00:49 of Tuning after PITB Reprise, "All of Me." Jerry a Billie Holiday fan?

'76 has a few hot tours - enough that it's tough to pick the ultimate show. But this is certainly a candidate. There's a lot here to discover. There were supposed to be shows in Pittsburgh but those had just been cancelled, making this the end of the tour. Maybe that's why they made this such an exclamation point.

First Set. Tennessee as the opener? It's a weird, downtempo version, so it takes a bit to reveal its magic. You have to adjust to the funk of it. Peggy-O is likewise played slow but not as successfully. The rest is consistently above average with some very good moments. Mission is the final version, and the best version. The one-two closing punch is gobsmacking.

Second Set. Simply one of the best of '76. After a perfect Playin' and its jam comes an intriguing version of Wheel (begins with drummers launching NFA and is officially released). St Stephen had just been resurrected in Boston, with a funky relaxed groove to give Jer some canvas. But this was the first they smoked it out like this. The only perplexing point of the whole show is the blown encore. Either they cooled off too far or certain people imbibed (erm, both)? The only one keeping it from being an A+ set.

1st Set:  B+
2nd Set: A
Overall: 5 stars

Highlights:
Tennessee Jed - settled down tempo still flips aces
Mission in the Rain - last of five ever & best
Brown-Eyed Women - brisk & perfect
Music Never Stopped - this is just fire
Might as Well - so nailed
Entire Second Set - must-hear, sans encore, but especially:
Playing in the Band - rarely has this type of energy, jam is kewl
St Stephen - one of best of period, ranks with 6/9/77
Not Fade Away - Perfect segues, tightness
One More Saturday - Takes a lot for one of these to stand out

SOURCES: Sometimes Berthas are a bit too colored, but this source is just right. There is an improved C. Miller version that's as good (139633_sbd_betty), and a wonderful MTX (seamons_112458). The 149860_BettyBoard is a new transfer of an FM broadcast. We are lucky to have such a pristine copy of this show. The Wheel is on So Many Roads.

I WISH TO REVIEW THE REVIEWS CONTAINED HERE. THE REVIEWS SHOWING THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST GRATEFUL DEAD SHOWS OF THE 1970S ARE RIGHT ON TARGET! In the fact that many listeners gave this five starts is a testament to all of the heads greatness alone. It is, in fact, a fantastic show of shows and not only was I present for it by way of an 8 track tape stayed with me even still, but I now listen here until I can transfer to my I Pod.

Best night of the su76 Chicago run makes for a strong finale. No question, this is first-rate, five-star dead. Mellow, groovy Tennessee Jed opener sets the mood. Really lovely, slowed Peggy-O then follows Cassidy. Other highlights include the mid-set Mission in the Rain (last of five GD versions ever played, all played in June) and the solid Music Never Stopped->Might as Well combo to close. But all of the first set is great, especially the BEW and Row Jimmy.

Second set, too, is must-listen. It's separated into thirds, curiously punctuated by tuning breaks: Samson, Candyman to start (15 mins); pitb->space jam->the wheel->pitb reprise (33 mins anchoring the set); then st stephen->nfa->st stephen->sat night to close (26 mins). US Blues encore.

*This fantastic wheel, as noted by others, is featured on So Many Roads, Disc 3.

Another fine FM radio broadcast on this tour.
AFTER LISTENING TO THIS SHOW
FROM START TO FINISH---Excellent Sound !!!!!
Wish every recording this enjoyable.
Reviews are helpful :)
But you got listen to this one
with as little distractions
as humanly possible.
The BEE'S KNEES.

Pickey Deadhead, you aren't the only one who noticed how very slow the band was playing during their comeback tour. It's like they were afraid of rushing their performances or trying to work out new down-tempo arrangements for everything. Needless to say, it wasn't popular. I think the liner notes for the '76 Road Trips or Dave's Picks mentioned something about audience confusion at the tempo.

To each his own though. I happen to enjoy the laid-back, mellow feel of these June shows, and the sound quality of the boards makes them hard to overlook. The slow jams that resulted in this tempo downshift can be really inspiring.

find this show to be a bit on the slow side? I'm sorry-but I much prefer the month of Sept '76 when the band seemed to play with more aggression, intensity, and power.

And I can't possibly like this version of Mission better than just about any JGB version of note. The St. Stephen plods along so slow you feel as if the band may nod off. Playin actually just put me to sleep at my desk...

Like I said, I'm biased to the latter part of the year in terms of style. And though I enjoy the band taking their time and searching for the sound, I personally can't listen to perhaps some of the slowest playing I've ever heard in GD history! 3 stars

great slow: candyman,peggy-o,Supplication

this is what i would show someone to show them the grateful dead's playing style

better then some May 77 shows? imho yeah the peggy-o alone is worth the price of admission throw in the last Mission hell you got a real good first set nevermind the kickin Row Jimmy Music and Might As Well haven't even listened to set 2 yet but on paper or screen looks killer

Is it possible to sound better? To me,this ranks up there as one of the best "sounding" shows here. I know everybody has their own favorite shows, runs, years, decades, etc, but this one is tough to beat. Happy Trails

really laid back tenn opener, good stuff
they nail cassidy coming out at the end, always nice when they hit that perfect
great slow tempo peggy
great close to set 1

great version of the wheel tween playing
stephen and nfa are awesome, really good stephen

overall great show, great first set list all well played and second set speaks for itself with 2 delicious sandwiches

This has always been one of the best bootlegs. I had it on tape but without a tape player these days I have missed this GEM. Thanks to Archive for bringing it back. Great memories of many trips listening to this show. Best ever Ten Jed and on and on it goes

They played in Chicago the night I was born, and I saw them in 95' in Chicago!!! Coincidence...I think not. Love the boy's and all the joy they have brought to the millions of fans. Now MY 19 month old dances around the house jammin to the boys, and my 13 year old calls him "uncle" Jerry... miss you papa bear!!! G.D. Family forever

Mission!!! Thanks to the road crew for the request. Peggy-OOOOOOO! 'Nuff said.

...__[:]o

Had the tape many years ago just the first set. Sounded great back then but this sounds awesome.
I'd like to know if there are any bands out there 34 years later who could make half as good a noise live. I bet you there aren't many if any.
Love you Jerr....

It could very well be, and in my opinion it is, although 9/27/76 comes close, especially the new Miller version.

This has very tight playing and yet very exploratory, especially for '76. One of the best, most tripped-out post-'74 Playin's, into what could be the definitive version of The Wheel. Also, I'd put this St.Stephen>NFA>St.Stephen against 5/8/77's any day of the week. In fact, I'd put this entire show up against the best '77's, and it would do more than hold it's own.

After a somewhat average 1st set, with the exception of a few songs, such as beautiful renditions of Mission and Row Jimmy, the rest of the show is straight up intense. Out of the several hundred shows I own and hundreds more I've streamed, from all eras of the Dead, this one's in my top 20, no question. And I'm not really a '76 guy, although I'm starting to appreciate it more, as these '76 shows have more of that spring '77 vibe than the Oct-Nov '77 shows do, imo.

They had a handful of really good shows this year. This one's a great one.

As always, pristine sound, Mr. Ashley(and of course Ms. Cantor!)

Row Jimmy and Peggy-O on this are great! Seems like slower timing on most everything, not in any hurry, but everything is just right. I like Jerry has a slide sound on alot of the songs bring out some great emphasis. A must download for any fan.

More than twenty years ago, I met a guy at UCSD named Charlie. Taped on only one channel of his D6, which I thought was unusual, but it seemed like he knew what he was doing. After all, his collection consisted of several hundred cassettes, which was very impressive at the time. Two of my favorite cassettes from back then came from him, and it was this show in fact. You can hear Phil so clearly. All these years later, I see Charlie's name plastered all over this wonderful resource. Strangely he doesn't seem to have an association with this particular show. Thank you for those wonderful Chicago tapes Charlie. I spread them far and wide. And thank you for all the rest of this too.

I was at, I believe, the Saturday night show. They added a fourth, since all sold out so quickly. I taped this one off of WXRT - I think it was Monday night. This has always been, I think, the all-time best Peggy-O. I really like the slower tempo here compared with most other versions. I can't say how excited I am to find this show - it's one of the best ever.

This is probably my most favorite Row Jimmy. Jerry killed it that night! This is a really excellent recording of this show too.

I have to reiterate the fact that this is: The best recording ever...well, what can I say?... of all the recordings i have ever heard, this is the flat out best Grateful Dead recording i have ever heard.


Evan S

Gotta love this year. I love the no hurry approach to this year, just taking their time and wailing it out. Jerry's Travis Bean guitar sounds so stretchy at times it just makes me giggle. Sometimes they sound like a slingshot, winding it up and then letting loose. This is a quality gig, very enjoyable. The Orpheum shows are killer too!

The boys really had it this night! That Peggy is just incredible. The way Jerry just slightly drags out the words and the solo. Magical. Its like he is making sure everyone takes notice of every bit and piece of the song.

for christmas I got a WMB so now I can stream shows through the big set. What a treat. Was at this run of shows and had a reel to reel of this show that was broadcast on 'XRT. Years ago it was partially demagnitized and there was always a little static from the original broadcast also on the tape. what a great show and time. others have already commented on Peggy-O, The Mission, the "new" St Steven, and others. I would like to add that the Lazy Lightning/Suplication was the finest I ever experienced. For a song that seemed hard to play and even harder to sing, it's brief time as part of their song list, this was a pretty special effort. This was like reuniting with a long lost friend for me. Those Auditorium and Uptown runs were pretty special. Excellent sound too. Thanks

This has become my overall alltime favorite GD show. Right from the start, with the best rendition of Tennessee Jed I know. And the sound quality is fantastic.

the Mission is well known and justified, the last time played?!?!?!?! Maybe they felt they perfected it, and choose a new challange. Thankfully this was not the last peggy-o of the sweet 70's but this is one of the best for sure. Really love the Cassidy and Candyman too, Keith was on. Jerry and Keith Unite!

email me at fieldhouse11277@hotmail.com happy to share with good listeners

i like this show man
76 rocks

PEGGY-O AND MISSION ALLI CAN SAY IS WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

I'll tell the truth, I am not a huge Dead fan, but this is excellent. I like more funk, and jazz influence. Five stars for this show though.

Peggy-o, Mission in the rain....St stephen, got to love it. Lazy Lightening/Supplication is HOT.Row jimmy is pretty nice too. And Dont forget TMNS!!. Check out the jam on Might as well, a tune that makes even more sense after watching the Festival Express DVD.The sound quality is there, especially compared to the Aud version. I dig Keith's playing here and that magical 76 sound that lies somewhere between 74 and 77. Truly another Gem.

Sid I tried to think like you said but I am thinking too hard give me another hint please..

u can download the shows....all i will say is stream the shows as normal...u figure it out ..i did ..just think..think real hard

Thanks for the posting. This tune is heart-warming in light of recent political events.