The 2nd set has a SBD, so I'm not bothering with it in this AUD form, though judging from the quality of the 1st set, I'm sure it sounds fine. I'm only going into a 1971 AUD tape recording with so many expectations at all times because its a format that has its own pleasurable aesthetics regarding imperfection. That said, this is as good sounding an AUD as one could ask for in my view, so I'm not complaining. I'm gonna pick a SBD if its available though because while those AUD aesthetics are nice, they are indeed appreciated through the act of settling for them.

partied for 17th B Day with all my neighbors up in balcony. 2 nights . was mighty loud and a typical Boston rowdy crowd for era. certainly a rumpus outside. Carried into Music Hall. Had ourselves a real good time..

Put that question on Facebook forum for heads. Apparently its old news and was told Dicks Picks 31 has some of songs from those tapes.
This band always amazes me about stuff I didnt know

usually don't.

The houseboat tapes is a real story, Jerry gave Keith a bunch of tapes from spring/summer 1971 for him to study before auditioning with the GD. Keith put them on his parent's houseboat and forgot about them. The boat was cleaned out in 2005 and the tapes resurfaced, given to Donna, who gave them to Lemieux. Apparently this is how some of the masters from the vault were lost, Jerry being rather freehanded with them :)

So, although this particular show isn't part of those tapes, turns out "new wave fans" sometimes know more than arrogant older ones.

Goes To Show You Don't Ever Know...

A Hprrible recording, listen to the board sources, nothing great in set 1 anyway. The other one in set 2 is great other than that a pretty average Dec. '71 show. Who's the kid below talking about Donna cleaning out a houseboat a couple of years ago after Keith passed? Keith passed 33 years ago. You new wave fans have no clue what you are talking about most of the time, and so many silly little stories. I saw about 330 shows, first in '72, saw maybe 55-65 shows through '78 then a lot '79-'86 then maybe 20-30 after '87 up to spring '93.

It's a true live show and not recorded with the best quality equipment. I love SNBD and hardly listen to AUD recordings anymore. With that being said, if you have good headphones, it's very listenable. You can hear some of the fans faces melting during the Cryptical>Other One>Uncle>Other One>NFA. It's realy cool to hear their reactions and comments and feel the scene in 1971.

Sound quality is just aweful...

I'm a relatively new dead head (only 20 yrs old, listening for a couple years, since my music tastes have matured from crappy teenage stuff), born only a couple years before Jerry died, and I am saddened many a day knowing that I will never have the chance to see them live (there are other bands, Further, The Dead, Ratdog, etc. with Dead members, but I'll never see The Grateful Dead).
Having said that, I feel so blessed that there are so many recordings out there of so many amazing shows. While there's nothing quite like a good SBD recording where every piece of the group sounds amazing, I cherish these AUD recordings. It may not sound perfect, but it's the Dead, playing some wonderful music, and I have a chance to feel like part of the crowd, though I never will be. I'm not saying that this sounds better, or even equal, to the SBD, but I would rather have a good AUD recording of the entire show than only part of it on SBD. Thank you to everyone who contributes to this amazing website and can help me to experience the Dead to the best of my ability. I'll listen to it all, great sound or distant, worse sound with the woots and cheers of a good crowd on top. I'm not picky, I just want to hear all the Dead I can.
Forever Grateful.

this show and recording are pretty good. This is apparently the only available source for the 1st set. We've been exposed to many killer sbds from '71, but few audience recordings exist. Sbds usually give a more clear 'what', but a decent aud can sometimes give you more 'why'. Welcome back Pigpen!

Weren't the 71 tour tapes given to Keith to study when he joined Dead. They were forgotten. Then Donna Jean found them a couple years ago when cleaning out houseboat after Keith's dad passed.

I wonder if this tape was in there.

Would be cool if they could co-mingle the SBD w/ this tape's audience hoots/claps.

I don't dig it... admittedly the show is a good one but the sound is truly awful !! Better than soundboards? NO WAY! Yes, there's lot's of energy in the air and the audience is clapping on time but it still sounds awful... which is a pity.

as evidenced by the previous two reviews, if auds is all we got then it's auds i'll take, i usually click on a few tracks to see what it sounds like, this is one of those shows where you can experience the experience, just click on the beginning of not fade away, you'll hear a fan proclaim, "oh god, oh wow", that did it for me, to me it's worth a listen just based on that 5 second clip, sure it's a little distant, but it's worth it

This is by far the best audience recording I've heard of a concert. The vocals come through nice and clear, and so does the music. This is better than some of the soundboard recordings I've come by. Definitely worth the download.

Downloaded this tonight with some anticipation, due to no reviews. Unfortunately the recording is awful, distant, vocals barely audible. I listened to a few tracks and trashed it.