perfect.

The first show Charlie Miller taped! It was obvious from the beginning that Charlie knew how to find the sweet spot. I prefer audience recordings because they capture the venue and sound more like what I remember in the crowd and this one sounds like Charlie set up his stand close to where I danced during the show.
He even got lucky with the show. Rochester '83 is full of unique and interesting performances. Phil had his new 6 string bass and was dropping bombs everywhere. Check out the end of 'Stranger' and the 'Samson and Delilah'. In fact, the whole band was on top of their games and fighting to see who would be on top musically. It was the 80's at their best. Bobby yelled and screamed to get attention and Jerry would look over his glasses and just dare the band to keep up.
There are many song versions that are so unique I could identify them in a blind listening test, starting with the 'Shakedown' opener. Funky interplay and a unique bass line by Phil make it one of my favorites. The 'Esau' that follows is one of the worst single song performances I've heard from the band. It was a new song and it showed. Jerry never seemed comfortable and his "solo" is fortunately drowned out by Bobby's slide. Jerry had more bad luck next song as his mike didn't work for the first verses of 'Brown-eyed Women'. He played a great solo but you could tell he was pissed. His mood didn't improve for 'Rooster' when Bobby's guitar started feeding back during Jerry's first solo. After a less than stellar slide solo from Bobby, Jerry had enough and took over with his guitar. Listen as the rest of the band tries to end 'Rooster' twice while Jer keeps going. He does the same thing with 'Supplication'. The rest of the band tried to end it and Garcia wouldn't allow it. He walked over to Bobby's mike at midstage and just kept playing faster and faster. Other highlights include Brent's keys during 'Deal' and 'JBG', a rare Brent tune 'Maybe You Know' and the even rarer 'Bob Star'. Unique setlist and unique song versions equal 5 stars.