Cosmic Charlie | 1970-03-21 | Grateful Dead

View NotesComments:

* includes jam with St. Stephen and China Cat teases

Notes:

- This is a remaster of shn id 21779

- When Ken and Judy recorded this their microphones were attached to the rail at the front of the balcony.  Some of the audience were tapping/banging on that rail, particulary during the acoustic section of the set, and these taps were picked up by the mics.  John removed as many of them as he could and sent me his files to see if there was anything else that I thought could be done to improve it.  I found some more knocks which have been removed.  There are a few that are exceptionally hard to remove completely but have been attentuated.
- Pitch adjustments have been made, in this connection I had to redo a patch that John had made because the patch source also needed correcting.  The patch is the last 18.5 seconds of "Easy Wind" I also patched in the last 35.3 seconds of "In The Midnight Hour".  I eq'd the patches so that they are a better fit.

The patch source used is shn id 124148 - Thank you Jim Cooper and Rob Berger.

-A number of dropouts have been repaired and level adjustments have also been been made.

Thanks to Ken and Judy Lee for recording this wonderful show, to John Hance for the original transfer and others involved in the original release

Pigpen was such a vital part of this show so I want to dedicate this release to his memory. R.I.P Ron.

further editing by John Hance and myself
remastered by
SIRMick
January 2019

SOURCE 2 OF 8

1:45:42

Transferrer:

Knees

SHNID:

gd1970-03-21.144383.late.rec3.m-aud.flac1644

Lineage:

Playback 2018-12-xx ::: M & M1 wavs -> Audacity (very little work done... some fades, popmute on clapping in a few places for volume control, minor volume adjustments, pitch (speed) OK on master reel transfers but M1 trax #14-17 used +0.8% fix with single pass after frequency analysis & with pitchpipe verification, no EQ or NR applied) -> CD Wave (track splits) -> Trader's Little Helper -> yr ears.

Taper Notes:

View NotesNothing here ever commercially released to my knowledge. If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.

CoolSonics 108 ::: Thanks to the original taper & the trader! My copy came from the Florida Kid, who borrowed these Port Chester reel masters from the original taper. ::: Corrections welcome ::: Primevil archival fodder from "Tiny But Mighty" Pot Chesta. Listen, enjoy, show appreciation, share, give, spread peace. Yrs truly, Knees

Support the artists! www.dead.net

Do whatever you want with it except sell it, 'cause that ain't cool!

SOURCE 3 OF 8

gd1970-03-21.late.124148.cooper.flac16

Source:

source: AUD Cassette Master taped by Jim Cooper; Hitachi mics > Hitachi trq-222 deck; Nakamichi Dragon > Benchmark ADC1 24/96 > pc > adobe audition 2.0 > cd wave > flac; transfer & mastering by Rob Berger

Taper Notes:

View Notesnotes: a previously uncirculated
third aud source of this fine show.

SOURCE 4 OF 8

1:47:13

SHNID:

gd1970-03-21.late.aud.coolsonics.altsource.118670.flac16

Taper Notes:

View Notes::: Middle of the road audience quality recording for the period. Check the samples for illumination.
::: NOT the Ken & Judy Lee Port Chester Resurrection Project source. I do not know the name of the taper.
::: Warts: Taper turned off reel-to-reel between songs, so there are some late starts & I think there was 1 splice. "St.Stephen" cuts.
::: Catfish was advertised & may have opened for this late show.
::: After many hours of work, my entirely finished original textfile got zapped, so this is somewhat abbreviated & lacks most of the edit details, sorry.
::: Comments courtesy Deadlists & http://db.etree.org : "The Friend Of The Devil has different lyrics. Wake Up Lil Susie is in response to an audience request..." 
::: As Jerry calls 'em at one point, the audience is a bunch of "unruly freaks"! Just havin' a good time, you'll hear 'em.
::: "Easy Wind" does not cut off at the end. Likely there are other patches or possibilities to combine this with the Ken Lee source in some way.

Line-up ::: Jerry Garcia - acoustic & electric guitars, vocals // Bob Weir - acoustic & electric guitars, vocals // Phil Lesh - electric bass, vocals // Mickey Hart - drums // Bill Kreutzmann - drums // Ron "Pigpen" McKernan - organ, percussion, vocals.

Nothing here ever commercially released to my knowledge. If I'm wrong, please advise & I'll take the offending trax offline.

CoolSonics 108 ::: Thanks to the original taper & traders! My copy came from the Florida Kid, who borrowed some Port Chester reel masters from a friend & kindly dubbed me some copies from the masters. ::: Corrections welcome ::: "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." It used to be a running, not so funny joke among us Dead tape collectors that "St Stephen" was cursed. One of the greats & version after version that appeared back in the day was cut in some fashion. Anyway, plenty of other things good about this, so let yer ears have at it. Enjoy.

More recordings on the way, making up for years of slow netspeed. Kudos to Zongo for life support, Lochner for mikes & much more, & to Fast Freddie for runnin' Video Dick's Record Emporium with the bathroom office full of tape decks. Thanks to Hanwaker (few among us can keep his pace) for over 30 years of trading & friendship. Mountains of gratitude to Davmar, D.White, Sanchez, Elliot, The Florida Kid, Kloiber, Zingg, JTW, Bershaw, Boston Gold, Weeks, Dixon, Moore, Gough & SO many more for all that collecting & sharing... Royal thanks to The Man In The Palace, Doc Tinker, Brinkhoffs, Barely Eatin', Reel Master Gaule, Parrish & all the traders who housed me thru my music acquisition & travel years. Hats off to Brother Kent, Uncle Jake, Little Queenie (& her neighbor Frank) & his honor Ptomaine Thomas. Glasses raised to Byron for musical horizon expansion & much obliged to J & Thurston for keepin' my concert fires burnin' since my continental shift. Thanks to the Mods for keepin' DIME alive. Enjoy, share, give, spread peace. Yers truly, Knees

Support the artists! www.dead.net

Do whatever you want with it except sell it, 'cause that ain't cool!

SOURCE 5 OF 8

Recorded by Ken & Judy Lee on a Sony pc-124 cassette deck with Sony dynamic mics on Norelco cassettes. Microphones were set up in the balcony with a 10-20 foot spread.

Transferrer:

John J Hance

SHNID:

gd1970-03-21.late.aud.lee.pcrp.21779.shnf

Lineage:

Cassette Master> Soundforge> cd> SHN

Taper Notes:

View Notes-Original tape was baked in "Susie Q", shell replaced and transferred on a
Tascam 122mk3 via a Lucid ADA1000 Analog to  Digital Converter directly to
disc on a Tascam CDRW700 by John Jay Hance.
-Cleanup performed by Peter G with Soundforge.
-Retracking with WavMerge2.1 and CDWav. SHN conversion with MKW (seekable)
by Evan Bellaff 

"Sit Down, Shut up!"- Definitely the crowd mantra at this Grateful Dead show at the Capitol Theater.  The energy of an extremely restless audience was beautifully captured on these tapes by Ken and Judy Lee. Not at all shy
about making their presence and demands known, this feisty New York crowd
tested the band's nerves during the first half of the show with an endless
arsenal of hoots, jeers, cries for quiet and a relentless bombardment of
song requests.  Fortunately in typical Grateful Dead fashion, the band rose
to the occasion and harnessed and transmuted crowd chaos into one of the
most powerful, over the top and enjoyable finishes in Grateful Dead history. Enjoy this 2.5'nd installment of the Port Chester Resurrection Project- Grateful Dead at the Capitol Theater, March 21, 1970- Late Show.

Thanks to Ken, Judy, Peter and John Jay for another excellent effort. If you are ever at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, stop  by the balcony and say hello to Ken and Judy, but remember to be "vewy, vewy qwiet" (and no tapping on the railing, please)!-
Evan Bellaff (01/04)

Notes:
(!)  06:42-07:24  During this portion of a fine "Dancin'" jam, Phil and
Jerry's lead open into a state of grace which is  breathtaking.  The ensuing
7:30 of jam is quite beautiful as well.
(1)  Pig mistakedly begins singing the first verse of "Easy Wind" as the
band opens the song with the chorus.
(2)  "Easy Wind" cuts off at 7:36.  The remainder of the track is a leadin
to the acoustic set, containing some great stage/crowd banter.
(3)  09:42 Bobby- Hey Let's hear some... let's hear some insults.  Why
doesn't everybody turn to their neighbor and insult him as worst as you
possibly can.
     10:36 Jerry- Take it easy out there you unruly pigs!
(4)  00:20 Audience member (screaming over Jerry's guitar intro to "Friend
of the Devil"):Please sit down!!
           Jerry: Shut the f*@K up (second two words clearly muttered under
his breath).
(5)  03:37 One example of several audible instances of a fan tapping on the
balcony railing, to which Ken's microphones were  fastened.  This sound is
noticable during the acoustic set only.
(6)  00:16 Shhh!!!....Shhh!!!- This sound is none other than Judy Lee
containing crowd noise. Notice how the "clap along" to  the UJB introduction
suddenly drops off into silence after the audience is well reprimanded.
(7)  00:00-00:29  Bobby: You guys wanna hear Pig Pen? ...well let him KNOW
about it ...I don't think he hears you, maybe you  better shout a little
louder ...and here he is now folks, Pig Pen!!!
     00:43 Pig Pen: You probably heard this one last night because it's the
only one I know. (over noisy crowd) Yeah, you  can't hear the mistakes
unless you shut up!

SOURCE 6 OF 8

John Jay Hance, Peter G, Evan Bellaff

SHNID:

gd70-03-21.early.lee.pcrp.20184.sbeok.shnf

Source:

Audience - Early Show Only

Lineage:

Sony dynamic mics (balcony, 20' spread) > Sony 124 Cassette Deck > Norelco 120 normal bias tape > Susie Q > Tascam 122mk3 > Lucid ADA1000 A/D Converter > Tascam CDRW700 > EAC > Soundforge > CD Wave > mkwACT > SHN

Taper Notes:

View NotesKen and Judy Lee didn't think anyone would be interested in hearing their recordings...

Between the years 1970 and 1971, Ken worked security at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York,  while his girlfriend Judy ran movie projections between sets.  One of a few live music taping enthusiasts of  the time, Ken was granted exclusive permission by club promoter Howard Stein to record the shows at the  theatre for his own personal use.  Judy was on hand to perform the tape flips while Ken was busy doing his  job.

In 1968, the couple took Judy's brother Mark, who was nine years old to his first concert at "Cafe Wha?"  in New York City.  The Monkees were on tour and Jimi Hendrix was along for the ride as their opening act. 

Several years later, Mark was introduced to the music of the Grateful Dead at the Nassau Coliseum on  March 19th, 1973 in Uniondale, Long Island.  This single event marked the beginning of a life long odyssey  of musical experiences with the band that affected him most deeply.  Along with his good friend, John Jay  Hance, who Mark met at a Dead show in 1979, the two traveled around the United States with the band in  search of the ultimate musical experience, attending over 350 shows together.  The two also shared a  common interest in seeing live music of a wide variety of genres, and during the 23 years that they knew  each other attended more than 1000 total concerts together, until Mark's untimely death in November of  2002.

Mark knew of brother in-law Ken's recordings from the Capitol Theatre, and had a strong interest in having the shows circulated; however, being true to his word to Howard Stein, Ken kept the recordings under  wraps and the tapes never saw the light of the trading domain (One noteworthy bending of this rule  occurred when Ken agreed at Mark's request to circulate the late show that the Grateful Dead did on June  24th of 1970.  This show is highly regarded as an all-time magical performance by the Dead during their 30  year history as a band)

SOURCE 7 OF 8

gd70-03-21.late.aud.5316.sbeok.shnf

Source:

Audience - Late Show Only

Lineage:

Aud > cassette x 2 > CD

Taper Notes:

View NotesMics balcony center 15' spread.

Source Information for The Usher's Tapes Tree:

"the person who is responsible for the bulk of the capitol theatre audience recordings is a fellow by the name of ken lee (not sure of his last name spelling). this is the
guy who was employed by howard stein (local ny area promoter of the time) my source is his brother in law, mark c (a long time dead head & quite a nice &
unassuming person) i owe mark a huge debt of gratitude. 

ken's port chester masters were recorded on a sony cassette deck (don't have the 'model # or mic info) his positioning was generally center lodge with mic's mounted
on the rail. 3/21/70 had the mic's spaced at over 15 feet, and the recording bears out that information. 6/24/70 set#2 was mastered on a 120-minute cassette. 

ken is reported to be very un-friendly and intimidating (6 foot 5 inches with a security guard attitude) he was at tompkins square park, nyc 6/67 and reported a ½ hour
dancin' in the street, fwiw. he recorded many local shows (queens college, all 4 stands at port chester, Manhattan center.etc. mark says he was doing this only for
himself and never did much of anything at all with his recordings. at port chester he had howard steins permission to tape, with the footnote of never letting them out.
so...marks older sister is married to this guy & he would occasionally let mark have tapes & mark was apparently pretty free with his copies over the years. most of
what circulates from gd @ port chester originated mainly from mark's 1st gen copies, not ken's masters. as time went on their relationship deteriorated (now they are
estranged) and ken literally & figuratively shut the door on mark. 

marks last score from ken's tapes was back in 1986. when ken was out, mark & an instigating friend went armed with sony tc d5m's and recorded as much from the masters as they could get away with. ken arrived in the middle of all this and was outraged and shut it all down & proceeded to take all the copies (not all it turned out) mark told me that at that point in time, all the tapes he witnessed were badly in need of restoration (and this was back in 1986) i am sad to relay that even though these master still exist, there are rotting in un-kind hands it took me close to 2 years & many phone calls to hook up with mark, and then only for one day. things were haphazard & i taped what i could given the time i had on hand. 

mark had 2 separate copies of 6/24/70 late show. the older copy he received with ken's blessing in the mid '70's, this was on a xl 2, no dolby, the fresher copy was from the incident in 1986. this was on a mx metal cassette and had a better frequency response, but there was a bad squeal & lisp on the right hand channel and proves the deterioration of the recording. i went with the older copy that was made when the master was in better condition set list has; nfa easy wind (very powerful), me & my uncle, dark star ikyr, then uncle johns band (which is not the encore, as they never leave the stage. the encore is an acoustic "swing low sweet chariot" it was mia, but I WILL get it 3/21/70 has never sounded this good. it's actually quite fantastic in spots. it's the best recording i've ever heard coming out of that room 11/5/70 is a powerful psychedelic feast. i could never sit through it before, because of the abysmal quality 

i want to, and enjoy bringing pleasure to fellow music lovers. please let it be known i have zero tolerance for any suspicion, or dishonesty. criticism, on the other hand
i can handle fairly well. so give me a few days & i'll get seeds to someone who has already volunteered to handle the administration and decimation on deadlist. our 1970 caretaker, jim powell, will get cd's from me for his analysis 

that's the story"

SOURCE 8 OF 8

gd70-03-21.early.aud.5315.sbeok.shnf

Source:

Audience - Early Show Only

Lineage:

Aud > cassette x 2 > CD

Taper Notes:

View NotesMics balcony center 15' spread.

Source Information for The Usher's Tapes Tree:

"the person who is responsible for the bulk of the capitol theatre audience recordings is a fellow by the name of ken lee (not sure of his last name spelling). this is the
guy who was employed by howard stein (local ny area promoter of the time) my source is his brother in law, mark c (a long time dead head & quite a nice &
unassuming person) i owe mark a huge debt of gratitude. 

ken's port chester masters were recorded on a sony cassette deck (don't have the 'model # or mic info) his positioning was generally center lodge with mic's mounted
on the rail. 3/21/70 had the mic's spaced at over 15 feet, and the recording bears out that information. 6/24/70 set#2 was mastered on a 120-minute cassette. 

ken is reported to be very un-friendly and intimidating (6 foot 5 inches with a security guard attitude) he was at tompkins square park, nyc 6/67 and reported a ½ hour
dancin' in the street, fwiw. he recorded many local shows (queens college, all 4 stands at port chester, Manhattan center.etc. mark says he was doing this only for
himself and never did much of anything at all with his recordings. at port chester he had howard steins permission to tape, with the footnote of never letting them out.
so...marks older sister is married to this guy & he would occasionally let mark have tapes & mark was apparently pretty free with his copies over the years. most of
what circulates from gd @ port chester originated mainly from mark's 1st gen copies, not ken's masters. as time went on their relationship deteriorated (now they are
estranged) and ken literally & figuratively shut the door on mark. 

marks last score from ken's tapes was back in 1986. when ken was out, mark & an instigating friend went armed with sony tc d5m's and recorded as much from the masters as they could get away with. ken arrived in the middle of all this and was outraged and shut it all down & proceeded to take all the copies (not all it turned out) mark told me that at that point in time, all the tapes he witnessed were badly in need of restoration (and this was back in 1986) i am sad to relay that even though these master still exist, there are rotting in un-kind hands it took me close to 2 years & many phone calls to hook up with mark, and then only for one day. things were haphazard & i taped what i could given the time i had on hand. 

mark had 2 separate copies of 6/24/70 late show. the older copy he received with ken's blessing in the mid '70's, this was on a xl 2, no dolby, the fresher copy was from the incident in 1986. this was on a mx metal cassette and had a better frequency response, but there was a bad squeal & lisp on the right hand channel and proves the deterioration of the recording. i went with the older copy that was made when the master was in better condition set list has; nfa easy wind (very powerful), me & my uncle, dark star ikyr, then uncle johns band (which is not the encore, as they never leave the stage. the encore is an acoustic "swing low sweet chariot" it was mia, but I WILL get it 3/21/70 has never sounded this good. it's actually quite fantastic in spots. it's the best recording i've ever heard coming out of that room 11/5/70 is a powerful psychedelic feast. i could never sit through it before, because of the abysmal quality 

i want to, and enjoy bringing pleasure to fellow music lovers. please let it be known i have zero tolerance for any suspicion, or dishonesty. criticism, on the other hand
i can handle fairly well. so give me a few days & i'll get seeds to someone who has already volunteered to handle the administration and decimation on deadlist. our 1970 caretaker, jim powell, will get cd's from me for his analysis 

that's the story"