09-17-1973
Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium
Syracuse, New York
Tennessee Jed kicks of the action, and the band is locked in from the very beginning: Keith’s piano providing a sweet little accompaniment to Jerry’s licks and Phil’s bass. The playing continues at a high level as the band works through the wide array of their repertoire over the next three tunes: a cowboy Me And My Uncle, classic Jerry on TLEO, and the country-blues, working-class BIODTL. Then a languid, resplendent Sugaree rolls out, which manages to step above those terrific earlier songs. And a few tunes later, we get a beautiful Looks Like Rain that is all the match for the Sugaree as Bobby gives it his all on the vocals and Jerry offers masterful, plaintive guitar work. The rest of the set continues in similarly fine fashion. Donna’s cover of Loretta Lynn’s You Ain’t Woman Enough, piano-heavy and ragtime-like, is a special treat, the second to last of the fourteen the band ever played, all in 1973.
Me & My Uncle
They Love Each Other
Beat It On Down The Line
Sugaree
Mexicali Blues
Loser
Looks Like Rain
Row Jimmy
Jack Straw
Loose Lucy
You Ain’t Woman Enough
Casey Jones
Let Me Sing Your Blues Away *
Truckin’ > *
Eyes Of The World > *
Weather Report Suite > *
Let It Grow > *
Stella Blue *
Sugar Magnolia *
Jerry Garcia – Guitar
Bob Weir – Guitar
Keith Godchaux – Keyboards
Phil Lesh – Bass
Bill Kreutzmann – Drums
Donna Jean Godchaux – Vocals
Martin Fierro – Saxophone *
Joe Ellis – Trumpet *
The second half gets started with Mississippi Half-Step before Joe Ellis and Martin Fierro, on trumpet and sax respectively, join in the rest of the way. People who don’t like Ellis and Fierro might point to the beginnings of the Let Me Sing Your Blues Away that comes next as a prime example of the discordance they could bring. But their horns also impart a funky polyphonic texture that turns the tune into a fun jazzy romp. And it is great to hear Keith singing on this tune, which they only played five times, all in September 1973. Truckin’, which blazes out next, is a blitz the entire way with the horns adding so much to the lengthy, rambling jam at the end. Then, a fantastic pairing of Eyes Of The World and Weather Report Suite provide the exploratory crux of the show, all jazzy and supremely mellow. Thirty or so minutes later, the Dead segue into a magisterial, set-ending Stella with the horns adding a new dimension to the always welcome Jerry tune. A full-on rocking Sugar Magnolia encore takes it out on the upbeat, crowd-pleasing dance favorite.
Guests at this show:
Today’s Dead of the Day:
Other September 17th Shows and Recordings:
- 1970 – Fillmore East – New York, New York
- 1972 – Baltimore Civic Center – Baltimore, Maryland
- 1982 – Cumberland County Civic Center – Portland, Maine
- 1987 – NBC Studios – New York, New York
- 1991 – Madison Square Garden – New York, New York
- 1993 – Madison Square Garden – New York, New York
- 1994 – Shoreline Amphitheater – Mountain VIew, California
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