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The sustain at the beginning of TOO is outrageous and radical.

Five stars just doesn't say it. This set is very amazing. And it is reviews like The Red Man's that make this whole archive experience even more special---always nice to hear from someone who was there.

I drove down from Orlando on my motorcycle in December '68 for my first pop festival. I was 21 and was not familiar with the Dead, but on recommendation of a friend I met him there. As I sat on the concrete in front of the stage, the sun was setting, the stars were coming out, and this band with two drummers started playing Dark Star, I think. Hard to remember details - I was merging with the universe at the time, if you know what I mean. Anyway, good recording, hoping I get a quick flashback...

5

Jerry just goes off in this one sure theres better but if you're talking DarkStar and Stephen's there is better too The Eleven gets it fer me but the whole 57 minutes gets it for me Great show and good sound especially since it's 46 years old wow that looks old when u type and read it

For those that are into such things, this is an in-the-moment snapshot from a band that could play what was coming into the planet in those vibrant days (and still is if you know how to connect to it). It's so lucky that JG's deep feeling life combined with a musical virtuosity that could match the feelings.

Love it!

relatively quick, but strong and steady dark star. the tempo in that st stephen is killer!!! pops right into a funky, dynamic eleven!! they really build it up and let it fly in those eleven jams!! and what an explosive TOO! not their smoothest transfer out of dark star, but powerful performance all around, and great upload! thanks for sharing!

A classic monster set.This set just builds into cresendo that explodes with the eleven.Pure energy.5 stars any day.

The Dead played the second day of this three-day festival, which took place at the Gulfstream Race Track in Hallandale, just north of Miami. It was the first of three festivals the Dead would play within exactly a single year in the Miami area (the following two being the Big Rock Pow-Wow at the Hollywood Seminole Indian Reservation on 1969-05-23 and 1969-05-24, which you can find on RT4:1, and the Miami Rock Festival at the Miami-Hollywood Speedway on 1969-12-28).

For some reason, at least through their first ten years, the Dead played some of their best shows in the Miami area -- the three festival shows, a show at Pirate World during their spring '70 tour, the 1974 Miami Jai-Alai show, and of course the legendary Barton-beater on 1977-05-22 at the Sportatorium.

This is an excellent, festival-shortened representation of the '68 Dead. Lovelight, a Dark Star that was still only 10 minutes and quickly evolving, St. Stephen, The Eleven, The Other One, and Cryptical all flow seamlessly in a single hour-long set, and they are ALL uniformly top-notch performances.

Lovelight is all we hear from Pig, recently returned from his "firing." TC, who had been with the band for just over a month by this point, is innocuous, and pops up only from time to time.

The sound is quite good for the time period, although saturation is occasionally evident. The mix is superb.

All in all, this is a wonderful, self-contained one-hour nugget of the band that in two months would give us the performances that comprised Live Dead.

Charlie Miller works his magic on an already magical 68 set. What more needs to be said? One thing. That snack-sized Dark Star is a gem with some crisp, sharp guitar work by Jerry. This show is a must.

If the words come to me, they are merely an accidental precipitate of this flowing beauty's enthralling chemistry- through me!, that throws the combustile thoughts among my brain into all directions ... Here lands the words

They are gliding into 69, the wings of their music soaring, this really isn't 68 or 69 though... its just music, and from there it takes on a whole new meaning- a lotus flower, so simple once. Then you see it open

'68 at its best...you can't call yourself a primal dead fan w/o this...

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Thank you Mr. Miller.

A "Must Have" show from 1968.

Here's the GRATEFUL DEAD we used to listen to, here's the sound that captured a generation and changed the world.

1968 was a bloody year of riots in Chicago at the DNC Convention, the War in Vietnam, Political assassinations of RFK and MLK, draft-card college protests, drugs, Nixon had just won the Presidency in November, and preparing Apollo for the Moon landing in July 69...Woodstock was still 7 months away from happening...

America was ripping itself apart. Jimmi Hendrix, Jim Morrision, Janis Joplin, The GRATEFUL DEAD, The BEATLES, The Rolling Stones, The Cream, were writing the soundtrack to the "changes".

Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.

Thanks for the "LOVE" from 1968.

PS: I wonder how many people miss 1968?

Check it out!

Not the tightest playing of '68, but this high-energy south Florida festival set is a steamroller!

From the middle of St. Stepehen through Cryptical, Jerry cannot be restrained and your senses are left bludgeoned. (98 pts)

Stellar playing and performance.
At the very end of Lovelight, talking about the next song, Dark Star, Phil says "We once put this out on a single, that's interesting", Jer says "One of our obscure singles" and Bob chimes in that this is "For you ethnomusicologists."!

This show is real groovy. I really enjoy listening to these earlier Dark Stars. Their evolution is definitely something every Head should give close attention to.
I'm still of the opinion that the sweetest piece of music the Dead over put together was the Dark Star> St. Stephen> The Eleven opus. This one is pretty hot.
I enjoyed it fairly well.
Peace. Jesus Heals.

Really clear vocals and all round solid early versions of these standards. These are the versions I first heard live and still find I get pulled back to this fabulous time.