Vacationing in Montego Bay, Jamaica for Thanksgiving weekend, I embarked on a mind-bending musical rendezvous. I’m currently working on my new book, Deadology Vol.2, a study on the evolution of the Grateful Dead’s essential jam anthems. Since I’d be lounging around at a five-star resort with no sightseeing agenda, this was the ideal time for me to expand my research on Dark Star.
This Dark Star
expedition began as I was herded through the rat maze of disorientation
heading towards the security checkpoint in Newark Airport. Along the way, I
passed the inspection of a bomb sniffing dog. Once through the metal detector,
I resumed listening to the 9-16-72 Boston Music Hall Dark Star. After the
opening verse, the band breaks into a riff that sounds like the Mission
Impossible theme. And then Garcia goes on the offensive with a blistering
display of electric guitar virtuosity. If you pick this up mid-stream, it
resembles Jimmy Page cooking on a live Dazed and Confused. The post-verse jam
is distinctive, and it will be examined in more detail in Deadology Vol. 2.
From ‘71 -78, the Dead rocked many memorable performances during their fifteen
shows in Boston Music Hall.
I loosened up for the
early morning plane ride with a muscle relaxer and a pint of Allagash at the
airport bar, and consequently I slipped in and out of consciousness during the
awesome 2-27-69 Fillmore West Dark Star (Live Dead). After going through
customs, checking in, and napping, I made it out to the beach for my first
seaside listening session: the 2-26-73 Dark Star > Eyes from Lincoln,
Nebraska. This is a deviation from the more dominant ‘72 Stars. The boundaries
are pencil-thin, and the Dead improvises as a jazz band—great stuff, but not an
elite version.
Watching waves splash
on shore as the sun began to shine over Montego Bay, I started Thanksgiving
morn with set two of 7-18-72 Roosevelt Stadium: Truckin’ > Dark Star >
Comes a Time > Sugar Mag. Everybody is a star individually and collectively
during this D Star. After a rippin’ Truckin jam, the energy regenerates and
pulsates into Dark Star. It’s euphoria for eleven minutes and then Jerry cranks
it up a notch. Garcia’s in repetition paradise with five runs, each one fiercer
than the one that preceded it. This is a contender for best version ever. And
then it was off to the gym for forty minutes of aerobics inspired by 11-7-71
Harding Theatre: NFA > GDTRFB > NFA, Johnny B. Goode, Uncle John’s Band.
Breakfast was followed
by a Red Stripe brunch on the beach featuring the 8-27-72 Dark Star. It’s a
version that somehow matches the intensity and brilliance of Roosevelt Stadium.
I followed that with the Not Fade Away, Dark Star > Morning Dew from 9-10-74
Alexandria Palace, London. I have to listen to this incredible Dark Star again,
but I know with certainty that the NFA and Morning Dew are elite. I continued
to roast in the sun and baste myself with Red Stripe as I listened to the first
set of 3-23-86 Philly Spectrum—my 100th Dead show. Oh that Gimme Some Lovin’
> Deal opener, and Candyman! The way Jerry sings “Hand me my old guitar,
pass the whiskey round. Wont you tell everybody you meet that the Candyman’s in
town” sent shivers up my spine once again, as it did that night.
There were few
reminders of Thanksgiving in Montego Bay, but I ducked into a sports bar to
watch the Buffalo Bills embarrass the Cowboys in Dallas. Yes, this was a
blessed Thanksgiving. Before heading to dinner with the fam, I returned to
Roosevelt Stadium circa ‘74 and heard the undisputed greatest Eyes from 8-6-74.
After a pleasant dinner in an Asian establishment without any hints of turkey
meat, I concluded a Grateful day of music with a segment from 8-6-74: Sugar
Magnolia > He’s Gone > Truckin’ > Other One. I love the plinko/planko
chord fanning to end the Mag jam.
Friday was like any ole
day in Montego Bay: 85 degrees, Caribbean winds 15 MPH, sunny skies with a few
clouds for decoration, and no chance of rain. With my toes in the sand I kicked
the day off with Playin in the Band and Morning Dew from 9-16-72, and revisited
that immense Boston Music Hall Dark Star. Since the Dead played Montego Bay on
11-26-82, I decided to listen to the entire show on the beach. I swiftly
aborted that mission after two flat songs, and after I realized the Scarlet
> Fire was under twenty minutes. I’m a fan of the crisp ‘82 sound, but this
was an off night. I got my head back on the right track with a Sailor >
Saint > He’s Gone > Caution Jam > Spanish Jam from 5-6-81 Nassau
Coliseum. |
| 11-26-82 MONTEGO BAY |
After recovering from a
Red Stripe lunch with a nap, I made it
back out to the beach after sundown for the Dark Star > Sugar
Magnolia from Halloween ‘71 in Columbus, Ohio. This electrifying twenty-three
minute Star is a compressed amalgamation of the ‘69 and ‘72 styles. If you want
to turn a non-Deadhead on to Dark Star this is the vehicle. It’s a focused
rendition featuring a Tighten Up jam that magically careened through the
Jamaican night. As crickets chatted back in forth in rhyme and palm trees
danced in the light breeze, I closed this session out with the bombastic
10-31-71 NFA > GDTRFB .> NFA.
Saturday, my last full
day in Montego Bay, commenced with the forty-four-minute Dark Star from 12-6-73
Cleveland. The methodical, hypnotic, intro is tantalizing, as calmly resounding
as the waves crashing on the shore. Phil pounds out probing bass in search of
life in another dimension. Time rolls on as a jazzy jam eventually splashes
into Eyes. I hadn’t heard that Dark Star in years, but it was as impressive as
I expected. However, I confess to not knowing this show well. I was blown away
by the sixteen-minute Here Comes Sunshine, easily the best version. And the
Sugar Mag is a torrid affair, similar in style to the superb Winterland version
on 11-11-73. For the most part, I spent the rest of the day basking in these
versions and the entire Cleveland show.
On my final morning in
Jamaica, I closed out my weekend in paradise with the 4-8-72 London Dark Star
> Mag > Caution > One More Saturday Night. These versions were a quantum
leap from anything the band had previously done. The brilliance of the Star
somehow captures the sweep of European history. Civilizations past and present
rejoice. It’s a grand rhapsody, and the flamboyant transition into Sugar Mag is
unparalleled.
On the plane ride home,
I drifted in and out of dreamless sleep listening to the colossal 2-13-70 Dark
Star. On this weekend expedition, I also heard Dark Stars from 4-22-69,
6-24-73, and 11-11-73. I still have research ahead as I prepare to write my Dark
Star entry for Deadology Vol.2. But this is a start. And anytime I want to
transcend back to Thanksgiving 2019 in Montego Bay, I’ll let the music of
12-6-73 take me there. One Love, one life, let’s get together and feel alright.
Books by Howard F. Weiner on Amazon
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