The previous year's pair of Colo shows had been up the freeway in Boulder, so it had been two years since a show at Big Mac. This is the first of three shows in '81 for the area, the third coming in December. This date was originally the end of the 8-stop July tour, but a second show was added (this night has the better first set and the next night the better second). When this show was rec'd to me much earlier, I couldn't get past the high-gen AUD source that used to circulate. Even now the SBD has distortion problems, but circling back I discovered the appeal for the first set. It's not full of the tour's best highlights, just consistently above-average and uptempo versions - albeit plagued by equipment problems. The sound quality improves through the second set, though the playing is shaky and clunky in places by then.

First Set. No source exists for the beginning of Feel Like a Stranger, but it's a rager of an opener (and unfortunately marred by equip problems). There's a Teddy Bear tuning during a speaker change. Even if this They Love Each Other is not the slickest; even though I won't objectively highlight it, I dig this one. El Paso is a manic Jer version, so Bobby gives him more space. It has seat-of-pants charm and I think it's Billy that quips "that was nice and relaxed". Jack-a-Roe is way uptempo, even for an '81. It's nice to have a version this rollicking; too bad the SBD is so saturated and distorted. It would be nice to have a matrix for Beat it on Down the Line-12 [more like 11½]. After a steady/solid Must've Been Roses, the See, See Rider Blues has some more equip problems (fine version though). Althea is just a little clunky, but also has a great spitting and sputtering end jam. You can surmise how loud it was in the arena. Looks Like Rain needed to be this uptempo in more eras. More equip problems plague Deal, as Jer's guitar gets lost for a bit. The hypertempo doesn't service overall, but the raging playing is wild/fun.

Second Set. Man Smart, Woman Smarter functions like a pre-set bonus. It's just the third one and not potent yet. The set begins in earnest with Scarlet>Fire, though here and there they have some difficulty getting on the same page They don't seem a bit scattered or distracted by the pace of Estimated, though it's odd even in this era that they would launch so uptempo (even at correct pitch). The jam sections are the set's first real sparks. Jer flubs most of the verses on Terrapin and it never does tighten. It does however spring into a unique jam right before Drums. Due to a rhythm figure from Bobby, Space is within the Not Fade Away realm right from the start. The latter is clunky save the great-but-brief second solo. The rest of the set is above-average, improving to leave 'em happy in the lots - particularly the Black Peter. The Sugar Mag is also curiously uptempo and Phil-chord bombs make Satisfaction.

1st Set:  B
2nd Set: C
Overall = 3 stars

Highlights:
Feel Like a Stranger - though you gotta overlook the equip problems
El Paso - a bit manic (in a good way)

SOURCES: The lai_3903 is the original SBD. It has the distortion problem, Terrapin is cut, and it runs fast, needing -1.5% pitch. The 128714_MrBill corrected part of the issues but is muffled. The sbd_troy-smith added the missing second set intro, but is otherwise of lesser quality and like the moore_berger it's pitched too slow. The upgrade finally came in 2018, with the dalton_miller_clugston. The first five songs are slightly better on lai_3903, but from Althea onward this is the best source. It still runs too fast, needing -1.5% pitch, but Scott's mastering improved several sections where the SBDs are levels-distorted and weirdly EQd. The balance still needs intervention. The best AUD is the 135740_nak300_schley (which didn't distribute until 2016!). It's better in places than the SBD, but is incomplete and pitched slightly fast.