I remember that space jam with Phil doing those chords on his bass. The volume was so incredible and you could feel the air moving in the place as those low sub-woofers were moving in and out, and it just vibrated you to the core. I could feel my brain sort of shivering around inside my skull. And the sequence of sounds he made was really like some alien trying to communicate from outer space. It was downright scary and so cool at the same time. That was pretty trippin. The Stella was pretty beautiful that night too.

Here is where I will ask... Why does everyone bag on the live shows... Granted... Yes... They do sound, a little rough,... Wait I have to admit some sound really shitty and downright AWFUL... but think about it... The live shows with the audience hooting - and - hollering really makes for a good one.... These recordings are time capsules... They capture a moment of time that is enjoyed by at least 15,000... In 1979 that is... I was a young child then and I love the fact that I find new things in the Grateful Dead section sometimes....
Long Live the Dead...
Long Live the show from Santa Barbara 1977
Roberts Gym
UCSB
Check it out.....
Peace
Daphne

So i started to listen to this particular shakedown street and my first thought was Kieth was still around ( the keys were sooo soft) but a second glance at the date and i realized mebbe we had a timid, brand new Brent on board and he hadn't settled in yet. Boy was i wrong. When you get to the end of this song, man are they blazin'! Brent was and always will be my most favorite keys player and i think it was this kinda stuff that made the rest of the band feel really comfortable with him. Anywho - this Shakedown is fairly average until you get to the jam near the end- then it blows minds.

Passenger always seemed like a filler tune to me. Mebbe that's why it never survived the rotation. Although you have to love the fact that in these older shows, they seemed to put fourth alot of effort into it. A nice, slow, melodic FotD comes eeking out after Passenger.Jerry does a great job on vocals and guitar, and to me, this is where it is noticable that Brent has only been with the band for a short while. A song like FotD always showcased Brent's talent with a nice section in the song reserved for a wonderful keys solo and in these early years he doesn't have it quite down yet like he does later on- but he still does one hell of a job. I think Jer did most of the work here. If you close your eyes and listen during his guitar solo, you could almost swear you were at a JGB concert=)

I am not a fan of audiance tapes, but this one givs you some kool jib-jab between FotD and Estimated between the fans. This is a great rendition of Estimated and it slides right into a typical 70's Eyes. It is good to know the power house combos of these two songs remained strong in the rotation til the very end. I think the more powerful pairing of these two tunes came in the 90's but thats just my opinion. Even still, these versions won't disappoint.The slide into Eyes is pretty kool and the tempo changes rather rapidly, giving way to an upbeat, hand-clapping tune that im sure had the whole coliseum dancin' the night away. I like slower versions, but this one has life.

Im not big on calling *jam* sections of a show *space* ... however it is a fairly decent description of what happens after eyes. U can hear all the boys fiddlin' around doin' really nothing ... it's great. A lil' drums , some more space, and you can hear the subtle hints of Stella Blue come from the strings. Its a quiet, soft melody that gets alot of focus on this night. Jerry sounds soooo good on this one.There's so much emotion put into it that I would almost swear it sounds like he is letting out a tear or two on a couple of the lines he sings. A must hear!

Oh and Good Lovin' and U.S. Blooz to close .... yay. Thanks for another great morsel guys!


-Let the good times roll