7/31/71: yale bowl, new haven, CT.for years the only way to listen to this show was via a marty weinberg audience recording. weinberg showed up at yale with 6 hours' worth of 5-inch reels in his pack, and recorded the whole affair at 7 ½ speed on his trusty Uher 4000L portable. in 2008, a vault release (as part of the road trips series) featured outtakes from the performance. part of weinberg’s tape was used to patch a flip in the dark star, which sounded quite good in context. three years ago, as it often does in grateful dead land, the soundboard finally reared its head.the concert opens with a standout version of truckin,’ deftly played and loaded with clout. next, the boys break out a pair of first-timers. the sugaree is perfectly succinct; garcia’s tone is bright, with just the right amount of distortion and sustain. mr charlie is at its filthy best. pig’s raucous vocals and jerry’s badass, gun slinging guitar take this one over the top. the set continues in standard ’71 fashion with a rollicking mama tried, an extended version of big railroad blues, and an early, heavier, jam-free version of playing in the band. surprisingly, the moment the weir-barlow number ends, the lads launch right into dark star. a first set rarity, this one is a real doozy. the piece begins with the quintet immediately plunging into the depths of the music—in the first few minutes they flirt with several ideas without settling on anything. as they begin the verse riff, garcia changes his mind and they wander off again on a little side-trip into the void, suspending the momentum to hew something else. in time, lesh nudges the theme once more and they drop into the first verse at the 10 minute mark. from here the ensemble gathers steam, forcefully pushing their way into the abyss. the space is menacing, and the jam that ensues is turbulent, eerie and raging. at this juncture, jerry is so energized that he sounds as if he might burst, but the band manages to channel their focus into a new melodic jam that slowly settles down, out of which the dark star theme returns. the musicians groove on the theme, introduce another quieter jam, and then garcia decides to abort the second verse, signaling the others to stop, and they blast right into birdsong instead. this is the first time the hunter-garcia tune is connected to another song, and the only time they ever joined it to dark star. the arrangement on this day is delivered confidently with a real rocked-out feel throughout. the pairing is certainly the apogee of the show and, unquestionably, rates as one of the most interesting improvisational excursions of the year.the second set of the dead's ivy league visit is packed with the same vitality and ragged festivity as their first 100 minutes on the bandstand. along with a hefty supply of stage banter, a few highlights include a solid bertha, a fantastically charged china cat > know you rider with a unique bridge jam, a restrained, lilting sing me back home, the customary not fade away > goin’ down the road > not fade away, replete with tight, zesty rhythms (and a short, final foray into the short-lived youngbloods inspired darkness jam), and a heartfelt uncle john’s band > johnny b. goode double encore.recorded by rex jackson and digitally transferred by mr. charlie miller, this afternoon in new haven is worthy of repeated listenings. hitch your ears to it and see for yourself.
https://archive.org/details/gd1971-07-31.132730.sbd.miller.flac16/gd71-07-31d2t10.flac
7/31/71: yale bowl, new haven, CT.for years the only way to listen to this show was via a marty weinberg audience recording. weinberg showed up at yale with 6 hours' worth of 5-inch reels in his pack, and recorded the whole affair at 7 ½ speed on his trusty Uher 4000L portable. in 2008, a vault release (as part of the road trips series) featured outtakes from the performance. part of weinberg’s tape was used to patch a flip in the dark star, which sounded quite good in context. three years ago, as it often does in grateful dead land, the soundboard finally reared its head.the concert opens with a standout version of truckin,’ deftly played and loaded with clout. next, the boys break out a pair of first-timers. the sugaree is perfectly succinct; garcia’s tone is bright, with just the right amount of distortion and sustain. mr charlie is at its filthy best. pig’s raucous vocals and jerry’s badass, gun slinging guitar take this one over the top. the set continues in standard ’71 fashion with a rollicking mama tried, an extended version of big railroad blues, and an early, heavier, jam-free version of playing in the band. surprisingly, the moment the weir-barlow number ends, the lads launch right into dark star. a first set rarity, this one is a real doozy. the piece begins with the quintet immediately plunging into the depths of the music—in the first few minutes they flirt with several ideas without settling on anything. as they begin the verse riff, garcia changes his mind and they wander off again on a little side-trip into the void, suspending the momentum to hew something else. in time, lesh nudges the theme once more and they drop into the first verse at the 10 minute mark. from here the ensemble gathers steam, forcefully pushing their way into the abyss. the space is menacing, and the jam that ensues is turbulent, eerie and raging. at this juncture, jerry is so energized that he sounds as if he might burst, but the band manages to channel their focus into a new melodic jam that slowly settles down, out of which the dark star theme returns. the musicians groove on the theme, introduce another quieter jam, and then garcia decides to abort the second verse, signaling the others to stop, and they blast right into birdsong instead. this is the first time the hunter-garcia tune is connected to another song, and the only time they ever joined it to dark star. the arrangement on this day is delivered confidently with a real rocked-out feel throughout. the pairing is certainly the apogee of the show and, unquestionably, rates as one of the most interesting improvisational excursions of the year.the second set of the dead's ivy league visit is packed with the same vitality and ragged festivity as their first 100 minutes on the bandstand. along with a hefty supply of stage banter, a few highlights include a solid bertha, a fantastically charged china cat > know you rider with a unique bridge jam, a restrained, lilting sing me back home, the customary not fade away > goin’ down the road > not fade away, replete with tight, zesty rhythms (and a short, final foray into the short-lived youngbloods inspired darkness jam), and a heartfelt uncle john’s band > johnny b. goode double encore.recorded by rex jackson and digitally transferred by mr. charlie miller, this afternoon in new haven is worthy of repeated listenings. hitch your ears to it and see for yourself.
https://archive.org/details/gd1971-07-31.132730.sbd.miller.flac16/gd71-07-31d2t10.flac
moody and nuanced, a sweet review. thank you
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