Chalupa

Overrated? - yes. This show, along with Veneta 8/27/72, always gets a lot of props. And they do deserve them - to a certain extent - they are both excellent shows. But there are many more shows which have better playing, IMHO. I just think the hoopla surrounding 5/8/77 is way over the top that's all. I wouldn't put it in my list of top 50 Dead shows. There are better first sets from that year, again IMHO. Take a listen to 2/26, 3/19, 5/21, or 5/22. Don't get me wrong I like Cornell. The Scar>Fire is one for the ages as is the Dew. The Loser is fine as well. But the show is not a top 50 show. YMMV.

Random musings... I really like everything they did through 75. After that it's hit ot miss for me and the last show I have is 10.31.91. I can't stomach Vince. His voice is far worse than any Donna wails to me. YMMV. I love the last disc of DP 19. The Dark Star is one for the ages. Everyone should have a copy of Steppin' Out. Ditto for Rockin' the Rhein. And DP's 2,4,8. Essential. If you get a chance d/l the new version of 6/24/70. Great AUD recording of one of their best shows. The new version(recorded by Ken and Judy Lee) blows away all previous circulating versions.

Cornell also has to be one of the easiest shows to obtain in pristine sound quality. Almost everyone that calls themselves a deadhead has a good copy. So, there really isn't a pressing need to get that show out. It's doubtful they could upgrade the sound over what is in circualtion. There are many other shows that don't circulate or circulate w/ poor sound quality(and need to upgraded) that should be considered before Cornell, IMHO. Not too mention that it's kind of overrated. There are better shows from that year. And yes, it's not in the Vault.

There's an "advance" copy for sale on ebay..... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...bayphotohosting

I found the review... Hard Disk MP3 Players, February 9, 2004 Reviewer: i_like_gadets (see more about me) from Glen Allen, VA USA If you read reviews for the 4 main contenders in this market - the iPod, Creative Zen, Rio Karma and iRiver iHP - you'll notice that each has their pros and cons; none are perfect and you should decide whether you want to take to take the plunge now or later. If your view in life is that you are going to pay $x00 to get a device then it must be near ideal - ruggedly constructed, fault proof, good product support, easy to use software - then do yourself a favor and don't buy yet. All the products have drawbacks and are not mature yet; if you expect value and reliability then wait a while. If you are OK paying $x00 for something that can be used now, but is likely to both get better and cost less in the future then try to determine which device is the lesser of evils for you. iPod clearly has the most buzz. Great design and looks cool. Most people love the appearance and praise the touch sensitive buttons. It has a hold button to deactivate the buttons to avoid accidents; however, enough reviewers have complained that the hold button is easily broken and then the device can't be used. Some of the more geeky (non-Apple type) reviewers complain that the scrollwheel is annoying after a while and they resent being forced into this Apple-like interface. Everyone complains about the non-replaceable battery, yet this is the price of sturdy construction. iPod can be used as an external disk, and apparently stores files without problem. However, the music and data are apparently not separated; iPod reviewers complain about "white noise" in random feedback mode that comes from appointments / contacts created on the iPod during synchronization. Synchronizing music among computers, if you have more than one, seems to be an issue; research this before buying if you have multiple computers you want to be synchronized. Reviews for sound quality are generally (but not universally) positive. Reviews of Apple's support are generally poor; they seem to address issues in warranty, which covers a short time after delivery / pickup of item. After that it seems like you're on your own. iPod has no stop button; when new users mention this iPod veterans call it "unnecessary" and "so 20th century". Creative Zen feedback suffers from construction quality, poor product support, difficulty of using the scroll wheel and reasonably consistent feedback about problems with the headphone jack. Construction quality is a difficult item. The Zen has a detachable face plate that allows the battery to be replaced. What is added in functionality (battery replacement) detracts in build quality as the face plate is prone to popping off. Drop if just a few inches on a hard surface and the faceplate pops off (but not if it's in its case). Many reviewers say the faceplate simply didn't fit well so they returned the Zen. Feedback on Creative's product support is universally poor; this is not limited to the Zen, it applies to all the company's products. The scroll wheel is finicky; it works most of the time but there is a learning curve for pressing it just right; new users say they have 50% - 75% success rate; some find it so frustrating that they just return the device. The Creative software is awkward / difficult to use and just plain doesn't load on some computers. Enough people have reported that their headphone jack doesn't work after a month of using the device to believe that Creative has some inbuilt manufacturing or quality control problem. The Zen doesn't support folders so it is not really a storage device; even with third party software that "creates" folders, documents and programs can't be launched from the Zen, so it is not a hard disk, it's a storage device at best. Reviews for sound quality are generally (but not universally) positive. The Zen has no stop button. Veteran Zen users have explained how to stop if that's what you want. The Rio Karma feedback suffers from sensitivity in the hard disk. It seems like movement, even small movement, causes skipping in playback and even the device freezing. If you plan to carry the device around (it is a mobile device, right?) then this is something you might want to think about. Karma gets consistently good reviews for sound quality and connectivity from its docking device, which has RCA output jacks and Ethernet jacks for connectivity. Usability (button usage, feature selection, menu structure, display size and quality) also has good feedback. Repair seems to be an issue; some say the repair don't exist - you just have to buy a new player. Perhaps because of its smaller user base there is also a lack of accessories. Like the Zen, the Karma does not support folders and is not designed to be a data storage device. It only comes in 20Gb; enough for most people, not for those with large collections ripped at high sampling rates. The Karma does have a stop button. There aren't many reviews for the iRiver iHP. Those that have it like it. The only complaint seems to be that the disk rotation is slow, leading to longer delays in some functions (playback and even a slow display of the menu?). Otherwise feedback seems to be good. No comments on reliability, warranty, repairs, accessories. No-one mentions whether there is a stop button, but the photos don't show one. None of these are perfect. If you have the appetite choose the one that you think has the least deficiencies or is best suited to you. Accept that there will be better devices (or new generations of these ones) in a year or two that will cost less. If that is for you then pay the money, learn from the experience and you'll be a more informed buyer when you buy device #2. If you aren't into paying $x00 to learn and experiment, or the cons outweigh the pros, then wait a year or so. --This text refers to an alternate option.

Apparently the batteries can only be replaced by Apple which charges around $100(US) + shipping. The battery life/replacement hassle has been the main complaint voiced about IPods. I read a review somewhere on amazon.com where someone compared the Ipod, Rio, Zen, and one other I can't remember the name of right now. Anyway, basically what this guy said is that all of the mp3 players on the market right now have their +/-'s . If you're looking for one that has a lot of storage, easy to use, is durable, sounds great and is inexpensive - forget it. Wait for the next generation of players. You have to decide which one is right for you. I bought my wife the 20G IPod for Christmas. She uses it everyday. 6 months later and no complaints.

Thanks for the photos Uncle Skid!

LOL!!! I saw that thread too!

When I saw Wayne Shorter this past January in Philly I had front row, dead center tickets. Alas, my first time time seeing Wayne perform live was marred by some rude audience behavior. Unfortunately right behind me there were two older gentlemen talking away as if the rest of the world didn't matter. Finally about 45 minutes into Wayne's show and after about 2 or 3 stern looks from me I finally turned around and said,"Do you MIND??". They shut up. One of the guys was Francis Davis.

You lucky dog! I saw the Dead around 50 times - never got a Dark Star.

IMHO, the best of the live releases from the the Dead is the "Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead" that was released a few years ago. The Dark Star>Sugar Mag is out of this world. Hard to find for some strange reason. 1971 is my least favorite year for the Dead, prior to their retirement. The band took awhile to get use to not having two drummers and Pigpen's health decline took its toll. Even when healthy he was no match as a keyboardist for the rest of the band. Things picked up in the Fall when Keith joined(my faveorite keyboardist of theirs). Here was someone that could challenge Jerry for control of the jams and keep up with him every step of the way. 1972, 1973, & 1974 are the golden years for me. I love the 1968-70 years for their primal energy but they matured into one of the finest exploratory music ensembles in Rock when Keith joined up.

FYI... I just got an email w/ an annoucemnet for this upcoming release http://jerrygarcia.com/purejerry.html Looks pretty good.

so did anyone pick up the new miles/trane box yesterday? I want to find out about the new packaging.

I have both of the complete cycles by Schnabel and Kempff. It is definitely recommended that you check out both of these players interpretations if you haven't heard them. Schnabel, for many, is(was) the "voice" of Beethoven. Kempff takes some liberties w/ tempo that provide some beautiful results. Has anyone heard Richard Goode's cycle?? Also, I know Maurizio Pollini performed the complete cycle in NYC a few years ago. Did he ever record them???

I thought I'd pass this along. The following email is from a poster on the Mike Watt list who got it from a poster on the Latin Jazz list. I hope Elvin is doing bettter. > From the latinjazz@yahoo.com e-group: > >This might be beyond Latin Jazz, but this is the only egroup that I >think might be interested in the description of my experience during >a recent 4 days stay in the SF for a meeting. I was able to go to >Yoshi's to see Elvin Jones Jazz Machine. I am not that familiar with >his work, but knowing he was John Coltrane drummer and more recently >worked a lot with Candido with his poly-rhythm stuff that I wanted to >check him out. First of all, Yoshi's is a great modern place to see a >Jazz band, good acoustics, pretty big as well. The only problem is >that it is in the middle of a mall-like complex and after the last >set we were stranded, without a cab or even a person to help us out >to get back to SF. I tried to ask for somebody at Yoshi's to actually >call a cab for us or help us out, and he looked at me like "Are you >from another planet?" (and he was the last person there, once he >left, we were truly alone). Took us an hour to actually get back to a >BART (subway) station to head back to SF. But that is beyond the >point. > >I was really eager to see Elvin Jones, waiting to see the Black >Thunder pounding those drums. The scenario was perfect, no mikes over >the drums so I though "wow, he can really pound those drums, eh?". >Well, the band came out (2 saxes, pianist and bassist) and the place >went crazy but...no Elvin...and no Elvin...and no Elvin. After about >5 minutes of constant applause, Elvin Jones came out, couldn't walk >and had to be helped by his wife and the band members. We were a >group of physicians and nurses and we all looked at each other with >the same expression in our faces "he is dying of heart failure". His >wife gave him the sticks and the band started playing a bebop-like >tune. It was quite an experience seeing him playing that night. The >stick in his right hand (hitting the cymbal) kept slipping back and >he needed to reposition it. He was certainly off, considering the >timing of the tune. I couldn't see his left hand, but I could not >hear any beats. Similarly with the hi-hat, I did not hear it all >night long. As the performance continued, he looked more ill...in >fact, he closed his eyes once, and grabbed his stomach as if he was >in pain, and everybody in my group got up because we though that he >was going to fall. He finally woke up and continued playing. He took >one solo all night long, and basically what he did was to drop the >sticks on the drum one at a time, at a very slow speed. He did not >have the strengh or energy to lift up the sticks from the drum fast >enough. The band sounded great thought. I guess he is like Art Blakey >and surrounded himself with the best young players available. The >bassist kept the rhythm going all night long, working super hard and >the pianist would take very long solos, as both sax players. Elvin >could still swing at a very low speed, but was well complemented by >the bassist and pianist. At the end of the performance, his wife >whose name I couldn't catch, came out and said that Elvin Jones was >very ill, dying from heart failure. She also said that he had not >eaten anything that day but that she had fired his prior 3 physicians >when they said that he was dying and decided to take care of things >herself, booking him continuosly until July (she also went on and on >talking about medical insurances, doctors, etc) Elvin did not said a >word all night long, and I actually wondered if was still coherent >enough (which is a common, late event in patients with heart >failure). He stayed there, sitting by his drums for about 20 minutes >after the performance was over. We all gave him a standing ovation, I >guess is the way of thanking him for what he has done. He did wave >goodby as he was helped out of the stage. We sent him our cards as >there are some options for patients with advanced heart failure >(which we happen to especialize in our group). > >I am not sure I can actually describe the feeling I had that night. >The music was good, and seeing him on the drums made me happy and >sad. Happy because I got to see him before the inevitable. Sad >because somebody like him should be at home, spending the last few >days of his life surrounded by family and friends. I know he also >needs our support (income as his wife put it). I haven't heard >anything about his health in the news, and patients with heart >failure have good and bad days, but I can actually say that he is in >bad shape, weakened by his illness (already cachectic). I will >forever have the image of an elderly Elvin Jones playing the drums >that night. > > > > >Dr. Jazz >Dr. Jazz Operations >24270 Eastwood >Oak Park, MI 48237 >(248) 542-7888 >http://www.drjazz.com=20

Any news??