03-14-1983
Club Front
San Rafael, California
This is a fabulous piece from the studio. Here the Dead are rehearsing Help> Slip> Franklin’s – not played as a suite since October 11, 1977 – and Brother Esau, which had yet to be played live. Both will be broken out on the first show of the year, March 25th.
It is neat to listen to the boys work on Help> Slip> Franklin’s repeatedly, settling back into half forgotten little jams and awakening, once again, to the full potential of the vehicle. Brother Esau is a little different, There, the band seems to be learning to play the tune together, and lengthy sections are languorous and subtle. There is also some interesting banter (isn’t all banter interesting?) throughout.

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