As mentioned previously, this set is a little gem... i decided to check this out out on a lark before reviewing upcoming 4/30/81 greensboro show and my first full east coast tour attempt. The John Kahn bass appearance gives things a very different vibe and feel. The Jerry and Bobby harmony work is incredible and beautiful, especially on FOTD. Thanks for posting this special one-off acoustic set.

Oh boy!

Highlights: All

Sometimes some hiss, pitch issues, tape wear are evident while listening through this cool little acoustic set. Very rare that they played a full acoustic set after 1980. I think this and Melk Weg are the only full ones of 1981.

Really cool to hear "Friend of the Devil" acoustic as it wasn't performed in October 80' at either the Warfield or Radio City. Garcia/Weirs duet vocals on the chorus are haunting.

Kahn fills in Lesh's spot and brings in a different vibe. Even tho it's Grateful Dead sans Lesh & Mydland it still sounds different than anything else they were doing this way during this time.

Very cool to have.

5 for performance, 3 for sound.

The youthfulness is tempered with wisdom through out the entire performance. These are the songs that first struck a chord in me and ultimately made me a deadhead.
Even if Phil wasn't there I don't really hate anyone.

ive got like 70 some-odd shows on disk... dunno how many hundred ive heard... but this just sticks waaaaaay out to me for some reason. i hate john kahns guts, for no reason, other then the obvious... ive heard maybe half the boys' stuff probably... this show just rips so hard, probably cuz they werent tryin to lol

not sure how to delete my prior review so here's the retraction

Peace,

Bob

Having been there, this was quite a nice small venue, the BCT to see a show. Remember them pulling out the Oh Boy for an encore, and it was just super sweet. Garcia Band later that evening and we were all smiling for days!!! Fine performance, fine recording, thank you all so much!

At the time of the writing, this is a relatively new find on Archive.org. W-O-W!!!! The mix is a matrix with just a bit of audience bled in for ambiance and feel. This contains a few relatively rare acoustic gems for this time, notably the Deep Elem Blues, Babe It Ain't No Lie, El Paso, and Oh Boy. Mentioning great singing quality in the same sentence with the Grateful Dead is rare, but this is simply terrific harmonization on Bobby and Jerry's part. Jerry's voice throughout still has the sweet sound that would be lost just a year or two later. Though Friend of the Devil has become iconic, sometimes over-played and even dare I say a "campfire" song, this version is simply the best acoustic version I have ever heard. Great vocal effort by Garcia with exquisite nuance in the lyrical delivery, great solo, and great execution. The stellar sound quality throughout brings all of this to sparkling life. Yes, it is Jerry's old soul brother John Kahn on bass. His presence is exceptionally welcomed here (isn't it always?) and seemed to spark up the rest of the band. Killer-diller stuff. Best early 80's acoustic I have ever heard. Somebody has given us a very special little Christmas '09/ New Year '10 treat here. A real nugget.

Just to point out , this is from the Berkeley Community Theatre not The Stone . The Stone was the site of the Garcia Band show , later in the day , on this same date .

pretty sure it's john, not david. either or fun set.

to write the first review for a brilliant recording. Fun performance! I strongly recommend this to anybody that likes the acoustic dead.... with David Kahn rather than Phil this is slightly different that the GD.....it works well.