new years 69>70

most classic show ever.

i havent listened to the dead in probably a year. i still have some shows backed up on disc.

[QUOTE=Lunch;16440118]Yea, I've downloaded the 6/13 show, haven't listened yet though. The show you saw looks great. Aside from the obvious heavy-hitters, you got a Big River, which is like one of my favorite songs ever for some reason. I'm really hoping for a Viola Lee or Shakedown (both?) at ALLGOOD.

Also, 1/15/79 is by no means the end-all-be-all of Shakedowns. It's a solid one (what draws me to this particular version is the segue from Miracle, wow!). 6/30/85 is the real killer, absolutely packed with energy and a killer jam that keeps building, culminating in a nice peak before they return to earth. The rest of this show ain't so bad either (June 85 was hot hot hot; check out 6/27 at SPAC too).[/QUOTE]

On the night I was born, 9/22/88, the Grateful Dead were a few blocks down in Manhatten playing at the Garden and they opened the show with a pretty nice Shakedown. Maybe I mostly like it cause it was on my birthday though.

And yeah, Big River was tight. Larry Campbell sang lead and his wife did a really good job on the back up vocals.

Lunch, have you ever read the Illustrated Trip? It's a really awesome book that you should check out if you haven't. Pricey though.

[QUOTE=JonG;16440647]new years 69>70

most classic show ever.

i havent listened to the dead in probably a year. i still have some shows backed up on disc.[/QUOTE]

Oh yeah, I completely agree. A China Cat > IKYR opener into an absolute monster first set and a killer second.

[QUOTE=UmphreysHead;16440212]I'm a pretty big fan of the Halloween '79 Shakedown; it's decently long too, like 17 minutes. 11/29/80 is also really good as well.[/QUOTE]

Yes, both of these shows are great. 11/29 is an outstanding AUD, with Jerry on fire for the whole show. Shakedown>Franklin's is fun, the jam into Truckin' is awesome, and the Other One rips. Nice long first set as well.

[QUOTE=JonG;16440647]new years 69>70

most classic show ever.

i havent listened to the dead in probably a year. i still have some shows backed up on disc.[/QUOTE]

I haven't heard this show in awhile, but I remember it being pretty good, not an all-time great. China>Rider opener is hard to go wrong with, but there are plenty of other 69 shows that top this one (the spring Fillmore West shows, obviously, along with the April shows at the Ark and Avalon). Also, this new format of Grateful Dead, with their long psychedelic journeys coupled with the shorter, more song-oriented material of Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, really found it's home by May 70, at least for me. 5/2/70 is notorious and immortalized as DP 8, and for good reason, but the surrounding shows are also worth a listen, notably 5/15.

[QUOTE=robo2448;16440971]On the night I was born, 9/22/88, the Grateful Dead were a few blocks down in Manhatten playing at the Garden and they opened the show with a pretty nice Shakedown. Maybe I mostly like it cause it was on my birthday though.[/QUOTE]

Yea, listening to a birthday show is fun. They played on my bday, 7/31/88, as well. Also, although this is mostly unrelated, check out the 9/18/87 show at MSG. Although short overall, this show smokes and contains probably the best Morning Dew I've ever heard. Hell in a Bucket gets things going, Sugaree is nice, Candyman is excellent, and the Bird Song really delivers to end the first set. Second opens with a Shakedown, speaking of that, although this one is kinda flat and doesn't really go anywhere. By Terrapin though, the band is on again. GDTRFB out of Space is really fun, Jerry shreds on Watchtower, and then the Dew really must be heard to be believed. Then Bobby follows with a great Good Lovin' which they jam in La Bamba, complete with Jerry vocals, triggering ecstatic crowd reaction.

[QUOTE]Lunch, have you ever read the Illustrated Trip? It's a really awesome book that you should check out if you haven't. Pricey though.[/QUOTE]

No, in fact I've only seen it around once or twice. Looked really cool though. I actually just finished Blair Jackson's excellent Jerry biography (titled [I]Garcia: An American Life[/I]), which I would highly recommend.

[QUOTE=robo2448;16440971]On the night I was born, 9/22/88, the Grateful Dead were a few blocks down in Manhatten playing at the Garden and they opened the show with a pretty nice Shakedown. Maybe I mostly like it cause it was on my birthday though.

And yeah, Big River was tight. Larry Campbell sang lead and his wife did a really good job on the back up vocals.

Lunch, have you ever read the Illustrated Trip? It's a really awesome book that you should check out if you haven't. Pricey though.[/QUOTE]

Cool, 9/22/87 O'er here. 9/22 shows are usually the best.

I should pick up that Garcia biography. I also really want to read Living With The Dead by Rock Scully since Rock must have a pretty interesting take on everything...

I just watched that Morning Dew on youtube and Jerry gets really into it. Wow. I'll still take the Cornell version over it, but that was amazing. I also saw that Ratdog played Morning Dew for the first time ever the other day. Probably wasn't that good though.

I don't have the NYE '69 show but the shows from The Ark in April of '69 that Lunch mentioned are definitely worth checking out. He Was A Friend Of Mine opener one night on that run (forget which one).

Doctor D, any other 9/22 shows I need to check out? It is in fact a pretty sweet birthday.

9/22/91 Boston Garden, from what I hear, is a good one. Shakedown opener is always a good sign, plus this run is considered by many one of their last epic runs. I've heard the shows from a few nights later and they definitely qualify as epic.

Robo, the youtube clip is very cool, although it suffers from weak audio quality like youtube clips tend to. Still, during the final solo, Jerry gives that awesome, "Yea, I got this" look, he's so in the zone and delivers that final burst with ferocity.

[QUOTE=Lunch;16449381]9/22/91 Boston Garden, from what I hear, is a good one. Shakedown opener is always a good sign, plus this run is considered by many one of their last epic runs. I've heard the shows from a few nights later and they definitely qualify as epic.

Robo, the youtube clip is very cool, although it suffers from weak audio quality like youtube clips tend to. Still, during the final solo, Jerry gives that awesome, "Yea, I got this" look, he's so in the zone and delivers that final burst with ferocity.[/QUOTE]

Hmm... I might have to make that my first '90s Dead show. I haven't ventured past '88 yet.

Jerry also gets very into the vocals on that Morning Dew. The guitar is brilliant of course, but his singing sounds soulful.

There are plenty of 89/90 shows that I would recommend before that 91 show. I really think that Fall 89>Spring 90 was a peak for the band. Brent especially was at the top of his game and the boys sounded comfortable and tight for just about every show. Check out the Alpine 89 run (7/17-19), 10/9/89 (Dark Star breakout anyone? Crowd goes nuts), 10/26/89 (most intense Dark Star since the golden era), 3/29/90 (Branford Marsalis sits in on Birdsong and then the entire second set; LEGENDARY Eyes, great Estimated, Dark Star...). Summer 91 is really hot too - 6/16, 6/17 are two great examples. Or check out 9/10/91 MSG, with Branford again, this time for the whole show.

[QUOTE=Lunch;16450797]There are plenty of 89/90 shows that I would recommend before that 91 show. I really think that Fall 89>Spring 90 was a peak for the band. Brent especially was at the top of his game and the boys sounded comfortable and tight for just about every show. Check out the Alpine 89 run (7/17-19), 10/9/89 (Dark Star breakout anyone? Crowd goes nuts), 10/26/89 (most intense Dark Star since the golden era), 3/29/90 (Branford Marsalis sits in on Birdsong and then the entire second set; LEGENDARY Eyes, great Estimated, Dark Star...). Summer 91 is really hot too - 6/16, 6/17 are two great examples. Or check out 9/10/91 MSG, with Branford again, this time for the whole show.[/QUOTE]

Those shows all sound pretty good. I've heard a bunch of stories about the Alpine Valley shows and definitely get to them eventually. Then probably the Branford shows right after that. What I love about The Illustrated Trip is that it makes notes on every single show they did and even gives some of them stars so someday my goal is to have all the shows with stars downloaded and give them a listen. That's a pretty tough task though. They're quite a few of them.

[img]http://disc.420chan.org/psy/src/1215132865807.jpg[/img]

is tomorrow and saturday

im goin, gonna be sick/trippin ballzzzzzzzzzzzzlol

That looks pretty cool. I saw Drive By Truckers at Mountain Jam and they were decent. Ingrid Michaelson was at Mountain Jam too but we were busy getting the day's festivities started back at camp. Yonder will be sick.

I'm listening to Fire On The Mountain now:cool:. Bobby and Jerry are soaring. And Phil is everywhere. I love good Fire On The Mountains.

I just saw Blues Traveler over the 4th at Red Rocks and they put on one hell of a show. I finally walked into the venue at around 8:15 or so when they had started playing and they did one set that ended around 11 (with encore) and it was an incredible show. They pretty played non-stop the entire time, I counted about 5 breaks during the entire show and each were maybe a minute.

If anyone gets a chance to see them on their new tour with Live and Collective Soul (hence me going in at 8:15 when it started at 5) you should definitely check them out. It was a really good performance and very high energy. The singer busted out a full sized spartan sword for the encore, need I say more?

Phil Lesh and Friends Rothbury setlist from earlier tonight (ending as I'm speaking).

Set 1: Here Comes Sunshine -> Althea, China Cat Sunflower -> Mexican Girl, Dire Wolf, Cell Block #9, Sugaree
Set 2: Help on the Way -> Slipknot ->ft -> Eyes Of The World > -> Uncle John's Band Mountains of the Moon -> several teases jam -> Unbroken Chain > New Speedway Boogie -> Fire On The Mountain, Donor Rap, Encore: Dancin' In the Street

[QUOTE=UmphreysHead;16461728]Phil Lesh and Friends Rothbury setlist from earlier tonight (ending as I'm speaking).

Set 1: Here Comes Sunshine -> Althea, China Cat Sunflower -> Mexican Girl, Dire Wolf, Cell Block #9, Sugaree
Set 2: Help on the Way -> Slipknot ->ft -> Eyes Of The World > -> Uncle John's Band Mountains of the Moon -> several teases jam -> Unbroken Chain > New Speedway Boogie -> Fire On The Mountain, Donor Rap, Encore: Dancin' In the Street[/QUOTE]

The Rothbury show was ****ing hot! I watched the webcast last night. Every song was awesome. Except Dancin' In The Streets. Their version of that with Theresa on vocals kinda blows. They played it as an encore when I saw them too and I wouldn't mind never hearing it again. Everything else was so good though. Warren sat in for Here Comes The Sunshine through Mexican Girl and added a lot without dominating and drowning everyone else out, which I feel like sometimes happens when he plays with Phil. Dire Wolf was cool with Larry on pedal steel and Jackie always kills Sugaree. 2nd set was just perfect. Listen to it.

Yeah I was watching the webcast too. Warren was really good on the first few songs, especially Althea. I agree about Theresa, I really didn't like her voice and she looked rather out of place.

In Phish new, I guess Mike joined Trey during his acoustic set for two NEW songs, and Mike, Trey and John all played a Beatles cover during Mike's set.

2 new songs eh?

Pretty cool. Looks like they're definitely taking their time with the reunion which is good to see. I know Mike is touring with a solo band all summer but after that I think we'll hear an official announcement.

I talked to a few of my friends who went to Rothbury. Actually, I got texts from the two of them at like five in the morning about the STS9 show they just saw. Everything else was awesome too though, I heard. On a similar note, I'm leaving for Allgood tomorrow. I can't ****ing wait to see Phil. As the festival has gotten closer I've realized that I'm definitely most excited for that show (he plays on Friday night, too). This is great because I know Phil won't disappoint and I'm sort of forgetting about all the other great shows to see - PGroove Thursday night, Mule late night after Phil, Widespread, DSO, RRE, MSMW, TLG, HBR, Keller, Derek Trucks, SOJA, etc. I'll also be Schyma-ing my way around on like every drug that comes my way.

NP: Disco Biscuits set from Langerado. Check this out if you haven't heard it, there's a pretty good source on Archive. Murph from STS9 sits in a few songs. Hot show overall though, especially listen if you doubt the Disco Biscuits.

Lunch you are so lucky. Have fun man, that lineup looks insane. Hopefully I might see you there next year.

I might check out that show, since I do kinda doubt the disco biscuits. I have a couple shows on my computer but i've never listened to them. Might get around to them sometime.

I'm listening to Michael Franti and Spearhead right now from Mountain Jam. So good. Everyone should see Michael Franti at least once. I don't care for all of his music, but seeing him live is almost like a religious experience. Mike, is he at All Good? Don't miss him if he is. And expect some sit ins too. Warren, Jackie Greene, and some saxaphone player. Also, we invited a deaf girl up to the stage to dance and perform "Everyone Deserves Music" using sign language. Man, maybe I'm just really ****ing baked but he seems so incredible right now. Such feel good music.

Yep, Spearhead is playing Sunday night. I think they might be the last act.

AllGood looks absolutely incredible, hope you have a lot of fun! Also, iclips has the Biscuit's set from Langerado too, so if you're looking for something extra might want to check that out.

I think All Good has the best lineup of all the summer festivals. Yeah I just doublechecked the lineup and it's definitely the one I would want to see the most. It's a shame some of the bands overlap, but man, that lineup is just amazing.

I'm seeing Tea Leaf Green and Dark Star Orchestra tonight. Personally, I think it's kind of messed up that Tea Leaf Green is opening for a cover band, even if DSO is an amazing cover band. But it should still be an awesome time.

Yo Lunch, give us some All Good reviews!

The Tea Leaf Green/DSO show was pretty crazy. Tea Leaf Green just kills it every time I see them and this time was no different. This was the first time I saw them play outside during the day though, which was very cool. Also cool to be standing in the front row. We were a little late and missed the first couple songs but their set was very solid. A good time as always.

DSO was everything I hoped it would be. They played May 1, 1977 and it's hard to get a better show than May of '77. I suppose the May 1st show gets overshadowed in Dead history by the shows that occurred over the next week, but the setlist was still amazing. Very unique too. No Scarlet > Fire, Jack Straw, Sugar Magnolia, Sugaree, Not Fade Away, St. Stephen, Deal, Morning Dew, or Row Jimmy which are all pretty strongly associated with that era. Instead, we got this-

Set 1:
Might As Well
El Paso
Ramble On Rose
Cassidy
They Love Each Other
Lazy Lightning >
Supplication Blues
It Must Have Been The Roses
Estimated Prophet
Tennessee Jed
Sunrise
Samson & Delilah

Set 2:
Dancin' In The Streets >
Brown Eyed Women
Playin' In The Band >
Drums >
The Other One >
Comes A Time >
Playin' Reprise

Encore:
Brokedown Palace
The Music Never Stopped (not part of original show)

The performance was just awesome. I gained a new appreciation for songs I didn't listen to all that much before like Lazy > Supplication and especially Comes A Time. The Comes A Time was just bone chilling. DSO definitely gets my approval. I passed on seeing them a lot before but was very impressed with them at Mountain Jam and knew I couldn't miss this. And I'll definitely do my best to see them whenever they're in the area.

Damn that sounds incredible, you are so so so lucky to see a '77 show. When they played here I saw a show from '90 (within 2 years of that at least), the setlist was meh but they did put on a helluva show.

What songs were played at your show?

And isn't it kind of creepy just how good they are? If I closed my eyes I would have thought it was the Grateful Dead themselves.

Never pass on a DSO show, man. They are too good. In fact, based on the one time I've seen TLG, I'd much rather see DSO. Comparing an original band to a "cover" band is like apples and oranges, I know, but I have a blast every time I see DSO. TLG was good, but it was ultimately sort of "meh" and the set never really went anywhere. I actually missed them at Allgood (though not because I didn't think they would put on a good show, their scheduled slot just didn't really work out for me). DSO at Allgood, however...well, keep reading.

Allgood was absolutely insane, in every way. Complete mind-numbing madness in every direction for three straight days. In fact, I'm still attempting to recover my thoughts about what actually happened. Anyway, I'll try to review some shows in chronological order.

Thursday: We missed Jazzam, who I've heard are a pretty good time. It took us awhile to get in though, and we had just finished setting up camp by the time they went on, so we elected to relax and soak up the festival vibe instead of heading to the stage immediately. From our campsite we had pretty good sound of the Ropeadope stage though (the stage for all the Thursday shows as well as random other jams throughout the weekend), so I guess we didn't miss the whole thing. We of course went to check out PGroove though, and they played a monster set. Much more focused on their trance/jam material rather than their song material, which worked perfectly for that evening. We had high hopes for the Join's late night set, but they started late and had sound problems in the early going so we decided to leave. By the time we got back to the campsite though, it sounded like they got it together and played a good show.

Friday: One of my only regrets about the weekend was not seeing as many afternoon shows as I should have, so I missed most of the early sets (notably: RAQ, the Wood Brothers, and the Avett Brothers). I spent the day drinking and consuming various other substances and mingling around the camp grounds, and I definitely had a great time. Obviously we headed to the main stage for the Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood show. Right around here the acid started kicking in and they took me for a hell of a ride. Scofield and Medeski were dominating me all over the place, and the sun was setting behind the stage for their time slot. Hool-a-hoop girls, dancing aliens, the emergence of glowstick people, and overall supreme musicianship are what I remember this show for.

Lettuce, although drastically changing the mood of the music, threw down and kept everyone grooving between MSMW and Phil. They play fun groove/funk music which was a nice change of pace from the previous chaos. Phil came on late but it was well worth it. They opened with Feel Like a Stranger and it was HOT. At one point during the jam I just kept repeating "Oh my God..." to myself, holding on to the ground for life. Till the Morning Comes wasn't very exciting, but the Loser that followed was heavy, punishing, intense. Jackie Greene is phenomenal and he completely sold me on this rendition. The rest of the first set wasn't too impressive (though they did play Ripple and cool Jam>GDTRFB to close it out). A few of my friends left during the first set (suckers), so my friend and I (both tripping face by this point) decide to move from our perch on the hill down to the crowd in front of the stage, which proved to be an excellent place for the second set. Golden Road opener was awesome, and it went into Viola Lee Blues! ****ing amazing. New Potato Caboose was quite a treat too. The Revolution that followed killed some of the momentum, but not for long. After some space, Phil's bass lights up and he starts into a dominant trance groove. The band follows (all these guys are scary good) and the proceed to shred to pieces the Elevator, the Particle Song. This was the coolest thing I've ever seen at a concert. With Phil and John Molo pounding the trance, Campbell and Greene exchanged ripping solos with each other before they cleared the way for Steve Molitz and his epic synth work. Watching that man work was an experience onto itself (I remember one section where he was tweaking some knob behind his back while playing the boards in front of him). The following Jack Straw and NFA were nice Dead classics, but the damage had already been done.

I had to take a break so I missed most of SOJA, but the ending 10-15 minutes I saw of their set was excellent. Mule came on about 40 minutes late, I think due to guitar problems. Their set was excellent, but I was so tired that I couldn't get as much out of it as I should have. Still, I remember a fantastic No Quarter, and Warren singing Gilmour's part of Comfortably numb solo before taking the band into Soulshine for an encore. Very nice show all around. We walk back in the mist and get sleep for the next day.

Saturday: Continued substance abuse causes me to sacrifice some of the day's earlier shows (Hot Buttered Rum, TLG) in order to ensure I was able to stay awake for the late night DSO set. We head to the main stage around 4 for the Mike Gordon band, who were a great time. Gordo was the first member of Phish I've ever seen, so that was great fun. Plus, his band is pretty solid. During this show I encountered, by complete chance, two of my good friends who I'd been meaning to meet up with the whole time but we couldn't seem to find each other. This probably skews my memory of how good Gordo's set (and the next band, a cool electronica group called Telepath) was, but this afternoon was awesome either way. I stuck around for some of Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi before leaving to get food, water, rest, and more drugs for the long night ahead.

We returned a little bit into Keller's set, which was great fun. Their music never goes very deep but you can tell the band is having a good time and the audience was reciprocating. I remember him playing a cool Eyes of the World and Dancin' in the Streets, as well. Like the night before, things were starting to get weird for me by this point, and I was fully ready for my mind to blown by Bassnectar, which it was. He had amazing visualizations accompanying his set, which was mostly chill while still bringing the energy. By this point, the stage area was packed for the upcoming Widespread show, and for good reason.

WSP was probably the best show I've ever seen. They started on time and immediately brought the heat, wasting no time getting the thousands on their feet and moving. The glow stick wars started early as well. Jimmy Herring, in my eyes, is a God. Before this show I'd only ever been a casual fan of him (and Panic), with only some scattered listening experiences. No more. During one jam, he dominated me so badly that I had to sit down after it. As if that weren't enough, Derek Trucks joined the band for two songs relatively early in the set! Complete insanity. We were all expecting set break to come, but they just kept on trucking, playing one long set instead of their standard two set format. It worked perfectly though, because the freight train just kept building momentum the whole time. These guys have unbelievable energy and stamina. From their Drums>"space" the band went into Maggot Brain! (Herring: 74 Me: 0), which eventually segued into a killer Chilly Water, my favorite WSP song (not that I'm very well-versed in their repertoire, but still). Unreal.

The Bridge, a band from nearby Baltimore, had the undesirable task of following the Panic show, but they really came through. These boys were clearly Allgood veterans (confirmed by an announcement from the stage late in their set about this being their Xth Allgood appearance), but on top of that, Gordo came out on stage with them for basically the second half of their set. They really took off and kept everything moving for the whole show. By the time they ended, I was ready for DSO. They came out on time and opened with a great Music Never Stopped, the segued beautifully into Bertha>Good Lovin'. This whole show for me was basically euphoria - singing along, dancing crazily, the shirt eventually came off, glowsticks, rolls, acid, etc. Truly a beautiful experience. They must have known what was happening to me because they even played China Cat, a song I'd never heard live (by any band) and clearly one of my favorites. The following Rider was equally as impressive. I remember an outstanding Scarlet>Fire, Mission in the Rain, and the drums segment was awesome. Plus the ripped through Alligator! Fantastic.They really tore it down, and sent me walking home on clouds.

Sunday I crashed harder than I ever had in my life. My body couldn't take it anymore, as much as my mind wanted one more day of rage. We limped to the stage for some of RRE's set, but I was just so beat that we had to leave. They played a good, enjoyable set, from what I heard, so I was disappointed that I couldn't give them the energy they deserved. Shortly after that we packed up and went home to sleep in our own beds. Needless to say, nothing will ever be the same again.

That sounds awesome. Wish I was there. I'll add more comments later when I'm not so lazy.

[QUOTE=robo2448;16492699]What songs were played at your show?

And isn't it kind of creepy just how good they are? If I closed my eyes I would have thought it was the Grateful Dead themselves.[/QUOTE]
That's exactly what I thought as I was listening to them, it was erie.

Setlist: 4/2/1990 The Omni, Atlanta, GA
Set 1:Stranger, Half Step> The Weight, Queen Jane, Easy To Love You, B. E. Women, Let It Grow
Set 2:Foolish Heart> L. L. Rain> He's Gone> Last Time> Drumz>Other One> Death Don't> Around> Good Lovin
Encore: Black Muddy River
Filler: Mr Charlie*
*with Lisa

First set absolutely owned the second Stranger hit you could feel the energy, and second set was really good as well.

L.L. Rain>He's Gone is death in the second set for me. It's like after Bobby decided to deflate all the momentum from the show Jerry would respond with his most boring second set song, and the band would normally crawl into drums with their tail between their legs. At least you got a Last Time (fun song) after He's Gone to wake you up, and TOO>Death Don't is awesome. Stranger is such a fun song, and Half Step>The Weight I'm sure was a blast.

When they busted out The Weight for a second I was like this sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it. Then it hit me, and oh god did it hit me.

I want to go see Mickey Hart band tonight but I can't find anyone to go with. Going by myself wouldn't be so bad except I don't want to pay for gas/parking alone. His lineup looks great and I've heard his recent shows have been excellent.

Damn man, the same thing happened to me. I think I might've gone alone if I had to, but I had work anyways. The lineup does look very good but the setlists I've seen look pretty similar.

Hopefully I'm seeing STS9 and Umphrey's on Thursday. I just have to see if I can get out of work that night. And then I'm going to Gathering Of The Vibes for one day to see Phil, Billy, Mike Gordon, NRPS, Taj Mahal and anyone else that is playing on Saturday.

Oh and Lunch, I meant to tell you, I saw some of Widespread Panic's All Good set online and I was completely blown away. I don't listen to Panic much but they were insane. I'm so jealous you got to see that. I wish they would come to the Northeast.

I ended up going to Mickey Hart tonight (Allgood guy came through). Having never listened to anything by this lineup before I had no idea what to expect. But man, these guys are awesome. Mickey, obviously, was fun to see in person and played a percussion rack instead of a drum set (something I felt he should've done more often with the Dead). George Porter, their bass player, is incredible. His groove lays an unshakable foundation for the rest of the band. Kyle Hollingsworth, the keys guy from String Cheese, was fun to see again. Good keyboardists are always fun to watch because they are look like madmen when they play. Steve Kimock is great too, he has such a beautiful tone. Plus their girl singer is actually really good.

They opened with a fun Iko (which is like the perfect song for this band to play), and played a surprising (to me, at least) New Speedway early in the first set. I think the rest of the first set were recent originals but I'm not sure. Second set opened well but really took off after a great "space" jam that segued in Fire. After another original, they played Scarlet>GDTRFB (this segue was killer), then another song>NFA to close the set. The venue is great, especially the sound, and the crowd was all good people who were fun to talk to. I'm glad I found someone to go to this show with because it wasn't a good one to miss.

Robo, Umphrey's and Sound Tribe are coming to Baltimore next Sunday so I'll definitely be going to them. The kid I saw Mickey with has already made plans to go to this show so I know there will be at least two of us. UM is playing before STS9 which is perfect for me. When I saw UM at Michigan this past fall (I think), it wasn't that good of a show. I enjoyed myself but I couldn't really get into the music. However, I heard from a friend who caught an earlier show on this tour that UM tore it up, so I'm excited to give them another shot. STS9 I know is going to dominate, I've been wanting to see them again since right after I first saw them last October. I heard their Rothbury set was potentially the best of that weekend.

I've never listened to STS9. I should get on that. I don't know if I'll be able to go since my boss won't give me the night shift off. ****er. now i have to call in sick, quit, or switch shifts with someone else. I hope it can happen.

To be honest, I've never really gotten into listening to Umphrey's stuff, but saw them live once and loved it. When I'm listening to them, I hear very talented musicians playing music that sounds a little mechanical and unsoulful. But when I saw them live I was just blown away by how instrumentally talented they are. The jams are just so tight and awesome. Cinninger can really rip too.

That Mickey Hart show sounds awesome. Sucks I missed him. Fire On The Mountain must've been crazy.

The thing I love about Umphrey's is that they're one of the true jam bands left. Bands like moe. are incredible, but it's almost like they have designated parts to jam out at. It sounds incredible, but Umphrey's can play the same song 10 times and each version will be different and really good.

[QUOTE=robo2448;16508024]To be honest, I've never really gotten into listening to Umphrey's stuff, but saw them live once and loved it. [B]When I'm listening to them, I hear very talented musicians playing music that sounds a little mechanical and unsoulful.[/B] But when I saw them live I was just blown away by how instrumentally talented they are. The jams are just so tight and awesome. Cinninger can really rip too.[/QUOTE]

Bingo. This is always how I've felt about them. Live, the musicianship is quite the spectacle, but their musical ADD prevents me from really getting into the zone. It's fun that they can shred but all their jams seem very explicit - like they're consciously deciding to jam rather than implicitly improvising as a single organism. So incredibly talented though, that's why I'm excited to give them another shot.

Side thought: I never really cared about moe. and don't see what is that interesting about them. Like UH said they are too standard in that they have previously determined times to jam. I find them to be really one dimensional too, which doesn't help considering I'm not a very big fan of their dimension. They also border on sounding too much like O.A.R. high school girl "jam".

STS9 is also pretty one-dimensional, but their sound is very unique and personally I love it. A lot of their shows/sets are pretty much the same though (or even if the setlists differ, their songs are basically similar). I like that they created their own definitive niche in the electronica/jam genre, which I feel like has been struggling to continue being innovative after the initial shock of bands like Particle and earlier Disco Biscuits stuff. Though I love Particle and have started digging the Biscuits more as well, so in general I'm very happy with this facet of the jam scene. STS9 just released a new album too and I've heard good things about the new material.

Robo, do you torrent? If you do hop over bt.etree.org and pick up some of the Allgood sets. The Particle jam from Phil's show is a must hear, although this will probably make its way to the archive if it hasn't already. Panic shows aren't at archive though and their set is just unreal. I've been listening to it almost nonstop for this past week. Maggot Brain>Chilly Water is one of the best live performances I've ever heard.

Edit: Haha, it's kinda funny that the Other Music listening party is STS9 right now. Their studio stuff is pretty good from what I've heard (only their album Artifact).

I do torrent. I'm very grateful that I do. It's a real pain in the *** downloading torrents, converting files to mp3 and renaming everything, but it's worth it for all the great stuff you can find.

Yea, I feel that. I did that when I first started torrenting but then I started finding so much that I couldn't keep up. Now I usually just use Winamp to play the flac files directly and don't worry about re-tagging everything. I keep them on my external too, so I don't use all my hard drive space instantly.

Man, everyone should go pick up Tea Leaf Green's new album, Raise Up The Tent. I realize that I plug pretty much everything they do but this album is really great. Definitely worth a listen.

Happy birthday Jerry!