Pick any one and just key in on how in tune with one another the band is. I’ve glossed over all of the shorter songs tonight, which isn’t fair. These are not definitive versions of these songs, but in 1974, who cares – they blow the door off the Eyes, which climaxes in a gorgeous closing theme before this delicate China Doll takes over. In the second set, the China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider is a ridiculous ride through all the various China>Rider jam possibilities, but the meat in the stew belongs to Truckin>Nobody’ Fault But Mine>Eyes of the World>China Doll. Tonight’s Playin’ in the Band is a tour-de-force that gets so far out there that you forget what you’re listening to for a while, and since they play it for 23 minutes, you’ve got plenty to chew on. They’d only play it tonight and at the next two shows before burying it forever (you know they know it stinks), so catch it here while you can. Speaking of songs, today is the first evah performance of one of the worst Grateful Dead songs ever penned – Money Money. Everything here just gels as we move from song to song. ![]() ![]() That same fluidity applies to Phil’s playing, which, in my opinion, never gets better than it is in 1974. This show is so much cooler, especially the guitar playing, which seems to just float all over the beat tonight, in contrast to the almost-over-the-edge assertiveness of the previous year. Today’s show at the PNE Coliseum in Vancouver is radically different from the band’s performance here in 1973, which is one of my favorite shows of all time. To top things off, the boys were performing in front of the Wall of Sound, which gave them maximum control of their instruments and the best chance of hearing each other play, making 1974 the perfect cocktail of sounds from a band at the top of its game. Every song is just tucked into this smooth beat that only exists during this one moment in time. I can’t tell you how much I love Grateful Dead shows from 1974. That’s the meat of this great night in D.C., and just the start of a week and a half of killer Grateful Dead shows. If you don’t have time for a full 1974 Grateful Dead concert, start with Weather Report Suite and keep going for as long as you can. You should pay attention to the ending jam of He’s Gone into Truckin’, and the excellent back and forth dynamics between everyone during The Other One, but, really, the whole sequence is superb. I don’t always write in Nobody’s Fault as a separate song because it’s often just a jam theme, but tonight, Jerry’s singing it, so into the mix it goes. The second set opens with the second suite: He’s Gone>Truckin’>Nobody’s Fault But Mine>The Other One (with a Spanish Jam and other things tossed in for good measure). Behind it all, Keith does the jazz piano thing he does so well during this song in 1974. You’ll probably think it’s not going much of anywhere when you start, but, like a toboggan running downhill, by the time we’re into Let It Grow, Jerry is completely in charge, diving in and out with staccato solos that beautifully compliment Phil and Bobby. Weather Report Suite, in full, closes the first set and it is a captivating 19 minute ride. If you sit back and let the sound wash over you, you’ll be transported away by the scope of the compositions being played live on stage.Īs I mentioned, there are two longer suites tonight (not including Seastones). If you focus on the individuals, the lines they are playing will blow your mind. Here, the band is weaving a tapestry of sound, and each individual element both stands on its own and gels perfectly into the greater picture. They feature that only-in-1974 instrument separation that can sometimes sound out of sync. This is not a location where you’ll find this song very often, especially not post-1974.īut then there are the longer tunes, or, more accurately, the two long suites, and these pairings are as good as anything the Dead are going to give you in this era. ![]() One interesting note – check out the placement of Peggy-O almost at the end of the show. The short tunes here aren’t exactly toss-offs, but there are some lyrical miscues and the music, while still up to the high standards of 1974, is relatively unfocused and pretty laid-back (check out the pacing on Sugar Magnolia and Casey Jones). And in some regards, that assumption was borne out by the music tonight. area would be a warm up for those beauties. ![]() The four shows that the Grateful Dead played on July 31st and August 4th, 5th and 6th are some of the best that they played in all of 1974, so I was assuming that this slightly shorter affair in the D.C.
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