steve johnson

#caturday
Ognir, in pre-dawn hang 5 modality.

Happy Black Beauty Day, to all who celebrate.

https://youtu.be/WbvkgR5K-YE?si=D2gtQA9xy6wtoNe_

Taos Pueblo, April 2026

First porch garden crop of the new season—red kale and collards. Right on.

4 doors. Georgia O'Keeffe Home & Studio, Abiquiú, NM.

6 years ago today, John Edward Prine succumbed to complications caused by COVID-19 at the age of 73. When his debut LP was inducted into the Grammy HOF in 2014, he summed up why he chose a life as a songwriter: “I gotta say, there’s no better feeling than having a killer song in your pocket, and you’re the only one in the world who’s heard it.” Here’s a sweet little download featuring a few of Prine’s BBC performances from the early ‘70s. Miss you John.
https://we.tl/t-b3I7wzLZoa

2/27/69. Fillmore West.

The ​Grateful Dead, ​Pentangle, ​Sir ​Douglas ​Quintet, ​Shades of ​Joy, and a juggler. ​Much of the music from this night ended up on Live/Dead, and rightly so. 

Bear tape: https://archive.org/details/gd1969-02-27.132573.sbd.16track.healy-latvala-wise.flac16

Zip file: https://mega.nz/folder/lqBmjb4Q#hi8PGY3kIbFwTPg9oxGeCg/folder/VqY1TLTT

A very cool piece detailing the four different mixes of the 2/27 Dark Star, courtesy of the Grateful Dead Guide: https://deadessays.blogspot.com/2017/01/dark-star-tale-of-four-mixes.html

💀 And the whole run via Dan Healy DATs: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/gathoe59tmmaxx14jgvqp/AIrwWRVV3WH_Bdm4mS_TOQw/Fillmore%20foobar%20320%20converts?rlkey=gp612abu5ba1234kydnrhinq7&subfolder_nav_tracking=1&st=b7ec8t2p&dl=0

Dylan, University of Massachusetts Amherst, April 26, 1964.

Echo Amphitheater, Rio Arriba County, NM.

A few shots from this morning’s jaunt to Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. Cool joint.

56 years ago this month, the Grateful Dead joined John Hammond for a weekend of shows at Mammoth Gardens in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver.

The one artifact from the weekend is this very listenable Richard Wethey field tape of the 4/25 gig. Acoustic & electric sets. The tape is definitely worth investigating, with a nod to the tremendous Dark Star, which is surely one of the most outside and exploratory versions of the year.

https://archive.org/details/gd70-04-24.aud.remaster.sirmick.27205.sbeok.shnf

RIP

https://youtu.be/xYXxbtkGtW0?si=vyEdjd3-Qz4bkIT2

“Texas” (1983) - Photo by Wim Wenders

4/8/72. Empire Pool, London.

Bill Giles transfer: https://archive.org/details/gd72-04-08.sbd.giles-jeffm.2534.sbeok.shnf

Dark Star (Vault release):https://youtu.be/qyBs48VjMho?si=BlkjgS_24mYRRE4W

Need I say more?

56 years ago on this date, the Grateful Dead at the Armory Field House at the University of Cincinnati. Ken Kesey and The Lemon Pipers share the bill.

Prankster weirdness, equipment and monitor hassles, ​an acoustic set featuring the first known performance of Candyman, and a torrid​ Other ​One that segues into a solid Cosmic Charlie. Need I say any more?    

Updated soundboard tape: https://archive.org/details/gd1970-04-03.154482.sbd.eaton.miller.sirmick.flac16

Happy TV from the Tivoli Day.
https://youtu.be/WtsB3lgvN5w?si=UhWJOuBKkVq8mqOX

Essential listening from Joel Futterman & William Parker. Transcendent Universe is due to drop next month and the 34 1/2 minute preview track is very good. Dig in.

https://joelfutterman-bam.bandcamp.com/track/transcendent-universe-part-1