Dec. '72 turns out to be a nice little peak for BEW. Perfect shuffle, air-play tightness, great soloing, just enough country. Bobby nicely audible.

A super-fun frolicing romp. They just seem to have loved playing this tune.

Pristine, air-play quality in a deep pocket with note-for-note perfection all 'round. Surprised not to see it here already.

Smokin' desperado polka here with superbly tight playing at a faster-than normal pace. A galloping riot and heaps of fun.

Shredding goodness, coming late in the set after a killer Star>Stella. Great show all around.

Thanks for bringing this immortal show back up. The Lee / Miller AUD is brilliant. Check out how Billy feeds Phil during his solo. God, '74 was a monster year full of peak Dead.

Hey Marvin, I didn't know they toured in '77. Thanks for the heads up! [...] Really brother there's something about this era that I love just a wee bit deeper: Partially its the electric-voodoo influence from Miles Davis with a bit more danger and heaviness that to my ears got scrubbed clean with the (admittedly) more musically precise, "crisp and clean" aesthetic of 1977. (I also like the one-drummer era for the greater freedom Billy had and his almost melodic approach to collective improv). If you post a list of your favorite '77s, I'll go and listen to them all again and maybe I'll change my tune, but until then, I'm mostly an old fogey deadhead who goes apeshit for the pre-hiatus work. Cheers and thanks!

Video looks like it was filmed through a pair of black socks, but the camera work is professional and was probably an authorized video (on stage closeups, multiple cameras, good videography). Does anyone know the story behind it?

Cool if not grainy video of this at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf1dNTexCL4. Be warned, it looks like it was filmed through a roll of electrical tape, but it's nice to see them up close again.

Sweet uptempo transition into Supplication. LL>Sup was such a sparkling tingly buzz of a jam, and with its angular off-kilter 7/4 "lop-sided wheel" propulsion, it's almost the perfect musical expression of the effects of certain bitter South American alkaloids. Just sayin'.