Dark Star
Aug. 1, 1973
Roosevelt Stadium
Struggled with this as a potential upvote, but decided "yes" because my only complaint is with the final 3-4 minutes of cacophony that I so despise in Dark Stars of this era. But everything that precedes it is just too damn good not to push this up the ladder. And really, the 3-4 minute section of breakdown-screechy stuff can't nullify the amazing jamming previous, Plus, it does segue seamlessly into El Paso (which, you know, isn't necessarily a good thing; never really understood why such diametrically opposing tunes would be melded to each other, but perhaps that's part of the point with a song as mysterious and open to all possibilities of the universe as Dark Star.). Overall, though, this rendition stands out for its propulsive and confident jamming prior to the first verse, and following that is a truly one-of-a-kind-haven't-heard-in-other-versions Jerry-led section in which he sustains long, twanging notes on the guitar that never dissolve into dissonance but rather create a kind of quasi-psychedelic, classic rock, controlled and somehow beautiful portion of instrumental landscape that only this band could truly claim as its own. I am grateful to those who upvoted and commented on this version because I was unaware of it before and am pleased beyond measure to have discovered it now. More listenings will follow and maybe I'll be less peeved by the final few minutes of break-down disturbance that I wish a magical musical editor had convinced the band to excise.
