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Dso Original Set Lists V. Gd Set Lists


Guest Rob Eaton

Original set lists v. GD set lists  

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  1. 1. Looking for input from the community!

    • Prefer DSO Original Set Lists
    • Prefer GD set Lists


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Who's to say that what are referred to as "original" setlists by DSO may not have become "recreations" by DSO down the road had the Grateful Dead not disbanded in 1995?

Every Grateful Dead show was an original. Continuing in the tradition of the Grateful Dead only lends itself to continued creativity by DSO.

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honestly, i prefer the original setlists because there seems to have that "GD" factor, whereas there is more freedom to FLOW...the recreations {even tho GD had that freedom to FLOW} keep the band locked in to what was played {and how to a lesser degree} that night...

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Given what I saw Saturday night at the Regency Ballroom in SF, I should probably change my vote to recreations!!

John,your review and others from this past and present run are making me drool , maybe a third choice "I like it all" is needed , but I am hoping to catch one of those shows like you saw Sat night ...

:dsorocks:

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Doesn't really matter Rob. Originals, GD setlists. It's ALL good. Doing originals prolly gives you guys time to work on songs that weren't played too often in the Dead's repertoire. Hence giving you guys a chance to hone your craft so to speak, and do something different. Frees you up a little bit I would imagine.

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My comments are similar to JFolks, The original concept of DSO was to recreate Grateful Dead Shows and for old fans of the GD that is a fun concept, but the band has matured over the years and the Original or Elective set lists allow for incredible creative work on the music, So I am a big fan of both. I do think we can use the Dead show base as a powerful tool to draw in fans at the right time in the right city, looking forward to the Cali run...see you all around the playground.

Dr V.

+1 Not an easy vote. For me the electives get a slight edge because of the new combos and JGB tunes mixed in.

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  • 2 weeks later...

As a 58 year old Starhead/Deadhead I gotta put in a vote for re-creations. :icon14:

Elective Setlists are great because they almost certainly bring us Lisa, :wub: but they lack the hardwired connection to the day that Re-creations bring. My first DSO show, 4/27/2000-Somerville Theatre, brought me right back to 6/9/76-Boston Music Hall, a remarkable dead show that I had the pleasure of attending. What can electives bring that work on the level of hearing, again, the magic of rolling out a St.Stephen after a nearly 5-year hiatus? :580: Beyond the inspiring music of the Dead and the phenomenal playing of DSO, this cosmic connection to the past, and the ever-kindling hope that it will happen again, make re-creations the awesome experience that they are.

Even better would be, as is being done now for the NYE show, advance knowledge of the show -- maybe in a gotta-log-in place on the website, so others don't see this advance notice as a spoiler. :(

Electives are like the Modern Art of the dead world -- Re-creations are like the Old Masters. Both are worth the price of admission, but I'll take a Rembrandt over a Rothko any day! :shakehandhug:

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Electives are like the Modern Art of the dead world -- Re-creations are like the Old Masters. Both are worth the price of admission, but I'll take a Rembrandt over a Rothko any day! :shakehandhug:

YES! Agree completely with what he said!!! But for a different reason: for me it is because I am too young to have seen the grateful dead and going to see DSO will always be as close as I can get to seeing what I missed out on and geek out about- it is the guessing games and arguments with ignorant audience members (that guy yelling that it was an '81 show in Dewey Beach this summer with Lisa on the stage was about the most ridiculous) that really make the experience so absurdly FUN in every way. BUT, that fun just continues when you guys come out for an elective and some people know from the stage set-up, and some people don't know until you announce it, but everyone is truly wondering wtf is going to come next and are blown away by each choice. Plus, its so fun to hear how you toy with the sound in electives and sometimes keep certain parts true to a certain era to an extent in some, then do it more "your way" in others, and I WANT MORE DSO ORIGINAL SONGS because it just keeps your music even more true to the grateful dead legacy.

DON'T CHANGE A THING!

OH, but what John A said about picking an EPIC 2nd set to do, but doing your own first set to get into that second set would be SO AWESOME in my humble, geeky opinion, because I can just see my face melting with something like that (us Deviled Eggs have actually joked about this from time to time when we skip to the 2nd set when listening to the Dead, but he always tells me all the reasons why you guys will never do this, and I keep saying I don't care, I still want it).... it would be like you guys writing your own map to the second set treasure and THAT is a hunt I wanna freakin go on! Maybe it's just silly, too, I'll admit that, but it would be totally fun and I would talk about it for a long while. Hehe.

Love 'em both, hate to choose, (after all, my first show WAS that AMAZING elective show in ATL, Feb '09, and coming from a person who went into that show not liking the grateful dead AT ALL because her friends made her, and then walking out absolutely, positively determined to find out all I can about this magical thing I had stumbled into, it does show that you don't have to do recreations to channel the vibe, and that your new fans are JUST as likely to become lifers from an elective as from a gd setlist) but I still have to go with recreations because now that I AM a deadhead, and didn't get to be there, it's just the absolute best thing in the world to experience.

And thank you for nobody ever calling me out on my run-on sentence structure, I am aware of it and do it intentionally and I know it grates on some of your nerves :)

Thank you for a real good time, every time!

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How about a place on the website where we can know, as soon as the band decides, what era the show is? Someplace you have to log into, so no one who doesn't want to sees what's coming up.

Personally I don't really want to know the exact show in advance. Within the comfortable radius of 2 hours from home I'm gonna try & catch all the shows. But, and please don't flame me for my limited taste, I'm not likely to make a 5-hour road trip to Sayreville NJ to catch a 92 show. So knowing the era would be a cool tool for those who want it.

I know there are different ideas out there about the eras -- here's my humble offering which focuses on the DSO personnel involved, rather than thematic changes in the dead zone:

The Early Years (1966 - 2/18/71)

One Drummer, No Donna (2/19/71 - 3/24/72)

One Drummer & Donna (3/25/72 - 10/19/74)

Two Drummers & Donna (10/20/71 - 2/17/79)

Brent and beyond (4/22/79 - 1995)

Elective Setlists

Terrapin Nation Shows

Also please get Carlos Santana to play himself on NYE in Bridgeport. :539:

Thanks for a great decade of DSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :dsorocks:

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How about a place on the website where we can know, as soon as the band decides, what era the show is? Someplace you have to log into, so no one who doesn't want to sees what's coming up.

I really like that idea. The bottom line for me is that it would probably cause me to see a few more shows than I do now.

Basically, I hit anything in striking distance plus a few others as time allows. But if there was a show being played, say 3 hours from me on a weeknight, I would normally not go. But, if I knew it was a late 60s/early 70s show, I'd pull out all the stops to be there.

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The last two posts are very interesting....but it cuts a number of ways..

On one hand I go to all the DSO shows in the general St. Louis area...If I knew in advance they were doing a late 80's show or an elective there is reasonable chance I would skip it...basically to my own detriment..because while I do have some initial dissapoinment that the show is not in my wheelhouse 72 to Keiths Death...I end up having a great time.

For shows in proximity but not local I generally will not travel...If I knew they were doing a 70's show in say Carbondale, Or Columbia...I would do everything to get there..but prefer not to roll the dice if I have to take off work etc...

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The last two posts are very interesting....but it cuts a number of ways..

On one hand I go to all the DSO shows in the general St. Louis area...If I knew in advance they were doing a late 80's show or an elective there is reasonable chance I would skip it...basically to my own detriment..because while I do have some initial dissapoinment that the show is not in my wheelhouse 72 to Keiths Death...I end up having a great time.

For shows in proximity but not local I generally will not travel...If I knew they were doing a 70's show in say Carbondale, Or Columbia...I would do everything to get there..but prefer not to roll the dice if I have to take off work etc...

I feel much the same as you, especially about the 70s shows (predictable, right?). When I walk in and see the later era set up, I feel a bit let down but it never matters because I always have a great time. I think if I had the option to know the era of local show, I probably wouldn't look because I enjoy the surprise and even if it wasn't one of my favorite eras, I'd go. That's because after 11 years of seeing this band I still consider it a remarkable treat that I can capture some of the magic I thought was lost forever in '95. So I grab all I can, within reason. I'm just saying reason would be tossed out the door if I knew that show 3 hours down the road was going to be a '69 or a '73...

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I don't know about you guys, but when I see that B3 onstage, and the big three set up, I get super excited!! Actually, just seeing the B3 onstage is enough for me! LOVE me some Brent era setlists, and love me some Barraco on that sweet sounding organ!

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I don't know about you guys, but when I see that B3 onstage, and the big three set up, I get super excited!! Actually, just seeing the B3 onstage is enough for me! LOVE me some Brent era setlists, and love me some Barraco on that sweet sounding organ!

I agree herd, when I see the b3 I get psyched, and then when I the extra mike I get extra psyched. I love the melding of eras, from 69 to 95 in any given elective. In what gd era would you have the pleasure of hearing King Solomans>Viola Lee, to END THE FIRST SET! sickness. :dsorocks:

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Guest Lisacat

I don't know about you guys, but when I see that B3 onstage, and the big three set up, I get super excited!! Actually, just seeing the B3 onstage is enough for me! LOVE me some Brent era setlists, and love me some Barraco on that sweet sounding organ!

ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!

OH and also get excited when I see the Lisa Mic up.

Thats why I love electives I guess. I'll take Brent, Pig, and Lisa all in one show. A GD free for all.

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  • 4 months later...

After attending the HOB show earlier this week in Boston I felt compelled to add my thoughts to this thread. Two friends of mine dragged me to my first DSO show in Lowell in 2009. I was quite skeptical of the concept, and the Dead were so important to me. But I went out to Lowell, and was just blown away. Something I thought was gone forever had actually come back to life. It was a surreal and amazing experience, and an epic 1972 show. It was so good I had no problem forgiving the band for running out of time and missing an Uncle John's Band--Johnny B Goode encore.

My next DSO show was at Lupos, an impressive 1974 show. Then Lowell again for a solid 80's show. By that point I had become a 70's snob (I only saw 90s shows with the Dead), but a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Then the HOB show. Yes the band played their hearts out, and lots of people seemed to be having a great time. But for me, my first taste of an original set list was quite frankly a bit confusing. DSO's first Boston show in five years, a premier venue in Boston, perhaps my expectations were too high or in another direction. The band rocked, people danced, but it wasn't recreating the Dead experience for me. Trucking into Fire and drums/space was incredible and made the night worthwhile for me, but otherwise I felt more like I was at a bar listening to an excellent band, but not transported to another place like at the other shows, and how Dead shows were for me.

If this had been my first show, it probably would have confirmed my doubts about the whole idea. Which brings up another point. With a good crowd and a return to Boston, I feel the band would have been better served in terms of growing the fan base by playing a ripping recreation from an old Boston show. I'm not opposed to the idea of original set lists, but I just didn't understand this one.

Sorry for the long rant, and especially since this is my first post here and I never wrote about the other epic shows I had seen before. But I felt compelled to share my thoughts. Looking forward to Lowell later this year...

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After attending the HOB show earlier this week in Boston I felt compelled to add my thoughts to this thread. Two friends of mine dragged me to my first DSO show in Lowell in 2009. I was quite skeptical of the concept, and the Dead were so important to me. But I went out to Lowell, and was just blown away. Something I thought was gone forever had actually come back to life. It was a surreal and amazing experience, and an epic 1972 show. It was so good I had no problem forgiving the band for running out of time and missing an Uncle John's Band--Johnny B Goode encore.

My next DSO show was at Lupos, an impressive 1974 show. Then Lowell again for a solid 80's show. By that point I had become a 70's snob (I only saw 90s shows with the Dead), but a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Then the HOB show. Yes the band played their hearts out, and lots of people seemed to be having a great time. But for me, my first taste of an original set list was quite frankly a bit confusing. DSO's first Boston show in five years, a premier venue in Boston, perhaps my expectations were too high or in another direction. The band rocked, people danced, but it wasn't recreating the Dead experience for me. Trucking into Fire and drums/space was incredible and made the night worthwhile for me, but otherwise I felt more like I was at a bar listening to an excellent band, but not transported to another place like at the other shows, and how Dead shows were for me.

If this had been my first show, it probably would have confirmed my doubts about the whole idea. Which brings up another point. With a good crowd and a return to Boston, I feel the band would have been better served in terms of growing the fan base by playing a ripping recreation from an old Boston show. I'm not opposed to the idea of original set lists, but I just didn't understand this one.

Sorry for the long rant, and especially since this is my first post here and I never wrote about the other epic shows I had seen before. But I felt compelled to share my thoughts. Looking forward to Lowell later this year...

You make some valid points. However, when putting together a tour many factors come into play such as: what eras from night to night, the repeating of songs, stage size what was played in that area previous,, etc, etc

We have to make it work for us, our crew, the venue, the fans. I saw the Dead over 23 yrs. A lot were magical, some were ok and some downright sucked. At the same time friends who thought a show was so-so were amazed that I could think the show was off the charts. And visa-versa. One mans garbage is another mans treasure. Rest assured the next time at the HOB in Boston will not be an elective- you can count on it because that is how we roll. RB

PS Next time you are blown away its only fair you write about it!!

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At the same time friends who thought a show was so-so were amazed that I could think the show was off the charts. And visa-versa.

I think the kids are saying "off the chain" these days.

I, for one, appreciate you going old school.

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WOW! That IS a hard question. I like when you all play the setlists of a show that I was not able to see way back then but I honestly think you all let it rip more when you do your own stuff, plus I personally like when Lisa comes on stage, which of course we don't always get from those Non-Donna days. The recent show at Irving Plaza was awesome but seemed like it was kinda rushed and forgive me if I am wrong, but you guys often seem to rush the songs a little more when you are doing previous dead sets. You all seem to be a lot more free and wild and psychedelic when you do your originals. The show at The Electric Factory was unfuckingbefuckingleivable (excuse my extraneous use of the French language) but I mean, my Lord...You guys were out of sight completely psychedelic and gave us what some are saying, the best DSO show ever! And Dear Prudence? My GOD what a treat! On the other hand, the New Years Eve shows and run-ups to NYE were awesome and jam packed with favorites, and those were Grateful Dead setlists.

So i guess I am saying that I love what you guys are doing, don't change a damn thing!

"Goodbye mama and papa, Goodbye Jack and Jill; The grass aint green the wine aint sweeter, either side of the hill!"

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