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4/29/1977

The Palladium



This week we find ourselves at opening night of a 5 night run in NYC at The famed Palladium. This also happens to be the sixth show of arguably the finest Grateful Dead tour ever. I would not have said that 3 or so years ago, but that was because I had not yet given shows from this tour so many close, complete listens. Most vary from very good to downright great, and this one would fall under the latter category. I had listened to the 30th many times before, but never the 29th. This show has a personality all its own and really never lets up. Yet again, I had no idea what I was in for going into this one.



This show starts off with a BANG, in the form of H>S>F. Right away, not unlike 5/9, you can tell there is a little something extra in the air. They have some heavy snap and pop going on and Jerry is absolutely off his ass. Perfect harmonies from Donna tonight, while Billy and Mick sound absolutely spot on and perfectly in sync. Franklin’s would most definitely be the highlight of these three as it clocks in on it’s own at around 15 min or so, and it’s just one of those moments in music where absolutely everything seems to come together. That’s the best way I can put it. Absolutely remarkable opening trifecta right there. Minglewood comes next, and it’s pretty well done considering they already set the barometer so goddam high already this evening. Anyhow, not bad Bobby, I enjoyed it. Next up the Aud spices in and you can hear the crowd really well for the first time, and they absolutely ROAR when Jerry does the first few licks of Tennessee. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a reception that warm, for that tune, ever. Nice The tune is well done and Jerry even gives that mini-solo out a little extra. Bobby rolls Cassidy out next, and I like this one with the exception of the length of the tune. It starts out innocently enough, but Jerry then takes the solo really, really high for about 90 seconds and it reminded me of “Beautiful Jam” for just a second – and then he winds it right down and kills it. I’m starting to see a pattern of this when it comes to Cassidy and Spring ’77 tour. They never seem to take it too far, and always reel it in early….imo anyways….With the first few licks of TLEO you know Jerry is cutting the funk loose, and this version is a keeper. That super patient, super funky slow-ass playing just slays me, I f*n love it. Always been a fan of this tune and this one is well done. They follow that up with being straight up shot out of a canon in the form of Big River. This one just explodes from the start and never ever looks back. The trading and soloing Kieth and Jerry do is insane. I think it may suffer a little from being Aud only, but I absolutely love this one. Pure 100% GD Yeehaw love right here and Jerry is pickin’ his ass off. This is the definition of barnburner, personified. I fucking love this Big River and I’m not sure there is a better one out there. WOW. Loser rolls out next, just as languid and desperate as could be. Great storytelling from Jerry and the crowd eats it up. His vocals sound damn near perfect tonight by the way. To round out the first set we have an absolute shit-hot TMNS. Awesome rhythm, great vocals and all together fantastic. The crowd also goes NUTS for Donna’s little solo – which I find more than a little ironic. Jerry and Keith take over at around the 5 minute mark and just ride this to the moon – absolutely smokin’ it. Jeezus man – BOOM! That is how you close out a motherf*n first set ladies and gentlemen. Amazing shit right there. The crowd was completely blown out of the water by this one. Amongst the very best TMNS, if not the very best I’ve heard.



Thoughts on the first set – Killer. Straight up dank. The barometer was set sky high with the H>S>F opener and they did not back off a bit. That Big River and TMNS were a very close second to that ridiculous opener. This one has surely hath started off with a bang.



The second set opens with a well played Samson, however like I’ve said before – it’s hard for me to be unbiased about this tune. I just don’t really like it. I do like a strong opening dance tunes and this one is that. Next up is the not-your-everyday combo of Sugaree>El Paso. I would tell you on paper there is no way in hell I thought this would work as well as it did. Sugaree was tempered nicely, and the tempo only increased ever so gradually throughout the 14 minute version – and Jerry just crushes it. This one is all him and a thing of beauty. Now, the interesting part – the transition to El Paso. He walks this one down really slowly to the end and then everyone kinda sustains their finish – until Jerry starts with the cowboy noodlin’ once again. That worked shockingly well, and I’m a fan of it. A clean cut, classic BEW rolls out next and Jerry’s vocals really shine here again. I love the lyrics and he accentuates them so well, he’s just got this one down to a science. Nice – really nice. Next up is Estimated, and for some reason I got the feeling Jerry wasn’t really into it. Clocking in @ only 9 minutes, obviously not a whole lot of exploration was going on. His solos seemed a little drifty/dreamy, but not really going anywhere. It’s not like it was terrible, but there are so many killer version surrounding this one that it seems sub par comparatively (Spring ’77) speaking. Next up, batting cleanup is the combo of Scarlet>GDTRFB>NFA Tease>Drums>Wheel>Rat>R&R. This Scarlet starts off pretty basic and has some relatively high points, and Donna’s harmonies are really nice. Keith does do this harpsichord kinda thing at around the 6 min mark that I really couldn’t put my finger on – prolly some kinda weirdness outta the Rhodes. At around the 8 minute mark you can hear Billy and Mick starting that heavy thump of GDTR and it sounds fantastic. Somehow, without me hardly noticing they were knee deep into GDTRFB and I missed the transition. I went back and gave it another spin, and then I realized why – it was so seamless. Another not-your-everyday combo that worked Hella good!! They work this fat groove right into the pocket without looking back. Man, what a transition that was – like it didn’t exist cause it was so damn smooth. After about 5 min they jump off into a little NFA jam that I really dug. I wish they would kept up that drippy funk, but alas, Drums creeps in and takes over. I absolutely love Wheel when its done well and this one out of Drums is just that. There aint nothin’ like a well done Wheel from Spring ’77 – Shit, the Wheel from 5/25 is my alarm clock every morning. They just nail this one, and I’m quite sure the crowd was as captivated as I was. From there Jerry kinda slinks this one into a very well done Rat which the crowd freakin hoots and hollers for – I mean goin’ nuts. From there we get the Chuck Berry close in R & R, which I figured was coming after the TMNS closer for the first set. I’ve said many times before that these Spring ’77 shows could be so much more with a different closer – Like Dew. The encore is a well done UJB and again this is one of those tunes that I think sounds better with Donna. They close the door on UJB and that is that. WOW. Fucking wow.



So where does this leave me? Blown away, that’s where. This is an absolute top tier show which actually reminded me of Springfield – with an inverted set list(sorta). I was never bored nor did I ever even have the inkling to bump any tune. I don’t think this one hits the highs of say, 5/8, 5/9, 5/17 or 5/25, but that takes nothing away from this magnificent performance. A hell of a way to say hello to NYC in Spring ’77 boys, and I give this show a solid A. It was damn near perfect in every way – more polished than some and less exploratory than others. There is a shitload of meat on this bone, and it takes a few listens to take it all in. Fantastic show by any standard. I really dug reviewing it.

- April 10, 2013Hello NYC!!