40 years ago today, the #gratefuldead at home in san rafael. spring ’84, show #2, 2nd of 4 benefits for the rex foundation. soundboard: https://archive.org/details/gd1984-03-29.sbd.walker-scotton.miller.32515.sbeok.flac16 [1/4]
Grateful Dead Live at Marin County Veterans Auditorium on 1984-03-29 : Free Borrow & Streaming : Internet Archive

Set 1: d1t01 - Walking The Dog d1t02 - Bertha -> d1t03 - The Promised Land d1t04 - It Must Have Been The Roses d1t05 - Little Red Rooster d1t06 - Bird...

Internet Archive
3/29/84 marin center: rufus thomas’s WALKING THE DOG opens, goofy R&B by weir & garcia, officially the 1st since ’70, probably learned from the stones, played by the zodiacs & warlocks & early dead & at a private party in ’81. on LITTLE RED ROOSTER, weir running his slide guitar solo through weird harmonizing pedal, crossing the line into noxious & kinda fun weirdness. sleepy 10-minute BIRD SONG, the sound of everybody rubbing their eyes. [2/4]
tightened MY BROTHER ESAU intro/middle, extra-deliberate lesh. 13-minute SHAKEDOWN STREET hits democratic thump, though garcia disappears a bit, also in beginning of 73-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > SPANISH JAM > THE OTHER ONE > WHARF RAT > SUGAR MAGNOLIA. weir watch: “the voices tell me what to take...” band glides into EYES at zippy ~135bpm. weir finds confident no-whammy jam groove. echoed balafon zone before long, leshed-out SPANISH JAM. [3/4]
notes from the golden road & memories of the dead in marin, today in 1984. #deadfreaksunite #gd032984 [4/4]
@bourgwick opening the mini era of Goofy Covers, which I know Hunter despised, and I get it, but I find it a welcome balancing aspect of the 84-86 relative nadir, bringing a sense of fun to what could sometimes be a fraught or ponderous affair
@mrcompletely @bourgwick At a point where I have few Dead blindspots, but as we begin the '84 listen along...it is a complete unknown to me. Exciting! Terrifying!
@detroitlightning @mrcompletely @bourgwick Yes, both exciting and terrifying. Well put.
@mangrovevalley @detroitlightning @bourgwick the beginning of the High Variance Era is really 1978 if not fall 77, but now we're in the heart of it. There are highs, but the graph is just all over the place

@mrcompletely @bourgwick This era was my wheelhouse for seeing shows, and honestly, the variety and novelty of that era was welcomed. We were not getting the deep jams and even lots of original material had dropped from the repertoire.

Also, Bob Weir was playing incredibly well in this era. His technique continued to progress and evolve.

@tonymasiello @bourgwick i started in 85 and still have a ton of affection for the shows from this era, I just cherry pick a bit

@mrcompletely @tonymasiello @bourgwick

Are we in Mid-Brent here in 84?

Early Brent, and Late Brent are better than Mid-brent.

I also have a fondness for some shows of this era, may be nostalgia, or perhaps some genuine goodness in the mix.

Cinci and Pittsburgh 85 come to mind.

As for covers, Gimme Some Lovin sometimes was great, sometimes a train wreck. The beatles Revolution was refreshing once or twice.

@tor_haxson @tonymasiello @bourgwick cinci 85 is a real nice one that clicks into ass kicking form for the killer Let It Grow and keeps it up for most of set two. The Cryptical performance is as sloppy as the rest of them from that year, but you could just throw it out and the show would still be really nice. Excellent tape too.
@tor_haxson @mrcompletely @tonymasiello @bourgwick 6/30/85 checks a lot of boxes for me. Great Phil/Brent covers in Gimme Some Lovin AND Keep On Growin’, Cryptical that’s just good enough, and maybe the best Shakedown of the 80’s.

Is this the Laser Pointer era?

I recall in Pittsburgh, and in Philly there was an audience member who would point a laser onto the stage.

iirc the crew would try and track him down in the stands.

You would see the laser pointer, sort of figure out the direction and then notice members of the crew head into the sands..

Probably a question for Big Steve.

@mrcompletely @bourgwick

Why Don't We Do It in the road is perhaps the goofiest of covers, but it was fun to see Phil so excited,

@tor_haxson @bourgwick why don't we do it is right up there. Big boy Pete takes the cake for me