Sunday, November 15, 2015

8/xx/66 - Grateful Dead Live at Unknown

Jerry & Pig, Summer 1966. Photo by Herb Greene
The next show in line available on archive is a small selection from an unknown date, labeled as "Live at Various 8/1/66. That date is simply not correct, and I don't believe that it's the dead live at various, but is rather a small selection from a single unknown show.

One commenter relates that Dick Latvala said that this tape originally came from a box with the label "Longshoreman's Hall 1st Night." Bear Stanley added that it likely dates the show to April of '66 after the band had returned from Los Angeles.


Grateful Dead
Unknown - Likely Longshoreman's Hall
San Francisco, CA
8/xx/66

Setlist:
1. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl >
2. You Don't Love Me >
3. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl

The tape that remains from this mysterious date is an excellent listen. This may be the first Dead Sandwich we've encountered in the record as we move forward. The sound has a tad of hiss to it, and I thought Pigpen's voice was just a small tick off. The music, however, does come through clear. Schoolgirl, although not explored deeply, has some real authority to it. Jerry's guitar is crisp and quick

The real highlight for me was the transition into and out of "You Don't Love Me." I wasn't watching the tracks change on archive, and did not notice that they had transitioned into another song until Jerry started his lyrics. I had to go back and re-listen to catch the seemless change. If you want a reason to listen to this tape, it's for that alone.

In the closing of Schoolgirl, the band picks up the pace during Pigpen's rap, at around the 2:00 mark. They keep it up for a few minutes before slowing back down. Schoolgirl is cut at the end. I am not sure how much music is missing.


Listen to this '66 selection at archive: https://archive.org/details/gd66-xx-xx.sbd.jools.19514.19529.sbeok.shnf


Saturday, November 14, 2015

The Scorpio Recording Sessions, summer 1966



Sometime in June of July of 1966, the Dead took to the studio for the second time to get some material down in San Francisco's Scorpio Studios owned by Gene Estribou. By all accounts it was not an enjoyable experience.

That summer they also had their first recording experience, with a man named Gene Estribou, who had built a studio in his home at 737 Buena Vista West, a few blocks from the Dead's office at 710 Ashbury. (It was actually their second recording experience after recording as the Emergency Crew in December of 1965). Estribou's  building was spectacular. It had been built in 1897, and in the course of its history, Ambrose Bierce had lived there and Jack London had written White Fang on the premises. Unfortunately, the studio was on the fifth floor, and most of Weir's memories of the session centered on hauling the lead sled up four flights of stairs. To Lesh, Estribou seemed to be a wealth "dilettante" who wanted to break into the business, but the session was at least an opportunity to get something on tape. They recorded the old jug songs "Don't Ease Me In" and "Stealin," and other songs, including a Pigpen number called "Tastebud," and one by Lesh called "Cardboard Cowboy." The first two were duly released as a 45 rpm single on Scorpio Records that August. Garcia later guessed that not more than 150 copies were pressed, and since they were sold only on Haight Street, primarily at the Psychedelic Shop, the record made little impact (McNally 153).

The existing spots of the Scorpio Sessions seem to be spread in several different places. First there is a compilation of 30 takes in the studio, found on archive.org. 

Grateful Dead
Scorpio Studios
San Francisco, CA
June - July 1966

Stealin (Tracks 1 - 4, 29)
I Know You Rider (Tracks 5 & 30)
Don't Ease Me In (Tracks 6 - 20)
You Don't Have to Ask (Tracks 21 - 23)
Tastebud (Tracks 24 - 28)


There is not a lot of variety to the takes, and listening to them all is only for those looking to gather in a complete history. For instance, most of the Don't Ease tracks are very similar instrumentals. For those just wanting a taste, I would suggest Tracks 4, 5, 19, 23, 27, & 28. These demos resulted in a 2 sided record of Stealin and Don't Ease Me In.

I Know You Rider, Track 5, is a great example of their 1966 sound. The song captures the way they sounded when performing that song live. It's worth checking it out. Also, the tracks labeled as "Tastebud" are actually "Cardboard Cowboy."  I'm not sure as to why they are not labeled correctly. Track 30 - I Know You Rider is only instrumental, with no vocals. 



Some Scorpio tracks were also commercially released in 2001 as part of the "Birth of the Dead" CD.  I did not compare these tracks to the outtakes above, so some are probably repeats. I present them in two formats as this was the way that I listened to them.

Grateful Dead
Scorpio Studios
San Francisco, CA
June - July 1966

Released on Birth of the Dead (track #'s match the CD)
7. Stealin (Instrumental)
8. Stealin (with Vocals)
9. Don't Ease Me In (Instrumental)
10. Don't Ease Me In (with Vocals)
11. You Don't Have to Ask
12. Tastebud (Instrumental)
13. Tastebud (with Vocals)
14. I Know You Rider
15. Cold Rain & Snow (Instrumental)
16. Cold Rain & Snow (with Vocals)

You can listen to the entire "Birth of the Dead album on Youtube. The tracks start at approximately 17:35. The Tastebud examples on this recording are correct, as opposed to the outtakes.


7/29 & 7/30/66 - Grateful Dead Live at P.N.E Garden Auditorium, Vancouver, British Columbia




At the end of July in 1966, the Dead headed out of California to perform for the first time in their collective venture. Except they didn't only venture out of California, but clear out of the United States to play a Trips Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia. There they joined the bill with Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and the Holding Company (with newly acquired Janis Joplin), and the Daily Flash. These two shows are significant for that fact alone. However, we must also remember that outside of their own circles, Jerry, Pig, Bobby, Phil, and Bill were generally unknown musicians.

Both McNally and Lesh recalled these shows in their respective works:

Said McNally:
"That summer (1966)  they left the Bay Area for their first out-of-town shows, and their trip swiftly went sour. They began in late July with three shows at the British Columbia Festival, at the rather large Pacific National Exhibition Garden Auditorium, in Vancouver. .....  When they got to the gig, Garcia recalled, they were told they could play only one set a night and "got screwed around one way or another." He found the stage to be so inordinately high that he insisted their equipment be moved back so they could avoid the edge" (McNally 153).

In his autobiography, Lesh recalled that

"Soon after our move (to Olompali), we received an offer to play three days of a "Trips Festival" in Vancouver, British Columbia. It seemed like a good opportunity to bring our music to a new audience, since we'd been preaching to the choir, so to speak, for a while now.... When we got there, we discovered that the stage was so high as to cause nosebleeds, and the acoustics, of course, were bloody awful. We played one of the worst performances I can remember" (Lesh 91).

Lesh also related a tidbit on the trip up about the song Caution. Taking the train toward the Canadian border, he and Bill took a smoke break between the cars of the train. "At one point, we were standing out there entranced by the rhythm of the wheels clickety-clacking over the welds in the rails; Billy and I looked at each other and just knoew - we simultaneously burst out, "We can play this!" This later turned into "Caution (Do Not Stop on the Tracks," one of our simplest, yet farthest-reaching musical explorations" (Lesh 91).

There is some debate about the set lists of these two dates, as well as which shows belong on which date. According to the text on archive.org, the two shows I've posted below came directly from a Grateful Dead Archive box labeled with these two dates. Your guess as to which set goes with which date is as good as mine. I prefer to think of them in the order that I present them below simply because of the way the band is introduced. On the first night, they are announced as, "A band from San Francisco, The Grateful Dead." Phil is heard replying to the lack of applause with "Our fame precedes us." These added together seems to allude to this being the first time the band is announced to the Vancouver crowd. On the second set, they are simply introduced as "The Grateful Dead" without any further explanation. The listener, of course, can decide for themselves.

Grateful Dead
P.N.E Garden Auditorium
Vancouver, BC, Canada
7/30/66

Set 1
1. Standin' On the Corner
2. I Know You Rider
3. Next Time You See Me
4. Sitting On Top Of The World
5. You Don't Have To Ask
6. Big Boss Man
7. Stealin'
8. Cardboard Cowboy
9. It's All Over Now Baby Blue
10. Cream Puff War
11. Viola Lee Blues

 In comparing the two shows of the Trips Festival, this was easily the most enjoyable to listen to. The band seems more loose and willing to air it out. McNally mentions that prior to this show the band took LSD on a trip to the Pacific coast, almost missing the start of the show. Could this be a reason for the relative loose-ness of the playing? We again see the Garcia tune "Cream Puff War," which comes off strong. I cannot get enough of this song. Viola Lee Blues is their most exploratory song of the set, and is performed well. Certainly worth the listen.

The primary attraction to this show for me is the appearance of the song "Cardboy Cowboy." This is one of two known performances of the song, which comes off as a strange and steriotypical 60's psychedelic song. Weir introduces the tune as "No Left Turn Unstoned." According to David Dodd, this alternate name refers to a sign in front of Ken Kesey's La Honda home around 1966 (Dodd 23). The song will not appear again in the known audio archive of the band.

Why Listen: Cardboard Cowboy, Cream Puff War, Viola Lee.

Here is the streaming audio: https://archive.org/details/gd66-07-29.sbd.vernon.9051.sbeok.shnf



Grateful Dead
P.N.E Garden Auditorium
Vancouver, BC, Canada
7/30/66

Set 1
1. Dancin' In The Streets
2. King Bee
3. One Kind of Favor
4. You Don't Have to Ask
5. Hey Little One
6. Beat It On Down The Line
7. Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
8. Minglewood Blues

The first thing that struck me was that when the Grateful Dead were announced, one can hear nary an applause from the audience. The band really was an unknown on this venture. There is also some interesting banter when testing the mics prior to the beginning of the show. According to Phil, the word of the day is "Nark," which Bob tells the crowd is what a dog with hairlip says. The sound on Dancin' is a bit rough, and if played too loud will cause some distortion. The early state of the band is clear in this recording, as the harmonizing isn't quite there. Apparently the lack of audio quality from this string of shows provided the band with the ammunition to ask Bear Stanley to take a break as their soundman. Dennis McNally writes that they were fed up with his constant tinkering, delays, and inconsistent sound.

The standout on this recording is Pigpen. His organ is loud in the mix and comes across very well. His harmonica is also quite good during Schoolgirl.  Also of note is Minglewood, which on this date is very raw. It sounds as though Bob channels his energy into shouting the song. To me it's reminiscent of his 80's screeching, but just an early incantation of it. It's interesting but not very good. The song is also not the rocker it later becomes. It's quite the interesting comparison.

Why listen: King Bee, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.

You can listen to this set here: https://archive.org/details/gd1966-07-29.sbd.GEMS.94633.flac16



Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Should I come back?

I wonder if anybody else reads this blog?

I stopped following this path after I lost hearing in one ear and was hesitant to listen via headphones. I then totaled my car, which allowed me to play shows through my IPOD which is now no longer possible.

I am kind of on the fence, wanting to do it, but knowing the work that goes into it. If there are people out there, I will consider it.