Mega Suite Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4

Part 2 of the DFAY Mega Suite coverage continues today with Fire On The Mountain.

Of the 28 times the Mega Suite worked its way into a setlist this show marks the twentieth time. As you can see by the table in yesterday’s post most of these were in the late 70s/early 80s. It’s kind of a bummer that the fall 89 nor spring 1990 tour was bequeathed a Mega Suite, but there were definitely some interesting setlists in the latter.

For some reason whenever I think of this release I think of pulling into the parking lot while listening to a tape of this in my van for a summer course I took while in undergrad. What a totally random association!

Part 3 of 4 comes out tomorrow morning.

Clearly the band has transitioned to Fire On The Mountain but it takes them a few moments to shake off the last vestiges of Scarlet Begonias before they dive head-first into Fire. Judging by the previous song and the tempo here this is shaping up to be a slow burning Fire. Phil’s bass pulsates, anchoring this two chord ditty. Garcia’s vocals are a bit rough on the chorus, and the backing vocals are a bit sloppy too, but they get the job done. Jerry paints some soaring lines with his Tiger paintbrush to compensate. Think of these as elongated mews and not growls or roars. Good kitty. By the next instrumental break the fire is burning a little hotter and Garcia isn’t as patient. He’s still not shredding, but his movement is more direct and expedient. The band continues to ride their sine wave up through the jam before reaching the trough and settling in for a pass through another verse. Jerry launches into another solo as they wrap up the singing. Things are really cooking now and the top of the mountain keeps getting closer. A quick shifting of gears drops us back in the Scarlet outro code, complete with Caribbean vibe. What a great way to end the pairing.

Complete Setlist 10/14/83

Previous Fire On The Mountain DFAY Selections

Mega Suite Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4