I loved visiting, Duprees especially.

Opinions are decidedly mixed as to the merits of the early 1980's. Personally, I am a big fan. One of my very favorite Dead tapes is from 09.12.81 at the Greek Theatre-although it has been a couple of years since I listened. I am downloading the Charlie Miller AUD right now so look for a review of that soon.


Obviously, the early 80's coincided with the acceleration of Jerry's heroin addiction. This led, I think, to a tendency for Garcia to sometimes seem as if he were in his own world...sometimes that caused shows to seem disjointed and phoned in, but sometimes Jer caught fire inside his personal dreamland, to very enjoyable effect for the listener.

This show smokes, and it is all about Garcia. Big thanks to the tapers and everyone involved in getting this up and available for download.

First Set
I will admit that I skipped the Minglewood opener, although others tell me that it is quite good. Just can't stand that song, personally. The TLEO that follows, however, sets the stage for the night as Jerry is large and in charge, in good voice and belting out the lyrics with gusto. Seems to me that this is a slightly more rockin' TLEO than we are accustomed to, thanks in no small part to Jerry's leads. MAMU>Big River even deserves a listen on this night, Jerry going crazy behind Bob's vocals. Dupree's follows, recently returned to the rotation after hibernating for a few years. This is a high point of the set, and guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Jerry is clearly having a ball...despite a few lyrical flubs, on the whole he sings with passion, humor and joie de vivre. His guitar work continues to drive the band-he is in overdrive, in the best sense. In Dupree's, his first extended solo is his most exciting. I skip CC Rider after Jerry's first solo...even on this dud of a song, he is playing inventively. Early 80's Garcia at his best my friends!Musta been some good smack in south Florida!(I say that meaning no disrespect, as a recovering smack addict myself)
Next comes the jewel of the first set, a sparkling powerhouse of a Loser. The spooky, "other side of this life" vibe of the song is beautifully evoked, and Garcia's solo heads for just enough altitude while still remaining grounded in the theme. Beautifully rendered. Looks Like Rain is great-this is a song where I really do believe the best versions are to be found in the early 80's-Garcia's peals of rain licks and near constant soloing under Bobby's vocal-an approach which works well on this song. This is an outstanding version, reminding me of my all tiime favorite LLR from 09.12.81-as mentioned earlier, I am downloading a new to me AUD of that show as I write, so I will have to compare the two. Nevermind-on to Tennessee Jed. Once again, a first set standard gets some new life thanks to the band's obvious energy. With the set closing Let it Grow comes the most inspired music of the set...this was already a memorable first set, but LiG, designed to open up a bit musically, ends things on a high. Jerry is all over the jams within Let it Grow, and this version goes to really interesting places with the guy in the black t shirt at the helm. A great first set!One thing I have to mention is Brent's contributions...he really added a lot throughout this set and it sounded like he and Jerry were locked in at various points. Unfortunately, Phil is not loud enough for me...probably more to do with the shitty built in speakers on my laptop than the recording

Second Set
An absolutely outstanding Scarlet>Fire opens the second set! Whatever refreshments Jerry got into at break, they have him reaching for the skys musically. And again, the impassioned vocals are a treat. His voice is really beginning to show the ravages of freebasing cocaine and heroin-not to mention heavy smoking-but it isn't nearly as bad as it would be by 84 and 85, and the passion he pours into every song tonight more than makes up for it. The jam between Scarlet and Fire is just outstanding. Check it out!Sailor is another Garcia showpiece-damn!He is bursting with energy and in full command of his insturment. Sailor can be quite boring but Jerry will have none of that on this night. His leads seem to soar, reaching ecstatic heights several times in Scarlet>Fire and Sailor>Saint. A truly elegant Terrapin Station concludes a very enjoyable pre-drums. Truckin, rather unusually, comes out of Space, but the remaining highlights as the two slow Jerry songs. Stella Blue follows Truckin' and it is extremely powerful. I've always felt that Jerry loved his ballads the best(and I believe I recall seeing him say as much in interviews), and this Stella is most certainly lovingly rendered. Simply gorgeous-do yourself a favor and give it a listen. Bob gets the place moving again with an Around n Around-OMSN doubleheader...fun and rockin' but nothing special. For the encore, Jerry again takes it down a notch with baby Blue. Brief tangent, as I am a complete Dylan freak-the only Dylan covers that worked for the Dead were the ones JERRY sang!(well, an argument could be made for Phil's Tom Thumb...Special Olympics type deal ya know...[jk, I actually like Phil's Tom Thumb a lot]) Bobby, bless his heart, worked so hard on memorizing the lyrics but he never exhibited any real emotional connection to the meaning of the words. Emotional connection was never a problem for Jerry Garcia. She Belongs to Me...those haunting Visions of Johanna from '95...anyway, Jerry sent the crowd home with a lovely Baby Blue on September the 11th, 1982. I really enjoyed giving this show a good, thorough first listen, and was quite impressed. It'll be in the rotation over the next couple of weeks. Definitely worth a download if you're in to that kinda thing. I'm giving it four stars for very good...in my mind a 5 star show would have to be an all timer

Crowd/tuning is actually Scarlett etc.......last song is Baby Blue.....

Love this song! It's like a killer Scarlet!