138788 Fillmore West 22:58
Main theme at 7:08.
First verse at 7:42.
Verse melody at 15:22.
Sputnik at 16:36.
Main theme at 19:52.
Bright Star at 20:25.
Main theme (briefly) at 21:09.
Second verse at 21:24.
Goes into St. Stephen.
This one comes after Mountains of the Moon, but for some reason the latter comes to a stop before Dark Star commences. TC is pretty loud on this version of the show, and the ROR rings out like days of old for a little while at the beginning, with an added little walk-up in between licks. As some of our commenters have pointed out, TC seems to shadow Garcia, and he never really takes the lead, but it is nice to hear him here as he provides another textural element. One thing that stands out here is how interesting and responsive Weir’s guitar playing has gotten on this song; although I think I’ve said that before, he continues to develop, and to impress.
Garcia comes in sounding thick and hazy on the Gibson tonight, and things seem to be happening early, in contrast to the last version. The instruments bunch together and kick up a little fuss right away, and by around 2:11 they’re hitting an early peak. Then they start to unspool it, and from around 3:00 there is a wonderful interlude where things get spacier and quieter until Garcia and then Weir start to insert little stabs that are reminiscent of the lead-up to Bright Star on the 27th.
They are taking their time tonight, and from 4:35 Jerry, Phil and TC ascend together as things get tighter and louder again, but they keep it reigned in, not going for another peak here, but rather they seem interested in pursuing a different new way to bring things together, with a light and loose mien that bespeaks a casual confidence in ones co-instrumentalists. At 4:55 Garcia and Lesh unleash a series of notes that sounds like they coordinated it beforehand, but is certainly just a serendipitous moment. This moves into a loping groove where they are again feinting and jabbing. At 6:17 TC seems to be feeling his oats, as he uncorks an organ burst that makes one think how rarely we hear such a thing. This leads to a little peak, albeit a relaxed one, that again winds down until Garcia starts the main theme at 7:08.
Here they are playing loosely and quietly, but not in a sloppy way; rather, the band seems to be delighting in the variety of moods that Dark Star occasions. Some nights the main theme comes in when they are at the peak of a crescendo; other times it rises from a soft interlude; here they are loosely and joyfully conversing, and it’s thrown out like an offhand remark. Everyone seems happy to hit the strings lightly and let the beat take care of itself, and it is in this same effervescent spirit that the verse comes easing in.
Lesh seems to finally be straining at the bit as the verse ends and the band fires up again, with Garcia playing the familiar bell tones. There is an intense, remarkable passage from 9:45 to 10:07, led by Lesh and Constanten with an assist from Weir, that blows through like a rainstorm, and when the band resumes normal operations it is with a greater sense of earnestness and focus. The jam is light and airy, but it feels more propulsive now, like it’s heading somewhere.
At 11:00, Garcia starts a windup that seems like it’s heading for Sputnik, and TC plays a syncopated accompaniment; this is his best Dark Star so far, as he manages to insert himself into the middle of whatever is happening at most points. Rather than Sputnik, this leads to a couple of little peaks beginning around the 12 minute mark, and Garcia gives us flashes of the main melody in between his more rhythmic expressions. At 12:48, things settle down again, and Jerry is playing with his volume knob. Then they build it back up a little, and tear it down again.
At 13:41 TC takes the lead! We have seen him be reluctant to do much with his opportunities before now, but he gets some nice licks in here. And he breaks out a new sound and takes another, rather loud, lead spot at around 15:02, although this is somewhat short-lived as Jerry soon breaks out the verse melody. As they clamor around the E minor TC is hanging in, but Garcia seems inclined to take charge again.
At 16:22 Jerry briefly flashes the main theme, and things seem to be in limbo for a few moments until Sputnik commences. TC plays some wild swirling passages the first time through, and then it all quiets down on the back half. Garcia engages his post-Sputnik effect and plays around with the verse melody a little, and check out Weir’s little swell at 16:38.
At 19:30 Garcia seems to want to build to a peak, and Lesh is happy to help, but before too much fur flies Jerry swings into the main theme. But they play around with it and it takes us to another little jam, and then they take a run through Bright Star which is perhaps a bit perfunctory. After a brief stab at the main theme, there is a neat little slowdown just before the final verse, which is taken at an elongated tempo.
If the 27th was triumphant and the 28th was brooding, my one-word adjective for this Dark Star would be “playful.” They seem to be reveling in their increased, and still increasing, sensitivity and responsiveness to one another, as they find Dark Star taking them places that perhaps they did not realize they could go. This is another fantastic version, and the horizon for Dark Star seems to expand every time they play it.
What was said:
spinyn:
I went to 3.1.69. While I can't offer the minute by minute breakdown as well as is done in this thread, I can describe what it was like to have this happen from about 20 feet away...it was a total life changer! For one thing, the music was brand new to me so its power was magnified by the intimacy of the venue and because it must have been my first time hearing it. Like Levon said, "It was an adult portion." I had seen the Dead at Fillmore West a couple of times in 1968 but it is "The Other One" suite that I remember from those days. So to hear "Dark Star" unfold and go into the rest of what follows on "Live Dead" as a fresh experience was unforgettable. Put yourself in my shoes...
What struck me is how Garcia and Lesh seemed to play off each other, truly the twin fulcrums of the band at that point. There was a palpable sense of musical brotherhood, two like minds on a quest. Not to downplay the rest of the band but Jerry and Phil had near telepathy, it seemed.
I can also attest to it feeling like a spaceship had taken off. I remember looking up at the gold lame' ceiling of the Carousel and feeling like it had started to slowly spin, like liftoff had been achieved, probably somewhere around the "Sputnik" segment. And it wasn't just the THC pill...
What was life changing to me was the sense that the music was being created on the fly, as if it were being channeled from on high, the band conduits for that. Of course, it was improvisation over a template, but the freshness of that really affected me. I forever after wanted my own music to be like that, to have the feel it was being created in that instant. Even if you are playing something that has been rehearsed, when you play live, it is a second by second thing, the timing and placement of each note you play a subconscious decision made by listening to everyone else and responded. This lesson I learned that night.
And I came to realize, no, this was not exactly all made up on the spot...like jazz players had done for a while, there were structures to base the improvisations on. And you don't just start playing in eleven....the band had spent hours playing in that time signature to become comfortable with it. Such freedom does take practice and technical skill.
It is difficult for me to adequately explain this and I don't want to simplify what I am trying to say because it is really important to me. All I can say is I walked out of the Carousel a different person and the feeling and what it did to me truly has remained with me ever since.
bzfgt:
The "improvisation over a template" thing is I think a little overblown at this point. There is certainly a difference between what is happening in Dark Star at this point in 1969, and what is happening in the middle of 1972. But I don't hear them on versions like 3-1 as playing over a template so much, although there are waystations like Sputnik...I think they are already doing collective improv, it just has less range than it will in 1972. I think a lot of people here disagree with me about this, mind you...but there are some really free passages going on here, I think.
JSegel:
To subthread it a bit, I agree that there are 'templates' in improvisation of course, but as much as for musical form, the template of patterns that a musician's fingers learn is all part of that, the words or pieces of the musical vocabulary, so that when these things become internalized enough to become subconscious—like the physical process of speaking, say—then the musician can in fact be proactive and reactive in essentially "real time." And it is pretty obvious that these guys are creating this music in the flow of that 'specious present'.
pbuzby:
Listened again to 3/1/69. There are (at least) two mixes on the Archive. The one I heard the other day has T.C. in the center and rivalling Garcia for prominence, while the other version has T.C. on the left along with Bob, and more in the background.
I agree that this is a happy Star, less dramatic than 2/27 and less brooding than 2/28. I also noticed that the various "themes" from 1968 are mostly missing from this version and the improv is becoming more open, although still rooted to the A Mixolydian scale and 4/4 medium tempo.
bzfgt:
After all this TC talk, he came to work on the 1st playing like he's got something to prove to us!
Mr. Rain:
Indeed! He sounds very involved in this version, almost like he's refuting our criticisms. I was perhaps too hard on him in earlier comments, he's at the least very responsive to what the band's doing and always supporting what's going on in the moment and adding his distinctive texture.
This is a very light, loose version. Almost unserious, like they already decided they were going to use the 27th on the album, so now they could just play around with Dark Star. As a result, it's not really a favorite version of mine, since it's not very intense or heavy and doesn't hit any blinding peaks, it just kinda pleasantly glides along.
I miss the transition from Mountains, they muff that tonight and stop short instead. Very relaxed opening jam in Dark Star, in which TC plays a big part, almost a partner with Jerry....he responds to Jerry's playing very closely, sometimes echoing it, sometimes doing a little counterpoint.
The tolling-bell seems to be Jerry's standard post-verse motif now, and it's cool how the others can swirl around it with Mickey's gong and all, going into a big spacey moment to open up the middle jam. Tonight TC starts a syncopated beat which turns Dark Star into an upbeat toe-tapping jam. The tone stays light, and by 13 minutes it's like TC and Jerry are sparring for the lead. Jerry gives him space for a while, so we can hear what an organ-led Dark Star would be like, with the band supporting TC....a generous moment. TC doesn't really bust out from his usual licks though. Jerry's getting antsy, and the jam gets busy and moves on to a little verse melody, back to the theme, a little uncertainty (what now?), a short Sputnik initiated by TC.... I've noticed they're not digging deep into anything tonight, just kind of skipping over the surface. Nice quiet section to wind up Sputnik, then Jerry's squealy-tone part gets weird for a bit as the band makes funny noises with him -- this is like a mini-Space here. But not for long! -- Jerry dives back into the theme and throws in a quasi-bright star to close things. They almost sound in a hurry to dash to the second verse.
The percussion's mixed low tonight...maracas in the opening, and I think it's Bill on cymbals & drums in the middle, and Mickey doing a little woodblock-tapping toward the end. If Bill were louder on tape it would give a percussive boost to the jam. As it is, the jam merrily scoots along...this is an upbeat, almost impatient Dark Star, but not a deep one.
JSegel:
Though it’s coming from Mountains, after clapping, full break, it’s the classic opening, directly in with the riff, and then the strummy chords and Phil wandering around, and that ol’ ROR. (Lotta level issues with Tom and the organ on Mountains.) Even the fish is back. Jerry’s playing a few harmonics only. Bobby is loud.
Lead guitar comes in softly with the rolled-off tone, it’s a pretty swingin’ but mellow vibe. Essentially jG and PL soloing while we have a little shaker for the pulse. But the shaker backs off too in the mix, regardless it builds to an almost thematic bright starry bit at 2 minutes, but it backs off. We hear some Tom C reedy organ noodles, but breaking apart into little phrases, it’s more interesting than his previous stuff, he’s almost actually jamming with the other guys…
A nice quiet area goes on for a while and develops into the Dark Star theme from which Jerry emerges into a modal area, new tone, sort of medium-dark, Phil matching his rhythms into a little rough patch of only two notes. A little funky rhythmic stuff. They bring it back up and down a few times, some riffs and then into the theme on bass while TC does a crescendo and sweeps the keys, he’s climbing a bit, JG is coming up too. but they bring it back down again at 7 minutes instead of taking it into the verse. **** dudes, some amazing music going on here. I think Jerry might have to think about it a bit, where are we? Oh yeah, we’re still on our way to verse 1, so he begins that trajectory, the verse comes in at about 7:45. It’s slightly subdued, but with its sectional variations, just not super strongly stated with the changing rhythms. Jerry sounds a bit warbly on the verse lines.
And back to the intro riff. Into part 2.
(I already know this is the longest so far.)
They start out, but it isn’t going into a jam proper, it’s going into a sound bath. Harmonics, open notes, mallets on cymbals, until after about a minute or so, TC starts a scalar run, which builds a bit with everybody and then then come back down and it’s right into a cruising jam section. A plateau at 10 minutes, TC’s arpeggios give way to Jerry with the swing leads. They’re all jamming and they can hear each other, they come through a new rhythmic chordal section at 11 minutes, building it up till Jerry gets to the A at the top to start a theme jam. Oh wait, thought that was going to go through the tripartate verse form, but it didn’t make it really, went into low-end sputnik, just built to its own scuzzy peak and then into a weird back off where JG goes all chromatic and volume swells notes, Phil follows with the chromaticism, then it dies out and TC states some scale bits and riffs out.
…aha, drums have snuck in with some pseudo-walking bass bits, gonna build this jam up. loud organ bits, new tone. Then suddenly, halfway through the 15 minute mark, Jerry comes in with the verse theme, they go through the form, but take off at the line three into a high powered jam for a bit, it comes down again in a short while and we’re gonna start building a satellite. I can hear JG starting it up on the arpeggiated suspended chord, TC whirling up and down, they bring it up and back down in volume, JG sticking with a little riff bit till he’s all by himself, and we get a weird sweep from TC, JG comes back in with the weird microphonics small insect noises, Phil is hitting some riffy notes and harmonics, Bob is moving in that direction… a little after 19 minutes there’s a note again and the we get more notes and we know it’s going to eventually get to the theme at almost 20 minutes. Nice thematic jam to the bright star. And then some road is taken to the verse, right? Some weird little statements beforehand, and then a sort of abrupt shift in tempo as Phil adjusts to the intro of the verse.
Easy singing from Jerry, no horror movie warble. They have the full chorus for the last lines, and then TC starts the weird organ drone even before the St Stephen intro chords. Also a really soft and delicate intro to St Stephen, by the way. Sort of a softer Dark Star overall, I’d say, though with some gorgeous playing. A lot of new stuff but not a really “driven” performance, very relaxed and overall a bit slower, (especially for a Saturday night) but it’s nice! Groovy, even. Interesting combination of that relaxedness versus the always-exploratory nature.
It must have been such a luxury to be home and to leave your gear on stage, stumble in for the next day’s adventure.
Adamos:
This one has a breezy quality to it. In the first half in particular the intensity bubbles up at various points but tends to ease off relatively quickly into a more sojourn-ish feel. But as things get rolling the emotional impact is still there and there are some spectacular moments.
On the Fillmore West Complete mix T.C.’s organ swirls stand out and the maracas and guiro are clear too which adds nice texture. And I dig Jerry’s tone and he and Phil play off each other really well throughout.
There’s an early moment just a couple minutes in when Jerry rips it up briefly but wonderfully. There’s also a short surge starting around 9:30 that sounds cool, then immediately following that they settle into a nice groove that slowly builds up and transforms into something more intense and rocking. Really good.
There’s some cool interweaving with Phil and Jerry between 12:50 - 13:25 in the FWC version after which T.C. jumps in. Their interplay caught my ear again between 19:20 - 19:30 eventually leading back into the main theme.
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