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The previous day may be below average, but this day is sometimes listed on Best-of-'85 picks (though it seems some have confused 6/14 for this show). The best of the run, it's arguably the best show of the month. Though the 2nd set is usually noted, the 1st set is better than I remembered. The 2nd is one song longer than usual, making up for a shorter 1st set.



First Set. Touch of Grey is a rough start but with a wonderful solo (try to save a little face). Minglewood gets it going (Berkeley fillies/T in Berkeley) and Friend has a major wake-up to finish, all getting ready for this major Cassidy. This part of the set got better after a few listens. Dupree's is an example: these all start shaky and end great, as if every song is its own warm up. Often overlooked for its prevalence, this Me & My Uncle is fire; a train threatening on wobbly rails that blithely gets there ahead of schedule. Good Brent & Phil, even if Billy and Mickey have differing ideas (true the whole show). Big River is a tad untight - especially the drums. But a good Jer show is win/win. Jug band playing in the old caboose and the drummers make it loose - though again Brent is great on this Might as Well.



Second Set. As good as this China Cat is, I love what Jer does on this Rider. It's so freaking emotive and inventive. That stays through an incredible Lost Sailor. Launched uptempo by Brent, he then adds and adds to what becomes the best in '85 (into a decent Saint). There is a long tease for The Wheel coming out of Space. It's a great version, made more so by the delightful tranny into Gimme Some Lovin'. The rest is average '85, though there is a nice section in Not Fade @3:20>3:40 (a cold ending from drummers prevents 5 minutes of handclapping). She Belongs to Me is the 4th of the 9. Not bad but not Chula Vista (if you can't place the original, pull out yr Bringing it All Back Home). U.S. Blues is uptempo but with muffed lyrics and more out-of-sync drumming.



1st Set : B-

2nd Set : B-

Overall = 3½ stars



Highlights:

Cassidy - Jer played this once and forgot, yet it gets even better after a few listens

Me & My Uncle - train threatening on wobbly rails

China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider - inventive

Lost Sailor - Brent adds and adds; must-hear

The Wheel - plus coming out of Space and into GSL



SOURCES: The s1_unkown_Bryant_Miller_Noel is a great AUD, but 1st set only. For the 2nd set AUD try anon-severson-poris_lmpp_97497(it runs slightly fast). The griesman_tetzeli_fix-5682 SBD fixes some issues of griesman_5682 but still runs slow and out of balance. The walker-scotton_miller_96317 is the preferred SBD (the first two songs and the second set through Saint need -1% pitch ). It's marginally better than the gans-miller sources, but it's missing She Belongs to Me and the encore. For those last two songs, try set2_sbd_pcm_gans_miller_clugston. It updates sbd_gans-samaritano_28449, though U.S. Blues runs 1% fast. The 1st set has a rough vid up on YouTube.

- September 27, 2018An oft-mentioned Greek