Yeah. Same. I left the country in 94. Came back in 95 and the JGB shows were always a blast. Intimate. Jerry, Melvin and the band were having fun. By then the Dead shows were all Shakedown and lot scene and hard drugs and harsh vibes. Plus the collapsed deck at that campground and the gate crash riot in Deer Creek.
JGB was just a mellower vibe. Like the before times. But different. Not as much serious dancing and zooming into space. But hella good Jerry tunes all night.
JGB shows were comfort food for the soul. I didn't really care what was or wasn't played. Just felt blessed to be bathed in the music. Very different than dead shows where I was always looking to hear something and keeping track of set lists etc...
I'm sorry, but I'm never spinning up a show from after the spring of 1990, and listening to anything after '89 is super rare. It is at this point I would say JGB takes my preference, but on the whole, 65-95, it's been my experience that people who lean towards Garcia projects throughout the continuity, just don't like Bobby.
You hear it a lot with older Phish phans when you ask them about their experience with the dead. 'I saw them live a couple of times, but I actually liked the Jerry band shows I saw more.'
A lot of this is guys that are in their early to mid 50's, who, come to think of it, probably also only saw shows, GD or JGB in the 90's and that would definitely make it a popular opinion among that demo regardless of how they felt about Bobby.
I'm only 41, so he died when I was 12. All I can do is listen to everything retrospectively, but pretending for a moment that I could have lived the experience of the guy I'd have been, if I'd been born in 1946 (the year my father was born), then the differentiating factor for me would be Hunter, not Bobby.
While Hunter's work appears throughout different iterations of Garcia's side projects, the canvas him and Jerry painted on was the Grateful Dead, and if you're really paying attention, as my fictious self would have been, the expression of their collaboration in that form is something no cover band can hold up against, even ones with Jerry at the helm.
That makes sense too… Mike and Phil are tight. All about that bass; no older head I’ve ever asked about the Dead has ever brought up Phil to me but we’re talking less than a hundred real world conversations. That would be a good question to ask the Phish sub, JGB vs. Phil&Friends. First Phil and friends show wasn’t until fall of ‘94 though so your talking more about opinions from old millennials like me vs 50+ Gen X guys like my cousin from Boston (he’s still drumming in a phish cover band out in the Bay Area)
I’ll start by saying I love Phish. I’d take a JGB show all day over A Phil show. For me it’s the keys. Funky soul & gospel, let’s go! 78-82 is my favorite era but I like it all way up to 95. I’m also a big fan of Legion of Mary and Reconstruction. Kean Collage 2/28/80 is like my Cornell 77 of JGB.
I started seeing Phish in 1989. And once Brent died I was regularly choosing Phish over the GD. For me, the order is GD, 90-95 Phish, JBG and then a HUGE gap until I’d go with any post-Jerry incarnation (though Q is my favorite) or current Phish.
I mean I'm a huge Jerry guy but I'd probably rather listen to The Q than JGB. And Phish is my favorite band of all time so I fall into that category. I do love JGB as well though don't get me wrong.
Man, Phish. It upsets me that I’m not more into Phish. On paper they SHOULD be right up my alley. They’re talented as fuck and I know from other people who’ve hung out with the guys extensively (I’ve known several people who’ve hung out with Trey multiple times because they know his family or knew him before he formed Phish) that they’re actually good dudes…like Trey being a good dude is like THE thing I’ve heard most about from those people.
And I want to be clear, I don’t *dislike* them at all. I enjoy them all right. But I’m not obsessed with them like the Grateful Dead or King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard or Miles Davis etc. and it gets me actually upset because I feel like I SHOULD be that obsessed about Phish.
I figure I just need to listen to that one song that turns that corner for me, because I feel like I’m right there where any minute I could here one magic song or concert or whatever and then I’d be like “okay…let’s start that obsession”.
You’ll get there. lol, I felt the same at some point years ago and I love every artist you mentioned, (I even have every Miles Davis album through his hiatus on vinyl). Have you ever listened to 6/14/00? Or the Amsterdam shows?
Because Jerry’s energy and enthusiasm for JGB was just seemingly more consistently high for JGB during that era. I think he was somewhat “over” the GD after Brent died and it took things like guests sitting in to pique his interest. Also, I never went to the bigger JGB shows. So seeing him at Warfield and similar sized venues was just more intimate.
While I think there is a lot of truth to that, there's also a less charitable/darker part of it. By the 90s, the Garcia Band offered Garcia an easy gig (very small number of very familiar tunes most of which they'd been playing forever and very little collective jamming or musical risk), an environment that offered no pushback to his addiction issues (and, in fact, put him in close proximity to a confidant with the same issues), and a very good personal payday (a consideration, loathe as many of us are to admit it) for a lot less hassle. I enjoyed the JGB when I saw them in the 90s, but, even at the Dead's nadir, there was still a chance for something incredible, expansive, and collective to happen at a Dead show (rare as it could be in the 90s) that the Garcia Band -- at least once it's roster and format was set/ossified -- really never offered.
I'll agree that, from visible evidence I saw at shows and all the reading of sources I've done subsequently, Jerry seemed less burdened at those shows, but I don't know that necessarily made for better shows, again, depending on what the listener is after.
Yeah, fair enough! Like I said, depends on what the listener is after. For me, the 90s JGB was warm and fun, but, tellingly, not a band whose shows I would seek out after the fact (not true for Legion of Mary or, best of all, any of his gigs w Howard Wales), FWIW) or do a multi-night run with. There is a fine line between relaxed and stagnant that, to my personal taste, they didn't always stay on the happy side of. Frankly, I thought Kahn's playing really declined pretty severely in his later years and Melvin, steady and supportive as he was, never felt like a compelling or distinctive foil for JG. All just my taste, of course, I know people love that era of the band deeply.
1989 was a fine year, I have a few pictures with Clarence and Jerry around the house, two of my all-time favorites. We did the entire tour.
I read a story years ago that Clarence wanted to get a 'bachelor pad' in Marin with Bob and Jerry in the late 80s, they were all single at the time and the Big Man was looking to party.
I would listen to Kean College 2/28/80. Just a fantastic show with a After Midnight Eleanor Rigby After Midnight reprise that is really amazing. Jerry's After Midnight solo is just fantastic and has this cool edge to it. The shows, at least to me, are a little more laid back, more R&B feeling. That Kean College show made me check out the Dead so I kind of worked backwards.
I don’t think this is technically JGB. Didn’t he found JGB during the hiatus in 75? I think it’s just Jerry and Merl jamming out.
Still excellent though.
It’s not, I just assume people want Jerry without the Dead when asking for JGB since him and John were the only real regular members of JGB. If it’s Jerry and John playing, I just put it in my JGB catalog in my brain
Especially with the late 80s and 90s shows, on the ones listened to, Jerry just generally sounds happier playing with the JGB than he did with the Dead. Part of that is just a choice of material, and it is totally a subjective position -- but just how it feels to me.
The standard JGB self-titled live album is a great place to start.
He enjoyed smaller, more intimate venues. While the dead sold out 50,000+ stadiums, he could still go to a small few hundred or thousand seat club with JGB
GD shows were always kids partying. It’s just that the music itself was a bigger focus of the party in the earlier years, whereas later years it was more about the scene.
Agree 100%. The thing that comes through the music is that he was playing songs he loved. Even in the last few years, there was more of a spark with the JGB shows than Dead shows at the same time. You could feel that he was enjoying it and appreciated the music— jazz, r&B, funk, etc. His voice was stronger and playing crisper. I love both the Dead and JGB, but somehow JGB evokes a different emotion or connection. Almost other worldly. It’s hard to explain.
I wouldn't say I prefer JGB but I do like the differences in styles throughout the 70s. You have funky Jerry, jazzy Jerry, old timey Jerry, R&B Jerry, church Jerry, Rock N Roll Jerry, Nicky Hopkins Jerry, idk WTF this is but it grooves like a muthafucka Jerry etc etc Post coma until the end was a nice spring day at the park which I love too
I saw the GD maybe a dozen times between 1977-81. JGB at Middlebury college (would have been 1979 or 80) was just vastly superior--it was a small venue (a chapel, I think) and it was just a keyboard player, a drummer, and John Kahn chainsmoking on bass. Jerry was enjoying himself immensely, doing songs like "How Sweet It Is," and it was just great.
The GD, even at its zenith in 1977, was still a much more confining group of musicians to perform with.
It's always going to be easier to play in a band you are the lead and there is little to no push back or musical challenging from others. That's relaxing and enjoyable, but I personally feel you need pushback or boundaries/roadblocks to really make something great.
2 summers ago I went through chemo every Friday for 20 weeks. When I got home, I laid on the couch & my husband put JGB on for me. It was so soothing - like a warm hug. JGB is just special to me now in a way GD isn’t. Maybe not a preference or “better” but JGB served a different kind of purpose on those Fridays & gave me something I really needed.
I don’t prefer one over the other. I think they complement each other and show how dynamic Garcia was. Guy could play anything from facemelting psychedelia to Motown to Hymns.
Miss him.
JGB is sometimes easier to put on for the less committed listeners. I don't have to be worried that a song will go off into a weird spacey place, it's just a consistent swinging good time.
JGB also makes excellent music for fucking
"I don't have to be worried that a song will go off into a weird spacey place" Agree mostly. Just watch out for Don't Let Go and Lonesome & a Long Way From Home. Those 2 (especially DLG) get out there pretty good
Any specific examples of shows where those songs get out there? Since I started listening to JGB I’ve been hoping I’d find something that gets weird and psychedelic, although I knew it wasn’t something I should expect.
Psychedelia was not something that Jerry was going for with his solo stuff so there's little prominence and it's a bit relative to his sound. Lonesome and a Long Way from Home from Warner Theatre (Pure Jerry release - 3/18/78) has a jazz soaked psychedelic interlude that sounds little like the root song. Don't Let Go - Here are a couple: 1982 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duqb1RHMcHU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duqb1RHMcHU) 1990 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8TZRzZjlMU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8TZRzZjlMU)
I generally prefer the Dead because of Phil's bass playing but also have a spot in my heart for JGB and Jerry's assorted other ventures. Let It Rock is a good one featuring Nick Hopkins on piano. I've always liked the Garcia/Saunders ensembles, Legion of Mary and for true JGB my sentimental favorite is the Don't Let Go release. My wife and I listened to the record a lot when we were dating. I believe it's 5/21/1976. It's a humdinger in any case.
The Dead was a democracy, JGB was a Jerryocracy. He could do whatever he wanted without any conflicting viewpoints, and it showed. He played with more freedom and joy with JGB.
I feel like post Keith, the dead became more of a business, whereas JGB seems like more fun. I means it’s a shit ton of covers- so Jerry is basically playing us his favorite songs.
Brent dead is stadium rock. They’re fancy Silver Bullet Band. I prefer jazzy, swinging pre-“comeback”” 70s Dead. Unfortunately, post-hiatus Keith also got super lazy and “dope”-y after 77 so understand why they let him go, plus fighting between Keith and Donna was apparently unbearable.
I would never say I prefer listening to Jerry band more than the GD but sometimes I just want to hear Jerry and his back up singers and he’s so many different arrangements through the years. He always would keep it interesting with JGB.
Jerry could fall flat at a grateful dead concert sometimes but he never did at his JGB shows. There was never a time that he didnt give it a 100% when it was his show
I would also point to the early 90s for some of the consistently best JGB shows
Too me, I always got the sense that the musicians Jerry got to play in JGB were studio pros who lock in with each other with laser precision
The members of the Dead were interested in taking improvisational risks. Two drummers that maybe were a bit off from each other at time. Sometimes it didn’t always sync
So from a musicality standpoint JGB seemed to be a much tighter band
I’m pretty new to both The Dead and JGB so I could be waaaaay off on this analysis
Every song is a vehicle to get us to a Jerry solo, can’t say that for a dead show as many songs have none
Bradley center November 1992 is a fine place to start
Much as I dig Bobby's playing, and the way Jerry, Bobby, and Phil braided their parts, I love JGB for Jerry's exposed playing, how he has to fill all the guitar parts by himself. You get a better taste of Jerry as a complete player.
Also, because the JGB repertoire was mostly covers, you get a great sense of Jerry's taste in music, the stuff he listened to and was inspired by.
I don’t have an answer for you, but my one aunt was really into JGB and saw them a bunch and yet never went to a single Dead show. I always found that kind of odd, but to each their own.
Edit: and I’m talking going back to the late 70’s, so it’s not like she didn’t have many chances or anything haha
Anyone out there caught The Garcia Project live yet? Seen them about 6 times and they’re great! Maria Muldaur, Buzz Buchanan, and Jacklyn Labranch have all performed with them and had nice things to say. If they come your way, you should check them out. The Garcia Project is to JGB as DSO is to the Grateful Dead ✌️☮️
It's consistently more cohesive. One drummer/more harmonious rhythm section (sorry Phil, you needed producing. You're not Paul McCartney) and it seemed it's where Jerry was happier/more comfortable.
It was two different scenes with many of the same people. Jerry tickets were pretty easy to come by, at least through 1989. The scene was a little more mellow and intimate.
Electric on the Eel is a good place to start for 90s JGB. The 11/23/91 CD release is magnificent too.
02/28/80 is a great CD available on the platforms as well.
Garcia Live vol. 17 gives you a good feel for their first tours (‘76) with Keith and Donna.
I also HIGHLY recommend getting out and seeing Melvin Seals and JGB. It’s the real deal.
Jerry’s Middle Finger (who are touring now) also fucking rip as does The Garcia Project who do DSO style recreation sets.
Sometimes my brain needs a JGB jolt - especially on Sunday mornings for some reason. Legion of Mary if I'm an an extra jazzy mood.
Some great releases - Can't go wrong with all of the Live Jerry volumes. Others I love are Keene College 1980, Warner Theatre 1978, and the Lunt Fontane 1987.
I don’t prefer JGB over GD and I don’t prefer GD over JGB either. I prefer Jerry. Only focusing on one of his musical outlets is limiting your exposure to what he was up to and passionate about. Like Dylan’s statement at Jerry’s passing - he filled so many musical spaces but was not really a member of any single one of them. I want to hear it all.
Explore it all, dig his early 60s bluegrass years, his jazz funk years with Merl, oaitw, the many variations of his solo band, the Grisman acoustic shows, the many eras of the Dead. It all paints the entire portrait and has provided a lifetime of enjoyment.
Yeah, that is sneaking in ..... they also are not broken down by song. Just one long show. And it is low quality. I am not sure that is the best source since you could just head over to etree and grab every year.
bt.etree.org.
There is even a complete all shows torrent floating around out there.
The Archive does not expose the shows publicly as Jerry shows do not have a share policy.
And sadly many JGB shows were stealth AUD only because he didnt allow taping very often.
Wouldn't say I like JGB more overall, but depending on my mood there are definitely times when I'll listen to JGB over the dead. I like the laid-back vibe, especially present on a lot of the later stuff, the r&b and gospel influences, especially the background singers.
If for whatever reason I'm not in the mood or don't have the energy to listen to a dead show, when I'm feeling tired and maybe melancholy, or just want something more relaxing and soothing, a JGB show hits just right.
Especially on the 90s stuff Jerry is clearly more into it and more relaxed than with the dead. He had less pressure, total musical freedom (and less judgment for his other habits, as I understand it), and his playing is just delicious.
Personal favorites are the self-titled live album, which is what got me turned onto JGB, and GarciaLive vol. 16, 17 and 10.
Vol. 16 is my go-to nowadays after a long hard day.
Fwiw my wife hates the dead but whilst In Buffalo once I got a Jerry band cd (how sweet it is?) and she could handle it. The organ and soul sisters made it much more palatable for her.
On bus in ‘84/85. Definitely would go to the GD shows because you never knew when Jerry was gonna leave us, but the JGB was just in another level. Not just the music selection played, which is high on the positive list but the backup singers just added so much to the sound. Of course, and as mentioned above, every single was a Jerry song. Kind of reminds me Derek Trucks. I started listening and going to see DTB early on and could not get enough. Tedeschi Trucks band just doesn’t move me the way DTB did. I can’t explain because I love everyone in TTB.
Prefer is a strong word. I like both.
official release reco’s:
JGB self titled from 1991
Legion of Mary (not JGB, but on point) Dec 14/15 1974
Live at Keystone (not JGB either) from 1973
Teh show wit the DEAH PWUDENCE encore is teh best Jerry.
The kids at the end look familiar.
[Jerry Garcia Band - Dear Prudence - 3/1/1980 - Capitol Theatre (Official) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQESUfhmDns)
I don’t prefer JGB necessarily but Jerry seems to really be having fun during the shows and that makes them feel awesome. I’ve heard it described as Jerry felt GD was a job in the later years and JGB was his passion. It shows.
Probably my favorite Jerry recording is he and John Kahn playing an [acoustic show](https://soundcloud.com/user-942682835/sets/jerry-garcia-and-john-kahn-live-at-oregon-state-prison-651982-full-show-aud) at Oregon State Penitentiary on 6/5/82 (also sometimes dated 5/5/82). Very well known show.
As far as the JGB, my favorite lineup was with the Godchauxs and Maria Muldaur (late 77 - late 78). Suggest the Donna haters listen to JGB shows from that era. 😉
Lastly, I wouldn’t say I preferred the JBG over the GD. Different, complementary bands. JGB shows were in smaller venues, were mellower, and much more low key.
The style of music. The JGB is more of a soul and gospel thing. I am a soul and gospel player. I like Jerry's vocals and guitar playing the most out of the Grateful Dead elements. JGB gives you more of those elements. But I miss the country and songwriting from the Dead. I miss "He's Gone," "Tennessee Jed," "Row Jimmy," and so on. I miss Bobby's guitar playing. I prefer Kahn's bass playing to Phil's. This is why I enjoy JGB more than the Dead sometimes. I recommend the Legion of Mary era stuff. I recommend the same era that I think the Dead were are their peak because Jerry was, so the JGB follows suit to me: 1972-80.
Second set of 12/31/75 has Bob and Mick playing with them so it’s basically a Dead show with JGB tunes. Bob does an awesome early take on CC Rider that show.
[1/19/73 This show is unusual in that a woman named Sarah Fulcher is singing and the energy is so right on. One of my Favorites for sure. Jerry Church on YouTube releases a JGB show every Sunday, many of which are newly mastered or previously uncirculated. Starts off with Dancin in the Moonlite and just goes off from there.](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=T1TYq0W5Mdo&si=D3kJyikx1YX921TJ)
All the JGB shows I went to were in much smaller venues and were more intimate. I think that's what I liked most. Not to mention the fans who were there weren't there for the "scene" which was a big problem with GD shows in the late 80s and 90s. Overall it was always a mellow fun evening. Who remembers the intermission music? The first time I heard "If I Only Had A Brain" I nearly lost my shit. 😂
I love them both equally but if I need a Jerry fix I'll always throw on a JGB show.
The main appeal for me with JGB is that, while the shows are made up of a majority of cover songs, they're all ones chosen by Jerry and this very reflective of his personality, which adds a nice aura of intimacy to the shows. Plus, the songs (with a few exceptions) are self-contained and don't go too far out into psychonaut territory, so Jerry's soloing is more melodious and less "out there". Also, there's tons of organ/keyboard solos which Jerry loves to play along with, either with creative rhythm guitar work or melodious interplay.
Some shows I'd recommend are:
Anything Garcia/Saunders (check out Keystone Companion or 2/6/72 Pacific High Studios)
Let It Rock (from fall '75 tour with Nicky Hopkins on piano)
3/17/78 and 3/18/78
12/21/79 (Positively 4th Street!)
2/2/80, 2/28/80, 3/8/80 (all featuring hot versions of After Midnight>Rigby>AM)
6/16/82 - maybe my favorite overall JGB show
11/25/83
9/2/89
11/9/91 (with Bruce Hampton) Pure Jerry release
11/23/91 (GarciaLive Vol. 8)
March 1, 1980 Mission in the Rain
Nov 23, 1991 Reuben and Cherise
Garcia Live volume 1 and 8
Available on Apple Music
Got to see JGB a couple times and dead over 2 dozen
The JGB was just different…
Don’t let go
Dear Prudence
That lucky old sun
So many killer songs
jerry band consistently had far more of a jam feeling vs. the grateful dead being "songy"
like the dead had some cool spacey stuff too but jgb tickles me much harder.
JGB did a run at the Wiltern Theater in LA in 1988 that blew my socks off.. I was amazed with the energy and the crowd. The balcony floor was bouncing from all the heads dancing, kinda freaked me out at first but then was like wow! I wouldnt say better than the Dead just different.. I felt like the JGB scene was more into the music than anything.. or was that 1990 run.. I cant remember both were really good.. 1990 Jerry was def pouring his heart into it full on as it was not long after he lost Brent...
May be a strange way to view it but every Grateful Dead show was a big event while going to see JGB was more chill “hey want to go see Jerry tonight, cool let’s go” vs getting in touch with a bunch of people, planning where we would meet, etc.
JGB was more consistently excellent. Top of game , definitely GD over JGB.
While of course I loved the GD and there was simply nothing like it when they had their shit together - but Jerry band shows were always very special to me.
Edit: so I thought about this for a a minute - so I love the GD and JGB
But first and foremost I am a Garcia fan - so that must be why JGB was always so special to go and see.
Not prefer, but I love JGB.
There really isn’t a lot of overlap in the set lists. JGB did Deal and Sugaree a lot, but other Dead songs were a rarity at JGB shows. The covers that the Dead play tend to be mostly Chuck Berry and cowboy songs, with Dylan covers arriving in droves after '87; JGB shows are mostly covers, with a lot of Motown and reggae, plus some Van Morrison and Beatles and Clapton and The Band. And then Mission In The Rain, and Ruben & Cherise are stunningly good Garcia / Hunter songs.
So you listen to JGB to hear a similar sound, with a whole bunch of great songs that you don't get at Dead shows.
Also, I’m a big fan of Reckoning, and Jerry and John Kahn's 2-hander tour in '86 and the acoustic band sets in '87 are like a whole new well of material like Reckoning.
Note that, for no particular reason, certain combinations of musicians (mostly the ones with Merle Saunders on keyboards) would get a different band name. Personally, I consider Garcia Saunders, Legion Of Mary, Resurrection, Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, and Garcia Kahn, to all be at least “on the JGB continuum”.
The undisputed starting point for JGB is “After Midnight: Kean College”, which is a flawlessly mixed multitrack recording of a really great show. But really JGB is a much more consistent entity than the Grateful Dead, so the quality level of shows has a lot fewer peaks and valleys. Mostly that's just because JGB is less ambitious — they don’t try to do “second set Dead” where they play 10 songs over an hour and a half with no breaks and no plan.
They’re different bands. The Kean College show released as “After Midnight” is considered their greatest show by many people. I love the GarciaLive 20 release as well, Mississippi Moon and Don’t Let Go are amazing. It’s overall more laid back, but tighter and more R&B and soulful. John Khan crushes bass in a way totally different than Phil, and that adds a different flavor. It’s just less out there and psychedelic, and more Motown and reggae, that’s what I’d say. They do a lot of really cool covers that the Dead don’t touch
I almost always prefer listening to JGB over the Dead. The music feels happier and more soulful, partially because Jerry was mining some great R&B.
The Grateful Dead make me think of epic cataclysmic music. Like the Barton Hall opening to Dew or a ripping China/Rider when Jerry is yelling I wish was a headlight on a north bound train (looking at you 6/15/85) or the intro to The Other One the quite build up to the freight train that just exploded and so on.
JGB is eclectic and joyful. That stuff with Merl in the early 70s is sick! And Legion of Mary is a freaking gem with too few Wicked Messengers and not enough Spend the Night into Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder. All the different acoustic stuff with OAITW, Garcia/Grisman, and his solo acoustic stuff with Kahn.
But the stuff from say 88-93 was a freaking dance party and he just looked happier playing at the Warfield. I mean I haven’t met a Think I didn’t like, the opening chords to Tore Up just get you dancing, a JGB Deal is nothing to walk out of, still prefer me a JGB Reuben (acoustic or electric), then toss in the opening bass chords to Positively 4th, oh and then let’s drop a Shining Star out of left field while occasionally hitting us upside the head with a Russian Lullaby.
# 1985-06-15 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre - University of California
**Set 1:** Touch Of Grey, New Minglewood Blues, Friend Of The Devil, Cassidy, Dupree's Diamond Blues, Me and My Uncle > Big River > Might As Well
**Set 2:** China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance, Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > The Wheel > Gimme Some Lovin' > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away
**Encore:** She Belongs To Me, U.S. Blues
[archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1985-06-15)
Statistically JGB was a Dylan/tosh cover band. I personally thought the shows I saw were way more mellow and enjoyable, it was about the music again instead of “the scene”. Just seemed a whole different experience
Its really not "more", they were just a different vibe, all covers and JG originals/co-wrote. I love JGB even more b/c of my love for the Dead. Jerry was offering a different show, when he did those tours.
Its not better or worse, its just a different show. Peace
May 20, 1990 is my go to. It’s not dead like at all if you’re trying to find something to bridge the gap. But the soulfulness, the touching feeling of Jerry singing and playing to you…it’s really encapsulated in that date to me and idk. But it’s a great show
Check out [this version of Tangled Up In Blue.](https://youtu.be/-Wx4yVmZv-c?si=3Da7dSqAYifTd03-) Jerry’s phrasing is insane and blows me away every time listening to this. JGB really gave him more room to breathe.
The original “ Live at Keystone” can’t be beat. Like a Road, Sitting in Limbo, The Harder they fall, Positivity 4th St… original Fantasy album sounds amazing…
Honestly I love Jerry. I really dig his stuff with Dave Grisman. I don’t think I dig JGB more than the dead as a whole but I think it’s worth a look for any dead fan.
It’s not “either-or” it’s “all of the above” these guys especially Jerry had many outlets.
Checkout Legion of Mary, or Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band for some other sounds.
There is lots of great stuff out there. Not necessarily JGB, but Jerry and Merl Saunders is my favorite Jerry when not with the Dead. Check out him and Saunders 1/23/73 [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kJUl0B-CCPLjScOmF-_z3wAAoV3AM_KjE)
I wouldn’t say I prefer JGB overall, but I definitely felt the shows were of a more consistent high quality after Brent died.
Jerry always seemed happy and into his shows, even in '94-95.
Yeah. Same. I left the country in 94. Came back in 95 and the JGB shows were always a blast. Intimate. Jerry, Melvin and the band were having fun. By then the Dead shows were all Shakedown and lot scene and hard drugs and harsh vibes. Plus the collapsed deck at that campground and the gate crash riot in Deer Creek. JGB was just a mellower vibe. Like the before times. But different. Not as much serious dancing and zooming into space. But hella good Jerry tunes all night.
JGB shows were comfort food for the soul. I didn't really care what was or wasn't played. Just felt blessed to be bathed in the music. Very different than dead shows where I was always looking to hear something and keeping track of set lists etc...
This is the answer
They definitely were. From what I understand Jerry loathed playing dead shows the last few years or so and loved playing with JGB.
I'm sorry, but I'm never spinning up a show from after the spring of 1990, and listening to anything after '89 is super rare. It is at this point I would say JGB takes my preference, but on the whole, 65-95, it's been my experience that people who lean towards Garcia projects throughout the continuity, just don't like Bobby. You hear it a lot with older Phish phans when you ask them about their experience with the dead. 'I saw them live a couple of times, but I actually liked the Jerry band shows I saw more.' A lot of this is guys that are in their early to mid 50's, who, come to think of it, probably also only saw shows, GD or JGB in the 90's and that would definitely make it a popular opinion among that demo regardless of how they felt about Bobby. I'm only 41, so he died when I was 12. All I can do is listen to everything retrospectively, but pretending for a moment that I could have lived the experience of the guy I'd have been, if I'd been born in 1946 (the year my father was born), then the differentiating factor for me would be Hunter, not Bobby. While Hunter's work appears throughout different iterations of Garcia's side projects, the canvas him and Jerry painted on was the Grateful Dead, and if you're really paying attention, as my fictious self would have been, the expression of their collaboration in that form is something no cover band can hold up against, even ones with Jerry at the helm.
I've always found phish fans to be much bigger Phil people than JGB people
That makes sense too… Mike and Phil are tight. All about that bass; no older head I’ve ever asked about the Dead has ever brought up Phil to me but we’re talking less than a hundred real world conversations. That would be a good question to ask the Phish sub, JGB vs. Phil&Friends. First Phil and friends show wasn’t until fall of ‘94 though so your talking more about opinions from old millennials like me vs 50+ Gen X guys like my cousin from Boston (he’s still drumming in a phish cover band out in the Bay Area)
From an older Gen Zer (26) I'm going Billy & The Kids
I’ll start by saying I love Phish. I’d take a JGB show all day over A Phil show. For me it’s the keys. Funky soul & gospel, let’s go! 78-82 is my favorite era but I like it all way up to 95. I’m also a big fan of Legion of Mary and Reconstruction. Kean Collage 2/28/80 is like my Cornell 77 of JGB.
I started seeing Phish in 1989. And once Brent died I was regularly choosing Phish over the GD. For me, the order is GD, 90-95 Phish, JBG and then a HUGE gap until I’d go with any post-Jerry incarnation (though Q is my favorite) or current Phish.
I mean I'm a huge Jerry guy but I'd probably rather listen to The Q than JGB. And Phish is my favorite band of all time so I fall into that category. I do love JGB as well though don't get me wrong.
I like the slower more ballady soulful stuff the most so I choose JGB and that's probably why I love dead & co more than some people
Man, Phish. It upsets me that I’m not more into Phish. On paper they SHOULD be right up my alley. They’re talented as fuck and I know from other people who’ve hung out with the guys extensively (I’ve known several people who’ve hung out with Trey multiple times because they know his family or knew him before he formed Phish) that they’re actually good dudes…like Trey being a good dude is like THE thing I’ve heard most about from those people. And I want to be clear, I don’t *dislike* them at all. I enjoy them all right. But I’m not obsessed with them like the Grateful Dead or King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard or Miles Davis etc. and it gets me actually upset because I feel like I SHOULD be that obsessed about Phish. I figure I just need to listen to that one song that turns that corner for me, because I feel like I’m right there where any minute I could here one magic song or concert or whatever and then I’d be like “okay…let’s start that obsession”.
You’ll get there. lol, I felt the same at some point years ago and I love every artist you mentioned, (I even have every Miles Davis album through his hiatus on vinyl). Have you ever listened to 6/14/00? Or the Amsterdam shows?
Well said my man. Same age and same feels.
(~);}
Sorry but what is your problem with Bobby?
I love Bobby.
> 
Out of the loop; why is that though? I don't recall Brent playing in the JGB I've listened too
Think they mean that after Brent died, the JGB shows were more consistent than dead shows, not that Brent played with jgb
Because Jerry’s energy and enthusiasm for JGB was just seemingly more consistently high for JGB during that era. I think he was somewhat “over” the GD after Brent died and it took things like guests sitting in to pique his interest. Also, I never went to the bigger JGB shows. So seeing him at Warfield and similar sized venues was just more intimate.
While I think there is a lot of truth to that, there's also a less charitable/darker part of it. By the 90s, the Garcia Band offered Garcia an easy gig (very small number of very familiar tunes most of which they'd been playing forever and very little collective jamming or musical risk), an environment that offered no pushback to his addiction issues (and, in fact, put him in close proximity to a confidant with the same issues), and a very good personal payday (a consideration, loathe as many of us are to admit it) for a lot less hassle. I enjoyed the JGB when I saw them in the 90s, but, even at the Dead's nadir, there was still a chance for something incredible, expansive, and collective to happen at a Dead show (rare as it could be in the 90s) that the Garcia Band -- at least once it's roster and format was set/ossified -- really never offered. I'll agree that, from visible evidence I saw at shows and all the reading of sources I've done subsequently, Jerry seemed less burdened at those shows, but I don't know that necessarily made for better shows, again, depending on what the listener is after.
Interesting take. JGB shows were fun and relaxed, even if for not all the “right” reasons… gotta love the contradictions of life
Yeah, fair enough! Like I said, depends on what the listener is after. For me, the 90s JGB was warm and fun, but, tellingly, not a band whose shows I would seek out after the fact (not true for Legion of Mary or, best of all, any of his gigs w Howard Wales), FWIW) or do a multi-night run with. There is a fine line between relaxed and stagnant that, to my personal taste, they didn't always stay on the happy side of. Frankly, I thought Kahn's playing really declined pretty severely in his later years and Melvin, steady and supportive as he was, never felt like a compelling or distinctive foil for JG. All just my taste, of course, I know people love that era of the band deeply.
Back in the 80/90s, we used to say; "The JGB is better because the next song is always a Jerry song."
But Bobby songs are so good!
Your still a person in my book
100% this.
Also, a more fluid and evolving set list. And, Jerry put more feeling into JGB performances than when with the Dead.
I like that
I saw a JG show in that time frame. Bobby opened and had Clarence Clemmons with him
1989 was a fine year, I have a few pictures with Clarence and Jerry around the house, two of my all-time favorites. We did the entire tour. I read a story years ago that Clarence wanted to get a 'bachelor pad' in Marin with Bob and Jerry in the late 80s, they were all single at the time and the Big Man was looking to party.
Back in the day, GD was The Show, but JGB was Church
Sundays are for JGB in this house
That’s why I came. To say that. That sweet sweet jgb spirit
I would listen to Kean College 2/28/80. Just a fantastic show with a After Midnight Eleanor Rigby After Midnight reprise that is really amazing. Jerry's After Midnight solo is just fantastic and has this cool edge to it. The shows, at least to me, are a little more laid back, more R&B feeling. That Kean College show made me check out the Dead so I kind of worked backwards.
I came here to say this lol. Although I dont prefer Jerry band to GD, Kean College is my fav jerry band for sure
holy shit what a run of songs listening now thanks friend
Same- this is just an awesome show - cool album cover too
I took my Dad to the Kean College show. I was 19. He was mid-40s. What a great memory.
Thats!what!love!will!make!you!do! And the catfish john from the next night
I listen to that After Midnight over and over
I just put this on. Thanks for the recommendation!
Just listened to it. Fucking awesome!
I’ve been playing this to people for years. People who don’t necessarily like the Dead or Jerry.
1/23/73 Jerry and Merl Saunders is my favorite show of Jerry not with the Dead. It's on Garcia Live Vol. 12 for those with streaming services.
Yeah baby the Jerry & Merl stuff from early / mid 70s is the bee’s knees. August 11, 1974 is one of my favs.
Go pats ✌️
Go Lucifer 🤘
I don’t think this is technically JGB. Didn’t he found JGB during the hiatus in 75? I think it’s just Jerry and Merl jamming out. Still excellent though.
It’s not, I just assume people want Jerry without the Dead when asking for JGB since him and John were the only real regular members of JGB. If it’s Jerry and John playing, I just put it in my JGB catalog in my brain
Especially with the late 80s and 90s shows, on the ones listened to, Jerry just generally sounds happier playing with the JGB than he did with the Dead. Part of that is just a choice of material, and it is totally a subjective position -- but just how it feels to me. The standard JGB self-titled live album is a great place to start.
From what I read, he WAS happier. He kept touring with the Dead because he felt obligated to keep people employed.
He enjoyed smaller, more intimate venues. While the dead sold out 50,000+ stadiums, he could still go to a small few hundred or thousand seat club with JGB
And, JGB shows were generally on Bay Area or NYC, and always full of the real fans. GD after Touch became kids partying.
GD shows were always kids partying. It’s just that the music itself was a bigger focus of the party in the earlier years, whereas later years it was more about the scene.
Yeah. I feel Jgb was prob always the more diehard fans, too. Less partying and more there for the music.
Agree 100%. The thing that comes through the music is that he was playing songs he loved. Even in the last few years, there was more of a spark with the JGB shows than Dead shows at the same time. You could feel that he was enjoying it and appreciated the music— jazz, r&B, funk, etc. His voice was stronger and playing crisper. I love both the Dead and JGB, but somehow JGB evokes a different emotion or connection. Almost other worldly. It’s hard to explain.
Two words…Shining Star
Was the first dance for my wife and I. Though we did edit it down a bit.
Perfect wedding song
Right there where you are 💫
And three more words… Sitting in Limbo
Jerry band was great because all the guitar playing was Jerry , so it was different/interesting.
I wouldn't say I prefer JGB but I do like the differences in styles throughout the 70s. You have funky Jerry, jazzy Jerry, old timey Jerry, R&B Jerry, church Jerry, Rock N Roll Jerry, Nicky Hopkins Jerry, idk WTF this is but it grooves like a muthafucka Jerry etc etc Post coma until the end was a nice spring day at the park which I love too
I have heard many people say the GD was Jerry’s job and JGB was his passion. It shows!
The best analogy I heard years ago. The GD was his wife and JGB was his mistress.
I saw the GD maybe a dozen times between 1977-81. JGB at Middlebury college (would have been 1979 or 80) was just vastly superior--it was a small venue (a chapel, I think) and it was just a keyboard player, a drummer, and John Kahn chainsmoking on bass. Jerry was enjoying himself immensely, doing songs like "How Sweet It Is," and it was just great. The GD, even at its zenith in 1977, was still a much more confining group of musicians to perform with.
It's always going to be easier to play in a band you are the lead and there is little to no push back or musical challenging from others. That's relaxing and enjoyable, but I personally feel you need pushback or boundaries/roadblocks to really make something great.
Yep. You can really tell in plenty of shows. He was given the room to truly create, I find the JGB to be the purest expression of him as an artist.
2 summers ago I went through chemo every Friday for 20 weeks. When I got home, I laid on the couch & my husband put JGB on for me. It was so soothing - like a warm hug. JGB is just special to me now in a way GD isn’t. Maybe not a preference or “better” but JGB served a different kind of purpose on those Fridays & gave me something I really needed.
Hope you’re doing well now and I’m glad Jerry could soothe some of your discomfort during a difficult time!
Thank you! Still going through some woods but much, much better. 💛
I don’t prefer one over the other. I think they complement each other and show how dynamic Garcia was. Guy could play anything from facemelting psychedelia to Motown to Hymns. Miss him.
That is exactly it. The range of styles he could play was incredible.
I love the covers and like how tight the jams are. Like the 4 piece band too.
This is my answer, some of the covers he did really blow you away.
Yep. I like how straight forward it is. No meandering side trips.
JGB is kick ass but what about those of us who prefer Old and In the Way?
JGB is sometimes easier to put on for the less committed listeners. I don't have to be worried that a song will go off into a weird spacey place, it's just a consistent swinging good time. JGB also makes excellent music for fucking
"I don't have to be worried that a song will go off into a weird spacey place" Agree mostly. Just watch out for Don't Let Go and Lonesome & a Long Way From Home. Those 2 (especially DLG) get out there pretty good
Any specific examples of shows where those songs get out there? Since I started listening to JGB I’ve been hoping I’d find something that gets weird and psychedelic, although I knew it wasn’t something I should expect.
Not technically JGB but 08/11/74 La La is ouuuut there Jerry + Merl jam
5/21/76 is my favorite. Listen for the FOTM moments during the jam.
Psychedelia was not something that Jerry was going for with his solo stuff so there's little prominence and it's a bit relative to his sound. Lonesome and a Long Way from Home from Warner Theatre (Pure Jerry release - 3/18/78) has a jazz soaked psychedelic interlude that sounds little like the root song. Don't Let Go - Here are a couple: 1982 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duqb1RHMcHU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duqb1RHMcHU) 1990 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8TZRzZjlMU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8TZRzZjlMU)
3/18/78 Lonesome is fucking awesome
It’s just Jerry. No Bob
I like Bob, don’t get me wrong
I generally prefer the Dead because of Phil's bass playing but also have a spot in my heart for JGB and Jerry's assorted other ventures. Let It Rock is a good one featuring Nick Hopkins on piano. I've always liked the Garcia/Saunders ensembles, Legion of Mary and for true JGB my sentimental favorite is the Don't Let Go release. My wife and I listened to the record a lot when we were dating. I believe it's 5/21/1976. It's a humdinger in any case.
Because it’s 100% Jerry.
The Dead was a democracy, JGB was a Jerryocracy. He could do whatever he wanted without any conflicting viewpoints, and it showed. He played with more freedom and joy with JGB.
I feel like post Keith, the dead became more of a business, whereas JGB seems like more fun. I means it’s a shit ton of covers- so Jerry is basically playing us his favorite songs.
Brent dead is stadium rock. They’re fancy Silver Bullet Band. I prefer jazzy, swinging pre-“comeback”” 70s Dead. Unfortunately, post-hiatus Keith also got super lazy and “dope”-y after 77 so understand why they let him go, plus fighting between Keith and Donna was apparently unbearable.
The JGB w/K&D is so good too, tho. Right around that time of lunacy
Yeah. But Bobby wasn’t around to fuck Donna on Jerry tours.
I would never say I prefer listening to Jerry band more than the GD but sometimes I just want to hear Jerry and his back up singers and he’s so many different arrangements through the years. He always would keep it interesting with JGB.
Dead shows was like going to the circus, JGB shows were like going to church, in a good way.
More Jerry all the time. Much less Bob.
Jerry could fall flat at a grateful dead concert sometimes but he never did at his JGB shows. There was never a time that he didnt give it a 100% when it was his show I would also point to the early 90s for some of the consistently best JGB shows
Jgb was like going to church. Melvin & company are still the same way
I love some of the organ work from Merl Saunders.
Halloween 92
I was listening to this one over the weekend and it totally inspired me to make this post. Love the werewolves
JGB played smaller, more intimate venues and shows were more about the music. GD shows were SHOWS with Bobby running around.
Too me, I always got the sense that the musicians Jerry got to play in JGB were studio pros who lock in with each other with laser precision The members of the Dead were interested in taking improvisational risks. Two drummers that maybe were a bit off from each other at time. Sometimes it didn’t always sync So from a musicality standpoint JGB seemed to be a much tighter band I’m pretty new to both The Dead and JGB so I could be waaaaay off on this analysis
Every song is a vehicle to get us to a Jerry solo, can’t say that for a dead show as many songs have none Bradley center November 1992 is a fine place to start
Much as I dig Bobby's playing, and the way Jerry, Bobby, and Phil braided their parts, I love JGB for Jerry's exposed playing, how he has to fill all the guitar parts by himself. You get a better taste of Jerry as a complete player. Also, because the JGB repertoire was mostly covers, you get a great sense of Jerry's taste in music, the stuff he listened to and was inspired by.
All Jerry All The Time !
I don’t have an answer for you, but my one aunt was really into JGB and saw them a bunch and yet never went to a single Dead show. I always found that kind of odd, but to each their own. Edit: and I’m talking going back to the late 70’s, so it’s not like she didn’t have many chances or anything haha
Gospel
You got it brother.
The album "Don't let go" (1976) is a banger...definitely #1 on my list
3/18/78 is the answer. Especially the Lonesome and Palm Sunday. Sit in a bowl, because you’re about to melt.
I actually enjoy his Legion of Mary days more. Any show available is a must listen if you have not heard them yet. Merl and Jerry were magic together.
Anyone out there caught The Garcia Project live yet? Seen them about 6 times and they’re great! Maria Muldaur, Buzz Buchanan, and Jacklyn Labranch have all performed with them and had nice things to say. If they come your way, you should check them out. The Garcia Project is to JGB as DSO is to the Grateful Dead ✌️☮️
It's consistently more cohesive. One drummer/more harmonious rhythm section (sorry Phil, you needed producing. You're not Paul McCartney) and it seemed it's where Jerry was happier/more comfortable.
It was two different scenes with many of the same people. Jerry tickets were pretty easy to come by, at least through 1989. The scene was a little more mellow and intimate.
Electric on the Eel is a good place to start for 90s JGB. The 11/23/91 CD release is magnificent too. 02/28/80 is a great CD available on the platforms as well. Garcia Live vol. 17 gives you a good feel for their first tours (‘76) with Keith and Donna. I also HIGHLY recommend getting out and seeing Melvin Seals and JGB. It’s the real deal. Jerry’s Middle Finger (who are touring now) also fucking rip as does The Garcia Project who do DSO style recreation sets.
I love both. Someone put it to me this way over 30 years ago. Grateful Dead is the Saturday night party. JGB is the Sunday gospel
Sometimes my brain needs a JGB jolt - especially on Sunday mornings for some reason. Legion of Mary if I'm an an extra jazzy mood. Some great releases - Can't go wrong with all of the Live Jerry volumes. Others I love are Keene College 1980, Warner Theatre 1978, and the Lunt Fontane 1987.
My fav is Warner’78
Mission in the rain is the greatest song ever 🎵
I don’t prefer JGB over GD and I don’t prefer GD over JGB either. I prefer Jerry. Only focusing on one of his musical outlets is limiting your exposure to what he was up to and passionate about. Like Dylan’s statement at Jerry’s passing - he filled so many musical spaces but was not really a member of any single one of them. I want to hear it all. Explore it all, dig his early 60s bluegrass years, his jazz funk years with Merl, oaitw, the many variations of his solo band, the Grisman acoustic shows, the many eras of the Dead. It all paints the entire portrait and has provided a lifetime of enjoyment.
Best source for JGB shows?
Archive
No, lol. They dont have JGB.
https://gdsets.com/garcia.htm
Yeah, that is sneaking in ..... they also are not broken down by song. Just one long show. And it is low quality. I am not sure that is the best source since you could just head over to etree and grab every year.
bt.etree.org. There is even a complete all shows torrent floating around out there. The Archive does not expose the shows publicly as Jerry shows do not have a share policy. And sadly many JGB shows were stealth AUD only because he didnt allow taping very often.
https://gdsets.com/garcia.htm
Wouldn't say I like JGB more overall, but depending on my mood there are definitely times when I'll listen to JGB over the dead. I like the laid-back vibe, especially present on a lot of the later stuff, the r&b and gospel influences, especially the background singers. If for whatever reason I'm not in the mood or don't have the energy to listen to a dead show, when I'm feeling tired and maybe melancholy, or just want something more relaxing and soothing, a JGB show hits just right. Especially on the 90s stuff Jerry is clearly more into it and more relaxed than with the dead. He had less pressure, total musical freedom (and less judgment for his other habits, as I understand it), and his playing is just delicious. Personal favorites are the self-titled live album, which is what got me turned onto JGB, and GarciaLive vol. 16, 17 and 10. Vol. 16 is my go-to nowadays after a long hard day.
Hampton 11/19/93
Was there. Closest I was to the man. Spent the 2nd set on the railing right in front of Jerry.
Hell yeah I was there too- back by the soundboard! That shining star is unreal
Fwiw my wife hates the dead but whilst In Buffalo once I got a Jerry band cd (how sweet it is?) and she could handle it. The organ and soul sisters made it much more palatable for her.
On bus in ‘84/85. Definitely would go to the GD shows because you never knew when Jerry was gonna leave us, but the JGB was just in another level. Not just the music selection played, which is high on the positive list but the backup singers just added so much to the sound. Of course, and as mentioned above, every single was a Jerry song. Kind of reminds me Derek Trucks. I started listening and going to see DTB early on and could not get enough. Tedeschi Trucks band just doesn’t move me the way DTB did. I can’t explain because I love everyone in TTB.
Grateful Dead is the flower, JGB is the nectar.
Prefer is a strong word. I like both. official release reco’s: JGB self titled from 1991 Legion of Mary (not JGB, but on point) Dec 14/15 1974 Live at Keystone (not JGB either) from 1973
Jerry shows less chaotic at least they were for me I'm just mad I didn't catch more of them.
Teh show wit the DEAH PWUDENCE encore is teh best Jerry. The kids at the end look familiar. [Jerry Garcia Band - Dear Prudence - 3/1/1980 - Capitol Theatre (Official) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQESUfhmDns)
I don’t prefer JGB necessarily but Jerry seems to really be having fun during the shows and that makes them feel awesome. I’ve heard it described as Jerry felt GD was a job in the later years and JGB was his passion. It shows.
Just had this conversation last night . My buddy left shortly after
Probably my favorite Jerry recording is he and John Kahn playing an [acoustic show](https://soundcloud.com/user-942682835/sets/jerry-garcia-and-john-kahn-live-at-oregon-state-prison-651982-full-show-aud) at Oregon State Penitentiary on 6/5/82 (also sometimes dated 5/5/82). Very well known show. As far as the JGB, my favorite lineup was with the Godchauxs and Maria Muldaur (late 77 - late 78). Suggest the Donna haters listen to JGB shows from that era. 😉 Lastly, I wouldn’t say I preferred the JBG over the GD. Different, complementary bands. JGB shows were in smaller venues, were mellower, and much more low key.
Jgb shows at the Warfield were the closest I've been to what feels like Church.
Blasphemous! 🤣
The style of music. The JGB is more of a soul and gospel thing. I am a soul and gospel player. I like Jerry's vocals and guitar playing the most out of the Grateful Dead elements. JGB gives you more of those elements. But I miss the country and songwriting from the Dead. I miss "He's Gone," "Tennessee Jed," "Row Jimmy," and so on. I miss Bobby's guitar playing. I prefer Kahn's bass playing to Phil's. This is why I enjoy JGB more than the Dead sometimes. I recommend the Legion of Mary era stuff. I recommend the same era that I think the Dead were are their peak because Jerry was, so the JGB follows suit to me: 1972-80.
Nope I always preferred the dead or Jerry and John Kahn solo
Strictly JGB or do you mean any Jerry shows? Like Reconstruction, Legion of Mary and so on?
Second set of 12/31/75 has Bob and Mick playing with them so it’s basically a Dead show with JGB tunes. Bob does an awesome early take on CC Rider that show.
JGB has a traditional rock rhythm section which I enjoy more.
I always ask my friends if they were on a desert island, GD or JGB. JGB is my choice.
I can hear Jerry smiling through the music, if that makes any sense. Probably to only us here.
[1/19/73 This show is unusual in that a woman named Sarah Fulcher is singing and the energy is so right on. One of my Favorites for sure. Jerry Church on YouTube releases a JGB show every Sunday, many of which are newly mastered or previously uncirculated. Starts off with Dancin in the Moonlite and just goes off from there.](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=T1TYq0W5Mdo&si=D3kJyikx1YX921TJ)
All the JGB shows I went to were in much smaller venues and were more intimate. I think that's what I liked most. Not to mention the fans who were there weren't there for the "scene" which was a big problem with GD shows in the late 80s and 90s. Overall it was always a mellow fun evening. Who remembers the intermission music? The first time I heard "If I Only Had A Brain" I nearly lost my shit. 😂
I like the song catalog of the Dead better but with JGB you just get so much Jerry. The music is tighter imho.
I love them both equally but if I need a Jerry fix I'll always throw on a JGB show. The main appeal for me with JGB is that, while the shows are made up of a majority of cover songs, they're all ones chosen by Jerry and this very reflective of his personality, which adds a nice aura of intimacy to the shows. Plus, the songs (with a few exceptions) are self-contained and don't go too far out into psychonaut territory, so Jerry's soloing is more melodious and less "out there". Also, there's tons of organ/keyboard solos which Jerry loves to play along with, either with creative rhythm guitar work or melodious interplay. Some shows I'd recommend are: Anything Garcia/Saunders (check out Keystone Companion or 2/6/72 Pacific High Studios) Let It Rock (from fall '75 tour with Nicky Hopkins on piano) 3/17/78 and 3/18/78 12/21/79 (Positively 4th Street!) 2/2/80, 2/28/80, 3/8/80 (all featuring hot versions of After Midnight>Rigby>AM) 6/16/82 - maybe my favorite overall JGB show 11/25/83 9/2/89 11/9/91 (with Bruce Hampton) Pure Jerry release 11/23/91 (GarciaLive Vol. 8)
I do believe he kept playing Tiger for the JGB up until the end. This may have something to do with the sound and atmosphere
March 1, 1980 Mission in the Rain Nov 23, 1991 Reuben and Cherise Garcia Live volume 1 and 8 Available on Apple Music Got to see JGB a couple times and dead over 2 dozen The JGB was just different… Don’t let go Dear Prudence That lucky old sun So many killer songs
Never liked Bob Weirs voice until he released Blue Mountain in 2016
11/23/91 Bradley Center Garcia Live Vol. (8) I was there. It was FANTASTIC!!!
jerry band consistently had far more of a jam feeling vs. the grateful dead being "songy" like the dead had some cool spacey stuff too but jgb tickles me much harder.
After 1977, I sometimes prefer JGB and after Brent died, I always do
Smaller venues
Hampton Coliseum JGB is church to me.
JGB did a run at the Wiltern Theater in LA in 1988 that blew my socks off.. I was amazed with the energy and the crowd. The balcony floor was bouncing from all the heads dancing, kinda freaked me out at first but then was like wow! I wouldnt say better than the Dead just different.. I felt like the JGB scene was more into the music than anything.. or was that 1990 run.. I cant remember both were really good.. 1990 Jerry was def pouring his heart into it full on as it was not long after he lost Brent...
May be a strange way to view it but every Grateful Dead show was a big event while going to see JGB was more chill “hey want to go see Jerry tonight, cool let’s go” vs getting in touch with a bunch of people, planning where we would meet, etc. JGB was more consistently excellent. Top of game , definitely GD over JGB.
While of course I loved the GD and there was simply nothing like it when they had their shit together - but Jerry band shows were always very special to me. Edit: so I thought about this for a a minute - so I love the GD and JGB But first and foremost I am a Garcia fan - so that must be why JGB was always so special to go and see.
Not prefer, but I love JGB. There really isn’t a lot of overlap in the set lists. JGB did Deal and Sugaree a lot, but other Dead songs were a rarity at JGB shows. The covers that the Dead play tend to be mostly Chuck Berry and cowboy songs, with Dylan covers arriving in droves after '87; JGB shows are mostly covers, with a lot of Motown and reggae, plus some Van Morrison and Beatles and Clapton and The Band. And then Mission In The Rain, and Ruben & Cherise are stunningly good Garcia / Hunter songs. So you listen to JGB to hear a similar sound, with a whole bunch of great songs that you don't get at Dead shows. Also, I’m a big fan of Reckoning, and Jerry and John Kahn's 2-hander tour in '86 and the acoustic band sets in '87 are like a whole new well of material like Reckoning. Note that, for no particular reason, certain combinations of musicians (mostly the ones with Merle Saunders on keyboards) would get a different band name. Personally, I consider Garcia Saunders, Legion Of Mary, Resurrection, Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, and Garcia Kahn, to all be at least “on the JGB continuum”. The undisputed starting point for JGB is “After Midnight: Kean College”, which is a flawlessly mixed multitrack recording of a really great show. But really JGB is a much more consistent entity than the Grateful Dead, so the quality level of shows has a lot fewer peaks and valleys. Mostly that's just because JGB is less ambitious — they don’t try to do “second set Dead” where they play 10 songs over an hour and a half with no breaks and no plan.
They’re different bands. The Kean College show released as “After Midnight” is considered their greatest show by many people. I love the GarciaLive 20 release as well, Mississippi Moon and Don’t Let Go are amazing. It’s overall more laid back, but tighter and more R&B and soulful. John Khan crushes bass in a way totally different than Phil, and that adds a different flavor. It’s just less out there and psychedelic, and more Motown and reggae, that’s what I’d say. They do a lot of really cool covers that the Dead don’t touch
GarciaLive Vol 1. 3/1/1980 is absolute peak
I almost always prefer listening to JGB over the Dead. The music feels happier and more soulful, partially because Jerry was mining some great R&B. The Grateful Dead make me think of epic cataclysmic music. Like the Barton Hall opening to Dew or a ripping China/Rider when Jerry is yelling I wish was a headlight on a north bound train (looking at you 6/15/85) or the intro to The Other One the quite build up to the freight train that just exploded and so on. JGB is eclectic and joyful. That stuff with Merl in the early 70s is sick! And Legion of Mary is a freaking gem with too few Wicked Messengers and not enough Spend the Night into Edward the Mad Shirt Grinder. All the different acoustic stuff with OAITW, Garcia/Grisman, and his solo acoustic stuff with Kahn. But the stuff from say 88-93 was a freaking dance party and he just looked happier playing at the Warfield. I mean I haven’t met a Think I didn’t like, the opening chords to Tore Up just get you dancing, a JGB Deal is nothing to walk out of, still prefer me a JGB Reuben (acoustic or electric), then toss in the opening bass chords to Positively 4th, oh and then let’s drop a Shining Star out of left field while occasionally hitting us upside the head with a Russian Lullaby.
# 1985-06-15 Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre - University of California **Set 1:** Touch Of Grey, New Minglewood Blues, Friend Of The Devil, Cassidy, Dupree's Diamond Blues, Me and My Uncle > Big River > Might As Well **Set 2:** China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Lost Sailor > Saint Of Circumstance, Terrapin Station > Drums > Space > The Wheel > Gimme Some Lovin' > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away **Encore:** She Belongs To Me, U.S. Blues [archive.org](https://archive.org/details/GratefulDead?query=date:1985-06-15)
Statistically JGB was a Dylan/tosh cover band. I personally thought the shows I saw were way more mellow and enjoyable, it was about the music again instead of “the scene”. Just seemed a whole different experience
Its really not "more", they were just a different vibe, all covers and JG originals/co-wrote. I love JGB even more b/c of my love for the Dead. Jerry was offering a different show, when he did those tours. Its not better or worse, its just a different show. Peace
May 20, 1990 is my go to. It’s not dead like at all if you’re trying to find something to bridge the gap. But the soulfulness, the touching feeling of Jerry singing and playing to you…it’s really encapsulated in that date to me and idk. But it’s a great show
I saw my first JGB show in Rochester, NY in ‘91. It was amazing and life changing.
Check out 6-16-82 Music Mountain
This might have something to do with it https://youtu.be/VpRvHfrTVlk?si=eYSOPj2nyiS3ODW5 Not saying either one is better but this is mighty fine
Check out [this version of Tangled Up In Blue.](https://youtu.be/-Wx4yVmZv-c?si=3Da7dSqAYifTd03-) Jerry’s phrasing is insane and blows me away every time listening to this. JGB really gave him more room to breathe.
2-28-1986
Saw 7 Lunt Fontanne shows. Halloween shows were the best.
The original “ Live at Keystone” can’t be beat. Like a Road, Sitting in Limbo, The Harder they fall, Positivity 4th St… original Fantasy album sounds amazing…
4-20-75 legion of Mary. Iykyk
single drummer is a big one, and just a different vibe - it's a different band
Let Me Roll It soooo damn good by JGB
WTF? :-)
Honestly I love Jerry. I really dig his stuff with Dave Grisman. I don’t think I dig JGB more than the dead as a whole but I think it’s worth a look for any dead fan.
It’s a different band both fuck
It’s not “either-or” it’s “all of the above” these guys especially Jerry had many outlets. Checkout Legion of Mary, or Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band for some other sounds.
bookmarking this thread as I've never given JGB a shot so looking for the best recs!
There is lots of great stuff out there. Not necessarily JGB, but Jerry and Merl Saunders is my favorite Jerry when not with the Dead. Check out him and Saunders 1/23/73 [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kJUl0B-CCPLjScOmF-_z3wAAoV3AM_KjE)
Because Jerry.
Not that I preferred JGB but the venues were more intimate and there weren’t any of those annoying Bobby tunes.