Samson and Delilah
Feb. 5, 1978
Uni Dome, U of Northern Iowa
Although I'm not a tremendous fan of pre-Brent Samsons, this one is ridiculous. Weir's mic craps out before the 1st verse, so they play on while the crew gets his mic back online. Garcia plays around with his guitar levels/tone, etc. for a while and it seems like this is going to be an average version at best, but at about the 3 minute mark (knowing Weir can't step on his toes) Jerry goes off on a tear like a man possessed. The rest of the band, clearly ready to rip, responds in kind and they don't drop off from there on out. Probably the best Samson I've ever heard. Try to find Dusborne's matrix (shn 123360) of the 2nd set. I usually like a straight sbd better than a matrix, but this one's a real beauty.