Grateful Dead
1983-10-11
Madison Square Garden
NY NY

d1t01. Tuning
d1t02. Wang Dang Doodle     *
d1t03. Jack Straw
d1t04. Loser
d1t05. Me and My Uncle
d1t06. Mexicali Blues
d1t07. Bird Song
d1t08. Hell in a Bucket
d1t09. Day Job

d2t01. Tuning
d2t02. China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider
d2t03. equipment break     +/
d2t04. I Need a Miracle >
d2t05. Bertha >
d2t06. weird space jamming >
d2t07. China Doll >
d2t08. drums >
d2t09. space >
d2t10. St. Stephen >
d2t11. Throwin' Stones >
d2t12. Touch of Grey
d2t13. Encore Johnny B. Goode 

* volume fluctuation ~2:35 >end of tune, some mic pre-amp distortion ,then levels get turned down.
/  paused tape between songs
+  Bobby says: "Jerry's speaker just barked its' heart out, so we're gonna change it"

Master set 1: AUD MC Sennheiser 421's ORTF 10'up > Sony TCD5M no dolby 
              Maxell Metal90 (Third deck in line)
Location set 1: 160 feet from stage, DFC (first row behind SBD)
Master set 2: AUD MC Beyer M201's X-Y 9'up > Sony TCD5M no dolby 
              Konica Metal90 
Location set 2: 165 feet from stage, 5 ft. ROC (2 rows behind SBD)
Transfer: Nakamichi CR-5A (24/96) > Tascam DR680|SD > i7Windows7
          Audacity > cdwav editor > TLH flac level 8 
          This is 16 bit copy
Mastered: Executive Crew Kyle Holbrook Mike Yacavone
Transferred: Kyle Holbrook
====================================================================================================================
the tour story:
This is the first time I was taken by a scammer during a ticket buy. We had not planned on going to the show until that morning after I spoke with Mike Y and told him I couldn't get a ride. There were two of us involved, Tom's roomate Will offered to give me a ride to NYC with the gear. Will and I were looking for tickets on the corner of 34th by the main entrance, all the tickets were $40 for $12 or $15 face value tickets, which at the time was a hefty scalping premium. We couldn't find anything cheaper so we approached these two guys on the corner, one holding up a wad of tickets the other standing next to him. We saw the ticket holding dude exchange cash for a pair and the second dude was there and told one of us $40 apiece, so we pulled $80 together and handed it to him while holding our hands out to ticket holding dude who looked right in my eyes and said, "$80" I said the other dude told us $40 each so we gave him $80 for two, holding my hand in that, I'm about to grab a ticket manner and he said, "I don't know that guy". We stood there for several minutes scanning the busy area and the ticket holding dude just stood there offering tickets. We had been scammed; Will said there was a split second of time when he saw second dude head away from us, just as he saw me get nixed by ticket dude, when he could have wacked the thief with our mic stand. Alas, that didn't happen and somehow we had enough cash to buy two tickets directly from the same "ticket dude" for the same amount. First time ever scammed, assessing it now later one might say we paid the scalpers' price twice!

Of course we had no idea how lucky we were in a Grateful Dead historical sense to gain access to the hallowed arena that is circular inside but named Square Garden. "The worlds most famous arena" would live up to its' name in Dead lore after this evening. Our plan was to meet Mike and Rick inside; I had one D5 with the Beyers. While looking for a place to park, we saw Mike Y with two othr GD friends and actually pushed mic cables out our window to them in their car so we could split up the We were so slow to get tickets we made it in with about 5 minutes to go before lights down and we couldn't locate Mike and Rick, so we got patched into someones Sennheiser 421's. Mike wound up being able to hand off the cables during set break so for the second set we wound up duct taping the Beyers to someone's stand about 5 feet behind the 421's, allowing me to run our 201's for the second set. For both sets we were pretty far away, directly behind the soundboard, we estimated 160 feet to the 421's, that said both stands were about 9 feet up which was about the tallest height we ever ran.

I'm not going to do a play by play of one of the most storied shows of the Eighties pre-coma Dead, so I will throw out two observations. One gets spoken and written about often when people discuss this show- the overwhelming THRILL of the crowd when the St. Stephen starts, even on the soundboard recording you can hear the crowd's very loud emotional response which at times drowns out some audience recordings. The moment just before this, the very ending of space, when some of the crowd is still getting drinks and going to the bathroom, and the space is obviously headed into the post drums songs, everything near the soundboard where I was standing was quiet, I could hear people talking inside the soundboard cage. Jerry hits the 'doo doo' on his guitar, the crowd freezes, the entire place silent in disbelief for a nanosecond then BAM- the band starts into the St. Stephen, the crowd roars furiously for 3-4 minutes, people were hugging in the seats and aisles. I was hugging the dude I was speaking with from Virginia and then who knows who else, I guess after 4 years or so and for my first time as a Deadhead they brought back one of the most revered songs in their songbook. So fine!

The second observation is that I bet if you ask someone who was there they could tell you exactly where they were in the arena when the first notes to St. Stephen started. I've spoken with many about this and it was such a moment that even if they were in line for a beer or the bathroom they will tell you! As I mentioned I was near the rear left corner of the soundboard standing in the aisle right on the corner of the seats near all the mic stands, quietly talking with one of Sean's friends from Virginia whose name I should know (I said WHERE not Who you were with!) and it went down. I am certain that was the most unbridled musical orgasmic ecstatic release of energy by an entire crowd I believe I ever witnessed. Listening "back" to the tape the first time I almost got goosebumps. 

Mike Y adds to the second observation:
Our seats were dead center of the very last row of the place, the top of the 400s, so when St. Stephen went off we had the perfect view of the entire arena jumping up and cheering, and moments later 18K lighters were lit for the bombers that passed around. It really was something. Really, really good seats for that particular show. Still get the chills thinking about that moment in GD history. Can’t believe they haven’t released it officially yet.

Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
Country garland in the wind and the rain
Wherever he goes, the people all complain

Stephen prospered in his time
Well he may and he may decline
Did it matter? Does it now?
Stephen would answer if he only knew how

Wishing well with a golden bell
Bucket hanging clear to Hell
Hell halfway 'twixt now and then
Stephen fill it up and lower down
And lower down again

Ladyfinger dipped in moonlight
Writing "What for?" across the morning sky
Sunlight splatters dawn with answers
Darkness shrugs and bids the day good-bye

Speeding arrow, sharp and narrow
What a lot of fleeting matters you have spurned
Several seasons with their treasons
Wrap the babe in scarlet covers, call it your own

Did he doubt or did he try?
Answers aplenty in the bye and bye
Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills
One man gathers what another man spills

[Instrumental Break]

Saint Stephen will remain
All he's lost he shall regain
Seashore washed by the suds and foam
Been here so long he's got to calling it home

Fortune comes a-crawling,Calliope woman
Spinning that curious sense of your own
Can you answer? Yes I can
But what would be the answer to the answer man? 
