Sweet country Dead. Great mix if you want to feel Phil's thunder.

Jerry leans into it with a jaw-tighteningly crisp and high-voltage tone for a killer solo, though the group is a bit loose. Pigpen sounds amazing.

Absolute goodness. These shows are all so beautiful, the playing is all virtuoso, and the feeling is so positive. Brent here is especially perfect.

Perfect. Bobby's silky voice, Gerry's understated but perfect picking, and Brent's barrelhouse honkytonk all on proud display.

Poor sound quality midway through, but its the first '76 set since the hiatus that goes off-the-rails weird, evoking the Wall of Sound era. Hot stuff.

Gorgeous rising intensity. It's a bold move playing WR>CAT at the heart of the set. Both are slower, emotional ballads that can tip into funereal dirges if not fully charged up. They nail it here. The Rat is like seeing old friend, but the climax comes with the CAT. Dig it!

Keith and Jerry combined release a soft torrent of warm rain across the soundscape. The beauty of this often-underrated song shines across this version.

Great slide work, and a nice take-your-time elegance to the whole number. "Not too fast and not too slow", indeed. Brilliant run, this set of Boston shows.

Go one better than the Betty Board and listen to the brand new (Oct. 2017) Charlie Miller clean-up. He's done us another solid boys and girls, and this show has quickly become one of my favorites from the great June '76 era. This Stella shows all the creative re-thinking that the band did during their time off: They're trying out subtle changes on the old repertoire, and introducing brilliant new songs, making the month one of the great under-the-radar eras of the band. This Stella is slower, but more deliberate, almost Black Peter-paced, and full of strong playing, great thoughtful jams, and a beautiful sound.

"Intense mellow", "laid back intensity" or what I always refer to as "hot mellow" - that's what's on display here. (Actually "laid back intensity" is a better choice of words.) As a musician I think it comes from utter confidence in the communication that comes from deep musical connection when playing together often, and of course the collective consciousness developed over years of touring, and a not insignificant reference to acid's ability to break barriers between individual egos, exposing the collective identity, a.k.a. 'there's nothing like a Grateful Dead concert'.... In any case, this Sugar Mag is brilliant. That it forms a big part of the 2nd set and not a tack-on at the end before the encore is just brilliant. The Eyes sammy is a rare treat.