Disc 1
The first disc contains the
entire early show, plus the first couple of songs from the late show. The band
opens the show with “Mason’s Children,” a song they played only around that
time and then abandoned. It’s a song I’ve always dug, ever since I heard a
version played on a Grateful Dead radio show on WZLX in the late 1980s (I still
have my tape of that program somewhere, I hope). This version has a good
energy, and they do jam on it a bit toward the end. All in all, a cool choice
for opener, with a bit of a strange ending. They follow that with “Casey Jones,”
which is fiery and fantastic, Jerry really getting into it, especially vocally.
Wow, a couple of high-energy numbers to get the show underway. They then slow
things down with a great rendition of “Black Peter,” this version featuring
some good jamming. The guys take their time with this one, which is wonderful.
All three of these songs were relatively new at the time, with “Casey Jones”
and “Black Peter” ending up on Workingman’s
Dead (“Mason’s Children” didn’t make the cut).
Following “Black Peter,” there
is some banter with the audience, and then some tuning. “You’ll thank us for it in the end,” Jerry says. The band then
delivers a good, brisk “Mama Tried,” and follows that with “Hard To Handle,”
the only Pigpen song of the first show. And perhaps because it’s his only real
moment to shine, Pigpen seizes it and delivers a damn fine performance, with
the band solidly jamming behind him. The jam kind of takes over, the band
really rocking here. They continue in that energetic realm with a grooving “Cumberland
Blues,” another song that would be included on Workingman’s Dead. Then we get the full “That’s It For The Other
One,” beginning with “Cryptical Envelopment.” I dig this song, apart from the
line “His mind remained unbended,”
which always strikes me as kind of stupid. A drum solo emerges from “Cryptical.”
They take the solo to a kind of quiet place so that then “The Other One” can
burst open with a tremendous force, a fantastic touch. This version of “The
Other One” comes on strong, unhinged, almost angry, like a monster hurling
itself into a storm with the intention of defeating weather, and likely to do
just that. And of course this is where the real jamming happens. “The Other One”
slides nicely back into “Cryptical,” and then into “Cosmic Charlie.” I love
this song, and when I was a teenager I had a fish named Cosmic Charlie, a
beautiful blue fish that would dance whenever I’d play Grateful Dead tapes.
Seriously. No other music moved him. Only Dead. Once he even jumped clear out
of his bowl, landing on the shelf, so I had to purchase a much bigger tank for
him since I wasn’t going to stop listening to my Dead tapes. I wish I had seen
the Dead play this song, but they had stopped performing it by the time I saw
my first show in 1988. This is a really good version, by the way. And that’s
how the early show ends.
The late show opens with a
really sweet, cool version of “Uncle John’s Band,” followed by a gorgeous and
interesting version of “High Time,” two songs that would be included on Workingman’s Dead.
Disc 2
The second disc picks up where
the first disc left off, beginning with a kind of odd and delightful rendition
of “Dire Wolf,” with Jerry even urging folks to sing along with the chorus. Tom
Constanten’s presence makes this rendition different from others. That’s
followed by “Easy Wind,” with Pigpen giving us a nice bluesy vocal performance.
This version feels sluggish at moments near the beginning, but finds its
groove, and the band ends up jamming on it for a while. They then do “China Cat
Sunflower.” I really enjoy versions of this song from this time because of TC’s
work on keys. That catchy part feels an integral part of the song’s structure
to me. “China Cat” slides into “I Know You Rider,” as it nearly always did.
Then they covered “Good Lovin’,” giving an energetic rendition of this fun rock
song. The jam is kind of interesting, a bit choppy. Bobby follows that with “Me
And My Uncle.” Bob then tells the crowd, “We’re
going to play the broken string blues again.” As they’re fixing stuff on
stage, you can hear some stage banter. While things are getting put right,
Bob Weir begins “Monkey And The Engineer” solo, with fellow band members
joining in. It’s a really cool, loose rendition, a nice treat.
The disc then shifts into music
from the following night, January 3rd, at the same venue. On our tapes, we used
to call this stuff “filler,” you know, because more music was preferable to
empty space at the end of a tape. What we get is the first song of the early
show, “Morning Dew.” Yeah, a “Morning Dew” opener! Kind of wild, right? Talk
about getting right into the thick of things. And this is a good version. It is
mellow as it begins, but certainly builds in power. It goes into
some exciting territory toward the end. The disc then skips to partway through
the late show that night for a good version of “Big Boss Man.” The disc skips again to the end of the late show, giving us the final three songs of the
night. “Dancing In The Street” is a lot of fun, and includes a drum solo, with
Bob then trying to conduct the audience in a three-part clapping bit, which is
certainly unusual. That song wraps up the set, and then the encore begins with
crowd-favorite “St. Stephen,” the audience getting excited at the first few
notes. I love how delicate and intimate that one section is before the band
comes blasting in again. That leads directly to “In The Midnight Hour” to
finish the night.
Disc 3
The third disc then contains
the rest of the late show. And though the year was then 1970, this chunk of
music is pure 1969. The four songs on this disc (which total approximately
seventy-five minutes) are ones the Dead played a lot in 1969, and in fact they
are presented in the same order on the Live/Dead
album. The disc opens with Bob joking a bit about the band being ready.
Remember, this follows “Monkey And The Engineer.” Anyway, the disc opens with a
half-hour “Dark Star.” The band eases into it, no hurry here. I always love the
interesting percussion used in versions of this song from this time. And of
course TC is totally in his element here. It is after the first verse that
things get weird. It’s almost like they’ve slipped into some other realm, and
are looking around to get their bearings before adding any thought of their own
to the space. Perhaps the void is deeper, more formed than what they might fill
it with. This is a strange, fascinating, possibly frightening “Dark Star,” and
reason enough to own this volume of Dave’s
Picks. As you float in darkness, lights and sounds will streak past you,
some close enough to burn, or to set you off in some trajectory, not of your
own choosing. But after a while you find you can gain some control of your
movements, and your breathing relaxes enough that you can more fully take in
your surroundings. You find small beings there who are just as interested
in you as you are in them. Questions abound, and are asked and perhaps answered
through telepathy, and a trust is established. You can now integrate yourself
into their existence, their space, but once that’s accomplished you leave them
to explore on your own. That’s when things get closer, louder, and a groove is
found, and things seem good, even somewhat steady, and you’re by the side of a
river, with flowers above. A woman rises from the water, takes your hand and
engages you in dance, any remaining fears disappearing as her hand touches your
skin. After a while the band delivers the song’s second verse. And
everything is gentle now, relaxed. Moments after the second verse, the band
shifts into “St. Stephen,” the crowd cheering. This is a really good, rousing,
solid “St. Stephen,” and it includes the William Tell section (unlike the
version on the second disc). “St. Stephen” moves directly into “The Eleven,” a complex
and intriguing song (it almost always strikes me that way). This version is
popping with energy at times, and then deliberately fragments near the end. Then
suddenly we are lifted up by the opening of “Turn On Your Lovelight,” which
rocks us out of the gate. The crowd is certainly appreciating what the band is
doing here, though Pigpen teases “Hey, I can
hardly hear you.” And then, of course, it’s time for him to shine as he
engages the audience and directs the band. He tells the audience what to do if
they’re lonely in the night, first to take their hands out of their pockets. The
crowd claps along to his rap, which is wild. “Damn it, woman, turn on your light, you know what I want.” And
listen to everyone singing “Shine on me.”
What a great version. This is an excellent night of music, and I’m glad
it has received a proper release.
CD Track List
Disc 1
- Mason’s Children
- Casey Jones
- Back Peter
- Mama Tried
- Hard To Handle
- Cumberland Blues
- That’s It For The Other One >
- Cosmic Charlie
- Uncle John’s Band
- High Time
Disc 2
- Dire Wolf
- Easy Wind
- China Cat Sunflower >
- I Know You Rider
- Good Lovin’
- Me And My Uncle
- Monkey And The Engineer
- Morning Dew
- Big Boss Man
- Dancing In The Street
- St. Stephen >
- In The Midnight Hour
Disc 3
- Dark Star >
- St. Stephen >
- The Eleven >
- Turn On Your Lovelight
Dave’s Picks Volume 30 was released in early May, 2019. My copy
arrived on May 7th. It is a limited edition of 20,000 copies. And if you
ordered the full year’s subscription, the bonus disc arrived with this set. I
intend to post a separate review of the bonus disc.
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