Dead of the Day: 05-06-1981

Nassau Coliseum

Uniondale, New York

It is clear from the beginning of the night that the Dead were there to rock, starting with the Alabama Getaway out of the gate. Throughout the first set, the band seems to pack a little more energy and intense jamming into each tune than they might on a different night. For instance, the end of Cassidy goes off in blistering fashion with everyone combining on a fiery series of turns. Then the Jack-A-Roe comes right back with Bobby and the drummers busting along and Jerry laying in some fiery picking. And it just keeps going along like this until the Let It Grow, which is bristling with a new, even more heightened, frenetic energy, as the boys are constantly itching to go further into the interstices of the song and occasionally explode with fervor.

Recording info
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Identifier:
gd1981-05-06.144701.fob.nak700.severson.miller.clugston.flac2496
Source:
Mark Severson’s Master Audience Cassettes; (3) x Nakamichi 700 mics (left/right cardioids, omni center – on a handheld pole 30′ from stage in the penalty box)> Custom mixer by Jamie Poris > Sony TC-D5M (Maxell MX)
Notes:
Notes: – Thanks to Mark Severson for the master cassettes – Thanks to Charlie Miller for the transfer and coordinating this effort – Thanks to Jim Wise for the Sennheiser 421 source which supplies an 0:08 patch in “Drums” – Pitch corrected – “He’s Gone” dedicated to IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands – Other One space included in “The Other One” Mastered by Scott Clugston January 2019
Description:
Set I
Alabama Getaway >
Greatest Story Ever Told
They Love Each Other
Cassidy
Jack-A-Roe
Little Red Rooster
Dire Wolf
Looks Like Rain
Big Railroad Blues
Let It Grow >
Deal
Set II
New Minglewood Blues
High Time >
Lost Sailor >
Saint Of Circumstance
He’s Gone > *
Caution Jam >
Spanish Jam >
Drums >
Space >
The Other One >
Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad >
Wharf Rat >
Good Lovin’

Encore:
Don’t Ease Me In
Lineage:
Master Cassettes (Nakamichi DR-1)> Tascam DA-3000 (DSF 1-bit/5.6 MHz) > dBpoweramp 24/96 > Adobe Audition CC 2019 > TLH flac2496
Transferrer:
Scott Clugston and Charlie Miller
Play
Pause
Back
Forw.
Volume
00:00
1
Crowd
03:19
2
Alabama Getaway >
04:55
3
Greatest Story Ever Told
04:32
4
They Love Each Other
07:08
5
Cassidy
05:29
6
Jack-A-Roe >
04:55
7
Little Red Rooster
10:59
8
Dire Wolf >
03:26
9
Looks Like Rain
09:02
10
Big Railroad Blues >
03:54
11
Let It Grow >
10:07
12
Deal
07:30
13
Crowd
01:07
14
New Minglewood Blues
08:05
15
High Time
09:48
16
Lost Sailor >
06:20
17
Saint Of Circumstance
07:09
18
He’s Gone > Caution Jam > Spanish Jam >
27:34
19
Drums >
07:29
20
Space >
03:43
21
The Other One >
06:02
22
Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad >
05:45
23
Wharf Rat >
09:16
24
Good Lovin’
06:58
25
Encore Break
00:30
26
Don’t Ease Me In
03:26
Choose recording

The second set starts out with a killer Minglewood that, like the Let It Grow in the first half, pushes the song to its edge with Bobby and Jerry trading licks at one point. The Sailor> Saint is also electric, but the set takes another turn upwards and onwards with the He’s Gone. With some incredible guitar work, the song heralds the preposterously phenomenal Caution jam – the last Caution the band ever played – which then morphs into an equally ridiculous Spanish Jam. After Drums and Space, the first notes of The Other One echo forth, bringing cheers that the band answers with a seething rendition. With the GDTRFB, it seems the band is heading for the door, though in rocking fashion, but instead of a Not Fade Away, the boys slow it down for a resonant, melancholy Wharf Rat, which elicits a roar from the audience who is clearly loving the night. Then a Good Lovin’ closes out the set, and a Don’t Ease Me In encore completely ends it.

A crisp soundboard of this show was released as Dick’s Picks 13. And there are sections on the audience recordings that are a little rough where the Dick’s Picks is very welcome, especially in the first two songs or so. But after that point, the crew gets the board figured out, and our recording improves. Before long, the tapes are barely noticeable, allowing us to enjoy the music while also hearing the audience, which is stoked and boisterous throughout the show. Of course, the official release has a more clean and nuanced, if a bit more sterile, sound.

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Comments

3 responses to “05-06-1981”

  1. Sly Avatar
    Sly

    Very nice “Let It Grow, Spanish Jam”…

  2. Ouish Avatar
    Ouish

    “This one is for Bobby Sands”

  3. Prem Prakash Avatar
    Prem Prakash

    Right as Weir sings “Even a blind man knows…” during the Good Lovin’, I saw a little girl, maybe 7 or 8 years-old, standing with her eyes big and bright, grinning, in awe of everything and everyone. The picture of innocence and joy.

    She’s holding the hand of a woman, probably Mom, who is blind.

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