The Truckin’ starts off the show in grand fashion, rousing the crowd and jamming it out hard. Then the Sugaree rolls out, bluesy and a bit rougher around the edges than ones from the later 70s, but just as splendid and a little more dark and down and out. A couple good tunes follow before a smoking China> Rider. There is a pretty damn good jam in the middle of the China Cat, scorching off only to return right back for another verse and then heading straight down another path. Three great tunes come next – don’t miss the It Hurts Me Too – before the boys coming together to deliver a luscious monster of a Playing in the Band. The jamming and rocking continues on Good Lovin’ with Pig rapping in between some serious throw-down by…

There is a phenomenal 1972 show on this date, but our Dead of the Day takes us to the even better evening at the University of Alabama back in 1977. The first set here is a gem with each and every tune offering up something that will delight. Give it a listen and find your favorite parts. For us, it is the lovely harmonies and smoking riffs on Looks Like Rain and the fiery picking on Big River, but there is so much sparkling music to enjoy, including the set-ending, marathon Scarlet> Fire. An high energy Samson opens up the second set, crackling with energy and expectation. The intensity continues as the boys take it into a Bertha with a dozen anymores before a classic ’77, though attenuated, Good Lovin’. But the real heart of the set is still…

Our Dead of the Day takes us back to the Uptown Theater in Chicago in 1978. Jack Straw opens the show, sharp and racing right from the start. The band then goes into a Dire Wolf that is as good as any, followed by a Mexicali that has some rip in the latter half. But the show really gets going a few tunes later with the delightful Peggy-O with Jerry shooting off at every chance he gets. After a fine Cassidy, Jerry comes right back with an intense Row Jimmy. Jerry’s vocals and guitar dominate, but Phil throws in some bombs, Keith plays some lovely fills, and the drummers keep some great time, making it something really special. The Dead follow that up with a resonate, rocking Passenger; Bobby and Donna sound great together as they did