05-25-1977
The Mosque
Richmond, Virginia
From the very beginning, the Dead bring a relaxed and mellow feel to this show. Like the Big Muddy itself, the Mississippi Half-Step opener is languid and serene despite its obvious power. Nowhere in the first set is this chill pleasure more obvious, however, than in the enchanting Peggy-O a few tunes later, Jerry so patient and smooth. Even the Promised Land that sees the set out – a rocker if ever there is one – kneads more than it rushes, Jerry’s solo soaring, not rocketing.
The Scarlet that opens the second half has that same breezy feel as the early going, cool and untroubled, dancing right through a brilliant transition into a mesmerizing Fire On The Mountain. This is a special pairing of tune, so different from, but all the equal of Barton Hall. Estimated Prophet thrills with its barely contained power and leads to a tremendous He’s Gone with a billowy funk of a jam at the end into Drums. After five minutes of a jazz percussion trip, Billy and Mickey bang it into The Other One, and we are off on a serious affair. Putting aside the pleasant langour of everything that came before, The Other One blazes across the landscape before entering a spacey atmosphere that weaves its way to a stellar Wharf Rat. Intimate and heartfelt Wharf Rat eventually turns in blistering fashion to The Other One. And after Bobby gives us one verse, a little winding side trail of a jam leads into The Wheel, luscious and dreamlike. From there, Around And Around takes the set out with Jerry giving a spot-on Chuck Berry impression and then some. And the whole band keeps it going with a Johnny B. Goode encore.
Dave Lemieux chose this show to be volume one of Dave’s Picks, which makes for a great start to the series.
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