Dark Star
Oct. 17, 1970
Cleveland Music Hall
It's a 1970 audience tape, so you kind of have to want to listen to it to enjoy it, but this one rewards you for doing so. At about 8 minutes or so, Spaceyness morphs into a sad song 78 played at 33 rpms - it's like a slowed down ghost of Wharf Rat that just appears out of nowhere. This is followed by some xylophone/glockenspiel type thing leading the band into territory that is just as dreamy, yet with more structure underpinning it. Wave after wave, some DS themed, some that could have been an intro to Me and My Uncle, but nothing visiting familiar era-themes - this is all off the cuff amazingness. If you can get down with an audience tape, take this trip. There are cuts in both ends at the vocals, but considering a 16 year old recorded this, it's a pretty good mono 1970 recording.