Not everyone likes the Disco Dead period. I get that. I happen to really like it, although I maintain the position that it was less disco and more funk, but that may be splitting hairs. I think what the band is able to do with the jam on Dancing In The Street is phenomenal. Sure, some of it was rehearsed and scripted – that walk down section isn’t just composing on the fly, but it adds a whole new dimension to the song.

Considering that this is originally a Motown song that undoubtedly clocked in under 3 minutes what we have here is a significant departure. I know that the band played this a bit in the early seventies, but I’ve never heard or read anything discussing what inspired them to give this particular song the treatment they did. If anyone has some insight or a source for that please let me know in the comments!

If you think this version doesn’t do the arrangement justice then the comment section is also your place to tell me how wrong I am!

Disco Dead! Not everyone loves this arrangement of Dancin’ but the four-on-the-floor drumbeat and upper register funk chords really move. Bobby, as was his wont, flubs the vocal intro jumping straight to the “Callin out” line instead of the “dancing, dancing, dancing in the street.” I know he’s done this a few times. Did he even know the arrangement!? New Orleans elicits a “that’s right!” from Bobby, and a few moments later a growl coaxes a genuine laugh from Ms. Donna Jean. Everyone recovers for the moment, but Bobby continues to ad-lib and Donna chuckles at least once more. Keith adds some really nice runs throughout this version, which does well to complement his vamping. Garcia starts exploring during his solo. I don’t know what pedal he’s using here, but he gets a nice thick sound. He adds some really nice chord-based solo type work here as well (by that I mean soloing using chord forms and not just single note runs). This is a great example of on-the-fly composition in my opinion. The band moves from one theme to the next almost effortlessly. It’s really interesting to hear them get quiet and wait for someone to point the ship in the right direction. Of course, the big walk down riff section was rehearsed. It starts right around the 9 minute mark and cooks, as per usual. Loving the original Motown version of the song I think the walk-down part adds a very unique and distinct Grateful Dead quality to the song. Back for another chorus, Bob, Jerry, and Donna start singing again. Phil just vamps on a single note for a while, then drops out. It’s only the drummers and an occasional addition from Keith, who gradually works his way into a quiet groove. The vocal improv section continues for a while and it’s clear that everyone is having a good time with it. Bobby’s doing a bit of his “rock star” stuff, and even Jerry tries some ad-libs, if I’m hearing correctly. Gradually Phil resumes his vamp, and the guitars chop at chords here and there. Phil add some random notes as everyone cedes the floor to the Rhythm Devils.

Complete Setlist 5/11/78

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