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Books and Music

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Submissions

52
Dark Star
Dec. 31, 1978
Winterland Arena

Farewell to Winterland; Not 40 mins. long ; no break down into feedback nonsense. Just sweet jazzy jamming; Just exactly perfect send off.
10
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Sept. 25, 1981
Stabler Arena

Transition jam weaves into spaces most fail to go; touch-down into Fire is GOLD. Jerry flubs first line in Fire-after that: 1 of the BEST ever!
19
He's Gone
Sept. 26, 1972
Stanley Theatre

Perfect, self-contained, blues-infused, stellar vocals, 14+ minutes of bliss. Extra fun: Check out the "Birdsong" riff about 10 secs. into the intro
36
Dark Star
Sept. 16, 1972
Boston Music Hall

Amazed this isn't here yet Gorgeous, melodic, jazz-infused, mellow, trippy, spacey into hard ripping Jerry riffs; melts into Brokedown Palace. Sublime
48
Cold Rain and Snow
Oct. 12, 1984
Augusta Civic Center

Kicks off with authority a 2d set every DeadHead needs to hear. Perfect bookend to Jerry's scorching Dew. They say it was cold&rainy that nite in ME.
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Comments

Loser
Dec. 29, 1977
Winterland Arena

Better than I remembered it. DP 10 is Just Exactly Perfect and so is this version.
Eyes Of The World
Dec. 30, 1977
Winterland Arena

Agreed. Just pulled out the Dick's Picks Vol. 10 this is featured on and it's just another fine '77 version that's real sweet and jazzy. And while nothing necessarily jumps out at you about it (it's standardly great '77), the end jam leading into St. Stephen is really what earns this my upvote. Jerry just kinda plays around this uniquely mellow but very interesting mini-jazz jam and it melts perfectly into those first notes of Stephen. Maybe b/c this is almost "hidden" as filler on the DP release it hasn't garnered as much attention. But it really deserves a higher place on the rankings!
Shakedown Street
Oct. 18, 1989
The Spectrum

Bit of a slow start to this one; they all struggle some w/the vocal parts, but then....the post-lyrics jam...a thing of true beauty. I've never been a fan of Jerry's MIDI work BUT here he manages to do some uber-cool stuff that brings a dimension to the Shake-jam I've never quite heard before. And yet the real treat--and the reason this one gets my vote--is what Weir starts playing on rhythm about 10:05 into the tune. This is super-funky cool shit & should be in the Shakedown Hall of Fame!
Row Jimmy
Feb. 15, 1973
Dane County Coliseum

Nice pace to this one. These very early versions are a bit more uptempo and when they nail it (as they do here) it works nicely. Strong vocals from Jerry, too. Not quite as smooth as the Dick's Picks from the Nebraska/Utah release (my favorite version of '73), but a close second.
Playin' In The Band
Feb. 15, 1973
Dane County Coliseum

Agree fully w/Carrion...this version is just a tad different than a lot of other '72-'73's that come charging out of the gate and run like Secretariat to the finish, or those that get real loud and weird somewhere along the line...instead this one glides on super-jazzy Jerry leads and a very mellow line laid down by Phil, then gradually picks up steam and does some jaw-dropping stuff before settling into a very pretty reprise. Stellar version that I'm glad I gave a listen to. I think this show is more normally noted for some of the new material (Eyes, Lucy, TLEO, etc.) but this by-now veteran PITB should not be overlooked.
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