yet another feeble attempt to 'prove' magical thinking,

a rabbit out of a hat -isn't an example of transmigration, transmutation, or trans anything -
not yesterday, not tomorrow
ESP -is a snark hunt
I wish the empty snark bag would shine a light into
those spoon-bendering vaudevillians/mystics
its a bit like going into a church and begging god to blow out a dozen candles-
go ahead prove it! just not on a windy day-

more breaking wind, than psychic wall jumping.
( jump over a psychic wall, and you'll still you'll still be in the same psyche )
ESP -no rating- is its lifestyle that's neither,
life nor style
a zoom of assume
that arrives before it leaves
roll away the dew

Lovin it!

Probably not the best show of the run, but with some individual high points. This is known for being the last of the E.S.P. shows. The Heads were encouraged to view an image series and telepathically send them to a remote recipient, testing the mind meld we all experienced at one show or another (albeit anecdotally). Actually the whole run has peaks and valleys; winners and trainwrecks. But if you are new to the series you probably want to try the first couple shows first. Only the Betty Board of this night circs (plus one SBD song). This was the 5th show without Mickey and they are still adjusting. There was a bomb scare before the show ['member those?], assumedly a ruse to gain entry. It's the final show of 16 at The Cap - amazingly all in one year.

First Set. The beginning of Casey Jones is cut on the SBD. Ironically, Weinberg also missed the beginning. Me & My Uncle is the smoothest they get all night: the lean, 4-piece attack. The rest of the set ranges from solid (Cumberland, Bird Song - already getting longer) to subdued (Hard to Handle, Loser, McGee) to trainwrecks (a nap-time Playin').

Second Set. The officially released version of Sugar Magnolia is the SBD tape, not the Betty Board, and in this mix you can hear a little guiro [must be Pigpen] and the audience. A good way to hear the difference between a Betty and a Bob Matthews. Apparently there is more in the vault. The next two are a bit flat, but there's more energy by Johnny B. Goode. Deal is the second one ever, and already better. Minglewood is the 1st of just 2 in '71. Also kind of flat, though Jer still pushes. All sources have a reel flip of less than 1min at the beginning of Not Fade. Another high point is reached at Goin' Down the Road. The drummers try to seg back into NFA, but Jer holds on to GDtRFB themes for several mins, hitting some wah. This is the best part of the 2nd set - maybe the show. Seems odd there was no encore after Lovelight since it's the final night, but after 20mins of backing Pig, plus the NRPS, it was probably time for time out.

1st Set:  C
2nd Set: C
Overall = 2½ stars

Highlights:
Me & My Uncle - lean 4-piece attack

SOURCES: The diebert-gmb_87570 has a way better image and representation of the players than 121065_sbd_miller_digitalrbb or 140834_sbd_betty_pcm_miller. However, the Lovelight is chopped into three tracks, the channels are switched, and it runs a bit fast, needing -1% pitch correction for the first set. For the second set, Greatest Story into Lovelight need -1% except for NFA (0%) and the last few minutes of Lovelight (-2%). All of these sources are the Betty board, all vary in pitch. A non-Betty version of Sugar Mag is on The Music Never Stopped soundtrack. The 125171_Weinberg-parish-evans-berger is the Marty Weinberg AUD, pitched slow, needing +3% for Casey and +1% for the rest.

The Cumberland alone is on fire!!
Admittedly I've never heard the second set but I've always highly enjoyed the first set. And my copy starts near the end of Casey Jones and ends before Good Lovin'....

I echo the sentiments below that this is the weakest show of the run. The band seems listless almost to the point of disintrest (cf. - Good Lovin).

Perhaps, as suggested below, the loss of Mickey was really starting to be felt. Luckily, it would not take them long to recover; they would be back in form by mid March, as the wonderful and underrated 3/14 Madison, WI show proves.

Good Lovin' and Lovelight are superb. Bird Song is so good.

Another decent show, though the intensity level seems largely subdued and I think this performance might be the weakest of the six-night run. Many of the renditions are not as tightly played as during the preceeding shows. Most fall short of the efforts earlier in the stand. Still, the music is good and sound quality/mix lively, though Phil's bass is not prominent.

Bird Song is a rather quiet, introspective performance. It's not nearly as well played as the renditions from earlier in the week. Garcia attempts to turn it up during the Bertha outro, but his playing is choppy. Pigpen tries, but can't save the first set. A rather subdued Hard to Handle never catches fire. It does contain a nice smokey instrumental, Weir slashing behind Jerry with Phil finally stepping up. There is a slow jam after the drum break of the set closing Good Lovin' but it doesn't measure up. In contrast to several of the fine first sets earlier in the run, the band's energy level is quite low. I wonder if it finally sunk in that Mickey was not planning on returning?

The band's mood doesn't improve much for the second set. Pigpen tries to rally the band with King Bee, but it's an extremely sluggish performance and not nearly as good as the rendition on 2/21. Finally the band begins to show some life during Minglewood Blues, though the song is not well played.

The intensity level gets turned up a bit towards the end of the show, but Garcia's solo during the Truckin' outro and a rocked out NFA/GDTRFB suite can't save this performance. (92 pts)

Fellow IA surfers, look no further. This is hand's down the best of the lot.

Thanks again, Chris & Trailmix!

Great show, great transfer.