REHEARSAL WITH TC (1968-11-06?)

82393 Pacific High Recording 14:38

Main theme variations at 5:28, 6:18, and 7:08. First verse at 7:27. Main theme (a bit) at 10:01. Bright Star (a bit) at 10:46. Verse melody at 10:56. Sputnik at 11:35. Bright Star at 12:14. Main theme at 12:37. Second verse at 13:10. Goes into St. Stephen.


This seems to be a rehearsal where they are teaching TC some of the material. You can hear someone telling him the chord changes from around 1:35. They start playing at around 2:18; Garcia repeatedly plays the ROR, trying to teach it to TC. By 3:25 Jerry feels he’s got it (although he sounds very stiff!), and starts noodling around. TC steps out a little at the end of the first verse, adding a few flourishes. He moves away from the ROR at times after the verse, and things seem to pick up a bit. At around 11:25 there’s a nice little passage with Jerry and Phil. TC starts playing something Sputnik like around 11:35, and it goes into a small Sputnik from there. TC gets better as it goes, although he is a bit stiff throughout.


What was said:

It’s so jumpy at the start, it sound very much like China Cat Sunflower-type hocket playing. TC plays the ROR line differently, I think it's cool how it changes, and he gets some weird harmonies, and then Jerry plays it with him to get him back on track… he’s embarrassingly loud in the mix for a guy who’s just learning, I guess that’s the point.
First half is wishy-washy, but of course nice Jerry playing. Sort of-Sputniks happen at 10min, some weird TC timbral choices, then more thematic soloing and great Phil bass soloing and doing his 3-part rhythm thing that he does in the verse lines, his soloing evolves into an amazing chordal Sputnik jam in the 12 minute area into the verse where TC finally breaks out a bit, into a bright star. Imagine having to learn this for a ****ing concert next month. (They seem to be having more trouble teaching him the Eleven and such.)



Not that bad. I wasn't expecting much from this rehearsal version. TC is more of a distraction than a help here, but since it's his first time playing Dark Star we can forgive him. It's funny that, with a brand new organist with his own skills to offer the Dead, Jerry insists that he keep playing that ROR throughout, even spends the first few minutes going over and over it. It drags down this version for sure, especially when TC keeps changing his settings and finds a hideous tone. They finally get loose and swirly just before the first verse, then the main jam is pretty decent as the band just lets go and things flow better. Phil and Jerry feel more free to roam around and it gets less metronomic, more dynamically alive. The last few minutes are the best part, from the verse melody onward into a nice little Sputnik that TC contributes to. TC abandons the ROR at last and finally sounds more like he will in the next year, so it's a rapid improvement on his part! This rehearsal's worth hearing just for that shift.
I didn't hear the drummers play at all in this...either they're not miked well or they're just waiting for the Stephen.
It's kind of sad that TC, in his Dead years, never got to play Dark Star on piano, his true instrument. It's like if Keith never had a piano and only got to play the organ.