At 09:30 AM 9/22/2004 -0700, Jeff Lester wrote:
With the Wall of Sound question: although some elements of the Wall of Sound were incoporated into the 1973 PA system, the full Wall of Sound did not debut until 3/23/74.
Here's a picture of the Band playing at the 8-1-73 show:
http://www.jerseycityonline.com/roosevelt_stadium/roosevelt_08_01_73_mr_bassman.jpg
You can see that there are still large PA stacks to the left and right of the stage (as in a normal PA configuration), as opposed to the Wall of Sound where everything thing was behind the band, like in this picture
http://www.photog.com/Pics/GDead/74/7-31/Highers/74c17-03.jpg
You can also read about the Wall of Sound and see a diagram in this Deadhead newsletter from 1974:
http://www.dead.net/cavenweb/deadfile/newsletter19.html
And although they call it the Wall of Sound in this 1973 newsletter, you can see in the diagram how it is different:
http://www.dead.net/cavenweb/deadfile/newsletter10.html
- -Jeff Lester
I may have posted about this before--if so, forgive me.
Whenever the topic of the "Wall of Sound" PA comes up, I see the confusion listed by Jeff above. It's a matter of defining the term. While the 1973 PA was called the "Wall of Sound," I've always felt the true version of that PA to be the one in the 1974 newsletter, when everything was stacked behind the stage.
Unless I'm wrong, the first time the 1974 configuration, or something close to it, was used was in Charlotte, NC on 12/10/73. I say this because I had seen them at Dook on 12/8 and the PA looked like the 1973 diagram--some equipment onstage, but most stacked on two wings beside the stage. While this PA was big and amazingly clear, there was nothing really unconventional about the way it was set up (except for the monitors, but that's a different issue).
But at Charlotte two nights later, it was set up completely differently. Several friends of mine and I got in just as they were opening the doors to the Charlotte Coliseum (now called "Cricket Arena", previously known as "Independence Arena"). When we walked in, all the equipment was stacked up behind the stage--no wings at all. Jerry was on his side of the stage, noodling away, while Phil was on his side, hitting big notes then staring at the speakers. Every so often, he'd point at a speaker and a sound guy would climb out on the scaffolding, pull out a speaker box, and another would be hoisted up to him. After about 10 minutes of this, Phil put down his bass and came over to the side of the stage where we were standing. He sat on the stage and began to chat with us while he downed a Heineken. We asked him what was up with the PA change, and he said the Coliseum was too narrow for the wings to fit, so they had tried stacking it all up behind themselves. He looked back over his shoulder and said, "You know, we kinda like it this way. We may do this again!" After a little more small talk, a cop came by and told him to take the beer backstage. He said, "But occifer, I'm with the band." The cop grinned and said, "I don't care, all I know is that if you don't take that beer backstage, I'm going to have to take you downtown!" Phil said, "Yessir!" and got up and said goodbye to us.
When I next saw them in 1974, the PA was more or less the same, just like in the 1974 diagram. So I guess they did like it.
Hope this helps, Richard
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