Grateful Dead

Set 1 -Sound isn’t right at the beginning, Jerry’s guitar is too low in the mix throughout the set, opening Alabama (Jerry improvises some “words” opening the 2d verse) & GSET seem like they could be part of the soundcheck -TLEO is very good, with a nice Brent solo with interesting notes from Bobby, a very good Jerry solo at 4:30 – 6:55 -Cowboy combo Mama > Big River is ok -Althea seems to me to often be played at too slow a pace, well sung, nice build up to the solos, but they are mostly merely competent, outro 5:55 – 8:49 is very good -CC Rider: more suitable for the laid back, screechy playing the band is putting forth this set; Italian chick next to me at work looked at me & smiled while Bobby’s slide solo wailed, probably wondering about the noise the silly American called music (not the prettiest solo) -Tenn Jed: Jerry’s voice is going, good outro -Bucket: Maybe it takes a new song to fix the disconnect that has plagued the set. I don’t think lifelessness or heart is the problem with the set, they’re just not clicking. -Day Job: good energy, very good solo Set 2 -Scarlet: Jerry’s voice is getting worse but the band sounds “on;” solo 3:17 – 5:39, 5 hot runs, great smile-inducing 2d run; jam starts off with the reprise, changes to an improvisation, Jerry plays some really neat notes, tempo builds, gets very hot quickly, seems like it could segue into Fire at any moment but Jerry isn’t ready, he pushes further and further, beautiful, settling down, stretch it out, not ready for Fire yet, tension building, reminds me of Slipknot in that way, but different energy of course, 14:20 total -Fire: tease us a bit, at 0:28 we get the Fire notes; 1st solo 3:16 – 6:25, different tones, awesome solo; 2d solo 7:50 – 10:56, really good, almost but not quite explodes at the end; outro 13:00 – 15:00, excellent, then comes the reprise; 15:27 total for the Fire -Estimated: solo 3:28 – 5:05, excellent; jam starts slow, stays mellow, nice relaxing jam though; 13:11 total -Eyes: nice tempo throughout, not so fast that it loses the subtlety that the song needs; long, excellent 1st solo; 2d solo, long again, floating, above the clouds, fanning ending: outro good but not as interesting; 17:50 total -Drums: -Space (entitled “Spinach Jam” on DP#6): starts off as Space but Jerry has a Spanish Jam in mind, Bobby excellent in rhythm here, this is a very pretty jam though it is mostly just Jerry and Bobby; hints and then very blatant Other One runs -Other: great buildup after the 1st verse, explosions, the Dead are taking no prisoners; 2d jam is much mellower, still nice -Stella: the first solo is almost like a continuation of the 1st jam in Other, until the end when the requisite gentleness is evoked; beginning of outro is exquisite, and the rest is simply beautiful -Sugar Mag: excellent intro, tempo is very nice, high energy rock & roll, great jam in btwn Sugar Mag & Sunshine Daydream -E: US Blues: nicely done Overall: the 1st set is pretty weak, effort seems to be there but the result generally is not. TLEO, Althea, Bucket and Day Job are all worth listens, but none are really highlights. The 2d set is the reason why Dick picked this show, and he made a great choice. This is one of THE Scarlet/Fires, and also one of the better Estimated > Eyes of the 80’s. The Spanish Jam is a highlight, as is the Other One, especially the powerful first jam. Stella is gorgeous. Sugar Mag ends the set on a great rocking note. So we have a Decent set 1 and a Great set 2. Tough to give it a number rating, but I say 8.5/10 overall.

First show - from the classic Fire licks, kicking the song off, to the staggering Stella Blue, I was hooked. 50 shows later, they only got better. Seems like a common theme, but the St Stephen the next night (10/15/83) was almost primal. Heads praying in the aisle upon song recognition. This is the scene I always desciribe when attempting to explain the phenomena to non-believers. Merry Xmas to all and to all a Dead Night.

My First Show. Senior year high school. Wow.