1. Home
  2. music
  3. 198514-178702

Dead. Where Is Thy Sting?

Why did the Grateful Dead playing live sound so terrible at times and at other times so spectacular according to audience recollections? Was it the amplification set-up? Quality of drugs available? Whether the band was rested? The crowd vibe? The venue vibe? Did the Dead themselves have a handle on this?

I am not a true DeadHead though I treasure the Garcia/Grisman recordings. Lots of my friends are Heads.Their stories of following the Dead around are full of legend  and calamity. They wouldn't have had it any other way. "Off" performances were just Part of Life. That's what they were looking for and preferred that it be unpredictable just like life.

bolong
slaw's avatar
slaw
26,495 posts
 

I'm by no means a Dead Head. Recently acquired Dick's Picks #31 on cd.

Been enjoying immensely.

stuartk
4,010 posts
 

@slaw 

I'd agree that one can enjoy the Dead without necessarily being "on the bus". Europe '72 has been one of my favorite albums since I first heard it in '73.

 

larsman's avatar
larsman
3,146 posts
 

When I saw the title of the thread, I thought it was going to be about the tour GD did with Sting, who famously said that Jerry looked like Father Christmas, which he did!  

slaw's avatar
slaw
26,495 posts
 

Bought #31 specifically that it was local to me. Love the unencumbered vibe the performance, wonderful!

petaluman
218 posts
 

That's the nature of improvised music.  Oftentimes, different members of the audience found the same songs to be terrible or spectacular. 

Meanwhile, here's some audiophile-approved content regarding the Dead "sound":

John Curl and the history of the Grateful Dead's "Wall of Sound"

More to discover