A Very Good Show
Gordon Sharpless
Posted 2.4.97


2/3/79
Market Square Arena
Indianapolis, Indiana
First Set: The Promised Land 4:01 ; Candyman 6:52 ; Mama Tried 2:47 >
Mexicali Blues 4:19 ; Brown-Eyed Women 5:12 ; China Cat Sunflower 6:17 > I
Know You Rider 6:16 ; Minglewood Blues 5:45 ; Stagger Lee 5:57 ; The Music
Never Stopped 7:39
Second set: Scarlet Begonias 11:44 > Fire on the Mountain 11:15 ; From the
Heart of Me 3:37 ; Estimated Prophet 12:04 > Eyes of the World 11:04 > Drums
9:22 > Space 1:05 > The Other One 11:56 > Wharf Rat 10:45 > I Need a Miracle
6:41 > Casey Jones 6:27
Encore: One More Saturday Night 4:37

This is a good show. It's not a great show- but a good show. And it very well
may be my favorite show. It's been said, and I agree, that many of us hold
special feelings for whatever era we got *it*. For me it was the late 70's
Keith and Donna style Dead that bit me. This show is one of the best of that
era. I've extolled the virtues of this show repeatedly without ever really
detailing much except to rave about the Scarlet Begonias. So finally, on the
18th anniversary- a song by song account of the most heavily played show in
my collection.

My tape derives from an FOB Nakamichi 550/Sennheiser 421 recording that is
simply stellar, except for the beginning...

The Promised Land:
The opening notes pound out and it is immediately apparent that something is
majorly wrong with the PA sound. I wonder if they did a soundcheck this
night. Phil is present, Keith is very present- as he was to be all night-
(take note Keith bashers), Bob's vocals are clear- but everything else is a
distant echo- except for a couple of clowns standing close to the
microphones. But that's why I like audience tapes- escepially good ones- you
can better relive the concert experience. In any event, the version of
Promised Land is nothing remarkable- unless of course hearing mostly Phil and
Keith is your thing.

Candyman:
Still suffering major PA problems- the level of crowd noise right now leads
me to believe that the overall volume is quite low at this point. No vocals
are heard at the beginning of Candyman. However you can hear the clowns in
front of the mics yelling "louder, louder", "Dennis!", "This is the song we
left the party with", and finally, assumably a security person, saying
directly into a mic "take it down". Fortunately the taper didn't. Then
*bammo* the PA kicks in with "Candyman's in town", more screams from the
crowd. Gradually throughout the duration of an unremarkable version the
sound improves.

Mama Tried > Mexicali Blues:
Neither one of these songs lend much to description. You like them or you
don't. As with most of this set, the versions are solid, well played, but
nothing to rave about, just the good 'ol Grateful Dead doing their thing.

Brown-Eyed Women:
Still suffering from imperfect PA, but steadily improving. This rendition is
the first of the night to exhibit anything special. During Garcia's lead
break, on the third and final instrumental verse he hits a couple of notes
that scorch. You feel it on the tape. You hear it from the crowd. And
"Delilah Jones" is met with loud applause and screams. The energy level is up
and holds through the rest of the song... and then...

China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider
"China Cat! Yewwwww!" yells someone near the mics. This was, after all, the
first version since 12/29/77 and only the second version since 1974. This was
the real breakout, as China Cat was never to be shelved again. In comparison
to other China Cats, especially some of the versions played later in 1979 and
into 1980, this version is somewhat weak. But the energy of the breakout just
sizzles off the tape. You're there. You're in the 25th row hearing the China
Cat breakout. And Keith is just pounding. The China Cat Jam is comprised
largely of Jerry rapidly playing scales as was his style at this time.  A
flurry of Jerry notes, Phil rumbling along, Keith pounding out a rhythm, this
may not be the best China Cat, but it sure scores a 10 for dancebility. And
into Rider... Donna sounds wonderful on this song. Both of Garcia's solos
rank above average in the energy level department- Not quite 10/28/79, but
up there. It's a very very good version. Catch some breath. Whew.

Minglewood Blues:
At this point a change is evident on my tape. Characteristically, the sound
is the same fat Nakamichi sound, but it sounds as if either Healy bumped up
the volume significantly, the taper maybe moved up a dozen rows, or it simply
changes to a different original source. In any event- Minglewood like
everything else this night, is at the very minimum, *good*. A fine Keith
solo, some annoying Bob slide, and out.

Stagger Lee:
Not particularly remarkable, a little shorter than most versions of this era,
but error free.

The Music Never Stopped:
This is a reference, benchmark version. It crescendos perfectly, is performed
near flawlessly. This is my favorite version of this song. Period. At no
point does the jam ever decrease in its energy level. Keith compliments every
Jerry note perfectly. One of Keith's biggest assets was how well he and Jerry
could play off one another. At this show, and certainly this song, they were
of the same mind. The jam builds with a flurry of rapid notes complimented by
a steady pounding of piano and then effortlessly segueing into the final
fanning, first softly, then fully. Not the longest fan-out on TMNS, but
possibly one of the best.

We're gonna take a short break...

Scarlet Begonias:
This is the *shit*. This is the *one*. This is the Scarlet Begonias of all
Scarlet Begonias. February 3 is forever to be known as National Scarlet
Begonias Day. This is *it*.
The intro is surprisingly short, the verses sung unremarkably. I might point
out at this point, Jerry was not in particularly good voice this night, as is
the case with most January/February 1979 shows. As was common this era, the
lead break develops right out of the bridge with the "There ain't nothing
wrong with the way she moves..." verse not being sung. And what a lead break
it is. It's only a four verse lead break- but WOW! The first two run throughs
are silky smooth, flawless and fun, on the third run the energy level is
pushed up a few notches as Jerry begins pounding out chords with Keith in hot
pursuit on the piano. A final crescendo of guitar and piano chords leads one
expecting "The wind in the willows..." but no...! Musical explosion- from
pounding out chords Jerry does a full 180 and hits some screaching notes that
bumps this Scarlet to a level I've never heard from another version. The
whole band perfectly drops the jam into the "Wind in the willows..."
Perfectly. Perfectly. Now the long jam. Many of you may be familiar with the
12/31/78 version, this one is very similar in structure in that it centers
largely upon very fast scaling from Jerry. It starts out softly with Jerry
seemingly meandering about a theme not quite sure yet what direction to take
it. Donna is humming softly, tastefully, perfectly. In a minute or so Donna
disappears and Jerry seems to become more focused, still playing softly but
more rapidly now. He continues with these soft and rapid notes for another
minute or so. Billy and Mickey are providing a perfect beat for Jerry to work
over. Jerry then slows himself down and concentrates on a specific note or
two finally bending them over and backwards, it's a hard thing for me to
describe but those familiar with this show know what I speak of, those who
don't surely will when you hear it. Jerry now kicks in a bit of wah-wah and
begins to play more rapidly, but not softly as before. Then faster, and
faster, and faster, and faster. Six musicians are perfectly in sync, everyone
is heard clearly on this tape, this jam is going nuts. I am usually somewhat
averse to abrupt endings, but this one works, and works well, a flurry of
notes and the whole thing crashes perfectly into...

Fire on the Mountain:
For the most part I'm not a big fan of this song. I like most the intro, and
this version is clearly my favorite. Each of the requisite parts of the intro
get proper treatment. It's flawless. I can't pick out anything in particular
about the rest of the song, but suffice it to say, this is an excellent
version of this song. Not too long, but still well jammed. I can't imagine
anyone not liking it.

 From the Heart of Me:
Whatever. I can't fault it, but I can't dissect it either. It's fine. It's
part of the show. Listen to it.

Estimated Prophet:
At this point I have to say in all fairness, the energy level that began in
Brown-Eyed Women and peaked in The Music Never Stopped and again in
Scarlet Begonias, begins to slack off a bit. The remainder of the show is
still *good*, but the end-all versions of TMNS and Scarlet are not
replicated again this evening. I still like this version. I like it a lot.
The first lead break has a good intensity level and I love the jam. It
features many a fast flurry from Jerry, culminating in another speedfest a la
Scarlet Begonias. The transition into Eyes of the World is rather
interesting...

Eyes of the World:
This is a very fast version. That in itself turns off some people, that's
okay. Interestingly as Eyes starts somewhat abruptly out of the Estimated
jam, Jerry keeps the wah-wah sound on for the first few chords. It's a cool
sound on Eyes and I wish he tried it for the full intro. But it wasn't to be.
The intro is not particularly long but as has been the case all night the
interplay between Keith and Jerry is exceptional. Keith plays very strongly
through the first verse. The first jam is fast but smooth and again is heavy
on Keith. The second jam doesn't excite me as much but is well played. The
ending jam after the final verse, is however, outstanding. It is very fast
and intense and quite long. Excluding this jam would result in a very short
Eyes. This was somewhat typical around this time and I would point one to
12/12/78 or 2/10/79 as examples of a version in a similar vein. The jam
decays nicely into drums.

Drums:
It's drums... good drums.

Space:
What I call *space* is in fact about a minute of Jerry noodling around a
theme that will soon melt into noodling around the theme of The Other One.
But it's a real nice start to a real nice version of...

The Other One:
I *really* like this one. It starts out very quietly with noodling about the
theme with each bandmember gradually joining in and gradually increasing the
energy level until Phil graces us with an excellent run. We are than treated
to a competent version of The Other One that ends with a slightly extended
jam after the second verse. This was somewhat common this era- 12/16/78 is
another excellent (and somehat longer) version of a long post verses jam.

Wharf Rat:
This is not particularly remarkable. It's solid and competent, and as with
everything else this night I can't find much to say negative about it. But if
I'm looking for a great Wharf Rat, I'd go to 4/22/78 first.

I Need a Miracle:
I like these early versions. They tend to be longer with more evolved
jammings than the frequent throw away versions we got later in the 80's. This
version has a funky jam with Keith providing a solid anchor with some
interesting notes at the end of the jam.

Casey Jones:
The transition into Casey Jones is botched. It's the first and only real
clinker of the night. This version is longer than most versions in the 78-82
range, but regrettably the energy level just isn't there anymore. Perhaps the
one flaw with this whole night was the failure to maintain an intense energy
level all the way until to the end. But that's what the Grateful Dead are and
we love them for it. This is still an enjoyable Casey Jones, but 12/31/77 it
ain't.

One More Saturday Night:
It rocks, it's smooth, it's steady. But it's not explosive. It's a competent
end to a competent show.

A show that, to me, exemplifies very well what the Grateful Dead were,
especially in the late 70's. Intense levels of energy interspersed with a few
low points. This is not the greatest show there ever was, but it's likely my
favorite.
Okay, it's grovel time... If you or someone you know- has this majestic
Nakamichi 550/Sennheiser 421 *master*- it's time to put it to DAT. May I?

Gordon

P.S. 2/3/79 is a good show.