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As of today (Jan 5 2014) this is one of those relatively rare performances for which there is but one soundboard or one audience transcription on the Archives (in this case, it's a board). How many remain, I wonder?



Regardless, this show sounds like it must have been a lot of fun. Although there's few hiccups in the mix (Don't Ease and El Paso) and at least one disappointing cut (Bobby's "solo" at the end of China Cat) it's another excellent show from the post-Europe country-inflected period where the band seemed capable of delivering the goods "at will."



Moments of particular interest:



a monitor problem or a rare vocal space-out by Jerry during Deal results in him simply singing "Whoo!" into the microphone (much like Bobby's whooping mid-verse during the NFA on 10/20/74).



Playing is intense and gorgeous, as so many versions are in the wake of the song being righteously "opened up" earlier in the summer.



Box of Rain includes some sprightly guitar fills from Bobby that I don't recall being so prominent on most other recordings from this period (if any).



Truckin' doesn't cross into Dark Star or Other One territory; instead, Jerry plays the bejeezus out of the outro, squeezing a boatload of harmonics out of his strat in the process (more of that to come in the scorching white hot Sugar Mag later in the set).



Ramble On is played and sung with fervor.



The NFA ... I got excited when I saw the relatively long track times for the pre-GDTRFB jam, but what seems to have happened here is that Jerry busted a string at some point (maybe even as early as the end of Sugar Mag?). There's some tepidness at the beginning, then a decent enough solo by Jerry and then ... he disappears. The band soldiers on without him but ... maybe just remember this version when you bust your own guitar out and "play with the band" (as I sometimes do). Poor Jer tries as best he can but he never quite gets his axe in tune during the GDTRFB (new strings need to get "broken in" sometimes). By the time the NFA reprise comes around the "moment" seems to have mostly vanished.



I wonder if the conclusion to this show was one of the final straws for that old alligator strat ...

- January 5, 2015Don't mess with Texas '72