Main theme at 2:28.
Main theme at 4:32.
First verse at 5:56.
Sputnik at 13:53.
Verse melody at 18:01.
Bright Star at 18:35.
Falling Star at 19:17.
Main theme at 19:39.
Second verse at 21:07.
Goes into St. Stephen.
Garcia flicks on the bridge pickup and gets down to business early, welcoming us with a little feedback and some particularly limber licks. He goes to the main theme very early, but he doesn’t stay there, as this is not going to be a quick run-through like last time. However, the main theme seems to remain as a quasi-perceptible axis around which the early jam revolves, while at the same time Garcia at times seems to be pushing against the tonality of the piece a bit. One wonders whether he is starting to get restless with the harmonic form of Dark Star, which will of course be broken open in various ways in future days.
When Jerry returns to the main theme a couple minutes later, he really lays into it, and it seems like the verse is bound to follow. However, he unspools the theme into a repetitive little bouncy section which unloads itself into another piercing lead section, which in turn quickly winds down and then leads to the verse. A small detour, then, but nonetheless an interesting one.
The immediate aftermath of the verse again puts the spotlight on Lesh, which seems to be common lately, before Garcia starts banging around on the bell tones. The transition to the next section is remarkable, as Jerry again unleashes some feedback, from which his lead emerges like a spotlight through the fog. In fact, there is an awful lot of feedback on this version; it could almost be said to be the theme of this Dark Star, although it is never allowed to overwhelm things.
At about the 9 minute mark, Garcia is playing bouncy little leads, and then pausing as Weir answers him with little bursts of chiming chords, as if they are revving up for the jam. Then, at 9:35 they simultaneously dig in for a longer passage, with Weir acting as a springboard for Jerry’s soaring lead, until, at 10:04, Garcia brings it down to a repeating two-note figure which appears to be setting the stage for a Sputnik, or in any case another phase of the jam. Again, what stands out is how responsive they are to one another, and how genuinely collaborative the jams have become.
This settles into a spacey interlude, with feedback again playing a role. Lesh begins calling for the verse melody at around 10:37, but at 10:55 Garcia starts playing a bright melody unlike anything we’ve heard yet in Dark Star, and which reminds me of what he’ll play over the “Soulful Strut” modules that lie in the future. However, this makes its way back to more familiar territory in fairly short order.
By 12:55, the verse melody seems imminent, but instead the band comes to a rousing peak which functions much like Bright Star, without ever quite articulating the relevant notes. After cresting the peak, at 13:35 there is a somewhat sudden drop into a pre-Sputnik sequence until, at 13:53, Sputnik duly appears.
Tonight Garcia displays extra enthusiasm for the little double stops at the end of Sputnik, but then the band almost comes to a stop before the insect weirdness gets things moving again. One is almost tempted to count the passage beginning at 15:48 as the verse melody; the melody isn’t really played, although it’s hinted at, and we wind up dropping into E minor. As we flip back to the A, Garcia is playing some piercing and frenetic lines, and the excitement level is rather high.
At 18:01, Garcia clearly and powerfully initiates the verse melody, and the drop back to the E is charged by Lesh’s rather explosive remarks. After all that, they tear into a Bright Star that takes the whole thing over the top! This is followed by the heavens opening to emit a brain-piercing Falling Star.
Even the return to the main theme is remarkable tonight, as Garcia adds in grace notes and seems to roll through the riff, then switches to a staccato peppering, so that rather than a return to normalcy, the appearance of the theme here is another opportunity for expression. Garcia lays the vibrato in thick on the second verse; he’s probably still excited by the jam he’s just played. Anyway, I know I am.
This is an absolutely outstanding Dark Star. It is one of the most dynamic, varied, and exciting renditions they have played up to this point. Absolutely outstanding. And, absolutely outstanding! What else can I say? Outstanding.
What was said:
Main theme at 4:32.
First verse at 5:56.
Sputnik at 13:53.
Verse melody at 18:01.
Bright Star at 18:35.
Falling Star at 19:17.
Main theme at 19:39.
Second verse at 21:07.
Goes into St. Stephen.
Garcia flicks on the bridge pickup and gets down to business early, welcoming us with a little feedback and some particularly limber licks. He goes to the main theme very early, but he doesn’t stay there, as this is not going to be a quick run-through like last time. However, the main theme seems to remain as a quasi-perceptible axis around which the early jam revolves, while at the same time Garcia at times seems to be pushing against the tonality of the piece a bit. One wonders whether he is starting to get restless with the harmonic form of Dark Star, which will of course be broken open in various ways in future days.
When Jerry returns to the main theme a couple minutes later, he really lays into it, and it seems like the verse is bound to follow. However, he unspools the theme into a repetitive little bouncy section which unloads itself into another piercing lead section, which in turn quickly winds down and then leads to the verse. A small detour, then, but nonetheless an interesting one.
The immediate aftermath of the verse again puts the spotlight on Lesh, which seems to be common lately, before Garcia starts banging around on the bell tones. The transition to the next section is remarkable, as Jerry again unleashes some feedback, from which his lead emerges like a spotlight through the fog. In fact, there is an awful lot of feedback on this version; it could almost be said to be the theme of this Dark Star, although it is never allowed to overwhelm things.
At about the 9 minute mark, Garcia is playing bouncy little leads, and then pausing as Weir answers him with little bursts of chiming chords, as if they are revving up for the jam. Then, at 9:35 they simultaneously dig in for a longer passage, with Weir acting as a springboard for Jerry’s soaring lead, until, at 10:04, Garcia brings it down to a repeating two-note figure which appears to be setting the stage for a Sputnik, or in any case another phase of the jam. Again, what stands out is how responsive they are to one another, and how genuinely collaborative the jams have become.
This settles into a spacey interlude, with feedback again playing a role. Lesh begins calling for the verse melody at around 10:37, but at 10:55 Garcia starts playing a bright melody unlike anything we’ve heard yet in Dark Star, and which reminds me of what he’ll play over the “Soulful Strut” modules that lie in the future. However, this makes its way back to more familiar territory in fairly short order.
By 12:55, the verse melody seems imminent, but instead the band comes to a rousing peak which functions much like Bright Star, without ever quite articulating the relevant notes. After cresting the peak, at 13:35 there is a somewhat sudden drop into a pre-Sputnik sequence until, at 13:53, Sputnik duly appears.
Tonight Garcia displays extra enthusiasm for the little double stops at the end of Sputnik, but then the band almost comes to a stop before the insect weirdness gets things moving again. One is almost tempted to count the passage beginning at 15:48 as the verse melody; the melody isn’t really played, although it’s hinted at, and we wind up dropping into E minor. As we flip back to the A, Garcia is playing some piercing and frenetic lines, and the excitement level is rather high.
At 18:01, Garcia clearly and powerfully initiates the verse melody, and the drop back to the E is charged by Lesh’s rather explosive remarks. After all that, they tear into a Bright Star that takes the whole thing over the top! This is followed by the heavens opening to emit a brain-piercing Falling Star.
Even the return to the main theme is remarkable tonight, as Garcia adds in grace notes and seems to roll through the riff, then switches to a staccato peppering, so that rather than a return to normalcy, the appearance of the theme here is another opportunity for expression. Garcia lays the vibrato in thick on the second verse; he’s probably still excited by the jam he’s just played. Anyway, I know I am.
This is an absolutely outstanding Dark Star. It is one of the most dynamic, varied, and exciting renditions they have played up to this point. Absolutely outstanding. And, absolutely outstanding! What else can I say? Outstanding.
What was said:
JSegel:
Nice fill-in gig between LA and Las Vegas (wait, shouldn’t that be Barstow? Or somewhere within the week?), GMLS opens with lots of harp from Pigpen, he must have “rested up” during the LA experience. He’s on at the start of the show, to suck those kids in, make ‘em think it’s a blues band, then
Anyway. Dark Star is next, it’s a long one at 23 minutes. Some false starts beforehand though, testing mics, etc. “How ‘bout these monitors, Bear?” Trying to avoid electronic Gnat?
...Which Jerry demonstrates but ringing out some resonant freqs in the stage. Jazzy intro that I think signals that some exploration will happen. Going low for a while, feeling it out.
Into some weird areas, but out into the main theme… for a second. They get there by 5 min, then to a static spot, but I think we’re verseward.
Which verse? Oh yeah, Verse 1 comes in eventually.
Nicely done. Pigpen doesn’t sing on this, so he’s off? It’s total bait’n’switch. Risky unless they delayed start time until they had dosed the crowd.
Bobby leads it into the nightfall. The episode. A distant bell from the bass but its melodic signal is muffled. A note emerges at 8.5, it’s searing with sound, organ tinsel falls off it in arpeggios, somebody is practicing feedback.
Cool buildups, and continued referral to the “bell” rhythm long notes from different parts. No drums, though, or maybe is Pigpen on congas off mic? Man how beatnik, that would be cool. I love those Dark Stars.
I hear a hand percussion on the left too, at 11 minutes. Sound people, I swear. They are spaced out.
There’s a lot of cool new riffs, at 13 minutes, they are doing a counterpoint arpeggio thing, mirror… shatters and comes back to a lull that starts the sputnik A-Suspended stuff. This goes on til about 16 minutes, when it suddenly dies and JG goes into the insect tone. He’s tapping the bridge I think?
Bright Star emerges at 17 minutes. Not ready for another verse when this dies, they wander around (musically) and probably look at one another. There’s a trapset now. Makes Jerry do a flat 3 country lick, they rock so hard.
Into the theme at 18:20, and rockin’ it. And an even Brighter Star, they are really wanting to be here tonight, how bright it is! The intro riff into verse 2 this time. Gotta wait a bit, though. Verse 2 at 21:30. A warbly “glass.” A loud mic connect. Yeah, I only hear Jerry’s mic, the others a bit in the background.
And the song ends. There is no jam after verse 2.
Mr. Rain:
Jerry can't wait to play! After a little peal of feedback, he doesn't leave his usual pause at the start but carries right on with the soloing. He sounds like he's in a very relaxed zone right from the start. The band's flowing right along with him in a very smooth opening jam.
With Bear recording, we've got a near-mono recording again. After the opening RORs, TC's hidden in the back of the mix, almost subliminal, so he doesn't seem to play a strong part in this recording. Very active and audible guiro during the intro jam (in the center), and I think I'm hearing congas back there too! (Adding a little Latin feel even in the depths of space....this is California, after all.)
The short space after the verse is a little different here, Jerry tries chiming some single notes before he gets into the bell-tolling (doesn't quite work). Great bell section tonight, Jerry's clanking like a ship being hurled on the waves before he unleashes some feedback and tears into a piercing run. The following jam just drips with intense psychedelic atmosphere. Guiro & congas still hanging in there. They fall into an expectant pause (check out how Phil quivers his bass around 10 minutes)...TC doing some runs, Bob just adding a few quiet touches and delicate feedback, Mickey starts some quiet tapping, and Jerry builds up slowly to the next peak. Mickey switches to the drum set, adding some kick. Check out the technique from around 12:30-13:20...Jerry digs into some repeating notes but keeps climbing up the scale to higher notes while the band churns around in a crazy swirl beneath him. From here, it's a natural drop into the Sputnik and even more swirly madness -- Mickey really starts banging the drums now. The end of the Sputnik hovers in yet another spacey pause, bits of feedback and noise trembling as the insect weirdness approaches. The band clatters around, both drummers now, and Jerry gets pretty weird with this -- but, interestingly, he doesn't carry it on for long, he switches back to a regular tone mid-riff. And it's back to the regular jam....and, check out this trick, now it's Bill drumming instead of Mickey! We just switched drummers while you were looking the other way!
The band floats a while over Bill's cymbals, then Jerry abruptly starts the verse melody. Does it catch the others off-guard? Nope, they're on top of it. (Sounds like Jerry's got a low string going out of tune though.) This surges into the bright star, a hard-bangin' rendition with everybody slamming it out, and....whoa, I never heard a falling star played like this! Then they ease back into the theme, almost too calm and nonchalant after that surge....Jerry caresses the theme lovingly, playing around with it like a china cat.
One cool bit as they return to the verse is Jerry's rhythmic bass riffing -- this is a motif he'd done at this point often through '68, so even in the flush of a forward-looking Dark Star there's a reminiscent touch of the past. (Congas are still back there, too.)
One funny bit is that the other guys forget to sing the backing harmony vocals until it's almost too late! Almost like they were so overwhelmed by the jam themselves they forgot about singing.
Heavenly version for sure. Each performance is more powerful than the last lately.
pbuzby:
A few thoughts after two listens to 3/28/69: Back to 20+ minutes after the abbreviated 3/22 version. The pre-first verse jam and the early part of the post-verse jam strike me as typically great for the era, but the second half gets into some new quiet spaces and includes the wildest Sputnik to date. I think this starts the band's push towards the next step after the Live/Dead version that reaches its goal with the 4/22 and 4/27 versions.
Mr. Rain:
I see what you mean, going into April they're getting into bigger surges of energy (and also more quiet spaces). To point out a couple areas where I see the Dead about to take things further, the little spacey parts after the verse & the Sputnik are so far just kind of brief stepping-off points, but they're going to get spacier. Also, surprisingly, the two drummers are still restraining themselves and switching parts rather than both banging away at once. So April's going to bring more noise!
But I don't really agree with the idea of April '69 as a culmination of this particular type of Dark Star. I think the "next step" keeps developing through the summer, and I'm not sure we'll arrive at a specific Dark Star that's the obvious post-Live/Dead goal.
Adamos:
This one has a different flow and feel at the outset; in some ways it even seems like a different song. I like Jerry’s tone and things get interesting between the two early instances of the Main Theme and then again between the second instance and the first verse. Jerry’s post-verse, post-bell toll feedback-y playing starting around 8:15 is really good too.
After 9 minutes we get some nice group interaction for several minutes including Bob’s chiming chords that bzfgt pointed out. And then there’s a good, building peak starting around 12:45 that eventually leads into Sputnik, casting us adrift in the cosmos. From there things gets weirder for a bit before another ascent begins. Jerry really has some bite from around 16:30-17:20!
By 18 minutes they make their way to the verse melody which kicks off the final sequence to bring it home. Bright Star and Falling Star are a powerful culmination and they let it rip. The gradual descent from there to the end is compelling as well. This was a really cool and interesting performance.
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