This show is a continuation of the August shows, in terms of set lists, high quality performances energy. Performances on a lot of the songs are fast.
The first song is a top-notch Dark Star. (August 1968 was the beginning of the best Dark Stars.) The St. Stephan is also top-notch. The short jam between St. Stephen and The Eleven is high-energy and fabulous, and the Eleven is aims to please, though again, though there are problems with the audio mix in the vocals. This Eleven is my favorite song of this particular show. Jerry is just flying through the extended jam after the vocals. Phil then changes the rhythm and key, and the jam gradually slows in a smooth transition. Unfortunately, the recording is cut off before Death Don’t Have No Mercy. A real loss!
The Other One gets back to the fast, driving pace of the Eleven in the previous set, and it’s a strong performance. The whole band is connected here.
Alligator is Pigpen’s turn, and shows that he is the band’s best singer of the period.
After drums, it’s several minutes of Jerry soloing with drums, which is pretty interesting. There’s an explosion into Caution and things get more interesting. It’s up-tempo and wild. Pigpen gives his version of psycheledic blues vocals, and underneath the drums are still producing vibrating energy. There’s an explosion of feedback after Pigpen’s “just a little mojo hand.” Then the pace gets even faster for more jamming. Just amazing.
There’s a jarring cut and gap in the recording before the ending feedback. Ouch. In contrast to the preceding, this feedback is quiet and introspective, fading to nothing.
There are two versions of this recording here at archive. This one (Miller) is the better, no question. The audio quality is better than the Volderding, which also has a buzz and some clipping.
The beginning of the Miller version is a bit messed up: midway into St. Stephen, it stops, and the song starts again from the beginning. Then, Track 3 starts the show again with Dark Star. You can avoid the repeats by starting at Track 3.
The mix for the recording (heard on both versions) has some minor problems with some vocal parts being too low, or drums being too loud. Someone was fiddling with the control board. This gets worked out by the time Cryptical starts.
Still, a 5-star shows. For better recordings of similar shows, check these out:
8/21/68:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd68-08-21.sbd.cotsman.17355.sbeok.shnf
8/22/68:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd68-08-22.sbd.cotsman.14915.sbeok.shnf
8/23/68:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd68-08-23.sbd.sacks.52.sbefail.shnf