Brent Arrives
1979-1982: a new keyboard voice changes the color palette.
Keith Godchaux floated; Brent Mydland pushed. These first-season and early-80s stops show the Hammond attack, the harder harmony vocals, and a new relationship between keyboard and guitar as Brent moves from newcomer to engine room.
Path Threads
brent · mydland · 1979 · 1980 · radio city · early brent
Stops On This Path
1. October 27, 1979 · Cape Cod Coliseum
October 27, 1979 at Cape Cod Coliseum · South Yarmouth, MA, US · Brent era · 8 recordings listed · Archive listeners rate it around 5
Brent is still integrating, which is exactly why this first-season stop matters.
Setlist includes Jack Straw · Candyman · Me And My Uncle · Big River · Brown Eyed Women · Easy To Love You · Minglewood Blues · Stagger Lee · Lost Sailor · Saint Of Circumstance.
2. December 26, 1979 · Oakland Auditorium
December 26, 1979 at Oakland Auditorium · Oakland, CA, US · Brent era · 4 recordings listed · Archive listeners rate it around 5
Oakland shows the new keyboard voice settling into year-end confidence.
Setlist includes Brokedown Palace · Black Throated Wind · Cold Rain And Snow · C.C. Rider · Dire Wolf · Me And My Uncle · Big River · Brown Eyed Women · Minglewood Blues · Friend Of The Devil.
3. October 31, 1980 · Radio City Music Hall
October 31, 1980 at Radio City Music Hall · New York, NY, US · Brent era · 6 recordings listed · Archive listeners rate it around 4.8
Radio City makes the Hammond color and harmony changes easy to hear.
Setlist includes Heaven Help The Fool · Sage And Spirit · Little Sadie · Monkey And The Engineer · It Must Have Been The Roses · Cassidy · Bird Song · Ripple · Jack Straw · Cold Rain And Snow.
4. May 16, 1981 · Barton Hall, Cornell University
May 16, 1981 at Barton Hall, Cornell University · Ithaca, NY, US · Brent era · 7 recordings listed · Archive listeners rate it around 5
Cornell with Brent is a useful contrast to the famous 1977 version in the same room.
Setlist includes Feel Like A Stranger · Friend Of The Devil · Me And My Uncle · Big River · Althea · C.C. Rider · Brown Eyed Women · Passenger · High Time · Let It Grow.
5. August 10, 1982 · Fieldhouse, University of Iowa
August 10, 1982 at Fieldhouse, University of Iowa · Iowa City, IA, US · Brent era · 8 recordings listed · Archive listeners rate it around 5
Iowa City is the deep-cut road shape: early Brent no longer sounds new.
Setlist includes Feel Like A Stranger · Friend Of The Devil · Minglewood Blues · Tennessee Jed · Cassidy · It Must Have Been The Roses · On The Road Again · Beat It On Down The Line · Stagger Lee · I Need A Miracle.