Heard the meat of this one for the first time on Sirius tonight, then came here. Maybe it gets lost in the wake of the Boston shows, or 12/6 with the 45 min Dark Star, or 11/11, or any number of others, but the Other One is out of this world. It starts with a snaky, loose transition from Nobody's that settles into a standard TOO groove, but coming out of the verse, drops into a deep space jam that will give you the shivers. Rather than a typical meltdown, this is almost Phil & Ned-like in the deep, resonant dissonances that assault your ears. This eventually resolves into two, not just one, Jerry ballads. The rest of the set is kind of blase on the list, but with such a jam lurking, I can't give it less than 5 stars.

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.

Pretty much a perfect show.
minus Soundboard drop of Johnny 'B'

Great recording. What an amazing show, so many of my favs in one night! The WRS is just other level compared to what I've heard before. Best Bobby McGee? damn good for sure.

I've been listening to '73 shows in chronological order the past few months. (Please don't psychoanalyze me.)

This show has something different to it.

The playing is light, but full of energy. TLEO has a light funkiness I hadn't noticed yet. Jerry's singing is extra sweet. The Jam/The Other One gets WEIRD (in a good way), heavy and dark.

Maybe I was just in a certain frame of mind, but I feel like this recording ranks as one of the best i've heard. So I created an account just to leave this comment. (Well, and to Favorite this show so I don't forget about it.) :-)

....that, to grasshopperak's point, you need TWO Jerry ballads to come down. This one scared my wife, and even I was getting a little bit unglued. I actually remember thinking that the Wharf Rat hadn't really settled me down, and Stella arrived on cue :)

The jam is downright psychotic, if you like that stuff. Akin to 12/2 but possibly weirder with less overt late-60's era feedback/space

Highlights: WRS, China Cat Sunflower, Banter, Nobody's Fault But Mine

sweet me and bobby mcgee

Sure it's not as good as the legendary shows which surround it (hard to fault it for that though) but man there is some tasty stuff here.

The Weather Report Suite is huge, Jerry really commands with some climatic leads. And the China>Rider might just be the tightest ever performed with the Feelin' Groovy jam, it's one of my favorites.

Those are my standout tracks, but there are plenty of gems to unearth here, including a sprawling beast of an Other One. Dig it.

The He's Gone->... medley has some great jamming between songs. A precursor to, or foreshadowing of what would later evolve into Space. Soulful vocals by Jerry; love the emotion, the feeling he put into the words this night.

never seen a wharf followed by stella, how rare is that? not one, but two slow jerry tunes in the late slot

"ouch my feet hurt, where is my seat" priceless phil

at the end bobby "well... no one moved"
thanks miller