Patti Smith

While going through the Grateful Dead Openers vine, I spotted a very unusual show. It was the Patti Smith Group. The first time that I heard heard her was when she played on Saturday Night Live on April 17, 1976. She did Gloria and My Generation. I was not prepared for her at all, but this godmother of the punk movement is into Jerry Garcia. This is strange indeed. Things can get stranger for sure. Here is a piece that she wrote in remembrance to our fallen hero. I could not find a copy of either SNL or the show I listened to, so I am giving you a link to a video of Gloria from a few weeks earlier than the GD show.

One of the other artists that have opened for the Grateful Dead was Babatunde Olatunji. He worked with Mickey Hart. Here is The Beat of my Drum.

Music for today:

New Riders of the Purple Sage
December 31, 1972
Winterland Arena
San Francisco, CA
listen here

Babatunde Olatunji and His Drums of Passion
September 19, 1987
Madison Square Garden
New York City, NY
opening for Grateful Dead
listen here (put in Babatunde Olatunji in search engine)

Patti Smith Group
May 12, 1979
Alumni Stadium
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA
opening for Grateful Dead

The Who
March 28, 1981
Rockpalast
Essen, West Germany
opening for Grateful Dead

Roy Buchanan
September 6, 1980
State Fairgrounds
Lewiston, ME
opening for Grateful Dead

Pharoah Sanders & Willie Henderson
May 21, 1992
Cal Expo Amphitheatre
Sacramento, CA
opening for Grateful Dead

Santana
June 28, 1991
Mile High Stadium
Denver, CO
listen here (look up Santana in search engine)

Happy New Year-2010

Well, it is the start of a whole new decade full of wonders yet to be discovered. This day started out early for me since I had to work at 8 AM. The rest of the day was spent doing the time honored thing of watching college football. This reminds me of the the story I brought up in an earlier post. My friend is disabled, but she is able to go on roller coasters at amusement parks. While in line in the handicapped entrance which also doubles as the entrance for the the more elite, i happened to meet a player for LSU (Louisiana State University) that told me that the rides at Sea World were to much for him and it might cost him the game. They played Penn State today and lost 19-17. The weather and the field conditions played an important part in the outcome of the game, but it is nice to think that somehow I had an inside track to the game's result.

On a different note, I did not make a New Year's resolution because I don't believe in them, but there are some major changes in store for me this year. I think it better to do than think your way through something. Here are some favorites to start the year out right: this one reminds me of the parades in the morning; and this one is for what happens the rest of the year.

Music for today:

Miles Davis Sextet
April 9, 1970
Fillmore West
San Francisco, CA
listen here (look up under Miles Davis)

Miles Davis Sextet
April 12, 1970
Fillmore West
San Francisco, CA
listen here (look up under Miles Davis)

New Riders of the Purple Sage
September 3, 1977
Raceway Park
Englishtown, NJ
listen here (look under New Riders of the Purple Sage)

New Riders of the Purple Sage
May 2, 1970
Harpur College
Binghampton, NY
listen here

New Riders of the Purple Sage
December 10, 1971
Fox Theater
St, Louis, MO
listen here

New Year's Eve

On this festive of nights, I am one to keep my own company. When I was younger, I found the holiday more to my liking. There was a celebration that I went to called the Alcathon. It went was a 24 hour marathon sober party for New Year's Eve. There were lots of bands and a ton of people. It was held at the old Minneapolis Convention Center. Sadly, those days are long gone. Besides, I have to work in the morning at 8 AM. The music project will get back on a regular schedule starting the New Year. So to all of you, this goes out to you all: The original version of Robert Burns's Auld Lang Syne for the stroke of Midnight. This is for the first song of the year.

The only music listen to today was discs one and two of Dick's Picks 14.

Road Tripping

Today was spent mulling over a cup of Mocha and cleaning out my email account. I heard some good music while doing that. My picked up my friend from her visit with other friends, we set off on a journey of epic portions. We had to pass through the city of Orlando which has the worst traffic next to Chicago. The list of tunes will follow, but there are some great links to some of the songs we listened: It Sucks to be Me; Rain King and Soul Sacrifice.

Music for today:

Garage Jam, Marin County, California 1970
John Cipollina-Ultra Rare Tracks, Home Recording
Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, John Cipollina, & Bill Champlin or Pete Sears

Garcia and Friends
1970
The Matrix
San Francisco, CA

PERRO Sessions
Wally Heider Recording Studio
San Francisco, CA
November 1970 - January 1971

Avenue Q Original Broadway Recording

Counting Crows "Films about Ghosts"

Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack

St. Augustine

A diversion has taken me to the town of Ormand Beach to drop of my friend to spend some quality time with her her friends. After this, I boogied up to St. Augustine. While there, I visited the lighthouse that was investigated by the Ghost Hunters. They found some great evidence. Here is a good clip of that show. When thinking of St. Augustine, this song comes to mind. Now that we are heading into the throws of winter, we need something to pick us up. The something that always does the trick is chocolate.

Music for today:

Grateful Dead
December 29, 1988
Oakland-Alameda Coliseum
Oakland, CA
Second Set off of XM Radio
listen here

Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir and members of NRPS
December 27, 1970
KPPC-FM
Pasadena, CA
Interviews and Four Gospel Songs Live
NPRS demo "Louisana Lady"
This was off my hard drive.

"C" World

Take a landlocked person and put him in an environment that celebrates all things of the sea. The hilarity starts right up. The first bit is Tuna-free Dolphin in a can. So the dolphins get back at us and say enough is enough. "So long, and Thanks for All The Fish." (This part is redundant since I already posted the video. It fits with today's blog entry. So sue me.) I helped a friend navigate through the park on a power cart. They were being careful not to hit anybody and anything. They were doing quite well except for me. It seems I became a unintentional target. I got run into several times. There were no permanent marks left. My friend is young and has special needs, but she accomplished something that a college football player that will be playing on New Year's Day can't call his own. He admitted defeat at the hands of a thrill ride while this friend was not supposed to be on the ride in the first place. She came off of it battered but unscathed. As to this athlete, one can only speculate

No music except The Beatles, Grateful Dead on XM and Carbon Leaf's "Indian Summer" CD while on the drive up.

Pool Side Viewing

I got a chance to show my sister the photos of my trip to Ireland. As I was doing this, I showed her the ones I took of the town of Cong where the movie "The Quiet Man" was filmed. This movie is quintessential Ireland on film. I bought a book at the gift shop in Cong, and I brought it with me to read. It is a collection of essays by Irish writers about the the impact of the film on the culture of Ireland as a whole. One of the other movies that is compared to this one is "The Commitments." It is a movie by Alan Parker who did "The Wall" by Pink Floyd. By the way, all the folks in The Commitments are the real deal. The guy who plays the guitar went on to play in the band The Frames. They did this little song called "Slowly Falling" before they did the movie Once, and the won the the Oscar for Original Song. I bought my sister a few items from A Swell Season and The Frames.



Music for today:

Jerry Garcia and Friends (aka David & The Dorks)
December 15, 1970
The Matrix
San Francisco, CA
listen here (search under jgb1970-12-15davidandthedorks)

Jerry Garcia & Friends
December 17, 1970
The Matrix
San Francisco, CA
listen here (search here under jgb1970-12-17TheMatrixSanFranciscoCA

David and The Dorks
December 20, 1970
The Matrix
San Francisco, CA