i feel like people love what they love regardless of what else is there. coming to terms with this truth seems like an important step in discovering more about our life

I'm not one to really get into the best show ever argument but man, this first set makes me FEEL something. The sudden jolt from Scarlet Begonias jam > Must Have Been The Roses, that's pure magic and excitement. Do yourself a favor, sit back, relax, and let this one take you on a journey. You'll feel better, I promise!

This set list is absolutely a dream for me. 1974 has always been one of my favorite years, they have the long and spacey jams of the earlier 70's and add a really great jazzy flavor. This recording is absolutely incredible as well.

6/5 on all fronts!

Keith is a trip

One of my favorites! The sound is unbelievable, crisp and clear!! The only time they ever played in Montana!

Favorite show
You should really check it out!
also it is a Dave's picks :)
Keith really shines here! and the playin' is a trip! (favorite playin')
The dark star has a melt that sounds like a satellite crashing into Saturn
Loser is A+
Bill is destroying those drums! he is on fire
Pretty Row Jimmy ( Always love one of those)
Just rambling..Check it out!

great show, great quality

very much enjoyed "Roses"

Very nice Weather Report into Let it Grow. Just a little bit of Donna.

www.npr.org/2014/03/31/297146280/fight-sound-with-sound-grateful-deads-arena-combat?ft=1&f=1039

Check it!

Yeah, Donna was the only GD singer who ever had a vocal miscue. The pristine harmonies of Messrs. Garcia, Weir and Lesh consistently put even the Jordanaires to shame.

The last Dead show I attended until screeching Donna left. Would have been a great show if not for her. Can't believe this show is going to be a Dave's Picks.

This performance features a very poised first set. Row Jimmy and Goin' Down are excellent in the second. All Weather Report's are pretty in '74.
A relaxed feel pervades this show and reminds me of 2/26/73.

The percussion on this recording is fucking sick!!
I'm out

Let's discount 3-23 as a trial run - a long "Soundcheck" as they said. And 5-12 was, by all accounts a problematic (weather) day. They weren't exactly focused.

So the Wall of Sound really starts here, and for this whole month and a half they are just really zooming - playing with sounds that both they and the audience could have never heard before. This show holds its own with 6-16, 6-18, 6-26 and 6-28. Right from the first unusual (Godchaux) notes of Bertha you get the feeling this is going to be a special show. The Dark Star is technically the best of the year, though it's hard to match the 10-18 intensity where you get the feeling that Jerry is thinking, "this may be the last time I ever play this song with these guys."

This is just a happy show - you'll know that they were having a great time on stage.

fuck 5/12, this is where the summer tour begins...i can't add much really. though i like a few from June and July better, this show is egg-salad!

killer killer KILLER NFA>GDTRFB!!

great recording of my first Dead show. Imagine my surprise when I drove into Missoula and saw that the Dead were playing in a few hours. Fantastic show, despite the field house acoustics.

Pure excellence. Sound is great too. I've had this show for years and I keep going back to it. '74 was magical for the Grateful Dead.

If I had a gun for every ace Donna has played, I could pay a billion whining-baby heads back clear the fuck off.

(Don't Fear) The Donna.
...Guess what?! I got a fever, & the only prescription is more bella Donna!

Scarlet - "[Donna] won't you blow, [Donna] won't you blow, [Donna] won't you blow your horn?"
Playing - Donna's double-wail wall-of-joy is a hoot and a howl.
Row - Trilla brilla bella Donna, get down & low, rock your baby to & fro.
Grow - "She bears it away with a love that the river has taught her - Let it flow, let it flow, wide & clear... Listen to the thunder shout, 'I am, I am, I am! I AM!'"
China - "Take up your China [Donna]... La la la la la la la la."
GDTRFB - She's goin' down the golden road to unlimited devotion with feeling bad blues.
OMSN - Thanks Donna dear from my ears, for singing sweet harmony, for "everybody get right one more Saturday night" on any damn night, "whoa-whoa-oh yeah!"

I was there - this was the day after the Aber Day Kegger, which got the Guinness world record for the greatest number of kegs at on kegger (10,000) - some yahoo from the back of the crowd threw one of the plastic kegger pitchers from the back of the field house (which is a very large basketball stadium - holds several thousand people) and hit Bob Weir right in the forehead. Luckily it didn't hurt him - but it freaked him out enough, that the band didn't play much longer - which was a real bummer, because we were counting on them playing long into the night. Those of us in the front rows were having altogether a different experience. The sound was so wonderful you could hear it all across the campus - I went out to bring back some water to my friends & it was sensational.
I was so thrilled to find this recording - I am going to enjoy listening to it over and over. I also emailed the link to 2 of my friends who were there too

Just goes to show one drummer is much better than two!! I always liked the Dead without Mickey Hart, they were so much looser without him.

(DaveMar) I was at the conert. Bob W was hit by a plastic pitcher (and not Jerry G by a bottle). The pitcher was an Aber Day Keggar pitcher -- each spring back in those days, was a large keggar featuring bands and 5 to 10k people, and, instead of glasses, each person was given a plastic pitcher (yes, believe it or not). Anyway, I was a mere teenager and have been listening to the magic for 35 years, so that tells you what I thought of the concert (most recently: The Gorge May 15, 2009).

Ironically, the Mizzoulian reviewer's only apparent criticism of the show that "[o]ne incoherent jam in the four-hour concert rambled on for 40 minutes" was actually the best part. The WRS>Let it Grow>Dark Star>China Doll portion was completely awesome. I will say that "incoherent jam" is pretty funny expression though--it had me chuckling...As others have noted, Playin' and GDTRFB>NFA are killer as well. From beginning to end, this show is amazing!!

`

~^|\_@|@_/|^~
~<->/<->\<->~

Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it, right?

Here's one way to dowload this show:

The IA recommends users of Windows XP view this web-page with RealPlayer. RealPlayer is a free media player you can download at www.realplayer.com.

For easy streaming or downloading you should use RealPlayer.

Using RealPlayer to view this webpage, click the VBR M3U link to open the songs in the Playlist. If your Playlist is not open, open it by clicking the Playlist icon at the lower right hand corner of RealPlayer. Once the songs are in the Playlist, double click the song to play it, then click the record button at the lower left hand corner of Realplayer to record it. When the red line reaches the other end click the stop button to download the song. Your song is in the RealPlayer Downloads folder. Repeat these steps for each song.

Eat, Drink, Be Merry and Listen to the GRATEFUL DEAD.

Thanks for the Love from 1974, I've been there before, been there before...

It has long been rumored that Jerry Garcia was hit in the head with a beer bottle at this show. I wanted to see if there was any info to back this up on microfilm and this is what I found. Hope this dispels any myths. One problem with the article is that it mentions the Dead played "Mama Tried" and that was not on the evenings set list.

Missoulian Tuesday, May 14th 1974
-----------Around Missoula-----------
'Grateful Dead' at U Tonight; Bonanno Lecture Set May 21

Because of a rock concert by “The Grateful Dead” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Harry Adams Field House at the University of Montana, a free public lecture on prison reform by Bill Bonanno has been postponed by the Program Council of the Associated Students of UM until Tuesday, May 21.
Admission to Tuesday’s rock concert by “The Grateful Dead” will be $6. Doors to the Adams Field House will open at 5 Tuesday afternoon. The concert is also sponsored by ASUM Program Council.

Grateful Dead Are on New Musical Paths
Missoulian Music Review Thursday, May 16th 1974
By Steve Shirley
Missoulian Staff Writer

Members of the Grateful Dead emerged in the early days of Haight Ashbury flower-power-dom, playing together first as a jug band and later as the band that supplied the ultimate acid-rock to a new audience with new tastes.
Since then, they have set out on the musical paths of country, rock , blues and jazz, creating a niche all their own in the music world.
Seven thousand Dead admirers filled the University of Montana Field House Tuesday night, expecting to witness an important part of the music of the 60’s and 70’s. They weren’t betrayed.
Unlike most rock bands that perform as concerts a 90-minute blast of amplified sound, the Dead began slowly and methodically, flowing through “Bertha,” “Mama Tried,” and “Deal.” Each song built on the energy of its predecessor.
The energy did not come out as wildly driving music, but was there in the smooth exactness of Jerry Garcia’s lead guitar and Bob Weir’s innovative rhythm guitar riffs. All the Dead, including Garcia, Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, pianist Keith Godchaux, singer Donna Godchaux and Drummer Bill Kreutzman, came throught the phenomenal 480-speaker system individually distinctive, but wedded into a sound that is the Grateful Dead.
The wall of speakers, which cost about $35,000 to put together, made the music loud, but not a blare. It is the most innovative and experimental system in the world. Each of the five band members has an individual sound system tied into the whole.
But the musicians were the important ingredient, and Garcia is one of the best musicians there is. He nonchalantly stood onstage, bracing himself on one leg as the other rose and fell with the tempo of the music. Garcia was at his peak in the half-hour “Playing in the Band” jam, when he took a foray into rock, jazz and finally an electronic neverness that left the crowd spellbound.
Weir was outstanding as a country crooner in Marty Robbins’ “El Paso,” in “Mama Tried” and the encore, “One More Saturday Night.” Of course, Garcia’s familiar high-pitched vocals were there to compliment Weir’s and Donna Godchaux’s voice, while unsure at times, harmonized beautifully with Weir and Garcia.
But the night was not all roses. One incoherent jam in the four-hour concert rambled on for 40 minutes.
After the Dead left the stage from their second set, the crowd roared one of the loudest and longest ovations given to a band performing in Missoula. Several minutes later, as the Dead stepped back on stage, Weir was struck on the head by a plastic pitcher that flew from the crowd below him.
“Thanks a lot,” he said gruffly.
It was a distasteful conclusion to a fine performance.

... despite the sloppiness. Playin' gets WAY out there. Especially, after the slow section where the drums cut out, there's a period of sheer sweetness where the spaceship Dead is in full flight. Unfortunately, the reprise proves a bumpy landing. Jerry slips back into the theme without going through the usual sequence, which would be fine, but the band doesn't catch on. Donna, meanwhile, is following Jerry, and comes in early, realizes it and stays on the A, then cuts off and comes in again, so we get TWO Donna howls instead of one. Ugh. But the sheer quality of the Playin' demands multiple hearings.

Even more so for the Dark Star. There are no flubs here, but utter perfection throughout the jam leading up to the verse. It modulates briefly into a minor or maybe Dorian mode before returning to the theme for the verse. then they quickly go into space, and Jerry starts what seems like a mellow, reflective stretch of meltdown playing. But then he suddenly explodes into shrieking chaos! It's mindblowing to here recorded. It must have been terrifying live. Finally, after they settle down, there is more spacey, avant-jazz playing, where you have no idea how it will resolve itself but all of a sudden, what's this, a song? It's China Doll! Such a quick, yet smooth transition. They could do a few quick songs to end the show, but Jerry throws in some serious wailage on a NFA>GDTRFB jam just because.

There's some solid playing on Scarlet and WRS, which segues nicely into Dark Star, but the Playin', Dark Star, and Not Fade are where it's at.

This show is quite enjoyable to listen to. It has an open warmth to it with all members really sounding quite good. The first set starts off with a great Bertha and proceeds, at a relaxed pace, with great readings of all the songs. Playing in the Band is exceptional and the reprise is also quite good. El Paso is great, you get the idea about DS, it is a excellent version, with it being more of a floating space journey and the transition into China Doll is noteworthy. The rest of the set is balls to the walls good ole GD,again that X factor is pervasive with each song flowing with confidence and ambiance, NFA is one of the better ones.Keith's playing on the Moog is impressive and creative too.

DKO? i think you mean DSO as in Dark Star Orcehstra

I was at the concert. It snowed in Montana in May. Wall of sound was amazing. Happy to discover the archives and particularly this fine concert.

Not the best Dark Star or WRS, but I love all the stuff from this era.

The Not Fade Away> Goin Down the Road is freakin awesome. They are really jammin out, everyone on the proper groove.

Another good 'un. Get 'em while they're hot!

Yet another great show from '74, sometimes overshadowed by the fine Portland show 5 days later. Great setlist with both a solid Playin' and Dark Star. On my top 20 of all time. For this year, also see 2/24, 6/16, 6/18, 6/26, 6/28, 8/4, 8/5, and 8/6 for absolute top-flight shows from this incredible year.

keith actually nails this deal and really contributes...something that seemed to happen rarely...good setlist good sound good show

Okay, maybe DKO is "cover band" in the technical sense, but not like others. When DKO plays a 1970 'Friend of the Devil' it doesn't sound like when they play a 1988 Friend of the Devil, or a 1979 one --- get it. They are a recreation band and I am glad to have 'em. Get in the Way Back Machine, Sherman.....

lay off the pipe!!

this is just f*&%#$g awsome!!!!!!!!!!grab it before you have to buy it!5 stars allaround

This is one of my all time favorite dead shows. a late row jimmy and dark star. Phil, and the whole band for that matter, really figured out how to lullaby in '74. It's a slow congruence that makes the dead great, and really let's jerry go. Bertha and Jed were a pasture's stream as well. It really captured Montana, and I think it was meant too.

ok, man, i'll give you my favourite dead tunes, in no particular order: he's gone, cryptical, bertha, suagar magnolia, scarlet begonias, fire on the mountain, eyez, me and my uncle, uncle john's band, mountains of the moon, dire wolf, sugaree, deal, jack straw, st stephen, death don't have no mercy, wharf rat, he was a friend of mine, the main ten, cold rain, gdtr, china cat, i know you rider, the list could go on and on...i mean, do i have the right not to rave about every single dark star out there? does that mean that i don't like the dead? and wasn't it you who asked me if i was the heat?
cheers anyway

dude, i think there are some barry manillow sounboards that i think would suit you fine, no darkstars, i assure you. what's your favorite dead tune, let me guess, you hate them all.

...we thought they'd never end.

RIP Jerry, you will be missed forever. Now if you excuse me, I'll crank up this show, sip this frost ice cold beer, and smoke a sticky dank fatty in your honor.

yea the dark star here is real nice and sonically this source cannot be beat. the playing in the band is ok but tanks on the reprise and donna screeches worse and more frequently than usual. i agree that the band had a habit of singing beyond their range with youthful abandon during this period and this can be difficult at times. the dark star is worth the visit!

it started off great and ended off great.some othe best jammin that jerry and bob did that ihave ever heard.they were electric.

a picture perfect Weather Report Suite flows like a river out of the mountains into the tidal pull of Dark Star.... it's blazing hot with two roaring tiger peaks... the first is a hair-raising spontaneous Jerry explosion and the second, some of the hottest Billy K drumming this side of the Mississippi...
The transition to China Doll is one of those amazing moments where the Dead switch gears from the most tranced-out psychedelia to crystal-clear focus. This is my favorite 1974 Dark Star and the set as a whole is second only to 6-18-74 for the year, in my humble opinion. SIX STARS for the WRS>DS>Doll and Four for the first set. The soundboard mix sounds fantastic as it streams through my stereo speakers...

I can't remember the last time I was compelled to listen to It Must Have Been the Roses.

Good show.
Sound, right on.

"el paso" is listed as "mexicali blues". just thought i'd let you know.

The worst "Dark Star" of '74 is pretty damn good.

This tour may be the most predictable month in '74, and it's still premium. I guess you could say it's a little June-lite. If you're like me, and have listened to the month of June a few too many times in close proximity, May is the perfect place to turn until you've put enough distance from June and want the same flavor. July contains the pinnacle '74 night, August is the most hardcore '74 (in terms of aggression), September is surprisingly perhaps the most exotic, and Winterland October is a mellow journey through unexpected and pretty delights.

This Show Must be Big Time underrated !

As I see it, it has a very great set list, just missing out personal favorites as "Ship of Fools" & "Stella Blue".
But, has "Roses", "Scarlet" & "China Doll".
And very sweet versions of other songs.
Vocals are clean, guitars mostly well tuned. They seem to be on the search for the lost chord...

Like someone else wrote;
"Grab This One Before They Make You Pay For It !"

A really nice early Scarlet Begonias, a month after Mars Hotel was recorded--ruined by Donna warbling up and down and around the note but not finding it. The boys rescue it with a nice jam. Too bad, though.

I don't care for the Dark Star here. It's at the end of it's run, and I think the boys are tiring of it at this point.

i havent heard much about this show before coming across it accidentaly.....the first set is good but not great for such an amazing year..... but the second set is really really nice....playin' is nice and spacey yet not a total atonal freakout......WRS>let it grow>dark star is what makes this show worth a listen....even by 74 standards it does things to you

check out 6/18 6/16 and the retierment run first

OK, since no one else has brought it up, I will.

I can't decide which is better:

The Second Set....

or

THE FACT YOU CAN'T HEAR "MISTER WHISTLE" FROM THE FIRST SET!

***** for second set
* for the guy I just can't tune out.

Great sound quality for 1974. The vocals are a bit sharp for my taste, but you get what you get. Beware of DJG in the usual places. The standout of this show is obviously the WRS>Dark Star>China Doll. Definately one of the better executed WRS's around. The Dark Star quietly noodles around out there somewhere, until Garcia scalps you and puts your brains in a blender, and then calms you down with a really fine China Doll. I read a comment by Garcia, referring to the fact that the Dark Stars had gotten so disjointed and weird that you couldn't relate to them at all. This one may qualify, but I still like it. Not quite a 5 for me though.

Hmmmm...though I reviewed this one last year. Oops!

I fell in love with this one about 10 years ago after taping the WRS > Let It Grow > Dark Star> China Doll from Dead Hour. It was one of those shows to not only listen to but to cherish every minute of beauty played that night. At the time I was unfamiliar with 74 and just thought it was some pretty cool s&!t. Now years later I know they were definately on to something the entire year, playing with a sound that they had never and would never play again. Its something special to realize that you are turned onto a band that can blow away each person differently for every year or even tour because they were just sooo ON with what they were doing musically as a band!
Anyway, back to the recording The WRS through China Doll is amazing with some amazing music but don't forget the other higfhlights. Solid Playing and a nice tight Scarlet. Roses sounds nice and fresh and Jimmy is pretty smooth.
Sound is really good. It takes a while to warm up(BErtha kinda drags sound-wise) but Jerry is up in the mix through the show! Keith rocks and Phil is Phil! Solid as usual.
This is definately one to get! What used to be an underated show (and still may be) from a great year! Don't pass this one up! Your collection of shows from May- June 74, or the whole year, won't be complete without it!

Great stuff! Very heavy duty Dark Star.
Great Sound and the Band are on fire...

I'm still laughing at the review that moron jraybofunk wrote...he must have hearing problems. Jerry is definitely not weak in the mix. The mix is perfect, it sounds awesome, especially Phil...the super low frequencies are there.

Great Show! Nice and long and tightly played...and no better way to close it than with a KILLER NFA>GDTRFB! I mean, it's !@*#@**! ...WOW!!

If you like the classic '74 sound then download this show!!

This is a great concert. High energy and clear sound. "Let it Grow" is one of the best versions of the song I've ever heard. Great/haunting version of "Loser".

Check out the "Dark Star". Killer!!!!

yes, yes, this IS a sweet f-ing show.
When I get my wayback machine built, I'm going back for this one.
Until then, I have this. Definately worth grabbing, great quality, great sound, (I don't know what that guy was talking about, Jerry is NOT weak in the mix,) a very good show.

I guess it depends on what rig you are listening on. On mine this show sounds crispy, with Jerry hammering away.

Another fine '74 show.

U can tell this a damm good show.. but guess what? if JErrys weakest in the mix, the mix is bad
.
Its even wORSE if a good jerry performance was lost because of soundman. ouch

I love the guy who yells out for "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" just before the start of Playin (crank it up nice and loud; you'll be able to hear it!) Tony Orlando & Dawn covered by the Dead?!? Damn, I thought playing with Hall & Oates was bizarre enough!

A for sound quality
A for music quality

Note: The breakdown in Scarlet is extra funky on this special night =D

I lived in montanta and cannot believe these hayseeds were rocking the place the way they were - scarlet is smoking as is let it grow>dark star which is really long and free form jazz fusion jam jerry was into at that time. great nfa+++

I'm suprised nobody mentioned the craziness of Playin. Yes, WRS>Dark Star rock, but Playing in the Band cannot be overlooked. This 20min version is all over the map. Jerry is especially inspired. The interplay between Bobby and Billy is very impressive on this song. A must for '74 fans. And yes, NFA>GDTRFB is perhaps the best from 1974.

Must have...the may-june shows in 74 are all excellent, and may reflect some of the most unique and exciting dead jamming in their history...this show will not disappoint.

Sound is excellent. Great mood, lots of energy. Highlights for me were Loser, Scarlet, Row Jimmy, NFA>GDTRFB. Get it NOW !!!

A nicely spartan Bertha, it starts with simple drumming and piano. Later Weir comes in, the left channel all to himself. Reminiscent of the simple earnestness of the Skull & Roses version.....

an amazing sounding seed of a completely out of hand show. reaffirms my love of the sound that they achieved in 73-74 with the advent of just one drummer. smoking versions of loser, scarlet, and an insane second set make this show so strong. i would even go as far as to say it is among the top five shows ever played.

This has got to be one of my favorite recordings of all time. Amazing performance, outstanding quality. Worth it just for the WRS>Darkstar>China Doll. I would not steer you wrong. Beautiful show !

This is an underrated and incredible show, underrated probably because it hasn't circulated as much as other well-known 1974 shows. One word - Dark Star. Maybe the best of the 5 played that year. A rare WRS>Dark Star>China Doll combo that just makes your hair stand on end. And the Playin is no slouch either, nor the Scarlet>Roses. Jerry is on tonight, as well as Keith and Phil. A sterling show! What are you waiting for?
Dr. Flashback :-)