Jerry’s solo is off the walls crazy. A train going top speed and I promise that train won’t slow down! Great energy here overall.

As Jerry shouts, “You know he had to die.” BANG! A massive gunshot right on rhythm. Great reprise with great drum work from Billy and Mickey.

Jerry takes off and soars. Gets really heavy, and out there FAST. Experimental passages and new themes explored. This is what the Dead do best.

Billy and Mickey flowing in and out of the main TOO rhythms. They’re both putting each other to the test as they really get deep in this one.

“At this risk of being repetitious we’re going to do another song in the key of G.”-Bob Weir. This version is quite sweet. Patchy audio, great version

While I agree with the sentiment of the hot as hell Deal’s being a real event in which you can see Garcia in any given setting whether it be the Dead or JGB burn the entire venue down with each pluck of a string, I still love the old saloon vibe of the pre hiatus Deal’s. I love a good shred fest as much as the next person, but there’s something so endearing about these early versions of the songs. They feel more “homegrown,” rather than a display of Garcia’s virtuosity, I really enjoy the stories the band would tell with these powerful and rootsy version of these tunes. It feels like there’s a contribution from everyone involved instead of the boys playing catchup with Jerry, which admittedly can be incredibly fun, but I love these modern Americana folk stories told through this medium rather than it being a Garcia musical exercise all the time, which I still do love very much. That being said, this is a solid version, not the craziest, but it doesn’t need to be. Just my 2 cents.

Brent’s solo is absolutely brain melting. An atom splitting performance with electrons flying in every direction. I wish I could’ve heard Brent in this kind of setting more often, just letting it all out no restraints, it seems like he holds himself back sometimes. This is one of my favorite versions purely for his playing alone, a stunning intergalactic explosion, a supernova.

Drifting and drifting, A Dark Star that sends the listener into a vast ocean of endless possibilities. Floating in the sea and watching the stars above shoot across the sky and glisten like diamonds. The jamming is alchemy personified, a musical translation of the hermetic corpus.

These October 73 shows have this DMT geometric quality to them that is so unique of their era. This is a spacey and ultraviolet version with void magic swirling in the air, at times sounding like blotter art Bach. Ancient geometry conveyed through everyone’s instruments, with stunning architecture that continues to build to the absolute edge of our universe. Andromeda’s Playin.

This has quickly become of my all time favorite versions. A stunning diamond of a China>Rider, a geometric exploration of 4th dimensional realms only accessible through the magic they achieve here this night. Keith and Jerry are deep in these crystal spaces of glittering gems, their musicality envelopes the band and specifically with Bobby you can hear how these three completely lock in with each other as they reach the climax of the solo. The build up to the Feelin’ Groovy is nothing short of one of the greatest passages of Jerry’s playing I’ve ever heard, and the jam is a beautiful realm of pure bliss conveyed through mellow sound. Beautiful