more info, I found the following...

from Lone Star Dead radio:

Stealin' (2:32) / Don't Ease Me In (2:00) - The Grateful Dead (Scorpio 201) Released in June, 1966 (possibly July, 1996) on Gene Estribou's Scorpio Records. Estribou's studio was located on the fifth floor of 737 Buena Vista West, south of the Panhandle, and west of the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco. The label has black lettered text on a red label. The "Stealin'" side is cataloged as "003/201" and the "Don't Ease Me In" side is "002/201".

Grateful Dead - Stealin'/Don't Ease Me In Scorpio Records 45 single

This was the Dead's first recording contract. Both "Don't Ease Me In" and "Stealin'" are credited to Garcia. The original run was about 250 singles. It was recalled soon after release.

I probably should say there there are some other Scorpio Studio session outtakes which are not very easy to find. shnid=10091 has some more run-throughs. Mayhaps one of these days I'll get it. I might be into 1967 or even '68 with the Chronological series (hopefully I'll get it sooner than that) but when I track it down I'll most certainly post it up so those interested can have the complete deal. As it is in the world, 99% of people with Scorpio Studio outtakes only have this source.



ARCHIVE HEADPHONES6/xx/66 @ the Internet Archive:
no downloading, no listening.
ARCHIVE HEADPHONES
TINY STEAL YOUR FACE Download It Here TINY STEAL YOUR FACE

Source: shnid=9513 Audio Quality:
Lineage: Soundboard Master Reel DAT CDR
Scorpio Studio sessions outtakes -- 6/xx/66

***** CAUTION TRIANGLE SMALL *****
Song files labeled Tastebud are Cardboard Cowboy.
You might want to re-label them. Sorry about that.

The Music Never Stopped, 2009 -- Volume 44
6-xx-66 a.k.a. 66-06-xx mp3 download 320 kbps

Monday, April 27, 2009

Keep Britain Tidy

So very tired this afternoon. No music posted today. Hopefully something will get posted after midnight U.S. East Coast time. I'm gonna attempt a doubleheader on Tuesday including a show with 2 number 4's in the date.. from Washington, D.C. and a Soundboard. It's not Neil Diamond. It might be from 2009. It might not be. Stay tuned!

For now, it's...
Cartoon Time!



"Now Hear This"

Starring: nobody

Directed By: Chuck Jones

Release Date: 46 years ago today...
April 27, 1963

This is the first time they used a modern abstract art opening.
Sure is different.

Running Here & Now (Well, Earlier.)

Pic o' the day:

Estadio Azteca (Aztec Stadium) in Mexico City -- come on Pepsi!!!  Get on the ball here!  Look at all that advertising... for people in planes or blimps???

an empty Estadio Azteca in Ciudad de México

Severely over-populated Mexico City's got like 18 million people but they can't even fill the 5th largest stadium in the world for a soccer game... excuse me, I mean a futbol match? There's a match going on in the picture! 105,000 capacity, 0 fans. Actually, it's because of something we're all going to die of within a few days, some Pig Flu or something. Beats me. I'm immune. I'm God.

Hmmm... if I was God, I suppose I wouldn't have to exercise...


The North Face trail running shoe -- good for use in the Appalachian Mountains ... but seriously, they are rather small compared to the Rocky Mountains ... Sierra Nevada are sweet, too.  Would definitely use 'em in the Alps, that's for sure.  One thing's for sure -- Jerry Garcia or Bob Weir or Phil Lesh or Blaise Compaoré probably never went running in Liberia, Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, Pyongyang, 평양 직할시 조선민주주의인민공화국 平壤直轄市 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國, Türkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Кыргызстан, Киргизия, Uzbekistan, O'zbekiston, Ўзбекистон Республикаси, Tajikistan, Тоҷикистон.  Probably the same with Brent Mydland.  At least that's my gut feeling.  I could be wrong.  I mean, there were a lot of drugs at Grateful Dead shows and the good Lord above, He knows I did my share!
Monday late Morning Run: 25 minutes 03 sec
+42 sec
.
3 Days Since My Last Run

11:15 a.m. - 76° - mostly sunny

Warm. But I wasn't tired. I was sick and tired of waiting around for fucking ever for a phone call so that didn't help. Other than that, I guess I had an okay run. No pains. No fatigue. Seems I always have thoughts of quitting my run but they weren't too bad. The worst thing was the warmth of the near mid-day sun overhead. I hate when sweat drips onto my sunglasses. Worse is that, while I had no significant fatigue, the heat did drain me of extra energy. I finished okay but twasn't very pleasant at the end and as I began my walk home from the trail. After a shower I'm feelin' drained but not bad. The fact that I added a bunch of time onto my last Run Time, that's good. I'm back up (finally) to over 25 minutes. On my way to 30. Now if Sugarmag would only join me in my running this much, or at least separately exercising this much, that would be sweet!

One more run in April. I'm not going to match February but at least I have passed March (which sucked.) New goal for May.... hmmm..... well, to beat April, that's the primary goal. Hopefully, though, I can get to 4 hours again.
April :: +37 sec· X
7 runs in APRIL:
3 hours 03 min
6 runs in March:
2 hours 28 min
*** FEBRUARY ***
3 hours 41 min
January 2009
2 hours 54 min
December
2 hours 42 min
November:2 hours 31 min
October 2008:2 hours 10 min

**********IMPORTANT***PART**OF**THE**POST----SEPARATOR**BAR**********
PHONOGRAPH

Monday's Running Playlist
included most of this album...
Aurora Gory Alice (1993) (album cover)

Letters To Cleo

Aurora Gory Alice

1993
Big Star
I See
Rim Shak
Wasted
Get On With It
Here & Now
From Under The Dust
Mellie's Comin' Over
Come Around
Step Back
Twas a few years ago, 1994 to be exact, summer of, when I spent some time in the 'burbs of Chicago, one 'burb to be exact, Fox Lake to be exact, northwest of Chicago. The tiny little town, nestled amongst the Chain Of Lakes, is one of the last two or three stops on the commuter rail line than runs up to Genoa, Wisconsin (if I'm not mistaken.) (I was mistaken, it's Genoa City.)

Any-frickin'-way, that (part of) Spring & Summer I listened to a bunch of radio. It started out not by choice but because it was always on at the golf course where I was working. Well, I dug the tunes on Chicago's Q101 and found myself tuning in away from work, too. Q101 was playing all that was new and great within alternative music at the time. I actually used to tape the radio and then make a mix that I used when I went mountain biking. One of the songs on that mix: Here & Now from this debut album by Boston band Letters To Cleo. Such a kick-ass song that was, great for riding.
I never could understand half of what Kay Hanley was singing but it's a great, fast, loud song. That tape that I had it on got lost or eaten or whatever and it has been a good dozen years since I've heard that tune or any other by this band. I've always remembered them, not that song specifically, but the band name; maybe someday I'd get to check out their tunes. Well, someday's recently and these guys are pretty good. The rest of the album is something like an amalgamation of The Breeders, Sonic Youth, Belly and a good handful or two of others.

Apparently they'll be playing some more shows this spring. I guess they got back together last Fall/Winter but maybe now they'll be back for awhile. Not that I'm gonna see 'em or anything... cool none-the-less. I've always had an affinity for Boston bands, bein' a native New Englander and all.

mp3 download

"Here & Now" -- December 8, 2008
Paradise Rock Club, Boston, Massachusetts

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh maaaaaaaaann!!!!

I'm not a NASCAR fan but anyone who says it's boring is nuts. I guess a 3-hour race can have a lot of boringness to it... but the following, from the race yesterday in Talladega, Alabama, happened to racer Carl Edwards on the Final Lap and holy freakin' moly, man, this is sweet!!!! There were a few injuries in the crowd but thankfully nothing life-threatening.




The 2 most spectacular views begin at about 3:30

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Everyone's a Captain Kirk on Electric Avenue

Sugarmag and I, over on her blog, did a meme last night called Unconscious Mutterings... it's a Word Association thing we try to do every Sunday and one of the words was...

Electric ::



Mucho classico!!! I remember that from way way back in the earliest days of MTV, yeah, back when they actually used to play videos!!!!

After seeing that vid on Youtube, I happened to see another classic...



Please, if you wish, have a look at the German version:



Here's a cool Updated Version from 2002...



Wanna see a live version from Nena? Click here.

I love German New Wave!! Well, at least this song.

Man, these are like two of the greatest songs ever!! Stoopid Youtube... I should be sleeping, instead I'm spending like an hour checking out old videos. Good stuff, though!

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Saturday Night Dead (On The Radio)

Grateful Dead animated Dancing Bear

Check out some Grateful Dead on the radio (on the intertubes)...

A friendly commenter around these parts, Timmy, will be playin' a couple hours of GD tunes tonight on his Dead Reckoning program on KTHO Radio. You can listen to the show by clicking over to their website...


I've listened for a couple weeks in a row now, heard some Philly '85 and some Chicago 1969 plus a few other assorted goodies. I do believe there'll be more '69 Chicago tonight along with ???? Whatever it is, I'll be diggin' it!

kthologo

Dead Reckoning with Timmy
Saturday night at:


10:00 p.m. U.S. West Coast / 1:00 A.M. East Coast

6 to 8 a.m. in Wales
7 to 9 a.m. in Germany & Croatia
1 - 3 p.m. for all those Deadheads in Ulan Bator, Mongolia
2 to 4 p.m. if you're being held hostage on bogus charges in North Korea

Tune In!!!


Grateful Dead Dancing Bears Separator Bar

Nets Save Lives

Every 30 seconds a child dies from Malaria.

Concerts and beer and over-priced coffee and going to the movies and eating out are parts of our everyday generally selfish lives here in America. Even in economically hard times, we still splurge on ourselves in some way that truly is not needed. Meanwhile children die. We'd be giving every cent we have to save our very own children. Why, then, are concert tickets and going out to the bar more important than other children?

Just $10 can save a life.

I'm guessing everyone reading this can spare it if they wanted to temporarily cut something out of their lives.

Click to donate! And have a healthy day.


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Friday, April 24, 2009

Screw The Auds, It's Soundboard Time!

New tour, lots of shows, lots of Audience recordings, which one is best? Frankly, I didn't care all that much. I did, kinda... sorta. I really dug the three shows in New York City back on March 30th and I eagerly waited for Dave to introduce them on The Late Show last night, but of the shows from the new tour, I've not sought out a single Audience recording to listen to. I'm not going to any shows and so my excitement hasn't been there in any large amount. I am glad they are touring, though. It's what they love to do! And enough fans are willing to pay the absolutely insane cost of seeing them. While I might not be experiencing it, the excitement is there.

While I haven't yet wanted to listen to the Auds (after figuring out which one sounds the best for each show considering there are numerous sources) I am kind of hungry for the Soundboards! And so here we go with Installment Numero Uno!


***** THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, 2009 - VOLUME 43 *****

click to see bigger, if you wish -- The Dead 4/12/09 Greensboro Coliseum


The Dead - April 12, 2009
Greensboro Coliseum
Greensboro, North Carolina


1st Set
The Music Never Stopped
Jack Straw
Estimated Prophet
He's Gone
Touch Of Grey
I Need A Miracle
Truckin'

Set 2
Jam Shakedown Street
All Along The Watchtower
Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks)
Space Drums Space
Cosmic Charlie
New Potato Caboose
Help On The Way Slipknot Franklin's Tower

Encore: Samson and Delilah

Upon first listen of this show, the first set really didn't do that much for me. Upon second listen I'm a little more impressed. Music Never Stopped wasn't the best tour opener, maybe metaphorically speaking, but it felt a little tired. One thing that struck me is how the "they're a band beyond description" line doesn't ring as true as it used to. This is a band beyond description, almost. They play the Grateful Dead and they jam and they like it... so it can be described. But they're not the Grateful Dead at all. Or are they? That's sacrilegious to some but when you think about, many bands lose members and get new ones and they go on under the same name. That's about what's happening here. Anyway, Music hits a nice crescendo and the crowd approves!

As the opening notes of Jack Straw become recognizable, I began to ponder yet again: was Bruce Hornsby asked to join the band? If not, why not? If so, why'd he decline? What a shame. I hate saying this because Ratdog keyboardist Jeff Chimenti is nice but Bruuuuuuuce really woulda made this song truly come alive the way it should. I'd definitely prefer hearing him singing this alongside Bob. '98 was Hornsby's only year with this band, right? Well, that was with The Other Ones and he never did The Dead, if I'm not mistaken. That's a shame. He'd a-been perfect here! But Jeff's not bad and the song picks up plenty of steam. If Music was a little tired, Jack Straw is demonstrating these guys are happy and eager to be playing this music!

click to see bigger, if you wish -- Bob Weir of The Dead 4/12/09 Greensboro ColiseumEstimated in the third song slot? Huh? Odd but it gets on a nice roll with Phil not leading the way but he's really into it. Warren plays respectfully, never pretending to be Jerry and never exactly hitting auto-pilot as Jerry did so many times when this song hit jamland. If anyone's on auto-pilot, it's Phillip!

As we quickly close in on 15 years A.J. (After Jerry) He's Gone doesn't negatively affect me as it would have a decade ago. I really love Bobby here and wouldn't ya know it, the "Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile" line just got me choked up. You can hear Phil join in at that exact moment and it's so perfect... or at least perfect right then; overall it's nice and I can get lost in it, especially the end when they really work the crowd into a bit of a frenzy.

Touch has about the weirdest placement of all. I love Bob singing this. It's one of the earliest Jerry songs he broke out with Ratdog. The drummers this whole show so far are exceptionally masterful and Phil is really, once again, completely barreling through the tune while Warren plays nicely along. Warren takes a verse and this version, while mucho GD-like, is beautiful in my opinion -- one of the bestest wonderfulest Jerry tributes there is.

Absolutely the crowd favorite of the first set is Truckin'. I laughed at the thought that here's probably the most popular Grateful Dead in the history of Grateful Dead music, but the crowd still still still loves it sooooooo much... and so do I!! Last thing I wanna do is use the lame old cliché but yes, it has been a long, strange trip and Jerry's a long time gone but I'm really glad we're still hearing these guys play music together! With age they can still play great music but they might get a little tired quicker than they used to. On the soundboard you can hear Phil yell out "REST TIME" and they soon wrap it up and head off stage. "Just exactly like a Swiss watch. We'll be back in just a little bit." Just exactly, Bob!

click to see bigger, if you wish -- The Dead 4/12/09 Greensboro Coliseum copyright Jay Blakesberg

What song is coming, what song is coming? What's going to kick off Set 2? Of course I knew and you know but those in attendance surely had no clue. Tuning then plenty of really fun Jamming makes up the first seven plus minutes of Track 1 before an abrupt left turn signals the start of Shakedown Street... and the crowd goes nuts! They are out of the gate with a fire under their ass, I tell ya what? Warren is clearly channeling the vocal stylings of Brent Mydland, so much so that i
t's almost eerie. Jeff had some nice playing in the first set but he gets a great spot to shine here and the rest sure did Phil some good because he's just once again plowing a path with that bass of his. There is some absolutely exceptional jamming going on! I like this a lot and I couldn't ask for a better Set 2 opener!

Watchtower! Without Bobby Rockstar on vocals? Hmmm. Interesting. I like it! Warren's playing here is wonderful, blistering at times; this not being a Grateful Dead original, he can really truly be himself here without worrying about stepping on Jerry. And I've got to say, not that I dislike or am tired of Bob's (Weir's) Watchtower, his not leading the way makes this a nice change of pace.

click to see bigger, if you wish -- Phil Lesh of The Dead 4/12/09 Greensboro Coliseum Oh yeah, drive that Caution, Phil! Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Here lies the jammiest part of the night. This is so sweet. Not a note out of place. The way Chimenti fills in is luscious. Mickey & Billy help Phil drive while Warren and Bob give this an incredible 1960's feel. If earlier Warren was channeling Brent, here he's clearly channeling Pigpen. Going into listening to this show, I was idiotically leaning toward not being able to fully enjoy it -- how could it possibly be that great? Half these guys are old enough to be in a nursing home! How moronic was that thinking?! This is awesome!!!!!

No real Drums-> Space here like we're used to with a traditional Grateful Dead show. Before the Rhythm Devils do their thing, various players come go for a whole lotta Space... kind of a Space sandwich. Great Stuff!

Hey, Phil, what are those notes you're playin'? At the end of Space he's taking a an extended mellow solo setting up what's to come. Cosmic Charley?! Oh baby! Pretty nice. Warren's guitar, slide at times, sounds so nice.
It's not a new arrangement by any means but thankfully not just a knock off copy of what was.

More slide from Warren on New Potato sounds so nice. For the first time this show, Bob's rhythm guitar is really jumping out at me. This is a nice rambling rendition in the post-D/S slow song slot.

Help->Slip->Frank puts a neat bow on the second set. I'm a little indifferent about this one. It's so structured that it makes me wonder how, possibly, can it be played without needing to sound like Jerry? Even Warren having space to solo in Slipknot kinda sounds like Jerry. Sheesh, can't I listen to this without comparing? At times this show has sounded freshly 2009 Dead-like but not overly Grateful Dead-like. To close things out here, though -- without a doubt the closest to sounding like the good old Grateful Dead that we've heard all show long. Franklin's is smokin', with great solos from Chimenti and Phil and Warren, so it's a great way to get people dancin' their asses off! One thing is surely true -- these guys are really freakin' digging being on stage playing this music!

See bunches of more pics at JamBase and OtherOnes.net

The Dead 4/12/09 Greensboro Coliseum

ARCHIVE HEADPHONESThe Dead 4/12/09 @ the Internet Archive:
the Audience source only for Listening or Downloading.
ARCHIVE HEADPHONES
Download The Soundboard Here

Audio Quality:
Source: Digital Soundboard (Matrix)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4


mp3 download @ 320 kbps + setlist for 4-12-09 aka 04-12-09 aka 4/12/09 aka 04/12/09 aka 09-04-12 Easter!
The Dead 4/12/09 Greensboro Coliseum

one says one number and the other another
but they were set at the same time. Hmmm...

i love you amy uzarski.  always!
 
Calvin and Hobbes in the snow -- animated