Disc 1
The first disc contains the entire first set from the show on March 20th. The band kicks things off with "Feel Like A Stranger," always a great choice to set things in motion, with its beat, its energy and with those lines "So let's get on with the show" and "It's going to be a long, long, crazy, crazy night." Everything is sounding crisp and clean and excellent. This is a "Stranger" that will have you dancing and shaking. Jerry Garcia's guitar work is popping. I would have loved another twenty minutes of this song. The band then slows things down with a sweet rendition of "Friend Of The Devil." There is a soothing aspect to this rendition at the beginning, with some nice harmonies, promising it will be okay out there on the road. We can always come home to the Dead, wherever they may be. And I love that moment when the music lifts us to another, brighter level. Jerry's guitar is doing the work there, climbing out of the darkness, and pulling us along too. The band then eases into "C.C. Rider," which works well coming out of "Friend Of The Devil." It begins to grow and build, the guitars leading the way. "And I'm on the run," Bob Weir adds at one point. Brent Mydland delivers some delicious stuff on keys. This is a really good "C.C. Rider."
The band follows "C.C. Rider" with "Althea," from what was at the time the band's most recent record, Go To Heaven. It has an easygoing vibe, with a really good vocal performance by Jerry, the kind of delivery that gives each line a little more meaning, a stronger connection to us. And then the jam has smoe power to it, leading to a definite conclusion, a little exclamation point on it. Things then get fun with a good version of "Mama Tried," which goes straight into "Mexicali Blues," and we feel our worldly cares disintegrating, cast off into the dust and ether. The tone then changes, as the band goes into "Loser," but we are in similar terrain thematically; or, at least, we can imagine the characters from both songs coming across each other at some point, while both are in trouble. Does Jerry forget the lyrics? Not sure, but no matter. There is a good deal of power to his delivery at times, and a wonderful intimacy at other times. Once "New Minglewood Blues" gets going, it finds its own particular energy. "Preacher man call me a sinner, but his little girl call me a saint." Ah yes, it's all a matter of perspective, isn't it? This rendition features some excellent stuff on keys. And then check out that guitar work. This rendition gets better and better, building in energy. "Yes, and it's T for New York City," Bob sings here. Did he forget where he was?
"Candyman" follows. It's interesting how Bob keeps providing energetic numbers, and then Jerry mellows things out with his choices. This is a tremendous rendition, featuring some passionate playing as well as vocal work. Some incredibly beautiful and moving moments. "Hand me my old guitar." And this time Bob chooses a mellower number, with "Candyman" leading straight into "Looks Like Rain." This is a particularly good version of "Looks Like Rain," tender when it needs to be, with power in the right spots, and guitar work that feels like it splashes on our faces like rain. Jerry then chooses a solid rocking number to close out the first set, "Deal." The jam here is great, driving us forward, straight up the mountain, no need to pause to ask for directions. Holy moly! After that, we need a little break.,
Disc 2
The second disc tonains the complete second set (but not the encore). It opens with an audience favorite, "Scarlet Begonias," a fantastic choice to start the second set because of its great joy. It seems to promise a wonderful ride, a celebration everyone can join. And right from the start there is a strong energy to this version, heard especially in Jerry's vocal delivery. It's like they are picking up right where they left off with "Deal." The dance calls down any and all passing celestial beings, who are eager to join, see what this carnal thing is all about. They take on physical form in order to take part, and rejoice in their limbs. Things get looser, and that section just before the band goes into "Fire On The Mountain" is especially good. I love that transition. And now everyone is together, corporeal and celestial, dancing on that mountain top, starlight pouring down on the festivities. Sparks rise up to meet it. Darker creatures lurk at the perimeter, vibrating and peeking in occasionally, but no worries. The beat keeps us all grounded, and the dance itself holds away any trouble or despair, or even longing.
The band then eases into "Lost Sailor," picking its way through stranger, uncertain territory. Ah, have we been too long at sea? But the waves begin to rock us in a way that feels welcoming, warm and familiar. "Drifting and dreaming." That leads straight into "Saint Of Circumstance." "This must be heaven," Bob sings at the beginning. Oh, yes, it often felt like that, didn't it? It's so good we were able to touch a piece of it. "I'm still walking, so I'm sure that I can dance." The music builds to a glorious explosion of light. They take a breath then before beginning "He's Gone." It's a sweet rendition. "Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile." The beautiful jam can't help but make us smile. "Going where the wind don't blow so strange." There is a wonderful vocal jam at the end, which takes on a spiritual bent at one point. The jam begins to stray into spacy territory, then seems to be heading into "Samson And Delilah." This is fun, and it goes right into "Drums," with some cool stuff on talking drum early on. "Drums" gets into some interesting places, a deep howling that raises the fire spirits from their caverns, rattles them from their slumber, brings them to action. And sooner, much sooner than I would have expected, we are in "Space." It seems that both "Drums" and "Space" have been shortened on this release, presumably because of limited time. Now the forces from above reach down to interfere with reality. Voices from all electronic items chatter, speak in code to each other.
But before those voices can harness us, the band marches into "Truckin'" and all electronic demons flee before its force. "Sometimes the lights all shining on me/Other times I can barely see." And who knows what will happen next? The music makes me excited to find out. It takes us to some interesting places of its own before then bringing us to "Wharf Rat," a damp city night, two characters set apart from the rest, the song taking us into their world. And when one of them says, "But I'll get back on my feet someday," the line speaks for us too. And the line "I'll get up and fly away" is delivered with such determination that no one can doubt the truth of it. "Wharf Rat" leads straight into "Around And Around." And actually the band decides to wrap up the set with a double dose of Chuck Berry rock and roll: "Around And Around" and "Johnny B. Goode." I love how playful Bob gets at one point toward the end of "Around And Around." And the energy is especially high on "Johnny B. Goode." The encore that night was "U.S. Blues," but it is not included here.
Disc 3
The third disc contains the entire first set from the March 21st show. It opens with a good rock and roll number, "Alabama Getaway," which has a strong energy from the start. The band is kind of starting where the previous night ended, and as if to make that even more clear, they follow "Alabama Getaway" with a Chuck Berry song, "Promised Land," going straight from one to the other. And so of course it makes perfect sense that both nights would be included in one volume of this concert series. After a pause, the band gently slides into "Peggy O." This is a pretty rendition, with a tender approach to the playing in that gorgeous instrumental section. This is a really nice version. Bob then leads the band into a hopping "Me And My Uncle," the band taking us to some specific lands in these early songs. That leads right into "Big River," keeping things moving. Bob gets confused about the lyrics for a moment, and the band is then cooking during Brent's lead, and getting folks boogieing for sure. Then "Tennessee Jed" has a good groove. "Rich man step on my poor head." Yes, but it seems we'll be all right. The music carries us through all kinds of weirdness. This song is the blood pulsing through our veins, and it's in our steps on the ground. This is a good, fun version. An unexpected dance of lights plays over each shoulder.
We then get into the blues with "Little Red Rooster," with its own pulse, and those hounds begin to howl. The guitar joins them, and the keyboard keeps both demons and angels at bay, speaking the language of both. The music dances on two levels at once. This becomes a really good rendition, and is followed by "Althea." Yes, "Althea" was played at two shows in a row. (I'm sure John Mayer loves this set for that reason.) The notes from Jerry's guitar are dancing in air, visible, if only for a moment. And I love hearing Jerry sing the Hamlet lines. This version is particularly good then, Jerry's voice itself clearing the smoke, a voice of remembering. Phil Lesh's bass line influences my heart. I feel my heart vibrating with his rhythm. This is a fantastic "Althea," among the best I've heard. Then we get "Let It Grow," approaching us with some urgency. The world spirals around us, and then outward, reaching into the farther stretches of the cosmos. Things fly plast, the dance quickens, giants orchestrating the past and taking pieces from the future to spice things up. Soon things are getting wild, before the music opens and returns to that main theme. But the band is not finished taking us to those outer places, and does so during that cool and exciting jam. They go straight from that into "China Cat Sunflower," delivering us into that magical realm, granting us access, painting the scene and causing it to laugh. The band gently transitions into "I Know You Rider," which itself gains energy soon enough, building in power and featuring some wonderful work by Phil on bass.
Disc 4
The fourth disc contains the second set and encore of the March 21st show. It opens with "Jack Straw," with the energy and power of the song picking up in the second half. There is a bit of a pause then before the band chooses "Ship Of Fools." "And all that could not sink or swim was just left there to float." Jerry's guitar wants to lead us away, but we don't get too far, spiraling around above, looking down at the action. And from there we find ourselves very close to a precipice, but the waters soon calm again and the song gently concludes. After a moment, the band goes into "Estimated Prophet," and now things get even more interesting. The band stretches out on that groove, but it is Jerry's guitar work that makes this version something special. The guys begin to reach for stranger territory, different places. And so when "Eyes Of The World" starts, it feels like a shift in directions, that familiar groove rising to take over, to lead us into a brighter spot, a place of yellows and greens. There is an insuppressible joy to this song. The jam takes on an unbridled energy earlier than I would have expected, and the jam after the final verse soon shows hints of moving toward "Drums." That section leading to it is wonderful, and it actually builds again before going into "Drums."
This "Drums" first grooves on a good, fast beat before going into a bit of darker, odder territory. But even the most fearsome of creatures wants to play. At least for a moment. It is not a very long "Drums," but it is twice as long as the "Drums" on the second disc. I think a little is still cut from it, but not nearly as much as from that earlier track. Same goes for "Space," which kind of creeps up on us here, adjusting our frequency to its own, and then playing Earth's history back to us but dubbed in an alien tongue. A giant tunnel spins around us, but we focus on the groups of pipers moving toward us from the other side. And we find ourselves at the beginning stages of the party that is "Not Fade Away," This version begins in a delicious, funky place, with some slices of blues too. The fantastic opening section is somewhat different from what the band often did with this song. Then the familiar explosion leads to the vocals. This song promises the party will continue. This version contains a cool jam that doesn't feel at all like "Not Fade Away," and gets bluesy when the vocals come back, which is interesting. That song leads into a wonderful rendition of "Black Peter." We feel we are in the room, by this man's death bed, and at the same time imagine our own day of dying, hoping a couple of friends will be there, even if it's just a rehearsal and we all have to reassemble the next night. The band then wraps up the set with "One More Saturday Night," ending with a solid rock and roll number. The encore is "Don't Ease Me In," a fun song to finish off the night.
CD Track List
Disc 1
- Feel Like A Stranger
- Friend Of The Devil
- C.C. Rider
- Althea
- Mama Tried >
- Mexicali Blues
- Loser
- New Minglewood Blues
- Candyman >
- Looks Like Rain >
- Deal
- Scarlet Begonias >
- Fire On The Mountain >
- Lost Sailor >
- Saint Of Circumstance
- He's Gone >
- Drums >
- Space >
- Truckin' >
- Wharf Rat >
- Around And Around >
- Johnny B. Goode
- Alabama Getaway >
- Promised Land
- Peggy-O
- Me And My Uncle >
- Big River
- Tennessee Jed >
- Little Red Rooster
- Althea
- Let It Grow >
- China Cat Sunflower >
- I Know You Rider
- Jack Straw
- Ship Of Fools
- Estimated Prophet >
- Eyes Of The World >
- Drums >
- Space >
- Not Fade Away >
- Black Peter >
- One More Saturday Night
- Don't Ease Me In
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