A breezy Bertha opens the show. It's not a typical bursting rock version but much more mellow. A jumpy Mexicali is followed by a nice Row Jimmy. Up next is Jack Straw. The mood tonight is extremely chill. Like, more chill than 1976. Jack Straw is fine but still just another warm up song.
The guys get their jimmies unrustled finally and give us a GREAT Half-Step! It's uptempo and full of spunk – a complete toe tapper! AWESOME HALF-STEP! After a crescendo-ing finale, the song then transforms into It Must Have Been the Roses like it has in several other recent versions.
Half-Step seemed to be the turning point. The chillness has turned into a relaxed warmth and the guys have awoken from the slumberous beginnings of this show. Me and Bobby McGee is TERRIFFIC!!!! Not much in terms of solos, but the band as a whole is in sync and turning out one of the most rocking versions ever. Billy is going nuts, haha.
Tennessee Jed is pretty good tonight – it doesn't drag and is instead nice and bouncy. It sounds like a latter-day They Love Each Other. T Jed comes to an end and it's headlong into a 25 minute PITB.
At 2:52 we drop headfirst into the jam as smoothly as I've ever heard. Jerry begins his wah-based space-jazz noodling. Subtle and selective. This continues escalating all the way until 13 minutes when the beat dies down and things get calm. At 17 minutes we fall into the black hole!!!! Is this what is known as a Tiger Jam? Some of the best background jamming I've heard the guys do beneath Jerry occurs tonight.
This is FANTASTIC!!!
Eventually the tiger is tamed and Jerry begins to revisit the PITB theme around 21 minutes. The band follows suit and finishes the song. One of the best of the year, perhaps. It could only really be better if it was longer! And thus ends set 1.
China>Rider begins set 2. China Cat takes a while to get going, but once it does, this China>Rider is classic '74 material. That transition jam is GREAT!!!!! Jerry's leads are just awesome. Rider really gets cooking to the point it would be plausible for their to be a Truckin' out of it, lol.
Ramble On Rose is nice but it's a bit of a come down after the recent happennings. After a hot Big River, the rock and roll finale portion of the show begins with US Blues. GREATEST US BLUES EVER CHECK OUT THAT JAMMING!!!!
After a rocking Promised Land, the show comes to a rocking end with a great NFA>GDTRFB>JBG preceeded by a lovely Brokedown Palace. Overall, this show is ¾ excellent. It's like....it's what I would call a very strong B+ show. Good stuff! Check out the highlights!
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