Jerry Garcia Band finds out what it is all about in an extended rendition of “After Midnight”, found on the upcoming GarciaLive Volume 20 archival release. The live album from Garcia Family Provisions documents the Grateful Dead guitarist’s side project at a pair of shows in 1981 and 1982.
Though GarciaLive Volume 20 is technically billed as June 18th, 1982 at Cape Cod Coliseum in South Yarmouth, MA, “After Midnight” actually comes from June 1st, 1981 at The Stone in San Francisco. The Cape Cod show was a co-headlining bill with Bobby & The Midnites and the Jerry Band only played a single, 90-minute set. In order to fill out the rest of the 2CD album, Garcia Family Provisions tacked on some filler from The Stone in 1981, a first for any GarciaLive release.
At The Stone, Garcia and his bandmates are in their element with this hometown show. The comfort is clearly audible in “After Midnight”, as the band chugs through the J.J. Cale cover at breakneck speed supplied by drummer Daoud Shaw. While the song stretches on for 16 minutes, the band doesn’t doddle for a moment as Garcia keeps the group engaged with incendiary leads fueled by Melvin Seals‘ organ playing.
Fast forward one year and the Jerry Garcia Band looked a little different coming into Cape Cod Coliseum. Replacing Shaw behind drums was Jerry’s Grateful Dead bandmate Bill Kreutzmann, who along with Seals, electric pianist Jimmy Warren, backing vocalists Liz Stires and Julie Stafford, and Garcia’s trusty bassist John Kahn would help redefine JGB’s sound for the coming ’80s. Together, GarciaLive Volume 20 shows the group’s impressive metamorphosis in such a short time, switching from the high-octane, jam-heavy style to the R&B/soul identity that defined the project through the rest of its duration.
Listen to Jerry Garcia Band perform “After Midnight” and click here to pre-order GarciaLive Volume 20, out June 30th.
Jerry Garcia Band – “After Midnight” (J.J. Cale) – 6/1/81