1974-08-06 Jersey City, NY

 

8/6/74 - Jersey City, NJ - DP#31 ********** (One of the greatest Eyes ever)

An excellent and groovy Bertha opens the show. It's very smooth. The sound mix is kinda weird though. It seems that Jerry is still ON tonight. Check out that killer solo! Mexicali is hotter than southern Texas and all kinds of powerful. Jerry's solo is ridiculously perfect. 

Same goes for everything else in this set. Jerry is ON, the energy is high, the mix great. Nothign to say except it is AWESOME tonight! :) Sugaree and Jack Straw are particularly gorgeous. Jack Straw is really freaking good, guys!! 

This is then followed up (this soon?!) by a 19 minute Eyes of perfection! One of the best Eyes ever, hands down! Everything about it is just perfect! From the tempo and the vibe to the playing and the energy. It begins with a subtle bass solo from Phil. Jerry's first solo after the first verse is to die for. Oh, so wonderful!!!!! Same goes for the solo immediately after the second verse.  

JERRY'S PLAYING IS STUPIDLY AMAZING TONIGHT. AS PERFECT AS YOU WILL EVER HEAR IT!!!!!! 

This is easily already in my top 10, maybe even 5 Eyes. Jerry is THAT good tonight!! At around 8 minutes, Phil begins one of the best bass solos I've heard him play. It's the Phil equivalent of Jerry's soloing tonight. Unbelievable. And it's one of the longest bass solos I've heard Phil do! It lasts for several minutes until the mood change and Jerry resumes his soloing of the gods. This continues all the way to the end of the song. 

Ok, this Eyes has won me over completely – along with Atlanta '74 and Greensboro '91, this is my new all-time favorite Eyes. IT IS INSANE!! Eyes eventually winds down into a rocking Promised Land and a fiery Deal. 

Just when you think that's it for set one, it's bang into a 37-minute PITB>Scarlet>PITB!!!! HOLY CRAP GUYS!!! The wah-jamming begins promptly at 3 minutes in. Some beautifully mellifluous soloing from Jerry. This goes for awhile. Sit back and enjoy the ride as we slowly begin the ascent into deep space. 

Around 7:30 the vortex begins to swirl, but we are not into the wormhole just yet. Around 8:40 the intensity begins to slowly build further. Instead of going down, though, around 11 minutes we realise we have avoided the workmhole and decide instead to coast jazzily on the outer limits instead. 

Unfortunately the gravitational pull of the vortex is too strong and around 16 minutes time begins to slow. We are sinking into the mire, the dark path less travelled. Phil bombs away! At 19 minutes we have successfully survived entrance into the portal and the jamming resumes. Coasting on the seas of psychedelic supremity. 

This results in some of the absolute greatest jamming I've ever heard the guys do. Jerry's soloing is hotter than the sun! All of a sudden out of NOWHERE we take a sharp left turn off a cliff into Scarlet. That left turn makes us lose all momentum and unfortunately Scarlet suffers, imo. It's a great version from top to bottom but it's just a little bit light on it's feet. I don't know – it's like it's a tad bit hesitant or something, like they don't know how to transfer the amazingness of the previous PITB into this Scarlet. 

Thankfully they build the momentum back up towards the end and they shift gears back into PITB. This is easily one of the Top 10 Jams Of 1974, imo. The slip right back into PITB like Scarlet never even happenned and resume the space jamming before returning to the song proper. Wonderful. And that's it – the first set is over. 

Set two begins as perfectly as can be with an insanely gorgeous-as-all-hell UJB into a great Black Peter. Up next is a rocking trio of Loose Lucy, El Paso and Big River before Row Jimmy and Ship Of Fools take things down a notch, but not without a hot MAMU to make a sandwich of the two. 

An album-perfect Sugar Magnolia ends the easy-listening portion of set 2 before the Main Course arrives. A chill-as-all-hell He's Gone begins it all. It's fantastic and long and bluesy and chill. The sing along portion is wonderful tonight. And then it seues perfectly into a raucous 14-minute Truckin. 

Around 6 minutes in the real jamming begins. The beat and tempo is just wonderful tonight – foot tapping nirvana! At 8:45 the wormhole has sucked us back in and the drums stop completely. Just Jerry noodle-cheffing his way around background atmospherics via Bobby and Phil. This lasts for a long time. 

Eventually around 13 minutes, Phil begins his distortion-laden bombing raid. Billy finally begins contributing again with some soft brushings on the snare. It's at this point that the Spanish jam promptly evolves out of the ether into reality, courtesy of Bobby. Bobby keeps it going and let's Phil take the lead for a bit until Jerry decides to get his noodle-chef hat back onto his head and rejoin the party. Very subtle and well-picked series' of notes adorn this Spanish Jam. 

This is fantastic!!! It almost sounds like a rehearsed rendition or something! This Spanish jam is SO FREAKIN' COOL GUYS!!!! This is the kinda jam you sit through three hours just to hear! Eventually the tempo picks up and they do one of those awesome spontaneous transitions into The Other One. 

About 6 or 7 minutes into TOO the Tiger Jamming begins and we get shot straight into deep space of the darkest order. Whew! That was fast! Just as quickly as we hit the dark side of the moon, we are back around just in time to see the light with a wonderfully nice GDTRFB to bring us back to reality. With Sunshine Daydream and US Blues this incredible show comes to an end. Wow. Just....wow!

1974-08-05 Philadelphia, PA

 

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!!!

1974-08-04 Philadelphia, PA

 

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! :)

1974-07-31 Hartford, CT

 

7/31/74 – Hartford, CT – Dave's Picks Vol. 2 **

A very rare opening Scarlet begins this 3 hour and 36 minute (!!!) show. Being the first song, it starts off slow but eventually builds a head of steam. Jerry does some very nice soloing towards the end. MAMU is pretty hot with lots of perfect lead lines from Jerry. Next is a fantastic BE Women before a flat-out rocking BIODTL with some nice Jerry. 

Mississippi Half Step is stupendous tonight. Check out Jerry's first solo! PERFECT! This is like a preview of those awesome 1977 versions. This Half-Step is must-hear! Holy crap Jerry's solo at the end is unbelievably great!!! 

From that amazing Half-Step they do another perfect segue into Roses. Phil is very high in the mix tonight and this is especially evident in this delicious Roses. Mexicali blazes and Row Jimmy puts me to sleep as always. Thankfully Jack Straw wakes me back up. 

Terriffic Straw, this is. Just as good as the previous show in Landover. China>Rider is excellent. Jerry lays back and lets Bobby do some soloing!!! This China Cat just drives hard. Upbeat and uptempo, this is what I look for in my China>Riders. :) Set one then ends with a fantastic screaming version of Around and Around. 

Set two opens with a chill-but-bouncy Bertha. Big Rier scorches, but then it's into Eyes. It's always a good sign when it starts with a bass solo! For a while, Jerry lays back and lets Phil take the spotlight. Jerry's vocals are perfect and he eventually steps up to the spotlight with his usual sublime Eyes soloing. Jerry then lays back again and lets Phil solo to his heart's content. This is easily the most Phil soloing I've heard in an Eyes. Great stuff!!! 

12 minutes in and things are still, excuse the pun, truckin' along EXCELLENTLY!!! This is a fantastic Eyes. Eventually around 17 minutes, things break down – the boys lose it but they save it by drifiting into China Doll like it was supposed to happen. Oooh and this China Doll is downright exceptional. So gorgeous. Like Stella Blue on steroids. 

China Doll comes to an end and we are hit with a rocking Promised Land – perfect as can be. Jerry does some pretty cool soloing. Ship of Fools immediately brings us back down though. Poor placement, imo. Still, a good version. 

Weather Report Suite is terrific tonight – around the 9 minute mark things start going haywire and the band is going full-throttle off the rails in some of the best high-intensity jamming you'll ever hear. Check out that jam that begins around 15:30!!! What a great end to set 2. 

Set three begins with a good El Paso to get us back in the groove. A pretty good GSET has some killer drumming and terriffic Jerry soloing. To Lay Me Down is just awesome as usual. The final meat platter of the show is a 40 minute Truckin>MLB>Spanish>Wharf. Truckin starts with the pedal floored. 

The song portion is as good as any other. The jam that spirals out of it is pretty unusual. It's a very quiet and thoughtful Dark Star-esque portion of jamming not reminiscent of your usual Truckin' outbursts of energy. The jam eventually regains tempo, but it remains rather chill. Jerry does some cool sparse soloing. This jam actually sounds very tropical! Weirdest Truckin ever? 

The “Troppo Jam” as I'm calling it, morphs into a very nice and played out MLB before morphing again into Spanish and Wharf. Not much to say about this Truckin'. It's very enjoyable but very uncharacteristic. After a nice Wharf, the show comes to an end with a rocking trio of US Blues, OMSN and UJB. Great show overall. Definitely underrated, imo.

1974-07-29 Landover, MD

 

7/29/74 – Landover, MD ** (JERRY IS ON TONIGHT!!!)

The world's hottest Promised Land opens the show and the mood is a complete 180 from the previous night's sleep-fest. :) The first set is consistently excellent from the start, unlike most '74 shows that require an amount of warming up. This is more like some Euro '72 action. Check out Keith's playing on BT Wind!!!!! Roses is just as worthwhile. 

Up next is a stomping hot Cumberland. Scarlet is excellent as normal, but Jerry seems out of it and the jam is kind of lacking. The whole band playing is great though. Tons of energy! Jack Straw is excellent. Jerry is doing his noodle-chef best in the background. Lots of power and energy in this version. Great stuff!! 

Deal follows it up in perfect manner before a great El Paso. Things just keep getting better. Up next is a rare and excellent To Lay Me Down. Always great to hear! At 4 minutes, someone lets off a firework!!! Check out Jerry's incredible solo right after this. One of the best sequences of notes he's ever pulled out! That TLMD and the following 20 minute WRS bring to an end one of the best first sets of the whole year! 

Prelude is just phenomenal tonight – this is some studio recording stuff right here! Jerry's slide playing is terriffic, the vocals are perfectly harmonized, the vibe is up....Let It Grow is OUTSTANDING tonight! Jerry is all kinds of ON! This has to be the WRS of the year right here!!! 

Set 2 opens with a massive 51 minute He's Gone>Truckin'>Nobody's Fault>TOO>Spanish Jam>Wharf Rat. This entire sequence is just outstanding and worth hearing. The Other One>Spanish in particular is some of that next-level stuff we pine for! Especially that solo when everyone stops playing except Jerry and Billy. 

The transition from Spanish to Wharf is particularly cool as well. This Wharf is insanely good. Seriously. Must-hear!!! A smashing Around and Around then kicks off the show-ending sequence of songs we are accustomed to, this time including a VERY out of place sounding Peggy O. Huh?!

 This has to be the latest in the show it's ever been played – completely unexpected. But that's the Dead for ya! :) The rocking trifecta of US Blues, Sugar Mag and Casey Jones close out this show. One of the first '74 shows in a while that has been terriffic from the first note to the last!!!

1974-07-27 Roanoke, VA

 

7/27/74 – Roanoke, VA

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!

1974-07-25 Chicago, IL

 

7/25/74 – Chicago, IL

Unexpected MAMU opener tonight! A nice Loose Lucy, very fun and bouncy – nice Donna vocals. Loser and BIODTL are ok. Sugaree is very minimalist still but is an overall nice version with some tasty leads throughout. The guys seem very sleepy today. Not lazy, but certainly not energetic. Check out Brown Eyed Women and Keith's tinkling piano! Gorgeous!!! 

This seems to be the turning point and from there on out we are on our feet. El Paso is perfect, Row Jimmy lovely....We then get a rather short but still very good WRS. Let It Grow is awesome! Check out Jerry's sick leads! The set ends with a roaring Around and Around. 

Set two begins with a GREAT Scarlet! It doesn't start out as tight as most versions, but once the groove gets going and the jamming begins, everyone is in sync and ON IT! Jerry is doing some great and unusual leads. After a tight Big River we get another stab at Roses. And it's a really nice one too! 

Up next is Jack Straw. This is on a whole 'nother lever than the rest of the show. It's got that spark that has been missing all night. Maybe the best song so far? 

What follows is a 33 minute Dark Star (the first in a while!)>Slipknot>Stella Blue. The main Dark Star jam occurs until around 11 minutes and it is wonderful – full of intricate little leads and whatnot. Then around 12 minutes in everyone leaves except the drummers and Keith. A little threesome occurs for a few minutes before everyone else slowly joins back in and builds the jam back up. Things get energetic and frantic for a bit. 

Around 17 minutes we begin to fly towards outer space. We are still grounded, but at least we are looking towards the direction of the stars! We have liftoff and head for the stars. This is a more relaxed ride than previous journeys into the exosphere, but we have still left Earth, nonetheless.

Annnndddd into Slipknot! This tiny jam is basically a segue into a gorgeous-as-all-hell Stella Blue. This Stella is sooooo lovely and tender. It's so quiet as well that the background hiss is almost louder than the music itself! This Stella is wonderful!!! That piano flourish that ends the song... omg. :D 

Aside from the Ship Of Fools encore, from here on out we are rockin'. JBG, UJB, OMSN.... Overall, a highly enjoyable show. I wouldn't call it a classic, but from WRS onwards, the show is basically very worth hearing. :)

1974-07-21 Los Angeles, CA

 

7/21/74 – Los Angeles, CA – Amazing AUD Recording!

A rocking Promised Land to start followed by a nice T Jed and a typically sprightly MAMU. Jack Straw is totally excellent, but it is unfortunately pretty short. Jack Straw really rocks. It's, excuse the non-intentional pun, donwright truckin'!!! I guess all of this was building to the downright awesome Half-Step that we get tonight. It's a powerful version. 

Keith is VERY high in the mix for a change which is certainly welcome. This then segues perfectly into a great Roses. This should've been done way more often!!! Scarlet Begonias is EXCELLENT! Billy is SMASHING his kit, Jerry's throwing out great little leads left and right, Keith's keys sound great....but most importantly, the band is tight! 

Around and Around is ON FIRE! Jerry's leads are scorching! Also, lots of great background piano from Keith. What a great first set! Set two opens with a very upbeat and lively China>Rider. Totally excellent. The band is in sync and firing on all cylinders. Jerry is doing some “background” soloing instead of throwing it all out there. But it's tasteful and his selections are definitely choice. This is easily one of the most teriffic China>Riders played all year. Check out the soloing from 6 minutes onward. PRIMO SUPRIMO! 

Big River is HOTTER THAN HELL! Next we get a mammoth 48-minute PITB>Wharf>Truckin>Nobody's Fault>PITB Reprise. About 3 minutes into PITB the jazz jamming begins. The “Miles Davis” portion begins seriously around 12 minutes. We go full on into outer space. Into a lengthy Wharf Rat and back out into a short (ten minutes) Truckin. That being said, this Truckin' is INTENSE! After a minute of Nobody's Fault, we are then back into PITB for another 7 minutes. After a nice Ship of Fools, Sugar Mag and US Blues send us home rocking. Great show!

1974-07-19 Fresno, CA

 

7/19/74 – Fresno, CA – Dave's Picks Vol. 19 **

A rocking Bertha starts the show. Very nice solo from Jerry. A very by-the-numbers-but-still-excellent Mexicali follows. Up next is an excellent, but extremely chill Deal. It's very nostalgic sounding for some reason. That seems to be the mood of the set – energetic-but-chill. BIODTL is a perfect example. Lots of energy and some great background soloing from Jerry, but there's that low-key vibe throughout. 

Bobby McGee is SUPER CHILL and just downright wonderful. CHECK OUT JERRY'S FREAKIN' COOL SOLO! After a few negligible performances, Scarlet Begonias makes a wonderful comeback tonight. The month long break seems to have done it good. CHECK OUT THAT GUITAR AT 4:40 WHAT IS THAT?! :D Jerry turns the distortion on full-throttle and it almost sounds like he's broken out a slide. This is the nastiest Scarlet solo I've ever heard!!!! This Scarlet, overall, is fantastic from the first second to the last!!! MUST-HEAR!!!! 

Up next is a picture-perfect El Paso and T Jed. Up next is an excellent and exploratory 30 minute PITB. Now, some PITB's are multi-part performances while others are more just one massive conglomerate of jam. This is the latter, therefore saying that it is just an excellent overall version will suffice instead of giving a massive blow by blow. :) 

After the psychedelic workout of PITB, the chill-but-upbeat vibe returns with an excellent BE Women. After MAMU, we get a lovely Roses. Jack Straw is excessively chill (the word of the night!) but gets cooking pretty good. Shoutout to Billy's drumming. 

Up next is the next highlight of the night – a 15 minute He's Gone. EXCELLENT! Very, very relaxed and bluesy. The kind that seems to go on and on and on forever....and you want it to! So great! This eventually dissolves into a rocking US Blues. 

Next up is an unbelievable WRS>Jam>Eyes>China Doll. WRS is 28 minutes of some of the greatest jamming this side of the ultraverse. Thsi includes 9 minutes of great space. This space jam is truly exceptional. Jerry breaks out the distortion that he tried out in Scarlet. Actually, you could probably just call this a Spanish Jam. Truly AWESOME! Phil's bass is just earth tremblingly good. 

Eventually the amazing Spanish jam runs it's course and Bobby introduces the Eyes theme. Jerry picks up on it and before you know it, segue be damned (actually, best segue ever), we are into Eyes. Eyes is tremendous. It starts out on the rough side, but once things coalesce around 10 minutes in, we get some of the best Eyes playing of the year. 

Unfortunately, just like the previous show, it comes to a SCREECHING halt. Dammit!!!! They sound like they were gonna keep going, but then someone slipped up on the beat and the whole thing crashes down into a China Doll. I'm not bemoaning CD, but rather the unnatural end of Eyes. Grrr. I'm angry. I feel cheated! :( China Doll is short but nice. 

Too bad the show ends so quickly with a perfunctory OMSN. Oh well, still ¾ a fantastic show! :)

1974-06-30 Springfield, MA

 

6/30/74 – Springfield, MA********** (“Billy's Big Break!”/”WORST EYES EVER”/”The WTF Factor”)

A very rare and unusual Don't Ease Me In opener. After a nice BT Wind, the most amazingly perfect country and western rendition of Peggy O follows. Wowzers. A great Jack Straw is next. The sound mix tonight makes this show seem more relaxed than it probably is. Lots of Keith and Phil and less so of Bobby and Billy. That being said, a soft mix doesn't mean a soft performance. However, in this case it does. 

 Tonight's performances are on the hot side of hazy. In a great way. Check out Jerry's pick-harmonic-laden Loser solo! Jerry is picking his leads tonight rather than throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. Billy's druming on GSET is rocking. There's a bit of a country theme tonight, what with the aforementioned Peggy O, a stomping Cumberland, and this rare Dire Wolf. 

Up next is a massive 33 minute PITB>UJB>PITB Reprise. Check out Billy's frantic drumming at 3:30 when the jamming begins. Jerry is still slowly choosing his notes carefully rather than going noodle chef on us. Great stuff. 9 minutes in and this frantic jazz groove is still going strong. Keith does some cool background playing while Jerry takes some time off and Billy destroys his kit. JEEZ BILLY CALM DOWN!!!! :) Phil does a lot of almost-soloing as well. 

This “background jamming” section continues until around 15 minutes in when Jerry discovers his wah and leads the band towards a space meltdown. But it's not to be. At 17 minutes, Phil starts throttling his bass strings like they owe him money – and we are officially into Space. The drums stop completely, Jerry is doing some psych-soloing, Phil is still smashing his strings – actually this sounds like Seastones! LOL. It all still has that calm air about the proceedings like they are considering dropping into a Wharf Rat or Stella. 

But instead we jump into a WONDERFUL and upbeat UJB that completely washes away the darkness of the proceeding jams with warm, enveloping rays of sunshine! :D The crowd is going nuts! This whole segue section into UJB is truly a must-hear moment. Ughrffffffff.....this UJB is soooooo gooooddddd! (Rolls head and eyes in valley girl inflection to emphasize goodness). The jam portion of UJB has some fantastic playing from all involved. The boys are LOCKED-IN in the biggest way. So great. 

Eventually the jam dies back down and we are back to Chill-Land. It almost sounds like the guys are lost for where to go when just in the nick of time Jerry pulls out the PITB Reprise and everyone follows back in line. Donna even gives us the werewolf howl she didn't do the first time around! Talk about another perfect segue!!! A very slow China>Rider is up next. It's groove-tastic. 

Unfortunately, it's almost too slow, and there's a continual sense that they might fall apart at any moment. Thankfully that doesn't happen and Jerry goes on to deliver some downright fantastic soloing throughout. As the transition jam gets underway, the tempo increases organically back to the speed it should be. Jerry is really firing on all cylidners tonight! Although I'm sure you could tell that from the earlier portions of this novel. :) 

Although this China>Rider started poorly, it sure hasn't evolved poorly! Or to quote The Boss, from small things, big things one day come! This transition jam has to be one of the best ever. After this continuous hour-long orgasm of music, we get a break of sorts in a stomping and smashing Big River. Killer. The momentum had to come to a stop at some point. Unfortunately, it happens with this 9 minute Scarlet Begonias that sees shades of the October Farewell Run versions but ultimately overstays it's welcome. There is some very nice Jerry soloing and Phil starts playing rather forcefully again which is enjoyable, but overall it's not that terriffic a version. 

Thankfully, the following El Paso is terriffic. Back on board the steamroller! This continues straight on into a STORMING US Blues. One of the best renditions ever?! It has a disaster-recovery ending where everyone tries to end the song where they normally would, but Jerry says “Hey guys, keep it going, come on!” and just forces the band into Truckin', lol. 

And thus begins an epic 46-minute Truckin>Eyes>Stella. What a '73 sequence, no? :) All three are of course excellent. Truckin' is very dynamic – lots of space to move around within the sound. Some of Jerry's best-ever blues soloing features prominently. Around 11:30, it sounds like they begin to slow down and toy around with He's Gone, but thankfully Billy and Phil lead us into Eyes instead. But first, before the song begins, something weird happens and the jam completely comes to an end! 

Starting from scratch, Jerry leads us back into Eyes properly with Billy tempo-conscious. But this non-start of Eyes contines STILL for another few minutes. What is going on?! It's like they start the song, decide they don't want to play it, end it, start it back up again! 

MAKE UP YOUR FRIGGIN MIND AND STOP TEASING ME, GUYS. GAH. It's really annoying. :/ 

Thankfully they DO decide to play it. :) Sounds like they actually might've been wanting to play it the whole time but Bobby was changing a string or doing something that made them have to wait. Sigh . Lol. 

Unfortunately, as with Scarlet, this Eyes is very stilted. The usual free-flowing nature is missing and the playing is very forced-sounding. :( This persists until the 9 minute mark when Phil takes over with a bass solo. Not a great one, but it's better than Jerry's forced soloing. Immediately after, the “mood shift” happens (you know, the part in the song where it gets all dark and serious?) and everyone sounds like they are stepping all over each other, almost making the delicate house of cards that is a Dead jam collapse upon itself. 

Thankfully this doesn't happen Jerry finally comes back out with his guns reloaded and jamming loosens up a little bit. This whole time it's felt like they were trying to squeeze the song into life rather than letting it organically develop, if that makes sense. Everyone's out of sync with each other. 

Around 12:30, the guys get it back together again for a little bit. UGHGHGHGHGH :( TRAINWRECK AT 14 MINUTES!!! Oh my god, WORST EYES EVER?! :( Ugh, this derailment was so bad it made me physically cringe. The person sitting next to me actually asked if I was ok.... 

WHAT IS GOING ON GUYS?! ARE YOU PLAYING EYES OR NOT!!!!! STOP JERKING ME AROUND!!!! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS CRAP!!!! D: 

I don't even know what to say anymore. It's that bad.....Jerry, I know you're trying to save this sunken ship, but that's the problem – IT'S SUNKEN! NO MATTER HOW MUCH PRETTY HARMONIC PICKING YOU DO!!! Guys, it's so bad I had to press skip at the 17 minute mark (the track is 23 minutes....). 

Looks like it didn't do any damn good when Jerry begins Stella Blue with his vocals completely out of pitch. YUCK! Thankfully (word of the night?!) it eventually coalesces into a decent version. There's still no excuse for that absolutely horrid Eyes, but this at least helps take away some of the pain....Thank god this Stella Blue is actually pretty damn excellent! Check out Jerry's phenomenal soloing around the 6:10-6:40 mark. Absolutely sublime! 

The upswing continues for the remainder of the show with red-hot readings of NFA, GDTRFB and OMSN to close. Overall, this show isn't the X Factor, it's the WTF Factor! The great parts are GREAT and the awful parts are AWFUL This is a show for the mentally unstable. Enter at your own dangerously curious risk. :)

REVIEW ADDENDUM: Upon further examination, my original review of Eyes is perhaps a bit overblown and ridiculous, but I felt it warranted it at the time. As of several months later listening in a different mood and environment, I can now find plenty to enjoy about this very abstract Eyes. Also, it should be noted the first 13 or so minutes of Eyes are excellent for the most part. Despite the awful trainwreckage to come, these minutes of joyful bliss should not be overlooked by any listener. Also, check out Billy's awesome drumming around 10 minutes. :)

1974-06-28 Boston, MA

 

6/28/74 - Boston, MA - DP#12 ** (THE JAM OF THE GODS)

An excellent chill-but-bouncy Half-Step opens the show. This is a great one for a quiet winter afternoon. In fact, it's so chill that the segue into It Must Have Been the Roses is one of the best segues you'll ever hear! They sound like a perfect pair! Jack Straw is terriffic. Keith isn't going Brent-crazy, but he is providing some very nice background settings. The rest of set one is perfect and chill. Excellent. Also, it must be said that this has to be one of the best SOUNDING recordings of the year. Just fantastic quality! Check out Bobby McGee with the alternate-than-normal drum pattern. The Around and Around that ends set one is absolutely bonkers – Bobby is screaming like he's possessed! Surprisingly, set two begins with Sugar Mag. Scarlet is a tad sloppy tonight, but Big River makes up for it. To Lay Me Down is just gorgeous. It's gotta be as good as the recent Miami rendition. But next, woah nelly, this has to be the jam of the year! This 42 minute Weather Report medley....this is The Jam Of The Gods!!!! Bow at it's greatness..... faints...... Eventually, the jam of the gods comes to an end and segues into a rocking trio of US Blues>Promised Land>GDTRFB.

1974-06-26 Providence, RI

 

6/26/74 - Providence, RI - DP#12 **

Superb setlist. Another perfect Pick. The show kicks off with a kickass Big River that shreds. BE Women is good as always, but it suffers from varying tempo issues – they can't decide how fast to play it! :) BIODTL is rather poor – it sounds like Jerry is having problems. Scarlet Begonias is extremely chill tonight – it sounds like a quasi-reggae version almost! WOAH!!!!! HEAR DONNA WAIL!!!! I thought it was Bruce Dickinson for a moment!!! The jam gets really cooking but unfortunately right when it seems like it's about to really take off, they pull the plug on the song. :( 

 BT Wind is pretty excellent, all passion as usual. Row Jimmy is excellent and Mexicali Blues is FANTASTIC tonight! After a fine Deal, a great The Race Is On follows. Why did this not become a staple?! Half-Step is wonderfully understated tonight. Jerry is soloing with a great deal of tasteful restrain and it fits it perfectly. Ship Of Fools is Ship of Fools. 

Up next is an absolutely gorgeous-as-all-hell Weather Report Suite. Oh my goodness, listen to the playing on the Prelude. This whole 17 minute WRS is the first must-have highlight of the night. The LIG jamming is intense! This comes to an end in the form of a perfect It Must Have Been the Roses. Find me a better one – I dare you! :) US Blues has horrible mix issues. 

Thankfully these are resolved by the time China Cat begins. It is TERRIFFIC!!!! It has a really, really, cool intro jam for 5 or 6 minutes before the song even begins!! Some of the coolest standalone jamming ever. Including the jam, this China>Rider is 21 minutes long! ONE OF THE BEST CHINA>RIDERS YOU WILL EVER HEAR. China>Rider is just the start of the fun, though. 

Up next is an incredible 40-minute Truckin>TOO>Spanish Jam>Wharf Rat of epic proportions. Truckin is KILLER!!! The TOO isn't really TOO, just a short bass solo segue into a 15 minute Spanish Jam that sees Jerry breaking out the slide for some EPIC playing. In. Sane. The gorgeous Wharf Rat that follows this up is the sweet, sweet icing on this perfect cake. A picture perfect Sugar Mag that is on the chill side closes the main show. An excellent-but-short standalone Eyes is the encore.

1974-06-23 Miami, FL

 

6/23/74 – Miami, FL

Night 2 in Miami and it doesn't look promising when the show opens with Ramble On Rose. But let's not judge a book by it's cover, shall we? At least Ramble is damn excellent! A nice BT Wind leads us into a rare (at least it seems rare) but picture-perfect Half Step. AWESOME Half Step! Same goes for BIODTL. No ripping leads like the other night, but it's otherwise a terriffic version. Row Jimmy is Row Jimmy. :) Jack Straw is great!!!! It's starts off chill and continues that way throughout. Jerry laying down tasty leads all over, this version is reminiscent of 8/27/72 as far as the “vibe” of it goes. 

Up next is the one-time-only performance of Let It Rock. And rock it does. However, it ends up being nothing more than an enjoyable curio. The same can not be said for the shi*-kicking Cumberland that follows. Great stuff. After a great El Paso, we get one of the definitve performances of To Lay Me Down. Just heart-wrenchingly tender and beautiful! On top of that, Jerry's solo is so AWESOME even the crowd gives a cheer!!!! 

WRS is great as usual. However, it doesn't really get cooking until around 11-12 minutes in. And the jam that ensues is kickass. Definitely toe-tapping jamming, lol. Unfortunately the jam comes to an abrupt end and segues perfectly into a gorgeous-as-all-hell China Doll. That ends set one. 

Set two opens with a standalone seaside chill-fest type of jam that segues into a great Ship Of Fools. THIS JAM IS SUPER COOL AND MUST HEAR!!! Just as we are about to drift to dreamland, a SCORCHING Big River comes and kicks us square in the teeth. This is a shredder version. :) I guess the guys don't feel like rocking tonight though as they immediately switch back to low gear with a soulful and strong Black Peter. Great version! 

After a ROARING Around and Around, we get a good Dark Star. Dark Star is excellent with some nice jammign and a good Spanish Jam. Nothing too special – just an “excellent overall performance”. The Spanish Jam is actually pretty exceptional. This then segues into the GREATEST US BLUES EVER PLAYED THIS ROCKS!!!! A quiet and enjoyable UJB follows. Overall, this show definitely has “character” to it and is overall excellent.

1974-06-22 Miami, FL

 

6/22/74 – Miami, FL

Bertha and BIODTL start the show lethargically, but GSET comes along and Jerry's ever-fantastic wah soloing kicks it way into high gear. Deal is fine but it's back to lethargy. Bobby McGee is pretty excellent. Scarlet Begonias is pretty nice. It never reaches full potential, but you can tell the guys are trying. Lots of nice stuff going on, it just never fully lifts off, imo. FINALLY, probably the first truly awesome performance of the night, Jack Straw is chill but is uptempo with Jerry throwing out perfectly beautiful leads like slicing butter with a hot knife. Check out this Straw!!! 

Thankfully the sleepiness has subsided and the new energy brought on by Jack Straw continues into an excellent bouncy Loose Lucy. Sugaree is excellent. It's still not the mammoth monsters of '76 and '77, but it's a chill breath of fresh air, wonderful air. After a great The Race Is On, a gorgeous Roses follows. But then the first monster of the show rears it's mammoth 29-minute head. PITB starts out great and just continues upwards into outer space from the word Go! Fantastic jamming all around. Sometimes it's worth mentioning certain parts or jams or segments and other times the whole is all it is. Check it out. 29 minutes of AWESOME!

Set two opens with the slowest, chillest China Cat I've ever heard. Soooooo chill. Like, if it was played in '76 this is what it would've sounded like. :D China Cat itself is really long at almost 10 minutes and it is EXCELLENT once it gets going. The transition jam is one of the coolest I've heard. One of the hottest MAMU's I've ever heard follows. CHECK OUT JERRY'S AWESOME BACKGROUND SOLOING!!!!! An excellent Eyes>Wharf rat follows. Jerry's solo after the first verse is just insanely good. Same goes for Phil tonight. Soloing perfection! This show ends with a rocking Sugar Mag and Johnny B Goode. Overall, a solid B+ show. Definitely not one of the best of the year, but some definite major highlights for sure.

6/20/74 - Atlanta, GA **

A pretty excellent first set. Jerry is ripping it up tonight. A rocking US Blues and BIODTL opener with an excellent BE Women close behind them. Jack Straw and Scarlet Begonias are both on FIRE though and truly rule. Excellent first set overall. 

Surprise, surprise we get a rare To Lay Me Down that is EXCELLENT. Country balladry at it's absolute finest! Set one ends with a nothing-special China>Rider and Around. 

Set two is where the real fun is tonight. We get a CLASSIC sequence of Truckin>Eyes>SLIPKNOT>China>Doll. The Truckin is EXPLOSIVE!!! 

Truckin descends into the bowels of Space hell. It's one of the best Space's ever - it sounds like Miles Davis!!! Somehow, a phoenix rises from the destruction in the form of one of the best Eyes you have ever heard! AWESOME!. Not only that, but it eventually leads into a jam with Jerry ripping the Slipknot riff! 

SEROUSLY THOUGH, THIS 21-MINUTE EYES IS FREAKING AMAZING!!! HOLY SHIT THIS IS THE GREATEST EYES EVER PLAYED. 

This goes into a gorgeously medieval China Doll. The show then closes with a roaring OMSN. Overall, set one has some big highlights, but holy shit that Eyes in set two! :D :D :D

1974-06-18 Louisville, KY

 

6/18/74 – Louisville, KY

Aside from a perfect BT Wind (almost ruined by mix issues) everything up until Eyes is totally skippable. Just regular, fine versions. I mean, Ramble and BIODTL are excellent, but what's one excellent BIODTL compared to another, ya know? 

The 20 minute Eyes>China Doll is the first genuien highlight. This Eyes COOKS! It's not quite the epic Eyes>Slipknot>China Doll that comes next show in Atlanta, but it's definitely a worthy warm-up act. Set 1 ends with a raucous Around. 

Set 2 begins with a lazy sounding Loose Lucy but El Paso hears the guys going full-tilt. A rocking El Paso! But then SLAM out of nowhere comes an amazing, mind-melting 54-minute WRS>TOO>It's a Sin>Stella Blue. 

Holy crap listen to this Let IT Grow jamming �FREAKING AWESOME!!!!! Check out the jamming that begins around 10 minutes in. WOW. 

Another great jam develops around 21 minutes. It's very chill and almost Spanish-ey, but without the minor key mood. Eventually this jam continues evolving and seamlessly transitions into a 15 minute The Other One. 

Now THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT! 6 minutes in and we are fully immersed into deep space. Around 10:45 the swirling vortex of darkness begins to suck us into the deepest reaches of the universe. Immense and intense. 

Around 13 minutes we return to Earth and a cool bluesy jam begins. I don't know if this jam has a proper name but it's very Truckin-like and has some killer Phil Zoning going on. It unfortunately ends just as soon as it begins and before you can blink we are into It's a Sin. I guess the guys are feeling antsy tonight because as with the Truckin-jam, 

It's a Sin ends just as quickly and slams us into a gorgeously perfect Stella Blue. Ahhhh yes. Perfection! This epic 54-minute marathon is followed up by an out-of-place-yet-excellent Big River. After T Jed, a rocking Sugar Mag and a wonderful Morning Dew take us out of this epic second set.

1974-06-16 Des Moines, IA - Road Trips Vol. 2, #3

 

6/16/74 - Des Moines, IA - RT Vol.2 No.3 *******************************************

One of the big ones. This show is one of the greats. Look at that unbelievable second set. Nevermind the fact that this show is 4 hours long (!!!!). 

We get a really nice Bertha to open up, unfortunately, there are mix problems all the way through until China Cat Sunflower. At least the instruments are audible and lovely. Set 1 proceeds as usual – fine but nothing special unless noted. Black Throated Wind has excellent throat-ripping vocals from Bobby and Jerry does some adventurous background soloing. 

Sugaree is very powerful sounding tonight. Not at all quiet or laid-back. Unfortunately it's one of the most WTF versions ever – it cuts off at 4 minutes without any kind of jam!!!!! Finally, the next eventual highlight is the awesome Jack Straw. It's relaxed and meaningful, with enough punch but also that slightly funky-bluesy overtone going on. 

Jack Straw seems to signal a change as the boys switch from warm-up mode to “It's On” mode for the following China>Rider. Loads of excellence. Thsi China>Rider is the first truly exceptional performance of the show. Check out the Mind Left Body transition jamming. Wow. Jerry is on all cylinders. Also, Billy's drumming is worth listening to this for. He's really solo-drumming his heart out. 

Up next is the hottest Around and Around I have ever heard. Keith is going nuts, Bobby is screaming his nuts off, Jerry is ripping it up, Billy is smashing his kit to oblivion.... :D A hot US Blues opens set 2 and a highly enjoyable and rare The Race Is On follows it up. Listen to that fantastically perfect solo from Jerry!!! 

Up next is the first main course of the evening – a 20 minute Eyes of perfection. And check out that perfect segue into the totally out-of-place Big River! Follow that up with a 30 minute PITB and you might just have one of the tastiest sandwiches ever heard!!!!! 

This Eyes. I can't say enough about it. There are a couple slightly rough spots, but overall it's gotta be one of the top 5 or so of the year, imo. Up there with Alexandria Palace and the Winterland versions. It's just rocking and relaxing and smashing and soaring all at the same time. MY feet are going crazy trying to tap along (one of my favorite parts of Dead listening :D ). The Atlanta Eyes (I think the best of the year) is still to come, but this will tide us over until then. 

The PITB that follows Big River is just INTENSE right off the flippin' bat at around 4:45 in, we are already hurtling full tilt towards Deep Space at mach 9. Feedback and randomness ensues. Check out Jerry doing his wah soloing again. It quickly rights itself and the dark jam gains a slightly “light” flavor. We've pulled back on the reigns to save some more for later instead of blowing it all up front. 

Around 8 minutes in, the hurtling is completely ceased and the drum rolls, random picking and axe shredding begins. It almost sounds like Billy is trying to steer the ship towards The Other One. This continues until around 11 minutes the jamming coalesces into a slightly more coherent jam. We get some almost Mind Left Body-style jaming. That light and airy and relaxed kind of upbeat playing. 

Around 15 minutes the calmness comes to an abrupt end. We have reached critical mass!!!! DEEP SPACE INCOMING HOLY HELL WE HAVE CRASH LANDED INTO THE OUTER REACHES OF THE UNIVERSE!!!!!! Oh my god. This jamming is just about making me have a panic attack!!! Extreme Jerry wah craziness. 

Then, around 19:45, THE KILLER BEES ATTACK! Did Ned join them onstage? We go full Seastones here for a few minutes. It sounds like I have tinnitus!!! Finally around 27 minutes in we return to the song with Donna's wailing signaling the return. 

I'm gonna say it – that was the best PITB I have ever heard. Period. Holy crap. After the mind-melting excursion that was set 2, set 3 begins on a more concise note with a great T Jed (hear me say that again!) and a rocking MAMU. Jerry is still in prime playing mode laying down perfect leads like it's in his blood. 

The MOST INTESNE AND ROCKING DEAL EVER follows before a GSET contiues us rocking. 

This GSET is downright fantastic. Thing Wembley '72. It just SMOKES! That Eyes and PITB must have really inspired the guys to be at their best as the playing just keeps getting more and more perfect. This might just be the best Ship Of Fools anyone has ever laid ear on. It's surpremely gorgeous and heart-aching. 

Of course, the final entree of this epic show is the 21-minute Truckin that hears Jerry breaking out his slide for some EPIC soloing. The jamming is super jazzy and gets into definite Frank Zappa territory. One of the COOLEST jams I've ever heard. So frickin' sweet! I can't describe all this epicness on paper, but safe to say it's all as great as the Eyes and the PITB. 

Closing out with Wharf, GDTRFB and a semi-rare Casey Jones, I feel ready to jump in the hole and cover my self with dirt because, well, it just doesn't get any better than this! :)

1974-06-08 Oakland, CA

 

6/8/74 – Oakland, CA (LOADS OF PHIL IN THE MIX)

A rocking Promised Land to open tonight's proceedings. “Typically-excellent-'74-versions” of BE Women and Bobby McGee follow paving the way for a FANTASTIC Scarlet. It's very, very uptempo and Jerry's vocals are perhaps a bit rusty, but check that over-way-too-soon outro solo. Wow. Talk about perfection. 

After a lovely Roses and fine Uncle, we get a great T Jed. And you know that's saying a lot considering I usually want to skip this song as soon as it comes on. But THIS is how it SHOULD be played! Bouncy and lively, not dragging and sleepy. Very enjoyable version! 

Up next is a ROARING GSET that finds Donna practically screaming the lyrics, lol. Pretty enjoyable. I guess the boys feel like rocking tonight because then comes a smashing 15 minute China>Rider, Around and Around, Big River and US Blues all in a row! If you include GSET, that's a solid 40 minutes of uptempo rocking. Wow. 

Special mention to the WONDERFUL MLB jam in China>Rider. What great playing from Jerry. HOLY CRAP LISTEN TO BOBBY HOWL ON AROUND. SOUNDS LIKE HE'S POSESSED BY SATAN! 

Ship Of Fools is just stunning tonight. 

Up next is a smashing 40-minute PITB>Wharf>PITB. The initial 23 minutes of PITB is terrific, if a little disorganized and chaotic. For the first ten minutes it's your “typical '74 PITB jazzy jam” but then it evolves into Jerry doing his wah soloing over some VERY chaotic and random drumming from Billy. 

Simply put – it sounds like there is no song and everyone is playing something different, lol. But then HOLY CRAP FEEDBACK HELL AT 15 MINUTES. We get sucked into a black hole. It sounds like Ned Lagin is perhaps joining in? Or are we really just going full-band Seastones!!!!! 

Eventually around 18 minutes things get ever so slightly less chaotic and Keith starts doing some very cool piano riffing with Billy following his lead. Excellent background jamming for Jerry's continued wah and feedback. 

Eventually around 22 minutes the darkness lifts and everyone's playing takes on a very upbeat and positive vibe. It sounds like we are getting ready for a UJB. But Jerry switches gears and drags us down to the dock with a great Wharf Rat. 

This then segues perfectly out into a great PITB reprise. A fantastic sandwich any way you slice it! :) Thankfully, the desert is a wonderful 17-minute Eyes that is simply gorgeous and perfect in the way most 1974 versions are. Nothing “OMG GREATEST EVER”, but its a terrific Eyes nonetheless. 

At the end of Eyes, it sounds like they are gonna do a China Doll like usual, but instead the boys leap into a rocking Sugar Mag. This highly-enjoyable-yet-nothing-special show ends with Casey and OMSN.

1974-05-25 Santa Barbara, CA

 

5/25/74 – Santa Barbara, CA **

The show get's going a lot sooner than the previous nights. After good-but-nothing-special opening renditions of US Blues and Mexicali Blues. But then Deal starts showing us what mood the guys are in tonight and that is fully realised by the incredible Jack Straw that follows. 

It has instantly vaulted itself into my Top 10 already. Wow! Scarlet is uptempo like in Seattle, but instead of being rushed-sounding, tonight it is energetically enthusiastic. Donna provides some Yoko wailing that doesn't suck, also! Also, I must say that the overall “vibe” tonight is much better than recent shows and that palpable enthusiasm is definitely noticeable. 

The next highlight after Scarlet is the excellent 8 minute Sugaree. It's just perfect in every way. China>Rider is DELICIOUS tonight, maybe besting the 5/17 version from Vancouver. It smokes and crackles and roars and rampages in the best ways. Everyone is going full-steam ahead towards a brick wall at 90 miles per hour. Jerry's soloing is just out of this world perfect. 

Around and Around tonight IS HOTTER THAN THE SURFACE OF THE FRICKIN SUN HOLY CRAP. 

Ship Of Fools is outright superb tonight. This version is PHENOMENAL. Great Keith playing. 

Next up, Truckin>Let It Grow. Yup, the only version in 1974 not prefaced by the rest of the Weather Report Suite. So, Truckin goes nuts and the guys eventually melt down into full on Seastones for a bit. Then, they seamlessly transfigure themselves into playing Let It Grow out of nowhere in one of the best segues I have ever heard. 

In LIG, Check out Jerry's solo around 2:40 into it. Frickin' awesome! This killer LIG then goes into one of the most awesome and powerful Wharf Rats I've ever heard. Holy crap. THAT INTRO!!! This Wharf is very uptempo and powerful to the point it almost sounds like a different song. Must-hear for sure. THIS WHARF IS OUTSTANDING. 

The main show then ends with a SMASHING OMSN that rocks your socks off before a rare encore of Casey Jones. Slightly odd in the lack of big jam numbers, but the playing is so great on this show and the vibe so up that you can't help but love it! Another great show!

1974-05-21 Portland, OR

 

5/21/74 – Portland, OR ***** (47-minute PITB of the Gods)

The first set of songs are fine but noone will hurt you for skipping straight to the extremely up-tempo Scarlet Begonias. Keith is high in the mix tonight addling lots of great playing! I hesitate to say it's excellent, it seems rushed. But it defintiely has it's moments. 

Let me put it like this, it's '74 it's Scarlet. Shut up. 

Row Jimmy is surprisingly excellent tonight. We then get the third and final Money Money. Shame it got canned as it's downright rockin' and Keith is shredding up the ivories! Ship Of Fools sounds heavenly tonight with some very intersting church organ sounds from Keith. A great WRS then is slammed to a halt with China Doll. Come on, guys. Thankfully, we get, I think, the lognest PITB ever played!  

47-MINUTE PITB HOLY MOTHER OF HELL.  

Wow. Now before we get a hold of ourselves, the previous WRS>China Doll was OUTSTANDING, but this PITB just takes it and smashes it to pieces. Holy jeezus. It starts with an excellent version of the song portion. We then get Billy doing his up-tempo thing while Jerry does his “Space Wah” soloing. Everything is pretty coherent and “together” though for now. It then coalesces into a more frenzied Miles Davis-style of jamming. 

Around 14-minutes, we get the mother of all meltdowns. Jerry EXPLODES with his shredding and it's the aural equivalent of shock therapy (in the best way). Things then calm down a bit. Billy is still going ape-shit, but the rest of the guys are laying back and choosing their notes. 

From about 18 minutes onwards, some of the greatest GD jamming you will ever hear is played. By 28 minutes it's still going strong and it's so tasty and delectably infectious that you want it to never end! 

Around the 34-minute mark this comes to an end and a quiet, more spacey passage begins. Come 36-minutes and Billy and Keith give us some latin flavoring to the proceedings. Rim shots, etc. Eventually the epic behemoth comes to an inconclusive concludion and segues directly into US Blues. 

After the awkwardly placed US Blues (as great as it is), we get the Stella Blue of Stella Blues. QUEEN STELLA REIGNS SUPREME! This one is just so beautiful it's beyond words. Really. 

After a rocking Around and Around, we get a typically-gorgeous Eyes. Eyes is concise, at only 14 minutes, but its 14 minutes of primo-suprimo playing. Phil's bass solo is EXCELLENT and the Jerry solo immediately following is as perfect as can be. Wow, this might be the most note-perfect Eyes I've ever heard. 

After an epic Wharf, this crazy show comes to a rocking close with Sugar Mag and JBG.