56. 1969-04-17

St. Louis (Download Series 12) 21:35

Main theme at 6:13.
First verse at 7:21.
Sputnik at 14:04.
Main theme at 19:36.
Second verse at 20:01.
Goes into St. Stephen


Starts out with some sort of percussive licks from Garcia. Starting at :35 the band swells for a little bit, which is pleasantly weird. At 1:32 there’s another pre-verse almost-Bright Star. At around 3 minutes things hit a holding pattern and it seems like the main theme is coming, but instead they draw it out a little and go into another little jam. At 4:39 Garcia starts a remarkable passage, his playing exaggeratedly slow and distorted. There’s another pseudo-Sputnik starting at 5:39 which leads to the main theme. Garcia starts messing with the theme a bit, playing it almost like Bright Star.


After the verse Garcia goes right to some lead lines, then at 9:34 it’s as though he suddenly recalls he’s supposed to be tolling. They then build up a lot of tension before Jerry breaks out again at 10:51. A rather intense jam follows, with a strong peak starting at about 12 and a half minutes.


At 13:21 Weir starts Sputnik, but Garcia isn’t ready yet; he finally starts it at 14:04. The end of Sputnik is rather intense; after a squally bit of feedback, Garcia switches on the insect weirdness, and the guiro gets really loud. There’s then another pretty intense jam, and this leads to the main theme and the verse without a Bright Star or a verse melody tonight.


This is another strong version. In general it felt like it could have done a little more, but it is very well played and there are some really strong jams here.


What was said:

55. 1969-04-15

31435 Omaha 20:21

Main theme at :36 and :47.
Main theme at 6:14.
First verse at 6:53.
Bright Star at 12:18.
Sputnik at 12:44.
The Main Ten at 17:17.
Main theme at 18:23.
Second verse at 18:52.
Goes into St. Stephen.



This one sort of segues out of a Cryptical reprise, although they start it with the intro lick. All we have here is an audience recording, and, although it is a decent one, it’s not great, and there’s some talking going on in the beginning. Unlike the previous version (04-13). the band sticks with the main theme chord pattern for a good while in this first section, and Garcia dips in and out of the theme. At 2:26 he unleashes a striking flourish, and the band begins to move away from the theme a little, but they soon return to it. At 3:19 Garcia plays on the theme a bit, without exactly stating it. Once again there is a sort of variant of Bright Star beginning at 3:41.


By around 4:25 the band has finally broken away from the main chords in earnest, and at 4:34 Garcia starts repeating a low note that TC picks up on; this goes on for about half a minute, and there is a little breakdown at 5:10 or so where everyone has almost stopped. At 5:19, Garcia starts hinting at a riff that sounds like it may be a precursor to the main theme; at 5:33 he elaborates on it, adopting an exaggeratedly distorted tone. This peaks, with shades of Bright Star, at 6:03, and things suddenly seem rather frantic for a few seconds, until it all settles into the main theme at 6:14. Garcia plays the theme such a (variant) way that it harks back to the riff he’s been playing.


After the verse there is the usual build, with Garcia laying out for a few seconds before he starts tolling toward a crescendo. It’s interesting to hear this from an audience recording; the band sounds rather noisy here (and, notably, TC is relatively high in the mix). After a brief caesura, the jam starting at 9:04 rings in with cleaner tones and a calmer mood, as a brief restatement of the theme reinforces the feeling that order has somehow been restored.


Garcia again, at 9:30, uses a repeated note to break the band out of the main chord pattern. At 10:16, with the band hovering on the edge of the theme, Garcia again tries a repeating phrase. At 10:41, though, he’s again stabbing at something like the theme, and Bright Star almost emerges; then it’s back to a repeating single note at 11:03. He plays around with this for a while, as the band rallies around him, working toward another breakout at 11:41, then back to more repetition and another sortie which runs into a rare pre-Sputnik Bright Star at 12:18.


The inevitable Sputnik at 12:44 brings this section to a close. TC’s swirling accompaniment is quite loud on the recording, and it makes the first half of the Sputnik a rather clamorous affair. The second Sputnik segment is much quieter, and it stays that way, oozing into some volume knob fiddling which gets us to the insect weirdness at 15:05. This segment is spacey, with Lesh plaintively moving above Garcia, and things get even spacier until, at 16:35, Garcia plants a tentpole and beckons the band back to firmer ground.


A lightfooted groove emerges, and at 17:17 Garcia starts playing The Main Ten. Garcia starts a lead at 17:46; the band continues with the Main Ten groove in E, and then at 17:59 Garcia modulates back to A, sliding into it to telegraph his intentions, and then promptly returns them to the main theme and the second verse.


This version is characterized by a continual tension where the band seems to never be far from breaking into, or out of, the main theme chord pattern. While this ensures that things never go too far out, they also never seem to truly settle in; this Dark Star in a way feels like a duel between structure and chaos, with neither getting the upper hand.


What was said:

54. 1969-04-13

87378 Boulder 23:56
Main theme at 3:46.
Main theme at 7:14.
First verse at 7:55.
Sputnik at 14:56.
Verse melody at 18:46.
Bright Star at 20:39.
Main theme at 20:32 and 21:58.
Second verse at 22:23.
Goes into St. Stephen.


Things start in a pretty standard way; note, however, the little downshift at :56. It doesn’t really amount to much, but it’s another example of how tuned into each other the band has become. At 1:41 Garcia flashes Bright Star. There’s another little lull around 2:15, and Lesh and Weir are hitting the main theme, but Garcia spins out some more leads, and his tone here seems kind of unique for a few moments. Things really get flowing after that. At 3:19, Garcia gets into a little pseudo-Sputnik segment, and this intro starts to feel a little like a microcosm.


At 3:46, Garcia dives into the main theme rather emphatically; they hammer it for a little while, then the volume drops again, and a sort of meditative segment follows. By around 5:25 things are very quiet, and Garcia is playing some wonderful and ethereal guitar. A little after the 6 minute mark they start to build it up again, but by 6:30 they have again taken it down several notches. Then they build it up again, hitting a little peak, and then on to the main theme at 7:14.


After the verse there is the usual tension building; when things kick off at 10:06 it seems there has been a small edit in the recording. They settle into a funky groove at 10:30, but this quickly, and smoothly, turns into a kind of build-up to a series of little peaks. The jamming here retains a rhythmically funky flavor, and Garcia plays some increasingly aggressive lines, hitting a peak at about 13:55.


At 14:20 everything quietens again, and Sputnik seems imminent; after another half a minute or so, it duly appears. It seems like Garcia is prodding at the form a bit lately, varying his line and bending it a little out of shape. The insect weirdness comes on the heels of Sputnik, and there is a spacey little interlude here, with very loud guiro. Garcia gets back to his normal tone pretty promptly, though, and the band roars to a quick peak; they then settle into a groove again until Garcia begins the verse melody (more or less) at 18:46.


The band hovers for a bit, with Garcia at 19:29 fiddling with the volume knob for a while. At 19:48, he starts a beautiful little melody, and then begins a build to Bright Star; they are already hitting a peak when this comes in at 20:39, taking it over the top, then Garcia rolls right into the theme at 20:32, which brings us to the end of the middle jam. The audience is clapping along when they get to the second verse.


The Dark Stars of this era are almost uniformly exciting, and this is no exception. This one is well played, and has some really nice work by Garcia in particular.


What was said:

53. 1969-04-12

14914 U. Utah, 21:40 (cut)
Main theme at :06 and 1:58.
First verse at 2:43.
Sputnik at 8:40.
Verse melody at 14:11.
Bright Star at 17:42.
Falling Star at 18:30.
Main theme at 19:06.
Second verse at 20:11.
Goes into St. Stephen.


The beginning is cut, and it comes right in with what sounds like the beginning of the main theme. At :21 Garcia varies it a little, and plays it a bit like Bright Star. Garcia and Lesh both sound inspired in this early section, but at 1:58 Garcia brings it back to the main theme again and then to the first verse.


Garcia briefly returns to the 1968 lick after the verse, and then goes to the tolling sound. Both Garcia and Weir throw in some feedback as things build, and then Garcia immediately and rather aggressively begins the middle jam. The whole band, in fact, sounds rather jacked up here; there is a minor peak shortly before the 6 minute point and, as is often the case, after this there are little peaks and valleys that follow one another in short order.

Between 6 and 7 minutes Lesh keeps toying with the bass line to the main theme, keeping things anchored. At 6:48 Garcia begins an ascent with some palm muting; at 7:08 he starts playing an aggressive sequence with some rather rock and roll double stops while Lesh goes up the neck for a bit, and then climbs back down, leading to an utterly remarkable moment at 7:16 where Lesh starts hammering on a low A in sync with Garcia who starts playing the “rock and roll” lick again at the same moment. This is some of the most locked in, focused and intense playing yet to appear in a Dark Star. As the band brings the level of intensity down, Garcia again plays some palm muted licks, and then at 7:45 he introduces some volume knob fiddling into the mix.


At 8:28, Garcia seems to have switched on an effect and starts playing longer, feedback notes which seem to signal an end to this section. Perhaps he wants to get out of this part before they do something to mar its perfection; in any case, at 8:40 he rather abruptly begins Sputnik. The rest of the band may not have entirely expected this, as they were still chugging along, but it comes together seamlessly nevertheless. In any case, this Sputnik, which seems to appear somewhat early tonight, proceeds rather briskly until 10:16, when Lesh decides he wants to bring it down and get softer and weirder. Garcia obliges with some scratchy and increasingly fractured Sputnik licks, until at 11:00 it seems like everyone is deciding to weird out.


A kind of space lasts until 11:29, when Garcia switches on the insect effect and things seem headed back to something more familiar; instead, they hover on the edge of space for another minute or so. By 12:38, Garcia has returned to a more usual tone, but things stay balanced on the edge of chaos, with Garcia and Lesh pushing and tugging at each other until at 13:37 Garcia more forcefully asserts himself and the band fully kicks in again.


Garcia plays the verse melody at 14:11; then, after his licks on the E minor, he pauses as they return to A. Weir starts playing the main theme, but he, Lesh and TC soon wander away, while Garcia lays out. There’s a nice little jam here with the three of them, until at 16:36 Garcia takes the lead again for the first time in two minutes. There’s a triumphant little peak just after 17 minutes, with Garcia playing piercing lines until things quiet down a bit at 17:40; Garcia immediately signals Bright Star, which again begins in a bit if a lull (compare 04-11). The drums sit the first part out; when they return at 18:00, things again come to a peak, and again this is followed by Falling Star, from whence we return to the main theme and then the verse, although not before things almost fall apart.


This is one of the tightest and most intense Dark Stars we’ve heard. Once again, it seems like it had the potential to get stranger than it did. There’s little to complain about, though, as this is a stupendous rendition.


What was said:


Archtop:


The 4/12/69 DS is indeed something of a landmark. It's decidedly well-grounded while, at the same time, pushing new ground over familiar waypoints.


Mr. Rain:


I didn't think this Dark Star was as far out of the norm as you did, or any giant step forward....seems like there have been others just as tight & intense. But it's still an excellent A+ version, for sure.
Bear recorded on cassette again; fortunately this copy isn't as battered as 4-11 was. About the same mix as usual, with Phil & Jerry up front; TC's present but inconspicuous.

Big cut at the start...might be missing a couple minutes. I think there's usually at least a minute or two of jamming before Jerry plays the main theme, which starts this tape. Mickey's on guiro (switches to gong for the verse, as always). The band already sounds jacked-up as you say....Jerry does a minute-long tease of the theme before he returns to it at 2:00, and he has a biting delivery. He seems to sing the verse more forcefully than usual, too.
It's funny when Jerry kind of accidentally hits his standard '68 post-verse lick, sounding like he's forgotten how to play it -- 'oops, not that' -- before he gives us his tolling bell. Big buildup with feedback on this -- then when he soars out of it at 4:30, Bill can't wait to join in, he's right there on drums. Things get intense fast: this is going to be a more aggressive Dark Star. A driving jam hurtles forward with Jerry doing some cool muted rhythm for a bit. (Big surprise when he briefly breaks out some volume-knob turns at 7:40; those rarely show up in Dark Star).
Mickey makes the guiro known. Jerry turns on his Sputnik tone with some feedback, nice moment of anticipation, then he plunges right into it.... This does seem early for a Sputnik to show up and the others keep playing normally -- there's some off-mic shouting after 8:40, and they regroup and join Jerry in his Sputnik. Things get wild, tapping & feedback & rhythms going off-kilter...it fades out, then returns. (Notice the percussion: Mickey's matching Jerry's guitar with his scrapes, while Bill continues on the drumset.) It comes to an end around 10:50 -- Mickey dashes to the gong while Jerry scrapes out mechanical noises, Phil droning & Bob doing some cool support in the back. Then it's time to break out the insect weirdness! Jerry's especially piercing in this...but the others are gradually building back up to the regular jam behind him, and he joins them once more. The mood's a little more floaty than it was before the Sputnik, but still relentlessly driving, not as dreamy as some previous versions. (Bill's still drumming away, Mickey's back on guiro.)
The jam gets very rock & roll-y around 13:30, then Jerry hits the verse melody, very aggressively -- maybe too much so, I think he breaks a high string at some point after 14:20 and has to drop out for a couple minutes while he puts a new string on. The others carry on with a nice gentle little jam -- finally, I notice TC doing something! (just his ordinary licks). This is a good spot to notice Bob's quirky rhythm playing, not so different from what he'll do later in the China Cat jams.
At 16:30 Jerry announces himself with some feedback and comes back in. The jam quickly ramps up again, and Jerry hits on a nice transition to a cheerful Bright Star. (And boom, at 18:00 both drummers come pounding in!) This ends with the Falling Star lick again, really intense....Jerry wants to change it around this time, he plays around it a little differently and tries on-the-spot to find a new transition to the main theme. The others ease him down gently....just like 4-11, they fade to extreme quietness before the verse, softly bringing us back home.

Whew, what a trip. Nothing "new" here really, everything's what you'd expect from the last few versions, but played really fiercely. (I think changes & developments at this point are going to be incremental anyway, tiny shifts that won't be apparent right away.) With Dark Stars coming almost every date on this tour, it looks like the trend toward harder-edged playing & wilder Sputnik spaces will continue.


JSegel:


Utah! Well then. A concert put on by the Students for a Democratic Society two months before emergence of the Weathermen from within their ranks.

Dark Star is a set opener for the second set, and they sound ready to explore, Jerry rips it up within a couple minutes and then settles down for a theme, which immediately mutates and dies off into the verse, hit before 3 minutes! (…There’s missing audio, of course.)

The bell comes in after the verse, while the rest of the guys were starting a jam, but they feedback and mallet right in, and then JG goes off again with a bright tone, and switches it up for some windy ways with Phil and Bill, in with the trap set already. Some nice little eddies in the current, plenty of little waves within a bigger jam with a lot of forward momentum from the band, drums pushing it. This is a pretty exciting version! Lots of exploration in the “normal” mode (E Dorian-ish). Jerry comes down to have a little rhythmic jam with Bob, then goes out of it with some volume swells and back to the exploration. Up and down, settling into a Sputnik. With drums. Somebody in the audience is thrilled! Drums lead a big Sputnik buildup, into a chordal rhythm jam on the chord. This is all still before the 10 minute mark!

Now that the volume has back off, we’re still in the Sputnik space, but with weird guiro and chord jams. Aha, I hear string scrape noises, we may be entering a sound improvisation, and JG goes into the insect tone (We gotta figure out how he does this... I have an SG and I've sort of tried a bit, got some idea that he's tapping on the bridge and it's microphonically being picked up by the pickups or sending the impulse down the length of the string, but I haven't tested it at higher volumes.) However, with Bill in there, it still has a pulse and forward-moving rhythm. It does get weird, but comes out into a tone-rolled-off section of lead playing with a few experimental out-of-mode notes crying out, stretching the sounds. It sounds like heading toward a bright star theme area, at 14 they go through the song-form theme, with really strong line 2 spy rhythm, but then weirdly as line three starts they go astray, it all dies down into a quieter area with some Bobby jamming and TC wandering around. TC does some riffing, JG has dropped out. String change? I bet he broke a string during the song-form statements. Bob playing super melodically with his chords and hammer ons, Phil jamming along.

Jerry comes back, maybe he was just lighting a cigarette. He’s back in the eight notes, heading to the higher register but taking his time to state a bright star theme, when he gets there, Phill is up in his higher areas too, and they rock out on the initial 5th, E-to-B, part of the riff, and as it builds, JG stretches the notes to make ‘em cry. Theme proper a little after 19 minutes, as it quiets down to get to verse 2.

People applaud at the return of the singing, wow, we all came along and got here with you!

The multi-part vocal ending leads perfectly into the outro, toward St Stephen. Nice one!


Adamos:


Nice grungy tone from Jerry as the tape cuts in; after the 40 second mark they shift into a dreamier vibe, deep and low, but still some bite. First verse, gong wash and bell tolls, then starting around 4:30 Jerry takes off again soaring upwards. There’s a nice musical tapestry being woven over the next few minutes and you can feel the power and intensity they’re bringing; it’s got an edge.

Sputnik comes into play early-ish and it has excellent bite too; I’m really digging the sound of this performance. Starting around 9:50 Jerry has a repetitive screechy thing going for a bit then things briefly quiet down before wandering into weirdness.

After 12:35 they’re back into a more structured flow but it still has a different feel; starting at 13:05 Jerry does another repetitive thing but it’s lower and then this shifts into a faster paced, edgy groove until they find their way to the verse melody, which is sharp edged too!

Starting around 14:45 Jerry fades back and TC and the percussion come forward, accented by Phil and Bob. The broken string theory makes sense but it turns out to be a nice interlude that gets cooking pretty well. By 16:35 Jerry is back in the fold.

From there they build to a nice peak before rising yet again into Bright Star and then Falling Star. Things are somewhat less edgy now; it’s more a triumphant declaration of awesome. Then the main theme and second verse bring it home. An interesting and compelling performance.

52. 1969-04-11

15404 Tucson 19:59
Main theme at 1:21 and 4:02.
First verse at 4:29.
The Main Ten at 9:40.
Sputnik at 11:54 (11:37?).
Verse melody at 15:09.
Bright Star at 16:13.
Falling Star at 17:10.
Main theme at 17:29.
Second verse at 18:22.
Goes into St. Stephen.


This is a very noisy recording. The beginning section chugs right along, with some nice work by Garcia, who goes to the main theme rather early at 1:21, and then takes off again. The rest of the band stays pretty close to the main theme, however. At 2:28 there is a quasi-Bright Star, which brings things to an early peak, and finally gets the band out of the two-chord theme pattern for a while; just as things start to get interesting, though, we head back to the theme.


After the verse there is a quiet little interlude before Garcia begins tolling. Lesh breaks out of this a few moments before Garcia does. The overall feel is brooding, rather than triumphant, as the middle jam begins. Things start to get busy a bit before 9 minutes in, but it stays kind of dark. At 9:17 Garcia starts playing a repeated lick, and TC copies him; when Garcia changes the lick, TC stays with him for a little while.


Garcia continues to employ repetition, giving this almost a ritualistic feel. At 9:40, the band starts playing The Main Ten riff; Garcia joins in with the riff at 10:15. The playing gets very subdued shortly after the 11 minute mark, and Sputnik seems imminent.


At 11:37, Garcia starts playing a rolling figure that is almost, but not quite, Sputnik. At 11:54 this turns into Sputnik proper. TC is playing a swirling figures that gives this a unique flavor. The beat is a little syncopated on the back half; this Sputnik swings a little bit. It gets a little cacophonous at the end, in a very good way. Garcia has turned on the insect weirdness, but he holds back with it until 14:00. Here there seems to be a moment of confusion, although it’s not too detrimental; somebody yells something, and the band is in a bit of disarray.


This never gets too spacey; it gets swirly, however, and the band flies out of this with the verse melody. This brings things up but they quickly settle back down, and the band is again playing pretty quietly. Garcia gently lays in Bright Star at 16:13, and they start to build to a head. Falling Star seems to be standard here once again, and this one peaks nicely, and then they head right back to the main theme. This time they take it down so far that they almost stop playing before the second verse comes in at 18:22.


This one is kind of dark, but with plenty of dramatic parts. It would have been a good one to get spacey with, but they never break into anything really weird. The appearance of The Main Ten riff casts doubt on recent reports that David Crosby wrote this riff…


What was said:

51: 1969-04-05

136650 Avalon 17:27
Main theme at 2:01.
Main theme at 3:36.
First verse at 3:59.
Sputnik at 9:40.
Bright Star at 14:32.
Falling Star at 15:12.
Main theme at 15:31.
Second verse at 15:53.
Goes into St. Stephen.


Dark Star emerges from one of the more substantial transitions out of “Mountains of the Moon” that we have encountered, a full two and a half (wonderful) minutes. Garcia jumps right in after the introductory riff, and Phil is likewise raring to go. The feeling early on is more frenetic than ruminative, however; we get to the theme rather quickly, and just as quickly it dissipates, but the early jamming all stays rooted in the chord structure of the song. At 2:30 Garcia is playing some almost surf-y double stops, which turn into a kind of rhythmic chopping, until just after the three minute mark things finally wind down; for a moment it seems like they’re tying to open it up, but instead it goes right to the theme and then the verse.


The middle jam begins dramatically; after a post-verse build-up that establishes a mood of tension, Garcia swoops in with a darkly incandescent lead tinged with feedback and dissonance. At 5:51 the guitar poses a woozy question, responding to itself at 5:57 with a high, piercing assertion that loses none of its forcefulness as it moves into a series of elaborations.


Lesh pushes and pulls underneath the guitar, at times dropping back to dramatic effect, and then rushing forward again. At 6:14, the bass emphatically rests on a low A, seeming to call for a reset and a reestablishment of the main theme; when Garcia responds by settling into a repeating pattern that seems headed for a resolution, Lesh starts pushing again and the guitar begins to rise in pitch and intensity once more. At 6:54 there is another lull, this time initiated by Garcia, and then things resume in a bit more subdued fashion. Things soon start to build yet again, and there is a little peak beginning at around 8:25. At 8:47, Garcia starts playing a choppy, muffled staccato bit, and the band again starts to wind down a bit, as everyone seems to be trying to get to Sputnik before working themselves into a lather too soon.


The Sputnik that follows seems relatively brief. Both halves begin softly and build in intensity as they progress, but overall this one is somewhat subdued. The band keeps playing in Sputnik mode for a little while after Garcia finishes playing his licks. When he finally switches on the insectoid effect, things keep chugging along, and it seems like there isn’t going to be a space section, until it finally arrives at a little before the 12 minute mark.


Things don’t stay too spacey for too long, but instead there is an odd little jam where Garcia is stabbing and perhaps hinting at a Bright Star, Lesh is dancing around him, and the rest of the band sort of hovers, which is something at which they will become increasingly adept. In the midst of this, at 14:13, Jerry begins playing what is recognizably a precursor to Bright Star (the beginning of which is consequently difficult to pinpoint), and the band builds to a peak. Falling Star, the main theme, and the second verse follow in short order.


This is dramatically different from the previous day’s Dark Star; there, the band seemed out of joint much of the time, whereas tonight they are locked in and listening closely to one another. What this lacks in force it makes up for with precision. Even when the band seems momentarily uncertain, they quickly figure out where they’re going and head there, and the jam after Sputnik seems to prefigure some of the more sophisticated collective improvisations to come.


What was said:

50. 1969-04-04

87542 20:21 (20:01)

Main theme at 3:53 (feint), 4:03 (feint), 4:19 (band minus Garcia), 5:05 (feint), 5:34 (band minus Garcia).
First verse at 5:44.
Sputnik at 12:24.
Main theme at 16:39.
Bright Star at 17:56.
Main theme at 18:24.
Second verse at 18:49.
Goes into St. Stephen.


Things sound rather out of tune at the outset, and a little disjointed. Garcia tears into the bass notes at 1:03 in a way he’ll continue to do on and off for several years, which is always nice. Weir seems further forward than usual here. TC gets rambunctious with a little ascending swell at 2:20; at this point, this seems to be becoming a common gambit in what seems like a fairly limited repertoire of moves.


Weir and Garcia have a sort of staggering, staccato thing going on in the early going. At 3:53, Garcia starts feinting the main theme; when he refuses to go there this causes a moment of confusion, and then the band swings into it without him. He does not follow suit, however, and they start to drift away from it again. Another feint at 5:05 eventually gets the band going without him again at 5:34, but Garcia never plays it, instead going directly to the verse at 5:44. Throughout this, there are moments of evident indecision…


After the verse, Lesh slows the tempo and plays the main theme again, and Garcia tolls. There is a nice little bit of TC in all this, and some cymbal swells, and maybe something is about to start happening…Garcia comes in with his lead line rather authoritatively at 7:30, adding to this impression. Not entirely unexpectedly, things weird out a little instead of going straight to a peak, however. Garcia and Lesh kick up a bit of a fuss from about 8:17, and TC chips in with another little ascending run. Just after around 8:40 the band is doing what we want them to do, gelling yet with everyone playing something completely different…


There is a rather remarkable downshift just before the ten minute mark, and magic seems to be in the air. This seems to settle down into a place of indecision again, however. By 11 minutes or so, Garcia, TC, and Kreutzmann are left alone for a little while…Lesh starts to come back in, but no one seems to know just what to do, and it starts to sound like we’re heading toward Sputnik; instead, Garcia at 11:49 starts a little staccato passage that could develop into something, but at 12:24 he opts for Sputnik after all. As is often the case lately, the first half of this is raucous, but instead of leading to a more contemplative second half this goes on for a while, with Garcia again playing staccato and omitting many of the notes. At 14:37 he shifts to the insect weirdness, and this leads to one of the most intense and extended space passages we’ve yet heard beginning at about 15:28.


By 16:22 Garcia is trying to break out of space, but the band doesn’t allow it yet; finally, he signals for, and gets, the main theme at 16:39. As this settles down around 17:38, Garcia starts to go into Bright Star, and gets there by 17:56. From there, it’s back to the main theme, and the verse.


This is an odd one. It is a bit disjointed, but has some very exciting moments, and more weirdness than you can shake a stick at, albeit mostly in flashes. There are no dramatic peaks, really; even Bright Star never goes over the top. The Sputnik and the following space segment, however, make this one that can’t be ignored.


What was said:

49. 1969-03-29

141435 Las Vegas 21:19 (21:01)
Main theme at 4:53.
First verse at 5:48.
Sputnik at 10:58.
Main theme at 15:25.
Verse melody at 16:12.
Bright Star at 17:20.
Falling Star at 18:18.
Main theme at 18:53.
Second verse at 19:46.
Goes into St. Stephen


“The next one we’re going to do is something we wrote especially for the Ice Palace here in Las Vegas. We wrote it this morning.”


--Mickey Hart


There is an interesting sort of swell at the beginning before Garcia starts playing lines. When he comes in, he’s in good form, with some excellent passages before the verse. There’s not a lot of exploration in the introductory jam, but by the time we get to the verse this would already be a top version from early 1968!


After the verse, Weir lays a base down and TC plays an ascending flourish before Garcia starts tolling; this time, Lesh is not highlighted in this section, unlike in other recent renditions. He comes to the fore a bit more as Garcia starts playing lead lines again, however. At the same time, TC and Weir recede a bit (at least in this mix) which somewhat mitigates what otherwise would be an early peak soon after the 9 minute mark.


There is a little dynamic retrenchment after this, and then Garcia gets things rolling again with some heavy riffing from about 10:25. This rather quickly pulls back into what feels like a sort of early Sputnik, however. Lesh makes this one rather heavy in the front half, with heavy notes that don’t come with an entirely predictable spacing. On the second half, Lesh plays a lighter series of runs, and the whole thing winds up in a little staccato interlude that is quite different and remarkable, before Garcia finally switches on the insect weirdness.


One of the drummers is scratching something quite loudly during this insect interlude, which soon gets hairy and weird. When Garcia switches back to a more quotidian tone, the jam gets heavy for a while. There’s a sudden break at around 15 minutes, though, which threatens to become a moment of confusion, so Garcia starts hammering on the main theme. It’s early yet, however, so rather than the verse, they follow this up with the verse melody.


This opens up into a rather furious section, with everyone going gangbusters right into a quasi-Bright Star at 17:20. Perversely, as Bright Star emerges, things quiet down a bit, but they build it back up before discharging it in a rather extended and spirited Falling Star. This leads directly to the main theme and the verse.


This is another excellent version, with outstanding work from Lesh and Garcia. It kicks up a fuss at times, but seems to hold back from going over the top. In small ways, they seem to be pushing and prodding at the form, and this yields some gratifying moments of weirdness although, as yet, these don’t last long. Very good overall.


What was said:

48. 1969-03-28

81543 Modesto 22:45

Main theme at 2:28.
Main theme at 4:32.
First verse at 5:56.
Sputnik at 13:53.
Verse melody at 18:01.
Bright Star at 18:35.
Falling Star at 19:17.
Main theme at 19:39.
Second verse at 21:07.
Goes into St. Stephen.


Garcia flicks on the bridge pickup and gets down to business early, welcoming us with a little feedback and some particularly limber licks. He goes to the main theme very early, but he doesn’t stay there, as this is not going to be a quick run-through like last time. However, the main theme seems to remain as a quasi-perceptible axis around which the early jam revolves, while at the same time Garcia at times seems to be pushing against the tonality of the piece a bit. One wonders whether he is starting to get restless with the harmonic form of Dark Star, which will of course be broken open in various ways in future days.


When Jerry returns to the main theme a couple minutes later, he really lays into it, and it seems like the verse is bound to follow. However, he unspools the theme into a repetitive little bouncy section which unloads itself into another piercing lead section, which in turn quickly winds down and then leads to the verse. A small detour, then, but nonetheless an interesting one.


The immediate aftermath of the verse again puts the spotlight on Lesh, which seems to be common lately, before Garcia starts banging around on the bell tones. The transition to the next section is remarkable, as Jerry again unleashes some feedback, from which his lead emerges like a spotlight through the fog. In fact, there is an awful lot of feedback on this version; it could almost be said to be the theme of this Dark Star, although it is never allowed to overwhelm things.


At about the 9 minute mark, Garcia is playing bouncy little leads, and then pausing as Weir answers him with little bursts of chiming chords, as if they are revving up for the jam. Then, at 9:35 they simultaneously dig in for a longer passage, with Weir acting as a springboard for Jerry’s soaring lead, until, at 10:04, Garcia brings it down to a repeating two-note figure which appears to be setting the stage for a Sputnik, or in any case another phase of the jam. Again, what stands out is how responsive they are to one another, and how genuinely collaborative the jams have become.


This settles into a spacey interlude, with feedback again playing a role. Lesh begins calling for the verse melody at around 10:37, but at 10:55 Garcia starts playing a bright melody unlike anything we’ve heard yet in Dark Star, and which reminds me of what he’ll play over the “Soulful Strut” modules that lie in the future. However, this makes its way back to more familiar territory in fairly short order.


By 12:55, the verse melody seems imminent, but instead the band comes to a rousing peak which functions much like Bright Star, without ever quite articulating the relevant notes. After cresting the peak, at 13:35 there is a somewhat sudden drop into a pre-Sputnik sequence until, at 13:53, Sputnik duly appears.


Tonight Garcia displays extra enthusiasm for the little double stops at the end of Sputnik, but then the band almost comes to a stop before the insect weirdness gets things moving again. One is almost tempted to count the passage beginning at 15:48 as the verse melody; the melody isn’t really played, although it’s hinted at, and we wind up dropping into E minor. As we flip back to the A, Garcia is playing some piercing and frenetic lines, and the excitement level is rather high.


At 18:01, Garcia clearly and powerfully initiates the verse melody, and the drop back to the E is charged by Lesh’s rather explosive remarks. After all that, they tear into a Bright Star that takes the whole thing over the top! This is followed by the heavens opening to emit a brain-piercing Falling Star.


Even the return to the main theme is remarkable tonight, as Garcia adds in grace notes and seems to roll through the riff, then switches to a staccato peppering, so that rather than a return to normalcy, the appearance of the theme here is another opportunity for expression. Garcia lays the vibrato in thick on the second verse; he’s probably still excited by the jam he’s just played. Anyway, I know I am.

This is an absolutely outstanding Dark Star. It is one of the most dynamic, varied, and exciting renditions they have played up to this point. Absolutely outstanding. And, absolutely outstanding! What else can I say? Outstanding.


What was said:

47: 1969-03-22

8994 Pasadena 14:47
Main theme at 2:01.
First verse at 2:23.
Verse melody at 6:05.
Sputnik at 9:28.
Bright Star at 11:27.
Falling Star at 12:17.
Main theme at 12:42.
Second verse at 13:17.
Goes into St. Stephen.

TC is still hammering the ROR at the beginning. Garcia sounds ready to go when the bell rings today; he gets some nice leads in before even a minute has passed. He seems quite attentive to his peers are doing—at around 1:17 he’s tickled by Weir is doing, and they tangle themselves up together for a while. At 1:41 a breach opens up and TC jumps in with some licks that Garcia then grabs ahold of and transforms beginning at 1:48.

However, the first verse comes quickly, despite all that promise. Garcia picks up where he left off at the close of the verse, bouncing bright guitar leads off the band. At 4:35 there is a quasi-Bright Star passage, and this breaks out again at the 5 minute mark. This leads to a series of little peaks; Lesh and Weir are pushing, and Garcia is quite responsive. They quiet down at around the 6 minute mark, and Jerry puts in the verse melody, which allows them to kick it up again, a bit, on the E minor.

All three string players are effusive here, with Weir ascending above Jerry for a while, which adds to the sense of excitement. They all seem tuned in to one another quite closely tonight; as if by prior consensus, they reel it in at about 7:18, and Garcia begins his bell-like tolling on another E minor. This results in a little build-up which is full of promise and foreboding, and soon Garcia is hinting at a Sputnik in the offing.

At 8:58 Garcia returns them to an A major, and submits some brighter licks. The tension mounts until a taut Sputnik finally emerges at 9:28. Garcia comes out with his weird insect sound, which he doesn’t stay with for long this time, instead building things back up, with both drummers engaged and adding to the urgency, as they push toward Bright Star. This continues the tense and urgent mood, pounding rather than flowing, until it is discharged in a (now somewhat rare) Falling Star.

At this point they are ready to wrap it up. It’s not clear whether there was a time constraint, or whether they felt they’d already poured so much concentrated energy into Dark Star that there was nothing left to do with it; the former seems more likely, given the short renditions of the songs that follow. For all its brevity, however, this is a fantastic version, with not a dull moment in it. There are deeper versions, and ones that range farther, but I pronounce this the little Dark Star that could!


What was said:

46. 1969-03-15

28798 San Francisco 20:30
Main theme at 4:35.
Main theme at 5:48.
First verse at 6:18.
Sputnik at 12:57.
Verse melody at 16:59.
Bright Star at 17:58.
Second verse at 18:53.
Goes into St. Stephen.


Dark Star follows Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl. TC is audible here on the ROR, but not very loud. Garcia plays some cool stuff, with little harmonic flourishes and insistent bass runs, but while the intro is not exactly low energy, it’s not up to much either, as it all sounds a little rote.


On the other hand, there are little variations and moments of interest that inspire hope for tonight’s offering, such as the little peak from around 4:15 that leads into the main theme. They are not ready for the verse right away, so some more jamming ensues. There is some weird drumming beginning at 5:07 that sounds like someone is banging on a chair, but it turns out to be Garcia scraping his strings! They return to the main theme, and cast it out very gently as a dynamic valley opens up for the verse.


After the verse Garcia lays out for a little while before he enters with his bell tones; when he fires up the lead at 8:22, he sounds like he means business. His runs before the ten minute mark seem to fire Phil up, and they lock in a little. This sequence represents a fairly typical instance of Dark Star dynamics in this era: Jerry and Phil kick up some dust and the band is flying at 10:04, when they start to take it back down, so by 10:18 Garcia is playing some delicate runs, and things start winding down; then they start building it back up again, so by 11:20 the band is hitting another little peak; and, by 11:45, they are again playing fairly quietly.


Garcia pedals on some pre-Main Theme licks for a bit, but it soon becomes evident they are heading for Sputnik, which has become sort of the main event of the middle jam lately. This one gets reasonably gnarly for a bit, and Jerry comes out of it with his weird insect sound again, in what seems to be standard operating procedure now. This part is pleasingly weird tonight although, as is usual for the era, they don’t linger with the weirdness for long, as they quickly build up, cowbell in tow, to the verse melody. The E minor bit builds to a quite stirring Bright Star, and then the band winds down and eases into the second verse.


It’s a nice rendition, not earth-shattering but not chopped liver. That’s all I’ve got!


What was said:

45. 1969-03-02

3344 Fillmore West 20:27 (20:23 actua


Main theme at 5:11.
First verse at 5:34.
Sputnik at 12:15.
Verse melody at 16:42.
Main theme at 17:18.
Bright Star at 17:41.
Main theme at 18:25.
Second verse at 18:51.
Goes into St. Stephen.


This opens the show. The tempo feels brisk tonight, and this feels a bit busy from the outset, as though everyone has had a few cups of coffee. Garcia begins with the tolling bell sound before playing some opening leads. TC, who is audible tonight, unleashes a wild little ascending swirl at 2:47, and Garcia responds with some mirroring lines, in a sort of reversal of their usual roles, although TC never really takes over.

From about 3:30 there is a bouncy little passage that has a quasi-Sputnik feel to it. Everything feels a little frenetic; the mood is not relaxed tonight. At 4:35, Garcia starts pushing toward the main theme, and we get to this and then the verse in short order. There are some nice bass figures after the verse before Garcia starts tolling. When Garcia comes in at 7:39, things seem to be a little calmer than they were in the intro section. He seems to be playing off TC again for a while, which is a promising development.

So far there are several interludes where they seem to be revving up for something, but it’s never clear exactly what. After a bit of treading water around the 9 minute mark, they somewhat unexpectedly ease into a subdued, spacey place, although even this seems a little jittery around the edges tonight. The return trip, however, is measured and fairly satisfying, as they take their time building back up.

Sometime before the 12 minute mark they seem to have returned to full strength, but it’s not clear what they’re aiming for…on the one hand, it’s a mark of maturity that they don’t feel the need to break into a full crescendo after such a soft interlude; on the other, the jam feels a little bit aimless. At 12:15, Garcia begins softly playing some Sputnik licks, and this solves the problem of a destination, for now. TC plays some dramatic flourishes in the Sputnik that I don’t think we’ve heard before, although I may be mistaken. At around 13:35 Garcia is playing a very staccato take on Sputnik, and these factors make this one different from what we usually expect.

Jerry again comes out of it with the “insect weirdness” (JSegel’s term) effect deployed, and he stays with it for a while here. As we’ve heard him do lately, Garcia begins sketching the outlines of Bright Star at 15:50 or so, which then seems to be heading to the main theme, before instead discharging itself in the verse melody. They quickly move to the main theme, but then we do get a Bright Star section, and a nice little crescendo, though nothing too dramatic. After a quick return to the theme, the second verse comes, and we’re out.

This is a fine version; the band is playing at a very high level in this period, with a sophistication and sensitivity that astounds the listener who has followed the development of the song thus far. For all that, this one seems a little understated. Almost every Dark Star since the Dream Bowl versions has seemed a little restrained, with the obvious exception being 02-27; it’s to their credit that they don’t shoot for a crushing peak every time out, as this would get predictable and boring—assuming, of course, that there are ongoing, attentive listeners, rather than a concert-going public who may never hear another version. This one in particular doesn’t seem to try too much, or go too far, but I’d still emphasize that the baseline for Dark Star has gotten very high.


What was said:

44. 1969-03-01

138788     Fillmore West    22:58

Main theme at 7:08.
First verse at 7:42.
Verse melody at 15:22.
Sputnik at 16:36.
Main theme at 19:52.
Bright Star at 20:25.
Main theme (briefly) at 21:09.
Second verse at 21:24.
Goes into St. Stephen.


This one comes after Mountains of the Moon, but for some reason the latter comes to a stop before Dark Star commences. TC is pretty loud on this version of the show, and the ROR rings out like days of old for a little while at the beginning, with an added little walk-up in between licks. As some of our commenters have pointed out, TC seems to shadow Garcia, and he never really takes the lead, but it is nice to hear him here as he provides another textural element. One thing that stands out here is how interesting and responsive Weir’s guitar playing has gotten on this song; although I think I’ve said that before, he continues to develop, and to impress.

Garcia comes in sounding thick and hazy on the Gibson tonight, and things seem to be happening early, in contrast to the last version. The instruments bunch together and kick up a little fuss right away, and by around 2:11 they’re hitting an early peak. Then they start to unspool it, and from around 3:00 there is a wonderful interlude where things get spacier and quieter until Garcia and then Weir start to insert little stabs that are reminiscent of the lead-up to Bright Star on the 27th.

They are taking their time tonight, and from 4:35 Jerry, Phil and TC ascend together as things get tighter and louder again, but they keep it reigned in, not going for another peak here, but rather they seem interested in pursuing a different new way to bring things together, with a light and loose mien that bespeaks a casual confidence in ones co-instrumentalists. At 4:55 Garcia and Lesh unleash a series of notes that sounds like they coordinated it beforehand, but is certainly just a serendipitous moment. This moves into a loping groove where they are again feinting and jabbing. At 6:17 TC seems to be feeling his oats, as he uncorks an organ burst that makes one think how rarely we hear such a thing. This leads to a little peak, albeit a relaxed one, that again winds down until Garcia starts the main theme at 7:08.

Here they are playing loosely and quietly, but not in a sloppy way; rather, the band seems to be delighting in the variety of moods that Dark Star occasions. Some nights the main theme comes in when they are at the peak of a crescendo; other times it rises from a soft interlude; here they are loosely and joyfully conversing, and it’s thrown out like an offhand remark. Everyone seems happy to hit the strings lightly and let the beat take care of itself, and it is in this same effervescent spirit that the verse comes easing in.

Lesh seems to finally be straining at the bit as the verse ends and the band fires up again, with Garcia playing the familiar bell tones. There is an intense, remarkable passage from 9:45 to 10:07, led by Lesh and Constanten with an assist from Weir, that blows through like a rainstorm, and when the band resumes normal operations it is with a greater sense of earnestness and focus. The jam is light and airy, but it feels more propulsive now, like it’s heading somewhere.

At 11:00, Garcia starts a windup that seems like it’s heading for Sputnik, and TC plays a syncopated accompaniment; this is his best Dark Star so far, as he manages to insert himself into the middle of whatever is happening at most points. Rather than Sputnik, this leads to a couple of little peaks beginning around the 12 minute mark, and Garcia gives us flashes of the main melody in between his more rhythmic expressions. At 12:48, things settle down again, and Jerry is playing with his volume knob. Then they build it back up a little, and tear it down again.

At 13:41 TC takes the lead! We have seen him be reluctant to do much with his opportunities before now, but he gets some nice licks in here. And he breaks out a new sound and takes another, rather loud, lead spot at around 15:02, although this is somewhat short-lived as Jerry soon breaks out the verse melody. As they clamor around the E minor TC is hanging in, but Garcia seems inclined to take charge again.

At 16:22 Jerry briefly flashes the main theme, and things seem to be in limbo for a few moments until Sputnik commences. TC plays some wild swirling passages the first time through, and then it all quiets down on the back half. Garcia engages his post-Sputnik effect and plays around with the verse melody a little, and check out Weir’s little swell at 16:38.

At 19:30 Garcia seems to want to build to a peak, and Lesh is happy to help, but before too much fur flies Jerry swings into the main theme. But they play around with it and it takes us to another little jam, and then they take a run through Bright Star which is perhaps a bit perfunctory. After a brief stab at the main theme, there is a neat little slowdown just before the final verse, which is taken at an elongated tempo.


If the 27th was triumphant and the 28th was brooding, my one-word adjective for this Dark Star would be “playful.” They seem to be reveling in their increased, and still increasing, sensitivity and responsiveness to one another, as they find Dark Star taking them places that perhaps they did not realize they could go. This is another fantastic version, and the horizon for Dark Star seems to expand every time they play it.


What was said:

43. 1969-02-28

139196 Fillmore West 20:04
Main theme at 3:27.
First verse at 4:06.
Sputnik at 11:12.
Verse melody at 17:26.
Main theme at 18:09.
Second verse at 18:30.
Goes into St. Stephen.


Dark Star comes out of Other One tonight. TC is at times more prominent in this particular mix (although this is not consistent), and we hear him come in right away with the ROR. Although it isn’t flashy—in fact it’s generally fairly simple—tonight’s mix allows us to hear how TC’s playing has become increasingly complementary and effective. Garcia sounds out of tune at the outset.

The introduction today has a distinct feel—not exactly tentative, but it lacks drama and direction, as though the band is holding open a space that was already there and waiting for them; rather than trying to get something happening, they go to the verse fairly early here. Garcia does something different with the exit from the verse this time, playing with the volume knob for a bit before he reverts to the familiar bell sound. He hammers on this for what seems a little longer than usual, and when he starts his lead it is in a questioning mood, as opposed to the confident burst of the previous night. The band is attuned to this mood, and the jam begins in a brooding manner. The music gains intensity as Garcia plays a quasi-Bright Star passage beginning at 8:21. As with the previous night, the dynamics of the band are subtle, as they avoid going all in early, while hitting smaller crescendos such as this one. Again, the variety of volume and intensity suggests that they are all paying close attention to one another.

Some feedback spikes lead into Sputnik, and these continue throughout this section; I had a hard time determining who was generating it, as all three string players are otherwise audible throughout, but I think it must be Weir (and Mr. Rain corroborates this below).

As Sputnik ends in a swell of feedback, the band almost comes to a halt, with Lesh and Garcia hinting at the main theme until Weir starts playing a funky little riff (13:35) which they latch onto, with Lesh eventually integrating his part for the verse. This goes on for several minutes. Garcia lays out until around 15:05, when he enters and starts building (apparently) toward Bright Star or something functionally similar. This opens up a space for TC, but he doesn’t do much with it; his playing is an important part of this Dark Star but, although he has complained that Garcia didn’t give him enough room, he doesn’t seem to want to be a lead player.

At 16:38, Garcia starts playing a circular passage that seems to be heading for one of the familiar peak moments, and by 17:01 he sounds like he’s heading for Bright Star; instead, he winds up playing around the verse melody, until the latter bursts forth in earnest at 17:26. This serves for a denouement, as they soon head for the verse.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this Dark Star is that it’s so different from the night before, as they executed that one so successfully, but there is no attempt to replicate the results of the 27th. Instead, we get a rendition that has a markedly different feel—this feels brooding and deliberate, and while the playing is confident and intense, they avoid any dramatic peaks tonight. There are lots of interesting things happening, and it seems that we’ve entered a new era—not in the sense that we now know what to expect, but rather that the scope of our expectations has greatly expanded. It feels like faint praise to say that this is one of the best versions they have yet played, as the leap forward on the 27th makes that the only version fit for comparison, so I will just note that this is a really good one!


What was said:

42. 1969-02-27

Live/Dead Fillmore West 23:07 (~21:52 actual)
Main theme at 5:00.
First verse at 6:03.
Sputnik at 11:16.
Verse melody at 13:10.
Bright Star at 20:08.
Falling Star at 20:40.
Main theme at 20:48.
Second verse at 21:25.
Goes into St. Stephen.


The Live/Dead recording begins with the tail end of Mountains of the Moon, with Dark Star coming in around 1:15, give or take a few seconds (as MOTM turns to Dark Star intro noodling, which turns into the intro proper at 1:19--or a couple seconds prior, as the first time through the opening lick is apparently counted as part of the noodling, since they play it three times instead of the customary two). The recording begins a few seconds before Garcia returns with the electric guitar, and the band starts heading toward Dark Star.

We have a great mix from the multitracks here, with Weir in particular more clear and present than usual without being overbearing. Garcia hangs back until the two minute mark, and when he comes in his line is clear and confident and, like much in this rendition, it sounds almost like a modular lick or a worked out part. It is impossible to listen to this with innocent ears as, like many Deadheads, there is a part of my brain that has entirely been rewritten by this version of Dark Star. Nevertheless, it strikes me that the playing here is notably confident and lyrical right from the beginning. Garcia’s opening salvo sounds like it is already pushing toward a peak moment, yet at the same time it is measured and does not discharge the song’s energy prematurely. Lesh is almost in the pocket here (for him!), playing low and authoritative lines that keep the song anchored and the energy controlled. With Weir so high in the mix, it is remarkable to hear how confident and creative his lines are, at times butting up against the lead guitar and challenging, at others providing a soft and bouncy cushion for Garcia’s more speculative lines.

Lesh and Weir seem particularly consonant, building the framework of the song and creating dramatic openings for Garcia. From 2:35 until 2:41, when Jerry lays out for a few moments, we can hear how closely the other two string players are working in tandem; Jerry then returns with some volume knob swells. He has the bridge pickup engaged now, and his whimsically hazy, vaguely Eastern lines beginning at 2:47 threaten to break things open, but he broadly hints at the main theme a few times, as if to remind everyone that they have not yet earned a peak. And indeed, the group dynamic throughout this opening section is focused and consistent; this is no doubt abetted by the presence of solid drumming, at first discreet but increasingly pronounced, as Kreutzmann’s drums play a larger role in this rendition than we have heard heretofore.

By 3:50 the intensity has been raised a notch or two, but even amidst this there is a remarkable little dynamic valley at about 4:25. Coming out of this, listen to how Weir mirrors Garcia; by moving into a higher register, he simultaneously generates excitement and preserves the sense of lightness and mobility that makes us feel that the band has room to go farther, harder, and deeper. At 4:55 Garcia is again subtly gesturing toward the main theme; Weir and Lesh are listening closely, as they are already playing the theme when Jerry swings into it at 5:01, and his appreciation for the cohesion of tonight’s group mind is evident in the way he gussies up the theme with some slides, ad libbed asides, and palm muting.

TC has been very low in the mix through all this, but he finally starts to come through a bit more from around 5:36. After the verse there is some very melodic playing from Phil, and then Garcia begins, at first softly, to play the tolling bell sound. Phil plays a high counterpoint to this, and then at 8:07 Garcia’s entrance to the middle jam seems to explode out of the speakers. The increased capacity of the band to create drama is profoundly evident even in the lead-up to the middle jam tonight. The cohesion of the group makes every transition seem consequent and deliberate. Following the progression of the song is like witnessing the stately (from a distance) formation of a solar system; at the same time, a closer look at the planetary level, so to speak, reveals micro-ecologies teeming with the most vibrant lifeforms. Listen at 8:15, as things are kicking into gear; Lesh drops down and slows his line slightly, which in turn leads Garcia to play more quietly at 8:21; he begins circling and revving the engine while, at 8:27, Lesh starts to climb; this leads to a small peak at 8:43, which drifts down to another little valley at 8:50. In this way, the level of alertness and mutual responsiveness among the band members makes for a trajectory that is, in detail, strikingly mobile and articulated, while at the same time giving one the sense that it is all headed somewhere, when looked at from a wider angle.

Shortly after the 9 minute mark, the band decides that we’ve had enough excitement for now, and it is time for a more pronounced and sustained dynamic downshift. The following segment is almost like a negative photographic image of the previous couple of minutes, as here and there miniature, understated peaks poke their heads above the clouds, so that we’ve gone from a section of high intensity with little valleys to a more subdued section with small crescendoes. The upshot of all this is that the band is playing with such sensitivity and sophistication that not only are they effectively employing dynamics, but they are leavening them with micro-dynamics that keep the whole thing just off the boil while still providing plenty of drama.

At 10:29 Garcia advances the proposition that things need to get spacier, and the band heads toward Sputnik. The first half of Sputnik ratchets toward a point of angry intensity from which the second half recedes. Garcia switches on his post-Sputnik effect and goes right into the verse melody; Lesh takes it to the customary E minor, but Jerry stays on the 5th, which reduces the impact of the shift to minor, which proves to be a brief interlude tonight. But Garcia stays with the guitar effect, and by about 14:20 the band has gone into space, in one of the weirdest passages they have played thus far in their career. This does not last long, regrettably; Garcia and Kreutzmann seem to simultaneously have the same idea, laying out a groove that will lead the band back to less recondite territory. They start to take it back up, and at 15:49 Garcia is calling for Bright Star, but giving the rest of the band time to build up to it.

Now they all seem to be heading in the same direction, and this section features some of the most effective playing from TC that we’ve yet heard, although he is still underemphasized in the mix. But we do not yet arrive at Bright Star; again they pull back just after the 17 minute mark, repositioning themselves around Weir’s funky stabs. Beginning at 17:18 Garcia begins repeating a single note per measure, interestingly offset in the timing from the emphasis point Weir had been establishing, as if building a scaffolding for the peak to come; at 17:32, he begins to answer himself with a second, higher note at the midpoint between each measure, and then he starts to build it up again. As he fills in the intervening notes, it begins to sound like a prelude to the main theme, and it looks like the promised peak, which now seems far away indeed, may never arrive. Lesh seems to be gearing up for the denouement of a return to the theme. Instead, Garcia once again launches into the verse melody, and this time the crash to E minor is emphasized, and indeed they use it as a launching pad to regain the momentum the band had seemingly left behind at the end of the previous jam.

Remarkably, however, the band quiets down again! Finally, at around 19:30, Garcia begins a repeating figure (featuring several shifts in tone; as we've seen on previous versions, he seems to be conversing with himself in different voices) that allows the band to build behind him; I didn’t realize until they were (finally) playing Bright Star proper at 20:08 that his line was basically the Bright Star notes, stripped down. In the end, then, we get the peak that had been teased and hinted at throughout, although this would scarcely be a lesser rendition without it, and a now-rare Falling Star ensues and leads us back into the main theme and, in turn, the second verse.



When I began listening to the Dead in the 1980s, this was the only Dark Star many Deadheads had ever heard (although the song was revived in 1989), and in any case was, and probably still is, the most famous version. And, of course, it is worthy of the adulation it has received. Like most forward leaps, this doesn’t come out of nowhere, as the Dream Bowl versions represented a distinct advance over what preceded them; still, it is hard to overstate the power and glory of this rendition.


What was said:

41. 1969-02-22

112691 Vallejo 22:19
Main theme at 4:42 and 6:43.
First verse at 6:54.
Verse melody at 10:06.
Sputnik at 14:05.
Bright Star at 18:57.
Main theme at 20:15.
Second verse at 20:41.
Goes into The Other One (Cryptical Envelopment).


This is preceded by a stupendous version of Mountains of the Moon and, unusually, goes into The Other One. The little jam after MOTM is a bit longer this time. Dark Star seems maybe a tad slower than usual, it has a stately feel to it. Garcia’s opening lead gradually intensifies into an authoritative groove, and TC seems a little more textural in the early going, as opposed to the noodly swirling he often purveys. This results in a relatively thicker sound, and things come to a sort of miasmic head at around 2:12—2:20 where everything seems to condense for a little while. The cohesiveness of the day before is in evidence as the band again sounds very much together, able to converge and bring things to a peak at will. An early highlight is the somewhat Sputnik-y series Garcia initiates at 3:36, which goes from descending arpeggios to double stops before bursting into a sunlit clearing at around 3:11. After the main theme a minute or so later, Garcia unleashes a wonderful little series of leads before heading to the verse, and just after the 6 minute mark the band sounds like they’re ready to explore a bit before they reel it in. At 6:30 this has become a little segment that is obviously pregnant with the main theme, which returns at 6:43 and quickly goes to the verse. They’ve taken their time with all this, but it all feels preparatory; as good as it is, the main effect is an adumbration of possibilities, as they seem a little restrained throughout the introductory part. Weir follows the verse with a bright, bouncing series of double-stopped lines in his usual inimitable fashion, and Garcia plays what sounds like a variation on the 1968 lick out of the verse at 8:13, and then launches into a lead that picks up in the same vein as it was left before the verse. When he turns up the heat a little at about 9:27, the others are in lockstep with him, and Garcia takes the power fed back to him and leads them to an emphatic statement of the verse melody. This keeps things simmering, as it seems like there are potencies here that are at the ready, but have not yet been tapped. After the verse interlude the band’s intensity has increased, but in a rather controlled, incremental way, as Garcia plays repetitious figures and then sets off on an ascending run at 10:57 which seems to point the way to a freer space just ahead. At 11:14 he is toying with the main theme but, perhaps realizing that it is early yet, he sets off for other climes. Garcia’s rolling lines from around 11:37, and particularly at 11:54, sound like something rehearsed or familiar, yet I don’t think we’ve heard it before, and he quickly moves on to other things. It’s probably happened very gradually, but Weir sounds utterly at home here…his playing is vital and creative, and he manages to vary his parts to suit the required intensities of the moment without ever sounding forced or out of place. This may be the biggest factor in the way that Dark Star sounds so cohesively mobile at this point; again, though, there is the sense that it has not yet gone everywhere it is capable, just now, of going. At 12:39 Garcia sounds like he’s going to head toward Sputnik, and again the band picks up on it immediately. But instead of Sputnik, there is a sparkling, twinkling peak, and it’s just a beautiful moment. The band then takes it down, and Jerry takes another run in the general direction of Sputnik, which finally comes in for real at 14:05. Garcia goes to the tolling bell sound at the tail end of Sputnik, and then Lesh suddenly sounds like he means business, firing off some darkly melodic runs as Garcia puts on the weird post-Sputnik effect, and we are almost in a little Space interlude. Garcia plays a melody with this that sounds like what he does on Live/Dead, but Lesh keeps thing spacy and Jerry starts playing with his volume knob. Immediately after, the counterpoint between Lesh and Garcia is magnificent, as Weir wisely keeps things simple with a binding chordal part in the middle of it all, until he begins to syncopate a little—this sets Jerry off, as the band goes into a variation of the main theme with offset rhythms that is one of the most sophisticated things we have heard in a Dark Star, if somewhat brief. This seems like it’s heading toward a Bright Star, which is one way to get everyone back on the straight and narrow without a mishap, and that is exactly what happens at 18:57, although the Bright Star theme is only briefly stated. And, soon enough, we have arrived at the verse.


The highlight tonight is, I think, the pre-Sputnik section.


The name of the Dark Star game, these nights in Vallejo, is cohesion and controlled experimentation. There is intensity here, but not in the form of explosive peaks; the band sounds very much in control of things and capable of peaking, should they choose, but they forgo such theatrics and keep things simmering; or, perhaps its more accurate to say that when the intensity increases it does so continuously, rather than breaking out as a sudden cloudburst. In this sense there is still something propaedeutic about these Dark Stars, yet they are very satisfying in their own right, and even exciting insofar as they show us a band and a song that now seem capable of feats that would not have been possible months, or even weeks, before. If the band was wiped out in a bus crash after the Vallejo shows, I think that the discerning listener may have surmised that the world had been deprived of future Dark Stars that would have reached new heights, and feel this as a loss for humanity. Fortunately, no such thing happened; my point, however, is that there is both palpable development here, and at the same time attainment, as the Dream Bowl both points to what is yet to happen, while at the same time displaying a power of execution that had not hitherto been reached.


What was said:

40. 1969-02-21

111780 Vallejo 20:38
Main theme at 6:44.
First verse at 7:34.
Verse melody at 13:11.
Sputnik at 14:14.
Bright Star at 18:12.
Main theme at 18:35.
Second verse at 19:05.
Goes into St. Stephen.


Garcia begins right away with a serious lead, playing vigorous trebly lines and hitting some variations on Bright Star and the main theme. There’s a nice TC moment from 3:00 to around 3:09 where he comes bubbling up in a way that nicely buoys Garcia’s lead. The latter is again using repetition to good effect here. At 5:05 things almost come to a halt as the band pauses to take stock of the situation. When they come back they are hinting at a minor key before things suddenly pick up again, but a little weirder this time. They finally arrive at the verse at 7:34, which makes this the longest intro to date (1-24 was at 7:30). Garcia comes out quietly after the verse, neither playing the 68 lick nor bell tolling, but by 9:30 he’s ready to take things up a notch. This time Weir is pushing right behind him, bolstering Garcia’s lead much like TC did earlier. Beginning at 10:41 Garcia plays a repetitive line that sends the band into a weird little groove; the extent to which they all seem to be listening to each other is remarkable here. This descends into quietness again; everyone seems concerned with dynamics this time out. Weir and Lesh play a slow groove as Garcia spins out some quietly stinging lines. After the verse melody, it seems like things are heading for a peak as Garcia plays a repetitive ascending lick (which I think we’ve heard before) but instead they go to Sputnik. Garcia again puts on the post-Sputnik effect, and this time he plays around with it for a little while as things pick up steam again briefly, before again simmering down and getting weird. This culminates in Garcia’s statement of the main theme in his lead at about 16:59. This functions almost like Bright Star insofar as it seems about to bring the band to a peak, but this does not happen; they circle around some more, and suddenly it seems like a Bright Star is absolutely necessary. That, of course, doesn’t mean it’s coming, but this time they take the obvious course and unleash Bright Star at 18:12. But, yet again, the band pulls back from the peak rather quickly!

This may be the most sophisticated Dark Star to date. It feels truly collaborative, as the band interacts closely throughout. In its dynamic mobility, it almost seems above such vulgarities as an ensemble peak of any real duration, but it keeps the listener on her toes all the more for that. This proves to be an engaging, even gripping, rendition.


What was said:

39. 1969-02-15

2175 Philadelphia 23:00 (actually 22:00)
Main theme at 3:54.

First verse at 4:53.
Verse melody at 12:40.
Sputnik at 16:18.
Bright Star at 19:37.
Second verse at 21:25.
Goes into St. Stephen.
Main theme at 20:40.



This is the second one we have that emerges from “Mountains of the Moon.” This has a nice jam in between, although once Garcia switches to electric it moves almost immediately to “Dark Star.” This one feels lighter than the day before. Garcia plays some of his tolling bell licks in the beginning, before launching into a hazy lead. After a repetitive series of ascending notes anchored by a repeated low tone that sounds like it’s heading for the main theme, Garcia first temporizes with another lead and some pseudo-Sputnik licks. After the verse, he goes back to the bell tone very briefly, but maybe he feels like he’s done it already since he quickly moves on. Weir and Lesh play it pretty close to the vest right after the verse, providing a light cushion for Jerry’s ruminations. Things almost come to a stop at 7:27, but the band relaunches right away with a weirder ensemble vibe, as Lesh in particular starts to wander a bit more. At about 8:53 TC and Weir step out front for a spell, as Garcia lays out. The playing here is quite textural, and no one seems to be advancing things much until Weir starts playing single notes at around 10:56, and the band slides into some evil circus music with TC swirling away. Weir goes back to comping, then back to a sort of lead at 11:50 or so. We can finally hear Garcia again at 12:08 but he’s hanging way back. Finally he breaks back in with the verse melody at 12:40. For some reason this doesn’t crash into the e minor but unwinds with some lead guitar with Lesh playing some fuzzy weird tones. Things shift a bit at the 15 minute mark with a mild increase of intensity, which is nevertheless short-lived. At around 16 minutes Garcia switches to the bridge pickup and begins gearing up for the coming Sputnik. Garcia again comes out of the Sputnik with a weird effect on his guitar, and he keeps it going a little bit longer this time, going back into a roll pattern. There is a scratcher or something scratching away in the left channel as Jerry kicks back into a more ordinary guitar sound and spins out more lead lines. The band hits a nice little bounce shortly after 19 minutes which takes them into Bright Star. This issues forth into a repetitive interlude that serves as a little windup for the main theme, which Garcia attacks with gusto.


There are nice moments here, but this one feels a bit like they are treading water for much of it. It burbles along without anything too momentous happening at any point.


What was said:

38. 1969-02-14

141006 Philadelphia 19:03.
Main theme at 4:23.
First verse at 5:38.
Verse melody at 9:37.
Sputnik at 11:36.
Bright Star at 15:21.
Main theme at 16:44.
Second verse at 17:22.

Goes into St. Stephen.


The intro is cut. This has a pretty slow tempo [it seems that this source runs slow!], and the stretch it out more than they have been doing recently. Garcia plays a unique chiming drone around 3:52 that touches on Sputnik before heading into the main theme. Instead of going to the verse, Weir starts playing a high chime as Garcia pokes around on the bass notes, and then it sort of abruptly goes to the verse. At the conclusion of the first verse, Garcia again plays tolling bell tones rather than the 1968 lick. At around 7:50 he gets a striking tone on the bass notes, and begins a hazy ascent to the heavens that culminates around 8:20 or so with some repeated higher figures, then begins to wind its way upward some more until it discharges into a high sustained note at 9:31, before heading into the verse melody. The E minor section after the verse melody is rather dark and dramatic this time. Garcia is playing long, fluid lines throughout this jam, and dipping into little pockets of repetition along the way, which give the band a chance to kick up behind him. The Sputnik appears rather abruptly at 11:36, and again Garcia plays with that distinct trebly, distorted tone at the end of it; as usual, this doesn’t last very long. There is a beautiful passage of distorted guitar, and then Bright Star seems to appear out of nowhere, before it turns into a kind of bluesy variation of the main theme which builds to a little peak at around 16:30.


This one is a little slower, and the overall effect is dark and sort of menacing at times. The themes sort of ooze to the surface rather than appearing in a discernible sequence. The result is aesthetically quite satisfying, as if we are being shown a particular tract of psychic space that Dark Star has thrown open to us.


What was said: