Hi, I was listening to http://db.etree.org/shninfo_detail.php?shnid=81254, which is composed of reels from various 1966 performances. There are some comments from the stage at the end of the following reel that prompted me to make some observations:
Pauley Ballroom #2 (no date) - 10" Reel 1/2 Track @ 15IPS: You Don't Have To Ask - Phil Talks About The Move To L.A. Viola Lee Blues (some static at start of song) I Know You Rider Midnight Hour (plug pulled) The plug is pulled on the band during Midnight Hour. Various comments ensue, then Bob says '..next Saturday night, this coming Saturday night, if you're in Los Angeles..' which I assume is a show announcement of some kind. The band went to LA in early February. The only specific date I have seen is in 'A Long Strange Trip' by Dennis McNally who says the band flew up on Sunday the 6th of February on the day of the Northridge Unitarian Church Acid Test. Note that I have also seen Northridge dated as 2/5/66 and 2/19/66 (Bear's date) just to compound the confusion. On the Tapers Section, David Lemieux released Tastebud and Mindbender from a reel he stated was labelled 2/6/66. Based on Phil's comment 'move to LA next week'and Bobby saying 'LA next Saturday' the band is still in San Francisco, and it is most likely to be the Saturday through Friday previous to the date of the event Weir is referring to. One scenario is Bobby is referring to Watts on the 12th, giving this reel a likely date range of 2/5 - 2/11. If the 2/6 date is correct for Northridge then at the latest the band is in LA by the 6th of February, and the first Saturday show in LA is Watts on the 12th. This would suggest 2/5/66 as a possible date. 2/5/66 is often listed as the Questing Beast rehearsals in Berkeley however the tape going by this date is actually the Scorpio sessions. I have seen no specific dates on these rehearsals however McNally does comment that after the Trips Festival (Jan 22 - 23) the band played at the Matrix (apparently 1/28 and 1/29) and then spent time rehearsing at the Questing Beast in Berkeley with Bear who had declined to manage the band but had agreed to the role of soundman. What is not clear is whether they played any shows between the Matrix/Sound City Acid Test (1/28 and 1/29) and their departure for LA. There are a couple of interesting points to consider here. This tape is labelled Pauley Ballroom. Pauley Ballroom is at the University of California, Berkeley. The two listed 66 dates for this venue are are an uncertain June/July dating, and a newspaper article reference to the band playing at Pauley on the 12/2/66. 12/2 is too late however under the Deadlists entry for the possible June/July Pauley show is discussion about the Scorpio tape, which has circulated as 2/5/66, 6/??/66, as well as 7/??/66... Is there a strange connection between these various dates and references to the Questing Beast/Berkeley/Pauley Ballroom that has been obscured by the haze of years? This makes me consider it reasonable to theorize that the tape label of Pauley is correct and a show could have been played at Pauley, possibly on the 5th of February, around the time the band was rehearsing in Berkeley. Many of the dates and timelines for this era are suspect. If the 2/6/66 date for the flight to LA is incorrect then another possibility amongst the known shows is that this reel is from the 1/29 Saturday show at the Matrix, if they were in LA the following Saturday on the 5th. In this scenario there is either an unknown show in LA on the 5th, or possibly the Northridge Acid Test occurred on Saturday the 5th not Sunday the 6th. I wonder ...what is more likely, an acid test in a church on a Saturday or a Sunday?... This is all speculation based on the dates and information I have at hand so there might be more data that can shed light on this. Obviously if shows we don't know about occurred during this timeframe then other dates and possibilities exist in relation to this reel. regards, Tim Rhimes
