with the weather warming up i am finding myself listening to more and more grateful dead. rather than bog down the “what are are you listening to?” thread with whatever show i’m listening to that day, i thought it would be worthwhile to start a separate thread for all things dead. after a search it looks like the band almost never comes up on lines, and i’m not sure if that’s because no one else listens to them [in which case this thread is unnecessary] or because no one wants to talk about jam bands on the synth forum [in which case this thread is unnecessary]. i personally feel like there is a lot of crossover between the headspaces required for modular jams and dark star jams. if there are other fans here, maybe this can be a place to talk about dead-related experiences, live sets du jour, dead theory, etc.
this morning i’m listening to Dick’s Picks 27 [12/16/92], i’m loving the vince welnick keys and whatever funky FM synth he’s playing in this show.
big shouts out to M Geddes Gengras for reminding me that it’s cool to be into synths and the dead at the same time
thanks so much for the '92 suggestion, i rarely leave the early 70’s shows. please keep em coming!
and since i’m guessing this may (probably should) be the only jam band-centric thread on this forum, let me also suggest this slightly OT phish run from '97 for anyone inclined. the hood > train song > billy breathes trio is particularly good.
i know that the grateful dead culture revolves around live recordings, but i’d say start with the studio albums. the studio albums are kinda like crystallized versions of the wild live odysseys that they are known for. i’d say check out american beauty, workingman’s dead, aoxomoxoa, blues for allah, and wake of the flood. i’d say read the wikipedia page for every album as you’re listening to it; the context is important for differentiating between this year’s thing and that year’s thing.
i’m a relatively new convert [~2015] so the whole “getting into the dead” process is very fresh in my mind and very much still happening. it’s a really fun rabbit hole! enjoy!
i’ve seen phish perform with friends a few times and have always enjoyed it, but i’ve never connected with their music outside of their environment. where do i start with phish?
also, regarding 90s dead, i’m very new to that era but i’m really liking the energy. very fun, summery dead. i’m hoping to find the the Summer 1990 box set shows somewhere online in the next few days.
1000% agreement, i’m always looking for rare dark star recommendations
Fellow Deadhead and Phishhead chiming in to voice approval of this thread.
Like others have suggested with regard to the Dead, for Phish, I recommend checking out a few studio releases as the music, IMO, is quite varied given the diversity of influence across band membership. Although I came to Phish a bit late in the 90s, I gravitated toward Billy Breathes and The Story of the Ghost. That said, my favorite songs are “Reba” [Lawn Boy] and “You Enjoy Myself” [Junta]. Given a shared admiration for all things Fripp and Eno, I also love “Brian and Robert.”
Great thread! I often find myself going back to my jam band foundation for inspiration in what I’m creating now. Regarding Phish, I’ve always been partial to Rift when it comes to studio albums, along with Picture of Nectar. Those are the two albums that got me initially interested and led to countless live experiences in the years to follow…
I revisited this concert today because I unfortunately had to miss it back in March, but there are certainly passages in which I can imagine a Monome/Whimsical Raps modular system.
