6481 Newcastle, UK 21:26
Main theme at 4:22.
First verse at 5:27.
Sputnik at 11:13.
Soulful Strut at 14:39.
Bright Star at 19:20.
Main theme at 19:36.
Second verse at 19:54.
Goes into St. Stephen.
This comes on fast and furious as they waste no time in getting into a groove, and by 1:25 Garcia has already ascended to the heights and unleashed a variant of Bright Star. From here the intro seems to be all peak. At 3:34, Garcia starts hammering on a dominant 7th (G) and Lesh, and then Weir, double him. The recording goes off a bit shortly thereafter, but everything is still audible in any case. The band swings into the theme, and then takes it way down for a while before Garcia finally sings the verse.
The band gets kind of crazy in the little section between the return of the intro theme and space, with some feedback squalls beginning before we get to the space proper, which proves to be a rather feedbacky affair overall. Weir, I think, yells “Hey, watch where you’re going, ****er!” as space gets underway; I wonder whom he is addressing. Someone has an amp humming, whether intentionally or not, which kind of ties the space together this time. The band seems to rediscover the possibilities of feedback here; in lieu of a keyboard player, they get a good variety of sounds going tonight.
At about 11:13 Garcia initiates something along the lines of Sputnik, and this gets more Sputnik-like as it goes. As this turns into a more quotidian Dark Star jam, Lesh sounds really fuzzy, and one wonders if an amp has been blown. At about 13:20 Weir is laying in some dreamy Sputnikish stuff under Garcia’s line, which soon turns to a funkier chop. Just before 14 minutes it seems like they’re angling toward a modular jam, and a two-chord pattern emerges which suggests Soulful Strut, although without the Soulful Strut cadence at first. It sounds a bit like the pattern used in the famous Beautiful Jam of 1971-02-18, which is itself probably some kind of variant of Soulful Strut.
At 14:39 they fully commit to Soulful Strut. This turns into a magnificent version. At about 17:40 they start moving into something else, but it’s not clear what that is; it becomes a bubbly jam, then pedals along between a I and a vii chord until at 18:50 Weir starts playing his Dancin’ in the Street lick. Finally, at 19:20 Garcia plays Bright Star, but he almost immediately switches to the main theme and brings us to the second verse.
This isn’t the best Dark Star I’ve ever heard, but it isn’t chopped liver. There is a rather magnificent Soulful Strut, and some interesting interstices where possibilities seem to gather, although they don’t get explored very patiently. In any case, there’s nothing here to complain about!
What was said:
JSegel:
First overseas gig! At a big festival (where they played after Black Sabbath and Free!) Freaking out the Brits.
After Cold Rain and Snow, entering the late part of the set, Dark Star starts clean and together at a relatively brisk pace. Outdoor versions, always interesting. Jerry steps back after the intro and gathers his thoughts before coming in, the band is jamming away. They almost immediately build a wave up in the thematic world. High intensity, they are really pounding it out. (Relatively.) Drums come in in the two minute area, necessarily, I imagine. Lovely runs from JG, the whole band is playing full on with drive. Jerry’s whirlpools are intense examinations of specific notes or areas.
Theme statement on breakdown at 4:15 or so, onwards to the verse, after reining in the tempo and volume a bit. Verse comes in after some cymbal splashes and more quieter jamming, at 5:20. Really upbeat line one, making the break to the e minor on line two really dramatic. and the wandering on line three breaks it up even more, where it seems like the “Shall we go” is a baroque way of rebuilding, though Phil is heavy on these area. Heavy counterpoint intro, directly to cymbals and feedback and noise, and into space with droning bass tones and feedback and metal sounds. (I heard someone say something like “Watch where you’re going!” but assuming that was about a physical presence on the stage, not to fellow musicians.) Cymbal or gong making phase-waves like a jet plane, lots of noisy metal stuff. Must have been amazing in the outdoor speaker system (this is an audience cassette! It sounds really good.) Bass and guitars enter with sound, feedback, on top of each other, it’s a pretty active space, really active cymbal play, with washes and hits. A flexatone! OMG, he’s getting out there with his percussion toys.
Sputnik enters at 11 minutes, still with odd bass noises and cymbals. And Bob soloing. He slows it down to a sort of old style Sputnik, but is playing with some flatted notes and goes into chord stabs. Lead emerges and the band drops back in, still at quite a high energy level. Bobby is on some dissonant chord for a while before it settles more right before the 14 minute are for a more classic jam heading to A and b minor before making that b minor into a G maj7 and the A into Amaj7 the Tighten Up jam comes forth, with a lot of explicit ‘bom, ba-bom’ (“It’s not unusual to be loved by anyone”) rhythmic motif statements.
At 18 minutes, Jerry seems to want to take it back to Dark Star, and it sort of strays around for a while before getting there, including a lengthy feedback tone. At 19:30, out of dying out chaos, Jerry emerges with a quiet Bright Star that just goes into the intro theme area and to verse 2 at 20:00. Sort of sudden! Nice verse rendition, interesting bit-by-bit wandering lines on line 3.
All vocals, making the multi-part madrigal outro and launching it to the guitar counterpoint and the chords that lead to St Stephen. (Which song ends up heading off to Not Fade Away after 6 minutes, and eventually into a half-hour Lovelight.)
Man this must have been an amazing festival. This was a great and high energy version of Dark Star, unusual lately—or in general.
simond9x:
It was, I was there! I’d gone just to see the Dead although the whole festival was a joy. I’d bought Anthem in 1968 then Live Dead when it came out so I was very familiar with all that material. What surprised me was that they started with a whole bunch of unfamiliar short songs. The friends I was with weren’t that impressed. Then came The Other One which I loved but the Dark Star through to Lovelight blew me away. It’s still my ‘go to’ show for the memories it evokes. Shame the film crew got too dosed to film the best parts but grateful for what we do have from this show. Only regret is that I didn’t go down the front to watch them close-up.
JSegel:
dang. (jealous).
Also the show is pretty long, I'd say longer than allowed at most festival line-ups. I somehow doubt Black Sabbath did 2 hours. But maybe!
The dosed cameraman thing spoils a lot of potential rock show footage, Altamont included!
adamos:
Quick pace out of the gate and they are soon off to the races. It's less cerebral and more just going for it but the multi-textured layers are still there. Bob's rhythm is moving fast (I guess it's also possible the recording is a little fast) and by 1:20 Jerry's wandering line is strongly reaching upwards to good effect. The collective groove is happening. After 2:00 they ease up a little (relative to the performance) and settle into a nice groove. Jerry goes lower for a spell and the momentum builds again. More ebb and flow and groove goes on. After 3:30 Jerry's doing this high, repetitive thing and everyone rises up energetically. They keep cooking into the main theme and then slow up and take their time moving on to the verse.
After the verse things quickly slide into edgy, swirling feedback kind of like breaking through a portal into another spacey land. Once through they quiet down; there's some slight bell tolling and gong washes. Cymbals clang and other assorted sounds start to enter the fray. Lots of feedback, some more tolling and other weirdness. Space also feels less contemplative and more active in its freakiness.
After 11:00 Sputnik starts to emerge, becoming more pronounced as it goes on and there's a humming rev underneath it. It adds to the freaky vibe and is even a little spooky. Around 12:20 Phil steps forward and a Dark Star flavored jam comes together. It picks up momentum and Bobby starts accenting and then after 13:40 they downshift and you can feel them ready to head elsewhere. They are edging towards Soulful Strut but they explore this transitional space on the way there. It sounds really nice. By 14:40 Soulful Strut is upon us and it works its lovely, uplifting wonderfulness. After 16:00 it seems to be slowing but they take it back up for another peak. The groove isn't always completely smooth but the vibe is really good. They ease up and then take it up one more time. This thing has legs!
Around 17:50 it appears to have run its course and they move into a revvy repeating thing that functions as a segue but they don't immediately move on to something else. Instead they kind of hover in a semi-groove perhaps thinking about how they want to wrap it up. Bob's Dancing lick crops up as bzfgt pointed out and then after 19:10 they almost come to a stop. Out of this space Jerry suddenly slips into a baby Bright Star that quickly shifts into the main theme and on to the second verse. It seems like they knew they were done but tacked that on real quick to give it a proper ending.
I liked this one; it's not top-tier but it's an energetic version with some good stuff. It also has a much different feel than the Fillmore East performance nine days prior, showing that time, place and headspace are key ingredients to Dark Star as well.
Mr. Rain:
I thought the newer SIRMick copy of this show sounded a lot better than the old copy, the tape hum was much reduced & volume improved, although it's still pretty buzzy.
A strong opening to Dark Star! They're really tackling this opening jam at full speed, this is one of the most forceful beginnings I can recall. Around 2:05 Bill catches the bug and starts drumming; it sounds more like a middle jam than an opening, and Jerry doesn't refer to the theme as much as usual. Nice peak and switch to the theme at 4:15, then they extend the theme for a minute before Jerry sings the verse. (The recording gets awful for a while.)
They get noisy coming out of the verse, which opens a noisier space than usual. Not much quiet contemplation in this one: lots of banging percussion and feedback and weird noises that keep getting freakier. (At 9:30 it sounds like a tweeting bird by the mic, which must be Mickey's doing. A nod to bird-loving Brits?) By the time Jerry starts hinting at Sputnik around 10:40 it's a full-force metallic gale. I'm guessing they feel the need to push harder on an outdoor festival stage to a distracted audience -- the quiet subtle details of a Fillmore stage won't work out here. Delightful stuff!
Jerry does his transition to Sputnik while Bob & Phil keep up the weirdness. (The bass & gongs get very fuzzy here.) Jerry goes through the chord stabs, Phil's starting a more normal bassline, and by 12:30 they've shifted to a pleasant bubbly jam. (It's a neat switch, obscured by an apparent hailstorm on the recording.) Bob has some nice dreamy chords going, it sounds like he's aiming firmly for Soulful Strut. But before they get there, they make another stop: at 13:30 they pause and a whole new theme comes out. It almost sounds like they're playing an actual song here, and it's quite pretty. (I agree with the Beautiful Jam similarity.) Then around 14:20 they switch over to Soulful Strut -- a good one! Jerry doubles Bob's chords for a while then gets a second wind, and they keep the theme going.
At 17:40 they're ready to move on, but they don't have a destination in mind, so they try to work one up on the fly. (Jerry often seems to bring out his double-stop playing at these junctures.) Some nice meandering here while they keep the groove alive, but no new jam idea comes up. At 18:50 Bob wants to go into Dancin' like they did on 5-8, but it doesn't fly. Jerry sustains a feedback note while they all slow down, and there's some group chatter, even an organ chord, and it feels like things are collapsing. Jerry pulls them out with the main theme and the others snap right to it. Sounds like he's going to do a Bright Star but he drops it and just sings the verse instead.
Very engaging version, full of strength & energy. Even the "behind-the-scenes" moment at the end is neat when they can't figure out how to end Dark Star, which is pretty funny, when introducing their signature song at a big festival....it's almost a Woodstock moment! But they pull through. It makes you realize, most of the time they're so good at making all these slick transitions within Dark Star sound easy, it makes the few fumbles all the more interesting. The buggy recording made me grit my teeth a few times though.
JSegel:
dang. (jealous).
Also the show is pretty long, I'd say longer than allowed at most festival line-ups. I somehow doubt Black Sabbath did 2 hours. But maybe!
The dosed cameraman thing spoils a lot of potential rock show footage, Altamont included!
adamos:
Quick pace out of the gate and they are soon off to the races. It's less cerebral and more just going for it but the multi-textured layers are still there. Bob's rhythm is moving fast (I guess it's also possible the recording is a little fast) and by 1:20 Jerry's wandering line is strongly reaching upwards to good effect. The collective groove is happening. After 2:00 they ease up a little (relative to the performance) and settle into a nice groove. Jerry goes lower for a spell and the momentum builds again. More ebb and flow and groove goes on. After 3:30 Jerry's doing this high, repetitive thing and everyone rises up energetically. They keep cooking into the main theme and then slow up and take their time moving on to the verse.
After the verse things quickly slide into edgy, swirling feedback kind of like breaking through a portal into another spacey land. Once through they quiet down; there's some slight bell tolling and gong washes. Cymbals clang and other assorted sounds start to enter the fray. Lots of feedback, some more tolling and other weirdness. Space also feels less contemplative and more active in its freakiness.
After 11:00 Sputnik starts to emerge, becoming more pronounced as it goes on and there's a humming rev underneath it. It adds to the freaky vibe and is even a little spooky. Around 12:20 Phil steps forward and a Dark Star flavored jam comes together. It picks up momentum and Bobby starts accenting and then after 13:40 they downshift and you can feel them ready to head elsewhere. They are edging towards Soulful Strut but they explore this transitional space on the way there. It sounds really nice. By 14:40 Soulful Strut is upon us and it works its lovely, uplifting wonderfulness. After 16:00 it seems to be slowing but they take it back up for another peak. The groove isn't always completely smooth but the vibe is really good. They ease up and then take it up one more time. This thing has legs!
Around 17:50 it appears to have run its course and they move into a revvy repeating thing that functions as a segue but they don't immediately move on to something else. Instead they kind of hover in a semi-groove perhaps thinking about how they want to wrap it up. Bob's Dancing lick crops up as bzfgt pointed out and then after 19:10 they almost come to a stop. Out of this space Jerry suddenly slips into a baby Bright Star that quickly shifts into the main theme and on to the second verse. It seems like they knew they were done but tacked that on real quick to give it a proper ending.
I liked this one; it's not top-tier but it's an energetic version with some good stuff. It also has a much different feel than the Fillmore East performance nine days prior, showing that time, place and headspace are key ingredients to Dark Star as well.
Mr. Rain:
I thought the newer SIRMick copy of this show sounded a lot better than the old copy, the tape hum was much reduced & volume improved, although it's still pretty buzzy.
A strong opening to Dark Star! They're really tackling this opening jam at full speed, this is one of the most forceful beginnings I can recall. Around 2:05 Bill catches the bug and starts drumming; it sounds more like a middle jam than an opening, and Jerry doesn't refer to the theme as much as usual. Nice peak and switch to the theme at 4:15, then they extend the theme for a minute before Jerry sings the verse. (The recording gets awful for a while.)
They get noisy coming out of the verse, which opens a noisier space than usual. Not much quiet contemplation in this one: lots of banging percussion and feedback and weird noises that keep getting freakier. (At 9:30 it sounds like a tweeting bird by the mic, which must be Mickey's doing. A nod to bird-loving Brits?) By the time Jerry starts hinting at Sputnik around 10:40 it's a full-force metallic gale. I'm guessing they feel the need to push harder on an outdoor festival stage to a distracted audience -- the quiet subtle details of a Fillmore stage won't work out here. Delightful stuff!
Jerry does his transition to Sputnik while Bob & Phil keep up the weirdness. (The bass & gongs get very fuzzy here.) Jerry goes through the chord stabs, Phil's starting a more normal bassline, and by 12:30 they've shifted to a pleasant bubbly jam. (It's a neat switch, obscured by an apparent hailstorm on the recording.) Bob has some nice dreamy chords going, it sounds like he's aiming firmly for Soulful Strut. But before they get there, they make another stop: at 13:30 they pause and a whole new theme comes out. It almost sounds like they're playing an actual song here, and it's quite pretty. (I agree with the Beautiful Jam similarity.) Then around 14:20 they switch over to Soulful Strut -- a good one! Jerry doubles Bob's chords for a while then gets a second wind, and they keep the theme going.
At 17:40 they're ready to move on, but they don't have a destination in mind, so they try to work one up on the fly. (Jerry often seems to bring out his double-stop playing at these junctures.) Some nice meandering here while they keep the groove alive, but no new jam idea comes up. At 18:50 Bob wants to go into Dancin' like they did on 5-8, but it doesn't fly. Jerry sustains a feedback note while they all slow down, and there's some group chatter, even an organ chord, and it feels like things are collapsing. Jerry pulls them out with the main theme and the others snap right to it. Sounds like he's going to do a Bright Star but he drops it and just sings the verse instead.
Very engaging version, full of strength & energy. Even the "behind-the-scenes" moment at the end is neat when they can't figure out how to end Dark Star, which is pretty funny, when introducing their signature song at a big festival....it's almost a Woodstock moment! But they pull through. It makes you realize, most of the time they're so good at making all these slick transitions within Dark Star sound easy, it makes the few fumbles all the more interesting. The buggy recording made me grit my teeth a few times though.
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