This show proves hot out of the gate with this fiercely jammed Jack Straw. The Andrew F recording sounds amazing, too.

More evidence for the NFAissance of 1989. Torn to shreds.

Xylophone loop madness in Drums, then a creepy two-note riff by Bobby surfaces several times in Space.

En fuego! Masterfully executed, funky, slinky, and ultimately ripped to shreds.

Another FAST ’74 version, it’s executed with so much swagger you’d swear they could go faster still.

Unbelievable heat in this set. Jesus.

Immaculate soloing here — and I love the segues in this pre-Drums.

I am astonished that this officially released powerhouse version had only one vote when I went to look it up. Filled with sly ’78 magic.

I see my negative comment from years ago drew jeers, and misunderstanding. I didn’t say the outro fell apart — I complimented that part — but I pointed out that there are some noticeable wobbles earlier in the song stemming from the slow tempo. It’s *hard* to play Stella that slow. The song keeps fighting it, and you can hear that. You have an ensemble of musicians trying to figure out on the fly whether they should hold a given chord for one bar or two. It’s awkward. But there’s also some really beautiful guitar work and singing in spite of all that. I love the Dead, love Stella, love May ’77, and do not relish the role of killjoy. If this is your favorite version, great!

To me, this is one of the best versions after the initial more exploratory wave (’82-’83) had subsided. Thunderous arena rock.