10/9/80
The first disc contains the
first set from October 9, 1980. The band opens this one with a sweet, somewhat
relaxed rendition of “Dire Wolf.” It almost has the sound of folks seated
around a fire, singing and playing, perfect for the song’s lyrics. They follow
it with a country song written by Bill Browning, “Dark Hollow,” and Bob is
sounding good. “I’d rather be in some
dark hollow/Where the sun don’t ever shine/Than to be home alone/Knowing that
you’re gone/Would cause me to lose my mind.” Ah yes, and yet the song has a
cheerful sound, delivered as a traditional-sounding folk tune. They continue in
the traditional folk vein with a nice rendition of “I’ve Been All Around This
World.”
Bob Weir then counts off the
beginning to “Cassidy,” one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs. I’ve seen Bob
deliver some fantastic versions of this one over the years, and though this is
an acoustic rendition, the guys still jam on it a bit, and there is some wonderful
stuff on guitar. It is certainly a highlight of this disc. Jerry follows that
with a thoughtful, delicate version of “China Doll,” which features Brent
Mydland on harpsichord. Things then turn more playful with “On The Road Again.”
It’s a fun rendition, with a sudden end. There is a bit of goofy banter, and
then Jerry leads the band into “Bird Song.” It’s certainly not the best version
of “Bird Song” I’ve heard, but the jam does get good, with moments where you
can just let it carry you off into those wonderful places where the Grateful
Dead seem to dwell. And Jerry’s vocal delivery has a sweet, gentle quality. Bob
follows that with “The Race Is One,” another fun, playful number, with some
nice stuff from Brent on piano. I love Jerry’s beautifully intimate vocal
delivery on “Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie,” making that track another highlight of
the first disc. Then, as the band starts “Ripple,” Jerry says, “Feel free to
sing this song if you’d like.” Oh yes, I often find myself singing this song.
And this is a beautiful, sweet rendition. “Let
there be songs to fill the air.”
10/10/80
The second disc contains the
first set from the next night, October 10, 1980. And Bob starts by joking, “We’re the warmup band.” They kick off
the set with “On The Road Again.” And yeah, they played that one the previous
show, but the band had fewer songs to draw from for these acoustic sets, and so
there was a certain amount of repetition during this run of shows. But of
course the Dead never really did a song the exact same way twice, so by that
reasoning, there was never any repetition. They followed “On The Road Again”
with a beautiful and moving rendition of “It Must Have Been The Roses,” and
then an enjoyable, somewhat mellow version of “Monkey And The Engineer.”
Jerry delivers an excellent
“Jack-A-Roe,” and I think it’s this version that appears on Reckoning (an album which was also
released as For The Faithful). Here
Jerry shows how adept he was at tackling those old folk tales. I love hearing
him sing folk songs, and I’ve been enjoying that three-disc expanded edition of
The Pizza Tapes that he recorded with
David Grisman and Tony Rice, where he sings tunes like “Man Of Constant Sorrow”
and “Little Sadie.” Bob follows “Jack-A-Roe” with “Dark Hollow,” another tune
that had been played the night before. This version, to my ears, is the better
of the two. The vocals sound great, and the song has a sweet vibe and moves
along well. Jerry then eases the band into a version of “To Lay Me Down” that
is gorgeous and intimate, pulling you near into a friendly embrace, as if to
say things will be all right, and then letting go. Listen to those harmonies.
That’s followed by probably the most interesting song choice of the set, an
instrumental version of Bob Weir’s “Heaven Help The Fool,” played without the
drummers. “Bird Song” follows, and features some surprising guitar work during
the jam. Seriously, it’s unlike other versions I’ve heard, and it’s that stuff
on guitar that makes this version worth listening to. This set, like the
previous one, concludes with a wonderful version of “Ripple.” Okay, yes, all
versions of “Ripple” are wonderful. “If I
knew the way, I would take you home.”
CD Track List
Disc One
- Dire Wolf
- Dark Hollow
- I’ve Been All Around This World
- Cassidy
- China Doll
- On The Road Again
- Bird Song
- The Race Is On
- Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie
- Ripple
Disc Two
- On The Road Again
- It Must Have Been The Roses
- Monkey And The Engineer
- Jack-A-Roe
- Dark Hollow
- To Lay Me Down
- Heaven Help The Fool
- Bird Song
- Ripple
The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
10/9/80 & 10/10/80 was released on April 13, 2019, which was Record Store
Day, and is available on both CD and vinyl.
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