109: 1970-10-17

119329 Cleveland 19:17 (cut)
Bright Star at 13:13.
Sputnik at 15:02.
Main theme at 17:13 at 17:41.
Second verse at
Goes into St. Stephen.

Here we have another imperfect audience recording. In fact, it sounds really bad. Garcia fiddles around with the verse melody in the beginning, but it does not go to the e minor, so it is unofficial. In any case, it is a very vigorous opening; they keep it close to home with the two chords going, but the playing is pretty intense. At 3:13 there is a sudden cut to the end of the verse, though, so we seem to have missed a bit of this very promising intro jam.

After another descent into near-silence, space elicits some boisterous cheers when the bass starts rumbling. There is a rather scary swell, and then as it recedes Garcia is there with some Sputnik-like licks, although he does not go into Sputnik; rather, space continues with some volume swells. On the other end of this Garcia again flashes Sputnik and Weir plays the shimmering accompaniment that has become familiar. An alternately swelling and receding melody with a minor feel emerges here.

As Garcia’s line becomes more pointed, someone is playing some bells (or a keyboard that sounds like bells?). A two chord jam coalesces here and gathers steam. Garcia takes the opportunity to build a stinging line, at times hinting at Bright Star, which is where it seems this will go, although it’s not time for it yet. Aha—there it is, coming together at about 13:13.

They regroup off the back of Bright Star, and soon reach another peak, with Garcia from about 14:14 really howling and raising the energy level again with a repeated lick. There’s a pretty unique peak heading into the 15 minute mark that unexpectedly turns into Sputnik, so we have another familiar element that seems out of place. More frenzied jamming ensues, and what sounds like it’s going to be an elegant transition into the main theme turns awkward before it gets there. At 17:43 there is another cut that takes us into the verse, where it seems that Garcia is doubling his vocal with the guitar (as he always does--see Mr. Rain below!).

This is a really gripping version, and we can only regret not having a better recording. The band seems eager to shake things up, and there is some outstanding jamming here.


What was said:

pbuzby:


I believe this has the distinction of being the most recently surfaced "Dark Star," with the 12/20/69 version released on one of the Dave's Picks being the second most recent. (Looking at the Deadessays post about that Cleveland show, it surfaced in 2012. Maybe we're due for another new "Star" after almost ten years.)


ianuaditis:


I nominate Sound Storm Festival.


JSegel:



Lotta tuning and listening to tapers talk before it starts, a couple indications of the intro riff and then they go for it. A mellow intro area, wandering leads slowly over the top, but it coalesces and starts to groove with the shakers and such and picks up steam after a couple minutes, in a nice intro jam. Then suddenly a cut to the end of verse 1! No fair.

After this it almost directly falls apart into space, cymbals washing away the music. Some string scrapes and small noises building with a bass drone at 6 min, then dropping again, leaving a very quiet sputnik-y arpeggio happening, though it is consumed by slide-on-string play, and after a while longer some notes emerge and a quiet area of melodicism happens with glockenspiel, though Bob is insinuating his G7 "two chord theme" that usually leads to the Tight Up jam later, it’s a very slow intro to that, maybe, though the build still sounds more like Dark Star in the melodies. Phil pulses on some notes and eventually there’s a slow Bright Star rendition at about 13:30.

Jerry starts to take off on some fast long runs as Phil starts jamming a bit. Jerry is taking it up and it goes into a very rhythmic jam from which a Sputnik erupts and the volume drops immediately, but they stay with that pulsating rhythm. It goes on into a quiet but intense and fast jam, lots of forward momentum. Up and down a bit then an abrupt Dark Star theme statement from Jerry, then band falls in around it and they slow down as he does the gliss to the melody, then another tape cut to the middle of the verse at a slower tempo. Sounds like a nice reading of the verse, very relaxed and contrasting the fast jam that led to it. They continue from the outro chords to St Stephen.

Odd version, good jams but very up and down and the tape cuts are jarring. And the quality isn’t very good, like many of the cassette taper versions that are available for a lot of this year’s shows, apparently.


adamos:


"They sound really great." I'm sure that was the case in the hall that night but unfortunately this audience recording is poor. Despite that there is a mellow, dreamy feel to the opening. They take their time with Jerry, Phil and Bob interweaving nicely. After a minute or so Jerry starts winding upwards and the intensity increases. They get a nice groove going that is lovely even from a distance. And then unfortunately the tape cuts forwards to the end of the first verse.

After the verse we get the usual reset which quickly dissolves into quiet. Gong washes and a subtle bass line (at least on the recording) that seems to foreshadow impeding creepiness. They quiet further; perhaps a faint bell toll and some slight feedback as well. String scraping comes in and then they quiet again. The crowd seems very pleased with where they've found themselves. A feedback-y rumbling rises up and grows. Around 6:15 we get the shimmering accompaniment that bzfgt mentioned which fits in nicely. They're keeping things fairly quiet but slowly some additional weirdness starts to come in.

After 8:05 Jerry's faint line gets more melodic and the others fill in and there's a prettier feel to the proceedings. This ebbs and flows and gets a little darker but still patient and melodic. A prominent bell sounds enters the mix as well. Jerry's line gets stronger and by 10:30 it feels like a jam is emerging. There's a bit of a marching rhythm but still within the overall vibe of what preceded it. The volume increases and they're working it pretty well now and by 12:00 things are more Dark Star-ish again. Jerry rises up with a sharp, edgy line and the jam intensifies. He continues upwards and takes it into Bright Star around 13:15.

They come down from the Bright Star peak and Phil steps forward while Jerry winds more in accompaniment. Lots of cymbal action here too. They start to rev it up and Jerry takes it higher and with a repeating line and they're moving with real pace. At 14:45 they ease up and then suddenly launch into Sputnik just after 15:00 which is neat. This runs its course by 15:45 and they start to work up the jam again. They build up some good momentum and Jerry is working lower lines than before. Then after 16:50 they start to pivot and work their way to the main theme. They dabble with it for a bit and then after what is likely a brief cut we're moved into the second verse.

Definitely an interesting version and I wish there was a better recording. But the glimpse we get is still nice.


Mr. Rain:


The recording didn't sound so great at first, but I could adjust to it; within a minute I was sailing away on a cosmic ride... The instruments are all audible -- and the inevitable guiro is still present! This opening jam takes no time getting deep, and it's really entrancing, one of the better starting jams in memory. So it's an odd disappointment when at 3:13 it suddenly cuts to the end-of-verse lines.

Once they embark to space, there's just quiet percussion & faint noises for a while. But after the audience cheers at something onstage, the Dead get freakier with a threatening blast of weirdness. This subsides to a really quiet sputnik thing from Jerry, and they stay at low volume for a while until some volume-swelling and more freaky string stuff comes up. At 7:50 Jerry starts pointing the way out with a melancholy line, at first accompanied just by the cymbals & Bob's typical "coming out of space" pattern. But by 8:30 they're all together in a sudden new improvised theme. This is amazing & beautiful....it sounds like some funeral dirge played over an old warrior's grave.

Jerry ends it with some feedback and by 9:50 they're moving on to a new jam. Now they're accompanied by what I think is a glockenspiel (gotta be Mickey playing, right?), with a very effective sound. The melancholy vibe is sustained even as they pick up the pace a little and Bob moves into his Dark Star Strut chords; the mood's very different from the usual Dark Star where they're rockin' out at this point. Instead here's a piece of chilling elegiac beauty with Jerry playing the loveliest lead from 10:55-11:50. Then he speeds up with some runs; the drums enter; the music gains power, but keeps its elegant stately feel; they're keeping firm control with a measured pace. When Jerry moves into Bright Star around 13:00 it feels grand and inevitable, like the culmination of this whole movement.

Then by 13:40 they move to more of a regular fast-paced Dark Star jam, initially a Phil & Jerry duet with drumming; Bob finds his way in and this gets pretty spicy! The rhythm gets choppy with clopping drums; Jerry gets into the spirit -- it almost sounds like he's about to bust into Eyes, but then he suddenly does a little Sputnik turn at 15:00 and kind of fades out on that (similar to what he'd do in the '80s pre-drums segments). The Dead amble along in a pleasantly kickin' jam; then after 16:40 they slow down to their former pace in a very cool shift. The Dark Star theme starts creeping back in after 17:15, a piece at a time...it might sound awkward (or forced) like they're re-learning how the theme goes; you could imagine it being smoother but I give them credit for playing it differently. But at 17:45 there's another cut anyway, shortening the theme, and we're splat in the middle of the verse. (Jerry has always doubled his Dark Star vocal on guitar since they started playing it, by the way!)

Gripping indeed; I was very impressed by this one. The whole middle part is just heavenly. Very dreamy yet intense mood til they get more scattershot toward the end. I have to give the audience credit too; after some concerning chatter at the opening they shut up for the rest of Dark Star.