Thursday, July 27, 2006

Bill's playlist from Saturday, July 22nd

Show theme: "A Celebration of archive.org" (all tracks downloaded from archive.org's Live Music Archive (LlaMA))

Grateful Dead (all GD tracks are AUDs) -

Feel Like a Stranger (3/9/81 Madison Square Garden, NYC)
Dark Star (3/26/68 Melodyland Theatre, Anaheim, CA (?))
Born Cross-Eyed>Feedback (3/30/68 Carousel Ballroom, San Francisco, CA)


Blues Traveler - Optimistic Thought (8/17/90 Loveladies, NJ)
Hypnotic Clambake - Deep Elem (7/7/96 Great Blue Heron Festival, Sherman, NY)
New Riders of the Purple Sage - Truck Drivin' Man (4/28/71 Fillmore E., NYC)
Steve Kimock Band - Rollin' and Tumblin (3/31/2000 Chester's Place, Fayetteville, NC)
Phil Lesh & Friends - This Wheel's on Fire (7/9/06 Bethel Woods Center For the Arts, Bethel, NY)
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Bomb the World (8/12/03 Arena Joondaloop Leisure Gardens, Perth, AUST)
Grateful Dead - St. Stephen (8/6/71 Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, CA)

Little Feat - A Apolitical Blues (7/19/73 Ebbets Field, Denver, CO 7/19/73)
Ratdog - Take Me to the River (6/9/97 Sweetwater, Mill Valley, CA)
Waybacks - Compadres of the Old Sierra Madres (10/8/05 Sportsmen Club, Duncan's Mills, CA)
Keller Williams - Kidney in a Cooler (3/26/04 The Showbox, Seattle, WA)
Minutemen - Jesus and Tequila (8/2/84 Flynn's Ocean 71, Miami, FL)

Grateful Dead -
Althea - (8/31/85 Manor Downs, Austin, TX)
The Wheel>Gimme Some Lovin' - (7/4/90 The Sandstone Amphitheatre, Bonner Springs, KS)
Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London (7/27/78 The Record Plant, Sausalito, CA)

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Kemp's Playlist from July 15

The Grateful Dead
“On The Road Again” Dick’s Picks 32, Alpine Valley Music Theater, 8/7/82
“Truckin’” Winterland, 1/2/72
“New Minglewood Blues” Dick’s Picks 20, Capital Centre, 9/25/76
“Cumberland Blues” Europe 72
“Mexicali Blues” Ace
“US Blues” Dick’s Picks 24, Cow Palace, San Francisco, 3/23/74
“Promised Land” Dick’s Picks 24, Cow Palace, San Francisco, 3/23/74

Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, et al
“Land of the Navajo” Old and In the Way

The Grateful Dead
“Tennessee Jed” Europe 72
“Chinatown Shuffle” Winterland, 1/2/72
“Serengetti” Shakedown Street

Little Feat
“Easy to Slip” Sailin’ Shoes
“Rock and Roll Doctor” Waiting for Columbus Deluxe Edition
“Skin It Back” Waiting for Columbus Deluxe Edition
“Trouble” Sailin’ Shoes
“Day at the Dog Races” Waiting for Columbus Deluxe Edition
“Rocket In My Pocket” Raw Tomatos, U Hall, Charlottesville, Fall 1978
“Rad Gumbo” Innsbrook After Hours, Richmond, 5/24/00

The Grateful Dead
“Not Fade Away >> Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” Winterland 1/2/72

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Addendum to Yesterday's Post (in Which Bill Gets Religion)

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned. Up until today I thought of even the best AUDs as second to SBDs, with very rare exceptions. While always holding a valuable place in any collection, it was clear to me that mike tapes would ever be the consolation prize, the half a loaf that was better than nothing. Then, today, while riding to Damascus, whipping my horse into a lather and breathing threats and murder (well, okay, sitting at my computer, surfing the web and breathing lethargically) I was struck to the ground by a blazing light and thundering voice - the voice of Jerry's guitar.

Specifically, it was the Glassberg recording of the Dead at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 1981, which I was streaming from archive.org. The song was the opener, Feel Like a Stranger. I instantly recognized the sound that made me a Dead convert in the early '80s, and realized I was experiencing it all over again. Not the sound that ran insulated through the wires of the PA system, but the sound as it broke free, reverberated through the hall and finally landed on the ears of the crowd as nature (and Healy) intended.

But I'm rambling. Billy Joel said "you can't get the sound from a story in a magazine", and he's right. So compare for yourself. First stream Stranger from the AUD source at

http://www.archive.org/details/gd81-03-09.glassberg.wise.7473.sbeok.shnf

and then from the SBD source at

http://www.archive.org/details/gd81-03-09.sbd.clugston.4953.sbeok.shnf

and tell me which one gives you the Jesus scare. Be honest.

Don't get me wrong; they can still only have my boards when they pry them from my cold, dead hard drives. But they'll never get my AUDs.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Tasty AUDs on archive.org

Over the last few days I've gone through every audience recording that can be downloaded from archive.org, streaming one or two tracks from each and deciding which were the best from a sound quality standpoint. Now, before you ask why you should even consider an AUD, read what one pseudonymous reviewer of the 11/29/80 Gainesville AUD had to say:

The really clean soundboards that come out are otherworldly, but the energy in this audience tape 'captures' the essence of the real experience better than cleaner technologies. Cleaner technologies take the show and mount it like an insect in perfect formaldehyde museum quality beneath the glass, but this show is still kicking, still buzzing, still flying, and it is everpresent. Enthusiasm is the word. Exuberance. Oh yeah baby - turn the f***** up.

I couldn't say it better myself. Although I lean heavily toward boards, there are times when an AUD does things a board can't; in fact, the SBDs of '92-95 are so empty of any sort of ambience they sound like the Dead are performing to an empty arena - only with an audience tape does that dismal image vanish. A good AUD can also be very enjoyable to listen to. In addition, many shows only circulate in AUD. The shows listed below range in quality from the highly listenable to "Boards? We don't need no stinkin' boards!" Ultimately, everyone has to decide what they like, but hopefully clicking on some of the links below and streaming some tunes will help you make up your mind. Good hunting.


3/3/68 , 3/26/68 , 3/29/68 , 3/30/68 , 3/31/68 , 5/3/69 , 3/21/70 , 11/28/70 , 8/5/71 , 8/6/71 , 8/21/71 , 3/5/72 , 4/29/72 , 7/27/73 , 9/7/73 , 5/21/74 , 7/21/74 , 10/1/76 , 12/31/79 , 6/5/80 , 11/29/80 , 5/1/81 , 8/30/81 , 9/17/82 , 7/31/82 , 8/27/83 , 12/31/83 , 10/5/84 , 3/12/85 , 3/31/85 , 4/1/85 , 6/15/85 , 8/30/85 , 8/31/85 , 9/2/85 , 9/15/85 , 11/8/85 , 11/11/85 , 12/31/85 , 4/7/87 , 4/18/87 , 8/12/87 , 7/29/88 , 7/30/88 , 3/29/90 , 6/24/90 , 7/4/90 , 5/12/91 , 6/6/91 , 6/24/91 , 6/22/92 , 6/23/92 , 6/26/92 , 9/17/93 , 9/18/93 , 5/19/95 , 5/20/95 , 5/21/95 , 5/24/95 , 5/25/95 , 5/28/95 , 5/29/95 *

This list is just the best of the best, there are many other wonderful recordings you can download. Some things worth noting - there is no such thing as a bad 1974 recording (Wall of Sound rules!), fall of '83 has excellent shows, AUDs from '77-'79 should be looked at sceptically and anything taped by Doug Oade or Jerry Moore is almost certainly worth adding to your collection. There is bound to be something you'll like.

For the diehard SBD snobs, stay tuned. I'll show you how to go after some of that dye that's spread in the pool. :-)

*I apologize for all the commas and spaces. When I tried to put all the dates into a table to keep some space between them, Blogspot took my very simple HTML code and turned it into Moby Dick, with some ugly results.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Kemp's Playlist from June 8

Today's show paid homage to the Monterey International Pop Music Festival, which was held June 16, 17, & 18, 1967, in Monterey, California. This festival provided enough material for many hours of programming - whittling it all down to two hours was an interesting challenge.

There are several good resources on the web for information about the festival - Setlist.com, a "fan site" by an attendee (beware of pesky Tripod popups), and a site that features many of the famous and infamous festivals from that era.

Here's the playlist from today's show:

The Mamas and The Papas, "California Dreaming" from the Forest Gump soundtrack
Eric Burden and the Animals, "San Franciscan Night" from Winds of Change (LP)
Simon & Garfunkel, "Homeward Bound" and "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy) from Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
Eric Burden and the Animals, " Paint it Black" also from Winds of Change
Big Brother & the Holding Company, "Combination of the Two" from Cheap Thrills
Country Joe McDonald, "Feel Like I'm Fixin To Die Rag" from the Woodstock soundtrack
Steve Miller Band, "Living in the USA" recorded live at Irvine CA, 8-9-91
Butterfield Blues Band, "Born in Chicago" from Golden Butter (LP)
Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Dino's Song"
Moby Grape, "Omaha"
The Byrds, "So You Wanna Be A Rock and Roll Star" from Younger Than Yesterday (LP)
Jefferson Airplane, "High-Flying Bird" and "White Rabbit" recorded live in Toronto 8-4-67
Otis Redding, "Try a Little Tenderness" from The Definitive Otis Redding box set
Buffalo Springfield, "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" from Buffalo Springfield (LP)
The Who, "Substitute" and "Summertime Blues" from Live at Leeds
Grateful Dead, "Alligator" from Dick's Picks 4
Grateful Dead, "Cold Rain and Snow" from Grateful Dead (LP)
Jimi Hendrix Experience, "Killing Floor," "Foxy Lady," and "Like a Rolling Stone" from Jimi Plays Monterey
Scott McKenzie, "San Francisco" from the Forest Gump soundtrack
The Mamas and the Papas, "Straight Shooter" and "Got a Feeling" from If You Can Believe Your Ears and Eyes (LP)
Grateful Dead, "New Potato Caboose" recorded live in Toronto 8-4-67 (and the only song from today's show that wasn't performed during the Monterey International Pop Festival)

Today's show was sponsored in part by the Charlottesville Pavilion, and of course Crutchfield.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Bill's playlist from Saturday, July 1

Grateful Dead - Shakedown Street, 4/16/84, Rochester War Memorial Aud., Rochester, NY
Grateful Dead - Black Throated Wind, 4/17/72, Tivolis Koncertsal, Copenhagen, DK
Grateful Dead - Ramble on Rose, 12/12/78, Jai-Alai Fronton Arena, Miami, FL
Kingfish - The Battle of New Orleans, 3/27/76, Calderone Concert Hall, Hempstead, NY
Grateful Dead - MSWS, Terrapin > Jam (Bob w/drummers), 10/11/83, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY
Grateful Dead - Mexicali Blues, 10/16/74, Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA
Grateful Dead - Foolish Heart > I Need a Miracle, 9/24/91, The Garden, Boston, MA
Grateful Dead - Uncle John's Band (requested), 2/9/73, Maples Pavilion, Palo Alto, CA
Grateful Dead - Space Jam > NFA > Black Peter > Around & Around > Johnny B. Goode, 6/20/80, West High Auditorium, Anchorage, AK