8/5/74 - Philadelphia, PA - DP#31 ** (CHECK OUT JERRY'S SOLOS!)
The show kicks off with a rocking Promised Land that sees Jerry throwing out some hot licks. Always a good way to begin the show! Jerry's fantastic soloing contiues throughout the entire song. BE Women is perfect tonight! Tender and powerful at the same time. Man, Jerry is ON tonight with his soloing!!! Check out this BIODTL! Lots of great Keith in the mix as well.
Up next is a rare Dire Wolf. It's an excellent version taken at a slower pace than normal. I prefer the slower, more relaxed versions I've come to realise and this is one of the best. Bobby McGee is great as always. Again, Jerry's soloing is the highlight – he is just on on ON tonight! I'll try to stop mentioning Jerry's solos so much, but excuse me if I do – he's just killin' tonight. Even T Jed has some great work!
Jack Straw is as excellent as it should be on a night like this. Europe '72 perfect. And from there it's on to Deal. Deal is awesome – it even opens with a bass solo! Gah, check out - yes, you know what I'm gonna say – Jerry's solo. Killer. Same with El Paso. Just a wonderful version.
China Cat starts very quietly tonight. Bobby is just barely makign his part audible. Eventually, the jam begins and Jerry's going nuts again. The energy really builds – not quite like on 6/16/91, but it's definitely what you would call “HOT”! :) This goes through Rider which is just as blazing. The set ending Around and Around is aabsolutely incendiary! Hot damn, as they say!
Set two opens with an other Half-Step>Roses. Both great as they should be. Half-Step soars high and mighty. Tasty. After this its into a hot Big River followed by standard readings of Ramble and MAMU.
And then IT BEGINS!!!! An adventurous 12 minute Scarlet kicks things off with a bang. Everyone is harmonizing perfectly, musically and vocally. Donna sounds great. They really take their time with Scarlet, developing it and building it. It remains on the calm side of things, but there is definitely an underlying energy.
Eventually the tide recides and we are left with a 14 minute He's Gone. Not much to say except that it's excellent from start to finish and includes a wonderful sing-along portion at the end. Jerry breaks into a fantastic and unexpected slide solo for the final few minutes.
And with Keith's piano mashing in the background, we drift along organically into a THIRTY MINUTE TRUCKIN OF MIND MELTING PROPORTIONS!!! The jamming really starts around 8 minutes. Things quiet down and we get a laid-back, smoky jazz club vibe going on.
At 10:30, Jerry breaks out the wah pedal and Billy shifts the beat on a dime in the best mid-jam segue I've ever heard. We get a quasi-Eyes type of beat going and Phil and Jerry and having their way with their instruments. 12 minutes in and the guitars drop out – Phil takes the spotlight!!! A cool bass solo begins with Phil just dueting with Billy for a bit before the others slowly join back in. This is already some of the best jamming I've ever heard!
This evolves into some GREAT 1971-esque R&B-styled jamming from all involved. This lasts until the mood changes again around 18 minutes. It sounds like they have decided to head for The Other One. Bobby and Phil are definitely on that path – but thankfully it's not to happen yet.
At 21 minutes things slam to a halt. Space begins proper. Feedback and volume swells and harmonic tinkering, etc. Things stay pretty calm until we hit maximum velocity and the Tiger Jam begins at 25 minutes. At the 28 minute mark we begin to sail out of the chaos and onto calmer waters. Some very cool jamming occurs during this short excursion. Somehow this flows perfectly into a beyond gorgeous Stella Blue. Too bad there is insane hiss on the recording. :( The show then closes with US and OMSN. PHENOMENAL!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment