I was at that show as well. Totally amazing. The mid range Bose drivers were ridiculous. It allowed them to be both loud and clear. Perfect sound. It demolished my hearing over time. My hearing was sacrificed to the Gods. I do not regret it one bit. Their is nothing. like a good old Grateful Dead concert. Party on my fellow Dead Head! Jerry lives in the music.......
The wall of sound was actually fantastic in concert.UNbelievable to look at. I blame it for much of my loss of hearing today. Never too many Grateful Dead Shows! RIP Jerry
I was the electrical engineer working for the Dead's East Coast promoter, John Scher. The Dead's crew built this Wall of Sound generally with the help of a large union crew, and us, the local promoter's staff. I "supported" the construction process for several years, on the East Coast shows, and heard the sound live. I think it's something that has been widely misunderstood. ---First of all it was, and I agree with Bob Weir on this one, wretched excess. That is to say, it wasn't wrong to try this noble experiment and it did sound good when it was all working, but my God, it needed to stay at home, not tour. --Second, it was the kind of thing that although it was a great idea and brilliant to try, there needed to be an adult somewhere who needed to say, "OK, we tried it and it costs more than it's worth." It took the Dead's non-existent decision making hierarchy way too long to eventually face the fact that it was absurd to drag an experiment like this, around with you like an albatross. --Third, everyone in concert sound today with phased arrays and similar advances should from time to time take a moment and honor what these crazy-assed kids did to move concert sound forward about twenty years. The Bear and the rest of those nutcases, like Dan Healey (love ya Dan), proved that large venue concert sound didn't have to sound like crap. In that, they were innovators like Jack Weissberg (Woodstock). Last but not least, the phase-cancelling dual mic experiment seemed like a worthwhile idea on paper, but in the real world, the phase cancellation made the voices into a bad joke, and the public never should have heard that, um, error. --I did love the way Phil's bass sounded through that wall, but vocals not so much...
+Thom Drewke Great analysis and agreed. I slept out at the box office for a week at The New Haven Coliseum and was the first one in line and bought the first five rows center stage tickets for the Dead in 1976 and turned my high school buddies onto the seats. We were disappointed because the sound went right over our heads. I started working gigs for CSC from the 1980's on and worked a lot of east coast coast Dead shows during the 1980's and standing center stage inside the barricade was then best place to be. MUCH BETTER. I must've worked some gigs with ya, bro'. ROCK ON.
"There needed to be an adult somewhere who needed to say, OK, we tried it and it costs more than it's worth." Too funny. "take a minute to honor what these crazy-assed kids did to move concert sound ahead about twenty years"...This, too. :-)
Agreed. My first Dead concert was Syracuse in Nov 73 with the Wall of Sound. I was astounded at how good it sounded. The opening notes of Tennessee Jed were amazing. They didn't use it to sound loud - they used it to sound GOOD. It spoiled me, and stood as my favorite Dead show that I ever saw.
That's funny as I look at late 1972 to early 75 (ie pre Blues for Allah) as their first musical trough. Their first disappointing LP after their very first in 1967 was the live 'Steal your Face' from 1974. Timid, samey and hyped. Nothing like the explosive creativity of 1968 to 1971 under a HEALTHY Pig Pen pushing Acid Blues or the rejuvenated Dead returning with genius Jazz Rock late 75 to Jerry's Stroke in 1979 from which the band never regained their vigor, as Phil and Bill put it.
@@vladdrakul7851 Were you there? Because I was. The peak was '73 with Kieth and Donna. For my money. "Mars Hotel". I saw them at Universal Amphitheater and Hollywood Bowl and they were firing. However, I wish Mickey could have been drumming with Bill as although the sound was clean, it lacked the power of Mickey's addition.
☺️😜✌️💙 this, I needed ...."he still has an uncontrollable urge to throw things" I miss my good ole grateful family! hey y'all out there.... I still have random hugs for u!
I FELT this system at UCSB in May 1974. They didn't even really blast it until the second set....some guy kept yelling "turn it up".....so they did and the Phil bombs would vibrate the ground and your bones. It was incredible.....but they seemed to hold back it's FULL CAPACITY until just the right time. Once in a lifetime experience!
Yup, the Just Exactly Perfect Brothers Band, they wuz known as.. (as per Bobby one fine evening) That sound system may have been a nightmare at times, but the sound could be so crystalline, so quiet, and so damn perfect that you could hear everything the band played. Sacramento Memorial Auditorium was a night I remember for that incredibly complete concert sound that The Wall could produce, and it wasn't loud at all.. just freekin' amaze'n. I left that place all dazed in a brand new way.
I too, was at that show. We were back at least 150 feet on a big chunk of turf on peyote and cheap wine. The sound was clear and balanced. Occasionally the wind would blow the sound around which just added to the effect.
Not really - top tuners are the ones who get make 160k a year , and the rate for concert tuning is really high . It 's a great gig for those who have the temperment
A little bit of incite into the famous 'Wall of Sound'!! I like how Bill Kreutzmann referred to it a carrying around a "herd of elephants"!! Phil showing of his Alembic bass is pretty cool too!
Thanks for sharing! As a stagehand I can really appreciate this. At least once out of every 5 gigs I do the wall of sound and those mics are mentioned. GD crew had an overwhelming impact on how live sound is produced today.
the lesh! lover of nutty sounds... the only guy who would consider strapping an old tube video camera to his alembic bass coz it makes a nice 'buzz'. the way he's fiddling with his controls trying to get more out is just mad! and as for his actual playing...no-one comes close. whaddaguy!
@riderpoet WHY? Well, the the Grateful Dead is the most awesome music, straight from the muse. Total shame it couldn't go on live forever. But.....Their music will never stop. They will always be blissed to, danced to, loved to, sung to...enjoyed and embraced forever. Loved those boys! R.I.P. Owsley. I remember you showing up at Millbrook, with your two lady friends with "something" for the "guinea pigs". Sleep in the stars.
I was lucky enough to hear the wall a couple of times It really was a different sound Even if you were sitting a long way from the stage the sound was loud and balanced nothing quite like it .
A show in Ohio? Iowa? Corn Feild. 104 degrees? I was down front. At the intermission we were all so lilting that Phil (bass) stayed on stage and just pulled the strings in an out and FLOODED the first 39 rows with a BREEZE!
When I first saw this setup, needless to say, I was flabbergasted 😮. It was a long time ago but I’m guessing RFK stadium in DC? Then several shows afterward. I still have some amazing photos from back them
The band Slade from Woverhampton U.K. had a song called Radio Wall Of Sound. "Radio, wall of sound. Coming live from My tower. Radio, wall of sound. 24 hours of power."
I first heard the wall in Kyzar stadium. There they employed delay towers on about the 50 yard line. Must have used tape because it was long before digital to get the feed to match up. Waylon Jennings, NRPS and the Dead. I was really high on blotter. I called it God's own stereo.
I was there. Kezar Stadium, '75. NRPS opened. Waylon Jennning's first outdoor rock concert performance. One of my favorite Dead shows (of many). We brought grocery bags of roses that we harvested from the neighborhood. People let us up to the front. We damn near covered the stage in roses. The wall of sound, with the JBL towers and the stacks of Macintosh 2300 power amps gave the Dead the well-earned reputation of having the best sound system of any rock band in the history of rock and roll. To this day I don't think anyone has had a better sound system. The wall sounded even better inside; at Winterland in '74 it was like the whole back wall of the auditorium was the sound system - to the roof and across, just one huge wall of speakers, with the radial array in the middle. Kezar had a smaller (but still huge) radial array on one side for the keyboards. What a clean sound. The band were like ants standing before it.
Bear hugs will ever be in our hearts and minds beyond all that is seen, unseen, hear the things of dreams, he did - does! He did so much, I figure he still does... he "had a recurring dream"... and made it manifest for us! So they named some laws after him. Bear hugs...last forever
Nicely done....loved the shot of moi (left side, beard, glasses 1:50 to 1:59) pushing the center cluster out of the truck..... More images of the WOS on my photo website; look on rpechner Richie
she could sing just not live and without monitors, and I think she was took it less serious then she could''ve, and was always super high (she would take 15 hits if the acid wasn't strong enough for her tastes for christ sake). She was a session vocalist who worked well in the studio, and during the Terrapin years had several tunes stick out. 'Sunrise' live is good. Don't forget her great work on 'The Music Never Stopped'. We can blame the band itself for allowing her yowling too on songs like 'Playing in the Band' and so forth. But she was a singer, just not what we would call a 'diva' using today's parlance.
Paul ,there are times when I listen to gd and get really into it and all of a sudden.........she sings(yowells).It has been to the point where I wont listen to any shows dated 72-79 just too many bad notes.Ironically ,some of there best jams are from the songs played in those years,it cuts both ways,so it hurts
Experienced one time. UCSB Stadium in 74.We were 50 to 70 yds away and I couldn't believe the sound quality. Peyote may have helped. I went up close to the stage and wasn't impressed. Muddy too from all the dancing.
@MikeDirnttribute Well Mike......you said it right. We were lucky. Dead Shows were the balls. Old School...like Good ole Grateful Dead Shows. Son....it was quite a party. The people and the music just made for a great few days. Period.
That's a hopeful way to look at it. :-) But no, I rarely ever, ever would say a bad word about a person and would never make a judgement on a 1 time meeting. Maybe it was the circumstances you met him under and I am really glad that was your experience. But I was around enough to know that in the setting I saw him in, while he was "working" that is absolutely what I consistently observed.
Those mics look like they would knock out teeth when you sign into them and bump your face. No foam covers look dangerous. The live video at the end sounds really damn good!
@bailinumberguy: just imagine what they could have done without being stoned. They did stuff that changed the sound of music "stoned out of their minds" and did it so fantabulously great, why concern yourself with their state of mind? Their fan base was why they stayed around for so long, it was their love, life, bread and butter and they valued them like no other band did or does now!
What is this video from? I have to see it.. I had always written off the dead as old dirty hippy music. I must know more about them! I had no idea what they gave us in live sound technology...
Excess ain't rebellion, to quote Cake singer John McCrea on the song "Rock and Roll Lifestyle". The Wall of Sound almost goes against that way of thinking.
They each used stacks of Mac 2300's. They're solid state. They were pretty much the most powerful and cleanest power amps on the market. To this day I don't think there's been any rock band in history even close to having as good of a sound system.
@Gary Daniel - mostly JBL's. I know because we (our old band) got a couple of their speaker cabinets years later as hand-me-downs. But there might've also been Cerwin-Vegas in the mix.
Does anyone know the name of the tune, that the riff comes from at 6:06 which Phil Lesh is jamming on? I think it's Ollin Agreed, but I am uncertain. Can anyone help me out?
