Europe 72 Revisited Part Four

             

The Grateful Dead arrive in Tivoli Garden Fifty years ago today. Here’s an excerpt from EUROPE 72 REVISITED: Set two 4-14-72:  

If you count the reprises and Pigpen’s “Who Do You Love” rap as songs, the Dead played fifteen second-set songs on 4-14-72. Four standalones start the set: “Truckin’,” “It Hurts Me Too,” “Brown-Eyed Women,” and “Looks Like Rain.” The awesome “Brown-Eyed Women” was chosen to be on Europe ’72. Surprisingly, the Copenhagen “Looks Like Rain” was the last of this tour, and it was only performed one more time in 1972. It was also the last time Jerry played pedal steel with the Dead during this tour. “Looks Like Rain” would come back with a vengeance in 1973 and go on to be one of Weir’s most-played tunes.

Rain, rain go away! It’s time for a “Dark Star” journey in Copenhagen. Masterpiece theater commences with an impressive surge of virtuosity. Jerry goes scale crazy as Phil’s bass ripples a mirrored response. Weir and Keith strum and chop in hot pursuit as Billy’s drums fill and frame the sonic onslaught. The jam overheats and disperses towards a spacy vacuum. Phil takes the initiative with driving bass lines moving towards the first verse, but Jerry’s content to peck and poke—minimalist strokes lighting up the night sky. The jam slips into a black hole and almost comes to a complete stop before the band’s ready to follow the breadcrumbs back to verse. After seventeen minutes, Jerry’s sings, “Dark star crashes, pouring its light into ashes.”

            Bass notes crush, expand, and announce the coming of sonic sensation. Jerry picks decisively at the speed of sound. Phil’s timing is divine as he demands a “Feelin’ Groovy” detour. It’s as powerful as any thematic jam outbursts on the tour. When it sounds like Jerry’s heading in another direction, he reverses to plow through “Feelin’ Groovy” one more time—a definitive exclamation point before the jam slips back into the black hole and drifts for a while. Suddenly, the band busts into “Sugar Magnolia.” This lacks the halo effect of the mighty Dark Star > Magnolia on 4-8-72. However, this is another top-shelf “Dark Star.”

            Jerry’s flying high during the “Sugar Mag” jam when the band pulls the plug prematurely. They scramble to recover and carry on, but Garcia’s flow is interrupted and the music comes to an awkward stop. The crowd enthusiastically cheers. The customers are always right. It’s a smoking piece of music regardless of the bumpy landing. 

                                                         EUROPE 72 REVISITED  

Check out COVID Blues, a new novel by Howard F. Weiner about a group of almost famous musicians making it come alive in the thick of a global pandemic.