I'm going to be out the next few weeks with travel, family, and football, so my intention to leave it all on the field with Deadstein this night was crystalline. September 12th is also the mighty Neil Peart's birthday (RIP), so I tried to bring some of that intention to the proceedings. It's fairly well documented that The Professor had a strong mutual admiration with Mickey Hart. . . so there's that. We have our own Professor, and I try to be mindful of Rich in terms of tempo b/c he's got a pretty fair gauge of such things. He seemed to feel we were playing with groove and restraint on this evening, which works in my estimation. With that, I'll note that at some point Estimated was eschewed in favor of Let It Grow, more on that later.

This was a jam after a week off, which is rare in the Stein of Deadverse - I think this had everyone feeling a little refreshed and ready to go. I was glad for Studio 4, which is a little more spacious. However, the drums were set up rather close together. Initially I was skeptical of this, but I certainly wasn't about to do anything about it: one of the biggest draws of Deadstein is the virtual non-existence of any gear wrangling on my part. Walking in and out with nothing but a pair of sticks is no small miracle, so I was not about to start moving drums. What I did do was blow off the splash and instead put the China cymbal high up on the left. This change looks, feels and sounds fun to me - so I may stick with it. The proximity of the kits to one another was an important nuance. Naturally, I can better hear what Lee is doing (more importantly, what he's not doing) and vice versa. If listening (we both were) this makes for a smoother ride and for my part - actually helps me to control volume. If I can stay at or slightly under where Lee is at volume-wise, I know we're under control.

When The Gind called the Shakedown opener, I did not let on that I had practiced some of Shakedown earlier in the day, as it was the Opener of the Dead of the Day 9/12/81 Greek Theatre gig. To practice a tune and then have it show up at Deadstein is also no small miracle, since we never know what the fuck is coming. This rare sense of relevant preparedness in the face of setlist roulette allowed me to relax into the groove Lee put out there right from the first note. I tried to bring the funky laid back disco element to the Shakedown, and it felt rather effortless and cogent. I'm not sure I can say the same about my take on Feel Like a Stranger. Been rethinking that one in more of an early 80's slinkafunkish manner as well. Of course, the only thing worse than thinking is rethinking. Trying to move the groove around a little bit, play around the back beat without being busy, and then really locking up the changes and the ending. At this point I'm just a little too self-conscious with this effort to reinvent something that needs nothing. I did not get the sense that this paralysis by analysis was detected by the group, or even by the song itself - which did not seem to suffer and thusly revolt in the face of my machinations. But the tape will tell the tale. I'll also note that The Stranger morphed out of what felt like a smokin' Deal, which deprived us of the Deal ending with its priceless set endling flameout. Of course, the tradeoff here is the highwire Stranger ending - so there's that. Trister was in fine form this night, turned up loud and playing with his best blend of nuance, painterly expressionism and moxie. The Gind as well, still indulging himself (and by proxy, all of us) by locking his rhythm licks in and around the conjoined snare work of Lee and me - thus enhancing the groove overall. This leaves Kevin - with the bemusing contradiction between his aches and pains and his buoyant playing - bridging the gap between Lee, me and the rest of band. We did Big River with Andy and Cumberland after he left, both showing us we can indeed swing the cowboy groove, which has been rocky at times. Next time we see Andy I'd like to bring Cumberland back, still looking to iron out the quick chorus where the feel changes but the tempo doesn't. I've driven straight thru it before, but it got mushy somehow. The only other mushy spot for me was the jam coming out of Scarlet Begonias. Perhaps I was preoccupied with the notion that we had to get back to Music Never Stopped somehow, but I'm really determined to try and find the right essence of the Scarlet jam. I have yet to play it wire to wire in a way that makes me feel good the whole stretch. Less will always be more in that regard. The Music/Scarlet/Music sandwich also deprived us of the pristine Scarlet ending which is always a highlight. Takeoffs and landings are fun and important, as are the big hits - which takes me back to Let It Grow. Felt like we snaked each section pretty good, esp. the Fm - E - D hits. I like to lean into the drama of that business and stay there longer than most, then finally Let It Go, only to bring it back before the next gear shift. This seems to give the others a chance to fly on the carpet, so why not. Plenty of other good stuff happening: Peggy-O stands out, as does Dire Wolf of all things. In all, the vibes were high, the intention real and the execution no small miracle in and of itself. The only thing lacking in this spate of minor miracles was I Need a Miracle, which was suggested and shot down in favor of a tasty Jack Straw, West LA, Don't Ease closing sequence. And yes, ofc -

Freak Out!