42. 1969-02-27

Live/Dead Fillmore West 23:07 (~21:52 actual)
Main theme at 5:00.
First verse at 6:03.
Sputnik at 11:16.
Verse melody at 13:10.
Bright Star at 20:08.
Falling Star at 20:40.
Main theme at 20:48.
Second verse at 21:25.
Goes into St. Stephen.


The Live/Dead recording begins with the tail end of Mountains of the Moon, with Dark Star coming in around 1:15, give or take a few seconds (as MOTM turns to Dark Star intro noodling, which turns into the intro proper at 1:19--or a couple seconds prior, as the first time through the opening lick is apparently counted as part of the noodling, since they play it three times instead of the customary two). The recording begins a few seconds before Garcia returns with the electric guitar, and the band starts heading toward Dark Star.

We have a great mix from the multitracks here, with Weir in particular more clear and present than usual without being overbearing. Garcia hangs back until the two minute mark, and when he comes in his line is clear and confident and, like much in this rendition, it sounds almost like a modular lick or a worked out part. It is impossible to listen to this with innocent ears as, like many Deadheads, there is a part of my brain that has entirely been rewritten by this version of Dark Star. Nevertheless, it strikes me that the playing here is notably confident and lyrical right from the beginning. Garcia’s opening salvo sounds like it is already pushing toward a peak moment, yet at the same time it is measured and does not discharge the song’s energy prematurely. Lesh is almost in the pocket here (for him!), playing low and authoritative lines that keep the song anchored and the energy controlled. With Weir so high in the mix, it is remarkable to hear how confident and creative his lines are, at times butting up against the lead guitar and challenging, at others providing a soft and bouncy cushion for Garcia’s more speculative lines.

Lesh and Weir seem particularly consonant, building the framework of the song and creating dramatic openings for Garcia. From 2:35 until 2:41, when Jerry lays out for a few moments, we can hear how closely the other two string players are working in tandem; Jerry then returns with some volume knob swells. He has the bridge pickup engaged now, and his whimsically hazy, vaguely Eastern lines beginning at 2:47 threaten to break things open, but he broadly hints at the main theme a few times, as if to remind everyone that they have not yet earned a peak. And indeed, the group dynamic throughout this opening section is focused and consistent; this is no doubt abetted by the presence of solid drumming, at first discreet but increasingly pronounced, as Kreutzmann’s drums play a larger role in this rendition than we have heard heretofore.

By 3:50 the intensity has been raised a notch or two, but even amidst this there is a remarkable little dynamic valley at about 4:25. Coming out of this, listen to how Weir mirrors Garcia; by moving into a higher register, he simultaneously generates excitement and preserves the sense of lightness and mobility that makes us feel that the band has room to go farther, harder, and deeper. At 4:55 Garcia is again subtly gesturing toward the main theme; Weir and Lesh are listening closely, as they are already playing the theme when Jerry swings into it at 5:01, and his appreciation for the cohesion of tonight’s group mind is evident in the way he gussies up the theme with some slides, ad libbed asides, and palm muting.

TC has been very low in the mix through all this, but he finally starts to come through a bit more from around 5:36. After the verse there is some very melodic playing from Phil, and then Garcia begins, at first softly, to play the tolling bell sound. Phil plays a high counterpoint to this, and then at 8:07 Garcia’s entrance to the middle jam seems to explode out of the speakers. The increased capacity of the band to create drama is profoundly evident even in the lead-up to the middle jam tonight. The cohesion of the group makes every transition seem consequent and deliberate. Following the progression of the song is like witnessing the stately (from a distance) formation of a solar system; at the same time, a closer look at the planetary level, so to speak, reveals micro-ecologies teeming with the most vibrant lifeforms. Listen at 8:15, as things are kicking into gear; Lesh drops down and slows his line slightly, which in turn leads Garcia to play more quietly at 8:21; he begins circling and revving the engine while, at 8:27, Lesh starts to climb; this leads to a small peak at 8:43, which drifts down to another little valley at 8:50. In this way, the level of alertness and mutual responsiveness among the band members makes for a trajectory that is, in detail, strikingly mobile and articulated, while at the same time giving one the sense that it is all headed somewhere, when looked at from a wider angle.

Shortly after the 9 minute mark, the band decides that we’ve had enough excitement for now, and it is time for a more pronounced and sustained dynamic downshift. The following segment is almost like a negative photographic image of the previous couple of minutes, as here and there miniature, understated peaks poke their heads above the clouds, so that we’ve gone from a section of high intensity with little valleys to a more subdued section with small crescendoes. The upshot of all this is that the band is playing with such sensitivity and sophistication that not only are they effectively employing dynamics, but they are leavening them with micro-dynamics that keep the whole thing just off the boil while still providing plenty of drama.

At 10:29 Garcia advances the proposition that things need to get spacier, and the band heads toward Sputnik. The first half of Sputnik ratchets toward a point of angry intensity from which the second half recedes. Garcia switches on his post-Sputnik effect and goes right into the verse melody; Lesh takes it to the customary E minor, but Jerry stays on the 5th, which reduces the impact of the shift to minor, which proves to be a brief interlude tonight. But Garcia stays with the guitar effect, and by about 14:20 the band has gone into space, in one of the weirdest passages they have played thus far in their career. This does not last long, regrettably; Garcia and Kreutzmann seem to simultaneously have the same idea, laying out a groove that will lead the band back to less recondite territory. They start to take it back up, and at 15:49 Garcia is calling for Bright Star, but giving the rest of the band time to build up to it.

Now they all seem to be heading in the same direction, and this section features some of the most effective playing from TC that we’ve yet heard, although he is still underemphasized in the mix. But we do not yet arrive at Bright Star; again they pull back just after the 17 minute mark, repositioning themselves around Weir’s funky stabs. Beginning at 17:18 Garcia begins repeating a single note per measure, interestingly offset in the timing from the emphasis point Weir had been establishing, as if building a scaffolding for the peak to come; at 17:32, he begins to answer himself with a second, higher note at the midpoint between each measure, and then he starts to build it up again. As he fills in the intervening notes, it begins to sound like a prelude to the main theme, and it looks like the promised peak, which now seems far away indeed, may never arrive. Lesh seems to be gearing up for the denouement of a return to the theme. Instead, Garcia once again launches into the verse melody, and this time the crash to E minor is emphasized, and indeed they use it as a launching pad to regain the momentum the band had seemingly left behind at the end of the previous jam.

Remarkably, however, the band quiets down again! Finally, at around 19:30, Garcia begins a repeating figure (featuring several shifts in tone; as we've seen on previous versions, he seems to be conversing with himself in different voices) that allows the band to build behind him; I didn’t realize until they were (finally) playing Bright Star proper at 20:08 that his line was basically the Bright Star notes, stripped down. In the end, then, we get the peak that had been teased and hinted at throughout, although this would scarcely be a lesser rendition without it, and a now-rare Falling Star ensues and leads us back into the main theme and, in turn, the second verse.



When I began listening to the Dead in the 1980s, this was the only Dark Star many Deadheads had ever heard (although the song was revived in 1989), and in any case was, and probably still is, the most famous version. And, of course, it is worthy of the adulation it has received. Like most forward leaps, this doesn’t come out of nowhere, as the Dream Bowl versions represented a distinct advance over what preceded them; still, it is hard to overstate the power and glory of this rendition.


What was said:

Lots of equipment issues on stage in the first set, hopefully all taken care of. However, Weir claimed in the first set sign-off that in the second set, they’d bring on the monkeys. So…
It’s the acoustic mini-set intro, so we get a jam in between “Mountains of the Moon” and the beginning of Dark Star proper. A little acoustic jam, the drummers are both sitting in their seats, but (I think) only Mickey makes any noise (I occasionally hear sounds in the left side, but nothing definitive!) JG Switches to electric guitar which is where the track divide is, he’s using the darker tone, fairly quietly as Bobby strums his suspensions, Phil takes the helm at a minute in and plays the intro riff. But JG has to tune a bit so it takes him a while to come in so BW strums up a groove. When Jerry comes in he does so with a little tattoo fanfare run before he settles in… and then starts his take off, doesn’t get caught up in a set of notes till almost 3 minutes. Some play with the volume knob, quickly out of that and we’re already in full band improv territory, they’re with it. Bob and Jerry both switch to more biting tones at 4 minutes, and stab at it until it sputniks a bit making a short visit to Elysium before out into the thematic variations, into a strong theme statement at 5 minutes.
They go on with it for a while, even Jerry still comes back to the theme, he’s getting into the rhythm of it. He plays with the second half’s upbeat a bit before coming in with the verse. It’s pretty fast (relative to other versions) everybody plays the verse like it’s performing a pop song, the parts are so knit now. All the individual variation and coloration is totally worked out now, all the parts executed. The singing is especially strong this evening (maybe that’s a reason for choosing it for Live/Dead). They have the three lines of the verse all arranged now, different rhythms per line, TC illustrating the Searchlight Casting, etc. He’s big on the crescendos on “Shall we go…” They don’t do vocals on this first chorus or break or whatever. They only do them on part 2, why?
…and into part 2, (so to speak.) After a while TC goes a rambling while Jerry starts to go way out, the gongs on the metal and open strings and then at 8 minutes he bursts forth and they go through the verse-form right off the bat with super strong playing on everybody’s part, so much so that by the third line, it’s way beyond their practiced forms that they use as way markers, we’re into new territory again, some new licks by Jerry and then we quiet down for a new mellow area. Where are we going to take this! He’s latching onto a few melodic areas, the falling star leading into … no, bringing it back down again.
At 10 1/2 JG is quiet and testing the sound in the space with his guitar and feedback, but it’s developing into a sputnik as an e string is being tuned. Lovely roller rink florish from the organ at the wave’s dip into a new section with Jerry playing some weirdass sounds that also seem to bring some drummers into the mix into a tranporstative segment that fades. But when he comes back in they begin an earnest jam that seems like we can expect some Dark Star theme, after waves of Jerry or Tom, they calm down What now? I gotta bit, it goes into a new section with drums now, and leads into a strong Dark Star theme with the drums and Phil working out the rhythms for line 2 and 3, ha! Previously Phil had control over this stuff!
Jerry in softly then to the bright tone for a new variant of the theme that can probably be turned around into the theme proper. Yup, there we go.
A jaunty intro riff area leading into the lull before Verse 2!
The scary verse isn’t as scary tonight, it’s delivered well again, though I feel like the well rehearsed backing vocals are lackluster this evening. And nothing super provocative on the outro though there’s some feedback before the start of St Stephen proper. This is an amazing Dark Star musically, incredibly creative and strong, I can see why it made it onto the Live/Dead album! At some point I’ll explain my listening history, but while I had “heard it around”, I had really only seriously listened to this version a few times, it’s not imbedded like it is for most people (heads) I’d guess.


Released on some album or other, right? Why, yes... It's immediately clear why the Dead put this one out. It's leaps and bounds ahead of previous versions, ratcheting up the mystery and the drama. All of the '69 performances so far, I've been (at least unconsciously) comparing to the Live/Dead rendition, but few of them came close.
Now, the original album mix itself I don't think is the most straightforward presentation, especially if you're comparing it to other live tapes. It's swathed in reverb and some of the instruments virtually disappear at times, so it sounds like it's coming out of a cavern. There are a few mixes out there, but the Rhino remix seems like the most accurate portrayal of what was played -- for instance, after the intro you can hear TC's ROR and Mickey's guiro, which can hardly be heard on the original album.
Dark Star drifts out of a foggy, mystical Mountains jam. I think Phil starts it before Jerry's ready! There's one remarkable change from previous versions right at the start: Bill's active on the drum set after the intro for the first time, making this a more percussive opening jam than usual and probably stimulating Jerry to new heights. As usual Jerry lays back for half a minute before really coming in (notice how TC echoes him). This is a very hot, dense, swirling intro jam....they're already hitting an intense peak around 4:30 (of this version) before they swoop down to the main theme. TC was not served well on the original album (or Bear's recordings in general so far), but in this mix more than almost any of the other early '69 tapes, you can hear him as a partner to Jerry, supporting his lines. You noticed how Jerry's playing around with the theme -- I think part of that is because of the effect of Bill's drums, which had never really been used in this section and rock it up a bit, so they have to calm things down before the verse.
After the verse, the middle jam has a great spacey opening with Mickey's gong, Jerry's guitar-gong, TC's trills and Phil's prodding building up to Jerry's explosive entry. But they don't stay long on that propulsive level, the jam gets more quiet and delicate with little bubblings of intensity. There's a nice, spacey moment of stillness around 11 minutes in, before Sputnik enters. The Sputnik itself isn't too wild & crazy, but Jerry's squealy-tone passage afterwards leads to a brief bit of true Space around 14:30 as they all make unearthly sounds. Space bits like this are still very short, but this looks forward to what the band will develop later. Jerry leads them into a very pretty passage, and the churning intensity soon returns in a rock & roll jam. TC even briefly takes the lead from Jerry at the peak around 16:45. But they quiet down again for a quirky deconstruction of the jam, playing little note fragments that get longer til they're back to normal phrases. Phil's ready to return to the theme, but Jerry reminds him they haven't done the verse melody yet -- gotta have that! -- and they do a strong rendition. Jerry still resists returning to the theme afterwards, heading into an almost China Cat-like passage that merges into a slowly building Bright Star. A blazing peak that Jerry douses in an instant with a little falling-star lick (a perfect touch but barely heard in recent months). Then it's finally time for the theme and second verse.
So, the main change I noticed in this version is that Bill's a lot more present on the drums throughout, which may contribute to the more rollicking feel of this Dark Star. Other versions lately have been more laid-back or subdued, but the intensity kicks up a notch here. TC also seems to be more integrated with the band by now, he's really tied in with Jerry and following the band's dips and turns (but always in a supporting role, he echoes Jerry to the extent that he's almost a "halo" around Jerry's lines and rarely stands out on his own). The band's focused more on dynamic peaks in this version -- climbing up, gliding down (or as Hunter put it, "tension, release, tension, release") -- but Jerry always keeps an eye on the broader structure, making sure to hit the highest points at the end. And, if only for moments, they step into the realm of playful noises anticipating the Spaces of later months. I also get a sense of a joyful mood from the playing....this Dark Star may have been picked for the album not just because they nailed it at the first Fillmore West show, but also because they remembered how happy they had been playing it.


It's harder to write about such a familiar Dark Star. A fresh unheard Dark Star offers new discoveries....but an old favorite can sound perfect and inevitable. And such a benchmark Dark Star can be intimidating to tackle in a review! I don't suppose there are any hypothetical comparative listeners for whom this is just another version they'd never heard before....I wonder if their reviews would be as glowing.


I get chills thinking back on where this performance has taken me and what it's meant to me since I first heard it as a teenager, and it still conjures up those feelings today. There were better Dark Stars to come as the form continued to evolve and expand but there is a power and emotion and majesty to this one that earns it an honored place in the pantheon.
The fact that it was captured for the album and thus integrated into both GoGD culture and music history is of course an important part of the story. It also makes it difficult to analyze it objectively but I don't think there is any question that this was their best performance to date. There was something special happening that night and it seems fitting that they caught lightning in a bottle on the first night of the run.
As others have written it's great to be able to hear everyone well, something that I appreciate even more as we listen to the Dark Stars sequentially. The big moments are incredible but there are so many little things that also grab you along the way too. I agree that Bob stands out as his twangy guitar sound both contrasts and compliments where Jerry's going at various times. Having more percussion is an important change, and I think Phil in particular is part of what gives it a mystical quality, like a bubbling caldron that sets a certain mood and rises up in just the right places. Something about his part between 7:50-8:05 just before Jerry bursts into orbit has always appealed to me. TC's presence matters too and we get nice accents along the way, similar to how the gong adds a little something extra. Everything comes together and it's just wonderful.



Relistened to this last night, and yes, it's funny how even some bits that sound to me now like they might have been mistakes (like when Jerry tries to start Sputnik but has to retune!) seem so right. In particular the opening post-"Mountains" improv seems like it could have been a composition someone worked on for ages.
Listening to the Live/Dead original mix, I suppose Jerry must have been heavily involved as there are a lot of creative treatments with his leads (towards the end the guitar seems to be circling around the stereo field). Phil and Bob are consistently up front. The treatment of T.C. is interesting as his organ is off in the distance much of the time, but comes forward when he plays something significant. As @Mr. Rain mentioned, Bill is playing drums more often than in most previous Stars although his playing doesn't vary that much yet. Towards the end he is doing some bombastic bass drum hits, a drumming style I associate more with Mickey.



Just listened to the remaster/remix (the only version available on Spotify). Strange mix that sounds to me like a first pass that should have been redone. At the beginning Phil is way out front overpowering the others (I'm sure people will comment that this is good but in this case I think it's a bit much) and Jerry is buried. After a few minutes it settles in better but it's still a bit grating. The only thing I liked was being able to hear T.C. better, especially when he harmonizes Jerry's verse riff a short time before the first verse.
I read on Deadessays that there was an early mix of the album that they aired on the radio in 1969, but decided to redo. I'm wondering if this was in the vault and they pulled it by mistake for the remaster. We'll probably never know.
Deadessays also confirms what I thought I heard in this version (and more subtly in the original mix), that there were two channels on the 16-track for Phil's bass.


Once it's on album, even the mistakes sound intentional.... "Oh yeah, there's supposed to be feedback when St. Stephen starts. Jerry isn't just tuning up in the Eleven, he's letting the others shine."
It is a creative mix on the album! I don't know how much the band members were egging on Bob & Betty to play around with the mix, but they made it super-spacey. Personally, at least in terms of comparing Dark Stars for this thread, I preferred a mix where you could pretty much hear everyone rather than one where some parts are intentionally buried.....TC's so much more present on the remix, and now that you can hear Mickey it's interesting how subdued he is in this performance, maybe laying back to give Bill more room. Bill was really feeling his oats in this Dark Star, for whatever reason. And that bass drum is so loud on the original album it's distracting!
Ideally they'd just put the multitracks out and everyone could mix their own versions....