Feel Like A Stranger, Althea-> Little Red Rooster, Bird Song, Me & My Uncle-> Big River, Tennessee Jed, Passenger, Peggy-O, The Music Never Stopped China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider, Samson & Delilah, He's Gone-> Drums-> Truckin'-> Black Peter-> Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad-> Johnny B. Goode, E: U.S. Blues

SBD > Cassette master > DAT(0) (Cassette>DAT transfer by Dick); DAT(1) > ZA2> Soundforge (15db sampled tape hiss noise reduction filter)> CD Architect > Master CDR (by Jim Wise); CDR Master > EAC in secure mode (see below) > Soundforge (minor editing and crossfading) > CDWAV > SHNv3 w/seek tables appended (by Jamie Lutch); see info file for flaw notes

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Reviewer: Dandysan - - January 28, 2020

Subject: Uptown Theater

Until then, thankfully the Dead rocked this place out several times and I have shows like this to enjoy and get me through to 2022!

https://blockclubchicago.org/2020/01/27/uptown-theater-renovation-work-could-begin-this-summer-alderman-says/

I was looking for Uptown Theater shows today because the owners of the building are almost ready to begin remodeling it. The remodel will be a $75 million project 40 years in the making with a set to open date in 2022. The focus will be as a concert venue and I can't wait to catch some live music in this old palace.Until then, thankfully the Dead rocked this place out several times and I have shows like this to enjoy and get me through to 2022! - January 28, 2020Uptown Theater

Reviewer: brentmydland7990 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 26, 2019

Subject: The Haters gonna Hate Anyone who waste a review trashing Brent is nothing more than a piece of sh*t, never saw them live with him behind the keys, and is better off listening to the band that spells fish wrong. - February 26, 2019The Haters gonna Hate

Reviewer: mcgrupp216 - favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 22, 2018

Subject: '81 Tour Opener- Feb Uptown Run, Night 1 Excellent SBD. Inside your brain, I can see clear through...this party gets going with a Stranger opener. Last Uptown run they closed out the first set with this one. Now, it's finding its way into that opener slot-- with good reason! Not the best version, but - no matter - it's still one of my all time favorite openers. Phil is popping off near end of Althea. Good Rooster. They always seem to like playing this one in the Chi. I dig Brent going off on Big River. Electric cowboy funk! Sweet Peggy-O. First Passenger of the year. It's a tight, high-energy Phil-led bass-heavy version. Would only play about a dozen more times that year and then retire it -- unfortunately -- on 27 Dec. 81. Surprised it never made its way back into the rotation. 90' Passenger would have been sweet! Groovy Jed jam, followed by a BIG TMNS closer!



Set two rider jam is pumped up. So is the Samson. He's Gone mid jam sheds hints of Other One and Ollin Arageed. Then it just keeps going, holding your attention until segueing into 13 minutes of drums and another couple of space. Post-space never lets up with nearly 30 minutes of Truckin->Black Peter->GDTRFB>JBG. Show is a rocker. Spoonful tease near end of Truckin (approx. 6:45). Solid, emotionally-laden black peter. I think Jerry got better on these ballads with age, so '81 finds him sort of middle of the road. It's a beauty. US Blues encore. Band in good form! - May 22, 2018'81 Tour Opener- Feb Uptown Run, Night 1

Reviewer: c-freedom - favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 26, 2017

Subject: Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain

20+ minutes of He's Gone pre-drums

(which is about 11 minutes of jam

after the final 'Gone for good' harmonies.)

Not sure why some must grumble and complain

for my money the only player that adversely impacted the band's sound was Vince and really that can be put on the entire band for letting the sound get hijacked.

So I split. It was not my band, so I went my own way.

I still don't listen to anything 93-95 but hey maybe someday when i have listened to all the soundboards in the catalog. But what I don't do is go telling everyone listening to those shows how terrible I think those gigs

If you think Donna killed the sound during her tenure then please listen to another era.

Likewise if you think Brent's playing annoys you to the point of distraction by all means listen to the Keith era.

People just getting turned on to the band might actually take what you spew seriously. And to me the Grateful Dead have always been a collective experience so I could get off on the person next to me harmonizing with the band. Or enjoy a parking lot sing-along of Bertha as much as I dug the music from the stage on a particular evening.

Anyway, "Ain't no time to hate" in my book means we are all human and we should cut each other some slack.

I didn't personally dislike V. Welnick just never connected with his sound. Nothing personal.

Wavy Gravy's advice which he lifted from the Bible still applies even at this late date, "REMEMBER THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU IS YOUR BROTHER (SISTER)

"going down the road, feeling bad,

don't want to be treated this old way.."

This is a nice show and I am grateful to have such a sweet recording of it to enjoy.

1st set orbits around 10 minute Bird Song.20+ minutes of He's Gone pre-drums(which is about 11 minutes of jamafter the final 'Gone for good' harmonies.)Not sure why some must grumble and complainfor my money the only player that adversely impacted the band's sound was Vince and really that can be put on the entire band for letting the sound get hijacked.So I split. It was not my band, so I went my own way.I still don't listen to anything 93-95 but hey maybe someday when i have listened to all the soundboards in the catalog. But what I don't do is go telling everyone listening to those shows how terrible I think those gigs were.-- I simply avoid those shows.If you think Donna killed the sound during her tenure then please listen to another era.Likewise if you think Brent's playing annoys you to the point of distraction by all means listen to the Keith era.People just getting turned on to the band might actually take what you spew seriously. And to me the Grateful Dead have always been a collective experience so I could get off on the person next to me harmonizing with the band. Or enjoy a parking lot sing-along of Bertha as much as I dug the music from the stage on a particular evening.Anyway, "Ain't no time to hate" in my book means we are all human and we should cut each other some slack.I didn't personally dislike V. Welnick just never connected with his sound. Nothing personal.Wavy Gravy's advice which he lifted from the Bible still applies even at this late date, "REMEMBER THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU IS YOUR BROTHER (SISTER)"going down the road, feeling bad,don't want to be treated this old way.."This is a nice show and I am grateful to have such a sweet recording of it to enjoy. p.s.- I like Johnny B Goode in the Grand Finale slot. - February 26, 2017Tell me all that you know, I'll show you snow and rain

Reviewer: clementinescaboose - favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 22, 2014

Subject: Great show to kick off the year I hesitate to give 5 stars here, since there were better shows to come, but this is a strong year opener to say the least. The first set has plenty of highlights, but the shining beacon is the stunning version of Bird Song, a possible top five post-hiatus version, IMHO (can't say for sure, since I've heard far less '80s versions of the tune). Amazing improv from good old Jerome.



Set 2 gets off to a rousing start with a groovy China>Rider, with the typically hot and spicy playing of this period. Also of note is the lengthy jam out of He's Gone: not exactly solid gold from beginning to end, but there are some very compelling passages, including lots of big time Other One teases. - January 22, 2014Great show to kick off the year

Reviewer: BIG_R - favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 10, 2012

Subject: 2-26-81 Nice show/excellent recording. Plenty of bass! - July 10, 20122-26-81

Reviewer: njpg - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 27, 2012

Subject: Excellent show, Great recording. - February 27, 2012Excellent show,

Reviewer: John Bouffard - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 5, 2009

Subject: ok I will need half up front;).Seriously I think this is a great sounding show that is well played. The Black Peter is epic! - January 5, 2009ok

Reviewer: jhender501 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 10, 2008

Subject: I'd gladly give $1M to be transported back to this show...holy smoke, for me it's a killer all the way through. - April 10, 2008I'd gladly give

Reviewer: Drumheadz - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 21, 2008

Subject: My 2nd show! This was much more enjoyable than my first experience. By this time I had heard much more of the Deads repitiore. The Uptown Theater should have never been torn down. It was showing it's age but it was such a great old theater.

Great show and even better on Blotto! - March 21, 2008My 2nd show!

Reviewer: jblaser - favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 8, 2008

Subject: Sounds Good to Me I have been listening to these shows, starting with 1987 (don't ask me why) and working my way back through the 80's. I saw the Dead quite a few times in person - some of the shows are in this archive. This isn't one of them, but I agree that the sound is superb and there are some moments of classic Dead "tightness." I give it a four for those moments and the quality of the recording. - January 8, 2008Sounds Good to Me

Reviewer: JamminJerome - favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 11, 2007

Subject: Not exciting but solid nonetheless I agree that the sound here is deceptive. It is clean, but yet the bass is really low. The boys are solid, throughout, making this a very enjoyable show. What keeps this from 5 stars is the lack of any true standout sections. The energy level is high...but not quite "there." You all know what I mean. - May 11, 2007Not exciting but solid nonetheless

Reviewer: L. Rosley - favorite favorite favorite - December 24, 2006

Subject: Skip the first set Not a great vocal night for Bob and Jerry, though Jerry does some nice guitar work. The jam in Bird Song is a great effort by the whole band. Same is true in Music Never Stopped. (I wish Phil were more audible in this recording.)Brent uses the cheesy piano setting on too many songs (more than usual for this period).



Overall, the second set is better. The band has more energy (though Brent is still using the Lite Rock setting on his keyboard a lot). The China Cat>Rider is great, and is one of the highlights of the show. Jerry smokes on Samson. The jam out of He's Gone is pretty interesting evolving into some different sounds. It's mostly downhill after Drums. Some of the vocal harmonies on Truckin' will make you cringe. - December 24, 2006Skip the first set

Reviewer: atomicdad - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 10, 2006

Subject: Getting to the show Well, this is how I remember it. The Garcia band had finished three nights at the Stone in North Beach, San Francisco on Monday night. Vasser Clements band had openned. The Dead were openning the spring tour on Thurs. night in Chicago at the beautiful Uptown, an old vaudeville theater. We all came out of the Stone at about 1 am on Tuesday morning and got in cars and got onto Interstate 80 to head to Chicago. If you drove straight through, you would make it a few hours before the Thursday night show at the Uptown.



Interstate 80 between San Francisco and Chicago was all Dead heads those three days. If you stopped for gas, if you stopped for coffee at 3 am in order to keep driving, nothing but Dead heads. Passing you in the right lane, Dead heads. It was a true gypsy migration. It was the definition of tour. Then to get there to Chicago, where I am from and where all of my best friends were waiting, and to get to this show, was pure magic. Imagine as you listen to this show, that everyone just got out of a car and three days of driving through winter in order to dance to this beautiful Jerry guitar. Then you have a sense of how great this show is. - December 10, 2006Getting to the show

Reviewer: Purple Gel - favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 20, 2006

Subject: Great Show, Great Venue and an Awesome Year!!!! I drove from Boulder, Co to these shows, it was one of the coldest weekends ever. My original plan was to sleep in the back of my VW Squareback, but it was so cold, I ended up crashing at Ohare airport. These shows were so fun, a small old time movie theater, similar to the Fox in Atl.The sound on these shows is very good



All three of these shows were very solid and a great way to kick off a kick-ass year!! Everything is real nice, nothing extra special except for the GDTRFB, which I thought was exceptional, it was one of those where Jerry kicked it off with the train whistle lick,. All in all a great show to start off a great run and an awesome year. - October 20, 2006Great Show, Great Venue and an Awesome Year!!!!

Reviewer: WakaJaWaka - favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 7, 2006

Subject: i agree about the bass...but.. say what you will...the toy piano is funky..yea i wanna dance..ahhhh - May 7, 2006i agree about the bass...but..

Reviewer: smgarcia - favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 4, 2006

Subject: Sound is good but deceiving The sound appears to be fantastic, but it's deceiving. Hard to hear the bass lines, actually any low frequencies. This is part of the reason why I think the first set appears to be not "as exciting" as some others. I'm still in the middle of the first set, but I'm presuming that the second set will continue on with the first.



And how can anybody like that toy piano sound coming out of Brent's piano. It sounds AWFUL. GET RID OF IT. Listen to it on Big River.



I'm sorry. I just heard The Music Never Stops. The piano is just horrible. I think I dropped my coffee on my pants. It sounds like we are at an amusement park. But there is nothing amusing about the tinker-bell piano sound. JUST AWFUL. PLEASE GET RID OF IT PLEASE, BRING KEITH BACK FROM THE DEAD. - May 4, 2006Sound is good but deceiving

Reviewer: early 80's meltdown - favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 16, 2006

Subject: Not over the top but... the sound is killer. Also I've never been there but I live in north suburbs of Chicago and I'll bet it was going down at the beatiful Uptown.

I love the theater and music hall venues on the '81 tour.



Chicago Uptown

Clevland Music Hall

Stanley Theater, Pitts (sweet)

McArthur Court, OR

Long Beach, CA (smokin)

}}}The 1981 Greeks are some of my all time favorite recordings to listen to {{{



and the '81 spaceship Hamptons are top notch Dead also. early 80's meltdown -- March 16, 2006Not over the top but...

Reviewer: CantGetEnough - favorite favorite favorite - March 21, 2005

Subject: Nice show The quality of this recording is very good and the mix is well balanced. Highlights are Rooster, Peggy-O and nice little jam at the end of He's Gone. - March 21, 2005Nice show

Reviewer: donnaruinedthe70s - favorite favorite favorite - February 25, 2005

Subject: the first set ... is good if you are trying to nap or fall asleep at night. not much emotion at all. not sure what everyone is raving about. sound is good, but im not rating shows higher than 2 stars that dont bring some nice energy or unique jams forward.



that being said, they build nicely throughout china and by end of rider, the blood is finally pumping and they finish off a solid, yet unspectacular set. this is a 2.5 star show, sound quality is 5 though. this is clearly the weakest show of this 3 night run. the next night smokes right out the gates. - February 25, 2005the first set ...

Reviewer: dirty jev-o - favorite favorite favorite favorite - November 10, 2004

Subject: disappearing act jerry's guitar is gone towards the end of the stranger opener.....kinda ruins it for me.....just reviewing ---- rest of show is great of course, EXCEPT ....where is weir's guitar??????????? - November 10, 2004disappearing act

Reviewer: stealthhippy - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 21, 2004

Subject: what do you think??????? as far as this entire run at the uptown theater 2/6-28/81..you'd have to be downright loco not to d/l all 3 shows, crisp sound, band right on, jerry really improvising at his best..and these are just about the best shows you'll find if you like 1980's Dead.these are all a must........... - October 21, 2004what do you think???????

Reviewer: sid weiss - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - August 7, 2004

Subject: great show great all around show...download all 3 nights - August 7, 2004great show

Reviewer: GoNorth - favorite favorite favorite favorite - June 2, 2004

Subject: BirdSong Anyone out there looking into this show for a good Birdsong won't be dissapointed. Long jam and very nice. I hope you all have good soundsystems for this one! - June 2, 2004BirdSong