youtube Fillmore East 14:00.
Main theme at 3:23.
First verse at 3:37.
Sputnik at 7:50.
Main theme at 12:13.
Second verse at 12:33.
Goes into St. Stephen.
TC returns for a guest spot on this famous version from the Fillmore East. He’s an audible presence right off the bat, although he stays in the background. The introduction circles around the main theme, but it is not stated at first; Garcia soars into a near-Bright Star at 1:50. A turning point is reached at 2:50, and some minor-inflected musings ensue. This leads rather quickly, however, to the main theme and the verse.
Garcia’s voice sounds a bit strained on the verse, and he goes off key here and there. A broody section in e minor follows. The point where space arrives comes at 5:41, and the band seems about to bring it down to silence here like a 1970 version, although TC keeps swirling away. Volume knobs are twirled as they ease into a foreboding section with heavy Lesh and some feedback. At 7:30, Weir plays some Spunik-like licks, and then Garcia takes it up at 7:50.
By about 9:15 this is turning into a vigorous little jam that takes its cue from the rolling feel of the Sputnik they’ve just left. The band really starts kicking it up here, and it is popping off in all directions. This grinds to a halt at about 10:50, and they enter calmer waters. A bouncy jam emerges, until another hiatus at 11:55 leads to the main theme. Garcia sings the second verse, and we’re out.
This is a very nice version. It certainly could have been longer, as I wouldn’t mind hearing them run down some of the ideas here at length. TC’s return is welcome, if not overly momentous. It’s nice to have a keyboard in the mix, though. Overall this is a solid run-through.
What was said:
pbuzby:
One excuse for the brevity of this "Star" is that they played "Other One" (included on Skull) earlier in the same set. Trying to think if any other 70's show had separate versions of those songs in one set (a few have Dark Star seguing to Cryptical or Other One).
Listening to the Ladies & Gentlemen mix. TC has better gear and sounds more confident than when he was in the band fulltime, doing more chordal stuff and less of the A Mixolydian noodling.
JSegel:
Latter part of the second set, after a Cryptical-Drums (solo Bill doing an excellent job)-TOO suite and a cut Wharf Rat, Sugar Magnolia, and a lot of tuning and we presume setting up keyboards and then we get to Dark Star, with Tom Constanten back for the song on a reedy sounding organ.
“Where are we?” Then they start, and Jerry goes into a nice swinging jam, it’s at a relatively brisk tempo and the waves build and lull. It’s very 1969, especially with TC. Bill is mostly crashing cymbals and attempting a pulse with hi-hat, so that’s different. It’s a nice intro jam on the theme, TC goes for some organ riffing after a couple minutes, then it breaks into some static area for a bit, coming out into some chords and then a new delicate area leads to the gliss up to the A for the theme. Verse 1 already at 3:43, TC fully riffs on line one, they play line two with strong rhythm offbeat accents and then he riffs again on line three as they all wander, coming to strong A chords on the refrain.
Transitive Nightfall enters with some percussion instruments Bill seems to have inherited, or maybe somebody else is there? It’s immediately static, with strong bass roots and chords but not much forward seeking. It dies away, TC holding long tones. (Sort of nice to have him in there.) with cymbal washes and occasional slow melodic bits leading to feedback tones and atonal notes. A big major chord, low bass drones, long tones, more feedback. A sputnik is emerging at 8 minutes. Bob is playing arpeggios alongside, Phil goes for high harmonic plucks.
Descending into a new jam, fast lead playing, a chord progression comes from Bob, then it goes full on country sounding. Are we going to enter a new ballad tableau? Nope, though it builds to a fast jam with Bob stretching some outside lead notes. It dies off and sounds like it might go into something like Wharf Rat instead for a minute, then at 12, the gliss to the A happens again, but no melody at first, until the Dark Star chords and groove come back. Verse 2 happens immediately at 12:40, drums make line two really pause, but pick up again on line three with the side stick groove. Outro is classic, though everybody appears to be out of tune by now, vocals and guitars. Phil extends his ending of the vocal lines, they go on to the counterpoint and the chords for a short time and enter St Stephen relatively suddenly. Everybody claps.
Decent and relatively fast version. Not very long, not very spacey, but some interesting jam ideas, I guess trying to figure out how to play this song in the world of their 1971 material, this is the third one in the month of April 1971, then they drop it for several months.
adamos:
"Where are we?" is such a classic line and one that fits the moment well. It's nice to have TC in the mix which gives it an older feel. The performance feels energetic right from the start and the recording allows the collective soundscape to come through nicely. They are moving with some pace but there is still a dream-like feel. Jerry works a high line and Phil and Bob are both quite active. They build up some momentum and as bzfgt mentioned at 1:50 there's a touch of Bright Star in Jerry's soaring line. They continue to interweave at higher altitude and then around 2:25 they downshift and regather (which itself sounds beautiful) before hitting familiar notes at 2:53 which leads to a brief but lovely drift into the main theme and on to the first verse.
TC adds strong flourishes at various points during the verse. Phil and Bob reset complimented by lively percussion from Bill and they swirl a bit before giving way to space. TC accents the on-ramp with sustained notes that are accented by guitar. By 5:55 things have gotten fairly quiet although TC and Bill persist and the others come in periodically. Things get weirder and there's some volume knob action followed by thundering bass and other feedback. At 7:30 Bobby brings some light into the darkness; more feedback screeches out and then Jerry starts Sputnik which collectively shimmers.
They stretch it out for a good spell and then around 8:50 it starts to transform with stronger notes both high and low. Around 9:05 a jam begins to emerge and it sounds like they could go into a set piece but Jerry keeps his line moving and they all fall in and collectively roll along. Some revving momentum builds and Bob comes in strongly which sounds cool. They are cooking now and keep it going for a little longer before easing up at 10:50. They hover briefly but the previous momentum is still carrying over a bit. There's a Dark Star-ish note around 11:00 and 11:08 but they opt to ramp up the jam again before downshifting once more at 11:55. At that point there's another quick Dark Star note but they hold off briefly before shifting into the theme at 12:08 and then moving on to the second verse.
It's a good performance. While they still keep it relatively close to the vest they seem energetic and engaged and TC's presence brings back some familiar touches which is nice.
Mr. Rain:
An even longer tuning break this time with lots of Dark Star teases as TC takes some time to get set up and discuss things with the band. The crowd is full of suggestions. Great deep mix on this. (The Ladies & Gentlemen mix is similar but has Jerry louder and TC mixed down lower, and Bill mixed way down. I prefer the unofficial source by a mile, you can hear more.)
TC's doing chords from the start; his organ style seems to have developed since '69. Very nice opening jam, carried me away....it's a disappointment when it ends after only three minutes. Bill's not so active on drums in this part.
Jerry doesn't sound quite used to singing the verse again. "Reason shatters." TC stays busy during the verse.
Great dark bass-propelled heaviness after the verse, ending in high chimes from Jerry & Bob blending with the organ swirls. They get quiet & spacey, but keep it musical -- TC won't quit on the organ. but swirls like mad! Lovely bass drones & feedback, deeply beautiful. The noisiness gives way to a Sputnik (Jerry may be inspired by Bob's high arpeggio). This one's light & airy and floats by, Bill staying mostly on cymbals, TC swirlin'. After 8:40 Jerry's itching to get to a jam, and off they go.
It's neat to hear the jam take shape for a minute after 8:45 as they build it on the spot (TC fading a bit). Bob's kind of suggesting Soulful Strut and Phil dives into a two-chord strut, now they're rockin' out! Very dense fast jam, Bill kicking it along, the guitarists locking together in excitement. But it doesn't last long, at 10:45 they're already firmly ending this section with big "the end" bass strums. The air's full of possibilities -- time for the theme? something else? -- little micro-suggestions quickly come together in a nice little happy jam that sounds like it could take us somewhere. But Jerry soon decides otherwise and brings up the theme at 11:50. But instead of getting right into it, they slowly piece it together til the full theme emerges at 12:05, a very cool moment, TC joining in nicely. The verse & outro are a little sloppy, but enthusiastic.
Fascinating version -- very dense; again I get that kaleidoscopic sense where no pattern stays the same for long and they keep swirling into new positions. It's harder to describe music like this that's so packed with little incidents and detailed interplay. There are little echoes of '69, it even brings back the same structure, but the players have changed....even TC's changed (though he still likes that reedy organ sound). He's most prominent in the freer first half, but once they get to the more rocking section he recedes more to the back. Bill, on the other hand, is quiet at first but keeps getting more active through the second half. Phil sounds very happy and the band's very engaged in this.
Enjoyed all the above posts. I would like to add just a few things for context and consideration when listening to it.
Prior to this Dark Star, the dead had performed an entire amazing show. This third set was after all that. Also, it was rumored they were all dosed that night, even Pigpen, none by choice from what I understand.
Years later, at my friends in Palo Alto, I tried to get Billy kreutzmann to confirm this. It was an exercise in futility, however it is worth noting he did recall the show & understood my deep feelings for it. I took that as an affirmative.
During Dark Star, and really, all of the quiet parts of the concert, you could hear a pin drop. The majority of the place was clearly dosed, including myself, and a more intimate musical experience I can’t imagine. Probably closest to that for me after this was Boston Music Hall during the 11/30-12/2/73 shows.
When Dark Star transitioned with those first two notes leading to St Stephen, the mirror ball came on and slowly turned. If you listen to the recording, the gasp from the audience in unison is clearly heard. I will never ever forget that moment, or the entire show for that matter. Thank you orange barrel sunshine. This was simply an amazing evening that next to the birth of my children was likely the best night of my life.
As with all comparisons and analysis, we do the best we can based upon recordings. However, as I’m sure most know, that only goes so far; particularly with the dead. There are nuances and mood that a recording can’t always capture, leaving a certain resolution of analysis, unavailable.
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