I was there It was crazy hot. The temperature topped out at 105. Water hard to come by until Kesey brought in a 10,000 gallon water truck. Music was great. New Riders opened and the the Dead played for hours. Bob Weir said the sun was so hot they had to retune their guitars after every song. An experience I'm not likely to forget. BTW, there are very good videos of the Veneta performance. I know because I have them.
@@mikeaustin4138 If I had to guess, I'd say they were probably in a state of...how do I say this... advanced refreshment. When six strings look more like sixty, it can be a real problem.
Respectfully, VenEEta is the correct pronunciation. And this entire show, which in my opinion is their greatest show ever, was FILMED. The 30 or so minute Dark Star is unreal.
Good call. I think the fact that the instruments were melting kicked the weirdness of the jam into a space I havent heard and after hearing pretty much every playin in last 33 years it cracks my top 5.
Aside from the other tunes mentioned, the Bird Song from this show is stellar. This show is right up there with Cornell in terms of well deserved reputation. I’d also recommend the Merle Haggard cover they do at this show, “Sing Me Back Home” which is a very touching Jerry performance
IMO, this show blows away Cornell (granted, as does '72 over '77), but I'm with you on 'Bird Song' - not sure I've ever heard Jerry bend strings that much in any version of any tune.
@Kevin Nelson I've heard he relocated to Florida. Depending on the Ken Babbs interview you see/hear, he might be an accountant too... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-98FB6MSUBXk.html
Not only one of the Dead's best.. but you picked the BEST live version of it! The entire Veneta, OR show is invaluable. Stellar choices made all around here my friend. \m/
"I'm not an expert..." Nails notes on first try. Love you, man! I was lucky enough to catch my share of shows during their last decade, and as many other bands as I've loved seeing over the years, none compare to The Dead when they were ON, for just shear unadulterated joy. Miss those days, miss Jerry. Thanks as always for bringing us together!
Sunshine Daydream is the title of the video recording of the Veneta shows. The show is a legendary one. The Bird Song and Sing Me Back Home from this show are the best I’ve ever heard, hands down. They just grooved differently in 1972. Loose, funky and full of soul and ear to ear smiles.
How much do we LOVE this guy? Not like.. I LIKE ice cream... This guy I LOVE. SIDENOTE.. I know nothing about playing any instrument. But I can listen to this guy ALL day.
I gave a thumbs up but had to comment....Michael is awesome !!! I am not a musician but was surrounded by them but could never get anyone to take it apart which I like to know. Why do I need to know? That I would like to know.
He’s my favorite as well. Always love his child like love of music mixed with the incredible mini lessons that he posts for use to learn...love him as well!❤️🙏🎸
I've been a DeadHead since 1976 and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that 8/27/72 is in the Top 5 live Dead shows of all time. Practically every song is as good as it gets. Especially great are Bertha, Playin in the Band, Dark Star>El Paso, Birdsong and a few others. The boys were on that day even though the temperature soared to around 100 degrees I believe. This show is just dripping with sonic goodness. 1972 was probably the best year for live Grateful Dead. They were firing on all cylinders and their vast catalog of music was growing leaps and bounds. If I was turning someone on to the Dead for the first time I would definitely include this show as a launching point. It's that good... Thank you Michael, Great job as always... The Best Is Yet To Come... .
Hands down your best video to date: The excitement and entanglement of your brain when you dove into the first sloppy solo of Jerry's is killer. You could have crapped on his drug fed bending to hit the right notes, but instead gave him grace and compared him to the likes of Hendrix. The Dead back then was an entirely different animal that keeps you on the edge of your seat. And you sir, get it. Then you attempt to go over it and fucking crush the tutorial. My hat is off to you. So glad I have you to watch on the net. God bless you man. Peace.
"Living, breathing tunes that evolve over time ... so my ear wants to hear that" yes, that lick from the later 70's before "really had to move." And this song truly did move over 30 years.
Keep it up man ! It's always great to hear and watch your videos, and recall why music bring us together.. Many greetings from a guitar player from France !
@@gratefulhikes Peep 12/31/87 ...Bertha Opener...Brent killing the Hammond B3 him and Jerry locked in lots of crowd energy...band feeding off that...FiYa!!
This was the alligator era - although I believe for this show he was playing a different sunburst Strat.He definitely played differently than when I saw them in the 80s. Much more intense.
Thanks Michael for posting this. There is famous video of them playing Jack Straw at this show that starts with a dog eating a child's food from his hand while they've done shared all of mine.....
I'll say it again. Came for the Dead but stuck around 'cause you're so freakin' cool. Some of these artists I never would have heard about. So yeah, love the Dead videos but I'm really digging the other selections equally as well. (Eminence Front the other day was fantastic!) Cheers and Thank You.
The Veneta 8-28-82 show is kind of noteworthy as well. I was there and the Dead played kind of laid back but very intense. Kind of hard to describe. There exists a VERY good FOB audience tape that captures the feel perfectly. It sounds exactly as I experienced it, esp. the second set. Garcia is on fire on this Bertha!
@@Guitargate Sing Me Back Home. The solo happens in the same major pentatonic box (albeit in A, obvs) and Jerry just milks it. He needs a D? He first finger bends the C# to get there. The whole show is hot. Apparently one of the last times the whole band did LSD together on stage? I can't remember where I read that (maybe Phil's book), but I think that's the case.
Ahhhh more Grateful Dead, Thank you , will be jamming along and studying your break down of this fun song that I heard so many times live and always knocked my socks off! Love it Michael 😎🎸🎯. Your facial expressions during Jerry’s spicy solos was hilarious to watch 😭🤣🤣
Love this-I’ve had the 100 Year Hall version stuck in my head for months, reappearing every few weeks to tumble around like a new gift every time. Thanks for all the great content!
Thank you so much! I love that little lick outlining the C to G too. It's fun becoming familiar with the different eras, Jerry's various guitars and tones. Also love when a song's meaning changes for me over time and new insights are revealed.
Lifelong Jerry/Phil/Bob fan who plays both bass and guitar here. The Bertha from their live double album (a.k.a. Skull and Roses), Fillmore East 4/27/71 has a better Jerry solo in terms of a storytelling melody developing from beginning to end; the Veneta is more explorative and all over the place. You can also hear that Bobby is supplying lots of the melodic movement in the verses, in between chords. And Phil is more prominent in the mix, which is important. The bass really drives this song. An important role Phil plays in the band is playing the dynamic between anchoring the emotional feel and letting it soar by his choice of when to play up the neck and when to keep in the lower registers. This song starts up the neck and rarely comes down, giving it its unique intensity. Rhythmically, it has the bounce of a playful puppy jumping all over the place. It reminds me some of the high register bass-playing in African pop styles like soukous where the bass is almost like a conga drum part. p.s. I absolutely hated the plodding dirge barbiturate tempo Bertha the band did in later years.
Yeah, the Skull & Roses Bertha is ingrained in my DNA as “THE” version. My old man had the cassette in his truck and it was in constant rotation. But Veneta is certainly rip-roaring as well. Definitely agree with your view on late-era renditions.
Thank you Michael! You break a song down like nobody else. SO DAMN GLAD YOU GOT ON THE BUS! The Veneta show has some great moments! Jerry playing a fairly stock Strat too. The Dead was so full of energy in this period! If I had to pick one word to characterize their playing in this period, it might be "bounce". Man, they had "bounce" in their step in 72! Today, 72 is my favorite period! :) I'm still waiting on you to tackle "The Eleven" and "The Other One"!! Thanks for what you do!
The Dead and Jam music are kind of like golf. If you don’t play... it doesn’t make any sense at all. But once you play you can really appreciate what is being done and the skill required.
I can respect that. I don't play. And they sound generic and awful to me lol. I don't have reference to what skill they might have, other other my ears and what sounds good to me. But I also think that a band with so many passionate fans is awesome. So to each their on!
@@joeg1709 I play guitar and I think they're a terrible awful band. This article sums up my feelings about them pretty well: www.btrtoday.com/read/featured/the-grateful-deads-legacy-of-awful-music/
DUDE!!!!!! DUDE!!!! For those of us that are guitar players and are taking your courses..... this stuff is so AMAZING!!! It gives me a “window” into how someone who is trained to understand music hears it, thinks about it, breaks it down...I run from these videos to my guitar, to listen to the same music I may have listened to this morning...in a whole new way, from a whole new perspective. My guitar and music world are entirely new..because of your courses, these videos, and your ability to talk about this stuff in a way I am inspired to understand.....Thank You. (Dave)
The one who has the major pentatonic runs during the IV chord is actually Bobby. He’s keeping the rhythm, but also plays lead. Best Bobby tone out there btw.
It’s been so fun to watch you become a Dead fan, but I do also appreciate your goal of diverse music. This is one of the best Bertha’s ever. Well done 🤘
Love these vids. It feels like I’m hanging out with just another guitarist, picking up bits of knowledge naturally. They say always surround yourself with people better than you, so that’s what these videos feel like to me. Thanks for all the effort you put into these!
This show was held on property owned by Ken Kesey, they still hold an annual festival festival there called the Oregon Country fair. I actually met Bill Kruetzman there in the back of a raw organic pie booth I work at. I can assure you, that place is legitimately magical.
The Fair site was owned by a company called Western Aerial Contractors, but the Oregon Country Fair finished buying the property in 1990. Nothing to do with Ken.
@@partsmanba "Veneta is also known for its iconic counter culture celebration, the Oregon Country Fair (OCF). It began in 1970 as a costume and craft fair to raise funds for a local school. The private wooded acreage where the event was held was originally dubbed the Oregon Renaissance Faire Grounds. It quickly metamorphosed. In 1972, the Grateful Dead performed a memorable, all-day concert in record-breaking August heat on the fair grounds. The concert's purpose was to benefit the Kesey family's Springfield Creamery (Nancy's Yogurt), which need a financial boost."
I'm endlessly fascinated by the trickiness in Bertha....great great version with probably the best Garcia Bertha solo ever.....Michaels observations are really enlightening.
Thanks so much -- another great video. FWIW, and I'm probably just being pedantic, but I think of this as a G mixolydian tune -- a "key" in which the F is the right, "diatonic" note. I love the way you immediately bring out the differences in era. BTW, you can watch a movie of this whole show -- it's pretty (ahem) eye-opening with respect to the dead scene.
This was an outdoor concert on a county fairground with temperatures reaching 103 degrees. In fact, it was so hot the band had to retune after each number. There's a complete recording of the gig with a film as well with selected numbers. The New Riders opened (there's also a CD of their set). So with both, you can recreate the whole thing. Given the temperatures the performance is amazing.
I'm 68, so I grew up with the early Dead. We listened to Live/Dead at every house party in the early 1970's. Lovelight was the high point of every party, and I do mean high. The band changed so much by the 80's, I stopped listening for over a decade. Now I'm back.
take your time. I love the fact you do a lot of my outlaw country artists, as well as the Dead..You are doing a well rounded show. Keep up the good work. No complaints here.
You break down the technical side of music like I will never understand, but it works. I tend to listen and play but have no idea what everything is called but I know what works where. Nice to see this side.
I agree when he says he's not accustomed to hearing Jerry solo in that style. I'm not a solo expert but I have listened to the GD extensively. This was a truly unique solo.
Most of all like Michael's expressions (stoke) when following! Crack me up! Putz a big grin on my face! sons,new riders,dead!! fortunate to be there!! Gotta Save The Dairy
I think the Jack Straw from this concert has video on the Dead's RU-vid channel and the bird song somewhere else. So there is probably video out there somewhere
To me Jack Straw and Bird Song were pure 🔥. Some don't like that version of the Dead. One drummer, Jerry, Bob and Phil vocally on top of their game, great harmony. It was magic for sure.
@@immortalserito774 I'm not sure I agree with all the over-the-top comments about this show, but it was great. I do, however, love this Bird Song. Oddly enough, it's the Weir licks that stand out to me. Possibly the way the movie sound was mixed, but it's trippy.
l.. I work in veneta.. plus i occasionally work my bosses booth at the oregon country fair... if u ever put anything in ur bucket list ... go to the oregon country fair and try to figure out how to get one of the elusive over night camping passes... cuz it'll change ur life.. hell of a party
This was an awesome video Michael. It was fascinating to get insight into Jerry's playing style changes, and guitar playing as it evolved . It would be great to hear you listen to some of his bluegrassy stuff from the early days (and your same dissection of the style/changes ). I'm sure jazz also had it's effect as well on his playing etc. A series about his evolution would be killer . All the best . Thank You
Love your channel, great work! We are lucky here in Dallas\Fort Worth to still have a 2 hour Dead radio show on Friday night's. It's called L.one S.tar D.ead .....GREAT NAME too! Thanks for ALL the great content!
20:10 or thereabouts: Jerry only plays that F sharp on his lead into the solo, in going from G to C, which is what provides that ear-twisting bit we all saw you notice.
Michael, your Dead breakdowns are especially appreciated. If I had to pick ONE SHOW that is my all-time go-to, the one I reach for when I can't decide what dead to listen to, it's this one. It's a quintessential 1972 show (my favorite year), with exemplary renditions of this, Bird Song, China/Rider, Dark Star, Black Throated Wind, and probably the best Playin' in the Band they ever did. This show is to '72 what Cornell is to '77. It's all on video, btw as Sunshine Daydream. You could camp out reacting to just the songs of 8/27/72 for a good long while.
These are super fun, I need to look into your classes. You made me think, Jerry’s one position solo with tons of big bends, maybe that’s coming from the exact kind of things he’d play on a pedal steel solo?
Almost my all time Favourite Dead tune. Concerning playing F (flat 7th of G) quite often when going into a verse from the Intro G to C vamp the band will go G chord, F chord, C Chord, as 3 quick stabs. The Skull and Roses version does this.
You are the man I have watched you so long and you are so humble and you give credit where credit is due I used to play guitar fairly well until I was in an accident in the Marine Corps I've lost a lot of my memory and a lot of the strength and dexterity in my fretting hand and I've been trying to find somebody who would give one-on-one lessons you can't find nobody no more especially with the pandemic going on.... !!!!!!pleas help Michael!!!!! I am a very fast learner and it wouldn't take much I don't think going through the motions it should come back to me I have spent so much money on different lessons that's been pre-recorded online and I can't get nothing from them I need a person that can help me one-on-one to help jog my memory and if I can't get it back it's going to kill me the person that taught me was my brother and he passed two years ago he got sick with cancer while I was in the Marine Corps and passed shortly after I got out so it was like my motivation and my teacher had disappeared and I'm just trying to find help to get back on the tracks again if you can email me at hgem1031 at gmail.com I tried emailing you but I can't find your email but to your guitar gate it would be great to hear from you thanks for everything you do Mike please keep it up you don't know how much of a fire you build underneath of us
Since we're in 1972, I would LOVE to hear your take on Bobby's Rhythm fills on the Europe '72 version of Bertha. I have yet to hear him do that on any other version
