Even better than the PITB sandwich from 11-17. How could you not Listen to Mississippi through 3 PITB!!! ending on a MD and NOT say 73 was their best year? Tight stop and change in unison on a dime. Crispy sound too.

Stellar recording of a beautiful show. This Brokedown brought me to tears today when I mourned the deaths from yet another senseless mass shooting in Colorado on 11/20/22.

Wharf Rat is Dark Star’s little brother and Birdsong is the little sister. The transition during the PITB sandwich into Wharf Rat reminds me of the gem played on 5/25/72.

To OLDMANLEWIS below.

That is clearly a Dark Star jam that begins w a Wharf Rat tease. The tease melts right into a typical Dark Star sound.

Not sure why everyone calls the long spacey introduction to Wharf Rat a DS jam. By any criteria (sound, formal musical analysis, etc) it is much more a rather open intro to Wharf Rat than anything DS-like. One thing for sure...it is mighty tasty!

Get Road Trips No. 3 if you want this in CD quality. From IMO the best-ever year of 1973, this one stands out as among the top quality on the strength of the Playin' sandwich, which segues out of 1/2 Step and then perfectly through El Paso and Wharf Rat before ending up at Morning Dew -- always a welcome destination. There's intricate fast jamming, contrapuntal contributions, and all-out meltdown, melt your face off guitar from Jerry. They're not nearly done, though, we also get a Truckin>Nobody's Fault>GDTRFB jam. Weather Report Suite is a very strong performance.

It's nice that we can stream shows that have been released on CD, for those who can't afford to shell out for the releases or don't place their orders in time. It used to be that the streams got pulled from the Archive, which explains one comment from 2011. Given that every release is a limited edition that sells out in a few heartbeats, that means the music isn't lost forever for those who don't get the CDs.

This concert is dank. No flaws, and great renditions of some great songs. The brokedown palace is really nice, and so are the country-dead-cowboy-dead songs like mexicali, me & my uncle, and Paso. These are played to perfection. An awesome and massive playin in the band sandwich. This concert is not to be missed. Road trips vol. 4 no.3, it is worth it.

not worth buying as a CD from what I can hear.

For the era, this is about as good as it gets. Nice soundboard quality and the band is tight. The second set is one knock-out song after another.

Let's see if I got the previous reviewer straight. The band makes the music, but he feels they are not entitled to make a buck off of their creative work? Here's a suggestion for you: go to work and have other people benefit from your labor and you won't get paid for it. Would you be happy with that? I didn't think so. The band and those associated with making their music available for commercial purchase have every right in a free society to sell it for profit. There is plenty of "free" music to enjoy here on the Archive. Don't be so greedy.

That said, just about everything from this run from September to December 73 is just golden. Thanks to all who make this music available on the Archive. Remember, none of it HAS to be here at all. Be appreciative.

I saw that this will be the next Road Trips to be released, and it's truly unfortunate that greedy people have found a way to monetize what should be free forever.
Anyway, I'm looking for people to trade shows with (specifically ones that have been released on CD that can't be found here). I have soundboards of virtually everything from the years 72, 73, 74, 77, & 78, and I mean ALMOST EVERYTHING (lossy format) including this show in Denver. I would like to have the 73 & 77 Winterland box sets, and a few more so if you have those recordings lets trade.
Contact me at pinetarjunky@hotmail.com if interested.

...to write home about! wonderful show the whole way through and im only at the dewww (which was superb)

Another incredible performance from 1973. Also this is another Charlie Miller masterpiece of a remaster.

Note to self:

Dude...don't forget this show ... it is smooth and pretty ... nice and melodic ...

the last half is a non-stopper ... darkstarjam will make a believer out of you again ...

Hold your head up dude ... there is a world here wherein I belong ... and so does everybody else ...

when the cancer hurts dude , listen to this one...

How can you go wrong with a full show of great songs! Charlie Miller is a genius - the sound quality is one of the best I've found on this site.

The band is tight and the soundboard mix was pretty good. Jerry, Bobby and Keith are well balanced and the vocals aren't too strong. Phil could have been better but the acoustics at the Coliseum probably required the bass to be brought down. They hold stock shows there!

The first set is just incredible - great songs played superbly. They start off with Me and My Uncle to pay homage to Denver. Jack Straw is an awesome version with a lyrical Jerry solo. They give a subtle performance on Black Thoated Wind - Bobby doesn't overdo it until the last minute. They Love Each Other is a great jazzy, bouncy version. Looks Like Rain starts slow but builds to a moving, restrained version with a stunningly beautiful Jerry solo. Here Comes Sunshine is played as an awesome jam with a strong Bobby rhythm guitar. The set ends with a surprisingly (for the GD) studio-like version of Weather Report Suite - very well done.

The second set is built around Playing in the Band - not my favorite but well done here. Donna-wailing warning - plug your ears around the 2 minute mark of the first movement. The rest of the movement is a brilliant jazzy jam. A good version of El Paso is sandwiched in. The Dark Star is a short but sweet instrumental going into a great (as always) Wharf Rat. The last Playing is really Space. Morning Dew is done slow and plaintive, with Jerry letting his guitar sing - a top-10 version for me. Truckin has a sweet jam in the second half. Goin Down the Road is an up tempo version with lots of Keith for good measure. I even liked the One More Saturday Night - Keith save it for me.

The encore of Uncle John's Band sounded like the band was worn out from a great show, but they still managed to jam out the end of the song to send everyone home smiling.

What more do you want from a show than this!!

This is a great time for the band, undeniably. With the box set of the Winterland shows out and released, i dug deeper to find some kewl shows, since this was Dick Lavata's favorite era of the band and some all around solid playing and creativity.

I agree, that the rain theme first set is bad ass. The boys would do a similar (but of course different) thing at three rivers stadium in 1995.6.30' with a "Rain, Box of Rain>Samba in the Rain, LL Rain", ahh the water power. A little more direct of an attempt that this, but of course we would all chose winter 73' run over the last tour. BUT I DIGRESS!

This show has excellent playing, great sound (Charlie Miller does that without getting paid for it. Man!) and creative setlist.

Half Step>Playing>El Paso>Playing>DS Jam>Wharf Rat>Playing> Morning Dew

quite a unique setlist, for the time and in general. Whoever complained about the El Paso insert in the Playing wrap around should think about what the expect out of listening to Dead music. Complaining about a Bobby cowboy staple versus realizing a creative effort to mix up performances and vary the song, song, song progression. The more likely pairing of these songs would be something like a Dark Star>El Paso>Dark Star, or even more likely a Me & My Uncle insert. So bashing a creative setlist because of personal taste dosn't really seem relevant. The extra effort is here, and we are all very pleased.

I love beardless Jerry G-Dead!

watkins glen 7.28.73 has the 1st set run of BOX OF RAIN, HERE COMES SUNSHINE, LOOKS LIKE RAIN, AND ROW JIMMY. i thought that was neat.

this show is killer 73' dead. no flaws.

un-necessary el paso ? .... um, are you a deadhead? el paso is one of thier greatest workouts. the way they slip right into it is what makes the dead the dead. tight, focused, beautiful. go, billy, go!

nothing is better than when the dead flip it and flip it and flip it back.

are you mad at dark star being only 3 1/2 minutes too ?

For more fun in the Sunshine and Rain back to back, check out 11/17/73.

pretty cool how they do "looks like rain" and "here comes sunshine" back to back, not sure if they have done it before. anyone know?

And yes, other than the unnecessary El Paso inserted into the Playin' (why??!?!?! WHY??!?!?!!?) it is as good as you'd expect.

Mellow, to be sure, but deep and interesting. Bobby has got just the right amount of phasing on that Wharf Rat. Sadly (but whatever) there is no magical jam at the end of the Wharf Rat. Instead, foreshadowing the approach taken 11 months later on 10-20-74 (one of the greatest segues in the history of the band) they quickly launch into the Playin' jam again. Around 9:30 into that jam Jerry begins reaching into some blinding feedback, obtaining a high-pitched analog (but barely warm) tone that sounds more like a flute than a guitar.

Then Donna does her schtick. The crowd goes wild. And then a Dew.

Ignore the previous night.