126. 1972-04-14

34931 Tivoli 29:45

Main theme at 13:08 and 16:36.
First verse at 17:07.
Feelin’ Groovy at 21:54.
Goes into Sugar Magnolia.


This is an action-packed intro segment, although not for the first few minutes. They play it pretty straight at first, before everything begins to constantly shift and change. This rendition begins with the band playing the intro pattern and Garcia playing a lick over it in a way that sounds very familiar, but I’m not sure if I’ve caught where this began, it just seems familiar and inevitable. This turns into a lovely jam that, however, doesn’t at first distinguish itself as unique. Garcia uncorks some plaintive leads; he alludes to Bright Star at 1:31 and then brings it down again, and when he hits the top again at 2:06 he suggests Falling Star. Neither of these are rendered exactly enough to warrant tagging them as such, but the themes are recognizable enough to identify continuity along the road we’ve traveled since 1969.


The band reaches a crossroads at around 3:05, and something is afoot. Garcia keeps outlining the chord pattern on his bass strings, and at 3:33 Lesh seems ready to break out one of his jazzy riffs, but he doesn’t do so as of yet; at 4:03 we hear him casting about in this vein again. This gives the others a peg some licks on, and a frenetic jam emerges, but it soon calms down again.


At the five minute mark we find the band in a volatile mood, and soon Garcia unleashes some uptempo rolling high licks and Kreutzmann starts galloping along. This comes back to earth pretty quickly in its turn. Then at 5:46, Garcia employs the strategy of repeating a note to get everything gathered around; he then wanders off and this is taken up by Godchaux. Here we might expect another frenetic jam to coalesce, but something moodier and weirder comes together instead.


At 7:30, Garcia starts some strumming that is reminiscent of Wharf Rat, and lopes along with a similar gait. Everyone seems willing to go along, and at 7:57 Jerry breaks into a high lead with some volume knob manipulation and pinch harmonics. The quasi-Wharf Rat jam is played out by around 8:50, and there is some hovering during which Jerry gets a little morse code going on a high note which ties this to the next section, beginning at 9:25 or so. This is a lightly tripping polyphony, into which Garcia inserts some Bright Star licks at 10:08 and 10:21. At 10:30 it starts to gather steam; Lesh feints Feelin’ Groovy at 10:45, and then things calm down again.


With the music swirling in an odd little eddies from 11:25 to 11:47, when it all goes quiet and we get a little space jam. Weir sounds like he’s thinking of something like Spanish Jam at one point, but they decide to hold the moment for a while, doing just enough to adumbrate a ghostly sort of momentum in the stuff that no one is playing. Then at 13:08, Jerry starts to play the main theme but he doesn’t commit to it, and no one seems to want to go in that direction. Instead, it stays really spacey.


The band sounds like a breathing organism at 14:50. Garcia’s swelling line stabs at the theme a few times, and the band coalesces, but not on the theme; however, it seems evident that this is where things are headed. Garcia again hits a Bright Star-like bit at 16:06 that brings a little peak with it, and when he comes down the other side into the theme at 16:36 everyone is ready to go along, and that’s how we get to the verse.


A suitably spacey section follows the verse, but by 19:15 it seems like something’s cooking. Phil feints with a jazzy line, and Keith and Jerry seem to suddenly burst out with something in the same vein. Pretty soon the music is cooking along. In contrast to the first half, they grab ahold of something and work it out together at some length here. Beginning at probably around 21:40 or so, Weir and Godchaux seem to be bringing in what sounds a lot like the Mind Left Body chord pattern, but played with the rhythm of Feelin’ Groovy. It’s subtle at first, but I think Lesh starts Feelin; Groovy at 21:54, and you can hear it snap together at 22:03.


This is a cracking version of the familiar jam, and if it seems at the edge of chaos at times, that makes it even better. Some of Garcia’s licks here are reminiscent of his playing in the late 60s in a way that is difficult to define; for instance, see the passage from 24:12 to 24:27. At 24:36 the band hits on a two-chord pattern that brings Feelin’ Groovy to a close. Then at 25:08, Garcia starts a Sputnik-like pattern and the band starts to fragment as they head toward a spacey meltdown.


Once again, this is the sort of passage that will soon lead to a Tiger jam, and once again it stops a bit short of what I’d call the Tiger proper. It’s a very fine atonal freak-out in its own right, however. Right as our track here ends at 29:45, Weir starts up Sugar Magnolia, and Garcia adapts his whacked-out wah lead in a way that blends the two songs for a particularly satisfying transition.


Some Dark Stars have recognizable movements, some seem to go along in the same vein for their duration, and some are continually changing as they go. The introduction here is of the third variety. We saw quite a bit of this in late 1971, where the band seemed reluctant to commit to a direction. At times this made for a less satisfying experience, but the way the band responds to one another and changes tack is rather enthralling here, earning them no demerits. The (shorter) post-verse material, on the other hand, seems much of a piece, so we kind of get it all with this version.


The previous Dark Star (1972-04-08) opened up a new improvisational universe, and now we’re living in it. Perhaps improbably, the Grateful Dead have become an even mightier improvisational unit than they were in 1969, 1970, or 1971. It was possible to track their progression, but of course it would be misleading to see it as a linear path of improvement. Nevertheless, Dark Star and the Grateful Dead seem somehow more Dark Star and the Grateful Dead then they ever were before. This is a magnificent version, and we are fortunate in that there are many more to come with the European tour just getting started.

What was said:

adamos:


Nice sound starting out with everyone clear in the mix. The initial vibe is somewhat mellow like taking a leisurely stroll. Some nice complimentary strumming from Bob as Jerry wanders out on a line. Jerry goes sharper and things pick up a bit. He gets into a repeating note around 2:00 that as bzfgt noted sounds like Falling Star. He stretches it out for a good bit and then after 2:50 they start to ease up and briefly hover with Jerry working lower notes. Phil starts to bubble up which Jerry responds to; they swirl around perhaps having a musical discussion on where to head next. By 4:10 they've latched on and start to slowly wind up. It feels like they might unleash but they keep it somewhat restrained. Nice passage though.

Around 5:00 they reset a bit and then charge upwards with some pace and the collective interweaving sounds really good. They ease off again by 5:40; Jerry gets into a low repeating thing and Phil jumps in followed by Keith. It feels like something is brewing but they shift out of it around 6:05 and move into something more open. Some delicate, somewhat brooding exploration ensues accented by faint pinging sounds that I think are Bob.

Then at 7:30 Jerry comes in with the Wharf Rat-esque strumming which they coalesce around. Jerry brings it to a small peak and then shifts into some volume knob action. They keep the Wharf Rat groove going for a good spell and then around 8:50 they ease up and start looking for a new direction. Jerry plays a delicate, repeating note with some nice work from Phil underneath. Bob pulls back and it's mostly Jerry and Bill for a bit with accents from Keith and Phil. It's a nice, gentle passage that slowly starts to work up some collective momentum. Phil becomes more prominent after 10:10 with some repeating notes and it feels like they might shift into an uplifting jam but they pull back instead.

Starting around 10:55 they begin to slowly head in spacier directions. Jerry does some strumming with Phil still working some lines and then around 11:30 some scrubbing enters and things begin to get weirder. There's a quiet moment and Weir seems to suggest Spanish Jam as noted but they opt to drift in the openness instead. Jerry dances around the theme starting at 13:08 but they stay in a subtle, spacey openness. There's some quiet volume knob action starting around 13:50 and other various intermingling sounds.

Then around 14:50 Jerry comes forth more strongly and the others join in and they play around the theme without fully latching on to it. They rise up and Jerry reaches upwards and into Bright Star-esque territory which sounds really good and they take it to a small peak and then descend into the theme proper and on to the first verse.

After the verse they reset and there's a brief note of wah at 18:34 and they seem to be heading into a fuzzy, spacey zone. But this turns out to be more of a hover and they quickly shift into a new jam, working up a fast-paced groove and taking it for a ride. It's got some muscle to it. Around 21:05 Jerry starts circling through an ascending/descending thing multiple times that Phil plays off of and then he lets it go around 21:40 and rips it up. Then at 22:03 the band follows Phil into Feelin' Groovy and it's got that triumphant vibe with some extra edge from Jerry that carries over from the preceding jam. It's an energetic and enthusiastic telling and they rock it out for a good while.

By 24:30 Feelin' Groovy has run its course and they start to wind it down. Around 24:55 some twang enters the picture looking ahead to the impending Sugar Magnolia. But they're not finished yet and at 25:09 Jerry moves into spacey Sputnik territory and they let things dissolve. They hover and swirl and move towards a meltdown. The intensity and weirdness ratchets up then after 27:30 they pull back and Phil hits some repeating notes and they swirl it right back up again. Jerry's guitar is screaming out and the others fade back accenting the weirdness. Phil comes back and Keith adds some freaky notes and they cast about in the void just a bit more before Bob steps in with the Sugar Magnolia chords. Jerry keeps going for another five seconds and then seamlessly joins him.

It's a really good performance with some lovely passages and dynamics that seem fitting for the venue. Then the post-verse action ratchets things up. It was also nice to get Feelin' Groovy again and this one has some gusto.


JSegel:


I’m leaving Copenhagen on the train as a listen to this, oddly. The main train station is right next to Tivoli where this show was. Just a little over 50 years later…

Again a stunning Playing in the Band jam in the first set, it’s gonna be interesting to see the development of this tune into the space monster. Here Dark Star comes toward the middle in the second set after Looks Like Rain (Jerry on Pedal Steel!), and again into Sugar Magnolia.

Some futzing around beforehand, and the bass starts it, drums rolling in, Bob comes in and then Jerry and Keith. Nice relaxed feel, for some reason this feel they started this one and the last one with reminds me of tropical beach relaxedness. Not sure why. Like, I almost hear a mellow surf crashing in the background there.

Anyway, Jerry is stretching out on the theme, some nice runs. He finds an eddy on a stretched high note, the band starts swirling around it, it comes back down, this wave brings us down at about 4 min into a new area. Phil’s got a little riff on roots and fifths, Jerry starts swirling runs, they start a build, it goes up and down. Oddly it comes down again into a more sound scape-y area, static notes and held rhythmic piano ostinato, Phil takes it outside a bit with odd chords, Jerry still running up and down, and back to chords for the Dark Star theme area -type… This one has Jerry holding a higher note in the repeating rhythm ostinato, then the drums come in with a new beat, and Phil comes up with a descending bass bit, like the Feelin’ Groovy thing a little, and then back into space a bit. These spacey sections are different. Some string scrubbing sounds, drum soloing to silence, modal changes, little trills. Very calm space. Small statements. Some volume swells. Phil sort of leads it back at 15 min or so to Dark Star land. It slowly coalesces, the lead guitar calling to the theme from major scale riffs, and slowly coming to the thematic stuff, they start landing on that A that signals the Dark Star theme and it happens at 16:40. And into a verse at 17. Beautiful.

Jerry’s vocals sound a bit dramatic. Nice rolling reading of the verse, strong guitar doubling the vocal melody. Phil’s wanders on line 3 are sets of riffs. And to the intro stuff, but as soon as it lands, it lands, they’re ready to be in a new land already, no fooling around with blowing away the old, it’s already there. Bill even rolls it into drum wildness. It builds into a quick tempo thing, lots of strumming from Bob, and then he develops it into a descending riff-based thing also, Jerry is rocking out and he gets to a (different) descending repeating riff also. And then at 22 minutes, Phil and Bob go right into the Feelin’ Groovy major key world. That was a lot of different descending riffs that telegraphed that!

It devolves in a space section again, no fixed address. Little mournful stretched notes with the tone rolled off, odd chords. Scrubbing the bass. As it builds it gets more atonal and monster movie. Some free jazz drumming. Big bass chords. Jerry has a little melodic phrase that spurs Keith into a repeating arpeggio thing and this leads right into Sugar Magnolia, while Jerry is still in rolled off wah wah land, he fixes that pretty quickly and they sing the song.

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I loved the first 2/3 of this one, the last third was ok—for some reason I didn’t really dig the Feeling Groovy stuff in there. Not sure why, some notion of what I’m liking in the Dark Star world lately, like somehow this jam is too upbeat somehow and seems foreign in there—to me, that is. Well, I guess I’ve never really been down with this particular jam in the space of this song (I know, I’m weird.) Anyway, really nice playing, but a lot of ups and downs, jams into space, into jams into space. Really nice recording and mix on these ones, which is great. I like the mixes where the guitars are L and R and the piano is more centered rather than over Bob on the right.


Mr. Rain:



I listened to the speed-corrected Miller version (didn't like the Ashley which has the bass drum boosted too loud). This is the same as the youtube version. 29:11.
The funny thing is, I've listened to these E72 Dark Stars a lot more than most of the earlier Dark Stars so they're very familiar, but all the same it's harder to write about them.

The opening sounds urgent to me, like they're ready to turn up the heat quickly. Jerry soon gets intense with his repeating high note after 2:00 (he holds onto it for 25 seconds!). Then a calm stretch hinting at the theme again, a faster jam after 4:00 (sounding a little like Lovelight), a pause & reset after 5:40; a foreboding mood creeps in (deep Phil tones), then the mood brightens again with Jerry's strums at 7:30. This Wharf Rat-type strumming section actually reminded me of Bird Song...for a minute it was like, "is this what an E72 Bird Song would sound like?" Then a light, choppy percussive passage. In a little foreshadowing, Phil alludes to Feelin' Groovy a couple times in the opening jam (1:40, 10:15).

Sounds like they might pick up speed here, but instead they embark on a long spacey stretch. Quiet, kind of ominous, with a nicely harmonious volume-swell section after 13:30. There are increasing hints of the main theme here & there (first from Jerry, then from Phil), until they're all but playing the theme, dancing around it for over a minute, so it's very satisfying when they finally lock onto the theme at 16:20. (This reminds me of the later Playing in the Band passages when the Playing theme slowly swirls into being at the end of a jam....offhand I can't remember similar moments in earlier Dark Stars when they tease the theme for so long.)

Verse at 16:45. The verse drops straight into a turbulent space as you'd expect, but this doesn't last long: within a minute they sound eager to start an upbeat jam, and one quickly materializes around 19:00. (Making this, so far, an unusual Dark Star in that the big spacey part precedes the verse and they start rocking right after the verse.) This part is kickin' & kind of Cumberland-ish, almost sounds like it'll spin out of control. Around 20:00 they tame it into a jam very much like the closing section of 4-8-72, same feel. Jerry gets hooked into a repeating downward lick after 20:30 (and keeps it going for 40 seconds!) so the others have to follow him into the same pattern. There's a little chord confusion as they get organized, but at 21:30 Phil bursts out with Feelin' Groovy and that settles it.

This is a very forceful & fast-paced Feelin' Groovy, really kicks ass! Gets even more intense as it goes, until finally at 24:00 it lands on a soothing GDTRFB-style ending. Jerry moves into kind of a wah Sputnik: time for a meltdown! (Another reversal, with the scary atonal stuff coming after the joyful foot-tappin' jam.) Nice freakout, they really turn up the anxiety knob -- Jerry has a stinging wah tone and the others turn frantic. They don't get full screechy, it's more the "approaching doom" mode with Phil's bass booms & Bob's feedback. But as things dissolve and Jerry noodles away, Bill strikes up a beat, and what's this? Instead of the end of all things, it's Sugar Magnolia! Jerry's still hanging out in space but quickly adjusts to his new surroundings with a final harmonious squawk in one of the best ever transitions. (This might even be the single best note Jerry ever played.)

Wow! This was a really long opening jam, over 16 minutes before the verse! -- the longest so far. This one changes direction a lot and doesn't really settle down til near the end, but it doesn't feel like the impatient '71 restlessness, there's more of a sense of flow & continuity, plus it all sounds great, and the lead-up to the verse is mesmerizing. Then after the verse it gets REALLY great, rocks out with a hot little jam and a fiery Feelin' Groovy and a mean meltdown and a jaw-dropping conclusion. Definitely not a Dark Star to relax and drift away to, this one left me all atremble.