favorite favorite favorite



This was the second time at Duke and NC, which became an important state for the Dead, perhaps surprisingly. Durham/Duke fell away after '82 [instead playing next door in Chapel Hill and Raleigh]. This is a lesser-known show, partly because it's followed by the incredible Charlotte show. Still, there's an amazingly 16-song 1st set, and another big 2nd set, with 15 songs. It's not one of the "big" shows on the big Fall '73 tour [2 months; 28 shows] but still worthy.



First Set. After a couple songs warming up they fall in on Mexicali. Unfortunately the mix is poor and most of the drums are missing, focusing mainly on Bobby guitar (maybe he had requested this). So it's a challenging listen so far; but this is hot hot playing from Jer. Conversely the next couple are sedate. You can hear Keith and the drums more easily on the excellent They Love Each Other. Maybe it's not the best of the tour [11/30], but that's a high bar, and they are all great. Me & Bobby McGee however is arguably the best of '73. Though you can't say that for Dough Knees, I dig this one. Energy (and "I was walking down main"). The only part of this show officially released is 1: 40 of Brown Eyed (in the Winterland 1973 box). Big River is another peak: a bubbly, motor-purring version and Jer takes an extra measure. The rest is solid, above-average '73, like this whole tour. There's a cut @6:06 in all SBDs in China Cat (jumping to the start of the Feelin' Groovy Jam). I love how the second solo in Rider starts with a Phil splurge.



Second Set. The cut tuning intro begins with Tico Tico No Fubá in situ. While clearing aisles Keith plays Dragnet, and Jer then leads a Mexican Hat Dance before launching into a rough set opener. Things don't really gel until Row Jimmy (Bobby makes this one). Once Jer takes over, Greatest Story is nice. The beginning is cut from Bertha on the SBD and on the AUD. There's not much '73 spark in the set so far, but He's Gone has a couple great parts. Truckin' brings the tightness for the start of a fun sequence. The clean jam very quickly moves to Nobody's Fault. Though the latter is better on the following show, the Truckin' lead-in is better on this night. This evolves into a unique jam with several TOO teases/thematics, getting looser until 16:30, when Jer starts pulling hard toward the TOO riff. But it doesn't stick until he tries again @18min, where it hard-left-turns to the lone verse of The Other One. There's an immediate, and very interesting breakdown - essentially Space. Parts of this portion of the sequence are brilliant and parts are window dressing. Wharf Rat is the logical tail, though it's not worked very fully by Jer. Stella is also not very expansive, just slowed - and not good pacing after Wharf. The second Berry comes at what you might expect is the bookend (AUD-only, the majority of JBG will play right if you repitch @ -1% and re- balance). It's, finally, a Keith showpiece, but Jer wants one more, and sorta wakes up on the fretwork for Uncle John's. The encore is average '73; and enough to leave 'em happy.



1st Set : B-

2nd Set : C

Overall = 3 stars



Highlights:

Mexicali Blues - cold mix/hot playing

They Love Each Other - typically ace '73

Me & Bobby McGee - maybe best of era

Big River - motoring with bubbles

Truckin' - best of tour, but the following sequence is a must-hear-once as well



SOURCES: The SBD source was remastered for miller_105607. It was remastered again for latvala_eaton_miller_clugston but with a pitch error (runs fast). Other sources run a tad slow. There's also a partial Jerry Moore AUD.

- March 30, 2019Blues devils