Northern Wish

I was blissfully unaware
of everything except the sun shining
and the road in front of me
until I saw red lights in my rear view mirror
 
 
that right there is the makings of a crunchy noodling jam-hit, I tell you what.

I listened to 11.14.73 on a drive from CT to NY on Sunday. I got a fucking speeding thanks in no small part to that Eyes > Other One, Wharf Rat, Me and My Uncle. I was blissfully unaware of everything except the sun shining and the road in front of me until I saw red lights in my rear view mirror.

05-03-1986
 
Cold Rain and Snow opened the show and as it slowly plodded along I couldn’t help but wonder how worried fans were about Jerry Garcia’s well-being at the time. 1986 was a rough year for Garcia. Years of poor diet and even poorer decisions left his body a mess. In July of that year he fell into a diabetic coma that lasted 5 days. As we all know he made a miraculous recovery and one I am selfishly thankful for or else my life never would have changed in the way it did once I saw the band.
 
The Race Is On told everyone in attendance that the Kentucky Derby was underway, or soon to be or had been completed.  By the time They Love Each Other was halfway through I started wondering if this might end up being the weakest show of the set. Garcia just isn’t quite there. Phil was certainly doing his best to keep this ship afloat while moving forward. CC Rider makes another appearance and I soon hoped this might be the turning point in the show since its one of Garcia’s best accompaniment songs.
 
High Time was up next, complete with some cheesy synth from Brent during the intro. Man. The 80’s was one fucked up decade but I love this song so full pass. BIODTL flew right into Promised Land with Phil providing fire charges throughout. A rollicking Deal closed out what had to be the quickest first set thus far clocking in less than 48 minutes. In fact this the first show which only takes up 2 cds. So much for marathon Dead shows that one could potentially hope last up to 4 hrs. Youch.
 
My favourite second set opener featured Scarlet Begonias but with a far too quick intro. I could listen to those chords for minutes on end before Jerry starts to sing. Brent Mydland and Phil came out ready to rock for this one while Garcia’s fingers were back to their nimble selves as they danced around the fret board, especially during his solo and then the segue into Fire On The Mountain. There is some really layered playing going on as they make their way to Fire. This show has picked up a ton of steam and I am starting to understand why it was chosen. Any worries a fan may have had up to this point about Garcia’s health must surely had been alleviated or at the least forgotten. Heck, most were probably concerned for themselves by now. Garcia was forgetting some words and his voice was having technically difficulties but all in all this was a pretty fine version.
 
Man Smart Women Smarter began and I was almost immediately giggling. Which other band would dare offer a massive retrospective of this scale and include Garcia’s issues as well as Weir’s out of tune guitar? God bless the good ole Grateful Dead. Funny enough, my other favourite “Weir’s guitar is fucked and out of tune” moment from all the tapes I gathered over the years also happened in 1986. GDTRFB comes out during the tail end of Women Are Smarter and I have to say, I love it when these intros are as seamless as this one but for my money the early 70’s had the absolute best ones. This one has a really nice spirited finale with Jerry, Brent and Bob giving all the vocals they had.
 
I could still hear some issues with Bob’s guitar and not long after that they left the stage for Drumz which was a touch sad because it seemed like Mind Left Body Jam, or something in that vein, was about to float from the speakers. Drumz was interesting due to what sounded like a loop and some digi-weirdness. I’m not sure how well it ages but at the time I am sure a few heads were exploding. My favourite part about this one is that it inspired me to create a playlist of some of the ones which I find particularly tasty. This stuff always sounds incredible on my main stereo. Bob and Jerry come out to start Space and they create a fantastic canvass of sound together, especially Weir. He sounded perfect to my ears. Great sustain and delay happening from the two of them. By the time Phil had a belly full of wine and joined the stage we were on our way to The Other One. The second verse was really trippy and it was a shame this version ended far too quickly.
 
Comes A Time made an all-too-rare appearance and it’s one damn sweet version. Brent Mydland added the most important colours to Garcia’s solo. I think this was my favourite part of the set but we are definitely heading to the era when his ballads were the best parts of shows that we all waited all night for.
 
Sugar Magnolia inched it’s way out and before you know it we are back into a blazing dance party thanks to Phil getting behind the wheel so he can drive the bus again. Weir’s guitar sounds completely fuckadoozled once again but it’s easy enough to drown him out since everyone else is pounding away. None the less, I could never blame anyone for getting caught up in how bad his guitar sounds here because its almost fun to listen to how shitty it is coming across.
 
Sure enough after Phil hits a note there is a colossal sound of badness. Something bad went down. Before you know it, Bob states “Listen. My guitar is broken. Jerry’s guitar is broken…’and all hell broke loss?’…..we’ll see you all tomorrow” Phil steps up and says “What Bob meant to say was is that Jerry’s fingers are totally frozen his guitar is broken and my mind is blown so I don’t think we are gonna do an encore tonight. We’ll see you all tomorrow”
 
Just like that. Show over.
 
By the way, what were Garcia’s first words when awaking from his coma and seeing a room full of family/friends you ask?
 
 "I'm not Beethoven."
 

http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/01/radiohead-to-headline-lollapalooza-other-major-north-american-festivals/
 
If Osheaga can get them at the end of July, then perhaps the contract would allow another date down the 417 at the start of the month. Hopefully Monahan pulls through for you folks in Ottawa! 

http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/01/radiohead-to-headline-lollapalooza-other-major-north-american-festivals/
 
If Osheaga can get them at the end of July, then perhaps the contract would allow another date down the 417 at the start of the month. Hopefully Monahan pulls through for you folks in Ottawa! 

This is a pretty stellar double bill! Hopefully they bring this one to the North East:
 
4/27/16  - Oklahoma City, OK - The Criterion (w/ The Barr Brothers)
4/28/16  - Houston, TX - Reinvention Music Center (w/ The Barr Brothers)
5/12-13/16 - Louisville, KY - Iroquois Amphitheater (w/ Twin Limb)
5/13-15/16 - Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival
5/26/16 - Indianapolis, IN - Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn (w/ The Barr Brothers)
5/28/16 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater (w/ Fruit Bats)
5/29/16 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater (w/ The Barr Brothers)
 
http://mymorningjacket.com/events

This is a pretty stellar double bill! Hopefully they bring this one to the North East:
 
4/27/16  - Oklahoma City, OK - The Criterion (w/ The Barr Brothers)
4/28/16  - Houston, TX - Reinvention Music Center (w/ The Barr Brothers)
5/12-13/16 - Louisville, KY - Iroquois Amphitheater (w/ Twin Limb)
5/13-15/16 - Atlanta, GA - Shaky Knees Festival
5/26/16 - Indianapolis, IN - Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn (w/ The Barr Brothers)
5/28/16 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater (w/ Fruit Bats)
5/29/16 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater (w/ The Barr Brothers)
 
http://mymorningjacket.com/events

I've had three going at once with no issues.

I've got a US address so I ship there and bring things into Canada duty free with ease on work trips.
 
If you're ever in a jam, message me and I can help out.

Thank you for this thread. I'm listening as you post.

I'm on a long road trip and have been exploring some of this set.
 
The 1971 show is freaking amazing. I don't know what the source is or the bitrate of my recording blah blah blah but listening to it with the surround function on the car stereo is blowing my mind.
 
Jerry forgets a bunch of lyrics in the first set. What kind of drugs were they doing that year?

As heard on Conan O'Brien:
 
"The Grateful Dead announced today that they will be releasing an 80 CD boxed set. No word yet on which song it will be."

These aren't going to turn your world upside down with a new flavour combo, but I've been hooked on these for months....
 

I remember a very late night over at Booche's when we locked in to this bad boy. Needless to say there wasn't much talking for the next 45 minutes despite the beer and whiskey.

Jason Isbell w/ Shovels and Rope: Monday February 29th.
 
Spotify pre-sale is on now. Password is 24frames:
 
http://www.ticketmaster.com/jason-isbell-toronto-ontario-02-29-2016/event/10004F31E44A7780?artistid=1130320&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=1
 
This should be a good one and it will likely sell out quickly.

I really wish I could have gone.
 
I wonder if they'll do a NYE run? All signs point to yes but then Trey made that speech the other night that only mentioned Mexico not MSG or NYE.
 
I won't be seeing them again until next summer which is a shame because I really believe they are playing better now than in years. This has been a really exciting year to be a Phish fan and it's been a long time since I thought that. I've probably listened to more Phish since May than in the last 2 or 3 years combined.
 
Cheers to all the Phish fans on this board. Patience is a virtue!

Just enter your email address....
 
http://wilcoworld.net/

The new Alabama Shakes is also a nice listen. It was a slow burn for me, took me a couple of listens but now I can't get enough.
 
For those that like their rock a little more ballsy- check out J Roddy Walston and The Business. 

As heard on Conan O'Brien:
 
"The Grateful Dead announced today that they will be releasing an 80 CD boxed set. No word yet on which song it will be."

Maybe the last time. I don't know.

I figured this would be a poll for Sketchiest Skancs.

New Year; same old bullshit.....
 
I had 3 devices going right at noon and only managed to score GA tickets. Glen Close was sold out immediately.
 
Who has my heady RV pass?

Hyundai and back don't rhyme. You'd have to change it up:
 
Hundred dollar hood
On my brokedown Hyundai
Mirror’s dusted up so
You know I'm getting high