a week in Jan 1979 (put on the snow tires)

There's been a lack of serious Dead listening 'round here lately, but this little project oddly pulled me out of a slump.  I am drawn to periods that are generally overlooked or underrated, both out of a desire to find some buried treasure and also, it must be said, out of a weirdly perverse attraction to the mundane.  The Jan-Feb 1979 tours have not gone down in the books as the band's best, and justifiably so.  And yet here I am, always on the lookout for an unearthed gold nugget.  You already know that this was the Godchauxs' final stand, and that several of these shows were makeups for Dec 1978 shows that were canceled because of Garcia's illness.  A week after their final blowout at Winterland, I am sure that none of them were too jazzed to be touring the northeast in January.  I was born in New Haven in January 1979 and have been told repeatedly by my family how horrible the snow was.  An online buddy Pig Street attended some of these shows and reports similar conditions.  Party on!

Spoiler: none of these shows are top-to-bottom great, but many of them have something worth hearing and revisiting.  Isn't finding those gems what it's all about?


1/5/79 - The Spectrum

The band's history at the Spectrum is notable, and this was their first two-night stand there, rescheduled from December and split over two weeks, presumably working around the hockey season.  It's a pretty run-of-the-mill show, captured on a solid if not amazing aud tape (all respect to the uncredited taper).  Two unfortunate tape cuts excise Jerry's climactic Sugaree solo and most of the Music Never Stopped jam.  Weir's slide solo in Sugaree sounds truly and unbelievably terrible.  An unexpected highlight is the last stretch of All Over Now, when Garcia and Lesh decide it's time to lift the roof for a few moments.  The second set jam begins with a somewhat sluggish Estimated, which perks up during an unusually colorful segue into a very long Eyes of the World: 16 1/2 minutes of legitimate jamming.  Nothing earthshaking happens, since Garcia sounds happy to take it at a mellow pace, but it's still a pleasant ride.  A loud, raucous Space (all hands on deck and making noise) sets up a more energetic post-Drumz: it sounds like they're having fun on Truckin', and then they attempt the first Nobody's Fault But Mine in a while -- it's a full band effort, not just Garcia playing the melody -- but Garcia's mic gives out and they're forced to make it an instrumental.  Black Peter sounds quite good, though Garcia seems to be making room for Weir's slide again (whyyyyy), and Around and JBG feel unusually goosed.  "Thank y'all, we're gonna see you in a week or two."  Not bad, but overall it's a so-so show.  At least the local reviews were good.

high times at MSG, by Bob Minkin.

1/7/79 - Madison Square Garden 

Another historical first, the band's maiden MSG shows (again rescheduled from December).  Boy howdy, do they sound glad to be there: the run blasts off with a truly titanic Jack Straw, with a jam for the ages.  Mama mia!  The rest of the set is wholly unremarkable, which feels almost cruel given that opening salvo.   There's a pretty nice Cassidy and Jack-a-Roe; Garcia sings "kicked my eye and blacked my dog" in Tennessee Jed, and delivers on a solid Passenger closer.  True to their we-always-blow-the-big-ones form, the second set is marred by PA problems: the opening Miracle has some sound issues, Shakedown feels perfunctory, and repeat Estimated > Eyes finally finds a groove but is also on the shorter side.  Space is an unexpected highlight, with a kind of "world music" vibe as Garcia improvises more melodically with Hart's marimba.  But Not Fade Away feels bloated and overlong to me, although there's an interesting bit where everyone is trading fours, and Black Peter (another repeat) is going well until the PA craps out again, never to fully recover.  Blah.  Hear this Jack Straw over and over, and maybe the Space.  Full disclosure: Bob Wagner's aud tape is solid, but boomy and a little unfocused, which may be tilting my general opinion here.


1/8/79 - Madison Square Garden 

The first set is great!  Good selection, great energy: a very fine Half Step > Franklin's kicks off with a satisfying peak to the Half Step jam and a nice transition.  Everything has the extra edge, and even the more obvious flubs sound more like over-enthusiasm than carelessness.  Lazy > Supplication, another good combo, closes things out.  Promising start!  As much as I really want to love this second set, however, I am just not feeling it.  On paper it's great, and Charlie Miller has repeatedly said that this is one of his particular favorites.  So your mileage, obviously, may vary.  Scarlet > Fire features an unusually prominent Donna "solo" in the transition jam, more forward than her other occasional moments of glossolalia -- you go ahead, Donna! -- and Jerry bumbleebeing his way through the rest of it.  Hmm.  He steps it up for FOTM with one well-crafted solo after another, but the rest of the band sounds like they're plodding along.  Maybe it's just me?  This S>F certainly has its proponents (e.g. here), so perhaps you all will like it more than I do.  Nothing much moves me either in Terrapin or Playing, and they skip Space altogether tonight for some noodling right into the Other One, which doesn't feel like it fully comes together before the vocals.  Wharf Rat, at least, is a powerhouse.  It's interesting that all three of these shows so far have had an energy bump after the Drums, but haven't quite delivered the goods beforehand.

MSG, by Bob Minkin.

1/10/79 - Nassau Coliseum

And another historical moment: the Dead return to Nassau, which they had sworn off in 1973 after heavy police presence and arrests.  A few good pulls were made, but Keith Gatto's aud tapes of both nights are spectacular, which I admit may contribute to my higher opinion of these shows.  The first set mostly lopes along without much spark (the B-grade song selection is partially to blame), but ends well with quality versions of Passenger and Loser before a hot Music Never Stopped finale that burns through both jams to a big finish.  Shakedown is a much better performance than MSG's (prompting Phil to crack, "you know it well!" to all the Long Islanders), but then a workmanlike Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin' seems like they are settling in for another unremarkable 2nd set jam.  But oh no: a full blown Dark Star.  How?  Why?  Huh?  Remember that they had brought this back ten days earlier for the closing of Winterland blowout (and would play a shorter one again 10 days later), but this one takes the full ride for over 18 minutes, complete with a nice climax in the second half.  imho this vies with the 1984 Greek Theater encore for the best of the "lost years" Dark Stars, and what a nice surprise it is.  Space, thankfully, is another full-blown skronk-fest (crazier than 1/5) with another big climax, dropping off into a decent but unremarkable Wharf Rat.  They have one more ace to play: St. Stephen, another reprise from Winterland (and the last one they would play until 1983), a pretty on-point and fired up version.  Thank you, boys!  Dark Star through the end of the show is well worth hearing.

1/11/79 - Nassau Coliseum
(a rare sbd also circulates, though the aud is the better bet)

I wasn't expecting much from this more pedestrian looking setlist, but surprise surprise, the first set felt pretty solid.  A big ol' Sugaree opener boasts a great final jam (and less egregiously bad Bob slide), and there's also a nice Cassidy and a solid-if-not-amazing Jack Straw > Deal finisher, both with some slippery spots but an all-around good feeling.  The second set opens with a very long, jammy Miracle, by far the longest (10+ minutes) of this period, with a nice, easy, quasi-Truckin' shuffle.  The band goofs around wishing happy birthday to everyone ("the Birthday Brothers & Sisters Band!") before setting sail into the best Estimated so far (though check out Jerry pulling the e-brake hard in the bridge solo) with a lovely, nearly composed transition into He's Gone.  They groove on a long Truckin' tease before Drums, then noodle around for bit before Truckin' proper.  They give this one another good reading and make their way roundabout to the Other One, with a great transition to the intro and a short but very punchy jam, and finally a very slow but steady Stella Blue with an extra long outro solo -- not a true stunner, but a worthwhile trip -- before wrapping up the night a fine Casey Jones encore that I hope was a little parting fuck you to the Nassau police.  Start to finish, this may be the most consistent second set of these six shows, though nothing jumps out enough to make it one for the books.  A worthwhile specimen, nevertheless.


1/12/79 - The Spectrum

Back at the Spectrum for night 2, with Eddie Claridge's and Jim Wise's sweet, up-close FOB as the only circulating recording.  The first set is mostly pretty ho-hum (the opening Jack Straw doesn't hold a candle to the MSG version), but things settle into place with a nice Peggy-O, and a great one-two punch of Passenger and Deal.  The energy spills over into a nice Samson, though Garcia's voice isn't in good enough shape for Roses.  Yikes.  Dancing in the Streets had become far less common than it had been in spring '78, and while it seemed like the band's interest in stretching this one out had been waning, this one pulls a rabbit out of its hat: after a brisk, tight jam, they bring it back around and then wander off into a looser groove; it's nice them exploring an unexpected direction at this stage in the game.  Garcia manages to tie it back into the Dancin' reprise, they wrap up the tune, and then Garcia sets off again as everyone else takes a break.  Hart eases off, and the next few minutes are just Garcia and Kreutzmann playfully sparring with each other -- nothing like John Coltrane/Elvin Jones intensity, but it's pretty cool to hear these two having a rare 'alone together' moment.  Hart returns for a low-key Drums, which ushers in a Not Fade Away that (after another grimacey slide solo) is elevated by Garcia powering through the rest of the band's laconic groove with a stronger attack.  A bonus GDTRFB and Sugar Magnolia (no ballad) keep the energy and good vibes up high.  It's worth hearing this Dancin>jam, and worth sticking around for the rest of it if you're not in a rush.

1/12/79? by unknown

Takeaways
None of these six shows is a powerhouse from start to finish.  With the exception of 1/8/79, all of these first sets are pretty skipable, barring a couple highlights.  The first two shows are generally pretty low-gear and low priority.  I keep hoping that 1/8/79's second set will turn my crank someday, but it hasn't happened yet.  Things get genuinely engaging for me with the second set of 1/10 Nassau, 1/11 maintains the energy for an all-around generally solid show, and 1/12 delivers with an overlooked strong second set jam.  But I'm not feeling inspired to keep going, so this symmetrical six-show run will suffice.   fwiw, the second set from 1/15/79 in Springfield is probably the best single set of this final winter 79 period (though, again, the first set was mostly a snoozer, iirc).  2/3/79 Indianapolis is another real diamond in the rough, and I presume most folks know the final Keith & Donna show on 2/17/79 has some very spirited (if messy) playing and a host of setlist surprises.

The "problem" with these shows has less to do with any obvious flaws and more of a kind of settled but indifferent professionalism (well, professionalism by the Dead's standards).  "We used to play for acid, now we play for Clive," perhaps.  Jerry's and Donna's voices sound pretty blown out more often than not, Keith never sounds too engaged in any of it (though the tone of the electric piano he was playing isn't doing him any favors), and everyone else just kind of plays on through.  As much as history has firmly attributed this to the Godchauxs, it sounds to me more like a cloud had settled on the band in late 78 that didn't fully clear until Brent Mydland was fully settled in a year later. 

1/9/79: Keith is not amused (Bob Minkin)

4/28/79: aud tape ephemera

4/23/79, by Chris Stone

This is one of those aud tapes that I love more for what's happening between songs than for the actual music itself.  It's a really good pull (taper unknown) of just the first set of a typically enjoyable but fairly unremarkable Reconstruction show.  I was most impressed by Garcia's long solo in Nessa, riding a fierce and very fast groove with aplomb.  I'm also impressed by the amazingly good save during the flub in the transition at the end of an otherwise great I'll Take a Melody, but I suppose that kind of thing isn't technically a highlight (although, seriously, nice save!).  Also, if you're listening on headphones, watch out when Garcia hits that effect pedal for his solo in Struggling Man -- whoa!  But otherwise, there's not much to say about the music itself.

Like 10/24/78, however, there are a couple of little nuggets to savor between the songs, if you find value in this kind of thing.  It starts with a good-natured doof asking after the opener, "what is this? oh, a recorder? [then, in response to his buddy, who was probably like, "no, sherlock, it's a toaster oven, keep talking into it"] I didn't know what it was!"   A minute later, someone (the same guy?) explains, "they were in Frisco and someone told them Reconstruction was playing here, so they got on the bus and came here."  Oh for the days when you heard Jerry was playing tonight and just hopped on the bus.

This is probably more up JGMF's alley, but after I'll Take a Melody a different guy hollers, "why didn't you play last night?"  Hmm.  gdsets lists a 4/27/79 date at the Centennial Hall in Hayward, CA (just across the Bay from Palo Alto) with no setlist, and a setlist for 4/26 at the Keystone in Berkeley (but no tape).   Centennial Hall (capacity 1500) seems like an odd venue for Reconstruction, particularly sandwiched in between two Keystone dates.  Was it canceled?  Or, apropos of the fact that Reconstruction played in Hayward a few months later without Garcia, could it be possible that the comment is just be directed at him?

[edit: can't believe I forgot to mention the bomb-drop whistler.  There's a dude who figures on several Jerry aud tapes from this era who does this persistent whistle like a bomb dropping (or like Wile E. Coyote falling off a cliff).  I always find him a little irritating, particularly since he seems to amp it up when Garcia is soloing, but it's not bad enough on this tape that you'd even notice it.  I think 12/17/79 is one tape where it's pretty bad.  Anyway.  Who the heck was this guy?  What was his deal?  I think about these things listening to tapes like this.]

Finally, my favorite: just a second before the above hollering, you can hear a guy ask, "you like it?" and a little kid respond, "yeah!"  Go dude for bringing your kid to see Reconstruction!  Sorry, but as a parent of smallish children, this tickles the heck out of me.  See also 1/15/72 (a great tape for many reasons, not least for the little kid who heckles Save Mother Earth in the first set), 9/30/73 (kids playing near the stage as OAITW starts Panama Red, of all things), and an honorable mention to 9/20/76 (I think?) with the baby crying during Russian Lullaby.  Okay, so it's a short list so far.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Feb 2022: update!  The second set is now in circulation!  So I will hopefully circle back to this one.  Also, courtesy of Jerrybase, I see that Bettyboard cassettes exist for this show, so who knows, maybe someday...]

 

4/17/79: we in church today!

wrong Nicasio gig, but I love this poster

Good gravy, this place was tiny!  According to jgbp, the Rancho Nicasio was a resturant/bar that held all of 150 people, in a tiny, idyllic Marin County enclave.  Their site has some nice pictures (funny coincidence, but Peter Rowan and the Rowan Bros are playing there tonight.  Anyone got an extra (plane) ticket?).  I assume the place was far enough off the beaten path that most Bay Area heads wouldn’t have bothered (I get that sense from posts like this about west coast deadheads’ willingness to travel in the late 70’s).  But thankfully taper Phil Jaret did, and his recording is the only one that we’ve got at the moment (the newer transfer is pitch-corrected).  It’s a pretty good, upfront recording that sounds fine on headphones.  Not pristine, but it hits all the right spots and is plenty satisfying, and the music makes it well worth it.

The main reason to sing its praises is another (heretofore unknown to me) version of the mighty Sama Layuca, mislabeled in both filesets as Welcome to the Basement.  It’s not quite as wild as the nutso 3/30/79 performance (ahem), mainly because only Ed Neumeister and Garcia take solos (Ron Stallings, Merl, and John Kahn also all get a turn in the 3/30 version).  But holy moley, they throw down hard here.  Garcia’s chomping at the bit, but Neumeister goes first.  The band grooves hard underneath him, slowly loosens their grip, lets it get wild and hairy, then locks it back down, then loosens up again, and so on.  I don’t know if Stallings was having a problem with his horn, but there’s a bit of float-time after Neumeister’s solo until Garcia steps up to bat and just nails it.  After the same wild back-and-forth, it spills into some loud noisy space — listen close to how seamlessly Gaylord Birch snaps back into the groove of the song as the return for the ending.  He’s such a fantastic drummer: over a very fast tempo (like 175 bpm), he easily shifts from tight control to unhinged freer playing with nary a stumble.  Impressive!  I associate him mainly with funk and R&B, but he more than holds his own in a freer context like this.

The rest of the show is pretty hot, too.  Less than a week before the Dead debuted with Brent Mydland [edit: there's a long rehearsal tape that circulates dated 4/16/79], Garcia sounds like he’s pushing harder than usual.  He’s particularly on fire during a breathtaking tear through Another Star — very fast, but precise, and totally synched up with the horns’ accompaniment that frames the solo.  He comes to a great (and perfectly timed) climax, then basically starts over immediately for a second go-round!  He also seems pretty fired up for a long Soul Roach, not a song that usually registers for me, but he’s really belting here.  Linda Chicana, Mohican and the Great Spirit, Long Train Running; all the instrumentals sound great, and they dig in pretty hard on the vocal rave-ups Lovely Night for Dancing and Make It Better.  After the a cappella ending to Lovely Night, Merl says something like, “yeah, we in church today!”  Amen to that, Merl.

postscript: if you're inclined, take a close listen to Ron Stallings' sax solo in the show-closing Long Train Running.  That sounds like a soprano sax after his tenor solo, but the transition sounds way too quick for it to be Stallings switching horns (he does play soprano in Sama Layuca, though).  Could it be a guest musician?  Jaret's aud tape is tightly edited between most songs, so if something was said, we don't have it.  It's no big thing, but it's worth noting.

3/30/79: Sama Layuca

[edit, Dec '17: FYI, it turns out that the correct date is likely 3/31, not 3/30.  see jgmf.]

I’ve been a bit dormant with the late onset of winter around these parts (reading, family, work, jazz) and not listening to as much Dead or Garcia, but I did want to give some shine to a pretty remarkable gem I stumbled upon from an unknown-to-me Reconstruction show: 3/30/79 at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, CA (a very nice aud recording).  Sama Layuca was a McCoy Tyner tune that Reconstruction performed only a small handful of times (only five versions circulate), and while the earliest performances stuck to the usual head/solos/head format of most of Reconstruction’s jazz numbers, two other versions were rare occasions for the band to open up into freer, more uncharted waters.

On 3/30/79, Sama Layuca starts off with Stallings and Neumeister soloing over a tight groove that stays stable but threatens to unmoor itself, and by the time Garcia steps up front, things have started to fray and stretch.  His solo is outrageous, essentially one loud, fiery duel with drummer Gaylord Birch, with Kahn at his heels.  Saunders picks up the pieces, but Kahn’s solo tips things back into loud, noisy Space as Garcia rears back up.  It's all pretty crazy stuff, much more akin to a fired-up GD Space jam than anything Reconstruction usually did.  The only other version (or indeed any other Reconstruction performance) that gets this far out is another Sama Layuca from a few months later, 8/10/79.  Garcia, now rocking his brand-new Tiger guitar, takes it to similar places but winds up drifting away from the song and into a gentle, floating, spacey interlude that segues into Dear Prudence.  Just as sweet, but not quite as demented.

The rest of 3/30/79 is fantastic, maybe one of the better Reconstruction shows I’ve heard, but Sama Layuca is the clear highlight.  It’s definitely worth checking out, particularly for those not sold on the “disco” sound of this group.

btw, jgmf's huge Reconstruction overview a must-read for anyone into this particular side trip of Garcia's.  I have more to say on the significance of this band to the overall arc of Garcia's side career, but that's for another time.

with Reconstruction, 4/23/79, courtesy jerrygarcia.com