Though this second night of the Chicago shows is better overall, of the six songs repeated from the first night, only one is better (Estimated). The show was FM broadcasted (but not simulcasted), so it used to circulate. But BITD it was hard to come across a good gen, well-pitched, that made it worthwhile. Hearing the complete show even now takes a little effort. Billy & Mickey prankstered the opening, taking the stage in the guise of Drs. Beechwood & Shot. There's a helluva sequence in the 1st set and a strong 2nd set, though presumably you first heard the 17th, two shows later, since it's one of the best ever. This is close to that level. May '77: it's like that.

First Set. Some of the beginning characters-goof is cut from the OFF. The opening slot is a jammer, getting better as it goes. Typically '77 versions of the next few are made better by Keith, who is in more of a cocktail mood than barrelhouse or rag. These are played solidly into Minglewood, but just hang in there as this goes big, continuing into a strong Friend of the Devil [@6:28 miller_9393 & ashley_14942 have a 45sec cut in the solo; the OFF has a 26sec cut @6:45; unknown_6690 is complete]. The sequence starting at Jack-a-Roe is classic stellar May '77. This is the first Roe (well, of the new arrangement – it was a redux from earlier folk days). It's one of 8 songs (incl. three covers) added in '77. This salsa-ish arrangement was nailed first time out! Not sure why they waited this far into the tour, but they then played it 5 more times. On Looks Like Rain Donna is good and the band's tighter than a pig's ass walking uphill. Scarlet is hot, even if not a big jam version. First Bobby stops, then restarts when Jer stops playing, so Donna hums and Mickey plays cowbell, until Phil thumps into Fire. It's weird and interesting. The two-chord vamp of the latter doesn't always go somewhere, but this one is up there with 5/17 & 5/21. Though already the 11th one, Jer tries a lyrical variant, having sung "The thin line beyond" several times.

Second Set. That power didn't evanesce over the break, starting with the second ace Samson in a row. Bertha is much livelier than the night before, and the Estimated is one of the tour's best (it's not 5/15 or 5/28, but that's to quibble). The miller_9393 is missing most of the fast Drums [there's more on unknown_6690; it's complete on the OFF]. It becomes clear that it can't go anywhere else but The Other One [the miller_9393 has a 4sec cut @9:18; the OFF has a 19sec cut @14:36; the unknown_6690 is complete]. You can't really ask for a better Stella. Bobby is great, Keith is perfectly cocktailish and it segs into an equally strong Goin' Down the Road. Even with a board sizzle that affects all sources, it's great [the OFF surreptitiously substitutes w/the entirety of 6/8 – rather than a patch or fade out]. The poor sound improves a bit for the solid One More Saturday [the OFF wholly replaces with 5/28 and the solo from 5/21]. The encore is typical of the era.

1st Set:  B
2nd Set: B+
Overall = 4¼ stars

Highlights:
Jack-a-Roe – 1st one & nailed
Looks Like Rain – Donna good, band tight
Scarlet Begonias – solid & turns out interesting
Fire on the Mountain – pretty varied
Samson & Delilah – so many great ones on this tour, but still
Estimated Prophet – fantastic almost nightly in this era
Stella Blue – check Bobby & Keith supporting Jer
Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad – even with a fried final ⅓, still a top version

SOURCES: Each of the three SBD sources has pros/cons. All have a board fizzle-out on the ending section of GDtRFB that continues into 1MSN and is fixed for the encore, and they are variously missing 3>5mins of Drums. The unknown_6690 is the FM feed and the most complete, with tunings, and a more natural hall sound, if less clarity. The miller_9393 is the cleanest/best overall, but it (and the ashley_14942) also has cuts in FotD and TOO. The ashley_14942 is EQd, but lovingly, and it smooths out the fizzled section via narrowing in & out of mono. May 1977 has most of the show, with the complete Drums, but edited versions of FotD & TOO, and it omits both GDtRFB & 1MSN from this night.

Lot of talk about this great show that largely floats under the radar, perhaps less so since the release of the May 1977 box set, but nevertheless still. Then again, in a year -- a month -- a week even! -- that boasts of so many great shows, it's understandable that this one might have gotten lost in the mix. Just look at the week leading up to 13 May: Boston on the 7th, Cornell the 8th, Buffalo the 9th, St. Paul on the 11th, and first night Chi on the 12th.

The first set opens with some playful banter about Dr. Beachwood, then rips into The Music Never Stopped and closes with Scarlet-Fire. Phil's bass can sometimes sound heavy in the mix, but his abrupt drop into Fire is not to be missed. Headyversion ranks it as the 18th best version. Not clear what exactly happens during the transition to the rest of the band, but Phil fills in more than suitably. All that's there in between the set opener and closer does not disappoint, either. Choice Ramble on Rose, short but sweet and tight Cassidy, really lovely Friend of the Devil, the first Jack-A-Roe, and what headyversion ranks as the sixth best Looks Like Rain.

Set two opens with a solid Samson (tied with May 28 at fourth on headyversion), typically strong '77 versions of Bertha and Estimated, before transitioning into the highlight of the show: the other one. Hailed as the best of the year, after nearly 17 minutes it transitions into Stella. The boys are getting loose.

Unfortunately, the audio faulters after Stella (GDTRFB, Sat Night closer, and encore US Blues).

From the opening banter, you can just tell that the boys are loose. The MNS may be one of my favorite versions ever,--a great opener. Keith is so inventive all night long, his playing is grate all night. I am a big Keith fan, and love these last several 77 shows where he was still on the acoustic piano vs the synth piano he seemed to start using after 6/9/77. Quality is great, the boys sound wonderful, and even Donna gives us some nice background vocals at times. Right up there next to the rest of May, including 5/7,8,9 and 5/17...A++

..........DONNA was sexy dancin' on stage .....she was sweet........as she added a nice touch to many songs..many DONNA HATERS claimed she wailed like a banshee....no kidding ..........this was the trend back in the day......singers screamed the vocals..............love DONNA

I have listened to this first set more than almost any other first set. This and the second set from 6-11-76 are my two favs. I wore out this tape.
Great show, classic dead.

Groovy Show Man ... 77' was Stella 4 Shurr ..
recording is mighty fine too.

Jack-A-Roe, Looks Like Rain, Bertha and Estimated are smooth.

The Other One is long, wild at times, spacey at times. Don't know that I can give it 5 stars, though. Only the best of the best get that, but I tend to give a lot more of those to the 72-74 era. 5-8-77 definitely gets 5 stars.

What a beautiful recording. Crystal clear, powerful and the vocals are mixed just exactly perfect. But it's not all about the recording folks, nope. The first Jack a Roe, check. Bobby singing one of the best Minglewoods ever?, check. Donna singing beautiful vocals with Bobby on a powerful (my favorite version in '77) Looks Like Rain, check. The entire first set is nothing short of wonderful. The Scarlet/Fire is exceptional. The Scarlet is concise and well played with some very fine soloing from Jerry, and the band takes OFF on Fire. This show also has the best version I've ever heard of Samson And Delilah, wow. The Drums unfortunately is truncated and the sound goes to hell during/after, however the music is still at a wonderfully high quality. The Other One is particularly tasty. Be aware though that from GDTRFB to shows end is unlistenable because of the horrible distorted recording. I guess the tape got damaged somehow. This show runs the gamut from one of the best sounding recordings to one of the worst SBDs I've ever heard. It still gets five stars though. Whats listenable is just that good. Enjoy.

Hey tbaltz I gave the recording of this show five stars, what more do you want? Jesus fucking christ, don't be such a douche. There are shows from 1966 that sound fine, this show ends with distortion that is awful to listen too, performance notwithstanding.

One of my favorite shows. How can you download?

Kind Stella.

An absolute gem, marred only by the unfortunate audio problems near the end. To my ears this has some of the sharpest, most exciting music of '77. It sounds "really good" until FOTD, at which point it takes off for destinations unknown. Tremendously tight, moody, dynamic show!

One of the ways I judge a show is not only by how great they perform the songs I love, but the ones I'm usually not crazy about. Samson & Delilah is never one of my faves (I heard the Rev. Gary Davis version first, forever ruining the GD's version for me), but this one SMOKES, holy cow. Also, though I'm not a Donna fan generally, her soulful crooning during the outro of Fire gives me goosebumps (way to go, lady!)--I can usually skip Bertha, but why would I when this bounces and swings with such confident laid-back intensity, and the levels are so perfect and the guitars so lovely? And we still have Estimated, TOO, Stella?!

Then: aural tragedy, complete FUBAR audio breakdown. If a perfect version of this show exists somewhere it will be a holy grail to me.

Peace.

I don't even know if I've ever seen a picture of her, but I think I'm in Love...

So glad to see this on Archive. I came across this cassette one day and instantly became a favorite. One of the most beautiful TMNS. Really hate to see all the Donna bashing. Never got to see Jerry, but I'm sure he agrees with everyone that loves her voice. She was part of the Dead, period. Hating her is technically hating the Dead because she was part of such a big chunk of their history. Anyways, for someone interested in becoming better acquainted with the famed Spring '77 tour, this should certainly be one of your first picks.

I love Miller remasters but the Jay Ashley version of this is better.IMO This sound is not bad but Jay's remaster blows it away.

Ashley source played through a Yamaha receiver w/direct source and bi-wired Paradigm Monitor 9 speakers. This is a wonderful show. You know your in for a treat when you hear stage banter like this. The combination of this recording and the very tight performance almost makes this sound like a record release, it's that tightly played. Great 1st set w/ nice clear vocals from Jerry and some hot pickin to. FOTD is great during this period, although I think 78' is even better. I've noticed some riffing on the Donna controversy in reviews here. One listen to this FOTD and anyone with ears can tell she cannot sing harmony. Shame, she has a beautiful voice and I love her studio recordings with the band (check out the album Keith and Donna, if you can find it from 1975). Fortunately for us deadheads the band does have a great harmony vocalist, his name is Jerry. Just listen to his wonderful harmony with Bobby on El Paso. I actually thought the Estimated was the record for a minute at first, it's that well played. If they had post drums with the same sound quality this would compete with many a show from this year, but alas it just slips away. Well worth a listen to the first set though. Thanks to archive and Ashley for great work. Peace.

The 5/13/77 show is one of my all-time favorites.,,especially the Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain.

I am not sure if this show can be downloaded or streamed only. There does not appear to be a link for the full show which can be "right-clicked and saved"

Please help with how to download (or purchase) this show in the highest possible quality format.

Thanks!

excellent show!
listen!

The opener is pretty crispy, I'd say. Above average first set, with a very good ScarFire closer. Samson is outstanding, even in a great year for Samson! The Other One is just about the way I like them, one of my faves. IMHO, this Stella Blue is one of the all-timers, along with 6/18/74 and a handful of others.
Granted, the band is not as "tight" as many nights this month, but they shine very brightly in a good number of spots. I'll give it a 4 1/2, which rounds up to a 5!
Two other quick notes: First, the sound is very high quality. However, if you have bass-heavy speakers like mine (Bose), you might want to turn the bass down quite a bit. Otherwise, perfect. Lastly, I think an "It was what it was" mindset is the appropriate one to take when listening to the band in any incarnation. Donna Jean contributed some things that gave the band an unforgettable sound during this era, and her frequent caterwauling was just one freaky part of the wonderful package the Godchaux's brought to the GD table. I say, be kind. ; )

The first set is very, very solid. That Scarlet>Fire closer, while still "new" and not as exploratory in the intersong jam as it would come to be over the next year or two, is real hot. And that first Jack-a Roe. great stuff.

As for the second set, the Estimated>Bertha is pretty sweet, but I must say the Drumz>Other One>Stella is what really makes this one for me! Have not heard this show till it was put up here. That Other One is so wild! And in a year where the Dead were playing excellent, very tight, fine fine shows but with rather (Much?) less "Out-There-ness" than pre 75. But here, we get a lengthy streach of inspired, inventive, risky jamming. Really on fire...very kinetic music. The Stella is pretty lovely, hafta say, too.

last night i forgot my cardinal rule - never eat two of anything. they were purple, they were small, and i ate them both. and then the shennagins began...something about radio audiences and all-night payback.

some twisted drug passion play before the MNS and holy shit but away they went. snippets of stellar playing swirling through my addled head, all of it sounding like it has every night this tour. was that jack-a-roe, all funky? and was THAT the scarlet>fire of the tour? don't ask me cuz i couldn't answer in a way that would hold up in a court of law, especially if some hard core tour rat were the judge.

i came to at stella blue and they finished it off right - three right rippin' versions of some pretty standard stuff. u.s. blues was particularly gutsy and pushed us out into sausage town in the right frame of mind, which for me meant being able to find my way home without incident.

A nice show from a great month. Anything from May 77 is worth checking out, that's the jist of it.

Anyone who calls the lower quality sound that starts up during drums and lasts through the end of the show "unlistenable" needs to figure out exactly what is going on here. We got digital copies of tapes that are older than a lot of us downloading here. There's a truck-load of gold on this site that will be passed over by people who are so spoiled that they can't stand any deviation from perfection.

If you can't listen to this because of the sound, forget about anything before '71. Just to pull one out of my ass: 2-11-70. Unlistenable.

I agree with many reviewers that this show really got lost in the crowd...it doesn't help that it was on the 13th either, just in terms of the asthetic value of the date itself. It isn't pretty. 5/13? Bleh. Annnyway, to topic, this show is top quality across the board. It probably suffers b/c it doesn't contain any specific standout performance, ie 5/8 S>F, 5/9 Comes a Time and so on. To echo captdbldose, this is def one of the better TOOs from the era. In truth, 76-78 are not peak years for the other one. Sure there are a few big boys but the majority can be described as standard, albeit well played. 7/17/76 is absolutely on point, one of the finest ever played, and the fact that one of the finest, if not "the" finest, post 1974 eyes of the world is sandwiched inside either side just raises it even higher. 10/15/76, 5/1/77, 5/13/77, 5/18/77, and 11/5/77 are the others of the period that are up there with this one. Great version. Much the same throughout the show, lots of 4 star song versions, but there are lots, which in the long run is as valuable as a show with a few 5 star song versions packed in an otherwise mediocre show. More folks should get familiar with this one.

Sound 9/10
Playing 8.5/10
Overall 8.75/10

Why am I surprised? At this point I shouldn't be amazed at any '77 show, but here I am again singing the praises of one of the most remarkable shows from a most remarkable year.

First--this, even among the gold standard that is the Betty Board, stands out as one of the cleanest, purest, most unadulterated pieces of sound anywhere.Vocals are crystal clear, the guitars ring out in power AND subtelty, and Keith's piano trinkles in sweet flowing harmony with the rest.

Donna haters? Give her a chance here. She's more in tune with Jerry, even on Scarlet, and shines on TMNS and StelllaBlue.

Highlights: Gorgeous, set-ending SCARLET>FIRE....there are 2 kinds of S>F...some feature the jam in the bridge between the 2 songs...this one features a short but expertly played Scarlet, and then the Fire starts w/a definitive "here it is" intro from Phil..the groove is just infectious, and Jerry solos some great wah-wah before the first verse even begins...no lyrical flubs, and it just rips from there.

A kick-ass SAMSON that feeds into a mellow, but surprisingly engaging BERTHA.

THE OTHER ONE is a throwback to hints of the old '72 space-laden versions, but focused and hot at once, and it falls like a dew drop onto a rose into a seriously beautiful STELLA BLUE. Add a typically smoking GDTRFB after that.

Just (another) incredible show from May of '77 that gets lost in the shadow of the legendary Cornell and Buffalo shows that precede it and the amazing June Winterland run to follow.

Don't pass this up.

great show. sounds even better through bose headphones played thru your iPod.

hint. after you stream look at your temporary internet files. the rest is up to you.

sorry, but my computer speakers suck and sitting at this chair all day aggrevates my hemorrhoids.

On the Archive, soundboards (SBD) are available for streaming only. Audience recordings (AUD) are available for downloading and streaming.

I'm trying to download this show but can't figure it out. Can someone help me download it and get it to my itunes????

this show is excellent in every aspect you look at it.one of the best sounding shows ive heard and also one of the best shows ive heard.this is a must download.keep it it ont he recently reviews.

I can't imagine what it would be like to personally dose and then head on stage to play music. Would they dose like an hour before the show? Or would it be four or five hours before the show?

Take the Bertha for example. Usually it is pretty quick, and it drives forward. You feel like you are on the crest of a wave. This version is different. Just listen to the drums. The snare is only hit once in the beat when normally I think it is at least two. Basically, it makes me think they were tripping. Reeeaaal loose.

TMNS was a great opener. Ramble as always is great. Cassidy is awesome. BEW had a very sparse feeling. FOTD is real nice. Slow. El Paso has some nice drums. Sampson is a great 2nd set opener, and Bobby is really growling about the lion's den. Like I said, this is one of my favorite Berthas, and I've listened to many. Stellar Stella and I love the GDTRFB into OMSN.... US Blues was a great encore.

Awesome show. I took the time to listen to most of the May 77 shows. Yet to be disappointed. This is the PEAK of the Dead, for me anyhow.

Had this show on my ipod today while working on the ranch...The radio show aspect seems to have got the boys on their best behavoir...This show is tight and clean...all the versions of tunes have an almost studio sheen to them...meaning they don't necessarily go for the fences but they hit home in a succinct way...love the MNS opener and first set S>F closer...Keith and Donna both shine throughout the night...

Don't like Donna? keep it to yerself. I didn't see your sorry ass up there time after time entertaining us. As for the post-Scarlet "wailing". it wouldn't be a Scarlet Fire without her contribution.

'Nuff said.

Why Do you all insist on bashing Donna? If the rest of the boys in the band thought she could contribute to their sound then they know more than all of us put to gether don't you think? Personally I love her yes sometimes she wailed but have you listened to the music today? I will take anything with Donna(and Keith of Course) any day. I love all the Dead none the less. Just take it easy on Donna!

C'mon folks, Donna's not so bad...she has a pretty melodic voice for the most part, though I'm no fan of her post-Playin' or post-Scarlet wailing. Listen to her sing in Music Never Stopped; real nice. And at least she doesn't oversing her lyrics like Brent had a tendency to do in the late-80's. As for this Show, of course it's a keeper (if there was any way to keep it) just like the rest of 5/77...Stay Kind, brothers and sisters.

I've read alot of reviews that trash Donna and while I am guilty of turning down the volume just before a post-scarlet or playin' wail keep in mind that the band asked her to be there. Most of the complaints seem to be about those occasional over the top moments. Listen to 5-26-77 LLRain. It borders on being downright pretty and definately some of the finest harmony you will find before Brent came along. She is probably lucky to have survived that time with the band with her sanity intact, being that she was the only female in the band. It would be funny as hell if she had a vote in whether to allow this site to exist and after reading the anti-donna stuff gave it thumbs down. Anyway...this show is a good example of why "best ever" labels are misleading. This night does'nt owe a thing to 5-8-77. These recordings will be thirty years old next year and the sound quality is mindnumbing. Leave Donna alone, she's probably a really nice person and she was a better backup singer option than Phil, Mickey or Bill. Funny Donna moment...You Ain't Woman Enough from 2-17-73

This is definately in the top 10. Crystal clear heaven. Off hand I would say this is top 3 Other Ones if not the best of the year. Just heard another great version 7/17/76 Orpheum for you OO fans out there.

WOW!! High Energy is the way of the walk for this amazingly sounding jamfest!!! All Lights A Go, Lift Off!! This one sneaks up and grabs ya by the poop!! Strong Start, Strong Finish and Top Notch Sound, Aw, well Somethings Are Ment to be and this is one of them, THE SPLENDOR, The Padgentry!!! Take all night for this one!!

Why oh why didn't I get this one when I could..great show all the way through.


Jim

While I defintely cringe at many a donnaholler out of a deep Playin' or Scarlet jam, 70's Dead simply wouldn't be 70's Dead without her. She was a part of the magic, beyond being responsible for bringing Keith to the band, which itself was a very big deal obviously. Donna certainly was less of a drag than Vince, hands down...I maintain that Jer may still be alive today if they would have gone in another direction on the keyboards...VW literally bored Jer to death.

Ok, first off, one reviewer is correct. No Donna = No Keith. She is the one who approached Jerry at a JGB gig and said 'I have a keyboard player for you.' And I can't imagine the '73-'74 Dead without him. However, to the ALL CAPS reviewer - she still sucked about 90% of the time. Sorry, but it's true. Take Scarlet Begonias circa '74... As the segue into that long, slow, sweet jam after the vocals are finished, WHY must she always be wailing like a banshee?? And I don't care about 'her craft', etc. She stood on stage during the Dead's most creative period - IMHO - shaking her hips and wailing out of key, more often than not... Sorry, but it's true...

This show is damn near perfect. What high energy. Could it be the majesty of Adler and Sullivan's "acoustically perfect" Auditorium Theatre that brought out the spirits on 5/13/77? Great sound and a classic show. Wore out my cassettes of this show years ago. Thank God for the digital age!

This entire show has a classic feel. Probably my favorite recording of all - deserted island tape for sure. Every performance is unique and top notch with consistently awesome energy. The band is definitely sharing a wonderful 'zone' together. Could be that I wore the crap out of this tape on many road trips, chill out sessions, camp fires, etc. that I like it so much. Many people have asked me "what f-in show is that???!!!" Easily my favorite Scarlet-Fire of all time - blows away the one played 5 days earlier in terms of consistency, zen, and smoothness.

If there was no Donna, there would have been no Keith...then where would the band have gone? Let's face it, the Godchaux's are a BIG part of the post-Pig era. Could you imagine anyone else sittin' behind the keys during 73 and 74?? Donna does get hairy at times, but let's face it, GD has NEVER been the best band vocally.

CAN ALL THE DONNA BASHERS PLEASE JUST STEW SILENTLTY-HOW WOULD YOU DIG IT IF YO SPENT THE BETTER PART OF A DECADE DOING SOMETHING AND THEN HAD YOUR CRAFT RIPPED TO SHIT BY EVERY WANNA BE DEADHEAD THAT BOUGHT LIVE DEAD AND CALLED THEMSELVES A FAN. YOU DON'T HAVE TO JUMP ON THE HATE DONNA BANDWAGON TO PROVE YOUR A HEAD.DEADHEADS DONT TRASH PEOPLE AND SAY WICKED HURTFUL THINGS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T REALLY DONE ANYTHING WRONG. IF YOU DONT LIKE HER THEN DON'T LISTEN.TAKE IT EASY -BE KIND.

nice may 77 show, of course! love the sick Fire...however my only complaint is that the board is crispy up until the second drums and thru the stella and GDRFB. clearly another source b/c it is a bit hissy unlike the earlier tunes.

At 3:30 of Looks Like Rain, toward the end of the first jam, Jerry rips off a huge piece and shoves it up all our a$$es. Beautiful stuff. A kid I met in prep school in 1985, before I'd ever heard of the dead, he was from New Hartford and had hundreds of booties and used to play that piece all the time. Ate acid like a champ and played #1 singles on the tennis team wearing a John Deere cap. I don't know what became of him--I think he went batshit.

Being a Chi-town native I'm always on the search for good Chi-town shows and this one surely won't disappoint. Still today I haven't found a better Sugaree than this one. Sound quality is near flawless and nothing about May 77' I can say hasn't already been mentioned. If there was one wish I could have in life it would have been that I wasn't 5yrs old when 77 was happening. At least archive has let me relive 1977 over and over again. Get this one the intro is one of the funniest things I've heard them do!!!!! Enjoy and thanks as usual archive!!!!

Why is it that every show that I've listened to Donna has hacked it up. Are there any shows from when she was in the band that sound half decent. Oh yeah, this is a good show except for when donna opens her mouth. 5 starts nonetheless.

Jack a roe--1st one. Pretty damn good for a debut.

Fire--Drummers lay down some insane crap in the background, Jerry says "go ahead Phil," Phil "goes ahead" and starts the Fire bassline in all its unadulterated glory, and Jerry's off. I mean, 5 mins. of Jerry talking to you via his guitar BEFORE he starts singning.

Other One--What everyone else has said in earlier reviews. Once again, drummers are ON.

Stella--My favorite from this year after 11-4-77.

My favorite tape since I got a copy in the mid 80s. Mine is missing the doctor shtick so it's fun to hear. Too bad the streaming puts a hiccup in the trippy intro to TMNS. This Betty's Board is just what the doctor ordered.

This show is the reason I found this site because I accidentally deleted a different stream I had of it.
This is the first show where I saw the Dead live, so maybe I'm a bit biased. Since it was simulcast on the radio, I've had a tape of it ever since that night. Scarlet>Fire and Estimated Prophet were very freshly minted that night and the band is very tight.
Highly recommend.

Came across the Archive through dumb luck last fall on a Yahoo search looking for a tee-shirt from the '85 tour (a variation of the painting "Spirit of '76" - if anyone recalls the shirt and has any idea where I can find one please let me know). I have been unable to listen to anything else since.
The '77 shows are a real joy and for me the band at its best. It's amazing, reading through some of the reviews in the Archive, how passionate folks are about certain periods in the Dead's 30 year history which is a real testament to how great of a band it was. The fact that they were able to touch so many different people over so many years has always left me to believe there was some divine guidance in the band ever being - but enough blathering.
This is one of my favorites from '77 with great sound and tight performances all around. Especially enjoyed the Jack-A-Roe. A highly recommended download. Enjoy.

A friend recorded this show "live" off the radio in Chicago and we took the show with us on a camping trip out West and when Estimated Prophet (and after) played as we made our way through Death Valley, I decided then that this band was worth listening to, before ever having gone to a show...

But more than that, this particular show is unlike any other I've heard. The second set begs to be listened to in one sitting and while the soundboard version here is outstanding in quality, the drum solo is edited, which is too bad. The (relatively short) drum solo was so much a part of fabric of this show that it's a shame it's not all included here.

I strongly recommend the download for the unique second set whose intensity rises and falls, and a Garcia who pulls out riffs and phrases (from somewhere) not to be repeated again IMHO. Definitely a rare performance from one of their peak periods.

Is incredible, no question.

There's a reason why this fortnight or so is remembered as a classic moment in the history of rock-and-roll... if the majority of the world don't understand (or haven't heard),and so it's therefore correctly placed w/in its rightful context by mostly deadheads, well, more for us! wonderful show, great sound, rock solid performance (which isn't to damn w/ faint praise)... sure, 5-8's the famous one, but think of that as the mt's peak... these shows on either side are the mountain's flanks, effin' stunning in their own right... yeah, think of Scarlet Fire 5-8 as the very peak, and this as the breathtaking view down the other side- this S>F is like turning 'round and looking back up at the peak and exclaiming, "got-DAMM this is a nice hike!"

I agree w/ the Sheik. The other one lays waste to everything in it's path! I had to crank it up and then didn't know whether to run and hide or just pull my face off.

May 77 will be my first stop when I finish fixing my time machine.

It's obvious the band is in a good mood for this somewhat overlooked show. Music opener nice, not quite as huge as it would be as a closer. They debut Jack-A-Roe, which isn't as fast as it would get, but good to hear nonetheless.
The Scarlet>Fire set closer is very nice, with intense guitar peaks in the solo to Scarlet, and jerry tearing up each lead spot in Fire (i especially like the one he does with the octave effect on).
After Bobby explains the first rule of rock and roll, they start Samson. Samson is scorching, it reminds me of 7/8/78. It leads into a Bertha that loses the energy somewhere in the middle (Phil stops for a verse). Jerry gets particularly inventive on the Estimated outro, and picks back up in that mindset with a very laid back Other One, featuring intricate lead lines by Jerry. Eventually, it's just Jerry out in space. After about 4 minutes, the band returns, much louder this time, and Weir delivers the verse.
The jam winds down and sets pace for a slow, well sung Stella, my favorite of the year along with 5/18 (although they botch the descending line at the end). Then the tape goes to shit in GDRTFB.
Good show, not quite as energetic or tight as some others around it, but that facilitates some great moments.

Great recording, and even sweeter jams contained within'. that Sampson sure was smokin to say the least! Over and over, I will NEVER get enough ear time for the year 77. truely some amazing music

This 16:43 is not only the hottest I have heard from '77 but arguably one of the best post '75+... To be perfectly honest, I was ready to give this a 4 because it is great but it just did not have that rare earth quality many of the other '77's have and then wow I had forgotten this was on the playlist - otherworldly but not slow powerful and solid acid jam... It is so good I listened to it twice back to back - But you deeecccciddeuuh...

Thanks to whoever circulated this. While the radio tape has circulated since the live broadcast, this copy is cleaner and truely sweet. I was at this show and cherish the memories.

The band was definitely lit up. Exceptional tunes include Ramble on Rose, Brown Eyed Women, Cassidy, Jack-A-Roe, Scarlet/Fire, and the best Samson and Delilah I've ever heard.

This is clearly the pre-FM tape. It contains a horrendous flaw starting about 3/4 of the way through Going Down the Road. The story goes that someone spilled a beverage on a piece of equipment or cable associated with the radio feed. Whatever it was, it did not affect the house sound, but appparently the Healy tape has never surfaced and David Gans says he has checked the vault.

Too bad, but still a gem.

This man is too fast. He needs four hundred and fifty.

Kyle

Wow!! what a show I can see the smiles now on Jerry Bobby Phil n Mickey/Bill..Just great performances with superior sound quality..A must have,I remember playing this tape!! over and over in my 7th grade lunch period

Spring tour of '77 plus Friday the 13th equals a stellar night of live Grateful Dead music. This show holds a special place in my heart since it was my first bootleg.