4282 Chicago 18:27
Main theme at 3:15.
First verse at 4:00.
Sputnik at 10:20.
Bright Star at 14:46.
Main theme at 16:24.
Second verse at 16:49.
Goes into St. Stephen.
This is the only circulating recording of this, and it doesn’t sound great, but it’s not that bad. The tempo seems to be creeping down a little lately. The short intro jam has a kind of melancholy feel at the outset, with Jerry sadly ranging over the fretboard. At around 2:40 he starts to pick it up a little, and the band kicks into gear for a brief spell before grinding to a halt again at 3:10. Garcia gently lays the main theme into the breach at 3:15, and they arrive at the verse rather early.
Lesh is rather assertive in the aftermath of the verse, and TC likewise produces a lot of sound. The swelling build-up here seems to promise an increase in the level of energy, although it’s rather short tonight. Garcia chooses contrast, as his entry to the middle jam at 6:17 is quite subdued, and the band duly quietens. The jam soon reëstablishes the ruminative mood of the intro, and there is little forward momentum at first. Then, at 7:52, Garcia announces that he is ready to move forward, and the band starts to move ahead.
The jam lightly trips forward here, but it gathers steam as it goes. TC’s optimistic flourish at 9:22 seems to herald a new plateau, but a few seconds later they bring it down again. An amp is buzzing , but the effect is not altogether unpleasant. They tread water for a little while now, and the amp starts buzzing some more. At 9:57 Garcia starts playing some exaggeratedly bouncy bends, and again the jam seems to run in place until Sputnik begins.
This is another subdued Sputnik; it’s like the last one in that respect (6-27), although that one ended with a bit more of a crescendo. This one picks up for a bit, for sure, but it seems to peter out again before Garcia switches to the insect weirdness at 13:04. He noodles around with it until 13:42, when he starts in with the volume knob. This time he tries something a little different, twirling it more rapidly and making space alien noises.
By 14:30, Jerry’s exhausted the post-Sputnik tricks, and he tentatively starts feeling around for something. At 14:45, he decides to start playing Bright Star and see what happens. The band seems reluctant at first, but things inevitably pick up, and Garcia really leans into it until we reach a peak that seems almost unexpected tonight, short as it is. We come down the other side directly into the main theme, and the verse soon follows.
This is a rather morose Dark Star. For much of it the band seems content to circle around, or to move in place. I wouldn’t call it a weak version—the band is at such a good place with Dark Star that it almost seems we’re beyond that now. On the other hand, I don’t see it as one of the strongest outings of the era.
What was said:
JSegel:
Song starts, the ROR is there for a minute, and JG takes a sec before making some very “Jessica” type melodic intro before settling into the Dark Star world. Jerry has some interesting chromatic ideas for how to play in this mode this evening. Some feedback issues (probably percussion mics?) TC has lead aspirations early on here and he goes into some odd chord stops. He’s playing with organ timbres. Jerry is building it in strength and intensity, up and down. Comes down to the theme and heads toward a verse.
Sounds like some resonant frequencies are threatening feedback in the room, but a nicely executed song form for the verse/chorus.
The jam starts with the rhythm intact and Jerry suggesting a bell tolling that seems to break it apart, Phil follows in the unraveling of the song, then TC and Bobby, blowing away the current reality into this new world. Jerry emerges from a lull with some choice notes, crying out with a rolled-off tone. Phil is still casual about heading toward a real rhythm, he’s testing notes out. TC is wandering, Bob is tickling his strings.
Eventually it seems Jerry is going to bring us into Dark Star territory and the band follows him in. JG sets up some patterns and takes them outside and then back in. Some bad tube sounds hit the system from the bass amp at about 9 minutes, eventually this breaks it all down and they take it into a Sputnik. This one is more dynamic, Bobby’s got some nice chord comps to play with here. And they take it sort of elsewhere, but when JG takes it to the higher octave, he kills it off for a string rubbing sound. Side of the pick maybe? Comes back with more high delicate Sputnik. Sounds like the bass amp is fixed and Phil starts riffing away under it so they build it up for another wave.
Jerry comes in with some insect weirdness (Alien Whine!) New Theory: his SG has a Bigsby bridge and whammy bar, right? I think playing behind the bridge on the tensioned string ends will resonate the strings across the bridge and over the pickups without direct plucking…
Coming out into some unknown territory with an octave technique until he starts some melodic leads in the Dark Star territory, a slow build to a brighter star. It’s a long a chaotic build to the theme as a recovery point at 16:30 or so and into verse 2.
Jerry’s voice is good, but again he’s sounding a bit more like his older self now, more cigarettes have passed through that throat on this tour.
Some weirdness in the vocal outro, but they pull it together to go on to the next part of the set.
Adamos:
There’s a subdued vibe initially that the distant recording seems to accentuate. Melancholy is a good descriptor and it’s also kind of dream-like. Bobby’s putting down some consistent rhythm as Jerry weaves around it. Around 1:30 Jerry adds some more edge to his tone. TC comes in with some loud flourishes at 1:50. Jerry is slowly reaching upwards and the velocity picks up a bit. At 3:15 they ease into the main theme, almost as a whisper, and then they work that briefly before heading to the first verse which carries on the same vibe.
Post verse Phil and Bob lay down a nice groove, the gong washes come in and there’s a keyboard sound that sounds kind of like a flute. It’s still gentle-ish but starting to build; there’s a bit of bell tolling and a flurry of strumming. And then at around 5:50 it gets more spacey with hints of something ominous but this dissipates fairly quickly and by 6:18 they’re heading out on the trail once more in subdued fashion.
The pace starts to slowly build but it’s still pretty mellow and floaty. Around 8:15 Jerry starts repeating some notes and carries that forward for a bit. Bobby’s rhythm continues to be prominent and adds well to the overall feel. They work in this vein for a little while then after some ebb and flow and some odd bouncy notes they head into Sputnik at 10:20.
Sputnik starts gentle and melodic almost like opening up a music box. It starts to collectively build while still remaining relatively low key. Around 10:58 Jerry kicks in a repetitive thing that’s a bit louder and stronger while the others keep the foundation going. After breaking out of that and easing up they start another Sputnik-y run which carries on until they segue into insect weirdness around 13:03.
This too is fairly mellow. The volume knobs come in and things get spacier but it’s also pretty; a nice, gentle passage. Then around 14:28 Jerry starts a little climb that quickly becomes Bright Star, starting quiet as a mouse and slowly building. It eventually reaches a grander peak relative to this performance. By 15:45 the jam is cooking in earnest but then it quickly subsides and they ease into the main theme and second verse.
This isn’t a top-tier version but its ethereal qualities are appealing and there is plenty to offer. I also like it in part because it feels different.
Mr. Rain:
This starts really quietly. The cassette recording sounds kind of veiled and distant. Pigpen's conga tappings are more conspicuous & distracting than usual, but TC's also easier to hear and stands out at some points.
Jerry waits a while before his entrance, and ushers in some feedback. Around 2 minutes there's a neat little dance between Jerry and TC, sounding ever more like a real organ player. It sounds like the band's digging in, but after 3 minutes Jerry already retreats to the theme, and they linger on the theme before the verse. This was a really short opening jam....other than 6/21 the shortest in months.
Jerry does some muted bell-tolling in the post-verse space, but most of it's Bob & Phil strumming up a storm. Around 5:55 everybody gets into an evil-sounding swirl, almost sounding like a Tiger jam from a few years later. But it fades quickly and they return to quietness. Jerry comes in with a sad, brooding lead, and for a minute the band delicately ponders the void. Mickey comes in on drums instead of Bill this time; his accompaniment sounds maybe a little more ham-handed than Bill's. (Have the drummers started taking turns?)
The jam is slow to get going; after a couple of minutes it gradually kicks into gear but doesn't take off. They're hampered by a buzzing amp after 9:30 (Phil's, I think?), which Jerry responds to with some wacky vibrato. Then he goes straight into Sputnik. This stays mostly muted and low-key, they don't get as weird as they could; but I like Jerry's ghostly trembling sound around 11:30. Eventually he gets into some serious jabbing, then moves to some foreboding insect weirdness and sci-fi-like volume knob twiddling. Maybe it's my mood but it's starting to sound kind of aimless to me.
Jerry makes a quick transition to a hopeful-sounding Bright Star -- it starts mildly and they gradually take it up to a nice peak, the highlight of this Star. Bill finally shows up on his drumset for the usual double-drumming climax, and some energy sweeps into the music at last. Then they fall gently back to the theme. No gong in the second verse.
This was an uninspiring Dark Star. Not bad, it just felt kind of rote and I couldn't get very enthusiastic about it. Maybe a better recording would have helped, but I agree with adamos that there was a subdued feeling throughout this Dark Star that they rarely broke out of.
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