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After tagging a few northeast shows to the beginning of the jaunt, there was a jump to the Pac NW for two Seattles and two Portlands. This first show of the four is perhaps the best - slightly. They all have different highlights, even with very similar sets. The 1st set was nearly 2½ hrs (with tunings and Promised Land opener).



First Set. The Promised Land opener went unrecorded - apparently by anybody (though it sounds like a warm-up, Sugaree as an opener would have been unusual, and there's no opening tuning). The next few are typical for '72. After Loser-SS there's a brief Oh Babe it Ain't No Lie tuning that's cut from the official release (right before Bobby calls Baja the "state of Tija Juana"). The Mexicali is aces and the rest of the set just soars. China Cat became such a monster in '72 just in general, and this I Know You Rider is amazing. Even more special is Phil leading verses. Bobby calls 47 for Beat it on Down the Line. "47's too many man! I get real confused after about three!" Jer demurs. He then asks for five with a break from Billy. But missing from the official is Bobby's introduction, "Jesse Lonecat Fuller is a name to be respected and revered. This is one of his songs - we stole it. He's a one man band, y'know". Stella Blue is just the 4th one and it's great. Playing pulls back some from the E72 versions a couple months prior. Aside from some Donnaskreech™ it's another ace. Tennessee Jed leaves 'em happy and gods it is tight.



Second Set. After a solid Casey Jones Bobby teases Weather Report Prelude. He had teased it on 3/23 as well, and would do so again. He worked it out onstage in '72/'73 while writing it, rather than calling it for band practice. After finishing it he attached it to Let it Grow in September '73 - but this is just a tuning (the band started joining him in March '73, when he played it before Dark Star). Jer does a few unique fills on Me & My Uncle-bottle, as does Keith. Nice. The middle of the set is typical of '72. Drums is with Phil. There's a pretty good The Other One, which goes seriously into the out there à la E72, though there's more vamping than jamming. Sugar Magnolia is the kind I like, save Bobby's hoarse manu cornuto. Ramble is smooth, unstudied. We're missing the first Not Fade Away, though the Goin' Down the Road excerpt has great Jer (vox not so much). NFA was played at 37 dates in '72, and of these nine were played without being the bread on a GDtRFB sandwich. 17 had a sammich but no encore. Another 2 dates we don't know for sure if there was an encore [8/22 & 11/15]. This is the only show in '72 where we don't know for sure if there was a sammy or an encore. But most first-of-run shows in this period were sans encore. 17 shows went NFA>GDTRFB>NFA>encore [usually One More Sat]. In fact both of the following Portland dates have a sammy. The 1st Portland has no encore. Ultimately, its a 76% chance we're missing an NFA>GDtRFB>NFA sammy (using the '72 reprise format of repeating one verse in the NFA reprise), and a 61% chance this was a date with a sammy but no encore.



1st Set : A-

2nd Set : B-

Overall = 4 stars



Highights:

China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider - the '72 monster w/great Phil

Beat it On Down the Line-5 - Jesse Lonecat Fuller is revered

Stella Blue - the early arrangement nailed

Playing in the Band - already morphing away from E72

Tennessee Jed - gods revered

Ramble On Rose - unstudied



SOURCES: The lone SBD source that has been around for awhile is very muffled and, regardless of labeling, is pitched way too slow ( needing +2½% ). It also has a cut in Drums and China Cut, and is missing the last few minutes of Ramble. Download 10 brought clarity to the show and restored the cuts. However both sources are missing the Promised Land opener and the first half of the NFA>GDtRFB>NFA sandwich. It's also possible there was an encore. The long tunings were cut for the official release, turning an historical listen to a fidelitous one.

- July 21, 2018Jump via Jersey