03-31-1973
Memorial Auditorium
Buffalo, New York
The night is tremendous from top to bottom, including everything from a perfectly rendered Box to a raging Playin’. However, the boys turn it up a notch further still in the latter portion of the second set. The He’s Gone leads the way, as the boys strut through, throwing all their emotion and verve into the playing and vocal vamping, before heading right into a boundless Truckin’. A plucky little jam after the Truckin’ – with some hints of Nobody’s Fault – provides a little change of pace. But then Billy takes us in a different direction altogether, thundering forward and powering through a segue into a monster Other One. TOO blisters out of the gate and then finds some slower, less traveled territory, summoning the bullfighters, paisanos, and flamenco of a Spanish Jam that they meld with the Other One theme for a while. Finally, TOO is left behind completely and they strike out into an extraterrestrial space, exploring distant galaxies before gathering into a bluesy country ramble that leads right to, quite unexpectedly, Rider. The Rider surges and soars, but holds on to a real bluegrassy feel throughout. After a pause, the band fires away with a full-bore Sugar Mags to put a rocking cap on the set.
Today’s Dead of the Day:
Other March 31st Shows and Recordings:
- 1968 – Carousel Ballroom – San Francisco, California
- 1980 – Capitol Theater – Passaic, New Jersey
- 1983 – Warfield Theater – San Francisco, California
- 1984 – Marin County Veterans Auditorium – San Rafael, California
- 1985 – Cumberland County Civic Center – Portland, Maine
- 1986 – Providence Civic Center – Providence, Rhode Island
- 1987 – The Spectrum – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1988 – Brendan Byrne Arena – East Rutherford, New Jersey
- 1989 – Greensboro Coliseum – Greensboro, North Carolina
- 1991 – Greensboro Coliseum – Greensboro, North Carolina
- 1993 – Nassau Coliseum – Uniondale, New York
- 1994 – The Omni – Atlanta, Georgia

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