Dead of the Day: 03-28-1985

Nassau Coliseum

Uniondale, New York

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A Truckin’ opens the show, sets the mood, and then bursts forth into a voracious, down and dirty, totally bluesy Smokestack with Matt Kelly on harp giving it that added touch. An exquisite High Time, with Jerry bellowing with his raspy voice and some nice jamming, builds on the first two tunes. Jerry also provides some great picking on Peggy-O; even his bronchitis-like voice cannot take away from this beautiful song. Then the China> Rider set closer is unbelievable; the former is an upbeat dance machine and the Rider has a deep rocking, heavy rolling, and totally tumbling sort of sound that is fantastic. The second set opens with a Scarlet> Fire and then heads to a solid, but not otherworldly, LL Rain. The jam out of LL Rain is quite cool, though, as the band noodles around and finds a little groove before leaving the stage to the drummers. The backside of Space has some great stuff, but is totally dominated by the nearly twelve minutes of absolutely rocking Sugar Mags. Brent kills it on the keys and the whole band comes together for some ferocious jamming that builds to a supersonic pace that surely had the whole place totally boogieing.

Recording info
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Identifier:
gd1985-03-28.set1.mtx.seamons.94544.sbeok.flac16
Source:
Matrix mix (SBD/AUD)
Notes:
*Matrix* —————————————————- SBD: PCM > DAT > Sonic Solutions > CD —————————————————- AUD: Recorded by the Oade Brothers Transferred by Doug Oade, tracked by Darrin Sacks (dsacks@pcisys.net) Field: Schoeps CMC441s (90deg, 17cm) > Oade M118 > Oade mod SONY PCM-F1 Transfer: Master PCM > DAW (via SEKD Prodif) > Wav > cdwav > Flac ————————————————— Thank you to Alan Fink and Mark Ferguson for the SBD transfer, and to the Oade Brothers and Darrin Sacks for the AUD transfer. Matrix by Hunter Seamons using Soundtrack/Final Cut Pro (SHN & FLAC>AIFF>Soundtrack>Final Cut>WAV>FLAC) September 15, 2008 Set I —– d1t01 Tuning d1t02 Truckin’ -> d1t03 Smokestack Lightning* -> d1t04 High Time d1t05 El Paso d1t06 Peggy-O d1t07 Cassidy d1t08 China Cat Sunflower -> d1t09 I Know You Rider * with Matthew Kelly on harp Notes: The reason I did not initially use the PCM SBD source for the original full-length matrix – a source I was fully aware of – was due to somewhat misleading information, but ultimately my lack of full investigation. So here’s the whole story: I first came across PLS’s matrix of this show at shnflac.net, which included a fixed version and a DTS version. Scarfire, one of my matrix heroes, commented how awful the matrix was and that it should be redone. I heartily took up the task. The reasons I did not use the PCM initially are: 1) The PCM source had an “OCD” category icon next to it (although I don’t think it should), which lead me to believe there was a “better” source out there. 2) Since PLS used the Griesman SBD, a source that came after the PCM, I assumed that that was the better version, despite a previous PCM being available. I thought there must have been problems with the PCM. 3) The preview button for the PCM source at shnflac.net had “vbr” listed in the streaming info, so I assumed it was the Hi-Fi vbr streaming sound. In spite of this, I think it is actually a straight 64Kbps Lo-Fi sound – which lead me to believe the source was poor sounding, for whatever reason. 4) For the PCM source at db.etree.org, it states there is an “upgrade” in circulation, referring to the Griesman SBD (which I think is not the best descriptor). However, I think the term “upgrade” is used to refer to the SBD source that has the whole show, not just set 1. But it is NOT an “upgrade” in terms of sound. All these things naturally threw me off – and I did not have the actual PCM on hand at the time to verify, so this was ultimately my oversight. Coincidentally, I recently downloaded the DVD bootleg of this show on shnflac.net and noticed the music used for the audio was awesome. I gathered that it must have been the PCM source that I never got to fully consult. Luckily, some good folk were still seeding the PCM at shnflac.net (via project ’85), so I got it and realized it was really all good and not a “downgrade,” as it were. IN COMPARING THIS TO THE OTHER SBD SOURCE THEN: 1) This sounds MUCH better and is SIGNIFICANTLY less harsh on the ears. 2) Coincidentally, while I initially thought set 2 from the Griesman SBD was worse than set 1 because of some higher hiss, greater scrutiny has revealed that set 1 actually sounds worse in that it is harsher on the ears (sharper sounding, like knives digging in my ears). Luckily, the PCM was available for set 1, so now these files can essentially replace set 1 in the other matrix I did. So now a nice, smooth sounding matrix is available via two sources, as inconvenient – yet convenient – that is. My suggestion to future seeders of this matrix as a whole, if so desired, is to seed a torrent with these “replacement” tracks along with set 2 from the other matrix source. Then it will be ALL GOOD in the end. Peace. -Hunter
Description:
Set 1 (only) Truckin’ -> Smokestack Lightning * -> High Time El Paso Peggy-O Cassidy China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider * with Matthew Kelly on harp
Lineage:
Transferrer:
Hunter Seamons
Play
Pause
Back
Forw.
Volume
00:00
1
Tuning
02:39
2
Truckin’ ->
07:17
3
Smokestack Lightning* ->
05:36
4
High Time
08:08
5
El Paso
04:49
6
Peggy-O
07:41
7
Cassidy
06:09
8
China Cat Sunflower ->
05:44
9
I Know You Rider
05:40
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The Dead played thirty-five shows at Nassau Coliseum, and that great pit out on Long Island provoked the band to some stellar efforts during many of them. The coliseum opened in 1972 with an initial capacity of between 13,000 and 15,000 depending on the event. The Dead played their first show there the following year, beginning with a three-night run opening on the Ides of March. They would come back for two more dates in September of 1973 and then not return to the venue until 1979. From then on, their appearances were fairly regular, except for a five-year hiatus after the three-night run that this show is from. Their last show at Nassau would come on Monday, March 29, 1994, closing out with a Brokedown Palace encore, which I find perfectly appropriate.

The recording that we have cued up here is a matrix from Kevin Tobin. There are also a pair of matrixes available from Hunter Seamons. Hunter put the first matrix together back in 2008. After completing that matrix and sending it out into the world, Hunter then came across a cleaner digital source for the first set soundboard than he had used previously. So, Hunter sat down to improve on his earlier effort, turning out a first set only, all-digital matrix. Kevin’s matrix is quite sweet itself – a three source compilation – and captures the entire night. Thanks to Kevin, Hunter, and all the other tapers, sound engineers, roadies, and enthusiasts that have, over the years, helped preserve and share the Dead’s amazing music.

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