Week of January 21, 2008
Part 1 13:43
New Riders of the Purple Sage 3/17/73 SUNY Stonybrook
ALL I EVER WANTED
SWEET LOVIN’ ONE
Part 2 42:42
Grateful Dead 4/21/86 Berkeley Community Theater
TOUCH OF GREY
ESTIMATED PROPHET->
EYES OF THE WORLD->
JAM->
MAYBE YOU KNOW
This is one of the most unusual second sets you’ll ever hear. The first odd thing you might notice is Brent Mydland’s rather eccentric high harmony in “Touch of Grey.” He’s a little loose during “Estimated Prophet” and a high-speed “Eyes of the World” that’s pretty characteristic of the period, and then… and then when Jerry and Bob and Phil leave the stage for the drums, Brent Mydland stays out there with Mickey and Bill. He plays along with the upbeat groove for a while, and then everybody stops, and then Brent starts up a funkier thing – with a weird little vocal snippet repeating over and over. The drummers stay with Brent, doing their best to keep it musical. Eventually Brent starts singing his song “Maybe You Know,” and it becomes clear that he’s pretty out of it. After one final outburst of the song, the rest of the band is back onstage and Jerry launches into “Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad.” And from then on, it’s pretty cool music again for the rest of the set – which you’ll hear in next week’s show.
The New Riders songs are from a new archival release, produced by Rob Bleetstein and released by Kufala.com. Excellent show!
Maybe you know was the death song for Brent. His death was soon to follow. I knew him since his early days with the Dead. I interviewed him for a cable radio station before the Baltimore Civic Center show of 5/4/80. We became friends and often communicated and saw each other at shows. He was a different person than the one that sang Maybe You Know. It was sad to hear of his death, one that should have been avoided by the family. The interview has never been played, so if GD Hour wants it, let me know .