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Arguing with some friends over text rn and didn’t think this was thread worthy but has turned into a heated discussion

Which is better:

At Fillmore East (Allman Brothers)
Cornell ‘77 (Grateful Dead)

dog-for-me.gif
 
Speaking of Europe 72 I preordered the 50th anniversary multicolor edition and am hoping to pick up the London show RSD release next weekend. Also an Allman Brothers 2003 live compilation I’m eyeing.
 
Interesting question with a lot to unpack. How'd you guys land on those two shows (as opposed to maybe a Europe '72 show, closer in time to the Fillmore East show)?

What are some of the arguments thus far? I'm not even sure where to start on this one so curious to know what your friends are saying.

The argument started as a comparison between the two bands in general, but because the Dead's output is so much bigger someone proposed those two were among or broadly considered each band's "best" shows. Throwing out whether that's true or not, and I tend to think maybe not, especially for the Dead, we got into it.

The original 1971 Allmans release is just 7 songs, and Cornell '77 is a full 2 set show, which is another thing that makes it hard to compare so you have to pick favorites and least favorites from each and go from there.

You get into the flow of what makes a Dead show special with the Cornell recording, but also there are some slower parts like the end of the first set before Dancing in the Street. 69-72 is my favorite era of Dead and I'd prefer to compare that era to the same time for the Allmans so we can pick apart the individual players too, but 77 is an evolution in the sound of the Dead for sure. By 1977 they could be as tight as they wanted on any given night, but often opted to be more experimental and spacy, so it was kinda up to the vibe of Jerry what you were gonna get, and Cornell is a great example of staying hot from start to finish but still getting weird in a few spots.

Allmans across the board tighter musicians and wrote tighter compositions. Better singers, maybe better performers, and reached higher highs than the Dead almost every single show. They aren't really experimenting as much though, they're just jamming out some early southern rock and blues numbers.

An outcome that surprised me was that I ended up saying if I had to choose only one band to listen to for the rest of my life, I'd choose the Dead because of the massive number of shows you could pick, but that picking a single Brothers recording, you were more likely to get a hit than you were in the Dead catalog.

That's sort of where we are this morning.
 
The argument started as a comparison between the two bands in general, but because the Dead's output is so much bigger someone proposed those two were among or broadly considered each band's "best" shows. Throwing out whether that's true or not, and I tend to think maybe not, especially for the Dead, we got into it.

The original 1971 Allmans release is just 7 songs, and Cornell '77 is a full 2 set show, which is another thing that makes it hard to compare so you have to pick favorites and least favorites from each and go from there.

You get into the flow of what makes a Dead show special with the Cornell recording, but also there are some slower parts like the end of the first set before Dancing in the Street. 69-72 is my favorite era of Dead and I'd prefer to compare that era to the same time for the Allmans so we can pick apart the individual players too, but 77 is an evolution in the sound of the Dead for sure. By 1977 they could be as tight as they wanted on any given night, but often opted to be more experimental and spacy, so it was kinda up to the vibe of Jerry what you were gonna get, and Cornell is a great example of staying hot from start to finish but still getting weird in a few spots.

Allmans across the board tighter musicians and wrote tighter compositions. Better singers, maybe better performers, and reached higher highs than the Dead almost every single show. They aren't really experimenting as much though, they're just jamming out some early southern rock and blues numbers.

An outcome that surprised me was that I ended up saying if I had to choose only one band to listen to for the rest of my life, I'd choose the Dead because of the massive number of shows you could pick, but that picking a single Brothers recording, you were more likely to get a hit than you were in the Dead catalog.

That's sort of where we are this morning.

Dude, that's a great argument. Thanks for putting in some of the details.

I think I would agree that the baseline for ABB is a bit higher and/or more consistent, but I too would pick the Dead if I had to choose just because of the sheer variety. Plenty of shows that were duds across their catalog, but so much variety to choose from makes it an easy pick for me too. Cool discussion.
 
Speaking of Europe 72 I preordered the 50th anniversary multicolor edition and am hoping to pick up the London show RSD release next weekend. Also an Allman Brothers 2003 live compilation I’m eyeing.

I pre-ordered Europe 72 as well. I picked up the May show from Paris last year, so I'm going to pass on the London show. I feel like I've got a nice representation of early Dead in my collection and now I need to prioritize getting some of the later stuff. Overall this RSD list is a under whelming for me; nothing I'm going to get up and wait in line for at this point, but I'll try to swing by after my kid's soccer game and try to pick up a few things if they are still on the shelf.
 
The interesting thing about Dead recordings is that they used to just put out standard compilation live albums (like Europe 72) and leave the longer jams off. It wasn’t until maybe 20-30 years ago they realized there’s a market for full shows on vinyl. Like the London show I mentioned has a 30 min Dark Star.
 
I pre-ordered Europe 72 as well. I picked up the May show from Paris last year, so I'm going to pass on the London show. I feel like I've got a nice representation of early Dead in my collection and now I need to prioritize getting some of the later stuff. Overall this RSD list is a under whelming for me; nothing I'm going to get up and wait in line for at this point, but I'll try to swing by after my kid's soccer game and try to pick up a few things if they are still on the shelf.
I missed the Paris show last year so will grab London though truth be told I wish there was a different era represented and the Paris set list is a better show IMO. I mainly want that and the aforementioned ABB since I love that era so much and saw them often. Will try for the Jerry acoustic and maybe a few others. Pearl Jam Live on Ten Legs is an RSD release coking out in June I want.
 
Listening to "Live at Red Rocks" by Mt Joy and it sounds really good; band is mixed nicely and you catch plenty of crowd noise. I saw them at Hinterland in Iowa and have really enjoyed visiting their music since then; they put on a great live show and this recording captures great energy. Not sure if any of the rest of you guys are listening to Mt Joy but if you like indie folk with some blues/rock undertones it might be worth a listen. The songs "Astrovan" and "Julia" might be good entry points.
 
Burning through the 4/13/2022 Billy Strings show from Santa Ana - brings out Post Malone to do "Cocaine Blues" in the second set. Great show; can't wait to see Strings at Red Rocks next month.
 
Show #6 last night - IDLES

Energy was through the roof; that will be a top 3 show for me this year because of the power and stage presence of the band. Best crowd I’ve seen in a long time - virtually no talking once the band came out and the pit was insane. The pit became its own living entity last night which was fun to watch.
 
I learned recently that this 17+ minute Yo La Tengo song, "Night falls on Hoboken," that closes out their "and then nothing turn itself inside out" album was recorded in the studio as a single full take using loop pedals and everyone switching instruments. Ira said it took all day to get the recording right but in the end the album version was form a single take and a little bit of post processing/mixing.

 
Show #6 last night - IDLES

Energy was through the roof; that will be a top 3 show for me this year because of the power and stage presence of the band. Best crowd I’ve seen in a long time - virtually no talking once the band came out and the pit was insane. The pit became its own living entity last night which was fun to watch.

Ha, was a that show as well. Lit for sure
 
lol....this song came on the radio today in the car and it just reminded me of how I heard it all the time when I was a kid in the car with my mom.

 
The Marshall Tucker Band - The Marshall Tucker Band (1973)
 
Went to see Billy Joel at BofA Stadium in Charlotte Saturday night. Anyone else? Really good show. He is really showing his age on the exterior but still sounded great and it was a great concert.

His band is just so good. And I hate what he did to his original band but this group is strong. Youtube search for his rhythm guitar player/vocals Mike Delguidice. He's an unbelievable talent. Has been playing in his own Billy Joel tribute band called Big Shot for years and he's an incredible singer and Billy let him show off Nessun Dorma like one of the three tenors during the concert. I opened for him a few years ago at a private function (and luckily got to jam a couple of songs with him and his band) and was blown away by his voice and he plays every instrument under the sun like a pro.
 
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