Grateful Dead

Right around the time the band was coming out for the second set, my mother was giving birth to me at the Geary St Kaiser in San Francisco. The fact that this show was captured live on video means the world to me. My parents should have named me Dark Star.

Set 1-Cold Rain opener always signifies a nice show; sung beautifully, Keith contributes some nice runs -Me & Bobby: great 1 min solo w/ a minor blip -Chinatown Shuffle: Jerry & Keith each take a run in the solo -China Cat: quick but beautiful 1st solo, unbelievable 1:05 2d solo; jam begins at 3:30 mark, starts slow (after the great solos Jerry needed a break), but picks up quickly with the rest of the band, especially Bobby, carrying the load; Keith plays some pretty keys to signal the transition, don’t blink because Rider is here (great version) -Rider: man, Keith can play pretty; very nice 1 run solo, love Jerry’s playing during Bobby’s verses, great jam from 4:30-5:00, watery eyes -Jack Straw: Bobby takes all the verses, nice 20 sec instrumental (as much the entire band as Jerry), another 20 sec band instrumental, nice overall version where Jerry stays in the background but still contributes with fills -He’s Gone: debut performance I believe, fast version, Jerry’s riff a little different, solo 3:10-4:50, deep sound initially then higher tone, slow and excellent, “I know better but YOU know him” -Next Time: very good 2 run harmonica solo, 2 run fifties-rock Jerry solo -BT Wind: gotta love the notes Jerry plays after “city of blues” (he always inserts nice licks at that spot), Bobby puts everything into his vocals, Jerry goes off in the outro, making this song a highlight Highlights: Me & Bobby, China > Rider, He’s Gone, BT Wind Set 2 -Casey Jones: nice 20 sec solo, very well sung -Mr. Charlie: excellent 2 run 1:00 solo -Playing: Bobby introduces Donna as someone who is going to “help us out on this one.” Clocks in well under 10 mins. Donna screams btwn the verses. Jam starts at 3:11, Jerry is excellent, bending notes, spooky, fanning, breaking out of prison while the alarm bells sound, return to the main theme at 7:00 mark, another Donna scream at 8:07, another excellent Playing -Sugaree: 15 sec 1st solo, 25 sec 2d solo quite nice, solid version but no jam -Saturday Night: Bobby says “listen” just before Jerry tears into a hot fifties-rock solo, the band is really hot (listen to the 2d instrumental break); note that Bobby says “goodbye” at the end, which means this may be out of place (I’d guess this is the encore, maybe a set-ender). The crowd chanting and the fade out make me think this is out of place, too. Of course, he could be talking to the tv audience, thinking it was the end of that portion. -Hurts Me Too: Pig has feelings too, he isn’t just raunchy; nice 2 run harmonica solo then a slow 2 run Jerry solo where he really bends the notes, very good version -Ramble on Rose: good solo from 3:00 – 3:35, very good version -El Paso: solid -Big RR: good 35 sec 2 run 1st solo, even better 2d solo, very good version -Truckin’: Bobby misses his cue to start the 1st verse, jam starts around the 5:00 mark, jam is a variation on the main riff, coming back to the main riff at 8:20 Highlights: Mr. Charlie, Playing, Saturday Night, Set 3 -Dark Star: mellow jam to begin, dancing around the main theme, no hurry, we’ve got all night, pretty little jaunts that dissipate as quickly as they began; return to the main theme at 7:40, 1st vocals at 9:50; jam begins afterward, spacey and jazzy, a flock of geese appear in space at 15:25, at 16:15 a new jam starts to appear, at 17:30 it sounds like some members are trying to turn to the MLB jam (or is it Feelin’ Groovy??), but that gets discarded as Garcia forges into the unknown, full-fledged space psychedilia, any cats or dogs in the audience are giving their full attention; around the 23:00 mark the jam starts to come back to Earth; at 24:30 a neat little jam begins, bass heavy, funky, very beautiful, transforming around the 27:00 mark, dancing on the fine line btwn space and terra firma, then one final shot of dissonance to end the song and a very soft landing into Sugar Mag; another great version, especially from 23:00 – about 28:00 -Sugar Mag: short & sweet 1st solo, jam begins at 2:55, main riff then Jerry takes off, delivering his customary licks with great skill and energy, Sunshine Daydream, -Caution: Phil leads them in, everyone quickly joins the race, very good jam, 1st vocals at 5:10, 2d jam starts with Jerry playing a bluesy lament, the train is rolling, Jerry funky psychedelic, Phil lays down some tracks, excellent 2d jam, another vocal break when things quiet down, great background music during “I come every time she calls with her leg up against the wall” portion, then off for jam # 3, the tone of Jerry’s guitar changes with every jam, he’s really going off here, furiously strumming and somehow the band is keeping up, Phil keeps the Caution tempo going, AWESOME, great version -JBG: no let-up! Highlights: Dark Star > Sugar Mag > Caution > JBG Overall: Great show, 9.5/10, best of the tour so far

Set 1-Cold Rain opener always signifies a nice show; sung beautifully, Keith contributes some nice runs -Me & Bobby: great 1 min solo w/ a minor blip -Chinatown Shuffle: Jerry & Keith each take a run in the solo -China Cat: quick but beautiful 1st solo, unbelievable 1:05 2d solo; jam begins at 3:30 mark, starts slow (after the great solos Jerry needed a break), but picks up quickly with the rest of the band, especially Bobby, carrying the load; Keith plays some pretty keys to signal the transition, don’t blink because Rider is here (great version) -Rider: man, Keith can play pretty; very nice 1 run solo, love Jerry’s playing during Bobby’s verses, great jam from 4:30-5:00, watery eyes -Jack Straw: Bobby takes all the verses, nice 20 sec instrumental (as much the entire band as Jerry), another 20 sec band instrumental, nice overall version where Jerry stays in the background but still contributes with fills -He’s Gone: debut performance I believe, fast version, Jerry’s riff a little different, solo 3:10-4:50, deep sound initially then higher tone, slow and excellent, “I know better but YOU know him” -Next Time: very good 2 run harmonica solo, 2 run fifties-rock Jerry solo -BT Wind: gotta love the notes Jerry plays after “city of blues” (he always inserts nice licks at that spot), Bobby puts everything into his vocals, Jerry goes off in the outro, making this song a highlight Highlights: Me & Bobby, China > Rider, He’s Gone, BT Wind Set 2 -Casey Jones: nice 20 sec solo, very well sung -Mr. Charlie: excellent 2 run 1:00 solo -Playing: Bobby introduces Donna as someone who is going to “help us out on this one.” Clocks in well under 10 mins. Donna screams btwn the verses. Jam starts at 3:11, Jerry is excellent, bending notes, spooky, fanning, breaking out of prison while the alarm bells sound, return to the main theme at 7:00 mark, another Donna scream at 8:07, another excellent Playing -Sugaree: 15 sec 1st solo, 25 sec 2d solo quite nice, solid version but no jam -Saturday Night: Bobby says “listen” just before Jerry tears into a hot fifties-rock solo, the band is really hot (listen to the 2d instrumental break); note that Bobby says “goodbye” at the end, which means this may be out of place (I’d guess this is the encore, maybe a set-ender). The crowd chanting and the fade out make me think this is out of place, too. Of course, he could be talking to the tv audience, thinking it was the end of that portion. -Hurts Me Too: Pig has feelings too, he isn’t just raunchy; nice 2 run harmonica solo then a slow 2 run Jerry solo where he really bends the notes, very good version -Ramble on Rose: good solo from 3:00 – 3:35, very good version -El Paso: solid -Big RR: good 35 sec 2 run 1st solo, even better 2d solo, very good version -Truckin’: Bobby misses his cue to start the 1st verse, jam starts around the 5:00 mark, jam is a variation on the main riff, coming back to the main riff at 8:20 Highlights: Mr. Charlie, Playing, Saturday Night, Set 3 -Dark Star: mellow jam to begin, dancing around the main theme, no hurry, we’ve got all night, pretty little jaunts that dissipate as quickly as they began; return to the main theme at 7:40, 1st vocals at 9:50; jam begins afterward, spacey and jazzy, a flock of geese appear in space at 15:25, at 16:15 a new jam starts to appear, at 17:30 it sounds like some members are trying to turn to the MLB jam (or is it Feelin’ Groovy??), but that gets discarded as Garcia forges into the unknown, full-fledged space psychedilia, any cats or dogs in the audience are giving their full attention; around the 23:00 mark the jam starts to come back to Earth; at 24:30 a neat little jam begins, bass heavy, funky, very beautiful, transforming around the 27:00 mark, dancing on the fine line btwn space and terra firma, then one final shot of dissonance to end the song and a very soft landing into Sugar Mag; another great version, especially from 23:00 – about 28:00 -Sugar Mag: short & sweet 1st solo, jam begins at 2:55, main riff then Jerry takes off, delivering his customary licks with great skill and energy, Sunshine Daydream, -Caution: Phil leads them in, everyone quickly joins the race, very good jam, 1st vocals at 5:10, 2d jam starts with Jerry playing a bluesy lament, the train is rolling, Jerry funky psychedelic, Phil lays down some tracks, excellent 2d jam, another vocal break when things quiet down, great background music during “I come every time she calls with her leg up against the wall” portion, then off for jam # 3, the tone of Jerry’s guitar changes with every jam, he’s really going off here, furiously strumming and somehow the band is keeping up, Phil keeps the Caution tempo going, AWESOME, great version -JBG: no let-up! Highlights: Dark Star > Sugar Mag > Caution > JBG Overall: Great show, 9.5/10, best of the tour so far