GOOD OL' GRATEFUL DEADCAST – In and Out Of The Garden: Madison Square Garden, 9/82

Date: September 22, 2022
Hosts: Rich Mahan & Jesse Jarnow
Summary Prepared by: Podcast Expert Summarizer

Episode Overview

This episode of the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast is the second in a miniseries on the legendary Grateful Dead’s relationship with Madison Square Garden, focusing on their September 1982 shows, which are now featured in the box set In and Out of the Garden: Madison Square Garden 81, 82, 83. The hosts and their guests dive deep into the Dead’s cultural environment in the early 1980s, the evolving ecosystem of Deadhead culture, the music and its technological advancements, fanzine networks, the rise of tape trading, and—of course—the shows themselves with vivid firsthand accounts and historical analysis.

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Scene Setting: The Dead in 1982 and NYC

• Grateful Dead's Status: By 1982, the Dead had outlasted their peers, touring hard despite changing musical landscapes. Their approach centered on live experimentation and community over mainstream commercial success.

• Quote (Jerry Garcia, 05:31):
  “If we’re sensitive enough, the music that arrives belongs uniquely to that situation and that audience and that dynamic.”

• New York as a Hub: The episode underscores the band’s deep relationship with NYC, with frequent shows and side projects making the city a Deadhead haven.

2. The Ecosystem: Tape Trading & Deadhead Mini-cultures

• Rise of Tape Trading:

  • Fans recount setting up makeshift sound systems in hotel rooms and swapping tapes after shows to relive and analyze performances (15:41).
  • The band’s tolerance of taping led to vibrant participatory communities, enhancing fan engagement.

• Taper Jim Wise (16:39–17:28):
  Discusses the practicalities and challenges of taping in the audience, describing it as “a completely different experience than going as a fan... you’re always looking over your shoulder.”

• On the Value of Tape Trading (Alan Trist, 41:11): “The extension of community in every way ... this was part of the larger Grateful Dead experience, generation, energy exchange ... you want that one to have an evenness to it.”

3. Innovation: Sound, Lights, and Set Upgrades

• The ‘Switch’: Early 1982 saw Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh switch sides on stage, intensifying Garcia’s interplay with keyboardist Brent Mydland—a subtle change with major musical impact (16:39).

• Meyer Sound Integration:

  • John and Helen Meyer detail how their groundbreaking sound systems were adopted by the Dead, resulting in a warmer, clearer audio experience at live shows.
  • John Meyer advocates for high-fidelity sound and stands up for audience tapers in Dead board meetings (47:54).
  • The new PA made its premier in the fall 1982 run, drastically improving the concert experience (48:50).

• Lighting Evolution:

  • Dan English describes working under Candace Brightman to create unique, atmospheric lighting, emphasizing design over spectacle (52:29).

4. DIY Deadhead Culture: Fanzines, Merch, ‘Maker’ Communities

• Zine Explosion:

  • Xerox technology led to an explosion of fan-made publications, bolstering subcultural connections (25:31).
  • The Deadhead zine Michael emerges in 1982, providing setlists and insider info at shows (26:56).

• Maker Spirit:

  • Eric Schwartz and others made and circulated tape labels, stickers, and T-shirts, crafting a distinctive Deadhead folk art scene (19:48–23:03).

• Psychedelic Countercultures:

  • Discussion of groups like the Church of the Subgenius and the First Church of Fun, showing how affinity groups and parody religions interwove with Dead culture (29:01–33:42).
  • Quote (Jay Christian Greer, 30:38):
    “Bob Dobbs ... was really the mask or the face of ... militant psychedelic culture ... a repudiation of normal culture ... the insistence that people cultivate their own slack.”

5. Official and Unofficial Business: Merch, Tape Clubs, and Policy

• Merchandising:
  • The Dead were careful, even ambivalent, about commercial ventures—emphasizing artistic integrity over profit (36:24–37:08).
• Archival Tapes:
  • Alan Trist’s 1982 memo floats the bold idea of direct marketing concert tapes (38:31), but concerns about commercialization and loss of the communal feel hold sway.
  • “If you give your product away freely in the sense that we just talked about ... you create a loyalty.” (Alan Trist, 43:33)

6. Musical Highlights: New Songs and Breakouts at MSG ‘82

• Debuts and Bustouts:

  • Introduction of future classics: "Throwing Stones," "Touch of Grey," "West L.A. Fadeaway," "Keep Your Day Job."
  • Resurgence of rarely-played favorites: “Crazy Fingers,” “Dupree’s Diamond Blues,” “Spanish Jam.”

• Madison Square Garden Shows:

  • High energy, concise setlists—songs played tighter, not necessarily longer, but with clarity and enthusiasm (58:55).

  • Quote (David Lemieux, 66:23):
    “The way they incorporated them, especially something like Throwing Stones ... such an important song ... didn’t have a home yet. I love that.”

  • “Shakedown Street” as an opener electrifies NYC:
    (Bob Minkin, 57:48) “That line alone—’tell me this town ain’t got no heart’—brought thunder to the place ... when they say that line in New York, it really has a lot of resonance.”

7. Firsthand Stories: Fans, Subcultures, and Experiences

• Taper Experiences:

  • The logistics (and anxieties) of taping on the floor, dealing with crowds, and forever preserving personal show memories (62:51–64:09).

• Fan Adventures:

  • Folk heroes like Rich Petlock, the CPA who commuted multiple nights to MSG and back for Dead shows, only to change into his suit early next morning (80:50).
  • Initiation stories—LSD and first Dead shows, and the intense sense of ritual and transformation (83:06–84:48).

8. Legacy: The Ever-Evolving Dead Community

• Dead’s Approach to Community:

  • Striking the balance between openness (taping, zines, DIY art) and some degree of control, the Dead catalyzed a unique, decentralized network—part band-led, part fan-led.
  • Quote (Alan Trist, 43:33):
    “If you give your product away freely ... you create a loyalty [that] comes back.”

• Sociological Observations:

  • The band and scene as an alternative gravitational center to the mainstream (MTV, chart pop), with Deadhead culture functioning as a self-sufficient ecosystem (28:57).

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Jerry Garcia (05:31):
  “The music that arrives belongs uniquely to that situation and that audience and that dynamic.”
• Brent Mydland’s Instrument (18:05):
  “I’m a big fan of the Brent stuff ... I hated that piano. I just thought it had a really lifeless, thin sound, like a fake, shitty piano.” (Charlie Miller, 18:42)
• On Taping (Jim Wise, 62:51):
  “You’re always looking over your shoulder ... But once ... people as they’re coming through, then yes, they’re very respectful. I would be able to enjoy the show afterwards forever.”
• On ‘Touch of Grey’ (Robert Hunter via Rolling Stone, 77:29):
  “A friend brought over a hunk of very good cocaine. I stayed up all night and at dawn I wrote that song. That was the last time I ever used cocaine. ... I think I got it down in that song.”
• On Day Job (Sean O’Donnell, 69:26):
  “I remember being highly offended by Day Job ... it felt literally offensive because I was doing exactly the opposite and largely motivated by them.”
• David Lemieux (61:12):
  “It was disappointing to see the shift from the sort of psychedelic [vibe] to the cocaine vibe, but that music actually rocks compared to ... the 1990s.”
• On Post-show Rituals (Johnny Dwark, 79:07):
  Experienced Deadheads mingling with band members, like Mickey Hart, at Wo Hop noodle shop after MSG shows; the sense of family—“nobody made a big deal of it ... everybody was high and everybody was munching out.”

Major Segment Timestamps

• Introduction to 1982/US Festival Context: 04:08–06:36
• Taper Culture and Equipment: 15:41–19:34
• Deadhead Maker/DIY Movement: 19:34–25:03
• Zines & Xerox Revolution: 25:03–28:17
• Church of the Subgenius and Psychedelic Counterculture: 29:01–34:39
• Exploring Merchandising and Tape Club Concepts: 36:24–41:07
• Adopting Meyer Sound for Live Shows: 44:03–51:43
• Lighting Innovations and Tour Stories: 52:29–55:04
• MSG ’82 Show Details, Song Debuts: 55:14–61:42, continues into show-by-show breakdowns
• Fan Stories: Tapers and True Believers: 62:05–66:05, 80:50–83:06
• LSD and the Ritual of the Show: 83:06–85:11
• ‘Touch of Grey’ and Songwriting Anecdotes: 77:29–78:06, 91:29
• Post-show Culture (Wo Hop): 79:07
• Conclusion and Credits: 99:53–100:53

Conclusion

This episode is a treasure trove for committed Deadheads and the Dead-curious alike. By mixing firsthand testimony, historical context, and deep dives into technology, culture, and music, the Deadcast creates a vivid time capsule of the Dead’s early 1980s scene—centered on the everyday magic of the Madison Square Garden shows, the passionate networks that formed around the band, and the innovations that kept their music alive for generations.

Enduring Takeaways:

• The Dead were less a band than a living ecosystem—musicians, tapers, artists, freaks, accountants, zine-makers.
• Madison Square Garden was a true “showcase”—the energy between band and city crescendoed here.
• Even as they skirted commercial mainstream, the Dead’s influence only deepened—helped, not hindered, by their (and their fans’) devotion to community, experimentation, and pure experience.

If you’re “committed or curious,” this episode is a masterclass in why the Grateful Dead—and their tribe—mattered, and still do.

Listen to the full episode and explore box set details at dead.net/deadcast.