Robert Hunter and the Ghosts Masonic Hall, Seattle, WA 3/17/80 Complete + Soundcheck

Robert Hunter and The Ghosts
March 17, 1980
Masonic Hall, Seattle, WA
Video Source: ET Benson's Sony L-750 (5) Beta Masters
Transfer: Sony SuperBeta SL-HF100 (Playback) -} DataVideo TBC-100 (Time Base Correction) -} BlackMagic Intensity Thunderbolt Shuttle -} Apple Pro Res 422 (HQ), 720 x 486, 41615 kbps -} Final Cut -} H.264 720 x 480, 29.97fps, 6000 kbps.m4v-} Bluray [NTSC, 4:3, 6.0 Mbs, 720x480, 29.97 fps]
Audio Source: Pat Lee's Sony TC-388 4 channel reel masters, One reel at 3.75 IPS, 2 reels at 7.5 IPS
Channel 1 & 2: stereo board feed (primarily vocals, kick drum and ambient mic above the stage, provided by FOH engineer Tommy O'Neil)
Channel 3 & 4: two ECM 270 mics on pole in balcony above soundboard
Transfer: Pat Lee's 4-Track Reels } Technics RS1506 } Tascam DA3000 (1 bit DSD) } dB poweramp } wav 24/96 - Transferred by Matt Smith
Additional Audio Lineage: wav 24/96 4-tracks } Logic (stereo mixing, level correction, speed correction) } wav 24/96 } Logic (several dropouts and funky spots were seamlessly repaired utilizing Mark Severson's Nak700 masters) } wav 24/96 } PCM 24/96 - by Alan Bershaw
Audio/Video Synchronization by Alan Bershaw (2022)
Personnel:
Robert Hunter - vocals, guitar, harmonica
Keith Godchaux - piano, vocals
Donna Godchaux - vocals
Jessica Azar - vocals
Bill Middlejohn - guitar, vocals
Don Gaynor - guitar, vocals
Larry Klein - bass
Greg Anton - drums
1) Soundcheck [36:40]
2) Set 1: The Ghosts (part 1) [1:00:22]
01 Get Ready For Love
02 I'll Do It All Again
03 tech problems
04 Stop That Train
05 Creatures In The Night
06 Dream Land
07 Living In Hollywood
08 It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry
09 Which Way Woman } Fire...
3) Set 1: The Ghosts (part 2) [06:57]
10 ...Fire }
11 Maybellene
4) Set 2: Robert Hunter (part 1) [52:39]
12 Brown-Eyed Women
13 Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
14 Casey Jones
15 Crooked Judge
16 Mountains Of The Moon
17 Rum Runners
18 Box Of Rain
19 Independence Day }
20 Sugaree
21 Mr. Charlie }
22 Easy Wind
23 Heart Of Glass } Cruel White Water
24 Truckin'
5) Set 2: Robert Hunter (part 2) [16:48]
25 The Eleven }
26 St. Stephen
27 Ripple
28 Scarlet Begonias/Sunshine Daydream/Stella Blue/Scarlet Begonias
6) Set 3: Robert Hunter & The Ghosts [36:19]
29 The Ghosts come back on stage (piano noodling/tuning )
30 Tiger Rose
31 Last Flash Of Rock 'N Roll
32 Stop That Train
33 Strange Man
34 Promontory Rider
35 Franklin's Tower
7) Encore [4:14]
36 House Of Wax
Notes:
I consider this show "The Big Bambu" of this entire project. It's this performance of "Promontory" Rider" that initially got the ball rolling - when I posted a poor quality VHS transfer of it back in 2019, right after Hunter died, wishing I could locate better audio for it.
Social media contains an over-abundance of negativity these days, but in this case it sucketh not, as that post connected me with Mark Severson and Pat Lee, both of whom recorded master audio of this show. MarkÕs pal ET Benson, who videotaped so much vintage Hunter at a time when equipment was big, bulky, prohibitively expensive and not exactly portable, was also kind enough to provide his original Beta videotape masters, which have never been digitally transferred before. This remarkable footage represents a little known slice of Grateful Dead history finally seeing the light of day 42 years after the fact.
ItÕs not easy finding any kind of satisfaction these days, but bringing ETÕs Beta masters and Pat's 4-track master reels together, after all these years, is deeply satisfying to me. Thank you, ET Benson! Thank you, Pat Lee! And a major thank you to Mark Severson, as without you, the dots may never have been connected! Also thanks to Matt Smith, Mick Etherington and Cris Yarborough! And thank you to Kevin Tobin for helping us get this circulating and for hosting all the project footage on youtube.
I was fortunate to see Hunter perform "Promontory Rider" dozens of times, both solo and with several other groups, including the Jerry Garcia Band (footage I also helped bring to light when I was logging the Metropolitan Archive masters for Wolfgang's Vault years ago). Out of all of them, this highly engaged performance still remains my favorite.
This project is far from over as there's many additional hours of ET Benson's master footage of Robert Hunter during the 1980s. We've located audio masters for all of that, as well, so there's plenty more to synchronize - and a lot more to come. Stay tuned!
Alan Bershaw (2022)

[@indydarkstar]

thanks to all involved,indydarkstar

[@MT-bc1we]

nice upload...thanks KT :)

[@tabathastaples7884]

Shepherd's Chapel Network !!!!!!! Chapter by Chapter / Verse by Verse !!!!!!!

[@GailWeisman]

Wow, seriously, THANKS for this!! Amazing to see them all so young. One question: Larry Klein on bass ... THE Larry Klein? As in later husband of Joni Mitchell, jazz great, etc.? Or different Larry Klein? I also so Hunter many times back in the day, but I never got to see THIS band! Thanks!!!!

[@sneakerfacevids441]

I asked the person who would know this very question recently, and was told no, different Larry Klein. Both bass players though, and it seemed like the timing would have been right.

[@GailWeisman]

I'm going to share this with various groups I'm a part of, I know lots of other folks have probably never seen this band either. I actually live in Marin County, moved here in 92, so I'm a big Zero fan, still get to see Greg Anton with Kimock occasionally (they'll be at the Fillmore in SF, Oct 2022) but I am not familiar with this band, only Heart of Gold Band with Kimock. Great stuff!

[@danielosullivan3110]

❤️ Robert Hunter, Shane MacGowan, Tom Waits 🚬

[@IggyM]

wow thanks for this

[@johntrello4108]

Thanks so much for this. Amazing work. Anyone know anything about “Which Way Woman”, or “House of Wax”? Are they originals? I did a search for both lyrics and song titles that failed to yield any results.

[@davidhatcher2000]

💓💓💓💓💓

[@bunnybeckman8029]

This is weird , I’m not sure what we r about to c ?