8/4/74 - Philadelphia, PA - DP#31 **
A funny anti-firework monologue proceeds the start of the show. Jerry's soloing is SPOT-FUCKING-ON tonight. I have never heard him hit so few "wrong" notes before. This show is very upbeat and fun. PITB is 25 minutes of fury. A 25 minute long WRS as well!!! An absolutely fantastic show all around. 10/10. But that's putting the cart before the horse. We've gotta start at the beginning!
The show proper starts with one of the best Bertha's of the year featuring a searing solo from Jerry. Basically, it's a perfect. This is one of the most flat-out rocking Mexicali's ever. It makes me want to get up and sprint for the border, lol. I could go on and on about everything else in set 1, but I'd just be repeating myself.
It's a terriffic, upbeat, rocking set. TONS of energy tonight, perfect versions, the works.
This continues for about an hour before we get the first major point of the show – a 25 minute PITB. The song portion ends as quickly as it begins and the jazz jamming starts. Around 8 minutes the jam begins to get stronger and wilder, the chill calm being replaced by a rocket ship heading towards outer space. Overall, it never really evolves beyond this – it just keeps going and going and going until they decide to stop, lol. GREAT STUFF!!!
After a rocking Big River and MAMU, a nice Ship of Fools and a gorgeous Roses, it's on to course number 2 – WRS. The song portions of Prelude and LIG are about as album-perfect as can be. Check out how great Bobby's vocals sound tonight. Check out the freaking cool jamming that commences at 11 minutes.
Everyone is going nuts, but they're all in sync together so rather than it being a maelstrom of chaos, it's a collective locomotive pummeling it's way down the rails heading at you at 150 mph. Killer jamming of the highest order. So much so that the crowd goes wild! Around 15 minutes (my version has a separate track labeled “Jam”) another jam develops. The drums are speedy but keeping a steady rhythm. Phil and Keith are in line with Billy and we get a strong, almost funk-like groove going. Jerry proceeds to do his best selective wah-soloing over top of all this.
Eventually a quasi-Tiger-Jam occurs. This jam is really, really cool!!! This WRS is easily one of the best of the year so far. Probably Top 5 of 1974. Eventually the “Speed Jam”, as I've decided to title it, gets really trippy and mellow. Jerry's leads start blending with Keith's keys and we go into Space territory.
This lasts a few minutes until we exit the other side of the wormhole and end up down at the Wharf. Thankfully, US Blues comes to rescue us and closes out this killer show along with a rocking Sugar Mag and Casey Jones. This show is exceptional. Ya gotta hear it, guys. There's a reason portions of it were released on Dick's Picks! :)
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