gr8fulpair

Non-Pig HTHs do not qualify, haha. With all due respect in that 82 version Etta James sounds terrible. I don’t hate the Tower of Power horns in there, but don’t love them either. Both of those elements are totally incongruous to the character of the song. it does however appear I’m fighting a losing battle against 8-6-71 so I’ll concede the debate but won’t change my opinion. Maybe I could arm wrestle Ed into submission and get him to sell everybody on 4-29-71, yeah that’s the ticket! 😂🤣😅

Ed, stop fucking up my fantasies with your interesting facts and expert analysis. Wouldn’t it just be easier to agree with me and I’d just crawl back under my rock with my soundboard of 4/29/71. 😎😅😳

4-29-71 Hard To Handle, Filmore East. So after listening to this version of HTH for the umptenth time, I am professing this is some of Jerry’s best work. Still get chills all the way. He slays every nuance of this song. Pig is spot on. The band is in sync. I’d really love some honest feedback on this and songs/versions you think are better AND WHY? I wanna learn, but can’t get past how fucking good that is. (Ed is gonna bust my balls about his fav but I leave it to the experts…., you fine folks, ha!) please, you have to listen before responding, it’s on archive or ladies and gentlemen the Grateful Dead release. You won’t regret the time spent, lol.

The recordings on Relisten are pretty rough including the Charlie Miller (which is odd). I thought the Rooster was noteworthy and was all over the China Rider that followed. My general consensus is Brent killed Rooster in the mid-late 80s and his board made that song in addition to Bobby’s slide. Love that song, and that story AC!

That’s a gem right there, I don’t care who you are. Love ending set one with Deal. A hoedown.

Guess the new phrase is “never miss a Monday show!” Dang…

It was everything a Sunday show should be, except undersold. The balcony was VIP so just one big room and they sold every square inch. Despite the storms around, heard they sold out. It’s not every show you launch from the first notes, but this one did just that. Me and BillK ended up in the middle of this group of 20 something’s from Santa Cruz. I gotta say, those skinny kids got some sharp elbows. Almost mosh pit like in there. During the feedback jam, the touch heads all left so space opened up. Show itself was fairly short so they had an hour left after the encore. Perfect selection of fillers. Letter to Maria a new one on me, but they rocked it out! Thanks band a crew for a great run!!

2-3-79 Indianapolis Promised land Candy man Mama tried Brown eyed Looks like rain China cat > rider Minglewood Stagger Lee Heart of me Music never stopped Scarlet > Fire Estimated > Eyes Drums Other one Wharfrat I need a miracle Casey jones One more sat nite F: stir it up wowzers,… that one didn’t leave much in the tank. That 2nd set, near apocalyptic. Another really beautiful old theater.

Finally checked from my bucket list seeing a show at the Warfield. It did not disappoint, due in large part to the scorcher we got from the band. I’m an early era guy so not my favorite collection of songs but nobody puts lipstick on a pig better than dso. They’ve given me new appreciation for many songs I’d usually skip over. Loser was gut wrenching, cc rider just ripped, and shakedown bout brought that gorgeous ceiling down. Second set up to drums was non stop fun. Skip was playing Phil’s Mission Control bass and let me tell ya, the bombs were flying. Cherry on top being the Visions and going down the road. Dance party was bit scattered due to the seats, but we managed to carve out the space we needed. ps: 1 draft beer = $20…. However the security staff couldn’t have been kinder. The one behind us was trying to help somebody find a lighter for their joint. Thanks to some great folks that showed us how Warfield shows are done, the experience was exceptional. Thanks as always to the band and crew!

Hell yeah, we even spent some time on the rail last night! Place was slow to fill up, but eventually got pretty tight. The slope and the seats had lots to do with that. We carved out a small flat spot at the top and wore a few layers off the carpet. There were some gems in there last night but the closing sequence was a mind bender. Crazy Fingers, oh yeah baby, Jeff killed it. Not a sound from the crowd during the tender Dew moments. Killer place and crowd, thanks much to band and crew for laying it down!

Dukes has twang. No other mayo has twang. Also why no other mayo lives in my fridge.

Better be in the car line by 9:30am. We always spend Thur night in buckeye lake and just mosey over in the early am.

Fox Theatre, ATL, GA 5/17/77 prob one of the best I’ve heard. Heard on Spotify. This song has deep meaning for me. If it does for you have a listen or post your best. Share some love!!!

Our hipster hotel was cooler than the venue, but the music at the venue was decidedly better!! 😅

46yr old set list brought back to life in a venue not quite three times that age. The two went together famously. Cool part of downtown adjacent to Olympic park. Minglewood, high time and music never stopped were my first set highlights. Really the whole second set was a highlight. Drums into other one heart pounding. Security was a little rigid about the aisles, but there was some dance space to be found. A thousand thanks to the whole dso operation for bringing us the goods.

Birmingham 10/13/23 Hell in a bucket Ramble on Hard to handle Peggy o Cumberland Let it rock Broken arrow Here comes sunshine Sunrise Revolution China cat>> Rider Truckin Nobody’s fault Drums Space Low spark Going down the road China doll Johnny B goode The shape I’m in Golden road no slack in the rope!! Misting weather and a show to make it glorious. Wow, tons of dance space on the Astro turf!

Giza Sound and Light Theater, Cairo Egypt, 9-16-78 Bertha Good love Candy man Looks like Rain Row Jimmy El Paso Ramble Minglewood Deal Hamza El Din Ollin Arageed>Fire on the Mtn Iko Iko I Need a Miracle All over now Shakedown Drums Truckin Stella Around and Around Sunrise One more sat nite Jeff said the Sunrise was supposed to be in the middle of the second set but the original set list didn’t show it. I’m fucking glad we got it tho cause there are few things I love more than Lisa singing that song. Another stellar performance from the best band in the land. The Shakedown alone was worth the price of admission.

Alabama Getaway Greatest Story Loose Lucy Cassidy Tom Thumbs Lay down sally Lazy lightning/supplication Lazy river road Feel like a Stranger Here comes sunshine Playin>Uncle John’s China>Rider Drums space St Stephen Let it grow Days between Playin reprise Let it Rock The first set, while masterfully executed left a lot of good stuff on the table for the second set to be special and i think they picked some really choice stuff. It smoked. The Days Between was a stunner, Jeff owns that song!! Nice big crowd, perfect weather. Good to be with Doc for his return to the scene, haha all smiles.

The year Rude had a boot on his foot up to his knee we got ADA at several shows that were shoulder to shoulder and we had like an acre of dance space in our roped off area.

You’ll still find me on street corners preaching about 4/29/71 being the greatest performance the Dead ever did, which of course includes the best Hard to Handle ever performed. Tea has a rookies ear and really just doesn’t listen to enough GD to weigh in on this topic. Nice guy tho.

The original Stone Jack Baller.

I’m gonna say full on boner!!

Made my day to see that!! Soak it up bro, you earned every minute.

A woman stands nude in front of the mirror noticing all of her sags and wrinkles. “Honey, say something good about me to make me feel better about myself.” ”Well,” he says, “seems your vision is spot on!”

Doc, love you my friend. Hoping this is the end of a long battle. You’ve been resilient and you’ll be back to your old self soon enough. Can’t wait til then!