07-27-1974
Roanoke Civic Center
Roanoke, Virginia
A very fine Bertha opens the show up with just seven anymores gracing the end as Bobby seems to run out of breath. But he is right back at it on the next tune, going all cowboy on Mexicali. A slow, beatific Row Jimmy then provides an early highlight. Donna is absent in the mix throughout most of the show, but she comes in for some lovely, subdued harmonies here to add to Jerry’s impassioned vocals during the rapturously slow unfolding of the tune. A righteous Jack Straw comes out next before Mississippi Half-Step takes it into It Must Have Been The Roses. This pairing was a rare experiment that the Dead trotted out a half dozen times in 1974, and here the transition is so natural, and the playing, especially on Roses, is consummate. A delightful Me And Bobby McGee and Tennessee Jed then lead the way to a monster Playin’ In The Band – spacey, yet always purposeful – that caps the early going.
The second set kicks off with China Cat Sunflower, replete with a mighty, vibrant jam in the latter half that eventually transitions seamlessly into I Know You Rider. And Rider is all the match for China Cat, ranging and full of life; the only knock on the tune being that it barely caps five minutes. A feisty Me And My Uncle takes it to a solid Ramble On Rose before Big River. Then we get a joyous US Blues rocker per usual; that is until about five minutes in when the boys take off on a righteous romping trip of a jam. Throughout, Jerry channels a bit of Chuck Berry, which presages the Promised Land that bursts out the back end of the rare US Blues jam. A beautiful Brokedown Palace then shifts the tempo completely. But that proves to be just a momentary respite before the Dead push the pedal to the metal the rest of the way out with Not Fade Away> Going Down The Road Feeling Bad> Johnny B. Goode. There are rumors – perhaps originally stoked by Deadbase – of an Eyes Of The World encore to the show. But none of the circulating tapes capture it, and there doesn’t seem to be many folks in attendance who recall it. With or without the Eyes, this show is a burner with some absolutely epic moments.
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