This is a very strong show. The first half of the setlist caters to the cowboys; it’s mostly rock, blues, and country. Very Texas. It’s crunchy stuff, and would definitely entertain any fan of that drum-heavy ‘77-’78 sound.

After musically tipping their hat to their Houston hosts, they’re finally comfortable with uncorking some serious jam vehicles. Candyman is where they flip the switch, get trippy, and make this a whole different ball game. In Grateful Dead lore, Hofheinz Pavilion is best known for hosting one of the best ever Playing in the Bands back on 11/18/72. It is thus fitting that they would serve up another great PITB during their return to the venue five years later. The 10/14/77 Playin’ is certainly in the same league as its famous predecessor, although of a much different flavor stylistically. It sandwiches a great close to the show, reprising after a really extraordinary Brokedown Palace!

This is a wonderful ‘77 performance that showcases the Grateful Dead’s multifaceted musical machinations.

this show rips start to finish. unreal second set. this brokedown is up there with winterland. some good tuning and banter. whole band isnfucking on. the few lyric flubs are nonissues. nothing catastrophic, excellent recoveries and performances do not suffer. top notch grateful dead, best show of the tour so far and probably at lwast top 10 of my favorite 77 shows.

This show is lit. Really dug it.

This show was the return to Houston, five years after the great '72 show, playing the Fertitta Center at U of Houston ('73 only saw an El Paso show and in '76 they didn't mess with Texas).

First Set. After a solid opener, Mississippi Half-Step pushes toward X Factor. Except for some flubbed verses it's great; also one of the longest versions. On the official release the first 12sec are patched with 11/5/77. There's a great segue into El Paso. The second half of Brown Eyed pulls back, but Minglewood is all action, peak to valley. Loser is also a standout. Donna is good and the solo is gemstone. Bizarrely, the official moves the left channel to mono for the first 2 seconds, just to omit a muted strum from Bobby. Sounds like Jer says "let's try something else, like Bionic Man!" Did he mean Six Million Dollar Man? But alas, it's a rather flat Passenger. Friend of the Devil however is absolute kush on a tray. Everybody is ON, although Keith's solo is a bit buried. On Me & My Uncle in '77, Bobby went back and forth from "lyin' there" to "dead ass". Here it's the former - maybe because you get arrested in Texas. There are so many good versions of Music Never Stopped in '77, that even though this is awesome it's not among the best of the tour.

Second Set. It takes a bit to get going, but when Jer takes off Bertha soars nonetheless. The next are a bit stumbly, with Candyman particularly sleepy (11/02 is the big one). Playin' has a nice breakdown section with some good Phil. The official version ends with a segue to another show, the fade out forgoing the last 20sec. The following few seem rote, into Wharf, where it suddenly goes technicolor. Then, Around & Around is a tempest version, with Jer meting molten movements onto the mountain. For the double encore, Brokedown is not the most un-sleepy, but Donna is good. The reboot Playin' though is a classic show-ender. The official release uses this as the bookend of a disc, just like the actual set, but artificially fills the middle with another show.

1st Set:  B
2nd Set: C+
Overall = 3½ stars

Highlights:
New Minglewood Blues - all action
Loser - solo is faceted brilliance and Donna's good
Friend of the Devil - everybody is ON
Around & Around - tempest with molten movements
Playing in the Band - nice encore tag

SOURCES: The miller_110419 has fixed the dropouts and is complete, with good instrument separation (the beginning of ½-Step is clipped on all SBDs). The gorinsky_tetzeli_fix-6693 has more hall sound, less low end and separation, less distinct keys, less complete tunings. They are also two separate SBDs?! Three from each set are on Road Trips v1 #2, half of the six in unaltered form.

love oct. 77'.this is why.

Of course none of the other songs disappoint, but Friend of the devil in this set is absolutely spectacular.

This friend of a devil is absolutely epic. Bertha is excellent, and the whole playin sequence is pretty good. Never really a fan of Around and Around though. <4.1 out of 5.>

Not sure why this AMAZING little item is available, but I suggest you GRAB IT WHILE YOU CAN!

Thanks again, Mr. Miller! If you snuck this one on, I salute you, sir. Your heart and your ears are in the right place!

The Music Never Stopped, Playin' in the Band, and Wharf Rat make this a 5 star show IMHO. CM...You are amazing. Many released shows don't sound this good. Thank you for this and all the many others.

a nearly 6 minute Brokedown piqued my interest- some extra jamming, added lead break, spacey intro?
-Nyet, negative, nope. This sucker is half speed! Well maybe not half, but it's slow indeedy. Jerry plays a picture-perfect lead at the end, but besides that, if I had been there, I would have had trouble staying awake. SSSSLLLLOOOWWWWW.....
The Playin' reprise was a nifty little feature tacked on at the end, but I woulda been long gone!
Overall this show's average to above average for the era. Nice work on this matrix by the becoming-famous C.Miller elevates this one. Phil is a monster!

long live the great humanitarian Charlie Miller!!