LONG LONG CRAZY CRAZY NIGHT

Today is the anniversary of a show that was the focus of the excellent piece in The New Yorker by Nick Paumgarten. If you missed it you can read it HERE. It's quite amazing that 32 years ago another stop along the road can be the focus of a piece in The New Yorker. Is there any other band that could command that type of reverence? (And I'm not talking about two widows fighting over an estate, thank God that was settled a long time ago.)

It's funny but a week before this piece was made public, my friend, Jonas texted me that he was listening to the Fox Theatre 11/30/80. I knew it was a bit of a test so I quickly responded, "Ah yeah, great Scarlet/Fire. I have an AUD of that show." This is the same show talked about in The New Yorker piece, but I did some digging and came up with a SBD copy that you can download, HERE and HERE. If you want to hear the balcony Audience from the article, it can be found HERE and HERE. Although the quality is listed as a FOB, we know that Dr. Bob Wagner recorded the first set from the second to last row of the balcony and the second set from the side of the balcony. I guess that his balcony could have technically been in front of the Soundboard area, but a FOB usually means on the floor in front of the Soundboard. I do have to say that when ever I'm searching shows on Archive, I usually will prefer to go for a Bob Wagner show. Like Betty, he had a great ear for recording, it's just that he didn't have the bands equipment.

While the "Scarlet/Fire" is the highlight from the night's events, there is a underline groove that the night possess. It can be felt in opening solo of the "Stranger," the singing of "Wine ain't sweeter," and the entwining of Jerry notes and Phil's base at the end of "Playin'." The transition of the "Scarlet" into "Fire" is just the perfect moments of a groove that links the two song into a deadhead's subconscious.
In the follow up to the article, Nick Paumgarten picked his top ten none GD release concerts. I was shocked that he was able to limit himself to only ten picks. I gush about all these shows, because I love the band and appreciate their ability to sparkle on any given night, which I guess is why 32 years after a concert, the band could have an article written about them in a major (non-music) magazine.

I: Stranger, Loser, Cassidy, Ramble, Rooster, Bird Song, Uncle, Big River, Roses, Sailor, Saint, Deal

II: Scarlet, Fire, Samson, Ship, Playin', Drums, Space, Wheel, China Doll, Around, JBG

(last electric Bird Song was 9/15/73)

The next blog will be on Sunday and there is still a Special Announcement schedule for Christmas day. I started a companion Facebook page that you can find HERE, or search Heartof Goldband. I will accept any friend request I get.