It was Mickey's birthday the day before. Perhaps the band was up all night doing rails and shots? That said, the recording is very nice, despite Brent being out of the mix. Anyways, the band delivered a reasonably enjoyable show even if the inspiration was somewhat forced. First set has a few mistakes and is a bit lack luster at times. Shakedown jam never really delivers much of a crecendo, though cool how Jerry used the late 70's guitar effect heard on Dancin' from that late 70's era. Tennessee Jed was sleepy. Bird Song is a bit fast, and then the band has tempo issue settling into Cassidy. Cassidy, Jerry kind of gets into an ill fated, wrongly chosen modal hole and has trouble digging himself out in order to exit cleanly from the Jam which ends abruptly. Scarlet Fire is not bad. The " forced " inspiration works well for them at points interspersed with focus waning. The band catches fire more on the estimate eyes. jerry has an exciting and unusual flourish of notes before that on cc rider in the second set on his second break. The drummers seem asleep at the wheel for most of the show. I think that's why Bobby selected CC in the second set so he could let those two coast on auto pilot but also delivering them a message that he knew they were sleepy as if to say to them " alright, you want sleepy, here you go...CC Rider in the secoond set" LOL. . After that the show gains some needed umph. 3 stars for me , 5 stars for the recording.

The perfect example of everything that's wonderful about a great audience recording. Incredible performance, amazing set list, beautiful clear recording that captures both the music and the energy of the crowd in a perfect blend.
Anyone else ever note that deadheads are able clap in perfect tempo? Lovely, must-have recording...

Highlights: Friend Of The Devil, China Cat Sunflower, Eyes Of The World, It's All Over Now Baby Blue

The boys were jacked up this night (Saturday at 5:00)and turned in my favorite Shakedown. Bird Song, Tennessee + Looks Like Rain are also stellar. The second set is consistently hot. That being said, I thought 9/11 set 2 was the most heartfelt within the best Greek stand.
This was one of the best weekend's I have had.

A beautiful Fire on the Mountain!! Love the Grateful Dead.

Today 10/12/09 there are 7 versions of this here and I listened to each one partially to judge relative audio quality.

This version arrived here far ahead of the others. It is not the best one here now though and it is essentially identical to the othe Jim wise versions here including the Sir Mick transfer one.

IMO this one is the best sounding
Source: 2 Nakamichi 300 mics > Sony TC D-5m (Dolby B)(TDK SA-X 90, Maxell UDXL-II 90 'Estimated thru Baby Blue')
Lineage: Nakamichi Dragon (Dolby B decoded) > Panasonic SV 3700 DAT (A/D conversion)(HP data cartridge) > Apple G4 (RME interface)(Peak 5 editing) > Xact

Finally this show is being recognized. It was an incredible three day run @ the Greek. The first show, on Friday, started right after the sun set and Joan Baez sang happy B day to Mickey. Day two's show started in the afternoon and the second set started as the the sun set. On day three the show was 100% in daylight and the encore Satisfaction was played by the boys as the sun set over the bay! Who planned all of this so well?

This show was my favorite but the Sunday show was helicous as well. Concerning the latter check out Brent asserting himself, after Terrapin, the non drummers were about to walk off stage when Brent started playing "Never Trust a Woman". You could see Jerry raising his eyebrows in suprise. Also Mickey used the beam and made the air at the Greek vibrate.

As the other reviews state this show rocked from the onset. If memory serves correct there were no breaks during the first four songs and a great China/Rider to end set #1. Set # 2 feautured a unique placement of CC Rider after scarlet/Fire. Also a beautiful Estimated/ Eyes and during space Jerry and Bob sounded like a pac of humback whalescommuncating with one another!Again all heads should check out these three very enjoyable shows.

After the last night there was a zonked hippie shouting to the crowds exsisting through the Berkley Campus. He only was wearing a pair of shorts, which were pretty down short in the eighties LOL and was shouting at the top of his lungs: "F**K Led Zeplin, F**k the Who etc etc. There is only one rock band in the world, and that's the Dead!" And nobody gave him any argument.

This is a marvelous show. All songs stand out. Brent is a little quiet in the first set, but that's minor. Get this one!

All I can say is 5 stars sound and setlist

This show absolutely rips from the first note on. To me this is the gem of this great Greek run, and IMHO is one of the best shows I have ever heard, the energy is amazing, and the crowd reaction demonstrates that the fans understand that they are witnessing a special show (I always loved Bay Area audiences, they were always a lot more laid back, and not as anxious as East Coast or Midwest fans. They got into the music just as much, but were more content to just let the band take them whereever they wanted to.) . Shakedown is one for the ages with Jerry an Phil soaring in the Jam. Bird Song is one of the best ever and the China Cat > Rider ranks as one of the top versions ever. The Scarlet > Fire is phenomenal and is my personal favorite, Jerry takes some great turns during the jam, slowing it down so sweetly before the Fire intro, and then we get one of the most powerful Fires I have heard. The Prophet > Eyes is epic as well, (one of the greatest Eyes I have heard) with a great space jam with Jerry leading the way. This is one of the rare pre-drums space jams, with the whole pre-drums lasting over one hour. After drums does not dissapoint either with a classic NFA followed by a Wharf Rat for the ages (apologies for the repeated superlatives, but this show deserves it!!). The only thing missing is the 2nd encore and of course, Bobby getting us all to yell "Hey Phil..." to get Lesh on stage. To top all this off, this audience recording is among the cleanest and purest ones around. 5 Stars all around for this monster show!!!

As an aside one of the things I always loved about the Greek Theater was that the whole place was wired for sound, from the stairs to the bathrooms, so you didn't have to wait for a set break to do your business, you would not miss a note where ever you were. The Oakland Auditorium Arena was also wired in this way. Also there was a fenced in soccer field right next to the arena where Graham had set up speakers for those Heads who could not get in, a real nice gesture that some friends who had travelled over a 1,000 miles took advantage of.

...i thought _Friend of the Devil_ was absolutely amazing!

Possibly the most uncompromising show of the 80's. This show has an incredible setlist, and EVERY song in it is given the specialty treatment. The band is tearing it up in a truly inspired way, nonstop. Shakedown kicks it all off. Then you get a near perfect GSET. Bird Song gets farther and farther out on the jam, one of the best jammed versions of all time, not to mention '81. Cassidy is hot, and so is Tennessee Jed. They end the set with my favorite China>Rider combo since '74. The transition Jam is just nuts. Scarlet>Fire has a twisted transition, and Fire is tops. Estimated>Eyes is more good setlist, but I think the real gem of the second set is the killer Wharf Rat that inspires Jerry to shred it at the end. They take risks, and it pays off again and again and again. Get this show. Get it now.

The only thing keeping my rating at 4 is the fact that Brent is really quiet in the first set.

This show just bristles with high octane energy. Birdsong is crazy madness. The recording is wonderful, even Phil rocks the room on this one. The greek always had such great acoustics for the Dead. And the band seemed to love playing there. The version of Baby Blue is especcially nice.

Does anyone know if the Good Lovin second encore from this night is floating around anywhere? I am only missing this one, 9/24/88, 3/23/86, and 5/13/83 from my collection of Bobby Good Lovin's from the 80's................

Solid 3 1/2 hour C.C. Rider One of my alltime favorites ! Double encore after Bob got us to fetch Phil which later in '87 lede to Phil saying "Come on Weir" several times.

Considering the circumstances of Jim Wise's recording job, it's a pleasant surprise at how well the recordings turned out for this show. I've searched high and low for soundboards of this Greek run and have come up short all these years. Thanks Jim for filling the void. A great show and a nice recording. I was at these shows and the opportunity to download tasty upgrades/lower gens is a real treat for this oldtimer.