They weren't very tight at all. However, I have seen them in their more recent tours (Furthur) and they sound much better. I as well recall the fun scene in the parking lot. I do remember some pepper spray.....

this show was great but did have a few vocal flubs in the beginning. i can forgive them for it though seeing as it was the end of not a 3 day run as said below but actually a 6 day straight run pretty much. starting the 21st they played Buffalo,NY, then the 22nd in Wilkes-Barre,PA, then the 23rd on Letterman late night, then the 24th in Uniondale,NY, then the 25th at MSG (im sure this show alone took much energy out of them) then the Hartford civic center on the 26th to end it. when your in your 60s i can imagine its not easy being on the road and playing that many nights in a row. during this show i kept thinking how it seemed really long, i dont wanna say dragged out cause that seems like a bad term but now that i look at the setlist almost every song is 10 minutes or more, this is a great setlist but the pace of the show just seemed slow to me. im just happy they are touring and playing this music tho. for the most part i think everyone is happy with the tour and its only the slight majority who are expecting a "grateful dead" performance out of them. even the grateful dead had their off nights but i dont even think this is an off night. a few vocal flubs is really all. they actually gave us a pretty awesome setlist with about 7 songs that hadn't yet been played on this tour, some of which still have not been repeated. the tomorrow never knows was amazing i thought. i saw them a few nights later on the 29th in east rutherford, NJ at the meadowlands arena with branford marsalis and the energy was incredible. out of the two that was my favorite show. i highly reccomend giving that a listen. theres a "doin that rag" that will blow you away.

Hi Im Joey, i was at this concert. My dad got nosebleeds to the show and we ended up moving twoard the back of the stage which was awesome. At the begining of the second set we saw the Dead walk out. Awesome experience. Since then I have loved the dead and I think I will always love the dead. RIP Jerry.

i didn't have a very good time at this show...we went to the show at MSG the night before as well. i think the guys were just tired. plus, weekend shows in general aren't that great - the crowd always leaves a lot to be desired. we ended up walking out 3/4 through the second set at both shows. after listening to the encores on this site, i'm glad we missed em. "west LA fadeaway" is currently one of my top dead songs (it changes periodically as i get older and experience new things and travel), and when they played it at this show, i couldn't even dance to it. the way warren sang it...he took all the funk out of the song. the second set opener, "the weight"...was not impressive. the whole second set was...boring. there was no energy. on top of the fact that the crowd was awful - drunk and obnoxious. i saw one guy fall down the stairs, and another guy that was just standing out in the concession area suddenly fall *flat* on his face. i thought he was dead for a minute. the lot scene was decent, and definitely entertaining, and we met a lot of good people outside. i had a good time, but a way better time in NJ a few days later. it was like philathon last year at nokia...had a way better time at the weeknight shows - smaller, more devoted and kinder crowd, better set lists, better energy. the weekend shows are packed with weekend warriors (you know...the people who only "have time to be a deadhead" on saturdays and sundays) and the sets are so-so. you wanna listen to a great dead show from the '09 tour, download 4/29/09 at the IZOD. 4 words - women are smarter encore. oh, and brandford marsalis was there, too.

ok so can i not post about activities in the lot? anyone know why that got deleted? sorry for putting up a sweet experience...

this was all in all a great show, lacking in energy yes, but overall a great show, like stated before this had some great tunes some of which haven't even been played again. all one needs to think is, "thank you guys for coming out". period!

I waited until I could give the soundboard a listen before posting. As has been said, the Bertha and the Cumberland are really good. The snappy Cumberland may be the best of the tour so far (up to LA). I was a bit surprised Bobby couldn't finish Greatest Story but it was indeed the end of a smokin run of shows (he sings the Quasar line about 5 times hoping to remember the rest but can't, and the song just falls apart after that). They are playing tightly, but perhaps the energy is too low.

peter?

I was here too. I agree, it took so long to post here and was the only one with a large wait, considering the 10 tapers there.

I interviewed Mickey Hart for this show and got 2 great tickets, Section 115, 1st row near the floor, 15 from the stage.

http://hartfordadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=12651
http://hartfordadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=12704

I was at this show with three friends, all long time deadheads, all objective folks, all realizing this was not the Grateful Dead and all psyched and expecting a great show.

The parking lot scene was wonderful and reminiscent of the 80’s. Everyone having a great time enjoying the beautiful weather, hanging out, partying and looking forward to some excellent music.

It was not to be. We thought the show was incredibly disappointing, awful and actually painful at times. We were baffled that this band could sound so bad. We all like Phil & Friends and Ratdog - how could these guys sound so horrible? By the fourth song of a Phil show I’m in heaven - blown away by the energy, tightness and sound! By the fourth song in Hartford I was shocked, disappointed and holding out a glimmer of hope that they would eventually hit their stride – it was not going to happen. The tempo of almost every song was waaay too sloooow. No energy, no enthusiasm, just going through the motions. Seemed more like a lounge act or cover band. The show did not flow – felt very disjointed. There might have been one segue from a song into another. They stopped after almost every song!! The segues are one of the best parts. Speaking of Phil, we speculated that he could not be pleased with the music this band was producing, perhaps even embarrassed given the perfectionist he is, and that he could not wait to get back to his own band.

The best song was the Cumberland that ended the first set. Fast paced, tight, sounded great, got us moving. Unfortunately this was the peak and one highlight.

Jeff Chimenti was excellent on keyboards and Phil and the drummers were solid. Warren was ok.
This next part is painful to write but here goes. Bob seems like he’s losing it. He is definitely the leader/ conductor of this band and I think he held them back. I believe he may be on a mental decline. The Ratdog style of singing or should I say talking the lyrics + the tempo got old fast.

Hartford was their 3rd consecutive show. My friend was concerned that they wouldn't have anything left after Nassau and the Garden. Looks like he was right.

So..., this review is not meant to be malicious, just one persons honest opinion. I would have much preferred to give a 4 or 5 star review - then the show would have been everything we were expecting and not the huge disappointment it was.
We're done with The Dead.

Thank you Mr Krall for making this available, it is a sonic beauty to my ears and perhaps my favorite of yours this tour. Superb.

Highlight for me was "Tomorrow", very nice cover version.

This tour just keeps getting better.

Not bad for the end of a 3 night run for 4 old dudes and a way to laid back guiatrist. Sound quality of recording is very nice. Not sure why one would equate Black Peter with Morning Dew. One was always a rare treat and the other often a throw away paired with Around and Around. I remember my first Dew (Buffalo 9/26/81), but Black Peters were a dime a dozen. And frankly many of those dozen wrer kinda passionless, though of course as with anything Garcia touched some shined.

How odd that this one show out of all the ones so far took so long to post here...
Thanks for finally feeding our Jones'

I'm not disin' anyone here... Just pointing out how quickly all the other shows made it to the archive...

Just expressing my own angst at not being able to be at this show that I had tix for & would have recorded myself if I had been able to go.
Great Show Great Recording!!!

I was 17 in 93 When i saw my first show in boston and managed to squeeze a bit over 30 shows with Jerry before his passing, i have since never stopped seeing every tour to come through the area(anyhting within an 8 hour drive). I really began to enjoy the music again around the further 98' tour and when phil and phriends began playing in my area in 99'. People always try and relate this present day DEAD to the Grateful Dead of years past, its the past, people change, times change and its only inevitable that the music will change, I mean if you truly love the dead and understand their music its understood that we as fans give them the freedom to experiment right on stage before us every night, thats where the freedom for them and magic for all of us can occur.Sometimes it flops and sometimes its completely indescribable... thats the dead. Im glad things change and its not like we are listsening to the same bootleg over and over again. This tour has been the best music i have heard live in over 15 years, i am in awe of how well they sound and the energy that they are giving off. Sorry for the long post but i keep reading so much negative feedback about the shows and everyone is entitled to their opinion but come on now, give this band a break, they are having fun and people should enjoy it for what it IS, not what they want it to be. Thanks again to the tapers, the fans, and the good ol' gratful dead. Stay positive...

The tapers have put soe GREAT quality stuff up, thank you! I was at this show and had a blast...hadn't seen them live since 91...brought back a lot of memories...

And if Rachel from Quincy is reading this, great to meet you! Was great to have someone to dance and shake our bones with!!

I was on the floor for this show, and was DEAD tired after MSG the night before. I think the guys were too. it was a good, but chill show. i was really hoping for them to inject a little more energy because their music was just about the only thing keeping be going. overall it was amazing seeing them two nights in a row, but this show sort of pales in comparison to the MSG show. glad i saw it though. i really enjoyed cumberland, watchtower, and of course ripple.

Thanks again. The lame comment from Shiva Ho is unwarranted.

I was at the show and thought the show was a blast. The only down side was the derailing of a couple songs. Most notably the Till The Morning Comes. I was fired up to hear the Bertha, Till The Morning Comes opener and was in pain listening to the fumble. Oh-well.. Shit Happened! lol Great day! Over 90 degrees in April?!?! Great night! Grateful!

very much like church for us old deadheads on a sunday night in hartford. great recording sounds sweet. what kind of mikes are they? and can mr krall send an old school b@p of the 24/96 files for a trade of some great hawaii coffee or something cool? any way to get a hold of you?

Sweet Cumberland Blues... Thanks for the tape!