Dave's Picks 29 (1977-02-26)

     I would wish you all a happy new year, but honestly who cares about all that nonsense, the latest Dave's Picks is here!  Our favorite archivist is starting the year off strong with the first show from 1977, February 26th at the Swing Auditorium.  And being the nice guy that he is, David also included the last three songs from the next night at UCLA Santa Barbara.  Both of these shows are fairly well known already, but as usual Jeffrey Norman's hard work has made what was already a great recording by Betty Cantor sound crystal clear.  So let's get into Dave's Picks 29.

• Terrapin Station
• As a sign of what the year would bring, the Dead opened their first show of 1977 with this new and incredibly complicated song.  It's a testament to how tight and well rehearsed they were at this point that they not only don't screw it up, but they actually play it pretty damn well.
• It's not exactly perfect, but it is played at a brisker tempo than a lot of later versions and has some surprising twists, like the spacey fade out at the end...that turns into the first technical difficulty of the night!  This also reveals Keith's latest surprise: his Polymoog synthesizer!  React accordingly.
• Terrapin feels weird in the first set, especially as the opener, but we can't hold the 1977 Dead accountable for expectations that would come from 40 more years of playing this song, can we?
• New Minglewood Blues
• 1977 is my favorite year for this song.  It wasn't as light and contained as it was in '76, but not as over the top and filled with slide guitar as '78.  And after that it basically just turned into Just Another First Set Bobby Blues Song.
• Jerry's on the attack right off the bat, and Bob gets growly.  Keith goes for his usual solo spot but Jerry is all over him and then everyone just goes off at once.  Nice.
• They Love Each Other
• Donna's harmonies are especially sweet here.
• Jerry and Keith do a great job of intertwining with each other's parts during their solos, very intricate playing.
• Estimated Prophet
• Another debut in a strange place.  This is a harmless little Baby Estimated, just a tight standalone performance.  I'm sure anyone who saw these early versions were shocked the next year when it it had evolved into a deep, dark, second set jam monster.
• It's cool to see the bones of this song, just the Platonic Form of what Bobby had in mind before he got so...histrionic about it.  It's kind of like listening to a Playing in the Band from before Keith joined the band.  Just an exercise in strange rhythms.
• Keith really makes use of the Polymoog on this one.  I feel like this song is 80 percent of why he played that thing for a year and a half.  There are a couple alternate lyrics, and it winds down to a dark little ending.
• Sugaree
• They had started stretching Sugaree out the previous year, but '77 is when it really hit its jamming stride.  Past readers may recall that I'm not really in love with this particular song, but no one can deny that this is a great version.
• The band just sounds so good in this show.  Besides just the recording itself, Jerry, Bob, and Keith's tones all mesh so well with each other.  Phil's bass comes through clearly, no muddiness or anything.  While the drummers never get a proper Drums segment, their work through the whole show is spot on.
• Mama Tried
• This and Deal can be summed up as such: blistering solos from Jerry, but otherwise not much to say.
• Deal
• Playing In The Band
• Continuing in what was already a strangely shaped setlist, the Dead decided to end the set with what had become a standard second set jam vehicle.  But instead of doing a standalone version to end the set like pre-hiatus, or even like their last show at New Year's, they ratchet up the weirdness even more by making it a sandwich with Wheel!
• They don't hurry through the sandwich either, they take the time to let the Playin' jam develop.  To make a bad metaphor of it, Keith, Jerry, and Phil all try to run off with the jam in different directions, but Bobby has tied them together so that no matter how far afield they run, they always come back together.  Also there are drummers.  Metaphors aren't perfect.
• What is perfect is this Playing in the Band.  Jerry starts melting down while Keith keeps the beat going with some Fall '76-esque progressions, some darkness creeping in around the edges.
• The Wheel
• Jerry shifts keys and the effect is like a beam of sunlight suddenly breaking through dark storm clouds.  Then he slams them into the Wheel without the drummers going into their typical pre-Wheel holding pattern and it's just amazing.
• Like the Playin' that surrounds it, this Wheel is just exactly perfect.  They get all the changes right, they all sing together beautifully, and the outro jam is exquisite.  All the parts fold together seamlessly to move back into the Playin' theme.
• Playing In The Band
• Ok, so maybe by the end Jerry's a little out of tune and Donna forgets to yell, but this whole sequence is still absolutely top shelf.
• Samson & Delilah
• After an incredible first set, they come out guns blazing for the next one.  They're so excited Jerry even comes in way too early to start the song!
• After that it's smooth sailing.  Not the most driven version, but neatly put together with just enough fire to keep you dancing.
• The closing section with the chorus and drum break is arguably wrong, but the band is so together that it doesn't turn into a trainwreck (this time).
• Tennessee Jed
• This is another one where it feels like it almost goes off the rails a couple times, but the band instinctively corrects and you're left scratching your head wondering whether they really did skip a beat at all (they did).
• Great interplay between Jerry and Keith, they spin right off of each other as the rest of the band builds to the peak and the final chorus.
• Music Never Stopped
• More setlist strangeness, both Tennessee Jed and this feel very out of place here in the second set.  But who can complain about a second set Music?
• This is the first version where they dropped the extra bar after the "forgot about the time" verse, and you can hear Bobby count them off to remind the rest of the band.
• They slow things down for the first part of the jam, and instead of shifting directly into the more hard rocking part Keith and Phil force them into a detour through a jazzier little space first.; another '76 holdover that would soon disappear.
• Help On The Way
• One of the reasons I love this song so much is how it showcases Jerry's ability to carve a song into thin air.
• Good tempo, ~103 BPM.
• Half vamp/half intro .
• Keith on piano.
• Hee-ah, hush.
• Jerry's tone sounding a little thin, but he's aggressive on the solo.  Three times through, sounds thicker and more metallic as he goes.
• Only once through the outro riff like in '76, pretty tight through the transition.   
• Slipknot!
• Slip Riff sounds great, if not totally together: the first, second, and fourth rotations have two bars of 8 and then one bar of 9.  The third rotation maybe with just three bars of 8 if you ask Phil.
• Phil leads the jam from the start, Jerry waits a long time to come in.  His tone really gets fuzzier and darker in this song in '77; he turns into Big Scary Jerry.
• Very directed and inspired jam.  Drums present but not overpowering at all.
• Keith on piano.
• Sudden dive into Slipcord, preluded by Scary Jerry making big swoops to take control of the jam, a popular trick they would continue to do through '77.
• Slip Riffs good, almost perfect.  Counterparts from whole band.  Two times through riff like rest of the year.  Solid transition.
• Franklin's Tower
• Bobby teases China Cat throughout the song.
• ~107 BPM.
• There is still a small cut in this, like on the soundboard that has always circulated.  It is patched so well that it's barely noticeable.
• Good and bouncy, pure Jerry bliss.
• Promised Land
• Just to make sure you get it, I'll say it again: this is a weird setlist.  What is this song doing in the middle of the second set??
• Eyes Of The World
• During the tuning before they start up the next song, Jerry teases St. Stephen, presumably just to taunt the audience.
• Eyes starts out pretty and mellow, but turns into a grand exclamation by the end.  Jerry tears up all of the solos between verses, but then it's Phil's turn to shine after that.  This is one of his best post-hiatus solos, very assertive and coherent, with nice backing by Keith.  It feels like it might drift into Drums at a few points, but then Bob and Jerry slide in and it turns into Dancing.
• Dancing In The Streets
• An interesting pairing, a final remnant of that '76 vibe in this show.
• As soon as the lyrics end Jerry hits some combination of knobs and pedals that gives him a fierce wah-tone and then it's shred city from there.  It feels kind of like the rest of the band s chasing after him for the rest of the song, he's totally locked in and not waiting for anyone else.  But they mostly keep up with him and it makes for an exciting take on the song.
• They don't do the typical "disco" riffs at the end of the jam, which I think is too bad, but whatever.
• Around and Around
• No Jerry ballad tonight, they wrap up the second of two weird sets with a standard closer.
• There's either another small cut here, or the band skips a random verse in the final amp up without missing a beat...
• A song that definitely got overplayed in this era, but this one is alright by me.
• U.S. Blues
• A few forgotten verses in here, but it had been a long night so let's all just give Jerry a break.

 2/27/77

• Morning Dew
• The recording starts with the closing chords of Terrapin, and then they take a few beats while Jerry winds up for Dew.
• In a year full of famous Morning Dews, this one often gets overlooked because the soundboard hasn't circulated.  It's not as flashy as 5/8 or 5/22, but it sure does choogle hard.
• I swear I hear Bobby teasing China Cat again around the 10 minute mark...
• The song builds confidently through the verses, and Jerry plays a beautiful solo.  But then the real work starts.  Jerry doesn't actually lead through the outro after a certain point, instead mostly fanning chords while the drummers, Keith, and Phil explode in furious rhythm.  Every time you think they can't go for another rotation, they dive in for another go and around again until they finally come to the final climax.   
• Sugar Magnolia
• Nothing could be more powerful than that Dew, so Bobby decides it's time for some good rock 'n roll fun.  And ultimately I think that was the right thing to do.
• Johnny B. Goode
• The whole band goes nuts on this one.

     Well there it is, one out of three for the year down.  One of these days I'll probably try to rank all the Dave's Picks and rip all my hair out, but in the meantime just know that I would put this up there as one of the best.  In the interest of transparency, making shameless plugs, and laziness, I should point out that I lifted some of my own notes about Help > Slip! > Frank from this guest post I did for Dead Essays.  If the terms didn't make sense, you just might have to read that to figure it out...but anyway, let me know what you thought of Dave's Picks 29, smash that subscribe button, and tune in next time.