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June '74 has a motherlode of great material, even if the shows were up and down overall, but this is probably the best show of the month (though not the year - that's probably 8/6/74 and a couple others). And it sounds good, even if the Wall of Sound didn't record well or allow a board setup that lent well to 2-track. The Dunkin' Donut was still a new venue at the time.



Most of the second set was released on Dick's Picks #12. However, GDP being shy at the time of releasing two versions of one song (since the release was shared with 6/28), most of the good stuff from this show went missing.



There's a giganto 1st set and, though uneven, Phil is bouncy and the board renders his notes (rather than thuds). Keith is in a brilliant, boogie-woogie mood. The start of the second set has messy levels and basically starts with two encores, then turns to lots of jammy/goofin-off sections. Perfection mixed with total floundering. Would we expect any less? DP12 went with the second sets instead of cherry-picking and ended up a less-than-satisfactory listen.



1st Set. In Big River, Jer slaps one down with cool rhythm figures against Bobby. Brown-eyed is stellar with Jer already spittin' out fills left and right. One of the greatest examples, it's just bizarre it's not on DP12. Jer is everywhere on Beat it on Down-6. Check out where he plays just behind the beat to signal taking another measure. Scarlet was still a new song and very bouncy, but honestly, '74 has few great Scarlets. Check Keith playing his Rhodes for a great Row Jimmy. Not the usual timbres and tones and Donna is even great. Mexicali is tight and expressive. Deal is a flat run-through and the band is a little off for a few until Jer makes up by laying El Paso from a few unique fret positions. The set ends with a massive peak. Check Billy's tom rolls on Weather Report which rolls into a mag Let it Grow. Even after that they came back with a sweet Musta Been Roses. Sounds like Jer wanted another. Though it worked with one drummer, it's a real '74 song and this one is up there with 11/04/77.



2nd Set. The first couple minutes are missing from US Blues, but that's what the Jerry Moore AUD is for. It's a fool's errand to pick one ultimate Me & My Uncle from '74 but danged if this isn't better than 8/05 and 9/10. A tuning evolves into a Jam into a decent-enough China Cat that starts, goes back to the jam, back to the verses. Unique, but not completely pulled off. The tranny into Rider has a Feelin' Groovy jam (mislabeled by Dick as a Mind-Left-Body), followed by interesting figures (actually the same as used by Jimmy Page) in what is still a lopsided version. Everything then whips together for a major Truckin. The song is so much better when its uptempo (Jer doing the Beer Barrel finger exercise first taught me to do the same). The momentum carries into a great The Other One where Phil first finds himself alone with rubbery chords. Jer takes it all into a Spanish Jam for fifteen freaking minutes! And with a risky TOO weave, they let it breathe out. Jer trawls for Wharf Rat a few times until Phil bites, but Keith makes it win. Sugar Mag is a near train wreck which may be why there's an Eyes encore that's given all. It's the typical '74 jazz stylee Eyes but tight as fuck.



1st Set: A-

2nd Set: B

Overall = 4 1/2 Stars



Highlights:

Big River

Brown Eyed Women - maybe 74's best

Beat it on Down the Line-6

Row Jimmy - keith brilliant

Mexicali Blues

El Paso

Weather Report>Let It Grow maybe even better than 9/10

It Must Have Been the Roses - rarely this good

Me & My Uncle - has cracked jaw verse

Truckin'> - uptempo, stellar, on DP12

Other One - from full stop, on DP12

Eyes of the World - perfect stand-alone, on DP12



BEST SOURCES:

This Oleynick board + the Moore AUD for US Blues.

- October 11, 2015Sick Month