Firstly, I would like to thank JHS for all the wonderful matrixes he has produced over the years. His serious work is an important addition to the compendium. Personally, I think the band owes him a debt of gratitude. Hell, I think they should even pay him for what he's doing! BTW, that goes for Charlie too. Second, I think Hunter putting a cross reference of Volumes 1-114 on
https://www.facebook.com/GratefulDeadTrix (About Hunter's Trix - See More...) to be invaluable for keeping current with the catalog. It saves me from bothering him on FB with what he has done of late.
As for the show, it’s an "average" very good three stars, but a bit short. Without this stellar mix, Hunter’s work is the only thing that keeps me from passing the evening up. Minglewood > Sugaree to open is rousing with Bobby following with a slightly silly On The Road Again. Nice Bird Song and C.C. Rider. Women Are Smarter is a rare Set One closer.
You can really get a good feeling for what a matrix can do for a distant AUD performance listening to the opening minute of Minglewood and the excellent fade-in of the SBD. The AUD is very thin, with the board being less so. But the change in dynamics is dramatic. Hunter also does a very good job gently allowing the crowd to fade out after each song, which can be jarring otherwise. I haven’t listened to the AUD separately, but I can guess there probably wasn’t much crowd to work with, which is typical for many insensitive AUD recordist’s captures.
The second is a little better. Scarlet > Fire > Estimated > Eyes is good though Bobby's Ha Haaas in Estimated are over the top. Nice intro into The Wheel. A short and punchy NFA and energetic but slightly sloppy Sugar Mag round out set two. And I’ve never gotten much satisfaction out of a Satisfaction oncore. But it's not a bad version.
With the usual extra tweaking of reverb and a lot of added bass from yours truly, there are some take-away moments with Hunter’s trix helping a sterile board. Three star show with the matrix upgrading it to three plus or maybe C+.