Europe 72 Revisited Part Six

 

After two sets of music, and performing with masks on, the Grateful Dead present masterpiece theater in Copenhagen. Here’s an excerpt from EUROPE 72 REVISITED: 4-17-72

With the TV broadcast complete, the Dead launch Copenhagen through time and space as they commence set three with “Dark Star.” Tivoli is doubly blessed in “Dark Star” fate as the Dead play their revered masterwork in this dynamic concert hall again. Garcia and mates are in sync; the group mind drives a linear jam that’s exotic and focused. The blissful journey through the stars is lyrical, mathematical, and scientific. As they approach the ten-minute mark, Jerry sings, “Dark star crashes pouring its light into ashes.” By this tour’s standards, the opening jam is short, which means the best is yet to come.

Keith and Jerry unleash hypnotic runs that create a floating sensation in the cosmic debris. The music is rich as it rotates and picks up velocity. Jerry and Phil are out there with the aliens, speaking their dialect. Fully embedded in celestial matters, there’s no chance any thematic jams like “Feelin’ Groovy” will emerge.

It sounds like they may head back to the signature “Dark Star” line, but suddenly a “Let it Grow” jam emerges. As a song, the Dead will debut “Let it Grow” on 9-7-73 in the Nassau Coliseum and release it on Wake of the Flood. But if you play name that tune with a Deadhead and start the music at the twenty-six-minute mark of this “Dark Star,” they might guess “Let it Grow.” The flirtation with this new jam goes on for four minutes and then there’s a smooth “Sugar Magnolia” handoff. This exploration is almost as rewarding as the sensational segue that occurs during the 4-8-72 Dark Star > Mag.

A crystal-clean romp through “Sugar Magnolia” stampedes into “Caution.” To make up for the abbreviated version at the previous Tivoli show, Pigpen and friends dig in to deliver twenty-three minutes of old-school primal Dead. This is a pounding, bone-rattling version that’s up there with the one from Empire Pool on April 8. As the Grateful Dead’s music stormed towards higher artistic ground, these Europe ’72 “Cautions” are a phenomenal tribute to Pigpen, and the raw power of their music in the late ’60s. As “Caution” smashes and crashes across the finish line, the band noodles a bit, trying to figure out what they should end the show with since they played “One More Saturday Night” earlier for the TV broadcast. They opt to close out Chuck Berry-style with the only “Johnny B. Goode” of the tour. Sweet dreams, Copenhagen. The sonic blitzkrieg of continental Europe continued with a TV appearance and three shows in West Germany. 

 

                                             EUROPE 72REVISITED

 

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.