Disaster ahead

[Rude]

Would be fun to catalog disastrous segments where one of the band either decided to go rogue or got lost in the moment. I’ll start with what led me to this post. 10/25/85 sugar mags.  Start around 2:00 in. At around 3:00 bobby and Jerry were way apart and both refuse to conform for a few lines of the verse. Confusion abounds. I’ll put it on Jerry but bobby heard Jerry was still jamming so my opinion is bobby said I’m singing the next verse regardless if you are where I’m at. 

[Greg from Chestertown]

I noticed this early on with the band. (Early eighties, Deal) I have always described it as, with music, the drummer drives the band. With Jerry, he’ll start playing more intensely, wringing more out of his guitar, a little louder. Kinda like, ‘we’re going one more lap around before we go back to the lyrics’. I love it when he milks it for all it’s worth. I’m guessing all the varied versions of Dark Star are kinda the same thing, where he’s allowed to wander off from the group. They end up following him. On a similar note, (no pun intended) I remember a show, late eighties, Spectrum, where coming out of Space, Jerry seemed to be working up and down the neck of the guitar, almost like a clinic, a guitar lesson. A slight change, the band joins in, the crowd roars, ‘Hey, we’ve been listening to Uncle John’s Band for a while now and didn’t even realize.’ He literally blew everybody’s mind. 

[Tea]

https://archive.org/details/gd72-08-21.sbd.hamilton.150.sbeok.shnf/gd72-08-21d3t01.shn

 

While not a disaster, there is a segment in this Dark Star where Jerry tries to 'Do the Dew' but nobody takes the bait (I know, WHAT?) and we get El Paso instead.  One of my favorite Dark Stars fo sho 😁

 

 

[Tea]

https://archive.org/details/gd1986-03-31.142429.sbd.miller.flac1648

 

.....or the time that Billy left during Truckin to see if he could find the DB that threw a bottle at 'em.

 

[DesertDead]

The show linked below is when Blackbird made its debut.  It is a little tricky, apparently.  

 

No one really seemed to mind, however, as you will hear from Jerry’s laughter.

 

 

https://archive.org/details/gd88-06-23.dsbd.terrapin-flyer.13051.sbeok.shnf
 

 

[Vic81]

8 minutes ago, DesertDead said:

The show linked below is when Blackbird made its debut.  It is a little tricky, apparently.  

 

No one really seemed to mind, however, as you will hear from Jerry’s laughter.

 

 

https://archive.org/details/gd88-06-23.dsbd.terrapin-flyer.13051.sbeok.shnf
 

 

That was fucking great Eventho it was a little off as a band,  but I loved this. is that Brent or Jerry laughing? Either way it was a nice way to start my day and put a big smile on my face 

[Ammagamalin Crew]

It started becoming apparent to me during the Red Rocks 1985 series that Jerry and Bobby had disagreements over playing smokestack ⚡or spoonful.

 Of course coming off of that November 1984 BCT run, who's to say? 

[John A]

I think it was Brent laughing during Blackbird at Alpine.  I also have a distinct recollection that he started flapping his arms like they were wings when things got completely off.

 

And then there is the epic disaster that was BCT 4-21-86. After Maybe You Know Brent never leaves stage during drums and it's clear he's having a complete meltdown.  When Jerry gets back on stage he launches into GDTRFB, because, I mean, what else could be more fitting?

[Tea]

I saw Louie Louie at my second show and it was an unmitigated disaster!  😆

[BillK522]

While Spring 90 kills, there are a couple

off the rails moments I recall and both

involve our beloved Brent.

 

90/03/22 Copps

The attempt of the whole Hey Jude,

a couple mess marring an other wise

whopper performance.

 

90/04/03 Omni

Brent refusing to sing the opening

verse of We Can Run, despite being

given several chances to do so.

 

With that said I gladly kill for either

right now.

 

Praise DSO.

[Rude]

I’ve seen dao screw the pooch only 1x. They stopped and said let’s start that again. I’ve seen one them go over 1 beat on BIODTL. Maybe Dso isn’t trying hard enough lol. If you don’t screw up, try harder 😂

[Hardpan]

I can’t think of the show, but it’s famous one from the 72-74 era, when the band train wrecks on the kickoff of Playing in the Band, and restarts after Bob says “a thousand pardons, folks”.  

15 hours ago, Rude said:

I’ve seen dao screw the pooch only 1x. They stopped and said let’s start that again. I’ve seen one them go over 1 beat on BIODTL. Maybe Dso isn’t trying hard enough lol. If you don’t screw up, try harder 😂

I saw it happen once, on the ending of Samson and Delilah at the State Theater in Portland, ME, a couple falls ago, and just happened to be taping that night 😇 https://archive.org/details/dso2018-11-15.nak300.cp1.cp4/dso2018-11-15t12.flac#

[Greg from Chestertown]

I have a vague memory of Jerry walking up to the microphone and singing nothing during Scarlet begonias,  When he should have been singing ‘ The wind in the willows....’ , but I’m thinking that maybe I was in the wrong place in the song and the disaster was in my head. 

[John A]

There's an 80s outdoor show, and there's video circulating, and I'm totally blaming on the date, where they start Brokedown and stop.  Jerry says something like, "man, that's not even in the right key" before they start over.

[acududeman]

2 hours ago, John A said:

There's an 80s outdoor show, and there's video circulating, and I'm totally blaming on the date, where they start Brokedown and stop.  Jerry says something like, "man, that's not even in the right key" before they start over.

 

It wasn't outdoors, but I was at the 7/2/85 Pittsburgh show when they botched the start of Brokedown......Jerry said something to the effect of...."sorry folks, we can do better than that", then they restarted the song correctly.

[Rude]

39 minutes ago, acududeman said:

 

It wasn't outdoors, but I was at the 7/2/85 Pittsburgh show when they botched the start of Brokedown......Jerry said something to the effect of...."sorry folks, we can do better than that", then they restarted the song correctly.

Brokedown Palace (05:59) • Grateful Dead • 1985-07-02 • Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

 

hello. Sounded good didn’t it 🤪

https://archive.org/details/gd1985-07-02.133611.upd-sbd.tobin.flac16#

[Ammagamalin Crew]

The Palace had a few brokedown beginnings throughout the years. Wonder what was up with that? Has Dark Star Orchestra recreated one of these?

[John A]

Now I need to find the Brokedown I was thinking of.

 

It's not this one, but this one is classic nonetheless.  Red Rocks '85.  Bobby says, "let's start over."

 

 

[John A]

 

I found it!  Telluride '87.  Skip to the 2 hour 2 min mark of the video.  Total train wreck. Jerry says, "wait a minute, this is all fucked up.  It's in the wrong key."  Massive disaster!

 

 

[Hardpan]

That was great, JohnA 😁

[gr8fulpair]

7 hours ago, John A said:

 

I found it!  Telluride '87.  Skip to the 2 hour 2 min mark of the video.  Total train wreck. Jerry says, "wait a minute, this is all fucked up.  It's in the wrong key."  Massive disaster!

 

 

"The altitude and all......". 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Vic81]

Wow that was great!!! Gr8fulpir!! The altitude and all! Hahahaha

12 hours ago, gr8fulpair said:

"The altitude and all......". 🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

[Mango]

DSO Irving Plaza- 2011 i think? Or 10. They were playing i believe 4-29-71. Started Truckin and got several minutes in b4 bailing on it and starting again. Not sure what there issue was.... good times. Mason and I drove up, hit some horrible traffic- tunnel was closed or something. Seemed certain we'd miss all of set 1, maybe more. Somehow we ended up taking the GWB, which initially seemed the worst idea, and arrived at the show b4 showtime.

[Rude]

When Jerry starts on the wrong verse of brokedowns, the band seems to let the song fail for a restart. 
 

I’d guess broke down was prob restarted more than the rest of their songs combined. 

[Tom Banjo]

There was a shooting inside the Lincoln Tunnel I think. They wouldn’t let us through.