112. 1971-02-18

111793 Port Chester, NY 1. 7:02 2. 7:19
Main theme at :54, 1:56, and 3:02.
First verse at 3:26.
Second verse at 5:44.
Goes into Wharf Rat and Me and My Uncle.

The first Dark Star of 1971 gets off to a bold and snappy start. Garcia is now playing the Rick Turner “Peanut” guitar; although he did not play it for long (Jan. 21—April 29), he got a striking sound out of it, and it is a sound which became much-loved due to the self-titled live album from April 1971. The playing here is beautiful all around, and Garcia’s tone is magnificent. Jerry briefly dives into the theme at :54, then circles around a bit and comes back to it a minute later. He breaks out some double stops at 2:30 or so, at which point Weir really starts driving him, and a splendid peak is reached before they again double back to the theme, and on to the verse: “Dark star flashes.”

There is a brief reprise of the introductory jam after the verse. They never quite get to space; rather than descending into silence, Garcia keeps frittering around, and then they go into the first Wharf Rat. This is played solidly and confidently; this whole sequence so far is a tour de force, although one wonders whether they are beginning to feel a bit less motivated to draw out Dark Star, and if the energies that have made it such a consistently powerful element of their set are beginning to dissipate.

Wharf Rat dissolves into a bluesy take on the Dark Star theme. They start a vamp on A with a little kick to the D; then the band goes to a B minor to A pattern while Garcia starts playing a melody on a D major/B minor scale, and the famous “Beautiful Jam” comes shimmering out of the speakers. This really sounds like it was composed, especially since Garcia starts his line right when the others modulate.

At 2. 3:25 it turns into a vamp on the A, with hints of Sugar Magnolia, and they pedal along there for a while. The preceding jam has cast a powerful spell, and I kept expecting it to resolve back to B minor, even though A is the home chord of Dark Star. Instead, Jerry sings the second verse, and it’s all over.

What can I say about this jam? It is gorgeous, and all too brief. Not much of consequence happens afterward, but it doesn’t really need to—this has been a major statement, a stunner. This is an extremely pithy Dark Star, but a powerful one. It poured out of the amplifiers and into history, and we are fortunate to have these recordings.


What was said:

adamos:


Some enthusiastic shrieks from the crowd as the opening notes ring out. Jerry’s tone is lovely with just a bit of raspiness and the little keyboard accents from Ned Lagin add a nice touch. Everyone is blending together well. They dance around the main theme and settle into a delicate and dreamy feel. Around 1:3o Phil plays some pretty, bouncy notes and then at 1:43 Jerry picks up the intensity with a repeating line that brings them back around to the theme. They continue to glide through the loveliness and then after 2:30 Jerry revs it up with some more edge and takes it high before shifting back into the theme again and then on to the verse.

After the verse they briefly reset and add a little bite before easing into a pretty repeating pattern from which Jerry springs out with a wandering line. But before long they downshift and sort of float for a spell. It starts to get a little spacey and feedback-y but they stay close and make a lovely transition into the first Wharf Rat.

As Wharf Rat winds down they pivot into a transitional zone that starts to move into Dark Star territory. I agree about the bluesy flavor as they get it going again; maybe a little country-ish too. They work the groove and start to build up momentum with some nice rhythm from Bob. This elegantly transforms into the start of the Beautiful Jam which is everything it’s cracked up to be. They’re soaring and weaving and it’s just lovely.

Around 3:20 some of the country-ish flavor from earlier starts to come through again and they ride this groove for a spell. Around 4:15 Jerry hits some repeating notes and they rise to an edgy peak after which Jerry starts a high, sharp line. But before long they ease up and at 5:33 they move back into the theme and start the second verse.

A wonderful, special performance.


Mr. Rain:


If 1971 hadn't happened, where might Dark Star have gone if it continued on its 1970 trajectory? I would predict bigger, longer spaces; more quiet parts (9-17, 10-11 & 11-8 all ended on a subdued note); more compressed playing (a lot of the jams lately seem squeezed into high-density miniatures compared to the looser meanderings of late '69); perhaps less "Dark Star-like" playing as the jams became more varied or turned in new directions (almost every version lately offers some unexpected twist). Some of the Dark Stars lately have taken more inward, poignant paths, perhaps indicating more brooding, melancholy Dark Stars to come....on the other hand there are wild cards like 9-19 or 10-11 that full-out rock and hit incredible highs.
In short, it's unpredictable! But 1971 did happen, and Dark Star took a different path...

With no known Dark Stars from Dec '70 or Jan '71, this is a three-month break for Dark Star, the longest length of time they hadn't played it. Would it be rusty after the break?
It starts out simply (the crowd's excited!)...this opening reminds me a little of how 1970-09-19 started, very cautious and minimal, like they're feeling their way back into it. Far from bold, they stay close to the theme and retreat rapidly to the verse at 3:20. It's still a pretty opening jam, working up to a little peak after 2:30. (On the audience tape you can hear the crowd go nuts at this point.) Jerry's guitar tone sounds more squeaky than in late '70. Mickey adds the inevitable guiro (for the last time!), and Bill joins on drums, adding a bit of drive. Jerry sounds very shaky in the verse, and Bob's forgotten his lick after the verse. Oddly, Mickey sticks with the guiro during the verse, and I don't hear any gong.
I'm wondering if Mickey even had the gong with him (after the verse Bill taps the cymbals & Mickey gives a few last scratches). They skip space entirely and go straight to a wobbly little jam. This soon gets quiet and spacey, with kind of a dark mournful feel....Jerry plucking high notes while Phil strums the bass. Nice little feedback swell at 6:30, which for me is the highlight of this first half of Dark Star. This last minute feels like an intro to Wharf Rat, turning very elegant after 6:40 with Bob's harmonics & Phil's line, making a grand opening.
Ned Lagin on clavichord becomes more apparent once Wharf Rat starts; the crowd applauds a new song. (Some people there might have remembered the Dark Star>Attics from 8 months earlier.) Wharf Rat gets a very stark two-drum delivery; afterwards they find themselves in an in-between spot, part Wharf Rat & part Dark Star, Jerry & Bob bouncing pretty arpeggios off each other.
Then Jerry decisively starts the Dark Star theme and we're back to Dark Star. It's simple & straightforward at first, but after about 50 seconds Bob sounds like he wants to step out on the chords with a catchy rhythm. And like that, they're in the Beautiful Jam (like bzfgt says, it's almost like they've prepared it). It lives up to the name....great use of feedback by Jerry, great work by all as they patiently develop it through various stages for four minutes. After a few final flutters, at 5:20 Jerry pulls them back to the Dark Star theme again as Ned tinkles along. He sings the verse right away (again, no gong). It ends sloppily, and the audience gets excited in anticipation of....oh wait, it's Me & My Uncle.

Other than the Beautiful Jam, this Dark Star is pathetic. They're rusty and unconfident, have to ease their way in, and can barely muster up any Dark Star jamming; seven minutes in and they're already cutting to another song. Space is gone entirely.
On the other hand....for five minutes, a whole different Dead is present, graceful & locked together & inventing a heavenly new theme on the spot, fulfilling every promise they made in 1970. Add the magical Wharf Rat segues, and this vaults to the upper Dark Star echelons.

The old Betty Board mix is quite a contrast to Miller's copy....Cantor's mix sounds a lot more raw and the guiro's louder, as it was on the PA:
www.archive.org/details/gd1971-02-18.sbd.cantor-crouch-diebert-gmb.85478.sbeok.flac16
(I think my favorite mix of the Beautiful Jam portion itself remains the one on the So Many Roads box set.)
Ned, by the way, barely seems to be participating through most of this Dark Star, but that's a reflection of the mixes. The audience tapes indicate he was coming through more clearly on the PA from the start of Dark Star, but he's down on all the SBD mixes unfortunately. (It's also worth hearing an aud tape to check out the audience reactions -- they weren't passive bystanders here.)

I've complained about the mix of the show on the American Beauty 50th release before; personally I think it was screwed up and is not the best way to hear this. For instance compare that little surge after 2:30 on the release...the balance is out of whack and it doesn't even sound like a surge.


The Beautiful Jam didn't come completely out of the blue. There were a number of times in 1970 when they also conjured up a new theme out of nowhere:
1970-01-02 Dark Star - 18:00-19:40 (related to Feelin' Groovy/UJB)
1970-05-24 Dark Star - 13:30-14:30 (close relative of the Beautiful Jam)
1970-10-17 Dark Star - 8:20-9:50
(Or, in a totally different vein, the 1970-10-11 Dark Star from 13:30-15:40; I might even include the post-Main Ten jam on 1970-11-08.)

One spot that struck me as a predecessor was 1970-01-23, from 12:30-13:10 where they're starting to strike up a similar beautiful jam, but then sadly Bob has to drop out for tuning. (1970-02-02 is also reminiscent for about a minute starting at 13:55, though this isn't a specific theme.)

The Beautiful Jam can also be seen as a descendant of the two-chord Dark Star Strut pattern they'd done in so many 1970 versions. For instance 10-17 is a good example starting around 10 minutes, a slow-paced version with Jerry getting really lyrical from 10:55-11:50, with a glockenspiel accompaniment that's an exact parallel to 2-18-71's clavichord. It's just a small step from here to the Beautiful Jam.

But, analysis aside, perhaps Phil should get the last word:

JSegel:


Alrighty! It’s 1971 and we’re back at the Capitol Theater (something about cancelled or not-adequately-booked dates in December being rebooked?) Dark Star comes after a pretty rocking 8-minute Hard to Handle and a few minutes of tuning noodles, including keyboards of a few sorts and some Dark Star intro teases from the bass.

Dark Star starts with the riff, people cheer, JG making the intro melody a descending line and after a very short gap, starts lead playing, bass and rhythm guitar start to play together in ways to take it out of the stricter groove, the guiro enters after a bit and isn’t quite pulse-oriented. A sound is all it is, referencing what it had been in this context. (And apparently the last time it will be here for a while, as Mickey leaves the band after this show.) Nice and relaxed groove, building to a wave crest in the second minute that lasts for a while coming back into the theme area. Drums are already in, playing tom rolls as the verse starts at 3:30, Nice appoggiatura from Jerry’s vocal on the first line (And “flashes”), and tinkly keyboard lines, the vocal lines sort of crash into the refrain which offers a pause, and the bass takes it back with the riff, (and off-key guitar attempt to play along! Um, new guitar, man…) to a strong Dark Star intro that quickly fades but keeps a pulse, not blowing away entirely. Some quick riffing from Jerry, bringing it down, it takes a while to get to the idea that space may happen, JG is still playing lead lines, and the tinkly keyboard is still in.

It gets sparser, into a space area at about 6 minutes, but still with normally-played guitars, into a little feedback, and then a melodic intro to a new song, it’s Wharf Rat. First time performance (I believe?). Quite an intense song to transition to, it’s such a dark ballad. Dark Star has the ability to open holes in the universe to show these stories emerge, then they separate and become themselves in the set on their own. Jerry sounds really strong on this version (I read some other accounts where people said this wasn’t their favorite version of Wharf Rat, but it’s pretty darn good, especially for a first play.)

After the last verse of Wharf Rat, the riff repeats and then sticks on the A7 and drops down to a sort of Sputnik, from where it takes off with ornate lines and suddenly switches to a sort of China Cat riff on the A from which they start up the Dark Star theme area again, and Bob and Phil speed it trying to get to a Strut, but it breaks down to more counterpoint, sound like Bob is playing b minor and A, which we actually heard a year previous but Bob would have moved the bm-A to Gmaj7 and A, but this time is seems to be sticking as Phil is playing the B also, sort of a new Dark Star 2-chord jam (the “Beautiful Jam”). Eventually they stick on the A. Jerry is using a lot of the country lick ideas emphasizing the major 3rd in the A chord, (somebody else mentioned Sugar Magnolia referents?) slowly bringing it back to a Dark Star jam, and a theme statement, right before verse 2 comes in (6 minutes into this second half the song.) It sounds sort of somber. JG plays only some of the notes in the melody he sings, Bob loops around.

Out of the refrain, they go to the counterpoint melodies, JG heading upward in trios of notes as usual, stopping on the high B as Phil strums the dissonant chords that usually lead into St Stephen, but here, they go static and fade a bit as Bob comes in with the rhythm guitar playing another dark ballad, Me and My Uncle.

Whew! Not super much Dark Star jamming, but it led us to some interesting stories.