Slowest but also funkiest version ever played. Garcia stumbles out of the gates on lyrics but it's no train wreck & the band rescues for a winner

Bruce is boss on this one, his keys just adding color & style throughout the tune. Overlooked show & performance

Numerous "Lively Up Yourself" teases within this short space--follows a "He's Gone" dedicated to Bob Marley

Kicking intro out of Dancin'>Drums and into a typically raucous, rippin', 1978 Samson. You'll dig it for the into alone but the whole thing is a beast

Heavy calypso rhythms & monstrous punctuation via The Beast make for an epic Drums out of Terrapin. 5 star stuff.

^^^^My touring life was 1979 (1-11-79 first show, one of the last Donna/Keith gigs) to 1994 (Highgate VT last show) but the lion's share of shows I saw were in the 80s as I suspect yours were too. Some grate stuff from '86-'90 but sporadic compared to the 1972-1977 era which is my favorite, & I'm jealous of all those heads who saw those gems of the 70s. Still, there are diamonds to be found in every rough of every era & it's amazing to me that I still get turned on to stuff I never really dug into before, even tho' we'rr all so well versed on this band. They never stop giving! I think you'll like that 9-18-90 show. That whole MSG run was pretty epic (I attended 2 of them) but sometimes individual performances can slip thru the cracks. The Eyes from that show in particular I think should be rated way higher than it is currently. Happy listening!

^^^^ It's rare to find a show from '93 I can really get behind but this is definitely one of them!

Yep, as advertised, another winner from a somehow underrated show (rare for an MSG show to be so, but here we are). This version is a barn burner, should be way higher. (Bit off topic but 9/18/90 is another MSG show that could use more ears, especially the Eyes from that show)

If you're a fan of Jerry noodles, this version is your big bowl of Ramen.He's playing notes between notes. He's finding space between notes where it seems impossible to find any. The song itself is almost irrelevant (& I mean this in a good way). It's as if the 20,000 or so fans crammed into a hockey arena are instead hearing what a tight jazz combo would be doing in an intimate jazz club in Greenwich Village. If you take the time to really explore what Garcia is laying down here, you're going to be treated to a master class in intricate jazz picking that offers shades of Wes Montgomery , Carl Perkins, & John Pizzarelli. There are no major peaks in this version, but there is an ocean of musical discovery to be plumbed in the depths of his playing here. Phil deserves kudos for keeping a steady foundation throughout the journey, even if no bombs are dropped or classic rumblings afoot, he's critical to maintaining the 20 plus minutes. The best sounding version I know has Weir very low in the mix and that's a shame, and my only other complaint would be half a point off for Brent's simply awful tinker toy Fisher Price piano sound that distracts here and there from what garcia is doing. Mind you, I think Brent is an outstanding keyboardist...it's not his playing I object to, but the terrible pop synth sound that I suppose was considered "nouveau" in 1979 but just was always a bad bad choice when he opted for it. The same lines he's playing here would sound 1,000x better on a good ol' acoustic as Keith used to play, & it's too bad we can't just dub that in, but in totality it's a nit to pick, and not enough of a deterrent to prevent adding my vote. a truly unique version here, for its length, tempo, and year played, and again, a must listen for any true jazz guitar fan.

Outstanding latter day version with so many unique flourishes it deserves far higher ranking. The acoustic sound Jerry employs somehow works, as does the faster than usual tempo, but this does not inhibit the gorgeous gospel section wherein Garcia elongates the liiiiiiife" in three rising vocal levels to triumphant effect, and David Murray, who's been waiting in the wings holding off, jumps in post-lyrics to deliver a blazing sax outro that's Garcia-esque in its own right. I love the Birdsong from this show but now i'm going back to dig deeper into the rest b/c this Wharf Rat really caught my attention when I gave it a re-listen.