I just glommed onto this thread from reading about Dick Latvala in an article in New Yorker Mag.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/11/26/deadhead
Here is a story of my Reno show...
I was hanging out with some of the crew, including Dick, who was a good friend by then. Dick had been nagging the band about what his 'job' should be. He was kinda the archivist then but he wanted something legit to do with them to justify his presence with them. He was such a great and kind-hearted man... loved those guys so much... and wanted to be useful, as he said. So, they decided to let him be the chauffeur and see how that worked out. His first day to do this was the Reno show. Dick offered to also drive me to the show - but he didn't mention his new job... So we started out for the venue and when I got to the car, there were Mickey and Billy and Phil. I got in the backseat with the drummers, kept my mouth shut and off we go. Except after a while (TOO long... like 20 minutes or something), I noticed the mountains coming up in the distance real fast. I quietly leaned over to Dick in the drivers seat and said - I think we're going the wrong direction... we're out of town.... the city is behind us... I think we missed a turn or something...
The drummers went nuts! Yelling and flogging at Dick... getting hysterical and shouting about missing the show... complaining about giving him this 'job' in the first place - it was a little in jest but mostly NOT. It was like 20 minutes before show time when he turned the car around and headed back into Reno... with constant berating by all on board (except me)... we got to the venue and he could't get to the backstage parking area so we just stopped by one of the venue's stage doors, the band members got out and RAN to get inside while Dick and I found a place to leave the car. We had a great time at the show... Dick mostly in the audience to avoid more bashing backstage.. and him being terribly angst-ridden about his stature in the group now. At the afterparty, there was a lot of good humor kidding etc and the announcement that Dick was no longer the chaffeur (! well DUH!) but had to stick to his task of archivist... and BOY! didn't he do a hell of a job with that! His passion and precision about the music is still legendary. Miss him so much... just like the band he 'worked' for. XO

This was the first show after John Belushi's death, which seemed to hit the band hard. (the next night in Davis Micke and Bill did the John Belushi funeral drums). What I recall from that night in Reno was first the emotion that Jerry poured into Franklin's Tower. After the Estimated, the band starts to drift into He's Gone, but someone "overrules", and they launch into a wonderful Eyes of the World instead. (Was He's Gone too obvious a tribute?) So when the Dear Prudence tease comes up later, only to be shut down to Jerry, to go into Black Peter as a tribute song, it was almost as if Jerry felt since they already did Eyes, it was more appropriate to express their anguish in the form of Black Peter. who knows; it certainly was a scintillating set, demonstrating music is emotion.

write something.

even though no one will ever come back to this show. it's just the what of things, not bad.

for what it's worth the tease is mostly lucy in the sky with diamonds, morphing into a pseudo-dear prudence riff then jerry pulls the plug on the whole thing.

but i don't hear any strawberry fields in it. the grateful dead would of course go on to play lucy in the sky with diamonds many many years later, but only the other ones in 2002 (prob'ly phil n friends too) did strawberry fields

Spacey Stranger into a fast over the top Franklins, the Estimated is typically peaky during the 1st jam and I recall the Eyes is really good. The Estimated Jam into Eye's I can't remember. The rest of the show I don't remember as much, I think the Other One might be pretty good. The Peak of this show is the Franklins Tower though, it stands out among other Franklins Towers I've heard because there are a lot of over the top peaky parts where Jerry just lets loose! I was at this show but I don't remember much of it, just the unclean JFK blotter with lightning bolts coming out of his eyes and stomach cramps during the later part of the show. I remember enjoying the show except for the cramps, but that's about it. This is the better of the 2 available recordings.

smokin' set, esp. Stranger > Franklins. Really great recording, too.

kinda like the quality.. wish it was better during Prophet. I love the salty gruff that Brent adds and I know it could sound a bit sweeter then this copy.

Interesting. The tease has elements of Strawberry Fields, Dear Prudence and Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds at once.

Previous posters noted the lack of bottom end in this recording. I concurr. It's still nice and crisp though. I'll toss a four at it.

Felix The Cat, when confronted with adversity, would always reach into his "Bag Of Tricks". The lack of bottom in this recording can be dealt with in like kind with one's home equipment.

-P@N

That tease sounds like Dear Prudence. Something the Dead never played, although after I heard Jerry do it at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz, I always wish they did.

This show noted as a sound board? Hmmmmm....myself I feel NO... N- O... but if I am wrong ok then ... all the same nice piece of DEADISM...This set is as smooth as smooth can be ...The boys are tight and then some.. (Black Peter most nottably..) Peace kidds....DarkStar...

Isn't this a Lucy in the Sky tease?

Although this is only the second set of a pretty smokin' show, the sound quality is much better than the other source...lots of energy