11-8-69: fillmore auditorium, san francisco, CA.much has been written about 1969 dead. it was a year packed with great performances, to say the least. discerning listeners point to a few essential tapes from the year, including the famed fillmore east dates w/janis joplin and her cosmic blues band, two remarkable evenings at the dream bowl, a number of fillmore west shows (highlighted by the late february and early march gigs that would grace the landmark double LP, live dead), three raging nights at the ark, two big rock pow wow shows at the seminole indian village in west hollywood FL, a handful of nights at the family dog and winterland arena and, of course, a much celebrated festival in bethel, NY. this list is far from being comprehensive.a few years ago, i stumbled onto an essay by renowned taper jim wise about his relationship with dick latvala and a certain ’69 grateful dead recording. around the time the two met, latvala was pitching november 8, 1969 to john cutler and jeffery norman as the next dick’s picks release. the music was stunning, as was a flaw in the master recording—a continuous clicking sound throughout. dick left a 2-track recording he’d converted to DAT from bear’s 7-inch master reels with wise to see what he could do with the technical issues. wise went to work and was eventually able to remove the clicks from the right channel of the disc, resulting in the sound on the transfer you’ll hear on this archived recording. of course, the fidelity of the revamped sound was a hit with jeff norman too, as evidenced on dick’s 16.the tape is an odyssey. it is considered by many dead historians as one of the finest early performances by the band. i heartily agree. the true journey of the show begins with an elegant dark star, masterfully played and underscored by deeply ruminative improvisations. after the first verse, the ensemble drifts off into space before garcia wanders into a fantastically potent jam. lesh, the consummate opportunist, intricately shapes the dark star jam into a new theme and soon begins to hint at the other one. the momentum is indomitable and the musical interplay sets the band at a tremendous energy level. the transition into the other one is sudden and arresting; several compelling jams occur before the first verse, adroitly led by phil’s maniacal bass and some absolutely sinister guitar work by jerome. in time lesh hints at a caution theme, but garcia has other plans and soars back into dark star. phil isn’t done though, and leads the group into a surprising instrumental take on uncle john’s band. the short jam is ineffably joyful, and the uptempo interpretation is a perfect bridge to the final verse of dark star.the remainder of the set is equally as satisfying. the saint stephen that arises out of the dark star suite is played to perfection, with a particularly torrid final jam. the eleven is next, and it is one of the few times the band has played the dark star > saint stephen > eleven trilogy since the introduction of the new aoxomoxoa material into their repertoire that april. this evening’s take on the eleven is sterling, offering a swath of deep improvisational territories. in time, lesh again has his way and steers the outfit into caution. the playing soon becomes downright psychedelic—combined with an ideal portion of distortion—before mckernan brings the band back to earth with a long and detailed vocal discourse. and if there hasn’t been enough twists and surprises, a rare main ten jam is introduced, explored, and discarded for a scorching caution reprise. the evening concludes with an extended feedback and a bittersweet and slightly out of tune we bid you goodnight finale.in a year of incredible peaks, this show is one of the exceptional outings. it embodies the essence of 1969 grateful dead—roaring, pulsing, nefarious, and sublime. it’s easy to see why mr. latvala was so in love with this tape. queue it up and see for yourself. my only counsel is that you dial the volume up to an unreasonable level to ensure maximum enjoyment.
https://archive.org/details/gd1969-11-08.sbd.wise.17433.shnf/gd69-11-08d2t02.shn
11-8-69: fillmore auditorium, san francisco, CA.much has been written about 1969 dead. it was a year packed with great performances, to say the least. discerning listeners point to a few essential tapes from the year, including the famed fillmore east dates w/janis joplin and her cosmic blues band, two remarkable evenings at the dream bowl, a number of fillmore west shows (highlighted by the late february and early march gigs that would grace the landmark double LP, live dead), three raging nights at the ark, two big rock pow wow shows at the seminole indian village in west hollywood FL, a handful of nights at the family dog and winterland arena and, of course, a much celebrated festival in bethel, NY. this list is far from being comprehensive.a few years ago, i stumbled onto an essay by renowned taper jim wise about his relationship with dick latvala and a certain ’69 grateful dead recording. around the time the two met, latvala was pitching november 8, 1969 to john cutler and jeffery norman as the next dick’s picks release. the music was stunning, as was a flaw in the master recording—a continuous clicking sound throughout. dick left a 2-track recording he’d converted to DAT from bear’s 7-inch master reels with wise to see what he could do with the technical issues. wise went to work and was eventually able to remove the clicks from the right channel of the disc, resulting in the sound on the transfer you’ll hear on this archived recording. of course, the fidelity of the revamped sound was a hit with jeff norman too, as evidenced on dick’s 16.the tape is an odyssey. it is considered by many dead historians as one of the finest early performances by the band. i heartily agree. the true journey of the show begins with an elegant dark star, masterfully played and underscored by deeply ruminative improvisations. after the first verse, the ensemble drifts off into space before garcia wanders into a fantastically potent jam. lesh, the consummate opportunist, intricately shapes the dark star jam into a new theme and soon begins to hint at the other one. the momentum is indomitable and the musical interplay sets the band at a tremendous energy level. the transition into the other one is sudden and arresting; several compelling jams occur before the first verse, adroitly led by phil’s maniacal bass and some absolutely sinister guitar work by jerome. in time lesh hints at a caution theme, but garcia has other plans and soars back into dark star. phil isn’t done though, and leads the group into a surprising instrumental take on uncle john’s band. the short jam is ineffably joyful, and the uptempo interpretation is a perfect bridge to the final verse of dark star.the remainder of the set is equally as satisfying. the saint stephen that arises out of the dark star suite is played to perfection, with a particularly torrid final jam. the eleven is next, and it is one of the few times the band has played the dark star > saint stephen > eleven trilogy since the introduction of the new aoxomoxoa material into their repertoire that april. this evening’s take on the eleven is sterling, offering a swath of deep improvisational territories. in time, lesh again has his way and steers the outfit into caution. the playing soon becomes downright psychedelic—combined with an ideal portion of distortion—before mckernan brings the band back to earth with a long and detailed vocal discourse. and if there hasn’t been enough twists and surprises, a rare main ten jam is introduced, explored, and discarded for a scorching caution reprise. the evening concludes with an extended feedback and a bittersweet and slightly out of tune we bid you goodnight finale.in a year of incredible peaks, this show is one of the exceptional outings. it embodies the essence of 1969 grateful dead—roaring, pulsing, nefarious, and sublime. it’s easy to see why mr. latvala was so in love with this tape. queue it up and see for yourself. my only counsel is that you dial the volume up to an unreasonable level to ensure maximum enjoyment.
https://archive.org/details/gd1969-11-08.sbd.wise.17433.shnf/gd69-11-08d2t02.shn
