Playin' In The Band
May 21, 1974
Edmundson Pavilion
I'm going to side with 'grendel' on this one. A nearly 47 minute Playin' may look impressive on paper or in theory, but I'll argue that it simply doesn't deliver the goods that one might hope and expect. The rewards don't justify the length. I agree with 'coralsand' that the jamming around the 30 minute mark is "wicked", but it's of minor interest compared to other great versions from the year (3/23, 5/17, 7/19, 8/6 come to mind). Even Dick Latvala wrote this one off (I don't always agree with him, though). Ahhh, but this is all part of the draw... We deadheads love to offer our passionate opinions at the round table! ("The faster we go, the rounder we get"...)