Disc 1
The band kicks off the first
set with “Bertha,” always a fun opener, and from the way Jerry delivers those
opening lines, you know it’s going to be a good version, with a lot of energy.
There is such a happy, excited sound to this version. Sure, there is a bit of a
fuck-up at one moment toward the end, but no matter. The band is cooking, and
clearly aiming to deliver the goods. And after just a bit of tuning, they
follow “Bertha” with “Beat It On Down The Line,” keeping the energy high and
things rocking, and then “Don’t Ease Me In,” a song that was often the Set I
closer in the days when I saw the band, but here positioned early in the first
set. It is interesting that they choose several short rocking tunes to start the show
and get everyone loose and dancing. Bob then leads the band into “The Race Is
On,” the first tune of the show to really feature Donna’s vocals. Keith gives
us some nice stuff on keys. That’s followed by a delicious “Cumberland Blues,”
the blood and steam really pumping now. One of the main reasons I love 1973 is
the band’s propensity to get into some jazzy jamming, but here they show that
they also could really groove on these shorter numbers. This “Cumberland”
is a lot of fun. Then Phil leads the band in a nice “Box Of Rain.” This song
always lifts my spirits; it taps into some current running through us all, you
know? Then there are plenty of sweet vibes in this rendition of “Row Jimmy,”
and some pretty harmonizing. That’s followed by “Jack Straw,” which is a bit
messy at moments, but still pretty damn good.
Another thing I love about 1973
Dead is “They Love Each Other,” which had a great groove and a cool bridge that
was later dropped. This version also features some wonderful stuff from Jerry
on guitar. Oh yes, this track will put a smile on your face. Then “Mexicali
Blues” is fun, as always. “Tennessee Jed” feels just a bit sluggish at first,
but Jerry’s vocal delivery is fantastic, and the band does jam on this one
toward the end. That’s followed by “Looks Like Rain,” which is beautiful right
from the beginning, sounding gentle, like a caress in an otherwise turbulent
world. “My landscape would be empty if
you were gone.” The band picks things up again with “Wave That Flag,” a
song that would soon become “U.S. Blues.” Hey, who doesn’t have the U.S. Blues
these days? It’s still weird to hear these early lyrics. These lines are standing
out this time around: “Stretch the truth,
pull the tooth/Feed the poor, start a war.” That’s followed by “El Paso,”
which begins somewhat softly, but soon builds from there. And that’s how the
first disc ends, but not how the first set ends. Though we are nearly eighty
minutes into the show, there is still plenty of music left in the first set.
Ah, 1973!
Disc 2
The second disc contains the
rest of the first set, and a chunk of the second set. It gets going with a
seriously good version of “Here Comes Sunshine,” which was a new song at the
time. The guys jam on it, getting a really nice groove going, and it is that
jam that makes this rendition something special. Maybe a bit more energy than
you might normally associate with this tune. That’s followed by a sweet “Me And
Bobby McGee” and a powerful and moving “Loser.” But it is “Playing In The Band,”
the first set closer, where things really start getting interesting. The song
comes on strong, with Bobby belting out the lyrics. But within a few minutes,
they are stretching out, getting into cool, jazzy, spacey territory, rolling
right into it, ready to meet whatever they might found there, sounding like they
might roll right over it or through it, no stopping, no hesitation, and maybe
whatever is out there will make itself a part of this vessel, add to it,
contribute to its voyage. For there are two choices: get with it, or get out of
the way. Because this thing isn’t stopping or showing any signs of fatigue. And
then, like after fourteen minutes, the band suddenly brings us back down to
Earth. What a ride! And that is how the first set ends.
The second set opens with a
straight rock and roll tune, Chuck Berry’s “Promised Land,” getting the set off
to an energetic start, just like the first set. Does Bob forget the lyrics for
a moment? No matter. That’s followed by “China Cat Sunflower,” and you can hear
the crowd get excited the moment it starts. Early on, Jerry’s vocals seem a bit
low in the mix, with the bass and drums being most prominent. But this is a
good rendition, the jam cooking along with a delicious and delirious thumping
energy. The transition into “I Know You Rider” is smooth. And wow, listen to
Jerry tear into the “headlight” line.
So good! Bobby keeps things hopping with “Big River.” I love Keith’s work on
keys here. Jerry then eases us into a gorgeous rendition of “Stella Blue,” one
of my favorite songs. This version had me close to tears. “It seems like all this life was just a dream.” The second disc ends with “Me And My Uncle.”
Disc 3
“He’s Gone” is such an
interesting song because its meaning has changed over the years. And in March
of 1973, the song had its first major shift in meaning, with the death of Ron “Pigpen”
McKernan. After that, just a couple of weeks before this show, the song took a
different tone. You can hear it clearly on the version presented here (which I
believe was the first time the band played the song after Pigpen’s passing).
There is just a bit of a break in Jerry’s voice as he sings “Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.”
The extended vocal jam toward the end is particularly moving, even taking on
almost a gospel feel. “Nothing’s gonna
bring him back.” Then Bobby leads the group into “Truckin’” as if to say
okay, we’re going to carry on. Because, hey, what else can we do? The long
strange trip isn’t over yet. And you can feel the energy and relief of the
crowd as they dance with abandon. The band is pushing them, pushing themselves,
to go further, onward, upward, outward. Holy fuck, they just gather more energy
there somehow as the jam takes off. As the jam turns a corner, it is given its
own track on this disc. Seems like it’s going to go off into seriously trippy territory,
like “Dark Star,” but surprisingly changes course and takes on a solid groove.
Billy keeps things moving steadily forward. And Phil’s bass is a force. Ah yes,
this is what it’s all about, if anyone is wondering. The jam holds more
surprises, going in other directions, and what I love is that when it takes a
turn, it takes it strongly. There is no hesitation, no uncertainty. Things
start getting weird like eighteen or nineteen minutes into it, and soon they go
into “Dark Star,” and you think, oh man, we are on our way out even farther.
But this has got to be the shortest “Dark Star” ever, only one verse, and only
like four minutes. Then the band moves into a beautiful and passionate version
of Merle Haggard’s “Sing Me Back Home.” This might be the best version of this
song I’ve heard the Dead do. They then wrap up the second set with a rousing
version of “Sugar Magnolia” to get everybody dancing and feeling good. They leave a pretty long pause before “Sunshine Daydream.” The encore is a
high-energy rendition of “Johnny B. Goode.”
CD Track List
Disc 1
- Bertha
- Beat It On Down The Line
- Don’t Ease Me In
- The Race Is On
- Cumberland Blues
- Box Of Rain
- Row Jimmy
- Jack Straw
- They Love Each Other
- Mexicali Blues
- Tennessee Jed
- Looks Like Rain
- Wave That Flag
- El Paso
Disc 2
- Here Comes Sunshine
- Me And Bobby McGee
- Loser
- Playing In The Band
- Promised Land
- China Cat Sunflower >
- I Know You Rider
- Big River
- Stella Blue
- Me And My Uncle
- He’s Gone >
- Truckin’ >
- Jam >
- Dark Star >
- Sing Me Back Home
- Sugar Magnolia
- Johnny B. Goode
Dave’s Picks Volume 32 was released in early November, 2019. My copy
arrived on November 4th. This is a limited edition of 20,000 copies.
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