Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Feb. 5, 1978
Uni Dome, U of Northern Iowa
This one has some cool moments, but it's sooooo fast - takes most of the swing out of it. There are points where the drummers lose the thread or go into a rather homely shuffle b/c the pace is so breakneck. And I have an issue with so many '78 Scarlets b/c Garcia always seems (as he does here) to forget the verse after the bridge and go directly into the guitar break. For whatever reason, that irks. Somewhat indicative to some of the sloppiness that crept in @ late-77/78. I just don't believe this compares at all to any May '77 versions, which are models of both heat and precision. Not an awful version by any means - some of it's great, but #2 on the list? That's just insane to me.