Cream of the crop, top shelf Scarlet<Fire. Easy to tell Garcia is in the zone. Lucid, flowing, and fabulous version.

Nice jamming on this one

Classic Eyes<China Doll. Nearly all of the versions from 73' are great, but this is one of the best.

Americana at its finest. Slow, mellow, rewarding, clean, polished, and homey. One of my favorites.

A case could be made for this being the finest version ever.

Hits critical mass, slows, halts, skids, and then once again driving, the gas is slammed over and over, again and again in a sonic loop, Lesh driving back in-front, behind, through, and under the ashes as Garcia's liquid tones rise and cascade in layers, dripping pockets of smoldering lava . Rhythmic, pulsing, and mean. This thing is a cruel, heavy madness that will knock the living shit out of you!

A month of epic proportions in context with the rest of the year. Fits right in with the flow and progression of the 73' sound, all seven shows are strong enough to make the month of June a strong contender for the best of the year. This Playin' has a bebop groove and a jazz feel. Unheralded performance, for the reason I see being that the first set is uncirculated. Moody and raging flow set this Playin' apart in a whole different category, a combination effort, and an impeccable deep speed crawl, boiling and snaking through the air. Keith holds this one aloft with some fine backing. Don't miss this.

Phil experiments lots during this Summer 73' period with especially inventive sounding rhythm times and such, these Dark Stars are ones not to be missed. This 6/10 Star provides one of the greatest full band interplay performances of the year. Spacey, melodic, moody, and transcendent. This is one of those you will certainly find in the pantheon. This version is covered by an intricate facade where the first layer provides a view of complex structures in which the guitar intertwines itself in spiral constellations and the space is mixed beneath. Phil however takes up the space behind the facade and basically makes this one, incredible work underlining the band's already excellent interplay.

Just as the first chords of Stella Blue are struck the band launches its ship through the troposphere, and continually heads north through the atmosphere before landing in the thermosphere just as the Dark Star riff rings out. Then light speed is hit, subtly and slowly the band morphs into a cosmic entity, slowly meandering and filling right through the very fabric of the firmament itself. Soon enough Lesh, Garcia, Weir, Keith, and Billy have found themselves somewhere else entirely, in a different galaxy all-together. Insects crawling through the cabin, focused buzzing of noise, and just as it begins it ends, slowly meandering back out with a flurry of bass and guitar picking, louder and louder before dissipating into a pool of abridged thirty minutes, a void in memory, and a trip through the continuum. Time goes on, all is forgotten, and a segue into Eyes...

GSET>Bertha, only played four times before 1980! This combination is really rocking, especially on this night in Oregon. Very strong lead-ins to lyrics and drumming and bassing. Garcia's solo has a certain lightning quality, the type of feeling in which the guitar lines have escaped the general stratosphere of the main stage. This thing really impressed, no kidding here. Summer 73' is very strong.