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Jerrys B-Day at Poca


Tea

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Set One: Alabama Getaway > Greatest Story Every Told ; Loose Lucy ; Black Throated Wind ; Cumberland Blues ; When I Paint My Masterpiece ; Ramble On Rose ; Hand Jive > Bird Song > Let It Grow

Set Two: Shakedown Street > Dark Star > Shinning Star > drums > space > Playing In The Band > Stella Blue > Going Down The Road Feeling Bad

Encore: Brokedown Palace

Review to come. Really excellent performances!

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From the start of 1st set to shakedown just drenched us all. 6pm start times in mid summer is not the ideal start time. Also when hard copy tix say DOOR 6PM, it would be nice if we were notified show was at 6 and door at 5. We asked Thursday about this and got zero replies. Our entire party who all traveled a long distance missed all of 1st set 1st night besides china rider for this reason. If tickets are misprinted we should be informed. Traveling 750 miles to see a show and not be told the tickets were printed wrong sucks. Not trying to be a dick but missing 1/4 of the 2 shows was upsetting. If I knew the tickets were misprinted id spam everyone to make sure they didn't miss a note and the worst thing is we were just hanging out at the cabin doing nothing.

Show was bad ass btw. LIG ending 1st set and shining star were my highlights. I've never sweated as much in my life as I did during that let it grow or GDTRFB. Solid show all the way. And I told tea that Brokefown is my perfect show encore and I got it. We were danced to death and a swaying song was a perfect send off.

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Really good show!  Great surroundings, great vibe, awesome folks, reasonable security, VERY steamy!  After having missed nearly all of the 1st set the night before, we were primed and ready to wring out everything we could for Jerry's Birthday!

 

Alabama was a welcome kick-off that mostly stayed in its lane although it was clear that the band was ready for lift-off.  GSET was where things ramped up nicely for me.  While this version was decidedly 80's despite Lisa's presence, it had a great buildup that they were intent on maintaining on through a glorious finish!  The layout of the amphitheatre and the stage provided zero breezes.  Zero.  The furious conclusion left me happy to catch my breath but all I caught was heat and humidity.  It was clear that dancing was going to be the only thing that cooled me down even though the more that you give the more it will take.

 

Loose Lucy was again an 80's take but with more silky than raunchy undertones.  Very tight, very fun, always educational.  The sound seemed to rise up to another level for BT Wind.  Rob took charge and told one of my favorite stories with an almost pleading tone.  No hay-fever-sapped vocals tonight – impassioned stuff.  BIG sound!

 

Great Cumberland!  Had to dance part of it on every second beat because it reached warp speed almost from the jump.  I thought a little Barraco flurry before Jeff picked it up in earnest would provide some solace.  Nope.  Really fast, dialed-in, really hot…..really.  The Masterpiece was just that – a work of art!  This is where the vocal harmonizing really started to dominate the songs they were playing.  Someday, life’ll be sweet like a rhapsody!  That someday was happening all around me.  Big sweaty smiles!

 

Ramble on Rose got flat-out smoked.  Always a great finish and this offering was particularly energetic.  Eaton had pleadingly-impassioned tones for BT Wind and now it was time for Jeff to do the same.  Man his vocals were about as good as I’ve heard from him.  Loud and clear when they needed to be, sweet and poignant in just the right places.  Hand Jive was a fun-n-dirty romp.  A little more naughty than nice!

 

The Bird Song > Let it Grow was the highlight of the set!  Not enough superlatives to describe that ride through Bird Song.  Pools of sound that drifted then soared only to return to a flight-plan that took you to the same places through different routes.  Full wax-on / Wax-off during this offering as I Iet the sound take me wherever it wanted to go.  It was all unicorns, rainbows, and glitter until the LIG got cranked up.  Then it just got dirty and mean…seriously mean.  It snaked angrily around for awhile and then the band just collectively kicked the door down.  That sucker stomped around with no regard for the weak.  I felt like I was inside of a dryer turned up to 11 – it battered me around at 150 degrees with the sweet sounds of controlled chaos.  Screaming legs, turbo speeds, balls of lightning rolled along while I begged for mercy, but still asked for more.  After the final notes pierced the air, I almost thought they were going to go into Deal.  The part of me that wanted to remain standing at the end was glad they didn’t sick that one on me.

 

Shakedown.  Funky, melty, silky, breezy. Stompy.  Skip really stepped forward from here.  Big-ass bombs!  At the beginning of another salvo, there was a sound that came out of Jeff’s guitar that freaked me out.  It was like a language I had never heard before and it was LOUD.  It slapped me in the face and then Skip stepped back in and off they went.  After awhile, I thought that sound was just a little sonic hiccup from Jeff that wasn’t supposed to surface.  It ended up becoming one of the themes of this spellbinding jam and surfaced again as an almost growl before it yielded to something a little more structured.  It had to be just me, right?

 

Dark Star.  A version that sounded a little more straightforward than I had become accustomed to with DSO lately.  Not formulaic mind you but it had a few more way-points along the journey that brought you back to the root jam a little more often.  Very satisfying stuff!

Then came the highlight of the night:  Shining Star!  It was indeed that folks.  The whole band shined so brightly it was truly awesome!  I got to see Jerry perform this tune more than a handful of times and always liked how the ladies helped him harmonize to achieve a jaw-dropping effect.  The vocals on this song were just so spot on!  I was amazed at the heights they reached and then Jeff just blasted off into a bliss-jam segment.  Biggest smile of the weekend with a tear or 2 to mix with the sweat! 

 

Had to be off to the side to catch my breath and wits during Drums and Space but it sounded like a localized thunderstorm!   There was some BIG dance happening here too.  I thought Sunny was going to try a triple flip while I’m pretty sure Mason’s Child split into 2 identical people.  I blinked and he was back in one piece but moving faster than my eyes could see.

 

A quicker space and then an ‘80’s take on PITB.  It stayed a little closer to home than some of its predecessors but it more than enough to keep things moving like they should be.  Then sweet, sweet Stella Blue!  A very intentional tempo, with simply crystal-clear vocals from Jeff.  Again, some of the best vocals I have heard from him to date!  It evoked feelings of loss, sadness, and honesty.  No more games – this is the real world now….nothing comes for free.  Everything has its cost.  It was a little too honest for me in that moment but then as if to say there is always hope and joy if you let yourself see and feel it, the song took a triumphant turn towards joy, awe, and love.  Such a wonderful diversity!

 

I could go on-and-on about the GDTRFB.  You know what’s up though…it was a freaking turbo-charged hoedown.  It broke from the gate and somehow got bigger and bigger until I could not spin any faster.  Lights blurred together and shapes that had been flat to start were just perfect circles all around me.  The faster we go….the rounder we get.  It ended with a final burst and just sent me to the ground laughing, sweating, trying to breathe.

Brokedown sent us off up the hill and back to the camp. 

 

Sweet Blog Tea.

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Loose Lucy was again an 80's take but with more silky than raunchy undertones. Very tight, very fun, always educational.

Just to clarify, this was the '74 version. Only time they played it upbeat and was represented on Mars Hotel

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Loose Lucy was again an 80's take but with more silky than raunchy undertones. Very tight, very fun, always educational.

Just to clarify, this was the '74 version. Only time they played it upbeat and was represented on Mars Hotel

Headband - thanks for the clarification!  If anyone needed proof not to listen to a god damn thing I say - here's your evidence.  I heard it the way I heard it but just ask the band if you want to know the truth.

 

Knock 'em Dead in Atlanta :)

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extemporize;-)

I had to look it up:

 

ex·tem·po·rize
ikˈstempəˌrīz/  
verb
verb: extemporize; 3rd person present: extemporizes; past tense: extemporized; past participle: extemporized; gerund or present participle: extemporizing; verb: extemporise; 3rd person present: extemporises; past tense: extemporised; past participle: extemporised; gerund or present participle: extemporising
  1. compose, perform, or produce something such as music or a speech without preparation; improvise.
    "he extemporized at the piano"
    synonyms: improvise, ad lib, play it by ear, think on one's feet;
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Nice review Tea. As we shared dance space for most of this night your description helped me re-live it. I just can't write like that, but am glad you can. Must admit that in addition to induced feelings, I was also feeling a bit emotional about the impact Jerry has had on my life. I spent some time reflecting about whether or not his music would have continued to inspire me the way it currently does if he'd still been playing it through years of declining health, or if it inspires me more now hearing it translated through a masterful guitarist who gets it and can still muscle it for all its worth. This whole scene going on right now is really good for my soul, but I wonder if Jerry had to pass for it to be thriving as it is. I think about the dicatomy of deciding whether to go see the GD (a la rat dog, further, Phil and friends - but with Jerry) vs going to see DSO. Anyway, those thoughts rambled around my head this night and had me feeling a tiny bit morose about losing Jerry but being really happy about the way things turned out. RIP Jerry, your spirit is alive and well!

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Loose Lucy was again an 80's take but with more silky than raunchy undertones. Very tight, very fun, always educational.

Just to clarify, this was the '74 version. Only time they played it upbeat and was represented on Mars Hotel

Headband - thanks for the clarification! If anyone needed proof not to listen to a god damn thing I say - here's your evidence. I heard it the way I heard it but just ask the band if you want to know the truth.

Knock 'em Dead in Atlanta :)

Didn't you tell me Tea how you loved that 90s style Mr Charlie from night 1? :P. Your power is in predicting the exact show before it even begins. This was an original so it just threw you off your game. Plus we got all discombobulated from missing 1st set from night 1. You still are a set list savant and a GD touring legend in my book :).

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For those not yet aware, a good audience recording of this show has been uploaded to Archive.org. I tried to copy and paste the link, but for some reason it would not work. Thanks to Taper Jeff for recording this incredible performance, and for making it available to the masses. We need more serious tapers like him!

 

 

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So if you flip the Mars Hotel album cover upside down and look at it in a mirror it says ugly rumors. This would inspire Tony Blair when naming his band. The hotel itself was a run down flop house full of drugs and seedy women.

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