I was at this one. The folks on the soundboard were passing out big paper cups filled with water (and something I else) and saying...take a sip and pass it on. Needless to say, hundreds of people around the soundboard that night were dosed. After the finale, the soundboard guys were literally BEGGING the boys to come out for an encore. Someone wasn't feeling well, I heard it was Brent but who knows. Sorry, no encore this night, but what a wild time. Oh, and the show was hot too!

Accept no other substitutes boys and girls. This is the upload you must have. Mr. Rolfe's recording is the cat's pajamas as far as I'm concerned. It's just gorgeous. Highs, lows, and everything in-between. And it's close... I mean real close. I mean "sweet spot" close... 15th row DFC and high off the crowd. Nice, warm ambiance and lots of energy. I wish every show had this kind of AUD fidelity. It's a damn shame that mic set hit Healy in the face this night and began all that BOB shit. Anywho, beautiful job Steve. And thanks from this hear fanatic.

And the show is no slouch either, although Jerry's voice was shot the entire spring from having laryngitis in January. The broken, off-kilter notes persist this evening which is unfortunate since this MA show had every makings of "X" Factor with a Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin' ending. I've always had a skeptical eye for reviews with five stars. And I had to listen to this one to see if the other reviewers were pulling my leg. Well, they were. This is not a five star show. This is an above average show running to 4.0 stars. It's very good.

I have a sentimental spot for Mississippi Half-Step openings because 8.19.80 has been in my collection for a long, long time. This opening is a little tentative with Jerry trying to get his vocal cords in gear; the song gaining momentum throughout. Franklin's Tower morphs seamlessly and is powerful with Jerry's voice sounding much better (the crowd helps mask our slightly out-of-tune hero (caveat: Jerry sounds a hell-of-a lot worse later in October than he does here in May ;^)). But what I really like about this attempt is the little added extra effort midway through the song with a blistering finish highlighted by ol' Jer tearing up the ending in sustained, excited high notes at the end. It's just magnificent, allowing me to thoroughly enjoy the crowd's two minutes of ecstatic pleasure before Bobby starts off with a rousing and well played Mama Tried > Mexicali. It's a whole lotta fun!

With the middle of the show being perfunctory, for me, the meat of the second set starts with Estimated Prophet. Estimated is equally perfunctory with Eyes running a little too fast (I'll be generous and call it "energetic"). I recently read another reviewer complain about Eyes running fast around this time and sort of see what he's getting at. 11.11.73 and 2.27.81 are so perfect, it's tough hearing The Boyz run through it without that relaxed or slightly up-tempo beat. Fast is just too fast for Eyes. The ending of the show is also a lotta fun. I always love Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin' send-offs simply because they aren't Round & Round and OMSN with a J.B.Goode encore. Anything but one, two, or all three of those at the end is above average. Hell, I don't even need an encore.

But Steve Rolfe's sweet, sweet FOB is a glorious six! And that and a solid 4.0 for the show gives this puppy a five star rating. Yeah, it's not GD "X" Factor like The Stanley's December 1st show or Rochester's 9.2.80, but the quality of this recording disguises it as a decent facsimile. Ah'm tellin' yah, yah gotta hear that sweet Franklin's ending. It's worth the download.

Ah oh. Here come the "Cringe-O-Meter" police !!!

Ah, ha, who me? What was that? What'd you say, occifer? Two dozen cringes for Jerry's voice tonight? No, sir. I mean yes, sir. I mean no, sir. I wasn't trying to be funny. No, sir. I wasn't trying to inflate the rating of this show. No, sir. I don't think two dozen cringes hurts the show enough to diminish a five star rating. What was that? Have I been smoking anything? No, sir. Have I been drinking tonight? No, sir. Well, yes sir. What's in the cozy? Root beer, sir. Did I know that misrepresenting the quality of a show is a capital crime? NO, SIR! 4 1/2 stars you say, sir? You won't put me in the car if I change the show to 4 1/2 stars? Well sir, if you insist. I don't want to get in trouble with the law. And yes officer, I won't do it again. Thank you, sir. Good day to you too. 4/18/14.

I revisited this show last night and it caught me by surprise! njpg, pudwoody, and davzilla - you guys are right and I'm changing my mind on it, Jerry's voice notwithstanding. The "X' Factor IS there. Five stars.

Even more unbelievable than the previous one! What a run!

This place is a small skating rink in Mass. The kind of rink where you bring your child to learn to skate. Very tiny compared to many other venues. Fantastic recording considering they had not played here before the sound is up there with any other great sounding aud.

I was never a fan of the Nakamichi 700 microphones. To my ear they capture too much high hat, but they were very popular for their pick-up pattern. This is a really good audience recording.

Don't be prudish with your comments - "cats pyjamas" indeed! - this is the dogs bo***cks !
As a comparative newcomer to the Dead at 69 (I've only been collecting shows for a few years - total now around 80)I must say that the sound quality is incredible for an audience recording, but in addition there is VOLUME & ENERGY which I have always found lacking in all the other live recordings I have of the Dead. Never mind a few bum notes or voices not quite on song - this is what a live show should sound like. They sound like they are enjoying the experience of performing. No doubt others will now let me know about other shows I should listen to, but for now - THIS IS THE ONE!

I remember putting a 10 speed bike together after getting off the school bus in Chelmsford out of old bike parts to get to the show 2 miles from my house on mill rd. I was the one who disabled the car alarm in the porche in the middle of the parking lot. And during the crush to get in some chick dropped 100 hits of acid and my friends and I picked up most of them and handed them out for free when we got in. After the show my buddy and I jumped into a limo out back to smoke our last joint and Jerry Garcia got into the limo with us then security forcefully ejected us from the limo. I was front row for most of the show tripping hard. That bike I put together remained in the tree I stashed it in for over 20 years and was. 30 feet up the last time I stopped in to look for it. I think I paid 10 bucks for the ticket

Pretty damn nice sounding audience for the May '79 run, there's definitely worse, high energy throughout...shakedown and estimated are highlights...the whole show is pretty solid/ listenable...