22. 1968-10-20

9071 (also on 30 Trips) UC Berkeley 10:17

Main theme at 1:41, and a variant thereof at 2:35.
First verse at 2:59.
Verse melody at 5:42.
Sputnik at 7:18.
Bright Star at 8:11.
Main theme at 8:37.
Second verse at 8:55.
Goes into St. Stephen.


The very beginning is cut. Pigpen is back, but he’s not too far forward on this one. This is the advent of the SG and Garcia’s tone really cuts here! He sounds particularly nimble and avid on the pre-verse stuff. Garcia throughout his career has had a truly distinctive tone on the bass notes, and see 4:09 here for a great early example (he managed a similar effect when he began to play Fenders and then his custom guitars, although of course it’s somewhat different—later on, his low notes at times remind me of a giant insect!). Here he switches pickups at times almost mid-phrase, for instance compare just before and after 5:20; the effect is almost as if he’s having a conversation with himself, as has been remarked several times here (but it always seems noteworthy). Check out the variant of the verse melody at 6:55; at this stage, he is very adept at threading hints and quotes of the song’s themes throughout his improvisations. The transition to the following Sputnik is seamlessly sudden. Light Into Ashes considers the Bright Star here an “Amazing Climax” (“Dark Star 1968”) but the band as a whole keeps a pretty even keel throughout this one, to my ears. Some versions are exploratory, and some are kind of tours de force (a preeminent example of the latter, I think, is 1969-02-27), and the difference by the two seems to me to be determined by what Garcia does. That’s not to say that he always leads the jams, although at this point that is the most common scenario. This one is a tour de force, and Garcia held my attention throughout; I had to listen to it again to pay closer attention to Lesh and Weir. The latter is a little quiet in this mix. Phil is fairly subtle for much of this one, gradually introducing variations and most often keeping to a pretty straightforward approach. In any case, this is a wonderful rendition, although we still seem to be in a consolidation phase rather than a period of revolution…


What was said:

21: 1968-10-13

 

115606 Avalon 13:08


Main theme at 1:28.
First verse at 2:12.
Verse theme at 6:45.
Bright Star at 8:25.
Falling Star at 9:12.
Sputnik at 9:45.
Main theme at 11:02.
Second verse at 11:42.
Goes into St. Stephen.

Pigpen is again missing. Very driving introduction up to where the main theme comes in, then it almost falls apart and comes back with a more laid-back mien. Weir is rather loud on this one, and you can hear how integral he is to the whole thing, playing triads in ascending bursts between 5 and 6, and when he finds himself alone right before Garcia’s statement of the verse melody at 6:45 he starts playing something that sounds a bit like Sputnik. The mix makes Garcia blend in a bit more on this one, but he is again brilliant, playing flowing, wide-ranging lines and employing an array of voices, and again some feedback. The run up to Bright Star is particularly thrilling, and Garcia comes out of this with some staccato bursts leading to a playful run at Falling Star. Lesh is almost constantly in motion here, and seems to be leading the way at times. Overall this is an energetic version, filled with ideas. They seem to be mostly consolidating their hold on the song at this point, although Sputnik has just been added, and this is a great expression of what they can do with it at this point.


What was said:

20: 1968-10-12

86759 Avalon 14:52

Main theme at 3:45.
First verse at 4:17.
Verse melody at 8:09.
Bright Star at 10:29.
Falling Star at 11:00.
Sputnik at 11:44.
Main theme at 12:43.
Second verse at 13:23.
Goes into St. Stephen.

No Pigpen this night. Jerry takes his time after the intro, playing moody, spooky lines and again varying his voice effectively. Lesh is fully unleashed here as well, with a seemingly endless supply of contrapuntal ideas. Garcia comes out of the first verse with the familiar pattern from earlier in the year, and launches into a remarkable series of melodies, double stops, bends, a little feedback, and repeated motifs with Lesh providing the perfect counterpoint at every step. Weir is less clearly audible much of the time but his presence is very much felt, and we know how crucial it is, especially after reviewing the Hartbeats versions. He’s more prominent when things quiet down between around 9:45 and when Bright Star begins at 10:29. During Bright Star you can hear him playing some melodic lines. We finally get an unmistakable Sputnik at 11:44. This is still relatively compact, and stays inside compared, of course, to what’s still to come, but it’s nevertheless a masterful version, and very satisfying.




What was said:

HARTBEATS B: 1968-10-10

Matrix 4513




15:29

There’s some tuning, accompanied by a chiming bell, at the beginning. Intro starts at 2:18, so this is really about 13:10 in length. No verses. Main theme at 7:22. Main theme at 10:02. Goes into 11 jam. Very relaxed version, dancing around some of the themes without really stating them for the most part. Garcia seems to be playing more double stops and partial chords than usual. Gets Sputnik-y around 5:46 for a brief spell; interesting oblique initial pass at the main theme, including a (possibly intentional?) wrong note, around 7:05. Sort of a mini-Sputnik at 7:58, and again around 8:27. A feint at the main theme at 9:48 leads to an interesting run from Garcia, then the main theme comes in at 10:02. At 11:36 Phil briefly plays something that sounds like some of the stuff he’d play in the “Philo Stomp” in 1972. He gets some similar stuff going again toward the end, which makes for an interesting way for this to wind up, and there finally seems to be a bit of energy (although again I can’t help but imagine Weir playing along).







What was said:

Hartbeats A: 1968-10-08

HARTBEATS A: 1968-10-08 25757 

Sometime around this point Weir and Pigpen were supposedly fired from the band, although the exact dates, and how serious the firing was, are unclear (the Dead would play with Weir a few days after this, and although Pigpen was absent, this is said to be because his girlfriend was ill). At the time, this show seems to have been billed as both “Jerry Garrceeah and his Friends” and “The Grateful Dead with Elvin Bishop,” depending on the listing (1968-10-08 The Matrix, San Francisco, CA, USA - Jerry Garcia ). ). It seems that there are no shows that were billed as Mickey and The Hartbeats until the next year, although Garcia calls them that at one point during this set. In any case, the personnel on this Dark Star seems to be Garcia, Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart.




12:55 (track time on the above source; there’s space at the beginning, this really lasts about 12 minutes). No verses. Sputnik (maybe, there is some controversy still!) at 6:28. Main theme at 7:11. Verse melody at 9:59. Goes into Cosmic Charlie.




This starts with the familiar intro lick. It’s very laid-back and noodly, and lacks the drive of the Dead versions of the time. It’s striking, in fact, how little seems to be happening at times with just two non-drummers playing (and the drummers aren't doing much). Garcia fiddles around a bit and then at 2:39 he starts a chordal vamp much like Weir would have played; this briefly mutates into a three-chord figure that sounds a little different than the usual part, which Lesh only loosely follows. Garcia plays something like the main theme starting at 5:14. Beginning at 6:28 Garcia plays what I think we can maybe call the first Sputnik, although it will subsequently pick up a few more notes. At 7:11 Garcia briefly plays the main theme, and since there are no verses starts playing around with it a bit. Starting at 8:19 Garcia starts fooling around with a little rolling figure that starts to sound a little like Sputnik. Around 10:30 Garcia begins to whip up some excitement, but I find myself thinking of a Weir part building underneath it, and how much better it would be…at around 11:40 Garcia gets a sweet tone that sounds almost Fender-like, probably something that’s more noticeable without another guitar in the mix (this is near the end of the tenure of the black Les Paul, although it’s possible he played a different guitar for this gig…I can’t tell that just by listening, but I am pretty sure he is still playing a Gibson here, in any case). This lacks the usual ending, as Garcia plays a harsh swell in prelude to the intro to Cosmic Charlie, which does not yet have the Chuck Berry-like double stop intro, but starts with the main riff. Overall this is certainly of interest, but it’s not terribly exciting. Goes into the first known “Cosmic Charlie,” which lacks the chorus (“Say you’ll come back…”) lyrics at this point. I put on the last Dark Star to check @Mr. Rain 's timing corrections (thank you very much for that!) after listening to this. For all our lukewarm reaction to that one, it seemed absolutely sizzling with molten energy after listening to this one!




What was said: