Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
May 17, 1977
Memorial Coliseum
Like this a lot. This Scarlet has a little faster tempo than most. Pre wind and willows solo starts very tentatively, then very nice lyrical if gentle playing by Keith and Jerry, with Phil burbling nicely underneath. Jerry hits a few abrupt chords near the end of the solo, a precursor of what is to come during Fire, and the rest of the solo is less stellar. The transition is again mostly gentle, including Donna’s vocals and the drummers, feeling measured and thoughtful, really nice from all parties. Then suddenly it’s Fire, starting in the same vein, until Jerry gets pretty caught up slapping out the duck sounds. This doesn’t fully resolve for a little while, even as he sings the first verse. For me, this really slows the momentum. Like the transition, the tempo of this Fire stays mostly a little slower, and once the duck sounds are finished, this settle in nicely again feeling like a thoughtful exploration by all. Builds to a nice finish with the band sounding wonderfully connected. Lots to like.