The Wildwood Boys - February 23, 1963

The Wildwood Boys
Top of the Tangent, Palo Alto CA
2/23/63
Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, David Nelson, Norm van Mastricht


Setlist

1. Rolling In My Sweet Baby's Arms
2. Jerry's Breakdown
3. Standing In The Need of Prayer
4. Muleskinner Blues
5. Guitar Instrumental (Norm van Mastricht)
6. Pike County Breakdown
7. Come All Ye Fair And Tender Maide
8. We Shall Not Be Moved

Overall, this has been my favorite show that I've listened to so far. It's a really hopping show. Jerry is on banjo, and you can tell that he is getting good! Yikes is he quick! The speed with which he picks livens up the music immensely. You can start to hear a bit of the way he will play his electric guitar by the way he can speed through notes on the banjo.

Blair Jackson mentions in his Garcia biography, "It was in this group [WWB] that Garcia honed his bluegrass banjo chops... " (Jackson 51).

What attracted Jerry to the banjo, which can be clearly heard in his playing, was,

" just the sound of the instrument, and then the fire, you know; the speed and all that. I was attracted by the intensity of it, really. And I was drawn to that incredible clarity - when something is going along real fast and every note is absolutely clear. That, to me, was really amazing..." (Jackson 52).

The song "Jerry's Breakdown" is an all instrumental song written by Jerry. I found it to be quite interesting, containing several layered parts where the players jump into and out of. It felt similar to a Viola Lee, where each part culminated immediately into it's partner's. It sounds as though it could have fit in very nicely as a jam with the Dead.

Like Jerry's other early shows, there is a lot of stage banter. There is also a tremendous amount of tuning, especially by Jerry. That actually gets a bit irritating.

Youtube has this show streaming in two parts. Please give it a listen! You'll like it if you like quick bluegrass!! Please leave a comment to let me know that you're here, and what you think of this show!!!



Part 2


UP NEXT: Jerry and Sara 5/4/63

Jerry & Sara, May 4, 1963

Jerry Garcia & Sara Ruppenthal
Top of the Tangent, Palo Alto CA

Setlist

1. Deep Elem Blues
2. Will The Weaver
3. Heart No Longer Mine
4. All Good Times Are Past
5. Long Black Veil
6. Never Was A Married Man
7. Mean As He Could Be
8. The World




This folksy show features Jerry Garcia with his first wife, Sara Ruppenthal. It's very cool to get to hear those two perform together, as they did only a few times in the winter and spring of 1963. As it turns out, the couple was married the week before this recording, as Jerry mentions after "Long Black Veil." He also makes mention of the fact that the wedding was recorded in the Palo Alto Times.

The audio of this show is great, considering the time it was recorded. It is a more laid back show, as the majority of songs are slower. I noticed that Jerry and Sara seemed to complement each other when singing. Like the previous show I listened to, there is some terrific stage banter by Jerry.

Please note that in "Heart No Longer Mine," Sara takes the lead vocals.

Although I didn't find this show exceptionally special, it is very unique. It's really cool, as a Jerry-phile, to have to opportunity to hear Jerry perform so early with Sara. It's definitely worth a listen if you're looking for complete Garcia.

e-mail me if you want it.

Up Next: The Wildwood Boys 2/23/63

June 11, 1962

Sleepy Valley Hogstompers @ Boar's Head Coffeehouse, San Carlos JCC
Jerry Garcia - Guitar, Banjo
Marshall Leicester - Guitar, Banjo
Dick Arnold - Fiddle

Set I

1. Chuck a Little Hill - 4:34
2. Billy Grimes - 3:20
3. Cannonball Blues - 3:47
4. Devilish Mary - 4:28
5. Buck Dancer's Choice - 2:33
6. Little Birdie - 3:36
7. Sally Goodun - 2:16
8. Hold the Woodpile Down - 4:50

Set II
9. Crow Black Children - 3:07
10. Johnson Boys - 4:43
11. Shady Grove - 3:18
12. Uncle Joe - 5:05
13. Sweet Sunny South - 3:27
14. Hungry Hash House - 4:18
15. Man of Constant Sorrow - 2:33
16. Yonder He Goes - 3:16
17. Three Went A-Hunting - 2:19
*times include stage banter


I thought this was a cool show, considering this is Jerry three years before he formed the GD. There are some recognizable tunes in there, that Jerry would continue to sing through his life, including: Shady Grove, Man of Constant Sorrow, and Sweet Sunny South (featured on Grateful Dawg).

It's interesting to note that Jerry sings "Man of Constant Sorrow" unaccompanied, without any instruments. Before starting he says,

"On a sort of serious note for a change. Before there were... a lot of instruments around in the mountains, or way back in England and Scotland and so forth, songs were mostly sung unaccompanied. So I'd like to sing a song that probably almost everyone is familiar with around here. You probably heard it quite a bit. I'd like to do unaccompanied the way I heard a guy named Roscoe Holcumb do it. So, A Man of Constant Sorrow."

Also take note of the song "Buckdancer's Choice" - a unique term that will later be famously used in the song "Uncle John's Band."

Although the audio isn't perfect, this was a fun folk show. The fiddler, Dick Arnold, is pretty good. There is great banter by Jerry and Marshall throughout the show. You can tell they had a decent audience, while also remaining quite laid back.

Up Next: Jerry Garcia & Sara Rupenthal, February 2, 1963

If you want a copy of the show, please e-mail me at Allon.Porter@gmail.com

The Grateful Dead Listening Project

The Idea: After several years of consideration and collecting, I've finally decided to start on a linear journey through the history of the Grateful Dead. I hope to experience as much as can be experienced through the historical record they left behind. If it's out there, why not listen to it? All of it.


The Method: I am starting with the earliest Garcia stuff I can find. I plan to include all concerts of the GD, JGB, Old and in the Way, etc that I can find, as well as all studio albums. I'll listen to them in order, based on the date performed. Records will fit in by the date in which they were released. If I am able, I will also insert other famous recordings where they fit, such as Sgt Peppers by the Beatles, Surrealistic Pillow by the Airplane, Cheap Thrills by Big Brother, etc.


The Madness: For someone who wasn't "on the bus" from '65/'66 forward, I want to gain a better understanding for the path that the music of the Grateful Dead went on. Like any historical period spanning 40+ years, there were many twists and turns in the Dead. I find it interesting to search for those subtle changes in time. How early did the group-think begin? Where did their folk background start to gain influence in their acid-rock? What truly was the best year or tour of the Dead? I also want to keep this blog, tracking each show I've listened to, providing links & ideas about the music. Hopefully I can get some followers.


The Caveat: In an undertaking like this, there are certainly going to be holes. I am not an audiophile, like some Deadheads, and will be listening to the shows in mp3 format on my IPOD. I am not fooling with lossless or any other form of audio that is superior in quality. When the shows happened, the sound from the band was often not "lossless" as distortion & crowd noise would certainly occur. I am also not deliberate in the sourcing of a show. I get what sounds good to me, and don't worry about who taped it, where it came from, etc. I will list any information I have. Finally, the Grateful Dead grew together in a time where there was neither technology nor the money to record every note of every show. Therefore, there are many holes in the historic record in terms of available audio, or complete setlists and show dates. I am going to do the best that I can to keep my project complete in terms of music known to be in circulation. If you have something that I have missed, PLEASE let me know. I will go back and give the file a listen. This is not a science, merely an interesting trip.

For the record, project started 9/28/11