I am a fan of 72 Stars. Yes, this one is unique and full of variety. But like 4.24, all the ingredients are there but it is all for naught. To me, there is a clear difference between versions were the music plays the band. Here it sounds like them trying too hard, and never feels whole. 11/26/72 isis an example of the same tour with it all coming together. Rating is for the Dark Star.

I truly am disappointed in the lack of positive feedback on this show. This is mostly due to misinformation. For all of those asking where the soundboard recording is, well its not there. The reason being is because during a few shows in this September (or late August into September run for those who want to get picky) the band was missing a piece of equipment that would allow them to have those soundboard recordings. This was obviously remedied later on, but however thanks to Bear we were able to get GREAT audience recordings of the show. I just feel sorry for those of you who think that this is unlistenable.

...and stayed for the entire show. The ever-reliable LightIntoAshes recommended the Dark Star on some thread or other, and is that ever a good tip. The entire show is yet another 73 beauty. The only downside here is the common frustration that the tracks are broken up by breaks; that's somewhat jarring, though soon forgotten as each successive song gets rolling.

Solid set list! Dark Star > Dew will make your face melt! As for sound quality suck it up guys! This is awesome for a '72 show! I honestly have heard way worse to the point of bob and jerry mumbling. this is an awesome show thank you sir

If you feel obliged to forgo show since it's not complete or b/c it's not a board, then you'd be depriving yourself of some choice '72 material. Now,if you've got an inclination to cherry pick this show, be sure to head straight for the DS->Dew for a blissful 45 minute stint that should aid in your GD fix for the moment. I think it's the best pairing of these two tunes for the year, after the epic 9/21 pairing in Philly of course.

I wouldn't call the first 2/3rds of this Dark Star extraordinary (especially for '72 standards), but the last third of this version is the cat's meow! The patient listener will be rewarded with a piece-meal brewing of electrical dissonance that finally festers into an explosive orgasmic release of sound that segues into a bouncy "philo-stomp" before morphing into a peppy "feelin'groovy jam" that's played in double-quick time. Dig it, folks! What follows is a sweet MD that delivers like a good MD should.

As far as quality of audio goes, Owsley "Bear" Stanley's AUD is a top tier '72 recording. Listen and cherish, folks.

Attention Heads! Does anyone happen to have a soundboard copy of this show? I am desperately seeking one out (don't know if one even exists). Email me at gerryjarcia42@gmail.com if you can help me track one down.

I have some shows you might be interested in for a nice trade.

This is the best & most complete source for this show, as it patches together Bear's great AUD with the lesser alternate AUD (which is most of the first set).

In particular, this is the best source for Dark Star - both the Cotsman and the new GEMS files of this show use the same Bear AUD, which has a 100-second cut in the middle of Dark Star. This is the only source (so far) with a patch to fill the gap. It probably won't be long before somebody does the patch for the GEMS version, though.

great aud for 72 love these auds from way back great show

just kinda wonderin ....
where are the files to dl?
this is an aud ...
so .....
whats up?
anybody? why is this unavailable ?

this is an awesome show ... i have part of this on a cd i dl'ed and burned years ago ...would'nt mind to get the whole show complete ....
pretty please....

Aaaacchkkkkkk! My istake! The other posting is a different upload! I need to get new eyeballs! I've often wondered where these shows go. There are a few that were here and are now gone. Any caretakers want to enlighten us?

Nothing gets nothing.

You hollygolightly prima donnas are passing up a SICK Dark Star > Dew sequence. I dialed this one up for shits n giggles thinking it would sound like total ass. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is totally listenable, but it is mostly the meat of the show recorded by BEAR. Read the notes - Playin through CJ. There are a bazillion AUD tapes from the 80s that sound worse than this Bear-recorded section of the show. Pass over at your own peril.

72 heads check it out!!

Listening to this show is a chore. It gets one more star than it should because of its top tier setlist. Kenny is holding the reels and hopefully he'll get around to not feeling so jerky.

Hope to see a better quality version of this show go up. The Show is great and soulful, Jerry is wailing. I can appreciate the nostalgia of an an old audience recording. Thats all I had to begin with.

I suppose in my orignal review I was a bit UNGRATEFUL. I do greatly appreciate the work of everyone who took the time to record and upload that we mere mortals may bask in the glow of the omniscient luminescence that is live Grateful Dead music. That being said, I wouldn't mind a bit of a heads-up though when something is perhaps a bit less palatable than MOST of the rest of this fantastic site.

I mostly agree, a show can be appreciated if the sound is not all that hot, but excellent sound is what usually persuades people to listen in the first place. Think of all the super-hot shows out there that a large percentage of folks bypass because the sound isn't up to their standard. I want to thank Hanno and Uli for their incredible work in giving us shows that we would otherwise never get to hear in their entirety or sometimes AT ALL! Thank you guys! Some shows are going to be more difficult listening than others and I suppose this is one of them. The Bear-produced aud portion is wonderful, I'd like to get a list of what shows Bear recorded in this fashion. A couple of mikes set up at the soundboard, then run into a cassette machine and there you go. I really recommend the Bear version of 10-27, definitely a you-are-there recording. The remainder of this show is somewhat challenging. If you make it past the sound quality you will be rewarded with excellent playing typical of this period, although nothing really stands out.

Come on, huffman! Are you really that ignorant when it comes to judging a show? You size it up solely on sound quality, which is absolutely not the way Grateful Dead music is supposed to be enjoyed. There are plenty of AUD recordings on this site that are far, far worse than this one (4/7/72 comes to mind). In fact, this is a fairly decent AUD tape for '72.

As for the show, as judged solely on the MUSIC, it gets a five. The Dark Star>Dew is gorgeous and equally as good as the 9/21 DS>Dew. The climax/Tiger jam is incredibly spooky; you can literally feel the heat pour out of your speakers during this sequence. If only I had been old enough to see a '72 show...

Probably one of the best, if not the best darkstar of all time. Phil thunders at the best points and the feelingroovy jam into dew is remarkable. Get this great show from my hometown!!!!!!!