Happy birthday Jerry!

Man, I know Bruce Springsteen and The E-Street Band aren't a jamband, but I saw them for the third time last night and I think it may have been the best show that I've ever been to.

Webcast of gathering of the vibes at iclips.net

I'm watching it right now and the black crowes are killing it. It seems like the black crowes kind of split a jamband fans- some really like them, others don't. I really dig them though, Luther Dickinson sounds so good with them.

I'm hopefully gonna be at vibes tomorrow to see Phil, Billy, New Riders, Taj Mahal and a few others. Just hope tickets are still avaliable. Should be a good time.

I never got really into jam bands that much but the other day I listened to Tweezer by Phish in my friend's car...wow that song is really good.

It's a pretty cool song.

I just got back from vibes- I'll give details tomorrow. It was quite a time.

It's gonna be cold, cold, cold, cold, coooooooooooooold

And to help people enjoy their Jerry week:

[B]02-26-77 Swing Auditorium, San Bernardino, Ca. (Sat)[/B]
1: Terrapin, Minglewood, TLEO, Estimated, Sugaree, Mama Tried, Deal, Playin> Wheel> Playin
2: Samson, Tennessee Jed, Music, Help> Slipknot> Franklin's, Promised, Eyes> Dancin> Around
E: U. S. Blues
[I]first "Estimated" - first "Terrapin"[/I]

So, this show is pretty famous, even in the rich year of 1977. However, after downloading it awhile ago, I'd only listened to snippets and didn't think much of them at the time. I turned it on today though, starting with the opening notes, and damn is this set killer. I only listened to set one, actually, but that in itself warranted this post. First, we have the obvious heavy-hitters: Terrapin opener (probably the only one ever), and masterfully done considering it's the debut performance. I love Minglewood, when the boys are on this song smokes like it does here. Solid TLEO, not a favorite of mine but it doesn't kill the momentum. Estimated, the other first-time song in this show, is a confident burst of energy, if a little undeveloped. Still, they pull of Terrapin and Estimated, two relatively difficult tunes, with really no mistake. Sugaree has three nice instrumental breaks, not quite reaching the peaks it would by May but certainly a good sign of things to come. Mama Tried is fun fun fun (seriously, how can you not sing along with Jerry and Bob during the chorus?). Deal = don't care, a good tune but these early versions don't really do it for me compared to the later jammed-out first set enders. But Playin>Wheel>Playin is dynamite. Seriously good jamming in the Playin' with a surprisingly effective transition in, and out, of the Wheel. Can't wait to turn on this second set later.

That show sounds awesome. But where can I download it? Can't find it on etree and speeding arrow is sadly no more.

So Gathering Of The Vibes. I really wish I could've gone for the full festival, camping out and all that fun stuff but I couldn't take the days off from work. So I went up Saturday morning for the day. It rained hard for most of the drive there but then stopped. As soon as we bought tickets and got in, it started to pour like crazy. And just wouldn't let up. The music was postponed for around 4 hours. We were hiding from the rain under the cover of a friendly vendor's tent when we heard the rain stop and Jerry's voice singing Here Comes Sunshine over the loudspeaker. Soon Wavy Gravy got on the stage, started cheering everyone up and introduced New Riders Of The Purple Sage.
I think the original New Riders are mostly dead but this lineup managed to put on a pretty good show. David Nelson and Buddy Cage are still alive and kickin' and that was enough for me. They opened with Henry, and then invited Donna out for I Don't Know. Donna didn't really contribute anything, but I Don't Know You was sweet with Cage's pedal steel. Donna was on and off the stage for the rest of the set. The lead guitarist from her band also came out and made the music jump to another level, trading solos with Nelson and Cage. Other highlights included Panama Red, Deep Elem Blues and a surprisingly psychedelic Garden Of Eden which really showcased Buddy Cage's pedal steel. They also had two roadies painting on the side of the stage throughout the set. The painting was very cool and evolving along with the music. I was surprised and very impressed with their set and would love to see them again.

Billy played next and put on a great show without saying a single word to the crowd the whole time. He really looks a lot like Bill Murray these days. He still owns on drums though. Oteil is a ridiculous bassist too. I saw The Allmans once but was in the last row of the building and couldn't hear Oteil. Oteil was loud and clear this time and I was really blown away by him. Scott Murawski was great too, the thing about the power trio is that they're so focused and locked in on each other that they can move the music different places very easily. They opened with Eyes Of The World and finished with Help On The Way > Slipnot and then Bertha which was on fire. Cool show.

Mike Gordon was next and I didn't recognize a single song he played but still enjoyed. Some great jamming. Billy sat in for a couple songs. Not too much to say about the set. It was phishy, terrible singing, lyrics that I didn't really pay attention to, and great jamming. Scott Murawski was also in Mike's band and showed off a little more during this set.

Taj Mahal was the last show before Phil and really got the crowd going with some rocking blues. Again, didn't recognize any songs, but the man can play the blues and created a huge sound for a trio. I also found it very interesting that he strayed away from traditional blues rock a bit, with some songs sounding a little reggae-ish. Towards the end of his set, security people went through the crowd warning everyone that a storm was coming and it was supposed to worse than the rain earlier. They said everyone should go tie their tents down and try to find some shelter. We decided to get a good spot for Phil instead. It started to drizzle, but then Phil came on.

He opened with Here Comes Sunshine and just like that, the rain was gone. The storm passed over us and never hit. It was one of those wacky weather coincidences that seems to happen so often with the Dead. As Phil, Jackie, Larry, and Theresa sang the chorus, they seemed to be willing the storm away and it worked. Magical stuff.

Set 1:
*Here Comes Sunshine>
*Good Lovin'
*Gone Wanderin'
Cumberland Blues
*Direwolf
Loser
Cold Rain and Snow

Set 2:
*Scarlet Begonias>
All Along The Watchtower> Jam>
*He's Gone>
*Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
Wharf Rat>
Spacy Jam>
Elevator> Jam>
The Eleven>
*I Know You Rider
Not Fade Away
Donor Rap/Intros

enc:
Box Of Rain

*With Theresa Williams

The band was on fire. Phil was smiling all night and playing a very cool, unusual looking bass that sounded great. Larry Campbell tore it up, and Jackie Greene was super energized. Jackie kept walking over to Larry and facing up to him as they traded guitar solos. One time (I think during Cumberland), Jackie just couldn't keep up, bowed to Larry, started pointing at him and clapping which I thought was hilarious. Jackie's stage persona is flashier than anyone else who I've seen play with the Dead and I guess some people don't like that but I love it. It's exciting young blood. His singing was so good. Ah **** it, this is too long. I'll write more later.

so what does everyone think of phish's live at brooklyn album?

Meh. I haven't heard it the whole way through so I can't judge it all, but I will agree with the cliched Phish fan sentiment that the band by 2004 was a shadow of its 95 and 97 self (or the earlier 90's, for that matter). By the final tour they seemed to be running out of ideas and a lot of the intensity was missing.

I was never a fan of U.S. Blues

:O

I love me some Useless Blues, but they did play it way too often and predictably in the encore slot. I like the song in 74 when it was fresh and adventurous. Take the classic 6/28/74 for example (part of DP 12): WRS>Jam (with MLB somewhere in there)>US Blues. Absolutely killer.

[B]09-06-80 State Fairgrounds, Lewiston, Me. (Sat)[/B]
1: Alabama> Greatest, Sugaree, Me & My Uncle> Mexicali, Tennessee Jed, Stranger, FOTD, Far From Me> Rooster, China Cat> I Know You Rider> Promised
2: Shakedown, Sailor> Saint, Althea, Playin> Uncle John> Drumz> NFA> Wheel> Uncle John> Playin> Sugar Magnolia E: Saturday Night> Brokedown

Another smoking show. The marathon set list really says it all. The show circulates in a killer AUD tape too, the captures not only the energy of the night but has really good sound as well. Jerry is on fire and taking everyone there with him for the ride.

80's shows were so good

i love live versions of althea, alabama, and don't ease obviously

[QUOTE=Lunch;16555105]Meh. I haven't heard it the whole way through so I can't judge it all, but I will agree with the cliched Phish fan sentiment that the band by 2004 was a shadow of its 95 and 97 self (or the earlier 90's, for that matter). By the final tour they seemed to be running out of ideas and a lot of the intensity was missing.[/QUOTE]
I actually really liked it, you're right it's not 94, 97, or 98, but I still thought it was a really good show. The set list is also one of my favorites (Divided Sky, Curtain WITH!!!, ASIHTOS, Mike's Groove, Suzy, Maze, Free, Birds, Sample, Moma Dance). And yes, I realize that's the majority of the show. Hahaha.


Everyone praises NYE 95, but I just don't see it. It's high energy (cocaine) and tight, but it's just not that original sounding. It sounds like Phish don't get me wrong, but listen to the night before and then listen to the 31st and you can see the difference.

NYE 95 is a good show, I probably enjoy it more than you do, but I agree in context of the entire fall tour it's not necessarily standout. It was probably released more based on the fact that they could market a NYE show more easily than a random show in October-December to the regular audience, not the phans. 10/31/95, the Quadrophenia show, was released as one of the Live Phish series and is a pretty fantastic outing for the band. Still though, Phish shows don't tend to sound very original to me. They certainly have their own unique sound and thing going on, but once you've heard that it becomes kinda standard. Trey especially tends to play the same thing in every song, and almost all of his solos are built around that one note he reaches towards the climax of the jam. I think Fishman, Page, and even Gordo are infinitely more interesting players because of this, but even so the group sound tends to became very standard and it too often sounds like "the" Phish jam rather than "a" Phish jam, if you know what I mean.

Meh I think Trey can definitely play similar solos, but I think he can also be very original and different. If you get a chance to hear the night before (1995-12-30) or Live Phish 18 (5-7-98 I think) then you can see a bit more of what I'm talking about.

Another thing I love about Phish is that they're just hilariously funny people. It makes their live shows just that much more fun. I mean who else plays chess with the audience, jumps on trampolines, or does barbershop quartets live?

Oh yea, Phish are definitely incredibly talented and fun to the extreme. Seeing them would be a blast. I just can't understand how people take them [I]so[/I] seriously.

Speaking of Phish, has anyone seen/heard anything about the new Walnut Creek DVD? It's a summer 97 show, which probably means good things, and the set list looks nice (Runaway Jim, Stash, Bouncing Round the Room, Mike's Song, Simple, Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood). If I can get some money together I'll probably check it out. The only Phish DVD I have is It, which is ok but I'd like to see some performances from this era. It spends too much time as a documentary, cutting song performances with interviews (most of which show Trey taking himself waaaaay too seriously) and even the bonus disk with just song performances could be better.

I got Trey Anastasio's solo album recently. Man that guy can funkyjazzyjam it up.

Horseshoe Curve?


[QUOTE=Lunch;16579017]Oh yea, Phish are definitely incredibly talented and fun to the extreme. Seeing them would be a blast. I just can't understand how people take them [I]so[/I] seriously.

Speaking of Phish, has anyone seen/heard anything about the new Walnut Creek DVD? It's a summer 97 show, which probably means good things, and the set list looks nice (Runaway Jim, Stash, Bouncing Round the Room, Mike's Song, Simple, Weekapaug Groove, Harry Hood). If I can get some money together I'll probably check it out. The only Phish DVD I have is It, which is ok but I'd like to see some performances from this era. It spends too much time as a d0cumentary, cutting song performances with interviews (most of which show Trey taking himself waaaaay too seriously) and even the bonus disk with just song performances could be better.[/QUOTE]
Meh, I mean they like to have fun but they do take their music very seriously. If you read any interview with Trey (Bittersweet Motel has some good ones) he always talks about how music is the number one priority. I doubt they would ever sacrifice a song/show just for a joke. Take a look at them up on stage you can tell they're very very into it and definitely aren't just pissing around on stage. I think that people are confusing their care free attitude and theatrics with how they feel about the music. If anything they use it to get the audience more engaged in the show and give everyone a good time.

His self-titled one.

Hmm, and now it seems that he has lots of solo albums. *drool*

Whatchoo gice recommend?

Horseshoe Curve is a good one.

[QUOTE=UmphreysHead;16579248]Meh, I mean they like to have fun but they do take their music very seriously. If you read any interview with Trey (Bittersweet Motel has some good ones) he always talks about how music is the number one priority. I doubt they would ever sacrifice a song/show just for a joke. Take a look at them up on stage you can tell they're very very into it and definitely aren't just pissing around on stage. I think that people are confusing their care free attitude and theatrics with how they feel about the music. If anything they use it to get the audience more engaged in the show and give everyone a good time.[/QUOTE]

Yea, clearly they take their music seriously. Which is a good thing as they're all incredibly talented and can make brilliant things happen when they have it going on. The only problem I have is Trey takes himself too seriously, not in terms of playing guitar but in his concepts lyrically. It's funny/sad/annoying to see how far he goes into his acid rambling lyrics. For me those are a good time, but nothing more. They aren't some deeper meaning of life philosophies. They are about Wilson and the king of lizards. That's all well and good but I think too many people have put him up on a pedestal, and as a response he's become so into his art himself that he seems to have lost perspective about what he's actually doing. It's hard to overstate the importance of playing good time music for thousands of people for years on end, which Phish did, but ultimately for me I can't understand how people take them as seriously as the Dead. For me the two are not comparable. I guess that's what I'm getting at.

[QUOTE=Lunch;16579902]Yea, clearly they take their music seriously. Which is a good thing as they're all incredibly talented and can make brilliant things happen when they have it going on. The only problem I have is Trey takes himself too seriously, not in terms of playing guitar but in his concepts lyrically. It's funny/sad/annoying to see how far he goes into his acid rambling lyrics. For me those are a good time, but nothing more. They aren't some deeper meaning of life philosophies. They are about Wilson and the king of lizards. That's all well and good but I think too many people have put him up on a pedestal, and as a response he's become so into his art himself that he seems to have lost perspective about what he's actually doing. It's hard to overstate the importance of playing good time music for thousands of people for years on end, which Phish did, but ultimately for me I can't understand how people take them as seriously as the Dead. For me the two are not comparable. I guess that's what I'm getting at.[/QUOTE]
Tom Marshall writes the majority of the lyrics I think, or at the least it's the two of them together. I can see what you mean about that, I think they have some incredible lyrics as well as some terrible ones. The majority of them I like, I guess I just like Tom Marshall's style. Reba and Weigh are good examples, really oddly detailed and formed lyrics, but to me they just sound good.

It really just comes down to personal opinion. And for the record, GD>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Phish, but that doesn't mean I can't love Phish. :)

i have billy breathes and farmhouse by phish

i'm not a huge fan but i like it

You should check out Rift and Junta or any of the Live Phish's (18, 6, 12, 7 are my favorites) if you're looking to expand your collection at all.

i was actually looking into rift and junta so thanks for the recommendation

No problem man, I can also give you some recommendations for shows if you're interested.

I'm not really into any Phish studio albums, but I'd recommend [I]A Live One[/I]. Halfway through Stash I knew I'd found something special.

I'm going to see Gov't Mule on the 31st at Red Rocks, are there any essential songs/shows I should start listening to by them? I've got a few shows but nothing that really stands out as flat out amazing. (I'm mainly going for Umphrey's)

I don't know too much about Mule. Their Allgood set was really good. Blind Man in the Dark and Banks of the Deep End are two standards that I'm familiar with. Warren has been doing a lot of covers lately too, I guess he's always done a bunch but this seems like more than usual. I'd just check out some of their recent shows on bt.etree, this looks like a good one:

[url]http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=517543[/url]