214. 1993-09-22

13801 MSG 8:15

Main theme at 2:08.
First verse at 2:25.
Goes into Drums.


With David Murray sitting in, the band uncorks a 16-minute Estimated Prophet that gets suitably freaky on the home stretch; perhaps because they’re feeling their oats now, they break out Dark Star next. We know, however, that Dark Star doesn’t necessarily mean that there is an improvisational adventure on the horizon, anymore. We just have to see what we get.


Lesh seems to be the one pushing for Dark Star, and after some preliminaries which could as easily be tracked as the last bits of Estimated Prophet, he gets the result he’s looking for. Murray stays out of it entirely, letting them get it together. They bring it to the verse rather quickly, which might not be a bad thing since we’ve only got 8 minutes and we’re unlikely to hear the second verse.


The jamming is pretty normal at first. At about 4:05 Murray creeps in, and he sounds good. Garcia is deferential; he works his way back in, but they seem a little tentative still. Since we’ve just heard them both unleashed on Estimated, this ought to work, but time is running out.


At 6:55 the playing gets more abstract, and it seems like we’re finally getting somewhere, but they’re about to hand it off to the drummers. It’s getting better, but they’re letting the center unravel, and we know that it’s ending.


And so it does. This is nice as a little tag-on to the massive Estimated Prophet, but isn’t up to a whole lot in its own right.


What was said:

213. 1993-09-13

12096 Philadelphia 5:32


Main theme at :06 and 2:58.
First verse at 3:12.
Goes into Terrapin Station.


Playing in the Band is not very long, but it really starts to get out there, and they decide to take it into Dark Star. Garcia is employing the acoustic patch (now playing Lighning Bolt), which is a strange choice here, and he continues this into Dark Star, which begins with the intro lick but without a pause. Garcia plays the theme a few times to start it off, and then a fairly typical introductory jam ensues in which Jerry lays out for a while.


Phil plays with the verse melody a little here, and there are gestures in the direction of E monor. Jerry comes back at 1:15, still playing the acoustic patch. The jam picks up energy here; it’s a very full sound, with everyone going at it hammer and tongs. Although the faux-acoustic isn’t my favorite sound, Garcia plays some beautiful stuff here.


It’s a shame the band isn’t letting Dark Star off the leash these days, because they sound really good on a lot of these last versions. One gets the sense that if anything did happen, it would be something good! We get the first verse after three minutes, though, and then there’s another minute before they pull up into Terrapin Station. I’d like to say they make the last minute count, but it’s not really enough time to sink their teeth into anything, although it’s certainly not bad.


It seems like Dark Star is on its last legs, and in fact it’s not entirely clear why they keep playing it. It’s nice to hear Jerry play these familiar licks, but there’s nothing much happening.


What was said:

212. 1993-06-23

108984 Indiana 7:13 (6:30)

Main theme at :52 and 2:18.
First verse at 2:26.
Goes into The Wheel.


This is a show mostly known for a titanic Terrapin Station that goes into a wild jam. Between that and a 15-minute Space, there has already been a wealth of improvised music in the this second set by the time we get to Dark Star, and much of it is very good, to boot. As Space reaches its conclusion, Garcia has some kind of bowed sound going, which is almost certainly the result of an electronic gate rather than a Jimmy Page maneuver. Lesh moves it into Dark Star, which starts with the theme rather than the intro lick.


The band sounds focused from the outset here, and the intro jam is tighter and more punchy than the previous ones have been. Garcia dips into the theme a few times and they roll to the verse—one almost gets the impression in these latter-day versions that Jerry is thinking “Oh, we’re playing Dark Star now? That means we’re not jamming anymore!” At least this one doesn’t go into Drums, so it seems likely he’ll be on board for the duration.


Vince hangs on the theme longer than usual after the verse—tight and punchy seems to be the approach here as well. Garcia gets into some downward arpeggios that are almost reminiscent of Fire on the Mountain, which I thought of before the verse as well. Listen from about 4:45, as Jerry uncorks some lightning-fast runs—they may not be stretching this out anymore, but his playing here sounds fresh and engaged, as well as being more nimble than usual.

By about 6:30 Jerry starts playing The Wheel, and although it’s still tracked as Dark Star it doesn’t take long for the band to fall in line. It’s kind of surprising this pairing didn’t happen more times, as the transition is smooth and effortless.


It’s hard to fault the band for being perfunctory in such a jam-filled set, but it’s clear that Dark Star isn’t where the main action is anymore. This is quite good, though; there’s some excellent playing, although Garcia is clearly the main attraction this time.


What was said:

211. 1993-03-17

79050 Landover

Main theme at :05 and 2:16.
First verse at 2:26.
Goes into Drums.


In hindsight, much looks different (how’s that for a platitude!). In the last years, I still expected every Grateful Dead show to be a transformational experience, and this led to disappointment. Now, I remember the disappointment, and hence these shows often sound better than I expect them to. Playing in the Band is short, but it gets nice and spacey toward the end, and by the seventh minute, it feels like the perfect time to ooze into Dark Star. When they do—as we future-dwellers know they will—I know to temper my expectations, but as Playing winds down, I get a little tingle of anticipation as they downshift into the familiar introduction.

The first order of business is the main theme, which Garcia has gotten back into playing, somewhere along the line here. At :42 he springs forth with a sweet, familiar line and, somewhat surprisingly, the MIDI kicks in a few seconds later. He has been using it sparingly lately, and I feel almost nostalgic for it now! He uses it sparingly here, too—it crowns his line for a few seconds and then seems to recede of its own will. We’re left with the sweet familiar sound of Garcia and Lesh’s lines winding around each other; the rest of the unit doesn’t do much out of the ordinary, so this intro section is plain but nice.


It's also short—at 2:26, Jerry sings the verse (which seems to briefly take a wrong turn at “crashes”). Out of the verse, and back to the same sort of thing that preceded it, with Vince hammering the theme a few times, as is his wont. He knows how to get out of it now, though, and our patience may soon be rewarded.


At 4:24, Jerry turns into a flute and, as the kids say, I’m here for it. The music starts to pull out of joint, largely thanks to Lesh; Weir seems to be coming in at odd angles too, now. They seem like they’re edging toward a space jam, which is a welcome development in its own right, as Dark Stars have been rather straight-edged lately. Since this comes before Drums, we know it is a race between weirdness and outright dispersal, so we have to hope the center holds, but not too obviously.


So far, they are walking this line quite well; in the neighborhood of 7:30, there is an insectoid jazz club vibe developing that is sufficiently intriguing that I feel deflated when Garcia disappears at 7:47 and does not return. The remaining jam seems to get even better, but we’re on borrowed time now.


In the end, this is one of the most frustrating Dark Stars we’ve yet reviewed. It has some of the best and most interesting post-verse playing we’ve heard in a long time, but no sooner does it get underway than Jerry ducks out. I really love what’s here, but it’s impossible not to yearn for more.


What was said: