Deadhead Cannabis Show

Pink Floyd's Catalog Sale: A New Era

In this episode of the Deadhead Cannabis Show, Larry Michigan explores the rich history of the Grateful Dead's music, focusing on a specific concert from 1980. He discusses the significance of various songs, including 'Iko Iko' and 'Me and Bobby McGee', while also reflecting on the impact of Chris Christopherson's songwriting. The conversation shifts to current events in the music and cannabis industries, including Pink Floyd's catalog sale and the ongoing challenges faced by the hemp industry. Larry emphasizes the importance of medical marijuana legalization and shares insights on how cannabis enhances the music experience. He concludes with personal strain recommendations and highlights record sales in legal marijuana states.

Takeaways

The Grateful Dead's acoustic sets were a significant part of their live performances.

Audience tapes capture the energy of live shows better than soundboard recordings.

Chris Christopherson's 'Me and Bobby McGee' remains a classic, showcasing the intersection of music and storytelling.

Pink Floyd's recent catalog sale reflects the changing dynamics in the music industry.

The Betty Boards represent a pivotal moment in Grateful Dead tape trading history.

The hemp industry faces legal challenges that could impact small businesses.

A majority of chronic pain patients support the legalization of medical marijuana.

Cannabis enhances the enjoyment of music, as confirmed by recent studies.

Record sales in legal marijuana states are reaching new heights, indicating a thriving market.

Personal strain recommendations can enhance the cannabis experience for users.

Chapters

00:00Introduction and Context of the Grateful Dead's Music

04:50Exploring 'Iko Iko' and Audience Tapes

10:42The Significance of 'Monkey and the Engineer'

15:24Remembering Chris Christopherson and 'Me and Bobby McGee'

22:31Pink Floyd's Catalog Sale to Sony Music

28:15The Mystery of the Betty Boards

54:16Current Issues in the Hemp Industry

01:08:10Support for Medical Marijuana Legalization

01:15:50The Impact of Marijuana on Music Enjoyment

01:21:09Record Sales in Legal Marijuana States

01:25:53Strain Recommendations and Personal Experiences

Grateful Dead

October 7, 1980 (44 years ago)

Warfield Theater

San Francisco, CA

Grateful Dead Live at Warfield Theater on 1980-10-07 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Part of 23 show run in late September to the end of October, 1980 split between the Warfield (September 27th – October 14th) and Radio City Music Hall in NYC (October 22 – 31st)   Each show opened with an acoustic set followed by two full electric sets.  These were the last shows where the Dead played acoustic sets.  Songs from all of these concerts were pulled for the two related Dead double album releases, Reckoning (acoustic music, released April 1, 1981- the Band’s sixth live album and 17th overall) and Dead Set (electric music, released August 26, 1981, the Band’s seventh live album and 18th overall). 

Today’s episode is broken up into three acoustic numbers from this show and then three electric numbers.

INTRO:                     Iko Iko

                                    Track #1

                                    0:00 – 1:37

"Iko Iko" (/ˈaɪkoʊˈaɪkoʊ/) is a much-coveredNew Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a single by James "Sugar Boy" Crawford and his Cane Cutters but it failed to make the charts.

The song first became popular in 1965 by the girl groupthe Dixie Cups, who scored an international hit with "Iko Iko" released in March, 1965. In 1967, as part of a lawsuit settlement between Crawford and the Dixie Cups, the trio were given part songwriting credit for the song. 

A permanent part of the Dead’s  repertoire since first played in May, 1977 in St. Louis, almost by accident out of and back into a Not Fade Away.  The intro, one verse and back to NFA.  Overtime, became a tune that was not frequently played, usually once, maybe twice, a tour, but whenever it was played it created a party atmosphere out of whatever the mood had been prior to its playing. 

Perfect song for Jerry with the call and response chorus that everyone joined in on.  The song that “fastened my seatbelt on the bus” when I saw it for the first time at my second show ever in Syracuse in 1982 with good buddy Mikey.  Once you hear it live, you are always looking for it at future shows.

I love this song as do many Deadheads.  But getting to hear it played acoustically is a real treat and a great way to open this “hometown” show.  Jerry played it right up until the end.

Played:  185 times

First:  May 15, 1977 at St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO, USA

Last:  July 5, 1995 at Riverport Amphitheatre, Maryland Heights, MO, USA

SHOW No. 1:         Monkey And The Engineer

                                    Track #4

                                    0:48 – 2:25

Jesse Fuller tune

Jesse Fuller (March 12, 1896 – January 29, 1976) was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues".  Starting in the 1950’s after a number of non-music related jobs, Fuller began to compose songs, many of them based on his experiences on the railroads, and also reworked older pieces, playing them in his syncopated style. His one-man band act began when he had difficulty finding reliable musicians to work with: hence, he became known as "The Lone Cat". Starting locally, in clubs and bars in San Francisco and across the bay in Oakland and Berkeley, Fuller became more widely known when he performed on television in both the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

In 1958, at the age of 62, he recorded an album, released by Good Time Jazz Records.[3] Fuller's instruments included 6-string guitar (an instrument which he had abandoned before the beginning of his one-man band career), 12-string guitar, harmonica, kazoo, cymbal (high-hat) and fotdella. He could play several instruments simultaneously, particularly with the use of a headpiece to hold a harmonica, kazoo, and microphone.

In the summer of 1959 he was playing in the Exodus Gallery Bar in Denver. Bob Dylan spent several weeks in Denver that summer, and picked up his technique of playing the harmonica by using a neck-brace from Fuller.[

Monkey And The Engineer was played by the pre-Dead group Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions in 1964. The song was performed by the Grateful Dead in acoustic sets in 1969, 1970, 1980 and 1981. Also performed by Bob Weir with Kingfish.

A fun tune that is perfect for kids as well.  Good one to get them hooked into the Dead on!

Played:  38 times

First:  December 19, 1969 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last: February 12, 1989 at Great Western Forum, Inglewood, CA, USA

MUSIC NEWS:

                        Intro Music:           Me and Bobby McGee

                                                            Kris Kristofferson - Me And Bobby McGee (1979) (youtube.com)

                                                            0:00 – 1:27

"Me and Bobby McGee" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson and originally performed by Roger Miller. Fred Foster shares the writing credit, as Kristofferson wrote the song based on a suggestion from Foster.[1] Foster had a bit of a crush on Barbara "Bobbie" McKee who was a secretary on Nashville's music row. When he pitched the title to Kristofferson, he misheard the name as "Me and Bobby McGee," and the name stuck. Kristofferson found inspiration for his lyrics from a film, 'La Strada,' by Fellini, and a scene where Anthony Quinn is going around on this motorcycle and Giulietta Masina is the feeble-minded girl with him, playing the trombone. He got to the point where he couldn't put up with her anymore and left her by the side of the road while she was sleeping," Kristofferson said.

 A posthumously released version by Janis Joplin topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, making the song the second posthumously released No. 1 single in U.S. chart history after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding. Gordon Lightfoot released a version that reached number 1 on the Canadian country charts in 1970. Jerry Lee Lewis released a version that was number 1 on the country charts in December 1971/January 1972 as the "B" side of "Would You Take Another Chance on Me". Billboard ranked Joplin's version as the No. 11 song for 1971.

Janis Joplin recorded the song for inclusion on her Pearl album only a few days before her death in October 1970. Singer Bob Neuwirth taught it to her while Kristofferson was in Peru filming The Last Movie with Dennis Hopper.[5] Kristofferson did not know she had recorded the song until after her death. The first time he heard her recording of it was the day after she died.[6]Record World called it a "perfect matching of performer and material."[7] Joplin's version topped the charts to become her only number one single; her version was later ranked No. 148 on Rolling Stone's 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In 2002, the 1971 version of the song by Janis Joplin on Columbia Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The song is the story of two drifters, the narrator and Bobby McGee. The pair hitch a ride from a truck driver and sing as they drive through the American South before making their way westward. They visit California and then part ways, with the song's narrator expressing sadness afterwards. Due to the singer's name never being mentioned and the name "Bobby" being gender-neutral (especially in America), the song has been recorded by both male and female singers with only minor differences in the lyrical content.

Me And Bobby McGee was first performed by the Grateful Dead in November 1970. It was then played well over 100 times through to October 1974. The song returned to the repertoire for three performances in 1981 after which it was dropped for good.  Sung by Weir.

1. RIP Kris Kristofferson

Kris Kristofferson, the iconic country music singer-songwriter and accomplished Hollywood actor, passed away peacefully at his home in Maui, Hawaii, at the age of 88. The family has not disclosed the cause of death. It was confirmed that Kristofferson was surrounded by loved ones during his final moments.

In a statement, the family shared: "It is with a heavy heart that we share the news our husband/father/grandfather, Kris Kristofferson, passed away peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 28 at home. We're all so blessed for our time with him. Thank you for loving him all these many years, and when you see a rainbow, know he's smiling down at us all."

Tributes poured in from across the entertainment world and fans as the news of Kris Kristofferson’s death spread. Barbra Streisand, his co-star in A Star Is Born, praised him as a "special” and “charming" in a post on X. Dolly Parton, who collaborated with Kristofferson, shared on X, "What a great loss. I will always love you, Dolly."

Kristofferson's career was nothing short of extraordinary. He achieved stardom as both a country music artist and a successful actor. Throughout his prolific career, Kristofferson earned numerous accolades. These include three Grammy Awards and an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Additionally, he was nominated for an Academy Award in 1985 for Best Original Song for Songwriter.

In 1971, Janis Joplin, who had dated Kristofferson, had a number one hit with "Me and Bobby McGee" from her posthumous album Pearl. It stayed on the number-one spot on the charts for weeks. 

In 2021, after releasing his final album, The Cedar Creek Sessions, in 2016, Kristofferson announced his retirement from music. His legacy as a musician, actor, and cultural icon leaves a profound impact on both industries. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, his children, and his grandchildren.

1. Pink Floyd sells song rights (Rolling Stone Magazine)

After years of in-fighting and near-agreements, Pink Floyd have finally reached a deal to sell the rights to their recorded music catalog to Sony Music, according to the Financial Times.

The deal is reported to be worth around $400 million and also includes the rights to the band’s name and likenesses. That means, along with gaining full control over Pink Floyd’s music, Sony will have the crucial rights for most things Pink Floyd-related, from merch to movies.

A rep for Sony Music declined to comment. A source confirmed the veracity of the details to Rolling Stone.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in August, Gilmour confirmed that the band was “in discussion” about a potential catalog sale, with the guitarist adding he was tired of the continued in-fighting and “veto system” that has resulted in animosity and delayed reissues over petty issues like liner notes.  

“To be rid of the decision-making and the arguments that are involved with keeping it going is my dream,” Gilmour said of a catalog sale. “If things were different… and I am not interested in that from a financial standpoint. I’m only interested in it from getting out of the mud bath that it has been for quite a while.”

With the Sony deal in place, the label — and not the band — will now bear the responsibility for the next Pink Floyd release, a 50th-anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here that is expected to arrive in 2025.

The Sony deal comes 18 months after Pink Floyd made traction on a $500 million agreement to sell their music, only for more bickering between band mates to make the deal “basically dead,” as sources told Variety in March 2023.

The Sony deal only includes Pink Floyd’s recorded music catalog, which allows for the band to keep its largely Waters-penned publishing catalog and retain ownership of now-apropos lyrics like “Money/It’s a crime/Share it fairly, but don’t take a slice of my pie” and “We call it riding the gravy train.”

1. What happened to the Betty Boards

In May 1986, a storage auction took place in California’s Marin County that would altogether change the nature of Grateful Dead tape trading, the group’s distribution of its live recordings and, ultimately, the Dead’s place in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. An advertisement in a local paper drew in a few dozen curious parties anticipating the range of memorabilia and household items that typically become available through the auction of lockers that had fallen into arrears due to lack of payments. 

Among the items up for auction that day were hundreds of reel-to-reel soundboard tapes of the Grateful Dead originally recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson during a golden age between 1971-80.

The Betty Boards, as copies of these recordings became known, eventually found their way into the collections of longstanding Deadheads and newbies alike, ending some aspects of a tape-trading hierarchy by which certain individuals lorded over their collections, denying access to those who were unfamiliar with the secret handshake.

The appearance and subsequent dissemination of these recordings became a source of fascination and speculation for Deadheads in 1986 and the questions have only compounded over the years: How did the tapes fall into the auction? Who won them? How and why were they initially distributed? Are there more recordings that have yet to make it into circulation? And jumping ahead to the present, where are those tapes today? Just what has become of the Bettys?

What can be said with certainty is that a new cache of tapes has been unearthed and a plan is underway by Dark Star Orchestra guitarist Rob Eaton, who has painstakingly restored many of the boards, to complete the job and then facilitate their return to the band. Eaton hopes that a series of official releases might follow that will also yield a small royalty to the woman who recorded the reels and then lost them due to her own financial hardship, even if Deadheads owe her a debt of gratitude.

Before the auction, before the boards, there was Betty.

Betty Cantor was still in her teens when she began setting up mics and helping to record sound at San Francisco venues— first at the Avalon Ballroom and then, the Carousel (the latter during the Grateful Dead’s brief stab at venue management in 1968). She worked alongside Bob Matthews, initially assisting with setups during the recording of the Dead’s Anthem of the Sun. A true pioneer, as a woman staking her claim in a patriarchal business, she partnered with Matthews into the early 1970s to produce and engineer live multi- track recordings (she had a hand or two in Live/Dead) as well as studio efforts (Aoxomoxoa and Workingman’s Dead).

While she worked for other artists during this period, she maintained a close relationship with the Grateful Dead, catalyzed by her marriage to crew member Rex Jackson, who would die a few years later in an auto accident. (The philanthropic Rex Foundation is named in his honor.)

“My late husband started recording on the road when he was on the equipment crew,” Cantor Jackson explains. “He and I purchased our own gear and tape. I recorded whenever I could get to the gigs. I recorded the Grateful Dead frequently when they were at home venues, I recorded any and all Jerry Garcia Band gigs I could get to for years, in all its configurations, as well as other bands I liked whenever I could. In those days, bands were cool and happy about me getting a feed. Rex was killed in a car accident in ‘76. In ‘77 and ‘78, I was put on Grateful Dead road crew salary, taping and handling Bobby’s stage setup.”

She later began a romantic relationship with Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland but, after that ended, she sensed that she had been frozen out. “Brent and I split up after a few years, with the last year spent in the studio working on his solo project. This put me in the category of the dreaded ‘ex.’ I didn’t think that could apply to me, but he was a band member. Everyone was paranoid of me being around, so I no longer had access to my studio or the vault.”

Trying times followed. In 1986, she found herself in a dire financial predicament and forced out of her home. “All my things were moved to storage facilities.

Unable to foot the bill at the storage center, Cantor-Jackson forfeited the rights to her worldly possessions. She remembers contacting the Grateful Dead office to inform them of the situation, but the group took no action, resulting in a public auction of Cantor-Jackson’s personal assets, which included more than 1,000 reel-to-reel tapes—mostly Grateful Dead recordings, along with performances by Legion of Mary, Kingfish, Jerry Garcia Band, Old and In The Way, the Keith and Donna Band, and New Riders of The Purple Sage.

The majority of the 1,000-plus reels that have come to be known as the Betty Boards were acquired by three principals, none of whom were fervid Deadheads at the time. The first of these individuals set his tapes aside in a storage locker where they remain to this day. A second, who was more interested in the road cases that held the tapes, left them to rot in his barn for a decade. The final party was a couple with a particular interest in progressive rock, who nonetheless held an appreciation for the performances captured on tape.

So while some tapes unquestionably were scattered to the wind, following the four- hour event and a second auction for a final lot of tapes held a few weeks later, the three prime bidders each held hundreds of reels. While two of the winning bidders had no plans for the tapes, within a few months the couple decided that they would place the music in circulation.

This was our way of getting new material into circulation and also breaking the hierarchy of those collectors who held on to prime shows for themselves. Initially, we started transferring the tapes to VHS Hi-Fi on our own, but soon realized what a daunting task this was going to be. So we reached out to one of our trading buddies who we knew had connections in the Dead trading community. From there, he gathered together what was later to become known as the ‘Unindicted Co-conspirators,’ who put in a massive archiving effort to back up the tapes and distribute them.”

The individual they selected as their point person was Ken Genetti, a friend and longtime Deadhead. “I went into their house, and I opened up this closet and they had all the stuff arranged on a shelf in order,” Genetti reflects. “For me, it was like King Tut’s tomb. I knew immediately what they had when I looked in there. The first thing I saw was Port Chester, N.Y., Feb. 18, 1971, an incredible show which was Mickey [Hart]’s last concert for many years and I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’ Then I saw Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, Calif., ‘73, my favorite concert I ever went to. I pulled it out and I went, ‘Holy shit!’”

They explain: “We had sought to keep the operation as low key as possible because of the potential for a backlash. It wasn’t until someone contacted the Grateful Dead office and offered them a copy of the tapes that we knew it was only a matter of time before we would be hearing from their lawyers. When we did hear from them, there was a bit of back and forth between their lawyers and our lawyer, but the bottom line was we had purchased the tapes legally and owned them but didn’t own the rights to the music contained on them. Therefore, we could not sell the music on them, which was never our intent anyway. That pretty much left us at a stalemate and, not wanting to stir up any more issues with the Grateful Dead office, is also why we avoided re-digitizing the tapes.”

In late 1995, Eaton received a call from a high-school teacher who had purchased one of the lots predominantly for the road cases that held the tapes. The teacher now hoped to sell the reels and wanted Eaton to assess them. In a cluttered barn, Eaton discovered a grimy, mold-infested collection.

This might have been the end of the story, but the Betty Boards have proven to be the gift that keeps on giving. The teacher never found a buyer for the tapes—his asking price was a million dollars—and two years ago, facing monetary struggles and fearing that that the bank might foreclose on his home, he contacted Eaton once again to see if he would be willing to take custody of the tapes. The teacher also explained that he had discovered another 50 reels while cleaning out the barn.

Emboldened by success with this latest batch, Eaton set a new goal for himself: “I had this dream to try to reclaim all of this music and archive it properly so that it’s there for generations to come in the best possible form.”

Emboldened by success with this latest batch, Eaton set a new goal for himself: “I had this dream to try to reclaim all of this music and archive it properly so that it’s there for generations to come in the best possible form.” So through a chain of contacts, he eventually located the couple.

While completing his work on the couple’s reels, Eaton began researching the original auction, hoping to identify the third individual who had purchased the Bettys. He eventually found him, and in January 2014, the pair entered into discussions about this final batch of tapes, which Eaton hopes to restore.

What then? Eaton has a plan that he already has set in motion. “What I’d love to see done—in a perfect world—is I think all the tapes need to go back to the vault,” he says. “I think the people that have purchased these tapes should be compensated. I don’t think we’re talking huge sums of money but enough to make them relinquish the tapes back to the Grateful Dead. They should be part of the collection. Another thing that’s important is if these tapes do get back to the vault, Betty should get her production royalty on anything that gets released, which is completely reasonable. Those were her tapes; those weren’t the Dead’s tapes. I’d love to see Betty get her due.”

SHOW No. 2:         Heaven Help The Fool

                                    Track #6

                                    1:30 – 3:10

Heaven Help the Fool is the second solo album by Grateful Deadrhythm guitaristBob Weir, released in 1978. It was recorded during time off from touring, in the summer of 1977, while Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart recovered from injuries sustained in a vehicular accident. Weir returned to the studio with Keith Olsen, having recorded Terrapin Station with the producer earlier in the year. Several well-known studio musicians were hired for the project, including widely used session player Waddy Wachtel and Toto members David Paich and Mike Porcaro.

Only "Salt Lake City" and the title track were played live by the Grateful Dead, the former in its namesake location on February 21, 1995,[1] and the latter in an instrumental arrangement during their 1980 acoustic sets.[2] Despite this, Weir has continued to consistently play tracks from the album with other bands of his, including RatDog and Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros. "Bombs Away" was released as a single and peaked at number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his only solo song to make the chart.[3] The album itself stalled at number 69, one spot behind his previous album, Ace.

The title track was written by Bobby and John Barlow.  While a staple at Bob shows with the Midnights, Rob Wasserman, Rat Dog, Wolf Bros., etc., the Dead only played it during these Warfield/Radio City and only as an instrumental arrangement.

Played:  17 times

First:  September 29, 1980 at The Warfield, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  October 31, 1980 at Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY, USA

Now the electric tunes from today’s show:

SHOW No. 3:         Cold, Rain & Snow

                                    Track #10

                                    0:00 – 1:30

"Rain and Snow", also known as "Cold Rain and Snow" (Roud 3634),[1] is an American folksong and in some variants a murder ballad.[2] The song first appeared in print in Olive Dame Campbell and Cecil Sharp's 1917 compilation English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians, which relates that it was collected from Mrs. Tom Rice in Big Laurel, North Carolina in 1916. The melody is pentatonic.

Campbell and Sharp's version collected only a single verse:

Lord, I married me a wife,
She gave me trouble all my life,
Made me work in the cold rain and snow.
Rain and snow, rain and snow,
Made me work in the cold rain and snow.

In 1965, Dillard Chandler recorded a graphic murder ballad version of the song that ends with the wife being shot by the husband. According to the liner notes on Chandler's album, Chandler learned the song from Berzilla Wallin, who said that the song related to a murder that had occurred in Madison County, North Carolina:

Well, I learned it from an old lady which says she was at the hanging of – which was supposed to be the hanging, but they didn't hang him. They give him 99 long years for the killing of his wife... I heard the song from her in 1911. She was in her 50s at that time. It did happen in her girlhood... when she was a young girl... She lived right here around in Madison County. It happened here between Marshall and Burnsville; that's where they did their hanging at that time – at Burnsville, North Carolina. That's all I know, except they didn't hang the man.'[2]

Subsequent performances have elaborated a variety of additional verses and variants beyond the single verse presented by Campbell and Sharp. Several verses consistently appear. Some sources for lyrics that appear in some later versions may be from Dock Boggs's 1927 song "Sugar Baby" (Roud 5731),[1] another lament of a henpecked husband, which may have contributed a line about "red apple juice".[4] A British folksong, The Sporting Bachelors (Roud 5556),[1] contains similar themes, but was collected in the 1950s.[2][5] Earlier possible precursors include a series of broadside ballads on the general subject of "Woeful Marriage"; one frequently reprinted nineteenth-century example begins with the words "On Monday night I married a wife", (Roud 1692).[1][6]

These British antecedents mostly share common themes and inspirations; the song originated in the local tradition of Big Laurel, Madison County, and relate to a nameless murderer who committed the crime at some time between the end of the Civil War and the end of the nineteenth century. A recent origin is also suggested by the relatively limited number of variations on the tune; most performances use the Campbell-Sharp melody as written.[2]

Despite the apparent violence of the lyrics, women feature prominently in the oral tradition of the song. It was collected from "Mrs. Tom Rice", and sung by Berzilla Wallin, who learned it from "an old lady" who remembered the murder trial the song was about.

The song is closely associated with the Grateful Dead; a studio version appeared on their first album The Grateful Dead (1967), and the song was a standard part of the Dead's repertoire throughout their career. They would often open with the song, or perform it early in the first set.[2] Unlike Chandler's recording, in the Dead's version of the lyrics the husband generally laments his mistreatment at his greedy wife's hands, but does not kill her. The lyrics from the Grateful Dead's version were adapted from an earlier recording by Obray Ramsey.

Played:  249 times

First:  May 5, 1965 at Magoo's Pizza Parlor, Menlo Park, CA, USA

Last:  June 19, 1995 at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, USA

MJ NEWS:

1. Hemp Industry Advocates Ask Court To Halt California’s Ban On Products With Any ‘Detectable Amount’ Of THC Amid Legal Challenge

SHOW No. 4:         Loser

                                    Track #12

                                    4:13 – 6:13

David Dodd:  The song seems covered in the Americana dust of so many songs from this period of Hunter’s and Garcia’s songwriting partnership. Abilene, whether in Texas or Kansas, is a dusty cowtown—at the time in which the song seems to be set, the cattle outnumbered the human inhabitants by a factor of tens. It’s easy to see the scene Hunter so casually sets, of a broken-down gambler in a saloon, with a dirt street outside full of armed cowpokes.

Appearing, as it does, on Garcia, the song seems to pair naturally with the other gambling song on the album, “Deal.” It could be sung by the same character on a different day, in fact. And it fits in, as I mentioned, with a whole suite of songs that might be set in the same generic America of the late 19th or early 20th centuries: “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Jack Straw,” “Mister Charlie,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Candyman,” and others, as well as certain selected covers, such as “Me and My Uncle,” and “El Paso.”

Those songs share certain motifs, and among them are the various accoutrements of a gambler’s trade, whether dice or cards. Money plays a role—and, in the case of “Loser,” the particular money mentioned helps place the song chronologically. Gold dollar coins were minted from 1849 (the Gold Rush!) to 1889. They were tiny little coins. I have one, and it is amazingly small—between 13 and 15 mm in diameter. “All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars…” C’mon! They’re tiny little things. In fact, originally, the line was “one gold dollar,” but that changed at some point to the “ten”

The crowning glory of the song, as in many other Garcia/Hunter compositions, is the bridge.

The song culminates in this cry of hopefulness: “Last fair deal in the country, Sweet Susie, last fair deal in the town. Put your gold money where your love is, baby, before you let my deal go down—go down.”

(It’s noted that “Sweet Susie” was dropped at some point, but then, occasionally, brought back. I think it was an optional decoration to the line. Alex Allan, in his Grateful Dead Lyric and Song Finder site, notes that “Sweet Susie” rarely appears after 1972, but that it’s sung in performances in 1974 and 1979.)

Almost always played as a first set Jerry ballad.

This version might have been the high point of this show.  So nicely played and sung by Jerry.

Played:  353

First:  February 18, 1971 at Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, USA

Last:  June 28, 1995 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, MI

OUTRO:                   Good Lovin’

                                    Track #27

                                    3:25 – 5:04

"Good Lovin'" is a song written by Rudy Clark and Arthur Resnick that was a #1 hit single for the Young Rascals in 1966.

The song was first recorded by Lemme B. Good (stage name of singer Limmie Snell) in March 1965 and written by Rudy Clark. The following month it was recorded with different lyrics by R&B artists The Olympics, produced by Jerry Ragovoy; this version reached #81 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart.

The tale has been told that Rascal Felix Cavaliere heard The Olympics' recording on a New York City radio station and the group added it to their concert repertoire, using the same lyrics and virtually the same arrangement as The Olympics' version. Co-producer Tom Dowd captured this live feel on their 1966 recording, even though the group did not think the performance held together well. "Good Lovin'" rose to the top of the Billboard Pop Singles chart in the spring of 1966 and represented the Young Rascals' first real hit.

"Good Lovin'" is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and was ranked #333 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.[4] Writer Dave Marsh placed it at #108 in his 1989 book The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made, saying it is "the greatest example ever of a remake surpassing the quality of an original without changing a thing about the arrangement."

A popular version was by the Grateful Dead, who made it a workhorse of their concert rotation, appearing almost every year from 1969 on.[6] It was sung in their early years during the 1960s and early 1970s by Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and later by Bob Weir. The Weir rendition was recorded for the group's 1978 Shakedown Street album and came in for a good amount of criticism: Rolling Stone said it "feature[d] aimless ensemble work and vocals that Bob Weir should never have attempted."[7] On November 11, 1978, the Grateful Dead performed it on Saturday Night Live.

Typically, at least by the time I started seeing them, usually played as a second set closer or late in the second set.

As good buddy AWell always said, “if they play Good Lovin, everyone leaves with a smile on their face.”  Can’t argue with that.

Played:  442

First:  May 5, 1965 at Magoo's Pizza Parlor, Menlo Park, CA, USA

Last:  June 28, 1995 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI, USA

Easy fast on Yom Kippur

.Produced by PodConx  

Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show

Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin

Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

Exploring the Grateful Dead's Legacy

In this episode of the Deadhead Cannabis Show, Larry Mishkin takes listeners on a nostalgic journey through the Grateful Dead's music, focusing on a concert from September 30, 1993, at the Boston Garden. He discusses various songs, including 'Here Comes Sunshine' and 'Spoonful,' while also touching on the band's history and the contributions of key figures like Vince Wellnick and Candace Brightman. The episode also delves into current music news, including a review of Lake Street Dive's performance and updates on marijuana legislation in Ukraine and the U.S.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to the Deadhead Cannabis Show

03:39 Here Comes Sunshine: A Grateful Dead Classic

09:47 Spoonful: The Blues Influence

14:00 Music News: Rich Girl and Lake Street Dive

24:09 Candace Brightman: The Unsung Hero of Lighting

38:01 Broken Arrow: Phil Lesh's Moment to Shine

42:19 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds: A Beatles Classic

48:26 Marijuana News: Ukraine's Medical Cannabis Legislation

54:32 Bipartisan Support for Clean Slate Act

01:00:11 Pennsylvania's Push for Marijuana Legalization

01:04:25 CBD as a Natural Insecticide

01:10:26 Wave to the Wind: A Phil Lesh Tune

01:13:18 The Other One: A Grateful Dead Epic

Boston Garden

September 30, 1993  (31 years ago)

Grateful Dead Live at Boston Garden on 1993-09-30 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

INTRO:                                 Here Comes Sunshine

                                                Track #1

                                                0:08 – 1:48

Released on Wake of the Flood, October 15, 1973, the first album on the band’s own “Grateful Dead Records” label.

The song was first performed by the Grateful Dead in February 1973. It was played about 30 times through to February 1974 and then dropped from the repertoire. The song returned to the repertoire in December 1992, at the instigation of Vince Welnick, and was then played a few times each year until 1995.

Played:  66 times

First:  February 9, 1973 at Maples Pavilion, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

Last:  July 2, 1995 at Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN, USA

But here’s the thing:

                        Played 32 times in 1973

                        Played 1 time in 1974

                        Not played again until December 6, 1992 at Compton Terrace in Chandler, AZ  - 18 years

                        Then played a “few” more times in 1993, 94 and 95, never more than 11 times in any one year.

I finally caught one in 1993 at the Rosemont Horizon in Chicago with good buddies Marc and Alex.

My favorite version is Feb. 15, 1973 at the Dane County Coliseum in Madison, WI

SHOW No. 1:                     Spoonful

                                                Track #2

                                                :50 – 2:35

"Spoonful" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon and first recorded in 1960 by Howlin' Wolf. Released in June, 1960 by Chess Records in Chicago. 

 Called "a stark and haunting work",[1] it is one of Dixon's best known and most interpreted songs.[2]Etta James and Harvey Fuqua had a pop and R&B record chart hit with their duet cover of "Spoonful" in 1961, and it was popularized in the late 1960s by the British rock group Cream.

Dixon's "Spoonful" is loosely based on "A Spoonful Blues", a song recorded in 1929 by Charley Patton.[3] Earlier related songs include "All I Want Is a Spoonful" by Papa Charlie Jackson (1925) and "Cocaine Blues" by Luke Jordan (1927).

The lyrics relate men's sometimes violent search to satisfy their cravings, with "a spoonful" used mostly as a metaphor for pleasures, which have been interpreted as sex, love, and drugs.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful" as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".[9] It is ranked number 154 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2021 list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time",[10] up from number 221 on its 2004 list.

In 2010, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame "Classics of Blues Recordings" category.[12] In a statement by the foundation, it was noted that "Otis Rush has stated that Dixon presented 'Spoonful' to him, but the song didn't suit Rush's tastes and so it ended up with Wolf, and soon thereafter with Etta James".[12] James' recording with Harvey Fuqua as "Etta & Harvey" reached number 12 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and number 78 on its Hot 100 singles chart.[13] However, Wolf’s original "was the one that inspired so many blues and rock bands in the years to come".

The British rock group Cream recorded "Spoonful" for their 1966 UK debut album, Fresh Cream. They were part of a trend in the mid-1960s by rock artists to record a Willie Dixon song for their debut albums.

Sung by Bob Weir, normally followed Truckin’ in the second set.  This version is rare because it is the second song of the show and does not have a lead in.  Ended Here Comes Sunshine, stopped, and then went into this.  When it follows Truckin’, just flows right into Spoonful.

Played:  52 times

First:  October 15, 1981 at Melkweg, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Last:  December 8, 1994 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

MUSIC NEWS:                              Lead In Music

                                                Rich Girl

                                                Lake Street Dive

                                                Lake Street Dive: Rich Girl [4K] 2018-05-09 - College Street Music Hall; New Haven, CT (youtube.com)

                                                0:00 – 1:13

"Rich Girl" is a song by Daryl Hall & John Oates. It debuted on the Billboard Top 40 on February 5, 1977, at number 38 and on March 26, 1977, it became their first of six number-one singles on the BillboardHot 100. The single originally appeared on the 1976 album Bigger Than Both of Us. At the end of 1977, Billboard ranked it as the 23rd biggest hit of the year.

The song was rumored to be about the then-scandalous newspaper heiress Patty Hearst. In fact, the title character in the song is based on a spoiled heir to a fast-food chain who was an ex-boyfriend of Daryl Hall's girlfriend, Sara Allen. "But you can't write, 'You're a rich boy' in a song, so I changed it to a girl," Hall told Rolling Stone.

Hall elaborated on the song in an interview with American Songwriter:

"Rich Girl" was written about an old boyfriend of Sara [Allen]'s from college that she was still friends with at the time. His name is Victor Walker. He came to our apartment, and he was acting sort of strange. His father was quite rich. I think he was involved with some kind of a fast-food chain. I said, "This guy is out of his mind, but he doesn't have to worry about it because his father's gonna bail him out of any problems he gets in." So I sat down and wrote that chorus. [Sings] "He can rely on the old man's money/he can rely on the old man's money/he's a rich guy." I thought that didn't sound right, so I changed it to "Rich Girl". He knows the song was written about him.

1. Lake Street Dive at Salt Shed

Lake Street Dive is an American multi-genre band that was formed in 2004 at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.[1] The band's founding members are Rachael Price, Mike "McDuck" Olson, Bridget Kearney, and Mike Calabrese. Keyboardist Akie Bermiss joined the band on tour in 2017 and was first credited on their 2018 album Free Yourself Up; guitarist James Cornelison joined in 2021 after Olson left the band. The band is based in Brooklyn and frequently tours in North America, Australia, and Europe.

The group was formed in 2004 as a "free country band"; they intended to play country music in an improvised, avant-garde style.[3] This concept was abandoned in favor of something that "actually sounded good", according to Mike Olson.[4] The band's name was inspired by the Bryant Lake Bowl, a frequent hang out in the band's early years, located on Lake Street in Minneapolis.

Great show last Thursday night my wife and I went with good friends JT and Marni and Rick and Ben. Sitting in the back near the top of the bleachers with a killer view of the Chicago Sky line looking west to southeast and right along the north branch of the Chicago River.  Beautiful weather and a great night overall.  My first time seeing the band although good buddies Alex, Andy and Mike had seen the at Redrocks in July and all spoke very highly of the band which is a good enough endorsement for me.

I don’t know any of their songs, but they were very good and one of their encores was Rich Girl which made me smile because that too is a song from my high school and college days, that’s basically 40+ years ago.  Combined with Goose’s cover of the 1970’s hit “Hollywood Nights” by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band it was a trip down memory lane.

I would recommend seeing this band to any fan of fun music.  They were all clearly having a great time.

Katie Pruitt opened and came out to sing a song with LSD.

In 2017, Pruitt was awarded the Buddy Holly Prize from the Songwriters Hall of Fame[4] and signed with Round Hill Records.[5]

Her EP, OurVinyl Live Session EP was released in March 2018.[6] She was named by Rolling Stone as one of 10 new country artists you need to know[7] and by NPR as one of the 20 artists to watch, highlighting Pruitt as someone who "possesses a soaring, nuanced and expressive voice, and writes with devastating honesty".[8]

On September 13, 2019, Pruitt released "Expectations", the title track from her full-length debut. Additional singles from this project were subsequently released: "Loving Her" on October 21, 2019,[9] and "Out of the Blue" on November 15, 2019.[10]

On February 21, 2020, Pruitt's debut album, Expectations, was released by Rounder Records.[11][12] She earned a nomination for Emerging Act of the Year at the 2020 Americana Music Honors & Awards.[13] In the same year, she duetted with Canadian singer-songwriter Donovan Woods on "She Waits for Me to Come Back Down", a track from his album Without People.[14]

In 2021 the artist was inter alia part of the Newport Folk Festival in July.

Recommend her as well.

Candace Brightman (born 1944)[1] is an American lighting engineer, known for her longtime association with the Grateful Dead. She is the sister of author Carol Brightman.

Brightman grew up in Illinois and studied set design at St John's College, Annapolis, Maryland.[1] She began working as a lighting technician in the Anderson Theater, New York City, and was recruited by Bill Graham to operate lighting at the Fillmore East.[3] In 1970, she operated the house lights at the Chicago Coliseum with Norol Tretiv.[4] She has also worked for Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker and Van Morrison.

After serving as house lighting engineer for several Grateful Dead shows, including their 1971 residency at the Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, she was recruited by the band's Jerry Garcia to work for them full-time.[1] She started working regularly for the Dead on their 1972 tour of Europe (which was recorded and released as Europe 72), and remained their in-house lighting engineer for the remainder of their career.[1] One particular challenge that Brightman faced was having to alter lighting setups immediately in response to the Dead's improvisational style. By the band's final tours in the mid-1990s, she was operating a computer-controlled lighting system and managing a team of technicians.[5] Her work inspired Phish's resident lighting engineer Chris Kuroda, who regularly studied techniques in order to keep up with her standards.

Brightman continued working in related spin-off projects until 2005.[1][7] She returned to direct the lighting for the Fare Thee Well concerts in 2015, where she used over 500 fixtures.

Now facing significant financial and health related issues.

My buddies and I still can’t believe Neil with Crazy Horse did not play their Chicago show back in May this year.  Thank god he’s ok and still playing but we are bummed out at missing the shared experience opportunity that only comes along when seeing a rock legend like Neil and there aren’t many.

SHOW No. 2:                     Broken Arrow

                                                Track #5

                                                1:10 – 3:00

Written by Robbie Robertson and released on his album Robbie Robertson released on October 27, 1987.  It reached number 29 on the RPM CanCon charts in 1988.[23]Rod Stewart recorded a version of "Broken Arrow" in 1991 for his album Vagabond Heart.[24] Stewart's version of the song was released as a single on August 26, 1991,[25] with an accompanying music video, reaching number 20 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two in Canada.

This ballad is not to be confused either with Chuck Berry's 1959 single or Buffalo Springfield's 1967 song of the same name, written by Neil Young.

"Broken Arrow" was also performed live by the Grateful Dead from 1993 to 1995 with Phil Lesh on vocals.[28] Grateful Dead spinoff groups The Dead, Phil Lesh and Friends, and The Other Ones have also performed the song, each time with Lesh on vocals.[29]

Played:  35 times

First:  February 23, 1993 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  July 2, 1995 at Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN, USA

SHOW No. 3:         Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

                                    Track #9

                                    2:46 – 4:13

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their May, 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written primarily by John Lennon with assistance from Paul McCartney, and credited to the Lennon–McCartneysongwriting partnership.[2] Lennon's son Julian inspired the song with a nursery school drawing that he called "Lucy – in the sky with diamonds".

Shortly before the album's release, speculation arose that the first letter of each of the nouns in the title intentionally spelled "LSD", the initialism commonly used for the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide.[3] Lennon repeatedly denied that he had intended it as a drug song,[3][4] and attributed the song's fantastical imagery to his reading of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books.[3]

The Beatles recorded "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in March 1967. Adding to the song's ethereal qualities, the musical arrangement includes a Lowrey organ part heavily treated with studio effects, and a drone provided by an Indian tambura. The song has been recognised as a key work in the psychedelic genre. Among its many cover versions, a 1974 recording by Elton John – with a guest appearance by Lennon – was a number 1 hit in the US and Canada.

John Lennon said that his inspiration for the song came when his three-year-old son Julian showed him a nursery school drawing that he called "Lucy – in the Sky with Diamonds",[4] depicting his classmate Lucy O'Donnell.[5] Julian later recalled: "I don't know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings, but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age. I used to show Dad everything I'd built or painted at school, and this one sparked off the idea."[5][6][7]Ringo Starr witnessed the moment and said that Julian first uttered the song's title on returning home from nursery school.[4][8][9] Lennon later said, "I thought that's beautiful. I immediately wrote a song about it."

According to Lennon, the lyrics were largely derived from the literary style of Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland.[3][10] Lennon had read and admired Carroll's works, and the title of Julian's drawing reminded him of the "Which Dreamed It?" chapter of Through the Looking Glass, in which Alice floats in a "boat beneath a sunny sky".[11] Lennon recalled in a 1980 interview:

It was Alice in the boat. She is buying an egg and it turns into Humpty-Dumpty. The woman serving in the shop turns into a sheep and the next minute they are rowing in a rowing boat somewhere and I was visualizing that.[3]

Paul McCartney remembered of the song's composition, "We did the whole thing like an Alice in Wonderland idea, being in a boat on the river ... Every so often it broke off and you saw Lucy in the sky with diamonds all over the sky. This Lucy was God, the Big Figure, the White Rabbit."[10] He later recalled helping Lennon finish the song at Lennon's Kenwood home, specifically claiming he contributed the "newspaper taxis" and "cellophane flowers" lyrics.[8][12] Lennon's 1968 interview with Rolling Stone magazine confirmed McCartney's contribution.[13]

Lucy O'Donnell Vodden, who lived in Surbiton, Surrey, died 28 September 2009 of complications of lupus at the age of 46. Julian had been informed of her illness and renewed their friendship before her death.

Rumours of the connection between the title of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and the initialism "LSD" began circulating shortly after the release of the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP in June 1967.[24][25] McCartney gave two interviews in June admitting to having taken the drug.[26][27] Lennon later said he was surprised at the idea the title was a hidden reference to LSD,[3] countering that the song "wasn't about that at all,"[4] and it "was purely unconscious that it came out to be LSD. Until someone pointed it out, I never even thought of it. I mean, who would ever bother to look at initials of a title? ... It's not an acid song."[3]

McCartney confirmed Lennon's claim on several occasions.[8][12] In 1968 he said:

When you write a song and you mean it one way, and someone comes up and says something about it that you didn't think of – you can't deny it. Like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," people came up and said, cunningly, "Right, I get it. L-S-D," and it was when [news]papers were talking about LSD, but we never thought about it.[10]

In a 2004 interview with Uncut magazine, McCartney confirmed it was "pretty obvious" drugs did influence some of the group's compositions at that time, including "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", though he tempered this statement by adding, "[I]t's easy to overestimate the influence of drugs on the Beatles' music."

In 2009 Julian with James Scott Cook and Todd Meagher released "Lucy", a song that is a quasi-follow-up to the Beatles song. The cover of the EP showed four-year-old Julian's original drawing, that now is owned by David Gilmour from Pink Floyd.[59]

Lennon's original handwritten lyrics sold at auction in 2011 for $230,000.

A lot of fun to see this tune live.  Love that Jerry does the singing even though his voice is very rough and he stumble through some of the lyrics.  It is a Beatles tune, a legendary rock tune, and Jerry sings it like he wrote it at his kitchen table.

Phil and Friends with the Quintent cover the tune as well and I believe Warren Haynes does the primary singing on that version.  Warren, Jimmy Herring and Phil really rock that tune like the rock veterans they are.

The version is fun because it opens the second set, a place of real prominence even after having played it for six months by this point.  Gotta keep the Deadheads guessing.

Played:  19 times

First:  March 17, 1993 at Capital Centre, Landover, MD, USA

Last: June 28, 1995 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI, USA

MJ NEWS:

1. Ukrainian Officials Approve List Of Medical Marijuana Qualifying Conditions Under Country’s New Legalization Law

SHOW No. 4:         Wave To The Wind

                                    Track #10

                                    5:00 – 6:40

Hunter/Lesh tune that was never released.  In fact, the Dead archives say that there is no studio recording of the song. 

Not a great song.  I have no real memory of it other than it shows up in song lists for a couple of shows I attended.  Even this version of the tune is really kind of flat and uninspiring but there are not a lot of Phil tunes to feature and you can only discuss Box of Rain so many times.  Just something different to talk about.

Played:  21 times

First:  February 22, 1992 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  December 9, 1993 at Los Angeles Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA, USA

OUTRO:                   The Other One

                                    Track #16

                                    2:30 – 4:22

"That's It for the Other One" is a song by American band the Grateful Dead. Released on the band's second studio album Anthem of the Sun (released on July 18, 1968) it is made up of four sections—"Cryptical Envelopment", "Quadlibet for Tenderfeet", "The Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get", and "We Leave the Castle". Like other tracks on the album, is a combination of studio and live performances mixed together to create the final product.

While the "We Leave the Castle" portion of the song was never performed live by the band, the first three sections were all featured in concert to differing extents. "Cryptical Envelopment", written and sung by Jerry Garcia, was performed from 1967 to 1971, when it was then dropped aside from a select few performances in 1985. "The Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get", written by Bill Kreutzmann and Bob Weir and sung by Weir, became one of the band's most frequently performed songs in concert (usually denoted as simply "The Other One").

One of the few Grateful Dead songs to have lyrics written by Weir, "The Faster We Go, the Rounder We Get" became one of the Dead's most-played songs (being performed a known 586 times[2]) and most popular vehicles for improvisation, with some performances reaching 30+ minutes in length. The song's lyrics reference the influence of the Merry Pranksters and in particular Neal Cassady.[2] Additionally, the line "the heat came 'round and busted me for smilin' on a cloudy day"  - one of my favorite Grateful Dead lyrics  - refers to a time Weir was arrested for throwing a water balloon at a cop from the upstairs of 710 Ashbury, the Dead’s communal home during the ‘60’s and early ‘70’s before the band moved its headquarters, and the band members moved, to Marin County just past the Golden Gate Bridge when driving out of the City.

In my experience, almost always a second set tune.  Back in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s either a full That’s It For The Other One suite or just The Other One, would be jammed out as long as Dark Star and sometimes longer.  During the Europe ’72 tour, Dark Star and the full Other One Suite traded off every show as the second set psychedelic rock long jam piece.  Often preceded by a Phil bass bomb to bring the independent noodling into a full and tight jam with an energy all of its own.

The Other One got its name because it was being written at the same time as Alligator, one of the Dead’s very first tunes.  When discussing the tunes, there was Alligator and this other one.

I always loved the Other One and was lucky enough to see the full That’s It For The Other One suite twice in 1985 during its too brief comeback to celebrate the Dead’s 20th anniversary.

Played:  550 times

First:  October 31, 1967 at Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  July 8, 1995 at Soldier Field in Chicago

Birthday shout out:

• Nephew, Jacob Mishkin, star collegiate baseball player, turns 21and all I can say is “no effing way!”  Happy birthday dude!

And a Happy and healthy New Year to those celebrating Rosh Hashanah which begins this week.

.Produced by PodConx  

Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show

Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin

Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

Candyman and Cultural Contradictions: Grateful Dead’s Egypt Adventure

In this episode of the Deadhead Cannabis Show, host Larry Mishkin highlights two key topics: a favorite Grateful Dead show and his recent experiences at Goose concerts. First, Larry talks about an iconic Grateful Dead concert that took place on September 16, 1978, at the Sun et Lumiere Theater in Giza, Egypt, near the pyramids and the Sphinx. This event is special not just for its unique location but also for featuring collaborations with Egyptian musician Hamza El Din, who joined the Dead for a jam session. The Egypt shows are remembered for their blend of American rock and ancient Egyptian culture, marking a historic moment in music history.

Larry also reflects on the song "Candyman" by the Grateful Dead, exploring its themes of melancholy and contradiction within the counterculture of the 1960s. He discusses how the song portrays a sympathetic yet flawed character, and how it resonates with the complex dynamics of that era, blending elements of peace, revolution, and criminality.

Switching gears, Larry shares his recent experiences attending two Goose concerts in Chicago. He highlights Goose's cover of Bob Seger's "Hollywood Nights" and talks about the band's growing popularity. Larry attended the concerts with family and friends and praises the outdoor venue in Chicago, noting its impressive atmosphere and the city's skyline as a backdrop. He fondly recalls his connections to Bob Seger's music from his youth and marvels at how younger bands like Goose continue to bring classic rock into their performances.

Grateful Dead

September 16, 1978  (46 years ago)

Son Et Lumiere Theater (aka Sphinx Theatre)

Giza, Egypt

Grateful Dead Live at Sphinx Theatre on 1978-09-16 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

Giza (/ˈɡiːzə/; sometimes spelled Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza; Arabic: الجيزة, romanized: al-Jīzah, pronounced [ald͡ʒiːzah], Egyptian Arabic: الجيزةel-Gīza[elˈgiːzæ])[3] is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 4,872,448 in the 2017 census.[4] It is located on the west bank of the Nile opposite central Cairo, and is a part of the Greater Cairo metropolis. Giza lies less than 30 km (18.64 mi) north of Memphis (Men-nefer, today the village of Mit Rahina), which was the capital city of the unified Egyptian state during the reign of pharaoh Narmer, roughly 3100 BC.

Giza is most famous as the location of the Giza Plateau, the site of some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world, including a complex of ancient Egyptian royal mortuary and sacred structures, among which are the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and a number of other large pyramids and temples. Giza has always been a focal point in Egypt's history due to its location close to Memphis, the ancient pharaonic capital of the Old Kingdom.

Son et lumière (French pronunciation: [sɔ̃n e lymjɛʁ] (French, lit. "sound and light")), or a sound and light show, is a form of nighttime entertainment that is usually presented in an outdoor venue of historic significance.[1]

Special lighting effects are projected onto the façade of a building or ruin and synchronized with recorded or live narration and music to dramatize the history of the place.[1] The invention of the concept is credited to Paul Robert-Houdin, who was the curator of the Château de Chambord in France, which hosted the world's first son et lumière in 1952.[1] Another was established in the early 1960s at the site of the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and a star attraction in Egypt, the pyramids of Giza offer a completely different experience at night, when lasers, lights, and visual projections bring their history to life. Here’s how to visit the pyramids after dark. The sound and light show at Giza takes place every night for 55 minutes by the Great Sphinx of king Kephren, it is a laser show with history narration of your own language. 

Kyle Fitzgerald

The National

Standing under a total lunar eclipse at the foot of ancient power by the Great Pyramid, the Grateful Dead were concluding the final show of their three-night run at the Sound and Light Theatre in Giza in 1978.

His hair in pigtails, guitarist Jerry Garcia wove the outro of the percussive Nubian composition Olin Arageed into an extended opening of Fire on the Mountain.

“There were Bedouins out on the desert dancing … It was amazing, it really was amazing,” Garcia said in a 1979 radio interview.

The September 14-16 shows in Giza were the ultimate experiment for the American band – the first to play at the pyramids – known for pushing music beyond the realms of imagination.

And just as the Grateful Dead were playing in the centre of ancient Egypt, a landmark peace treaty was being brokered in the US that would reshape geopolitics in the Middle East.

For as the Grateful Dead arrived in Egypt as cultural ambassadors, on the other side of the world US president Jimmy Carter had gathered his Egyptian counterpart Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin to broker the Camp David Accords that led to an Egyptian-Israeli peace settlement.

“No show that they have ever done has the international significance of their three performances in Egypt,” said Richard Loren, the Grateful Dead's manager from 1974-1981.

“When we left the stage on the last show, everybody was high on acid, and the first news that came on: They signed the Camp David agreement. Sadat, Begin and Carter signed the agreement in Camp David. This happened during those three days.”

Loren, who produced the shows, credited his friendship with Jefferson Airplane vocalist Marty Balin, who had a keen interest in Egypt, for developing his own fascination with the country.

“The lead singer for Jefferson Airplane is the seed that resulted in the Grateful Dead playing in Egypt,” he said.

Loren recalled riding a camel around the pyramid site during a three-week visit in 1975. To his right were the pyramids. In front of him, the Sphinx.

“And I look down and I see a stage, and a light bulb went off in my head immediately. The Grateful Dead ought to play in Egypt,” he said.

Loren, associate Alan Trist and Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh formed a scouting committee that would be responsible for liaising with American and Egyptian officials, Secret Service members and Egyptian first lady Jehan Sadat to allow the Grateful Dead to play in front of the pyramids.

After the mission to the proposed site, meetings in Washington and Egypt, discussions with government officials and a party for the consulate, the band still needed to convince officials the purpose of the show was to make music – not money.

And so the Dead paid their own expenses and offered to donate all the proceeds.

Half would be donated to the Faith and Hope Society – the Sadats' favourite charity – and the other to Egypt's Department of Antiquities.

“It was a sales pitch by the three of us – Alan, Richard and Phil,” Loren said.

A telegram was sent on March 21, 1978, confirming the Grateful Dead would perform two open-air shows at the Sound and Light in front of the Great Pyramid and Sphinx.

They would go on to play three shows.

Describing the planning, bassist Phil Lesh said, "It sort of became my project because I was one of the first people in the band who was on the trip of playing at places of power. You know, power that's been preserved from the ancient world. The pyramids are like the obvious number one choice because no matter what anyone thinks they might be, there is definitely some kind of mojo about the pyramids."[11]

Rather than ship all of the required sound reinforcement equipment from the United States, the PA and a 24-track, mobile studio recording truck were borrowed from the Who, in the UK. The Dead crew set up their gear at the open-air theater on the east side of the Great Sphinx, for three nights of concerts. The final two, September 15 & 16, 1978, are excerpted for the album. The band referred to their stage set-up as "The Gizah Sound and Light Theater".

The final night's performance coincided with a total lunar eclipse. Drummer Bill Kreutzmann played with a cast, having broken his wrist while horseback riding. The King's Chamber of the nearby Great Pyramid of Giza was rigged with a speaker and microphone in a failed attempt to live-mix acoustical echo.[12]

Lesh recalled that through the shows he observed "an increasing number of shadowy figures gathering just at the edge of the illuminated area surrounding the stage and audience – not locals, as they all seem to be wearing the same garment, a dark, hooded robe. These, it turns out, are the Bedouin, the nomadic horsemen of the desert: drawn in by the music and lights... each night they have remained to dance and sway rhythmically for the duration of the show."[13] Kreutzmann recalls "Egypt instantly became the biggest, baddest, and most legendary field trip that we took during our entire thirty years as a band... It was priceless and perfect and, at half a million dollars, a bargain in the end. Albeit, a very expensive bargain."[14]

The concerts weren't expected to be profitable (proceeds were donated to the Department of Antiquities and a charity chosen by Jehan Sadat). Costs were to be offset by the production of a triple-live album; however, performances did not turn out as proficient as planned, musically, and technical problems plagued the recordings.[10] The results were shelved as the band focused instead on a new studio album, Shakedown Street.

INTRO:                     Candyman

                                    Track #3

                                    2:54 – 4:50

From Songfacts:  the American Beauty album is infused with sadness. Jerry Garcia's mother was still seriously injured and her still fate uncertain following an automotive accident, while Phil Lesh was still grieving his father's passing. The melancholic aura comes through in "Candyman" as much as any other song on the album.

The effect of the melodic sadness on the song's context is interesting, to say the least. It makes everything about the candyman character in the song seem sympathetic, when the lyrics suggest that he is anything but. Dead lyricist Robert Hunter said he certainly didn't resonate with the character's penchant for violence (more on that below).

The Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang defines the term "candyman" primarily as a drug dealer and secondarily as a man who is lucky in general and lucky with women in particular. The latter version seems to fit better with the song, as the character announces his arrival to all the women in town and tells them they ought to open their windows (presumably to let him in).

While there's no evidence to suggest that Hunter was getting at anything too deep with the song, "Candyman" does provide an interesting perspective on the contradictions of the 1960s counterculture. Mixed in with all the peaceniks and flowers were hard-drug pushers, violent revolutionaries, and common criminals. By 1970, this stew had long since become so mixed-up that its attendant parts could no longer be cleanly extracted from each other. The fact that American Beauty came out in the midst of the Manson Family "hippie cult killings" trial says just about all that needs to be said about the complicated reality that had arisen out of the 1960s counterculture.

Beyond all that, though, the outlaw song that romanticizes criminality is a long-held and cherished tradition in American music.

With American Beauty, Jerry Garcia wanted the Dead to do something like "California country western," where they focused more on the singing than on the instrumentation.  So the sang Hunter’s lyrics:

Good mornin', Mr. Benson
I see you're doin' well
If I had me a shotgun
I'd blow you straight to Hell

This is an oddly violent line for a song by the Grateful Dead, who sought to embody the '60s peace-and-love ethos about as sincerely and stubbornly as any act to come out of the era. It always got a raucous applause from the audience, too, which seems equally incongruous with the Deadhead culture.

Hunter was bothered by the cheers. In an interview published in Goin' Down the Road by Blair Jackson (p. 119), he brings this phenomenon up when asked if any of his songs has been widely misinterpreted. He mentions that he had first witnessed an audience's enthusiastic response to violence while watching the 1975 dystopian film Rollerball and "couldn't believe" the cheers.

Hunter tells Jackson that he hopes fans know that the perspective in "Candyman" is from a character and not from himself. He stresses the same separation between himself and the womanizer in "Jack Straw."

As far as the Mr. Benson in "Candyman," David Dodd in the Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics makes a great case for that being Sheriff Benson from Leadbelly's "Midnight Special" (who may very well have been based on a real sheriff). If true, this might place "Candyman" in Houston, Texas (though Hunter might not have had anything so specific in mind).

Almost always a first set song.  Often featured in acoustic sets, back in the day.

This version features this awesome Garcia solo that we were listing to.  Maybe he was inspired by the pyramids or whatever magical spirits might have come out from within to see this American band the Grateful Dead.  Hopefully, it made those spirits grateful themselves.

Played:  273

First:  April 3, 1970 at Armory Fieldhouse, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Last:  June 30, 1995 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

SHOW No. 1:         Hamza El Din

                                    Track #10

                                    7:30 – 9:00

Hamza El Din (Arabicحمزة علاء الدين) (July 10, 1929 – May 22, 2006) was an Egyptian Nubian composer, oudplayer, tar player, and vocalist. He was born in southern Egypt and was an internationally known musician of his native region Nubia, situated on both sides of the Egypt–Sudan border. After musical studies in Cairo, he lived and studied in Italy, Japan and the United States. El Din collaborated with a wide variety of musical performers, including Sandy Bull, the Kronos Quartet and the Grateful Dead.

His performances attracted the attention of the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan in the 1960s, which led to a recording contract and to his eventual emigration to the United States. In 1963, El Din shared an apartment in the San Francisco Bay Area with folk musician Sandy Bull.

Following his appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1964, he recorded two albums for Vanguard Records, released 1964–65. His 1971 recording Escalay: The Water Wheel, published by Nonesuch Records and produced by Mickey Hart, has been recognized as one of the first world music recordings to gain wide release in the West, and was claimed as an influence by some American minimalist composers, such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley, as well as by Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart.[1] He also performed with the Grateful Dead, most famously during their Egypt concerts of 1978.

During these three shows, Hamza El Din, performed as a guest and played his composition "Ollin Arageed" He was backed by the students of his Abu Simbel school and accompanied by the Grateful Dead. 

After Egypt, hamza el din played with the dead in the U.S.

On October 21st, back in 1978, the Grateful Dead were in the midst of wrapping up a fiery five-night run at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom. This string of shows was particularly special for the band, as they marked the first shows played by the Dead following their now-legendary performances near the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt a month prior.

n an effort to bring their experiences in Northern Africa home with them to share with their fans, the Dead’s ’78 Winterland run saw sit-ins by Egyptian percussionist, singer, and oud player Hamza El Din. On October 21st, El Din opened the show solo, offering his divine percussion before the Grateful Dead slowly emerged to join him for an ecstatic rendition of “Ollin Arageed”, a number based off a Nubian wedding tune, before embarking on a soaring half-acoustic, half-electric jam, that we will get to on the other side of Music News:

MUSIC NEWS:

Lead in music:                  Goose — "Hollywood Nights" (Bob Seger) — Fiddler's Green — 6/8/24 (youtube.com)                  0:00 – 1:10

            Goose covering Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band’s Hollywood Nights, this version from earlier this year but Goose did play it Friday night in Chicago at the Salt Shed’s Festival stage outside along the Chicago river with the Skyline in the background. Very impressive.

"Hollywood Nights" is a song written and recorded by American rock artist Bob Seger. It was released in 1978 as the second single from his album, Stranger in Town.

Seger said "The chorus just came into my head; I was driving around in the Hollywood Hills, and I started singing 'Hollywood nights/Hollywood hills/Above all the lights/Hollywood nights.' I went back to my rented house, and there was a Time with Cheryl Tiegs on the cover...I said 'Let's write a song about a guy from the Midwest who runs into someone like this and gets caught up in the whole bizarro thing.'" [1]

Seger also said that "Hollywood Nights" was the closest he has had to a song coming to him in a dream, similar to how Keith Richards described the riff to "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" coming to him in a dream.

Robert Clark Seger (/ˈsiːɡər/SEE-gər; born May 6, 1945) is a retired American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded with the groups Bob Seger and the Last Heard and the Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s,

In 1973, he put together the Silver Bullet Band, with a group of Detroit-area musicians, with whom he became most successful on the national level with the album Live Bullet (1976), recorded live with the Silver Bullet Band in 1975 at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. In 1976, he achieved a national breakout with the studio album Night Moves. On his studio albums, he also worked extensively with the Alabama-based Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which appeared on several of Seger's best-selling singles and albums.

A roots rock musician with a classic raspy, powerful voice, Seger is known for his songs concerning love, women, and blue-collar themes, and is one of the best-known artists of the heartland rock genre. He has recorded many hits, including "Night Moves", "Turn the Page", "Mainstreet", "Still the Same", "Hollywood Nights", "Against the Wind", "You'll Accomp'ny Me", "Shame on the Moon", "Roll Me Away", "Like a Rock", and "Shakedown", the last of which was written for the 1987 film Beverly Hills Cop II and topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. He also co-wrote the Eagles' number-one hit "Heartache Tonight", and his recording of "Old Time Rock and Roll" was named one of the Songs of the Century in 2001.

Which leads us to:

1. Goose plays three nights in Chicago: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night at the Salt Shed.  I caught the Thursday and Friday show.  Went with my wife on Thursday and hung out with good friends John and Marnie, her brothers Rick and Joel, Stephan and others.  Friday with my son Daniel and good buddy Kevin who got us rock star parking and even more impressively killer seats dead center at the bottom of the grandstands in the back of the floor, a few feet off the floor and dead center so we could see everything, hear everything and have a place to sit and rest for a few minutes when needed.

I have to say, I’ve now seen Goose five times and enjoy them more and more.  Great musical jams, great light show, lots of good energy from the band and the fans.  Rick Mitoratando is a first class guitartist and singer, Peter Anspach on keyboard and guitar and vocals, Jeff Arevalo, percussionist, Trevor Weekz on bass and newcomer, Cotter Ellis on drums, replacing original drummer, Ben Askind.

Began playing in 2014 in Wilton Connecticut so this is their 10 year and they are just getting stronger.  They really love what they do and its shows in their live performances.

Great set lists in Chicago:

Thursday night they were joined on stage by Julian Lage, a jazz composer and guitarist for the last two songs of the first set, A Western Sun and Turned Clouds.

If you have not yet seen Goose you need to see Goose.  Soon.

1. Jane’s Addiction Concert Ends Abruptly After Perry Farrell Punches Dave Navarro Onstage

1. Phish announce 3 night run in Albany Oct. 25 – 27 to benefit Divided Sky Foundation

A residential program for people recovering from drug and alcohol abuse.

The Divided Sky Foundation, a 46-bed nonprofit recovery center spearheaded by Phish frontman Trey Anastasio, will be an abstinence-based, nonmedical residence, one of the first ofits kind in Vermont.

The Divided Sky Foundation is a charitable nonprofit founded by Anastasio; it purchased the Ludlow location to create a substance-use disorder treatment center back in 2021. 

Anastasio, Phish’s lead guitarist and vocalist, has dealt publicly with his own drug and alcohol use and later sobriety, a journey that brought him under the supervision of drug court in Washington County, New York, in the mid-2000s.

There, he met Gulde, who worked in the court system at the time, and the two have stayed friends since. 

Together, Gulde and Anastasio used their personal experiences with treatment facilities to implement a vision for the Ludlow space, she said.  

Very cool organization, deserves everyone’s support.  Trey turned it around which is why he is now 5 years older than Jerry was when he died in 1995 and Trey and Phish are just getting stronger and stronger.

SHOW No. 2:         Ollin Arageed

                                    Track #11

                                    13:10 – 14:42

Musical composition written by Hamza El-Din.  He and members of the Abu Simbel School of Luxor choir opened the shows with his composition Olin Arageed on nights one and two, and opened set two of night three with the song as well.  Joined on stage by the band.  Fun, different and a shout out to the locals.

The Dead played it a few more times with Hamza and then retired it for good.

SHOW No. 3:         Fire On The Mountain

                                    Track #12

                                    13:00 – end

                                    INTO

                                    Iko Iko

                                    Track #13

                                    0:00 – 1:37

This transition is one of my all time Dead favorites.  Out of a stand alone Fire (no Scarlet lead in) into a sublime and spacey Iko Iko.  Another perfect combination for the pyramids, sphinx and full lunar eclipse.

A great reason to listen to this show and these two tunes.

MJ NEWS:

MJ Lead in Song

            Still Blazin by Wiz Khalifa:  Still Blazin (feat. Alborosie) (youtube.com)

                                                                        0:00 – 0:45

We talked all about Wiz Khalifa on last week’s episode after I saw him headline the Miracle in Mundelein a week ago.  But did not have a chance to feature any of his tunes last week.  This one is a natural for our show.

This song is from Kush & Orange Juice (stylized as Kush and OJ) is the eighth mixtape by American rapper Wiz Khalifa. It was released on April 14, 2010, by Taylor Gang Records and Rostrum Records. Kush & Orange Juice gained notoriety after its official release by making it the number-one trending topic on both Google and Twitter.[1] On the same day, a link to the mixtape was posted for download on Wiz’s Twitter.[2] The hashtag#kushandorangejuice became the number-six trending topic on the microblogging service after its release and remained on the top trending items on Twitter for three days.[

SHOW No. 4:         Sunrise

                                    Track #16

2:08 – 3:37

            Grateful dead song written, music and lyrics by Donna Jean Godchaux.  Released on Terrapin Station album, July 27, 1977

            There are two accounts of the origins of this song, both of which may be true. One is that it is about Rolling Thunder, the Indian Shaman, conducting a ceremony (which certainly fits with many of the lyrics). The other is that it was written by Donna in memory of Rex Jackson, one of the Grateful Dead's crew (after whom the Rex Foundation is named).

• The song is about a Native American medicine man named Rolling Thunder, who spent a lot of time with the Dead.
  
  "'Sunrise' is about sunrise services we attended and what Rolling Thunder would do," Godchaux said on the Songfacts Podcast. "It's very literal actually. Rolling Thunder would conduct a sunrise service, so that's how that came about."
• Donna Jean Godchaux wrote this song on piano after Jerry Garcia asked her to write a song for the Terrapin Station album. She said it just flowed out of her - music and lyrics - and was one of the easiest songs she ever wrote.
• The drumming at the end of the song was played by a real medicine man. "We cut it in Los Angeles, and he came and brought the medicine drum, so what you hear on the end is the real deal," Godchaux told Songfacts. "It was like a sanctuary in that studio when he was playing that. It was very heavy."
•  

It was played regularly by the Grateful Dead in 1977 and 1978 (Donna left the band in early 1979).

This version is the last time the band ever played it.

Played:  30 times

First:  May 1, 1977 at The Palladium, New York, NY, USA

Last:  September 16, 1978 at the Pyramids, Giza Egypt

OUTRO:                   Shakedown Street

                                    Track #17

                                    3:07 – 4:35

Title track from Shakedown Street album November 8, 1978

One of Jerry’s best numbers.  A great tune that can open a show, open the second set, occasionally played as an encore, but not here.  It is dropped into the middle of the second set as the lead in to Drums.  This is only the second time the song is played by the band.

Played:  164 times

First:  August 31, 1978 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO, USA

Last:  July 9, 1995 at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL – opened the second set, the final set of music ever performed by the band.

Shout outs:

            Karen Shmerling’s birthday

            This week my beautiful granddaughter, Ruby, is coming to town to visit.  Can’t wait to see her and her parents.

.Produced by PodConx  

Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show

Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin

Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

"From Steel Pulse to Wu-Tang: A Festival of Musical Diversity"

Larry Mishkin discusses a review of various experiences and performances, starting with a cannabis event called "Miracle in Mundelein," which took place over the past weekend. The main focus of the review is a discussion of a Grateful Dead show from September 9, 1987, at the Providence Civic Center in Rhode Island. The show was notable for being the second night of a three-show run, marking the opening of the Grateful Dead's 1987 East Coast fall tour.

Key highlights include:

"Hey Pocky Way" Performance: This was the first time the Grateful Dead performed the song "Hey Pocky Way," which is originally by the Meters, a New Orleans funk band. The song became a fan favorite, primarily due to the influence of Brent Mydland, the band's keyboardist. However, the song fell out of rotation after Brent's death in 1990.

"Jack Straw" Performance: Another song featured was "Jack Straw," a Grateful Dead classic written by Bob Weir and Robert Hunter. It was originally performed in 1971 and became a staple in the band's setlists. The song was performed in the second spot of the setlist during the 1987 show, indicating the band's tendency to feature it early in their concerts.

Music News Segment: The transcript also includes a segment on music news, which starts with a brief history of the band Cheap Trick, particularly their song "I Want You to Want Me."

Review of the Miracle in Mundelein Festival: The review shifts to discussing the recent "Miracle in Mundelein" festival, where several acts performed:

• Steel Pulse: A roots reggae band from Birmingham, England, who delivered a lively and energetic performance.
• The Soul Rebels: A New Orleans brass band known for their energetic live shows and collaborations with major artists. Their set featured Raekwon and GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, adding a strong hip-hop element to the performance.
• Wiz Khalifa: The headliner of the event, Wiz Khalifa, is praised for his stage presence and connection with the audience. The review notes his strong advocacy for cannabis and how his music resonated well with the crowd.

Overall, the review captures the blend of nostalgia with the Grateful Dead's classic performances and the fresh, dynamic energy of the Miracle in Mundelein festival, highlighting both the music and the culture of cannabis.

https://www.cheaptrick.com/

Grateful Dead

September 9, 1987 (37 years ago)

Providence Civic Center

Providence, Rhode Island

Grateful Dead Live at Providence Civic Center on 1987-09-09 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

Second night of a three show run, the opening shows of 1987 East Cost fall tour.

INTRO:                                 Hey Pocky Way

                                                Track #1

                                                :35 – 2:03

First time ever played

Hey Pocky Way was written by George Porter Jr., Leo Nocentelli, Art Neville & Joseph Modeliste, founding members of The Meters, an American funk band formed in 1965 in New Orleans by Modeliste (drums), Porter Jr. (bass), Nocentelli (guitar) and Neville (keyboards). The band performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint.

Song was released on Rejuvenation the band’s fifth studio album in 1974. In 2003, the album was ranked number 138 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[6] and 139 in a 2012 revised list.

Beginning with this show, the Dead began to feature Hey Pocky Way, usually as a show opener.  Sung by Brent who really got into it with both his keyboard playing and strong singing, it  became a fan favorite.  But as a Brent influenced tune, it died when he did.

Played:  25 times

First:  September 9, 1987 at Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI, USA

Last: July 22, 1990 at World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL, USA (Brent’s second to last show)

SHOW No. 1:                    Jack Straw

                                                Track #2

                                                4:00 – 5:50

"Jack Straw"  written by Bob Weir and Robert Hunter. The track first appeared on the album Europe '72.

The song was first performed in concert on October 19, 1971, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at new keyboardist Keith Godchaux's first appearance with the band. In the song's earliest performances (c. 1971–72), Weir sang all of the vocals. By the time the 'Europe 72' version was recorded, (at the Olympia Theater in Paris on 5-03-72), Weir and Jerry Garcia were switching up the vocals - as they had on April 26th when 'Hundred Year Hall' was recorded. The song appeared in both the first and second sets until the band's short hiatus in 1974-1975. After re-forming, the song almost exclusively appeared in the first set. After Brent Mydland joined the band in 1979, the song almost exclusively opened the band's first set. The band also often extended the jam after the second verse after Mydland's joining, often extending the song to over six minutes. Dead and Company have also further extended the song, often adding an abstract opening jam prior to the song's first verse.[1]

Bob Weir stated in a 2004 interview that the song's lyrics were partly based on John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men.[2] The song's themes include riding the rails, the Great Depression, and hobo (homeless) camps of the era. Jack Straw is also—perhaps coincidentally—the name of the original plantation owner, who lived controversially with his gay lover, Peter Ochello, in Tennessee Williams's play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.[3]

Always a great song to hear in concert, the fans loved it and it was always an omen of good things to come in the show.

Played:  477 times

First:  October 19, 1971 at Northrop Auditorium, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Last:  July 8, 1995 at Soldier Field in Chicago

MUSIC NEWS

1. Miracle In Mundelein – second year of the festival in Mundelein a suburb northwest of Chicago.  Missed last year with JRAD but made it this year on Saturday with my sons Jonathan and Daniel, Jonathan’s fiancé, Bella and Daniel’s buddy AJ.  Different theme to this year’s music focusing on hip hop and rap, not part of my regular music, but certainly a key genre for Daniel and AJ who filled me on details during the show.

Acts:

1. Steel Pulse - Steel Pulse are a roots reggae band from the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, and were composed of David Hinds (lead vocals, guitar), Basil Gabbidon (lead guitar, vocals), and Ronald McQueen (bass); along with Basil's brother Colin briefly on drums and Mykaell Riley (vocals, percussion). Steel Pulse were the first non-Jamaican act to win the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.

They were initially refused live dates in Caribbean venues in Birmingham due to their Rastafarian beliefs. During the popularization of punk rock in the mid-1970's, Steel Pulse began to play punk venues such as the Hope and Anchor in London and The Electric Circus in Manchester in 1976.[1]

Aligning themselves closely with the Rock Against Racism organization and featuring in its first music festival in early 1978, they chose to tour with sympathetic elements of the punk movement,[1] including the Stranglers and XTC. Eventually they found a more natural home in support slots for Burning Spear, which brought them to the attention of Island Records.

Fun set that was in progress when we arrived, great sound and lots of energy that kept the crowd moving.

1. The Soul Rebels - The Soul Rebels (also Soul Rebels Brass Band, Soul Rebels or The Rebels) are an eight-piece New Orleans based brass ensemble that incorporate elements of soul, jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock and pop music within a contemporary brass band framework.  Starting out as a local New Orleans favorite, The Soul Rebels have evolved into collaborating live with major artists in all worlds of music including:

• Katy Perry
• Nas
• Metallica
• Green Day
• Trombone Shorty
• Prodigy
• String Cheese Incident
• Umphrey’s McGee
• Galactic
• Suzanne Vega
• Eurythmics
• Lettuce
• Gov’t Mule

                                               And many more

The band has built its career around an eclectic live show that harnesses the power of horns and percussion in a funky party-like atmosphere. The band routinely plays over 250 shows a year. They have been described by the Village Voice as "the missing link between Public Enemy and Louis Armstrong. 

The Soul Rebels consist of percussionists and founding members Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss, trumpet players Julian Gosin and Marcus Hubbard, trombonists Corey Peyton and Paul Robertson, saxophonist Erion Williams, and sousaphonist Manuel Perkins Jr.

                                                On Saturday, they featured Raekwon and GZA from Wu Tang Clan. 

                                    RAEKWON - Corey Woods[2] (born January 12, 1970),[3][4] better known by his stage name Raekwon (/reɪˈkwɒn/, ray-KWON), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), in 1993. Raekwon would subsequently pursue a solo career, releasing his first solo album, entitled Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., in 1995. The album received critical acclaim, and is regarded by many critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, as well as a staple of 1990s rap.

                                    Raekwon attributes the name Raekwon to the Five-Percent Nation, an offshoot of the Nation of Islam, when he was a "young kid."[11] He converted to Islam in 2009.

                                    Growing up, he witnessed his mother being hit and abused by different men, an experience which he said "affected [him] a lot."[10] As a young man, his mother kicked him out of their Park Hill home when Raekwon got into an argument with her boyfriend and his mother sided with the boyfriend. During this time, he spiraled into a pattern of hopelessness and violent behavior.[8] He became addicted to cocaine and crack cocaine until he became aware of how the crack epidemic was affecting those around him, at which point "it was an automatic stop."[10]

Raekwon and rap partner Ghostface Killah attended junior high school together on Staten Island.[14] Raekwon attended New Dorp High School, where he befriended rappers Remedy, Method Man and Inspectah Deck.[15]

            Woods first rapped as Sha Raider. In 1992, he joined the Wu-Tang Clan, an originally nine-member rap group drawing mainly from the Staten Island but also from the Brooklyn boroughs of New York City. He rapped as Raekwon The Chef, and also used the aliases Lex Diamonds, Shallah Raekwon, and Louis Rich.

After being caught in a crossfire and accidentally shot four times, Raekwon began rapping in earnest. He later described being shot as an "important eye opener."

In September 2009, MTV ranked Raekwon tenth among "hottest" rappers. In December, HipHopDx's 2009 awards named Only Built For Cuban Linx... Pt. II album of the year, calling it "the Hip Hop equivalent to The Godfather 2, with Rae as revitalized as Marlon was". Raekwon won Emcee of the Year—the prior year, Nas won—while HipHopDX staff explained,

Raekwon brought it back to lyrical, dope rap. He released an album that spoke to teens, twenty-somethings, thirty-somethings, and beyond. Without compromising, the Chef made an edgy Hip Hop record that refused to bastardize the catalog he laid down 15 years ago. On top of that, Rae (along with Ghostface) was a go-to for numerous rappers making albums, ranging from the Playaz Circle to Jadakiss to BK One. That's beyond real, as was a year filled with performing in arenas, clubs and even churches. When it came to mastering the ceremony, Rae had 'em all following the leader.[28]

— HipHopDX

GZA - Gary Eldridge Grice[2] (born August 22, 1966), better known by his stage names GZA (/ˈdʒɪzə/JIZ-ə) and The Genius,[3] is an American rapper. A founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the group's "spiritual head", being both the first member in the group to receive a record deal and being the oldest member.[4] He has appeared on his fellow Wu-Tang members' solo projects, and has maintained a successful solo career starting with his second album Liquid Swords (1995).

His lyrical style often dismisses typical rap story lines in favor of science and wide-ranging philosophies and has been characterized as "armed with sharp metaphors and a smooth flow".[5][6][7][8] An analysis of GZA's lyrics found that he has the second largest vocabulary in popular hip hop music.[9][10] He teamed up with an education group to promote science education in New York City through hip hop.

In 1992, GZA joined the Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine, formed by his cousin RZA. GZA had some high-profile appearances on the group's debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), including a solo track, "Clan in da Front".[22] This, combined with appearances on other Clan members' albums such as Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version (1995) and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... (1995) brought him much recognition. According to Method Man, "we form like Voltron and GZA happens to be the head".

                        The combination of the Soul Rebels beat and Raekwon’s and GZA’s rapping made for an exceptional set of music that caught me off guard but was worth the price of admission.  With lots of cannabis references scattered throughout their lyrics and stage talk, they were a perfect match for this festival.

1. Wiz Khalifa - Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987),[2] better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He signed with the local independent label Rostrum Records to release his debut studio album, Show and Prove (2006). His contract entered a short-lived joint venture with Warner Bros. Records the following year. His Eurodance-influenced 2008 single, "Say Yeah" received urban radio airplay and entered both the Rhythmic Top 40 and Hot Rap Songs charts, becoming his first minor hit.[3]

Outside of music, Thomaz has delved into acting with television roles in Dickinson and The Eric Andre Show, the lead role alongside Snoop Dogg in the 2012 stoner comedy film Mac & Devin Go to High School, and voice roles in the animated series American Dad!, Duncanville, and Big City Greens. Thomaz founded the record label Taylor Gang Entertainment in 2008, through which he has signed artists including Juicy J, Ty Dolla Sign, and Berner. Known for his abundant usage of cannabis, Thomaz launched his own cannabis brand, Khalifa Kush, in 2016, which expanded for release in nationwide dispensaries in 2022.

His stage name is derived from Khalifa, an Arabic word meaning "successor", and wisdom, which was shortened to Wiz when Khalifa was a young boy.[10] Khalifa stated to Spinner.com that the name also came from being called "young Wiz 'cause I was good at everything I did, and my granddad is Muslim, so he gave me that name; he felt like that's what I was doing with my music." He got a tattoo of his stage name on his 17th birthday.[11][12]

By the age of 15, he was regularly recording his music at a local studio called I.D. Labs.[13] Impressed by the young teen's talent, E. Dan, the owner of the studio offered Khalifa an intern job at the studio in exchange for free recording time. Dan, being a veteran of the Pittsburgh hip-hop scene, would help develop and mentor the young artist early on in his career.

He was the headliner and lived up to the billing.  Great tunes, great stage presence, great spokesperson for cannabis.  My first experience with his music and it was very positive.

A great musical education for me with my tutors, Daniel and AJ.

More in MJ News

1. Herbie Flowers  RIP
2. Jerry Miller  RIP
3. Goose this week at the Salt Shed, Thursday and Friday

SHOW No. 2:                    Greatest Story Ever Told

                                                Track #9

                                                3:25 – end

                                                INTO

                                                Devil With a Blue Dress

                                                Track #10

                                                0:00 – 1:33

Greatest Story – written by Hunter/Bobby/Mickey, originally called “The Pump Song” on Mickey Hart’s 1972 album Rolling Thunder.  As the opening tune of Ace, it is called Greatest Story Ever Told.  But this isn’t about that song.  Here, it is the lead-in to a first set couple of “extras” thrown in for some fun.

"Devil with a Blue Dress On" (also known as "Devil with the Blue Dress") is a song written by Shorty Long and William "Mickey" Stevenson, first performed by Long and released as a single in 1964. A later version recorded by Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels in 1966 peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. 

"Devil with the Blue Dress" was originally released as Shorty Long's debut single on Motown in 1964, but the single failed to chart. The song describes a femme fatale in a blue dress and not an actual devil.[2]

Two years later, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels recorded the song at Bell Sound Studios in New York City[3] as a medley with an original arrangement of Little Richard's "Good Golly, Miss Molly". Their version, released on their album, “Breakout . . . . !”,  was notably more up-tempo than Long's more blues-influenced rendition.[2] Reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100, their version of the track would end up becoming their most well-known and highest charting hit in the United States. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it No. 428 on their list of Top 500 Songs of All Time.

Basically, another great cover to showcase Brent’s singing and keyboard skills.  This was the first of 3 times the Dead covered the song.  Another fun diversion by the band that kept the Deadheads guessing and not wanting to ever miss a show.

The transition out of Greatest Story is seamless and makes it so you can’t hear the end of Greatest Story without hearing the signature beat of Devil making it a “natural” fit.

Played – 3 times

First:  September 9, 1987 at Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI, USA

Last:  October 4, 1987 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA

SHOW No. 3:                    Good Golly Miss Molly

                                                Track #11

                                                0:00 – end

                                                INTO

                                                Devil With a Blue Dress

                                                Track #12

                                                0:00 – 0:51

"Good Golly, Miss Molly" is a rock 'n' roll song first recorded in 1956 by American musician Little Richard and released in January 1958 as single on the Specialty label, and later on the album, Little Richard in July 1958.[1] The song, a jump blues, was written by John Marascalco and producer Robert "Bumps" Blackwell. Although it was first recorded by Little Richard, Blackwell produced another version by the Valiants, who imitated the fast first version recorded by Little Richard, not released at that time. Although the Valiants' version was released first (in 1957), Little Richard had the hit, reaching No. 4.[2] Like all his early hits, it quickly became a rock 'n' roll standard and has subsequently been recorded by hundreds of artists. The song is ranked No. 92 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Little Richard first heard the phrase "Good golly, Miss Molly" from a Southern DJ named Jimmy Pennick.[4] He modified the lyrics into the more suggestive "Good golly, Miss Molly/You sure like to ball." Little Richard himself later claimed that he took Ike Turner's piano intro from his influential 1951 rock and roll song "Rocket 88", and used it for "Good Golly, Miss Molly".[5] "I always liked that record," Richard recalled, "and I used to use the riff in my act, so when we were looking for a lead-in to 'Good Golly, Miss Molly', I did that and it fit."

In 1966, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels incorporated "Good Golly Miss Molly" into their version of "Devil with a Blue Dress On". Their version scored a major hit, not only in Ryder's native Detroit, but nationwide, placing at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 100.

As with Devil, a Brent thing.  Unfortunately, it was only around for a month.  Then vanished from the Dead’s playlist thereafter. 

Played:  3 times, makes sense

First:  September 9, 1987 at Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI, USA

Last:  October 4, 1987 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA

MJ NEWS:

            Miracle in Mudelein – a great event sponsored by Rise Dispensaries and Rhythm cultivators.  Second year, featuring great music, excellent food and drink and too many booths for dabbing from various types of rigs including a Studenglass Gravity Bong – my first time using one and it is not your father’s four foot Graffix bong!  Daniel and AJ were all over it and as it turned out, the wait in line was well worth the experience.  Rather than try to explain it to you, just Google Gravity Bong and see for yourself!  Great high.

            Miracle is that Lake County, a more conservative leaning county, and Mundelein permitted the event.  Attendees can bring in their own flower or extracts (supposedly only if purchased at an Illinois dispensary), smoking accessories, etc.  Rise also was selling products at the show.

            A wonderful thing to attend an event and not have to hide and smuggle in your cannabis.  People lighting up everywhere, offering to share, talking strains, etc.  Police were there to keep order and otherwise let it all go on.  Very professional.

            Excellent mellow crowd (what else would you expect?).  Well run.  Shot joints out of a canon.  A wonderful day and experience for those who enjoy cannabis, especially not having to hide it or pretend you don’t have any when everyone knows attendees are smuggling it in anyway.

            A great way to promote cannabis and help normalize it within the community.  And a fun event to be able to share with my boys, Bella and AJ.  Fun had by all.

SHOW No. 4:                    Not Fade Away

                                                Track #24 (NOTE – this song is listed as Track #23 AND #24, be sure to use #24)

                                                0:00 – end

"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly (originally under his first and middle names, Charles Hardin) and Norman Petty (although Petty's co-writing credit is likely to have been a formality[3]) and first recorded by Holly and his band, the Crickets.

Holly and the Crickets recorded the song in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957, the same day the song "Everyday" was recorded.[1] The rhythmic pattern of "Not Fade Away" is a variant of the Bo Diddley beat,

"Not Fade Away" was originally released as the B-side of the hit single "Oh, Boy!" on 10.27.1957 and was included on the album The "Chirping" Crickets (1957). The Crickets' recording never charted as a single. In 2004, this song was ranked number 107 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

The song is closely associated with the Grateful Dead as one of their signature tunes—one which the band transformed from Holly's 1950s boy/girl romanticism to one reflecting the 1960s’ more spiritual universal love. Their 1971 recording of the song is included on their second live album, Skull and Roses, paired with Going Down The Road Feeling Bad, a regular happening in the early ‘70’s.

Primarily a second set tune that used to show up in the second half of the second set after Drums-Space.  Beginning in 1983, the Dead began to play it as the second set closer, trailing off with “Love is real will not fade away” as they exited the stage.  A few years later, the Deadheads starting chanting the line as the Dead left the stage and in some cases, kept it up until the band reappeared for their encore, when the band would pick back up on the beat and play it for another minute or so before their encore tune, such as with this show.   

Great example of the Deadheads making their mark on the show and the band being tuned in enough to play along with it.  Although sometimes if the Dead took too long to come out for the encore, the chanting would start to fade off.  And sometimes even when the chant made it all the way to the band’s return on stage, the band would ignore it and just dive straight into their encore.  Fun when it all came together like this show.

Played:  561 times

First:  February 19, 1969 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  July 5, 1995 at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, MO (St. Louis)

OUTRO:                               The Mighty Quinn

                                                Track #25

                                                2:11 – 3:48

Bob Dylan wrote and first recorded the song in 1967 during the Basement Tapes sessions, but did not release a version for another three years.  The song's first release was in January 1968 as "Mighty Quinn" in a version by the British band Manfred Mann, from their album Mighty Garvey, and became a great success.

A demo of 14 of the 1967 Basement Tapes recordings, including the first of two takes of "Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)", was produced in 1968, but was not intended for release. Recordings taken from the demos began appearing on bootlegs, starting with Great White Wonder,[7] a double-album bootleg that came out in July 1969. The first official release of the song was in 1970 on Dylan's Self Portrait album,[14] a live recording from 1969's Isle of Wight Festival. The live version (titled "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)") was also selected in 1971 for the second compilation of Dylan's career, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II.

Covered by:  the Hollies, Leon Russell and Phish, among others.

Although they never played the song with Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead started playing "The Mighty Quinn" in concert in 1985. It became a favorite encore among the Grateful Dead's fans, and remained so to the end of their career.

Last verses, end with, “when Quinn the Eskimo gets here, everybody’s gonna want to doze” but the Deadheads heard it as “dose” and always gave it a big cheer.

Played:  59 times

First:  December 30, 1985 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  July 2, 1995 at Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN, USA

Shoutouts:

1. Lary Vinocur – birthday
2. Elena Mishkin – birthday

.Produced by PodConx  

Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show

Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin

Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

Labor Day Vibes: Grateful Dead, George Thorogood, and More

A special Labor Day edition featuring a recap of significant events in the music world, particularly focusing on the Grateful Dead's September 2, 1988, concert at the Capitol Center in Landover, Maryland. Larry Mishkin reminisces about the band's history, including the song "Hell in a Bucket," its significance, and its evolution in the Grateful Dead's lineup. There's a detailed discussion about the song "Dire Wolf," including its origins, inspirations, and its role in the band's performances.

The episode also features a tribute to Steve Silverman, a renowned science writer and Grateful Dead enthusiast who recently passed away. Silverman was celebrated for his contributions to the understanding of autism and his deep connection to the Grateful Dead community. The tribute highlights his life, his work, and his impact on both the music and science communities.

Larry shares reviews of the recent George Thorogood and Journeyman Tribute the Eric Clapton 

https://www.georgethorogood.com/

https://vilarpac.org/

https://journeymantribute.com/

Grateful Dead

September 2, 1988 (36 years ago)

Capital Center

Landover, MD

Grateful Dead Live at Capital Centre on 1988-09-02 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

I hope everyone is having a great Labor Day weekend.

Night one of a four night run at the Cap Center to kick off 1988 East Coast Fall Tour (played Friday and Saturday, 2 and 3 and Monday and Tuesday 5 and 6).  Took a night off for my wedding on Sunday 4th.  Saturday night show was my rehearsal dinner and they played second encore, final electric Ripple and final Grateful Dead Ripple.  Memorable weekend for all (except for my east coast deadhead buddies at the wedding who were bummed to have missed the Ripple.

INTRO:                                 Hell in a Bucket

                                                Track #2

                                                0:00 – 1:34

David Dodd:  The Bob Weir / John Barlow / Brent Mydland song “Hell in a Bucket” directly references the biker scene, and I’m sure that somehow Barlow just wanted to put that element into the band’s repertoire somehow. After all, there are plenty of outlaw elements sprinkled through the band’s songs.

In the case of this song, though, the singer/narrator seems to be wishing a sorry fate on his erstwhile main squeeze, with the argument being that once she has a biker charging up and down her halls on his chopper, she’ll realize that the narrator was really pretty good, at least by contrast.

“Hell in a Bucket” appeared on In the Dark, released in July 1987.  The song frequently featured as the show opener over the course of the next two-plus decades, although it wasn’t used in that role until about a year after its first performance. 

Played:  217 times

First:  May 13, 1983 at William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA, USA

Last:  June 30, 1995 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA

SHOW No. 1:                    Dire Wolf

                                                Track #5

                                                2:00 – 3:24

"Dire Wolf" is a ballad by the Grateful Dead, released as the third track on their 1970 album Workingman's Dead. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter after watching a film adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. The music, containing elements of country and folk music, was composed by Jerry Garcia on the same day. The song tells the story of a man who plays cards with a "dire wolf" on a cold winter's night in "Fennario"; the lyrics have been variously interpreted. The piece became a staple of the Grateful Dead's performances, and was played more than two hundred times between 1969 and 1995.

A few months before the release of their album Aoxomoxoa in 1969, Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and his then-partner Christie Bourne began sharing a house with the band's guitarist Jerry Garcia, his wife, and his step-daughter. Living in close proximity gave an impetus to their collaborative song-writing: Hunter and Garcia wrote every song on Aoxomoxoa.[2] Some time later, Hunter and Carolyn Garcia spent an evening watching a film adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles. According to Grateful Dead historian Dennis McNally, Carolyn later remarked that the hound was a "dire wolf".[3] However, according to Hunter himself, as quoted in the Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics, he and Garcia were speculating about the identity of the hound in the story, and came up with the idea that it may have been a dire wolf.[4] Hunter wrote the lyrics the next morning, based on images that the phrase conjured for him, and Garcia wrote the music to them later that day.[3][4]

The location named "Fennario" appears in the folk song "The Bonnie Lass o' Fyvie", including in the Grateful Dead's version of that song. It refers to a fictional location; a friend of the band members commented in an interview that it was the perfect name for a generic place, because it was evocative, and had four syllables.[4] In contrast, music writer Buzz Poole speculated that the name may be derived from Fenrir, a mythical Nordic wolf who was chained up by the gods.[6] The phrase "don't murder me", repeated in the chorus, was a reference by Garcia to his experiences driving around the San Francisco Bay Area at the time that the Zodiac Killer was active.[4]

The song became a staple of the Grateful Dead's live performances; the electric version of the song was typically featured on the band's first set.[4][7] According to The Grateful Dead's 100 Essential Songs, "Dire Wolf" was played 226 times between 1969 and 1995, and was played every year, except for 1975. Sixty-three of these performances were in the first two years after the song was written. In later years, the acoustic version of the piece became more common.[7] The structure and pace of the song did not change much over the years. It was sung most often by Garcia, although an early version featured Bob Weir on vocals, with Garcia playing the pedal steel guitar instead.[7] An AllMusic review of this version praised Garcia's "sweet" guitar playing as a "great feature" of the song.[5] Its lyrics have led to it being described as an essential Grateful Dead song by commentators.[7]

Played:  229 times

First:  June 7, 1969 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  June 7, 1969 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, USA

MUSIC NEWS:

1. Steve Silberman passes
2. Phish – Dick’s
3. Neil Young explanation for canceled shows
4. Miracle in Mundelein

Miracle in Mundelein 2024 is an unprecedented cannabis and outdoor concert experience taking place at RISE Recreational Dispensary in Mundelein, IL on September 7-8, 202412. Presented by RYTHM Premium Cannabis, RISE Dispensaries, Dayglo, and Deep Cut, this second annual outdoor festival allows legal on-site cannabis consumption2.

SHOW No. 2:                    Althea

                                                Track #7

                                                3:10 – 4:53

When the Grateful Dead released “Althea” on their 1980 album Go to Heaven, it quickly became a favorite among fans. Robert Hunter, the Dead’s legendary lyricist, was known for embedding multiple layers of meaning in his lyrics. “Althea” is no exception. Jerry Garcia’s soulful voice brings Hunter’s words to life, but it’s the lyrics that leave listeners pondering.

The name “Althea” itself is rooted in Greek mythology. Althea was the Queen of Calydon, whose actions led to her son’s death, reflecting themes of fate and consequence. While the song doesn’t explicitly connect to this myth, the allusion to “your fire” might be a subtle nod to Althea’s tragic tale.

“Althea” was performed live by the Grateful Dead 273 times, making it a staple in their repertoire. Despite McNally’s belief that the band overplayed it in the early ’80s, fans cherished its live renditions. The song’s adaptability and depth allowed it to grow with the listeners, much like a trusted pair of pants with a sturdy elastic waistband.

Played:  273 times

First:  August 4, 1979 at Oakland Civic Auditorium, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  July 8, 1995 at Soldier Field, Chicago

SHOW No. 3:                    Scarlet Begonias

                                                Track #10

                                                0:00 – 2:02

Garcia/Hunter

From The Mars Hotel (July 24, 1974)

The group first performed the song live on March 23, 1974, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California.[1] When "Fire on the Mountain" was incorporated into the band's repertoire in 1977, "Scarlet Begonias" would often be paired with it when played live, resulting in what would be nicknamed "Scarlet > Fire" with the first iteration of this iconic pairing on Friday, March 18th, 1977 at Winterland in S.F.   Interestingly, they played the combo to close the first set.  Almost always a second set opener, once saw them open a show with it.

Had to play this because the opening is so special – sends a message to the Deadheads that good things lay ahead, best second set opener in their arsenal.  Nothing like the reaction when you hear the first few notes.  “Scarlet, into Fire, a great 25 minutes of grooving music and wonderful for “mind exercises” you may be experiencing at that time.

Played:  317  (Fire played 254 times)

First:  March 23, 1974 at Cow Palace, Daly City, CA, USA

Last: June 2, 1995 at Deer Creek, Noblesville, IN

MJ NEWS:

1. Trump Supports Florida adult use measure on fall ballot, but no public smoking
2. DeSantis says “NO” adult use in Florida, opposes Trump
3. State ballots this fall for MMJ in Nebraska and Arkansas
4. Illinois awards $35 million from MJ taxes to support community reinvestment
5. California allows sales of MJ at Farmer’s Markets

SHOW No. 4:                    All Along The Watchtower

                                                Track #17

                                                1:50 – 3:53

Bob Dylan

John Wesley Harding

"All Along the Watchtower" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his eighth studio album, John Wesley Harding (1967). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. The song's lyrics, which in its original version contain twelve lines, feature a conversation between a joker and a thief. The song has been subject to various interpretations; some reviewers have noted that it echoes lines in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 21, verses 5–9. Dylan has released several different live performances, and versions of the song are included on some of his subsequent greatest hits compilations.

Covered by numerous artists, "All Along the Watchtower" is strongly identified with the interpretation Jimi Hendrix recorded with the Jimi Hendrix Experience for their third studio album, Electric Ladyland (1968). The Hendrix version, released six months after Dylan's original recording, became a Top 20 single in 1968, received a Grammy Hall of Fame award in 2001, and was ranked 48th in Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004 (40th in the 2021 version). Dylan first played the song live in concert on the Bob Dylan and the Band 1974 Tour, his first tour since 1966. His live performances have been influenced by Hendrix's cover, to the extent that they have been called covers of a cover. Dylan has performed the song live more than any of his other ones, with over 2,250 recitals.

Hendrix was a known Dylan fan. He even once cleared a dance floor by demanding that "Blowin in the Wind" be played in a New York club. In a 1967 interview, Hendrix described Dylan's influence on his own songwriting. "I could never write the kind of words he does," Hendrix said. "But he's helped me out in trying to write two or three words 'cause I've got a thousand songs that will never be finished. I just lie around and write about two or three words, but now I have a little more confidence in trying to finish one."

Hendrix acquired a copy of John Wesley Harding before the album's official release and instantly knew he had to cover one of the tracks. Initially, he was planning to record "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine," but after further consideration he chose "All Along the Watchtower." Hendrix claimed he had a natural gravitation toward the track. "The songs Dylan usually gave me are so close to me that I feel like I wrote them myself," he added. "With 'Along the Watchtower' I had that feeling." Less than two months after Dylan recorded the original, Hendrix was in the studio laying down his version.

John Wesley Harding was Dylan's return to his acoustic roots after his motorcycle accident. But rather than bring back the topical lyrics about civil rights and the Vietnam War, he continued the evocative, surreal images that made his previous three records -- Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde -- so groundbreaking, adding biblical imagery that foreshadowed his born-again phase more than a decade later.

Dead started playing it while touring with Dylan in the summer of 1987.  Not necessarily their greatest tour, and Dylan was not sharp on a night by night basis, but when they got to this tune, the crowd really responded.  So after the tour ended, the Dead just kept it in their repertoire and played it until their end.

Played:  118

First:  June 20, 1987 at William Randolph Hearst Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA, USA

Last:  June 22, 1995 at Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY, USA

OUTRO:                               Black Muddy River

                                                Track #20

                                                4:15 – 6:34

Garcia/Hunter

From:  In The Dark (1987)

Black Muddy River was a song that was a pretty decent “new” song for a while.  Almost always played as an encore, it was a fan favorite in the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans, all situated on or near the Mississippi River.  Sometimes they would play it in those cities and sometimes they would wait to play it until they were in the middle of nowhere with no river around for miles and miles.  Towards the end, Jerry seemed to lose his enthusiasm for it so, for example, when he rose to the occasion at the last show on July 9, 1995 and belted out a So Many Roads for the ages, his Black Muddy River encore left a lot to be desired.  So much so that, as the story goes, Phil decided they could not end the summer tour on such a low note so he pushed in a Box of Rain making that song the last one ever played in concert by the band and a much nicer farewell than that not very good Black Muddy River would have been.

This one is “young” and strong, Jerry’s voice rings true and you can hear the energy build up inside him as he belts out the final lines of the song.  A song that sent all those at the Cap Center out into the night longing for more without even knowing what awaited them the very next night.  Some were there, some weren’t.  That’s the story of the Dead and touring (like Phish waiting to Dick’s to play Fee!).

Played:  66 times

First:  December 15, 1986 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  July 9, 1995 at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL, USA

Shout outs:

                        Wed – my anniversary, and H and Robbin

                        Thurs. – JW’s anniversary with the lovely Allie

                        Bella – birthday on Monday

                        Jackie G. in St. Louis on Sunday

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Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

A Festival Odyssey: Phish, Mondegreens, and Moments with My Son

Larry Mishkin reflects on his recent experience attending the Mondegreen Festival, a Phish festival in Dover, Delaware, with his son and friends. He shares his enthusiasm for the event, highlighting the performances and the significance of certain songs, including "The MoMA Dance" and "NICU," which have deep ties to Phish's history and fan culture. Larry provides a detailed history of Phish festivals, from the Clifford Ball in 1996 to the most recent Mondegreen Festival, noting memorable moments, attendance figures, and unique aspects of each event. The episode also includes a brief discussion on the 60th anniversary of The Beatles' performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado. Larry expresses his excitement about attending the festival with his son and reminisces about the special bond they shared during the event.

MONDEGREEN

Phish

August 15 – 18, 2024

The Woodlands

Dover Delaware

Band’s 11th festival, NOT counting Curveball set for 2018 that was canceled at the last minute due to contaminated water supply due to heavy rains and flooding.

Nine year gap between MagnaBall in March, 2015 and Mondegreen, biggest gap between festivals in band’s history.

INTRO:                                 Moma Dance

                                                Night One, August 15, 2024

                                                First Night, First Set, First Song (into Back On The Train)

                                                Phish @ The Woodlands, Mondegreen Festival, Dover DE 2024-08-15 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

                                                Track #2

                                                2:31 – 4:05

By:  Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/McConnell/Marshall

Played:

First Played:  6/30/98 in Copenhagen, Denmark

Most recent: August 15, 2024 (Mondegreen)

Current Gap:  3 shows

The title of “Moma” is another example of Phish Phonetics, cleverly transforming the moment ends lyric into a reference to a display of “The Rhombus” at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Mondegreen:  are they saying, “The Moma Dance” OR “the Moment Ends”??

SHOW No 1:                     NICU

                                                Night One, August 15, 2024

                                                First Set, 6th song (out of Roggae and into A Wave of Hope)

                                                Phish @ The Woodlands, Mondegreen Festival, Dover DE 2024-08-15 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

                                                Track #7

                                                3:00 – 4:56

By:         Anastasio/Marshall

Played 156 times

First Played: 3.6.92 at The Music Hall in Portsmouth, NH

Most Recent:  August 15, 2024 (Mondegreen)

Gap: 3 shows

Has any Phish song had as many names with as many explanations as “NICU”? At its debut in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Trey introduced the song as “In an Intensive Care Unit.” Shortly thereafter, the name was changed to “NICU,” which some considered a play on a line from the backing vocals in the chorus (“and I see you”) and others noted was the abbreviation for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Shortly thereafter, the “controversy” began, as controversy can only begin among rabid Phish fans. Some called the song “And I See You.” Some stuck with the original “In an Intensive Care Unit.” Other interesting theories developed, including one from the Internet where a fan noted that the elements Nickel (NI) and Copper (Cu) are side-by-side on the Periodic Table and that the title “NICU” may thus be a reference to nickels and pennies or, more likely, small change.

Title is a Mondegreen for “And I See You”

Music News (from Mondegreen)

Matthew’s crew:  Matthew, me, Donny, Jake, Dave and Seth

Michigan Crew:  ???

NYC Crew: Max & Jess, Joey and Darby, Darby’s brother, Brad and Sam, Dan the drummer (and?), Dude from Florida and girlfriend (??), Tesh,

WHO ELSE SHOULD I MENTION?

CLEVELAND CREW:  Kevin, two buddies?  Aaron   Anyone else?

Hot and humid/ AC units

Tents v. RV’s/bathrooms/food/water and ice/maintenance

Storm – cut Sunday short

                        Modern weather technology – good and bad

                        Just like 2022 Sacred Rose Festival

Secret Set on Aug. 16th second night

Driving 12 hours each way

SHOW No. 2:                    I Am Hydrogen > Weekapaug Groove

                                                Night 3, August 17, 2024 – Second set opener traditional Mike’s Groove>Theme From The Bottom

                                                November 11, 2012, MSG, NYNY

                                                Mike’s>Chalk Dust Torture>I Am Hydrogen>Weekapaug

                                                Phish | 12.29.11 | Mike's Song → Chalk Dust Torture → I Am Hydrogen → Weekapaug Groove - YouTube

                                                15:44 – 17.43

I Am Hydrogen

By: Daubert/Marshall/Anastasio

Played: 350 times

First: April 6, 1985 at Finbar’s in Burlington, VT

Most  Recent: August 17, 2024 (Mondegreen Night 3)

Gap: 1 show

The story of “I Am Hydrogen” is a love story. Conceived by Tom Marshall and Marc Daubert around 1984-85 on piano and acoustic guitar, they brought their creation over to Trey’s house, where it was recorded. Trey added a harmony to it on his electric guitar, and the “Hydrogen” we have come to know was born. Initially intended for Tom, Marc, and Trey’s band Bivouac, “Hydrogen” ended up in the Phish lineup and made its debut, all alone, on 4/6/85.  After a few years, it became the connector between Mike’s Song and Weekapaug Groove.

Into

Weekapaug Groove

By:  Anastasio/Fishman/McConnell/Gordon
Played: 523 times

First: 7.23.1988 at Pete's Phabulous Phish Phest in Underhill, VT

Most Recent:  August 17, 2024 (Mondegreen Night 3)

Gap: 1 show

“Weekapaug Groove” takes its name from the town of Weekapaug, located on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in southwestern Rhode Island. According to Mike, the song’s lyrics (“Trying to make a woman that you move, sharing in a Weekapaug Groove”) are meaningless. As Mike said in a 9/9/97 interview with Parke Puterbaugh: 

“So we came back to Boston [from Weekapaug, after playing a gig there at a yacht club], and I guess we were in the van or the Voyager we used to drive in, and that song “Oh What a Night” came on the radio. You know that one? That awful Four Seasons song? We just constantly listened to songs and changed around the words as to what they might sound like. I always had a particularly hard time hearing lyrics anyway, so I always would sing a song on the radio, sing along with the wrong words. So the bridge of that song goes ‘Oh I-I-I trying to something,’ but I was singing it, ‘Oh I-I-I trying to make a woman that you move,’ which means nothing, 'sharing in a Weekapaug groove.’ So we all just started singing that, as complete nonsense: ‘trying to make a woman that you move.’ It never occurred to any of us that it had any meaning, ever. There was a period of time that we were singing it, and I used to just yell out the lyrics, between singing them I would just yell them out as if I was preaching them, just to sort of make it more ironic that they have no meaning.”

SHOW No. 3:                    Yamar

                                                Night 4, August 18, 2024 – First set 10th song out of Stash and into Timber

                                                August 17, 1996, Clifford Ball, Plattsburgh AFB, Plattsburgh, NY (1st Phish Festival) into It’s Ice

                                                Phish-Ya Mar-Clifford Ball (youtube.com)

                                                0:13 – 1:45

By:  Cyril Ferguson

                27th November 1951 - Cyril 'Dry Bread' Ferguson was born in Nassau, New Providence, Bahama Islands.

Ferguson was a Bahamian musician and entertainer. He composed songs in the genres of goombay, calypso and Bahamian pop music.

Some of his more popular songs include: Ya Mar, Sunshine On My Body, Bahamian Music and Don't Squeeze The Mango.

Ferguson died of complications related to diabetes on 9th April 2009.

“Ya Mar” resides as a favorite in the hearts of many fans. It represents one of Phish’s few forays into calypso and is among the most playful and danceable songs in the band’s repertoire. And anytime Trey screams for Page to take the reins – “Play it, Leoooooo!” – the crowd is apt to go wild. Page’s nickname actually comes from this line in the original, where The Mustangs urged their own piano man to step into the spotlight. The title seems to reference the slurred interpretation of “your ma,” as the singer recounts the disdain his lover’s family has for him. Phish put their own unique stamp on it by often changing the “no good pa” lyric in the chorus to mimic their own “oh kee pa” phrase. 

Played: 232 times

First: 2.21.1987 at Slade Hall, UV, Burlington, VT

Most Recent:  8.18.2024

Gap: 0 shows

Marijuana News

1. Senator Says Harris Will ‘Be Ready To Sign’ Marijuana Reform Bills If Elected President
2. GOP Senators Claim Marijuana Is A ‘Gateway Drug’ As They Oppose Rescheduling And Legalization

SHOW No. 4:                    Simple

                                                Night 4, August 18, 2024 – First set second to last song of Izabella and into Golden Age

                                                July 27, 2024, Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI second set out of Sigma Oasis and into The Howling

                                                Phish - 7/27/2024 - Simple (4K HDR) (youtube.com)

                                                0:18 – 1:28

By:         Gordon

Played:  209 times

First:     5.27.1994 at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco

Most Recent:  August 18, 2024 (Mondegreen Night 4)

Gap: 0 shows

"Simple" was first written and recorded by Mike Gordon in a four-track medium in the Doo-wop style and introduced to the band during the studio sessions forHoist. This version reflected the country and bluegrass writing style of many previous Gordon compositions. The song was left off of the albumand the band showed hesitation in performing it live.

Then, on 5/27/94, “Simple” debuted in a very strange and raw fashion during the “Mike’s Song” at the Warfield in San Francisco. In contrast to the song we know today, the debut version of “Simple” was Mike’s original lyrics sung by the band members over a jam that had emerged from “Mike’s.” Three weeks later, “Simple” was played for a second time at the historic 6/17/94 gig, the same night that much of the country was watching the low-speed police chase of O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco through L.A. This version was significantly reworked and sounded much like the “Simple” we are accustomed to hearing today, with the exception of a minor humoristic augmentation providing the line “We’ve got O.J., cause we’ve got a band.”

Mondegreen:  We’ve got a cymbal (simple) cause we’ve got a band

OUTRO:                               Twee Pri

                                                Night 3, August 17, 2024 – Encore out of YEM into end of show

                                                April 20, 2024, The Sphere, Las Vegas, NV Encore out of A Life Beyond the Dream into end of show

                                                Tvidler 202202 11 by Ryan Maguire (youtube.com)

                                                0:00 – end

By:  Anastasio/Fishman/Gordon/McConnell

Played:  321 ties

First:  2.1.1991 at Alumnae Hall, Brown University — Providence, RI

Most Recent: 8.17.2024 Mondegreen Night 3

Gap: 1 show

A "reprise" is a sort of musical afterthought – basically a reintroduction of and variation on the main theme of a piece of music. Thus, “Tweezer Reprise” is a slight variation – a condensation of sorts – of “Tweezer.” As it does on the album A Picture of Nectar, the “Reprise” often follows “Tweezer” in concert, most frequently as an encore song. It is also common as a second set closer following an earlier “Tweezer.” A few times, the “Reprise” has even been spewed out of some long, monster “Tweezer,” serving as the thrilling exclamation point at the end of a raging, set-long sentence (e.g. 5/7/94, 6/22/95).

On occasion, “Tweezer Reprise” has shown up as a surprise in a show where there has been no performance of “Tweezer” proper. Although usually this occurs because the “Reprise” will be referring back to a non-reprised “Tweezer” at the previous night’s show (e.g. 12/30/96’s “Tweezer” was reprised on 12/31/96), the song has been known to appear, albeit rarely, completely free from its Granddaddy counterpart, like on 9/29/99. The most interesting example of this, and perhaps the most unusual “Tweezer Reprise” ever performed, was on 12/8/99, which featured an a cappella version that came out of a “YEM” vocal jam to close the second set. The band later finished off the show with a traditional “Tweezer Reprise” to end the encore. Other interesting versions include 10/27/94 and 10/21/95.

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Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

"Phish's Record-Breaking Jams: A New Era in Live Performance"

Larry Mishkin discusses a 1990 performance by the Jerry Garcia Band, highlighting the importance of his album recorded during this period and recommending it for fans of Garcia. He then shift to discussing Phish, describing a lengthy and memorable jam session of the song "Simple" during a recent concert. He shares his personal experience and admiration for Phish's ability to maintain engaging improvisations in their performances.

The conversation then transitions to Aerosmith, detailing the band's history, influence, and their recent announcement to retire from touring due to Steven Tyler's vocal issues. Larry reflects on Aerosmith's legacy, comparing them to other iconic rock bands like The Rolling Stones, and notes the personal connection some of their friends have with the band.

Along with new positive cannabis studies, Larry briefly touches on the recent end of Dead & Company’s tour and the cancellation of Widespread Panic's remaining 2024 tour dates, expressing disappointment but understanding the circumstances. 

.Produced by PodConx  

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Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

Phish's three-night run at Alpine Valley

Larry Mishkin features a Grateful Dead concert at a "funky" venue on July 29, 1994, at Buckeye Lake, Ohio.  The Grateful Dead opened with "Rain" by the Beatles, reflecting their admiration for the Beatles' music. "Rain," primarily written by John Lennon, was a song exploring themes of reality and illusion and was notable for its use of reverse audio effects. The Grateful Dead incorporated several Beatles songs into their performances, demonstrating their appreciation for the band.

The conversation touches on the Grateful Dead's setlist, which included several opening songs like "Feel Like a Stranger" and "Bertha." The speakers recall personal experiences and the excitement of attending these concerts, sharing memories of Buckeye Lake as a vibrant venue despite unpredictable weather. The conversation transitions to "Wang Dang Doodle," a blues standard written by Willie Dixon and performed by artists like Howlin' Wolf and Koko Taylor. The Grateful Dead's affinity for blues music and their ability to blend various musical influences into their performances is highlighted. 

Larry changes his focus and shifts to a discussion about the band Phish, detailing a recent three-night run at Alpine Valley. He express his excitement and nostalgia for the venue, sharing experiences of attending concerts there over the years. The recap of Phish's performances includes a detailed analysis of the setlists, noting songs like "46 Days," "Moma Dance," "Cities," "Cavern," "Axilla," "Down with Disease," "Bathtub Gin," and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Good Times Bad Times." Larry's enthusiasm is evident as he recount the energy and musicianship of Phish, highlighting the unique experience of attending their concerts and the connection it fosters among fans. 

Grateful Dead

July 29, 1994  (30 years ago)

Buckeye Lake Ohio

Grateful Dead Live at Buckeye Lake Music Center on 1994-07-29 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

INTRO:                                 Rain

                                                Track #1

                                                :26 – 2:10

• John Lennon wrote most of "Rain." It was his first song to get really deep, exploring themes of reality and illusion - after all, rain or shine is just a state of mind.
• Written by John “about people moaning about the weather all the time” as he was becoming more in tune with his role as a social leader – as is evidenced by the lines “I can show you” and “Can you hear me”

Played 29 times

First:  December 2, 1992 at McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO, USA

Last:  June 30, 1995 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

SHOW No. 1:                    Wang Dang Doodle

                                                Track #4

                                                4:03 – 5:43

"Wang Dang Doodle" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat.[1] It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and released by Chess Records in 1961. In 1965, Dixon and Leonard Chess persuaded Koko Taylor to record it for Checker Records, a Chess subsidiary. Taylor's rendition quickly became a hit, reaching number thirteen on the Billboard R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart.[2] "Wang Dang Doodle" became a blues standard[3] and has been recorded by various artists. Taylor's version was added to the United States National Recording Registry in 2023.

In 1995, Taylor's rendition was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recording – Singles or Album Tracks" category.[17] The Foundation noted that the song was the last blues single produced by Dixon to reach the record charts, and "became Koko Taylor's signature crowdpleaser, inspiring singalongs to the 'all night long' refrain night after night".[17]

Taylor's version of "Wang Dang Doodle" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry in 2023.[18]

Chuck Berry, Bruce Hornsby, John Popper, Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and Willie Dixon's daughter, Shirley Dixon, performed "Wang Dang Doodle" in tribute to Willie Dixon at the 1994 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

In his autobiography, I Am The Blues, Willie Dixon says;

Wang Dang Doodle meant a good time. Especially if a guy came in from the South. A wang dang meant having a ball and a lot of dancing, they called it a rocking style so that's what it meant to wang dang doodle.

Wang Dang Doodle was first performed by the Grateful Dead in August 1983. The song was played only a few times each year through the rest of the 1980's. From 1991 onwards it was performed more often averaging about 15 performances a year through to 1995.

Played: 95 times

First:  August 26, 1983 at Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR, USA

Last:  July 8, 1995 at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL, USA

MUSIC NEWS:

1. Phish shows, Friday and Saturday night at Alpine Valley
2. RIP – John Mayall

SHOW No. 2:                    Althea

                                                Track #7

                                                9:40 – end

                                                INTO

                                                Eternity

                                                Track #8

                                                0:00 – 1:39

Co-writing a song with one of your personal heroes—that seems like a dream come true.

Willie Dixon (1915-1992) was one of the preeminent blues songwriters and performers of all time. The Grateful Dead covered a fairly lengthy list of his songs, attesting to his influence on the band: “Down in the Bottom,” “I Ain’t Superstitious,” “I Just Want to Make Love To You,” “Little Red Rooster,” “The Same Thing,” “Spoonful,” and “Wang Dang Doodle.” Plus a couple they only played once, or only in soundcheck.

The song was written during the sessions for Rob Wasserman’s Trios album. “Guitar Player” magazine ran an interview with Weir in 1993:

I had this chord progression and melody that I wanted to run by Willie to see if he liked it .... he did, so he started dashing off words. He wanted me to run a certain section by him again and stuff like that, and we started working on a bridge. Then he dashes off this sheet of lyrics and hands it to me. Now I'm really stoked to be working with the legendary Willie Dixon and I'm prepared for just about anything.

He hands these lyrics to me and I'm reading through them. And they seem, you know, awfully simplistic. Like there wasn't a whole lot to them....

....Now he wants me to read through it and sing the melody I have and see if they fit. And so I started singing through these simplistic lyrics, and that simplicity takes on a whole other direction.

By the time I had sung through them, it's like my head is suddenly eons wide. I can hear what's happening just sort of echoing around in there and I'm astounded by the simple grace of what he has just presented to me. I'm sitting there with my mouth open literally, and Willie's laughing. He's just sitting there laughing, saying, 'Now you see it. Now you see it. That's the wisdom of the blues

Played:  44 times

First:  February 21, 1993 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  July 8, 1995 at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL, USA

SHOW No. 3:                    I Want To Tell You

                                                Track #11

                                                0:00 – 1:35

"I Want to Tell You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. It was written and sung by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist. After "Taxman" and "Love You To", it was the third Harrison composition recorded for Revolver. Its inclusion on the LP marked the first time that he was allocated more than two songs on a Beatles album, a reflection of his continued growth as a songwriter beside John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

When writing "I Want to Tell You", Harrison drew inspiration from his experimentation with the hallucinogenic drug LSD. The lyrics address what he later termed "the avalanche of thoughts that are so hard to write down or say or transmit".[1] In combination with the song's philosophical message, Harrison's stuttering guitar riff and the dissonance he employs in the melody reflect the difficulties of achieving meaningful communication. The recording marked the first time that McCartney played his bass guitar part after the band had completed the rhythm track for a song, a technique that became commonplace on the Beatles' subsequent recordings.

George Harrison wrote "I Want to Tell You" in the early part of 1966, the year in which his songwriting matured in terms of subject matter and productivity.[2] As a secondary composer to John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the Beatles,[3] Harrison began to establish his own musical identity through his absorption in Indian culture,[4][5] as well as the perspective he gained through his experiences with the hallucinogenic drug LSD.[6] According to author Gary Tillery, the song resulted from a "creative surge" that Harrison experienced at the start of 1966.

In his autobiography, I, Me, Mine, Harrison says that "I Want to Tell You" addresses "the avalanche of thoughts that are so hard to write down or say or transmit".[1][12] Authors Russell Reising and Jim LeBlanc cite the song, along with "Rain" and "Within You Without You", as an early example of the Beatles abandoning "coy" statements in their lyrics and instead "adopt[ing] an urgent tone, intent on channeling some essential knowledge, the psychological and/or philosophical epiphanies of LSD experience" to their listeners.[13] Writing in The Beatles Anthology, Harrison likened the outlook inspired by his taking the drug to that of "an astronaut on the moon, or in his spaceship, looking back at the Earth. I was looking back to the Earth from my awareness."

Played: 7 times

First:  July 1, 1994 at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA

Last:  May 24, 1995 at Memorial Stadium, Seattle, WA, USA

MJ NEWS

SHOW No. 4:                    Standing On The Moon

                                                Track #19

                                                7:23 – 9:00

Garcia/Hunter tune from Built To Last (1989)

Played:  76 times

First:  February 5, 1989 at Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  June 30, 1995 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA

OUTRO:                               Quinn The Eskimo

                                                Track #21

                                                2:28 – 4:17

"Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" is a folk-rock song written and first recorded by Bob Dylan in 1967 during the Basement Tapes sessions. The song's first release was in January 1968 as "Mighty Quinn" in a version by the British band Manfred Mann,[4] which became a great success. It has been recorded by a number of performers, often under the "Mighty Quinn" title.

The subject of the song is the arrival of Quinn (an Eskimo), who prefers a more relaxed lifestyle [" jumping queues, and making haste just ain't my cup of meat"] and refuses hard work ["Just tell me where to put 'em and I'll tell you who to call"], but brings joy to the people.

Dylan is widely believed to have derived the title character from actor Anthony Quinn's role as an Eskimo in the 1960 movie The Savage Innocents.[5] Dylan has also been quoted as saying that the song was nothing more than a "simple nursery rhyme". A 2004 Chicago Tribune article[6] said the song was named after Gordon Quinn, co-founder of Kartemquin Films, who had given Dylan and Howard Alk uncredited editing assistance on Eat the Document.

Dylan first recorded the song in 1967 during the Basement Tapes sessions, but did not release a version for another three years. Meanwhile, the song was picked up and recorded in December 1967 by the British band Manfred Mann,[7] who released it as a single in the US on 8 January 1968 under the title "Mighty Quinn".[8] A UK single followed within a week.[8] The Manfred Mann version reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart for the week of 14 February 1968, and remained there the following week.[9] It also charted on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 10, and reached No. 4 in Cash Box. Cash Box called it a "funky-rock track" with "a trace of calypso [to] add zest to a tremendous effort."

Played:  59 times

First: December 30, 1985 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA, USA

Last:  July 2, 1995 at Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN, USA

.Produced by PodConx  

Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show

Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin

Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

Phish Tour Kicks Off: Anticipation and Reflections from the Road

Larry Mishkin is excited about the ongoing summer tour of the band Phish, particularly looking forward to their upcoming shows at Alpine Valley and St. Louis. He reflects on a Grateful Dead concert from July 22, 1984, at Ventura County Fairgrounds, sharing personal memories of attending shows in 1984, which was a significant year for him. He discusses the song "Loser" by Jerry Garcia, noting its Americana themes and its history with the Grateful Dead. He praises Garcia's performance at the 1984 show and the song's growling vocals and guitar work.

Larry also talks about the song "Day Job," highlighting its unique history with the Grateful Dead as a song fans petitioned to be dropped from their setlists. He reflects on why the song wasn't popular among fans, comparing it to another song, "Liberty," which he personally didn't favor. Despite this, he appreciates the version performed at the Ventura show for its energy and Jerry's engagement.

In the music world segment, the he provides updates on Phish's summer tour, sharing setlists from recent shows in Mansfield, Massachusetts. He expresses excitement about attending multiple shows and describes how his appreciation for Phish has grown, comparing it to his experience with the Grateful Dead. He anticipates hearing specific songs and is eager to connect with fellow fans.

The show also features a segment on Stanley Jordan, a musician known for his unique guitar style. Jordan shares his journey to creating a project called Stanley Plays the Dead, a tribute to the Grateful Dead. He recounts meeting Phil Lesh and performing with him, which inspired his current project. Jordan's distinctive two-hand tapping technique on guitar is highlighted, along with his diverse musical collaborations over the years.

Grateful Dead

July 22, 1084 (40 years ago)

Ventura County Fairgrounds

Ventura, CA

The Grateful Dead Live at Ventura County Fairgrounds on 1984-07-22 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

_____________________________________________

INCOMPLETE BUT IT HAS ALL THE MUSIC CLIPS

CAN WE TAPE TOMORROW AT 10 A.M. MY TIME?

Let me know.

Thank you

______________________________________

Fake Intro for my nephew, Ben Mishkin’s 11th birthday, I will just introduce it as “my podcast”, play the clip and wish him a happy birthday, then we cut back to our normal intro tune and I do a regular introduction.  What do you think?

Bennie and the Jets - Elton John - Live in London 1974 HD (youtube.com)

0:08 – 1:18

"Bennie and the Jets" (also titled "Benny & the Jets") is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John.[3] The song first appeared on the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album in 1973. "Bennie and the Jets" has been one of John's most popular songs and was performed during his appearance at Live Aid.

The track was a massive hit in the United States and Canada, released in 1974 as an A-side using the spelling "Bennie". In most territories the track was released as the B-side to "Candle in the Wind", using the spelling "Benny". Album artwork (back-cover track listing and center-panel design) consistently lists the song as "Bennie" while either "Bennie" or "Benny" appears on the vinyl album depending on territory. The track was released as an A-side in the UK in 1976, as "Benny and the Jets".

It is ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Happy Birthday to my nephew Ben who turns 11 today while at summer camp in the Poconos.  Great time to be alive.  There with his big sister Lily and lots of good friends while his younger brother Nate has the run of the house!  Have a great day big guy.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled show:

Normal house intro music

Great show today from one of the Deadhead’s favorite venues, Ventura County Fairgrounds.  Basically on the car racing track and demo derby.  View is of the beach and ocean.  Shows start in the afternoon, 2 or 3, so no real light show except mother nature and if you are lucky, a beautiful sunset just as the show ends or shortly thereafter.  Location of my first show ever and the only time I saw the boys there.

This show is two summers later and finds the Boys cranking along in 1984, a big year for me in terms of shows that included a big chunk of Spring tour, Red Rocks, my first summer tour experience, first Alpine, and first New Years shows. Still found time to graduate from Michigan and start law school.

INTRO:                                 Loser

                                                Track #4

                                                2:40 – 4:20

The song seems covered in the Americana dust of so many songs from this period of Hunter’s and Garcia’s songwriting partnership. Abilene, whether in Texas or Kansas, is a dusty cowtown—at the time in which the song seems to be set, the cattle outnumbered the human inhabitants by a factor of tens. It’s easy to see the scene Hunter so casually sets, of a broken-down gambler in a saloon, with a dirt street outside full of armed cowpokes.

Appearing, as it does, on Garcia (Jan, 1972), the song seems to pair naturally with the other gambling song on the album, “Deal.” It could be sung by the same character on a different day, in fact. And it fits in, as I mentioned, with a whole suite of songs that might be set in the same generic America of the late 19th or early 20th centuries: “Brown-Eyed Women,” “Jack Straw,” “Mister Charlie,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Candyman,” and others, as well as certain selected covers, such as “Me and My Uncle,” and “El Paso.”

The crowning glory of the song, as in many other Garcia/Hunter compositions, is the bridge.

The song culminates in this cry of hopefulness: “Last fair deal in the country, Sweet Susie, last fair deal in the town. Put your gold money where your love is, baby, before you let my deal go down—go down.”

(It’s noted that “Sweet Susie” was dropped at some point, but then, occasionally, brought back. I think it was an optional decoration to the line. Alex Allan, in his Grateful Dead Lyric and Song Finder site, notes that “Sweet Susie” rarely appears after 1972, but that it’s sung in performances in 1974 and 1979.)

The version at this show is one of the best I’ve ever heard.  Garcia’s voice is growling, his guitar playing spot on, energy bursting out of him.  1984 was a great year for the Dead and this show, and this tune, really epitomize all of it.  Almost always a first set tune, usually first part of the set, traded off with Candyman, Must Have Been The Roses, and other first set Jerry ballads.

Played: 353 times

First:   February 18, 1971 at Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, USA

Last:   June 28, 1995 at the Palace at Auburn Hills, MI (Detroit)

SHOW No. 1:                    Day Job

                                                Track #8

                                                1:00 – 2:39

Garcia/Hunter “new tune” Never released on any studio recording, appears on Dick’s Picks #6, Hartford Civic Center Oct. 14, 1983 in case you’ve never heard it.  It’s claim to fame, per Robert Hunter himself, is that “this song was dropped from the Grateful Dead repertoire at the request of the fans.  Seriously.”

I heard it a few times.  Not my favorite, but good when Jerry was sharp and rocking like this version. Really one of the best.

Played:  133

First:  August 28, 1982 at Oregon Country Fair Site, Veneta, OR, USA

Last:  April 4, 1986 at Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT, USA

SHOW No. 2:                    I Just Want To Make Love To You

                                                Track #11

                                                1:27 – 3:10

"I Just Want to Make Love to You" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. In 1954, it was recorded by Muddy Waters,[2] and released as a single with the title "Just Make Love to Me". The song reached number four on Billboard magazine's R&B Best Sellers chart.[3]

Backing Waters on vocals are Little Walter on harmonica, Jimmy Rogers on guitar, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass, and Fred Below on drums.[1] Waters recorded the song again for the album Electric Mud (1968).

The Rolling Stones covered the song on their 1964 debut album The Rolling Stones.

In 1972, British blues rock group Foghat recorded a studio version for their self-titled debut album in 1972. The song was also released as a single and it became their first single to reach the charts, appearing at No. 83 on the Billboard Hot 100[9] and No. 31 in Australia.[10] An eight-minute version from a 1977 concert performance is included on Foghat Live. It was edited down to 3:56 release as a single, which reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100[9] and No. 28 on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada. 

I heard this on Foghat Live and thought it was a Foghat song.  Could not believe when I heard the Dead had played it!

Dead played it 4 times:  Pig in ‘66

                                                Brent in ‘84

                                                Jerry in ‘95

Times:  4

First:  November 29, 1966 at The Matrix, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last: February 21, 1995 at Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

SHOW No. 3:                    Drums

                                                Track #14

                                                7;00 – end

                                                INTO

                                                Space

                                                Track #15

                                                0:00 - :36

SHOW No. 4:                    Space

                                                Track #15

                                                10:59 – end

                                                INTO

                                                Morning Dew

                                                Track #16

                                                0:00 – 1:28

Birthdays:

                Benny

                John Gross

OUTRO:                               Midnight Hour

                                                Track #19

                                                1:42 – 3:27

.Produced by PodConx  

Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show

Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin

Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast

"Cannabis, COVID, and Concerts: A Grateful Dead Fan's Journey"

Larry Mishkin is back from a break spent in South Carolina with his granddaughter he shares his experience of contracting a mild case of COVID, attributing his quick recovery to his cannabis use. He references studies suggesting that certain strains of sativa marijuana may mitigate COVID symptoms.

The episode features a detailed discussion of a special Grateful Dead concert from July 15, 1989, at Deer Creek Music Theater in Noblesville, Indiana. Larry reminisces about the venue, the band’s setlist, and the memorable experience shared with friends. He highlights key performances from the show, including "Bertha," "Greatest Story Ever Told," "Candyman," "Walkin' Blues," and others.

Larry also covers recent music news, mentioning Melissa Etheridge's performance in Colorado and her upcoming summer tour. He shares updates on the String Cheese Incident's New Orleans-themed show at Red Rocks and Phish's recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where they performed "Evolve" from their new album.

Grateful Dead

Deer Creek Music Theater Center

Noblesville, IN

Grateful Dead Live at Deer Creek Music Center on 1989-07-15 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

With:  Judy, Andy K., Lary V., AWell and others

First Dead show ever at Deer Creek which had just opened that year.  Became a regular stop on the Dead’s summer tour thereafter and one of the favorite places for the Deadheads given its relatively small size as compared to the stadium venues that soon became the norm for summer tours.  Ironically, two days after this one-off Dead played their final 3 shows at Alpine Valley, switched to Tinley Park in 1990 and then starting in 1991 Chicago summer  tour shows were confined to Soldier Field with 60,000 attendees.

INTRO:                                 Bertha

                                                Track #2

                                                1:20 – 3:00

Garcia/Hunter – first appeared on Grateful Dead (live) aka Skull and Roses or Skullfuck (1971)

Played: 401

First:  February 18, 1971 at Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, USA

Last:  June 27, 1995 at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI

SHOW No. 1:                    Walkin Blues

                                                Track #5

                                                1:38 – 3:20

"Walkin' Blues" or "Walking Blues" is a blues standard written and recorded by American Delta blues musician Son House in 1930. Although unissued at the time, it was part of House's repertoire and other musicians, including Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters, adapted the song and recorded their own versions.

"Walkin' Blues" was not a commercial success when it was issued as a "race record" marketed to black listeners.  However, the song was received with great enthusiasm by a small group of white jazz record collectors and critics. Producer John Hammond chose "Walkin' Blues" and "Preachin' Blues" as the records to be played at his 1938 From Spirituals to Swing concert, when Johnson himself could not appear (Johnson had died a few months earlier).[15] The 1961 Johnson compilation album King of the Delta Blues Singers was marketed to white enthusiasts. According to most sources, John Hammond was involved in the production and the selection of tracks. The album included the two House-style songs and a song with House-style guitar figures ("Cross Road Blues" and excluded songs in the commercial style of the late 1930s. Notable exclusions were Johnson's one commercial hit, "Terraplane Blues", and two songs which he passed on to the mainstream of blues recording, "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Dust My Broom".

Dead first played it in 1966, once in 1982 and 4 times in 1985.  Then, beginning in 1987 it became a standard part of Dead song lists, peaking in 1988 when it was played 23 times.  Became one of Bobby’s early first set blues numbers with Minglewood Blues, CC Rider and Little Red Rooster.

Played: 141

First:  October 7, 1966 at Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  July 2, 1995 at Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN, USA

SHOW No. 2:                    Crazy Fingers

                                                Track #12

                                                4:30 – 6:12

Pretty standard second set song, usually pre-drums.  Fist played in 1975, a few times in 1976 and then dropped until 1982 at Ventura County Fairgrounds (day after my first show).  Played 7 times that year, dropped until 1985 (10 times), then dropped until 1987 and then played regularly until the end.  Great tune, Jerry often forgot the lyrics and this version is great because Bobby saves him on the lyrics when Jerry starts to go astray.  Good fun considering how many times Bobby would forget the words to his songs. But one of those things you remember if you see it happen

Garcia/Hunter, released on Blues For Allah (Sept. 1, 1975)

Played: 145 times

First:  June 17, 1975 at Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  July 5, 1995 at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, MO (St. Louis)

SHOW No. 3:                    Truckin

                                                Track #13

                                                7:00 – end

Hunter/Garcia/Weir/Lesh/Kreutzman (Pigpen went inside to take a nap) by the side of a pool.

Released on American Beauty (November, 1970) final tune on the album

Played: 532 times

First:  August 17, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  July 6, 1995 at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, MO

                                                INTO

                                                Smokestack Lightning

                                                Track #14

                                                0:00 – 0:36

"Smokestack Lightning" (also "Smoke Stack Lightning" or "Smokestack Lightnin'") is a blues song recorded by Howlin' Wolf (Chester Burnett) in 1956. It became one of his most popular and influential songs. It is based on earlier blues songs, and numerous artists later interpreted it.  Recorded at Chess Records in Chicago and released in March, 1956 with You Can’t Be Beat on the B side.

Wolf had performed "Smokestack Lightning" in one form or another at least by the early 1930s,[1] when he was performing with Charley Patton in small Delta communities.[1] The song, described as "a hypnotic one-chord drone piece",[2] draws on earlier blues, such as Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues",[3] the Mississippi Sheiks' "Stop and Listen Blues",[4] and Charley Patton's "Moon Going Down".[5][6] Wolf said the song was inspired by watching trains in the night: "We used to sit out in the country and see the trains go by, watch the sparks come out of the smokestack. That was smokestack lightning."

In a song review for AllMusic, Bill Janovitz described "Smokestack Lightning" as "almost like a distillation of the essence of the blues... a pleasingly primitive and raw representation of the blues, pure and chant-like. Wolf truly sounds like a man in otherwise inexpressible agony, flailing for words."[8] In 1999, the song received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award, honoring its lasting historical significance.[13]Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 291 in its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[7] and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included it in its list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".[14] In 1985, the song was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in the "Classics of Blues Recordings" category[15] and, in 2009, it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.

Janovitz also identifies "Smokestack Lightning" as a blues standard "open to varied interpretation, covered by artists ranging from the Yardbirds to Soundgarden, all stamping their personal imprint on the song".[8] Clapton identifies the Yardbirds' performances of the song as the group's most popular live number.[17] They played it almost every show, and sometimes it could last up to 30 minutes.

Dead often played it out of Truckin, would also play the blues tune Spoonful out of Truckin.

Played:  63 times

First:  November 19, 1966 at Fillmore Auditorium, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  October 18, 1994 at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA

SHOW No. 4:                    Space

                                                Track #17

                                                7:45 – 9:20

On November 28, 1973, Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia and drummer Mickey Hart staged a performance at San Francisco’s Palace Of Fine Arts. At the time, Hart – whose 80th birthday is today – was on a sabbatical from the Dead, having last performed in public with Garcia and the band in February 1971. Hart would rejoin the Dead for good in October 1974.

A poster promoting the concert shows a clean-shaven Garcia dressed in black beside an equally freshly shaven Hart wearing all white. At the bottom of the advertisement was printed “An Experiment in Quadrophonic Sound.”

Hart recalled his experience at the duo concert with Garcia in 1973 that was not only a Seastones precursor but also planted the seeds for the band’s mind-bending “Space” jams.

“There were so many exciting that we’ve done together. Adventurous musical things. He was also into adventure and creating new spaces, so we had that in common. We got together many times out of the ring – where he first discovered synthesizers, being able to synthesize his guitar, which led to MIDI.

“The first concert we did was in 1973. It was just a duo. He got an Arp [Odyssey], an electric instrument, a keyboard, and he plugged his guitar into it and that was the first time I had heard his guitar I had heard his guitar running through sophisticated synthesizers.

“I just thought of that concert, which kind of was the beginning of ‘Space’ – ‘Drums’ and ‘Space’ actually – it might have been the very beginning of it. And I think of that on his birthday, the seminal things we did together.”

After the November 28, 1973 concert, the Grateful Dead began to occasionally incorporate elements of a “Space” jam into their shows. In January 1978, Dead shows almost always included a nightly “Drums” jam paired with a freeform “Space” jam, consistently showing up mid-second set throughout the rest of their career.

Played:  1086

First:  March 19, 1966 at Carthay Studios, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Last:  July 9, 1995 at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

OUTRO:                               Brokedown Palace

                                                Track #22

                                                5:04 – 6:43

The lyric to “Brokedown Palace” was written by Robert Hunter as part of a suite of songs that arrived via his pen during a stay in London in 1970. He entitled it “Broke-Down Palace,” and now that it exists as a piece of writing, it seems to have always existed. It was composed on the same afternoon as “Ripple” and “To Lay Me Down,” with the aid of a half bottle of retsina.

Its first performance was on August 18, 1970, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, and became a staple of the live repertoire. After the 1975 hiatus, “Brokedown Palace” appeared almost exclusively as the closing song of the show, as an encore. It had the effect of sending us out of the show on a gentle pillow of sound, the band bidding us “Fare you well, fare you well…”

Garcia/Hunter

Released on American Beauty (Nov. 1970)

Played: 219 times

First:  August 18, 1970 at Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, USA

Last:  June 25, 1995 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

.Produced by PodConx  

Deadhead Cannabis Show - https://podconx.com/podcasts/deadhead-cannabis-show

Larry Mishkin - https://podconx.com/guests/larry-mishkin

Rob Hunt - https://podconx.com/guests/rob-hunt

Jay Blakesberg - https://podconx.com/guests/jay-blakesberg

Sound Designed by Jamie Humiston - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-humiston-91718b1b3/

Recorded on Squadcast