141. 1972-09-10

22793 Hollywood 35:21 (DS 32:18, Drums 1:33, DS 1:30).


Main theme at 18:42.
First verse at 19:02.
Goes into Jack Straw.


David Crosby apparently sat in for this. I can’t really hear him, or else my mind can only take in so many instruments; at times I think I’ve got him, but then it dissolves into another instrument and I’m not entirely sure if it was there. Weir is very loud in the left channel, and is playing a lot of aggressive riffing stuff that takes this Dark Star in unwonted directions; I considered whether this was perhaps Crosby, but it doesn’t seem likely. It seems more likely that they adjusted their approach a bit due to the presence of a guest, but I’m pretty sure that’s Weir playing guitar over there.


Right off the bat Weir and Lesh are very upfront with the chord pattern, suggesting the theme with a chunky vamp on the chords until Garcia comes in at :19 with some high leads. There’s a bouncy and playful cadence to everything that feels quite different already. There are several feints away from the Dark Star pattern. At around 2:46 Weir starts a bluesy ascending/descending riff that Garcia picks up for a moment, but it doesn’t stick. Then at 3:25 Garcia’s triplets instigate a little frenetic jam, but this is also short-lived.


At 4:05, they seem to be at a crossroads and they start a jam with a minor feel. This pays out until 4:55 when Garcia switches gears with a Sputnik-like sequence that brings everyone together on a minor key thing. At 5:25 Garcia starts toying with a descending sequence that he sometimes plays in a different song, but I can’t remember which one for the life of me. Weir and Godchaux echo him with some arpeggios and there is a pretty section here. By 6:30 Garcia is again playing Sputnik stuff, and the others echo him with more swirling arpeggios. This comes down to almost nothing just after the seven minute mark, and Lesh and Kreutzmann decide to establish a light and jazzy jam, which Weir picks up on quickly.


Garcia is mostly laying out here until about 7:48, when he comes back with some chords, and then he throws in that descending line again at 8:01—I could swear it’s from something else! This keeps coalescing into a moody jam in the neighborhood of E minor. This seems to be coming to an end around 9:50; it eases into something else in A, with Garcia leading the way with some rolling chord stuff. It comes to a head at around 11:25 with everyone coming together on some bouncy chording, moving to a little peak that starts at about 11:45. This keeps rolling for a while, and Garcia is very busy, hitting a funky lick at 12:14 that he rides until 12:30.


By 12:55 Jerry seems to be starting a new thing, but it’s just the last thing winding down. The riff elongates and turns elastic, and then they leave to Phil and Kreutzmann for a little while from 13:30. Finally the others start to return at 15:00, and there is another bouncy jam. Weir’s harmonics at 15:23 really get me wondering if this hasn’t been Crosby the whole time but, if so, where is Weir? The jam starts to meander a little now, but it’s still percolating along pretty well, and it starts to gather steam again until by 17:25 they’re cooking again.


Starting at 17:55 I can briefly think I’m hearing three guitars, but inevitably I lose it again. At 18:34 there is a seemingly telepathic shift among the instruments in the direction of the main theme (another reason the left-hand guitar has to be Weir!). Garcia brays out the verse (rather shakily, at first) and the lefthand guitar is right on top of the shift to E minor on the second line, and takes its usual part on the post-verse riff…it has to be Weir, but his playing has at times been unusual tonight.


We descend into space after the verse. I can hear four instruments here (plus drums) until 21:06, when I finally start to think there’s another guitar. I lose Keith for a while though, but then from 23:10 I think I have them all…that’s about the extent to which I’m willing to strain my brain, which seemingly wasn’t designed to hear five instruments. The space gets kind of intense by about 24:45, and Garcia seems to be pushing them toward a meltdown, which arrives at around 25:25. I wouldn’t label this a Tiger, but it’s in the ballpark. This turns into a kind of hybrid of a meltdown and a frenetic jam, and by 26:45 Lesh and Kreutzmann are pushing them toward the latter. Garcia and Weir are keeping it weird, though; at 27:40, they start edging a little closer to terra firma and the band is banging away on a really freaky jam. There are hints of Me and My Uncle throughout from both Lesh and Garcia.


By 29:30 this all seems to be cooling down as they return to earth, but also simultaneously start to disperse a bit. But then they pull together again and seem to be driving toward some kind of peak until at 31:30 they begin to disperse again. They do a little fade in favor of Kreutzmann who finally takes over at 32:18.


Lesh comes back in after a minute and a half, and the others trickle in for some brief noodling, and once again it is possible to make out a third guitar. This doesn’t really amount to anything before Weir starts Jack Straw.


This is a really cool rendition. The stuff before the verse is very groove-oriented; in that respect, even though I can’t hear Crosby, it reminds me a bit of some of the previous versions we’ve considered where the band accommodated other musicians. In this case, the approach proves to be very effective, as there is a lot of rather stellar interplay among the musicians. The way another groove-based jam forms out of space in the second half is something to behold, and the definite highlight here. I really like this one!




What was said:

JSegel:


Second night in Hollywood, at the Palladium. David Crosby sits in on Dark Star, coming after Black Peter.

Is Crosby playing guitar at the beginning? I can’t quite tell either, the main one is Bob-style pretty much. Though he’s not wandering so much tonight, I thought it might be Crosby, but… Anyway, so Jerry just plays in mode, nice meandering lead. Phil is sorta walking in the theme progression. They do get into Crosby/Weir-initiated eddies, like the old Dark Stars. It develops nicely, a lot due to rhythm guitar. Or maybe it just sounds that way due to the volume of the rhythm guitar. They go into a cool very spiky rhythmic jam for a wave in the 3rd minute and come down to a riff into a b minor section, which Jerry takes on a Sputnik ride at 5 minutes.

Into arpeggio sets of 3s, very delicate. Jerry lands on the actual Sputnik notes (the emin7, with a C# move) after a minute and a half. They bring it down to the A. Bob/David is grooving, they slowly bring it to a new jam, Phil goes off for a bit, Jerry thinks about it and then comes in with more high but delicate lead. Keith has the wah on his piano signal, he plays with that a bit in the background. Ride cymbal groove. It dies down by 10 min, and they start to build it up with a new groove, with toms and a stretchy chordal stab from rhythm guitar. Jerry pedals for a while, then riffs a bit in chords. More arpeggio to keep in the rhythm, eventually more single note lead, major mode.

Rhythm on a strong chord thing, resolving oddly and then back, they start to groove on a Bo Diddly vibe for a second, then back it off, Bill with a strong and paced backbeat, till they bring it down, he rolls still a little in the vibe. Jam with bass and drums.

Guitars come back in at 15 min. Grooving along, rhythm guitar on harmonics and chordal chops. Jerry rolls on. They come to a riff, then abandon it, wandering off. Building it up into a faster Dark Star-type groove. Over that wave, it mellows out, and Jerry sees the spot to start the theme proper and verse 1, people are thrilled.

Verse at 19 minutes, first line has an accidental at the end on the guitar, nice fermatas on line 2, almost vocal melodic phrasing from the bass on line 3, to the refrain, and Weir/Crosby climbs instead of dropping the last melodic bit (so maybe it is Crosby?) They hold the chords after the outro, Bill starts rolling. It’s a sustained moment diving into the depths, Jerry comes in with some atonal melodic tidbits, bright tone but not loud. Keith is using his pedal. Sounds like that third guitar has come in in the middle of the mix, a phasey bright guitar sound? They stay atonal and diving, there’s odd beasts wandering around at the bottom of this sea. Nice guitar interplay with three guitars and a bass, sparse little odd statements from each. Chromatic runs from Jerry bring it down and then into low end of the Tiger. They start some fast chromatic frenzy bits, mostly falling patterns. Jerry climbs with the Tiger figure, some weird noises from the new guitar and keys with wah. Jerry starts rocking out in the high end, semi-chromatic figures, very jazzy. Keith obliges with jazzy rhythms. Rhythm guitar starts rocking it. They crest the wave and bring it down into a jazzy fast groove. Chordal riffing from rhythm over a popping bass.

Jerry starts a wah-pedal-on high riff then brings it back to lower the intensity a bit, some fast little runs with the rolled off tone for a bit. And into a new jam, keeping the energy going until the 31st minute when the guitars back off and leave a drum solo and then a quiet bass and guitar area, Jerry and the middle then left channel guitar. Then Bobby starts Jack Straw, and we’re out of space and into the ‘real’ world

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Lots of energetic jamming in this one, really nice changes from rhythm guitar instigation, so lots of Jerry just jamming over it. I can’t tell if it is Crosby, but whatevs, great version. The variation of Bob's "normal" stuff is perhaps an indicator that it actually is Crosby playing much of the rhythm guitar stuff, but man, he would have to know how to do this really well to get it this near to the Grateful Dead... maybe he did by this point? He is a good musician, and they did hang out a bunch. When that third guitar is evident it's very bright, and Bob did have tone like that in the Veneta version... Anybody who was there and can tell us?




adamos:


Prominent rhythm guitar in the left; seems like it must be Bob since it's setting the framework so early in the performance. Phil is bouncy underneath and Jerry heads out on a high line with some sharpness. There's a bit of an edge to both guitars initially although some of that could be the recording. They cruise along but there's less of the floating or gliding feel that they sometimes conjure up. It has more muscle and maybe a little coarseness to it.

They ease up around 2:40 and Jerry and Bob play off each other nicely with some repeating figures. I thought I heard another guitar around 3:00 but I think it was actually faint piano. They whip up some momentum and things rise up for a brief but compelling peak. Around 4:00 they hover and then start working a nice, mellower groove but still with some fuzzy edge. I dig the vibe. At 4:55 Jerry moves into Sputink-esque territory which Bob mirrors and they find their way to a quieter, more contemplative space. Keith can be heard faintly in the background too. It's a pretty passage.

Around 7:00 they bring it down and hover again and then take their time establishing a new jam. Bob, Phil and Billy work it for a bit with Keith complimenting. Maybe Jerry has laid out because Crosby is doing something that isn't fully captured on the recording? He comes back in slowly and starts working a gentle, intermittent line. Bob continues to be quite active which is emphasized by his prominence on the recording. Some more piano wah comes in and Phil steps forward and they get a funky, semi-mellow groove going.

Starting around 9:45 they hover again and then pivot in a different direction. There's a nice repeating thing that makes it feel like they're spinning something up. They find a nice bouncy, revvy groove and take it for a bit of a stroll. Around 10:50 Jerry gets Sputnik-ish again briefly and then heads out on a lower line. The jam picks up momentum and they keep it rolling. Jerry gets into a repeating pattern with complimentary textures from Bob and Billy working the cymbals.

Things start to slow down and by 12:50 it feels like it may have run its course but Jerry spins it up again before fading back. Then it's just Phil and Bill maybe with some Crosby faintly in the background at one point? Phil keeps a nice bouncy line going for a good while and then the others start to come back in after 15:00. By 15:11 Jerry is off on another line and they are rolling along again with more prominent riffing from Bob. They keep this groove to a low boil and take their time with it. Around 16:45 or so it starts to pick up again and they spin up some compelling momentum once more. Bob is really bringing it. They ease up around 18:00 and then spin it down and coast along before shifting into the theme after 18:35, riding it briefly into the first verse.

After the verse they reset and slowly dissolve into space. I agree that it sounds like another guitar at 21:06. They take their time in this passage; it's spacey but they aren't deep in the outer reaches. Jerry's guitar calls out intermittently and there's a wailing feel to the collective wandering. By 23:15 or so it feels like they are starting to work up some momentum and the intensity rises, ebbs and then spins up again. Things are getting freakier and a meltdown appears to be on the horizon.

They ratchet it up and by 25:20 are letting it rip but I agree it's not a full Tiger. Lots of freakout but less howling roar. It builds to an intense peak; they ease up around 25:55 but start working it right up again. Jerry spins it up with Keith and Phil both very active and they get into a crazy, freaky, intense jam. They are still riding the melty wave but also working the jam. Bob, Phil and Jerry are all driving hard and Keith is right there too.

They keep pushing the frantic groove until around 27:30, after which they gather briefly and then it rolls on at a lower altitude. It's not as loud or intense but still driving. Phil seems to be leading the charge initially with good collective interweaving. They keep cooking along for a spell; they start to ease up after 29:10 but keep it moving and then start to bring things up again. It ebbs again around 30:20 but Phil keeps going and they take it up one more time. Around 31:30 they start to let it go, giving way to a brief drum break. Afterwards there's 1:30 of soft, mellow, Dark Star-ness which creates an on ramp to Jack Straw.



I really enjoyed this one. It has a unique feel and some good grooves and the freaky jam is really good. Every passage pulls you in and the whole thing is compelling. I'm really not sure what is or isn't Crosby on this recording but at a minimum his presence appears to have given the performance a different vibe.




Mr. Rain:


1972-09-10. A strong mix. Keith's piano is very quiet in this one, but Bob's guitar is louder over in one channel, and he does seem to be hitting it harder than usual, so this is a good one for Bob fans. For Crosby-watchers: Crosby doesn't show up until after the verse so he only plays in about 10 minutes of this Dark Star.

A loose, cheerful start. I agree there's an extra-playful feel in the opening jam. Just a few minutes in and it's already more fiery and majestic than Veneta; Jerry's in fine fettle. Cool switch to the spooky minor feel after 4 minutes, although the Sputnik jam at 5m just sort of drifts off nowhere without landing. Keith turns on his wah again for a nice touch. Jerry's rolls trickle out at 7m, a pause, then the rhythm section carries on in a kind of chill, angular lounge vibe, Bob doing choppy chords -- this is the third different mood they've hit in just the first 8 minutes. Jerry mostly stays out of it until around 8:30 then sort of gently works his way in, more like a supporting player than the lead. Around 9:50 they start hovering on one chord in another mood shift -- very cool hypnotic feel, which hits a kind of mini-Sputnik reprise at 10:50 then turns into, whoa, a way cool jam! By 11:40 this is going in yet another direction, speeding up and edging into Feelin' Groovy territory (just implied), that kind of major happy feel. Really nice chording from Bob throughout. This mini-jam ends around 12:40, then they search around for a bit for the next direction while Jerry plays some of his country rolls. They don't find a next step, so around 13:30 they drop down to just Phil & Bill -- fortunately Phil is feeling much more rhythmic than usual so there's actually a rock groove here, making it one of the nicer bass/drum duets lately. After 15:00 Bob comes in with chords setting up a new jam (the crowd's cheering!), and Jerry obligingly picks it up. The mood's relaxed, assured, an easy groove; after 16:50 they come back to the upbeat Feelin' Groovy-type zone. Whew! They're hittin' it hard up to 18m, then Jerry carefully calms them down with graceful notes and sets them up for -- yep, you can hear it coming -- the main theme at 18:40. Very smooth! Big cheer from the crowd.

This was one of the longest opening jams of the year, and it went to a lot of different places, with a lot more variations than other Dark Stars lately. Bob really stands out -- Keith's unfortunately too quiet to stand out -- but the group vibe is really apparent here; Jerry's blending in with the band rather than the leading voice.

The verse has prominent drums, and a big bass drone after "while we can." Jerry hits a hilariously wrong note in the post-verse figure, and they promptly enter the space dimension. Not just a brief stop: this is the full Twilight Zone. Bob turns his phaser on -- now Crosby appears in the middle, at 21:20, on some kind of phased 12-string? (He really blends in with Keith, who's imitating him on wah!!!) Strong spacey ooze with that extra stoned Crosby touch, everyone getting really drippy. Around 23:40 it sounds like Keith's suggesting a Tiger, but they stay out in space for a while, Crosby sending little zaps from other galaxies. Then things start getting intense after 24:40 with a scattershot Tiger breakdown, the group getting hectic, Jerry hitting the Tiger by 25:40 for a screechy freakout -- yes, this is a baby Tiger, but it's quick, dissipating around 26m without descending to Meltdown Doom. Then, in an awesome touch, Jerry carries on the freaky wailing while the rest of the band starts a fast rhythmic groove, and they gradually converge like two train tracks meeting. Things settle back to normal by 27:40 for a fast bumblebee jam. Crosby's laying back here, just adding a few rhythm notes it seems -- his main contribution was in space. But the boys are hummin' along great without him.

Jerry switches to the wah again around 29:20, and it's starting to sound more like a Playing in the Band jam. But the energy's subsiding; the jam kind of meanders along but after 30m they're audibly petering out; Crosby's not doing much of anything anymore and everyone's quieting down. Around 31m Jerry revives for a grand final minute of the jam, but it seems they're going nowhere and he drops out again after 31:40. Phil & Bob try to keep things alive, but then give up and it's time for a short drum solo by Bill. (Again, this strikes me as a last-gasp out-of-ideas move rather than a natural flow from the jam.) The crowd's urging them on. Phil comes back -- some quiet runs from Jerry -- a few uncertain notes from Crosby, more solid backing from Bob. This is a nice mellow minute of jamming which sounds like it could go somewhere nice if they stuck with it. But no: Bob has to suddenly start the Jack Straw chords (in a totally different tempo). The rest of the band takes just a few seconds to fall in, even Crosby attempting the rhythm. I think Crosby stays in through Jack Straw though he's not very obvious, just doing some chords with Keith.



This was a great but lopsided Dark Star. Magnificent & giant opening jam, very cool space with a guest player. Then, a half hour in, it just falls apart when the band runs out of gas and no one knows what to do next, so they just sort of tread water until Bob throws in Jack Straw. So, a disappointing finale, but strong stuff up til then, the Dead at the top of their game just bouncing effortlessly from one jam to the next, constantly shifting moods. I think Crosby basically just showed up for the Space; he doesn't really try to keep up once they get back to regular Dead jamming. But special mention for the outstanding Keith/Crosby blend in space!