This show is usually mentioned in response to the question of best Hallowe'en shows (along with 10/31/80 & 10/31/85). The following night is known for the super-long Scar>Fire and the previous night has one of '79's best second sets. But, along with being the candidate for best Hallowe'en, this show is the best of the Fall tour overall. They had already played Nassau earlier in the year, but this time they did their first 3-days-in-a-row run (which they would do eight more times), at what is arguably the Dead's classic arena.

First Set. The first 10 secs or so of China Cat are missing from the official release but the matrix source is complete. It's just a bit rough, then warming up for I Know You Rider. A weird pick for Road Trips v1, since the show before has a great one. Cassidy is uptempo, above average, but this is a super-fit, vegetarian Loser. Don't miss it. The SBD has a fade-out near the end of a solid Big River, again making the MTX preferable. This Althea is on the more contemplative end of the scale, with a great finish, and is the tour's best - even if it's not what it would become the next spring. The last two of the set are hot. Saint of Circumstance is the first great one (they got much better the next spring), and so tight that it leaves 'em peaking for the break.

Second Set. A nearly 2hr set. Bobby tells his Dada joke (complete on the MTX), but this time with a tag. Jer then claims it's all black magic, "white rabbit/black magic". This is a long-ass Shakedown and the best of the tour, with several great sections. It got better for me after a few passes. Sold. The interplay is rich: maybe it is black magic. I'm not sure I can rack it against 1/10, but at 17min isn't this the longest one? Passenger takes off too quick for the boys to keep track so Jer has to do some single-string work and Bobby pares down. The only trainwreckage of the set, though it would have been cool if they could have played it at this tempo now and then successfully. Jer tries hard to get on top of it, going hyper. Ramble on Rose returns to the solid; you'll notice an extra measure, and if this was a bathroom song for you, it will surprise you. Estimated is good (but not 10/25 good). This is an uptempo era for Eyes of the World, and this one has several great sections - a couple outright amazing. Drums is like a mid-'80s. It and Space are a definite parcel part of the set. It takes a couple minutes to resolve into Wharf Rat from Jer's first strums. The boys are red hot by this point and Jer has one in the chamber for each section. Truckin' has a great segue in and now this train can't be stopped. They aim to exhaust the Heads. You'll probably want the MTX again for Johnny B. Goode, if you want the vox.

1st Set:  B-
2nd Set: B
Overall = 3¾ stars   HG

Highlights:
Loser - fit and vegetarian
Saint of Circumstance - the 1st great one
Shakedown Street - black magic
Eyes of the World>Truckin' - a classic '79 sequence

SOURCES: The bertha_ashley_17360 has some digi-wavering. The miller_29410 is the best SBD source, but it is runs slow and needs +2% 1st set, and +1% 2nd set (possibly one reason the show is close to a hidden gem). The SBD was mixed for loud keys (for the entire tour), probably by request per Brent, tilting the show toward the matrix treatment. Try the groves_91040 MTX, which also clears some of the lack of atmosphere and the flatness (and needs just +1% pitch), though I wish the ratio favored the SBD more on the 1st set. Jim and Matt are still gods. The third disc of Road Trips 1-1 has China Cat>Rider & Althea, but runs slow, needing +2% pitch.

took public trans from Bergen County after a half day at work,told the boss i had a dentist appt. the new all male Dead ,first time i seen this line-up...hey that guy sounds like donna,but BETTER ,hah. cool China?Rider opener,i was stoked....i remember the Shakedown being monsterous ,followed by an equally fat Passenger,listen to Phil ,hes playing quite...muscular,ka boom, i can feel a more aggresive vibe in this new bunch a guys........good jams,then the whistle start Truckin" stood out nice,left feeling satisfied for a weeknight,grabbed public in time for work the nxt day...Boss asked "how was your dentist appt?" i said "not bad,thnx ;)..."p.s.yo,petey,this show is from 10/31/ 799999999 ,hah ,its cool ,brah

The last show with Keith and Donna was Feb. 17, 1979, so maybe you got your dates mixed up.

About to turn this show on now though. No rating from me yet.

It slipped by me that China Cat > Know You Rider was absent, post break, until 1979 (ok, there was that one time in 1977). Weird.

I discovered that fact exploring how many times China > Rider opened a show. Only 5, post break. Three of those within the week plus two days of this show. It seemed unusal to me, and it is.

I also learned that although it seemed to me like a pretty common set of songs, it was not played as frequently as I might have guessed. Once they picked it back up in 1979, they played it until the end, just not every third show.

Ok, last musing for now, by the mid-eighties the pairing was predominantly a second set offering, whereas prior to that point it was played in both sets about equally.

street !

A hot China>Rider begins a start-to-finish excellent show. Jamming Cassidy and Loser follow and bring the energy level even further up. Rest of first set is solid, definitely setting the table for a mind-blowing second set.
An 18-minute Shakedown gets completely jammed out by the boys. Top 10 for sure. Passenger keeps things rolling and the Ramble on Rose that follows is equally energetic and jammy. Estimated>Eyes is absolutely wonderful, and make sure you're wearing headphones towards the end of Eyes and into Drums>Space. Your ears will be treated to a very interesting Spacey jam at the end of Eyes and a fun drums sequence. Post Space is OK...Wharf Rat starts out good, but then this source switches over to AUD. The AUD is not terrible, but Jerry's voice is very muffled in the recording. From there on out the show is a bit off, but that is likely due to the sound.

I LISTENED TO MANY OF THE TUNES HEAR AND I THOUGHT THIS ONE AWESUM SPACES- DRUMS VERY HYPNOTIC

Wow, this is my first time on archive.org and obviously I will be spending a lot of time here. I can't believe I found my first Dead show! We we smushed down in the second row -- way too many people were on the floor. I was 16 and couldn't believe what I walked into. By the time the band left China and headed into Rider, I was hooked for good!

I was there that night and shakedown was indeed awesome. During Ramblin Rose Jerry was actually moving around quite a bit. I still don't get the duck joke....

IT does sound good but the batteries in my state of the art speakers are dying and .....well...I need new speakers and batteries. They Blow. I think this may be a 4 star I just had too much too fast...I can never tell!

incredible shakedown street here, folks. give a listen