setlist for 3/5/09

Hey there everybody.  The theme for today’s show is, “songs I don’t usually play but like a lot.”  I threw a China-Rider in though, it’s been awhile since I’ve played one.

We start today with a couple of slower songs.  The studio versions of “Stella Blue” and “Here Comes Sunshine.”  Both off the 1973 album, Wake of the Flood.

Up next, a bouncy song with  some fun lyrics; Mexicali Blues.  This particular one comes from 11-17-1973.  The boys were on this night, so picking almost any song from this show is a safe bet.

After that I’ll break out a monsterous China Cat – Rider from 6-16-1974.  The transition is psychedellic as psychedellic can be, and the first time I heard it I literally stood still thinking, “…what in the world?”  It is awesome.  Enjoy.

The second half of the show kicks off with a percipitation theme.  My favorite “Looks Like Rain”, from Dick’s Picks 19 recorded 10-19-1973.  The slide guitar is played to perfection and the lyrics are soulfully delievered.  Masterfully played.

After that, “Lazy Lightening -> Supplication” makes it’s first apperance on my Grateful Dead Hour.  This version comes from the wonderful May ‘77 run.  5-15-1977 to be exact.  1977 was, in my opinion, the pinnacle year for this song, and here is a perfect example why.

The show closes with a robust “Deep Elem Blues” from 3-9-1981.

Of course, turn up those radios and enjoy a Grateful Dead Hour composed of tunes from all over the map.

1) Stella Blue

2) Here Comes Sunshine

3) Mexicali Blues  11-11-1973

4) China Cat Sunflower ->

5) I Know You Rider  6-16-1974

6) Looks Like Rain  Dick’s Picks 19 (10-19-1973)

7) Lazy Lightening ->

8 ) Supplication  5-15-1977

9) Deep Elem Blues  3-9-1981

setlist for 2/26/09

Sorry, it has been a couple of very busy midtermish weeks and the blog has suffered.  But I’m back now. 

This week’s show is something I haven’t done before, and I’m very excited about it.

In the world of Grateful Dead recordings, there are soundboards (SBD) and audience tapes (AUD).  Soundboards will almost always have better sound quality, but the audience recordings (a show recorded by an audience member with a microphone) have their own special qualities.

An audience recording will let you feel what it was like to be in the crowd during a show.  You hear the cheering and the clapping, the yelling and laughing, the coughing from a hit that was a little too big, and even conversations between Dead Heads. 

Audience recordings, especially those with good sound quality, are a rare beast. 

This week, I’ll be bringing you just this.  An amazing audience recording from a powerhouse show…August 6, 1971.

I’ll be playing the show with the songs in order, from the show-opening “Bertha” to the beautiful yet rockified St.Stephen, which kicks off the second set.  Due to time, some songs had to be left out, but the majority of this gem will be aired.

The highlight of this show is without a doubt, “Hard To Handle.”  I cannot even begin to think of explanation, so I won’t try.  Just listen, and you too will be left speechless.

The rest of the show is vintage 1971, which is to say, high levels of energy and a lot of fun.  And this is what makes this audience recording so special.

Not only is the music crystal clear, you get to hear Heads cheering, clapping, singing along, and generally having a blast.  At some points, you can really feel the crowd’s energy feeding the band. The circular relationship between Dead Heads and the band becomes evident.  As the crowd gets amped a song will really take flight (This happens a few times here; Casey Jones, Sugar Mag, Hard to Handle, etc).  It’s hard not to get caught up in the fun while you’re listening.

I hope you enjoy this show as much as I do.  I’m almost positive you will.  And of course, definiety TURN UP THE RADIO!

SET I

1)Bertha

2)Playin’ In the Band

3)Cumberland Blues

4)Hard To Handle

5)Casey Jones

SET II

6)St.Stephen

7)Deal

8)Sugar Magnolia

9)Morning Dew

setlist for 2/5/09

For this week’s show, we celebrate the 36 year anniversary of a great show filled with many Grateful Dead “firsts.” 

February 9th, 1973.

The most important first from this show…the introduction of the legendary “Wall of Sound.”

photo by Richard Pechner

Here are some specifics, good luck wrapping your mind around this stuff…

26,400 watts of continuous power via 44 amplifiers
586 JBL loudspeakers (15″, 12″ and 5″)
54 Electrovoice tweeters
75 tons in weight

Pretty amazing.  They only toured with The Wall until 1976, as it became too expensive and too much of a hastle.

This show, along with it’s abundance of technical difficulties, also had an abundance of song debuts. 

We’ll start off with a Me and My Uncle.  Pay close attention to Jerry at the beginning, as his fingers are lightning quick.  After that, we get to hear some “stage banter” between the boys and the crowd, as they discuss the new Wall of Sound.

From the stage banter, they jump into a Sugaree that is relatively short, but oh so sweet.

After that we hear the first Here Comes Sunshine.  This song definitely ranks as one of my favorites.  It wasn’t played all that often, but when it was, the jamming had that unique 1973 flavor to it; a time when the band was at their best.  This version is no different.

Then, another one of those “firsts” I mentioned earlier.  The debut of “They Love Each Other”.  A faster paced TLEO than most, but very cool.

After that comes a Truckin that slows down towards the end and flows into the first ever Eyes of the World.  One of my favorite versions, this “Eyes” is a more “rocking” version (not faster like the later days, but a little more rocked out), kind of like the TLEO from earlier in the show.  But as the band plays away and the song develops, it starts to slow down and takes the listener into orbit.  Enjoy!

We close the show with another first.  The first Eyes weaves its way into the first China Doll.  The Eyes-China Doll tandem became very common.

Hope you enjoy today’s show, and of course, turn up the radio!

all songs are from February 9th, 1973

1)Me and My Uncle

2)Sugaree

3)Here Comes Sunshine*

4)They Love Each Oher*

5)Truckin’ ->

6)Eyes of the World* ->

7)China Doll*

*first time played live

thanks to http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/730/an-insiders-look-at-the-grateful-deads-wall-of-sound for the info. on the wall of sound.

setlist for 1/29/09

This weeks show will start off with a couple of gems from a special year for the Grateful Dead…1969. 

Just uttering, “1969″ to a Dead Head brings to mind supernova-esk Dark Stars, inspired raps by Pigpen during “Lovelight’” and highly energetic ”St.Stephens” meandering their way out of those aforementioned mind-blowing Dark Stars.

But it wasn’t all fire and brimstone.  The Dead could play just as gently as they could rock the bejesus out of a song.  To begin, we’ll hear a neat little song that was played live only once in 1968; Rosemary.  This version is off the album “Aoxomoxoa”, as is the second song , “Mountains of the Moon.”

Next up is one of my all-time favorite performances of any song the Dead ever played.  “The Other One” is already cool enough, with countless versions and variations as the years went by.  But this titanic rendition from the Fillmore West in 1969, just oozing with that psychedellic influence, is special.

After this we’ll need a breather for a few minutes, but by no means does it mean the show will slow down. 

To close the show is a beautifully played and rather unique 30-minute jam.  It starts off with a sorrowful “He Was a Friend of Mine” that goes into an early “China Cat Sunflower”, and ends with “New Potato Caboose” from June 8th, 1969.

All in all, a show that I feel does a good job of capturing the Dead at a time when they were young and playing with an energy (in my opinion) that was, for the rest of their career, unmatched.

As always, turn up the radios and enjoy.

setlist:

1) Rosemary  (Aoxomoxoa)

2) Mountains of the Moon  (Aoxomoxoa)

3) That’s It for the Other One  (The Fillmore West 1969)

4) He Was a Friend of Mine ->  (6-8-1969)

5) China Cat Sunflower ->

6) New Potato Caboose

setlist for 1/22/09

It’s the first show of the spring semester and we’re going to start off with a bang. 

We’ll start this weeks show with some incredible music from the New Year’s Eve show at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, as 1976 turned into 1977. 

What we have here is 40 minutes of some of the best music the Dead played in all of 1976.  First up is a “new, faster, more powerful,” Eyes of the World that flows into a Wharf Rat, that from the first haunting chords, you know is going to be good.   After that comes an upbeat, shorter version of Good Lovin’, and they close with a “reggae-tinged” Samson and Delilah.

To close the show, we’ll hear one more track from “Live at the Cow Palace; New Year’s Eve 1976.”  This is Morning Dew, and a version that definitely ranks up there as one of the greats.  Turn up the radio, and enjoy.

SETLIST:

1)Eyes of the World ->

2)Wharf Rat

3)Good Lovin’ ->

4)Samson and Delilah

5)Morning Dew

 

 

thanks to “Grateful Dead: Live at the Cow Place New Year’s Eve 1976″

show time

1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Thursdays on 89.7 KRUI fm.

or you can stream the show at…

www.kruiradio.org/listen

Iowa City’s Grateful Dead Hour

Hey, I’m Sean Patchett.  a student at the Universtiy of Iowa majoring in Journalism and Health and Sports Studies.  I’m a DJ at 89.7 KRUI fm; student-run radio in Iowa City and thoroughly enjoy bringing listeners the music of the Grateful Dead for an hour each week.  stay tuned, as I’ll be posting show setlists, along with background information and quirky stories for each show/song, giving the listener some context and hopefully making it more enjoyable.