The first set is a gem, and the second half starts right off where the boys left off in the early going with a phenomenal Scarlet> Fire. Jerry’s vocals are lucid throughout, but it is the pristine quality of the playing and the scintillating, unique transition that really make this one rise above so many others. Estimated Prophet continues to mesmerize, and the segue into Eyes playfully references the earlier Scarlet> Fire transition. And while the Eyes that comes out the other side is short – under ten minutes – it is still a treat, relaxed with a funky sort of Bertha groove to the early going that unfurls into a rapturous soundscape. Brent, who has been on the entire night, then comes to the fore with Never Trust A Woman, and don’t miss Jerry’s noodling flourish into Drums. On the backside, Not Fade Away climbs out of Space, eventually turning into a seething, sweat-inducing bone shaker before settling into a beautiful, soaring Stella Blue. The boys then turn to a pair of rockers in the set-closing One More Saturday Night and US Blues encore to close the evening.

The Dead had kicked off a spring East Coast tour the night before at Duke University. The Cameron show is legendary as that was when Jerry and Phil switched sides of the stage, where they would remain for the rest of Grateful Dead history. And the arrangement tripped more than a few people up on this night in Norfolk. This Scope show is also the only one the Dead ever played in Norfolk, and they did not even deliver a Promised Land. But of course, the Tidewater saw its share of fabulous shows beyond this one, more than a few with the Chuck Berry tune, with Hampton right across the river and William and Mary just down the road.