The danger of being a deadhead let loose in the Grateful Dead vault is forgetting that feeling of wow I am listening to my favorite band playing my favorite tunes.
While the 1st set does have a few flubs it is also a very well balanced set with a little bit of everything.
I especially like the Friend of the Devil which does not always hold my interest but works on this night.
There is extra effort in the 2nd set. Prime example: pulling out Good Lovin after the Scarlet >Fire.
It kinda brought me back to the Bertha opener where they opted for Jack Straw instead of more predictable Good Lovin'.
So I see this as a home town show where they are more interested in getting their groove on as opposed to having to entertain a bunch of East Coast College Students.
Great recording -digging Weir's guitar work in Estimated Prophet. (He got an award today the First Les Paul Spirit Award.)
Wow, Estimated jam into the He's Gone. Using that Estimated funkiness right into the next tune. From listening I was not 100% sure they were going into He's Gone. In fact they slightly overshoot the first verse.
They just sound really laid back perhaps that causes them to not nail each verse precisely but at the same time I have a 'Row Jimmy' feel to the entire night. Just laid back and feeling alright.
The jam out of He's Gone has a Spoonful vibe to it pretty edgy- like how Jerry kinda does a little coda as they give it over to the drummers.
Funny that Drums is under 3 minutes that does not give much time for a break at all.
If we are getting 3 minutes just slay us with the big drums!!!
I like SAMSON coming out of drums and again this is outside the normal routine for 77 or any year.
And this is a fire breathing S&D-- Quenched nicely with the gentleness of the TERRAPIN in the final ballot spot. Beautiful! Or perhaps one could call it a double ballad with Terrapin> Morning Dew (What a perfect segue into the Dew)
I am pretty sure that Morning Dew was the most powerful song I ever heard the band play live during my time going to shows in the 80's and early 90's. As cool as it was to hear them break out a Dark Star and make no mistake it was a cosmic experience. Something about Morning Dew. Time just hanging in the balance. Hard to explain or give proper vocabulary. But if it is possible in this brief imperfect lifetime for a bunch of individual folks to be transformed into one collective being. That was it!
This DEW is just INCREDIBLE!!!!
and last but not least Around and Around which i have to admit the more versions I hear of this tune the more I realize how underrated a tune it is. For my money it worked best during the Donna era.
A double encore with the Uncle John's probably all that was needed but the U.S. Blues makes you shake those bones one more time.

Click here for a thorough review (pre-commercially released board);

http://estimatedprofits.blogspot.com/2009/11/june-7-1977-winterland-arena-san.html

Uncle John's Band is somewhat ruined by very out-of-tune, or misplayed Jerry notes. This I think is the reason for only 3 stars, and also why the Dead often ran out of gas, so to speak, even during peak songs, tuning problems were very evident. Jerry and Bobby did not always tune true.This is true for a large number of shows, and why Dick's Picks is so hard a job!!

I can't think of many better second sets and no better Terrapin > Morning Dew exists.

This is a fine show from 77, but the Peggy-O, which is one of the best I've heard, cuts out at the climax of Garcia's solo. So I'm wondering if there's an intact version out there?

I havent heard the folowwing two nights but this show is a killer!!! 1st set is standard 77, no complaints though. Second set gem Terrapin>Am Dew!!! Not the transition one would hope for but killer nonetheless. The last three songs would make anyone get up and dance. Decent sound/energy

The first set of this show is enough to warrent a download from any Dead fan. The LLRain is probably my favorite form 77, and the Peggy-O that follows is equally as powerful. Friend of the Devil showcases very beautiful vocals from Jerry. If your a fan of 77 first sets try this one out. Sound quality is great.

One of the weaker shows from one of the Dead's best periods. The following 2 nights there at Winterland were much better.