Notable for a 6-min opening jam that comes out of Wharf Rat, very cool, mislabeled "Drums". The GDTRFB smokes too.

What a treat. Why is this show undervalued? C'mon folks, don't let a good AUD scare you. This is a beaut, with the crowd part of the party.

Highlight from the first set. Keith sets it on fire. Jerry is in top form.

The '76 ones ted to plod along a bit too much for my taste, but Jerry tears this one right up with a good shitkickin' solo and great tone.

Continues the run of perfect Mamas from the Summer tour. This one is short and sweet, perfect vocals.

Very hot for a show opener. Gives the heads heads-up that the boys mean business.

Thanks Catalonia for the essay link. I'll read that asap. I love the deadessays stuff. There's a great one about how 76 Dancin' in the Streets versions. All in all there's a ton of great '76 stuff, which I think goes mostly overlooked. The sound is still rougher than the best of the studio-tight '77 shows, there isn't that wild anything-goes feeling of the pre-haitus years. There is, however, a sense of big open spaces, that any song could become a new vehicle for deep spontaneous composition - not just the big Playin's or Dark Stars (in fact no Dark Stars all year). I'm going chronologically - you noticed! - but I prefer not to rush things. I'll spend a couple of days on a single show rather than trying to get through them all so fast that they all become a blur. Next year? I'm thinking of going through '77, but I know most of that year already. I might also deep dive into '69 - a big mostly undiscovered terrain. There's a whole lot of Dead out there. Peace, brother or sister or whoever you are.

Leads into a unique 6 minute unnamed jam mislabeled "Drums" on some versions. Very cool.

Definitely a weird one, the meltdown is long and heavy, even a bit aggressive - maybe the weirdest one of the year not known for acid meltdowns. This isn't a first-time, convince your friend about the dead kind of Playin', unless your friend is into Trout Mask Replica and free jazz, and all that. The transition into Wharf Rat, is all the more amazing for it, out of wild abstraction they come in fast, landing on one of the more literal, prosaic (in the good sense) and story-telling songs in their oeuvre.

Jerry reaches terminal velocity. The band is absolutely shredding, reaches Colemanesque harmolodic polyrythms at on point right before the Supplication re-entry.