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jafreitag · 4 years

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Grateful Dead Monthly: Capital Centre – Landover, MD 9/25/76 // Onondaga County War Memorial – Syracuse, NY 9/28/76

On Saturday, September 25, 1976, the Grateful Dead played a concert at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. And on Tuesday, September 28, 1976, they played a concert at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York.

The Capital or “Cap” Centre opened in 1973 just outside Washington, D.C. The arena hosted the NBA’s Washington Bullets and the NHL’s Washington Capitals, as well as the Georgetown University men’s basketball team, until 1997. It was demolished in 2002 and replaced by a mall. The Dead played there 26 times from 1974 to 1993.

Perhaps ill-named, the Onondaga War Memorial is less of a memorial, and more of an indoor arena. The venue was built from 1949-51, and Wikipedia calls it a significant example of “World War I, World War II[,] and Aroostook War commemorative,” as well as “an early and sophisticated example of single-span thin-shell concrete roof construction.” Ok, boomer. It’s an old shed. And it’s now called the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial – a name that just rolls off the tongue. The Dead played there five times: twice in 1971 (during the furious five era), twice in 1973, and once in 1976.

These shows were in the middle of a short tour that began in Durham, NC on 9/23 and ended in Detroit, MI on 10/3. Between those dates, the band wound its way north, playing Landover, Rochester, NY, and then Syracuse. The first and third of those nights are commemorated (or memorial-ized, see what I did there?) as Dick’s Picks #20.

I asked Liner Notes’ Chief Dead-itor ECM for his impressions of that particular release. He focused on the Landover show, 9/25/76, and sent this extended review:

Note – Keith’s piano is very prominent in the mix and he is in good form for this show.

The band started touring again in June 1976 after an almost two-year hiatus that began after the Winterland shows in October 1974. There were some big changes when the band returned, the most notable being that Mickey Hart rejoined the band after a five-year absence. It took the band some time to adapt to the two-drummer format. This resulted in an overall tempo slow-down for most songs. However, by September the band started hitting their groove and was working towards the glorious, almost orchestral sound that they eventually achieved in May 1977. There are hints of that progression in this show – especially in songs like Mississippi Half-Step, Sugaree, Cassidy, Scarlet Begonias and Dancing in the Street (sans Mu-tron, of course).

The show starts off in fine form with a Bertha that is speedy and driving. It has a great finale with Garcia adding “whoa’s and woos” in between each “Anymore.”

Minglewood is next. It is only the ninth performance since the band revived it at the Orpheum run in July 1976 after a five-year absence (last played on 4/29/71 at the Closing of the Fillmore East). These early versions are tepid compared to the way it would be played with Brent but the band puts in a very solid performance.

The next highlight of the evening is Cassidy. The jam section is now more developed than it was when the band brought it (back) into the repertoire in June 1976 (they played is once on 3/23/74 and then shelved it until the first show in 1976 – 6/3/76). This is an upbeat version that is totally nailed.

Mama Tried, usually a throw-away tune, has some pep in its step and keeps the energy high. It features enthusiastic backing vocals by Garcia.

The Peggy-O that follows is gorgeous, especially Garcia’s second solo. Beautiful vocals .

The set closes with a lively Let It Grow, which gets downright frenetic at some points. There is also a short drum break which only happened in 1976 and then things simmer down and become a bit exploratory before the reprise. It is notable that Let it Grow was almost exclusively a second set song in 1976. So this first set performance was a bit of a treat. Additionally, Let it Grow would only be played two more times after this before taking a one-year break, making it all the more special. Instead of ending the set there, the band break tradition and give the audience another treat – a bonus song to end the first set – Sugaree. This version is nice and gooey. More telling though is how it shows early signs of the powerhouse that it was about to become in 1977.

Set II opens with Lazy/Supplication and Half-Step which are typically “first set songs.” It’s always interesting to see when the band mixes things up and gives “first-set songs” the second-set treatment.

In this case, Lazy/Supplication fares about the same way it does as a first set song. That is to say that it is not as long or exploratory as we might expect a second set song to be. Also, the Supplication jam seems to get cut-off early, but Weir’s vocals are very amped up!

On the other hand, Half-Step is a horse of a different color. Similar to Minglewood, Half-Step was revived at the Orpheum run in July 1976. It had absent since the hiatus. The tempo here starts off a little sluggish but the advantage of this is that it provides Garcia the opportunity to really dig deep vocally with the way he emphasizes the lyrics (i.e., on my waaaaay).The Rio Grandee-O section is fabulous. Garcia plays fluid, joyful, melodic passages which serve to electrify his bandmates as they approach the vocal section. The energy is palpable. The vocal harmonies are delivered with such confidence that the song feels like an anthem. Keith’s gorgeous piano flourishes add to the joyful vibe. Garcia patiently takes the outro jam to a slow and steady peak – early signs of 1977 (without the massive crashing chords). This is probably the best version of 1976.

From there the drummer’s pound out a brisk and aggressive lead-in to Dancing and the energy lifts off. Once the lyrics are dispensed with, Garcia begins a quick and funky lead that foreshadows the 1977 versions without the Mu-Tron. Things slow down as the vocals trail off. The band embarks on what will be the very last version of Cosmic Charlie ever played. Although I love the album, Aoxomoxoa, I am not a big fan of the slowed-down versions of Cosmic Charlie and St. Stephen that were revived in June 1976. The outro chorus “Go On Home…” on this version is extended and repeated like a chant which makes it gloriously eerie. Maybe it was their special way of giving Cosmic Charlie a final sendoff.

Coming off a stand-alone slow tune, the band needed to pick the energy back up so Scarlet Begonias was a perfect choice. This is an upbeat, full-bodied version that hints at how the song will develop when the band joined it with Fire on the Mountain just 6 months later. Donna is very subdued on the outro and does not overstep as she sometimes can do. Her voice quietly drifts in and out of the music which is the way I like it.

The show ends with a typical long romp on the St. Stephen > Not Fade away segue which was so typical for this era. A respectable Sugar Magnolia provides the encore for one of the better shows from 1976.

And Icepetal at the Grateful Dead Listening Guide blog has covered the Syracuse show, not only highlighting the show itself, but also discussing ’76 and its audience recordings:

This show is featured almost in its entirety on Dick’s Picks Vol. 20. But it has history from long before it came out commercially, and that history is in part related to demonstrating the glory of AUD recordings from a part of a year that isn’t famous for its soundboards. Most of the SBDs from Fall 1976 fall a bit flat. They just lack a lot of sparkle. As we have been dabbling into this period with AUD tapes, there are a fair number of good ones to be found, and it is now time to add 09/28/76 to this list as one of the more satisfying 1976 AUDs. Very up front, with exceptional low end, this tape permeates the sound field with the power of the Dead’s new (in ’76) sound system. Particularly sweet are the sound of the kick drums and Phil’s bass. These instruments tend to lay very flat on the SBD’s, while in the AUDs you can literally touch the energy coming out of them. The drums, especially, pulse with power. You can almost feel the push on the air, absent almost completely from the soundboards. On 09/28 we are thus treated to that most wonderful alignment of the stars – a wonderful recording of a wonderful performance.

It’s hard not to talk about 1976 without mentioning the dismissing the year gets in many Dead trading circles. Generally you either love 1976, or absolutely don’t. However, even some of the most anti-76 folks out there will generally acquiesce that there are a few glowing spots in this year. 09/28/76 falls into this category easily. In fact, after revisiting this AUD after a good many years myself, I regret that it took me so long to share it here on the blog. This show and recording demonstrate all that I love about 1976, and then some. It was one of the first late-1976 tapes I acquired in trade, and as an AUD, continued to cement my preference for this recording medium over soundboards. For this show, and a few others from the Fall of ’76, the audience tape brings an entirely heightened level of experience to the music itself – not because of the crowd, or the energy in the air, but strictly based on the way the sound of the band comes through on tape.

Icepetal’s typically eloquent rendering of the music is worth a read. He effuses about the long transition between Let It Grow and Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad, as well as the second set Playing Sandwich – Playing in the Band > The Wheel > Samson and Delilah > Jam > Comes a Time > Drums > Eyes of the World > Dancing in the Street > Playing in the Band.

I found a review of the Syracuse show in the college newspaper. Wheel of Fortune is such a great song, ha.

Here’s the Spotify widget for DP#20.

https://open.spotify.com/album/34KjKiNyuggM0g2No4ZnTv?si=R3d3HsVvTXK6Faf1WHAVTw

And transport to an audience recording of 9/28/76 HERE.

Thanks as always to Ed.

More soon.

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affinityandmoods · 5 years

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Youth, is a phase of life, where everyone brims with energy. Vitality is often at it’s peak between ages 20 to 35 and in that buoyancy and stamina, we often end up doing things that we cannot imagine attempting, during the later stages of our lives. After the 40s, as the waning phase sets in, one might rarely, dare to go out on those adventures, that was once, “so much you”, for you’re well aware that your body has developed limitations, difficult to ignore.

Today, as I fondly reminisce, several instances pop out of the memory lane, that I have ventured under the sparkle and vigour of youth, years ago, whenever I had that adrenaline rush. Some of them are as under:

Trekking Mountains

Having done this several times with a group of friends, sometimes I did not mind venturing out alone, with the single-minded, stubborn objective of visiting a religious place at the top.

I remember once, two decades ago, I decided to be a part of an abruptly planned religious trip to Trimbakeshwar, a place that is off the city of Nasik in Maharashtra state (India), organised by some office colleagues, during a rainy season. Some of them, in that group, were qualified Chartered Accountants, while the rest of us were in the making but all of us, were in our early 20s.

Trimbakeshwar is one of the popular religious destinations, famous for it’s ancient temple of Lord Shiva. It is said that Lord Shiva, in this temple is one of the twelve jyotirlingas located across the world. It’s also locally popular for it’s range of mountains and forts. After offering our prayers at the temple, unplanned, all of us embarked about climbing up the fort mountain, Anjaneri. Now, as per the Hindu Mythology, Anjaneri is the birthplace of Lord Hanuman (our monkey god of valour and courage) and the temple atop the mountain is dedicated his mother “Anjana”, which is why the mountain is called Anjaneri.

We had ‘Chai’ (tea) from a local dhaaba, somewhere before the base of the mountain. At the base, we were met with some local boys, who alerted us about the slippery paths ahead, due to the heavy rains and gave each one of us, two tree stems, whose bottom side was scrubbed flat, to create a support base while climbing. And thus began our trek, towards a height about 4200 feet above sea level. The road quality was not so great but the incredible highlight of our feat was, the pouring rain. It was a steep climb, with steps made of rough, unpolished rocks, where now, the wet moss had embedded itself, making it extremely slippery and rendering it all the more dangerous.

At the start of the trek, we were unaware of the risks associated with the climb and that mainly was there was nothing to hold on either side, all along the way. We mentally thanked the local boys, for the help that initially seemed insignificant but was indeed a life-saver by all measures, because we later on, came upon some dangerous curves and turns where one little slip could shove you down the valley, several hundred feet down. One of our friends almost did slip, but was luckily braced on time, by another colleague.

It took about 8 hours to reach the top and be back. The view atop, was beautifully panoramic and was worth all the effort. We spend some time there, enjoying the surroundings and clicking pics. It was thrilling, but an expedition quite dangerous.

Today, as I look back, I feel I must’ve been completely crazy to even have attempted it though at that moment, it did feel like a victory of the brave.

Going for a walk

This was the best part of life, during those days when I used to spend several hours, studying at home, in pursuit of various professional qualifications. There were moments when you needed to just let it out and whenever that happened, I would just get dressed up and go out for a walk, enjoy those roadside chaats, Vada Pavs and Pani Puris solo, window shop, visit a temple and come back home. Delicious food unfailingly invigorates the body and soul and walking regulates your blood circulation, keeps your health and mind sound, besides your weight in check.

If I was lucky, I might even bump into an old friend on the way and we would spend half and hour to an hour chatting right there, on the street.

Writing

I used to try my hand at writing even during those days, when, it was quite a rare thing for anyone to write. The things I penned down were mostly poems, many times my deepest thoughts too. During school years, some of my poems were published in the school memoirs but in the youth years, my write-ups were more often, a pour out of my feelings and frustrations. At that age, I was simple (or perhaps a simpleton??), with lesser experience of the world and consequently, less understanding thereof. So, in my opinion, my writings lacked conviction. Besides, those were not the internet days, where information and knowledge were handy.

A couple of years later, when I became a Chartered Accountant, I ended up discarding all those write-ups, including those lovely poems, thinking that I must be really loony to even attempt such a thing as ‘writing’. It clearly did not befit me, a professionally qualified person since who would vomit their thoughts and feelings the way I did? And what if anyone reads them? What would they think about me? Of course, the advent of Facebook and other social media, completely reversified that outlook across the world, for now, this, deemed as a matter of talent and skills is done with pride, tenacity and courage.

Keeping in touch with friends abroad

Many of our friends those days, began going abroad post marriage. It was very rare and a new trend then. All those, back in home country, were always excited to stay in touch with them and curious to enlighten ourselves on all that is happening on the other side of the world . Internet was an absolutely new concept then, unlike todays times where a quick connection is possible anywhere, using a simple hotspot. Mobile phones had not yet emerged and people rarely owned computers or laptops. So Cyber Cafés were the lords of the ring, with most of these overcrowded, making people wait in a queue.

The internets used to be extremely slow then, with the concept of downloading, not really in place. Processors used to crawl. The large desktops (replaced by the sleek ones today), would simply hang for the longest measure of time, in the process of downloading just one yahoo page, putting a real test to our patience.

Come to think of it, who even uses yahoo today? While the colorful page was an absolute delight to the eyes and soul then, it’s been honestly a decade a half ever since I myself have visited the page. Gmail has, kind of wiped it out, from the public minds. Yet, then, we would be ready to wait in the cyber cafes, even if it meant the end of the world, for those chats over yahoo messengers and orkut, with our friends, which are today replaced by a more instant Facebook or WhatsApp. The thrill was meeting your long-lost friends online, was something totally out of the world.

Para-sailing

This was something that I proposed to my newly-wed husband, during our first trip abroad, who also readily joined the fun. The thrill of open flying, over the blue-green seas was something untasted. But if we discuss it, today both of us are somewhat doubtful of doing it with a five year old, though not really averse to the idea.

Cycling

As I began earning, the first thing I did was to buy a bicycle because those were days, when I strongly believed in the phrase “Health is wealth”. So, my take was, more than a scooty or a car, one should occasionally ride a bicycle, for the physical rigour it puts us through. But honestly, I lacked the guts as well as the road sense. Besides, traffics used to be unregulated and the concept of dividers on the roads, was not really, well in place, in those part of the suburbs where we lived, with all the heavy vehicles plying through the narrow roads.

So if I would see any bus or truck coming from the opposite direction, I would simply get off, take my bicycle aside, wait for the vehicle to pass and then resume. Funny!!! Because each time I did that, I was aware of having caused quite a stir and amusement to the onlookers around. Looked absolutely silly!!! But I would hardly care, for that was just me, “trying to play safe” (LOL). Everyone learns through hiccups. Couple of times, I even missed being hit by an another vehicle coming from the opposite side, by just a few inches, much to the horror of the onlookers. Yet, ignoring everyone, I would just take off non-chalantly.

It took me sometime, but I eventually developed a comfortable road sense and learnt to wade my way out of the traffic. Couple of years later, as marriage neared, I gave away my precious bicycle, to a poor shopkeeper in the neighbourhood, since I was doubtful of using that, at the suburb where I was to relocate.

There’s more to the list, but faded away out of the memory lane. But today as I revisit these, I cannot imagine being on the same spot and in the same spirit. With age, our physical confidence reduces and fear clouds the mind. I am so glad for that “never give up attitude” I had, all throughout, because, it certainly extricates you out of the regular. Thanks to that, I could manage this bit of adventures and experiments. But at the same time, I wish our physique had continued to remain in the same zing and bounce, though, in reality, that’s quite unreasonable to expect.

Now, when I look at the exuberance of my five year old, I merely watch her, wistful and aware that she’s just taken upon me, also fully knowing that, for me, the wheels are never going to turn back. But how I wish, the same spirit and vigour continued forever.

Let that adrenaline rush get you Youth, is a phase of life, where everyone brims with energy. Vitality is often at it's peak between ages 20 to 35 and in that buoyancy and stamina, we often end up doing things that we cannot imagine attempting, during the later stages of our lives.

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