Earlier on this tour in Boston with my brother & what eventually became the usual suspects, There were no curfews in those days so the whole extravaganza went well past midnight.

This compilation my be more sonically appealing to most but it's worth noting it's edited fairly heavily (or perhaps "less patched"), really just missing tunings and crowd noise but also a few little musical moments. The running time for this source is 3hr 53min. The Weiner 28609 source runs 4hr 27min. Choose however you will with this knowledge.

Part of an interesting 4-day run with NRPS sets, acoustic sets and electric sets. The run was their 3rd time at the theater in '70. In fact they spent the whole month doing shows in the NYC area (Stony Brook>Cap Theater>Barnum Island>Brooklyn>Fill E>Anderson Theater). The others in this Cap run are about the same, but this one used to get quite a bit of attention in trading circles as the best AUD of '70. Maybe that's still true for non-SBD shows, but it's not, say, 1/2, 2/11, 4/25, 5/1, 5/15, etc. It IS one of the more interesting shows from an historical perspective, all due to song choice. A playful night. Note that the following two shows listed as 11/9 & 11/10, are fake (compiled from other dates). The next show we have after this is 11/11/70 NYC.

First Set. Acoustic. I Know You Rider is unusually downtempo and played more trad folk than Dead. This works though for Rosalie McFall. This is the final Operator, though not one of the better ones. Ripple is near-perfect playing, with a recording nearly ruined by arrhythmic clapping from the punters ("stop the stupid clapping - unco odinated", says guy). Friend of the Devil is a perfect example of the original arrangement (albeit not the best AUD). Wake Up Little Susie is also the last one. Uncle John's is played just about perfectly.

Second Set. Electric. The first half of the set is average '70 - until the anomalies. Mystery Train is the only one (Pig probably knew Jr. Parker's version more than Presley's). With its simple structure it comes off okay - it was a standard for Jer solo. It's also the only time they played Little Walter's My Babe - albeit tentatively. Following that is the first Around & Around (still shaky), before it was changed from the key of C to A. New Orleans was usually played in the NRPS set; they just moved it to here. Bobby gives his all (after yelling "slow down!"). Not the best one though. This is one of only two times they let Pig cover the Coasters' Searchin' (but 8/29/69 doesn't have the middle solo). The results of this sequence are fun, but honestly more for the set list history buffs. It's Casey Jones where the set takes off. And Truckin'. The two hits back to back! Dark Star has the first verse only and then becomes wildly sci-fi, with bells and drones. The jam out of it was the final (specific) The Main Ten. The rest is average, but the Goin' Down the Road is a bit different. It was still new and experimental. The set/show is a must-hear-once - they're having fun this night and get everybody on their feet.

1st Set:   B
2nd Set: C+
Overall = 3¼ stars

Highlights:
Rosalie McFall - tightest of 1st set
Ripple - played perfectly but noisy AUD
Friend of the Devil - the early arrangement
Uncle John's Band - just about perfect
Casey Jones - when it excited them to tackle it
Truckin' - the Heads loved the new song
Dark Star - one of 1970's most original
Goin' Down the Road - new & still evolving

SOURCES: Most are pitched too slow (like warner_17184). The 125659_bergercomposite compiles the best of all available sources for each song or grouping, some of it pitch-corrected, some just a tad slow. The First Set needs +1% from Dark Hollow to Little Susie. The Second Set needs +1% for M&MU & Casey Jones. (Truckin' & Main Ten vary, needing +1% in places - probably easiest to play it all at +1% pitch).

This is a truly choice show. This version is ever so listenable. Thanks guys: fantastic work.

Even better!!! Nice upgrade indeed.