10-01-1976
Market Square Arena
Indianapolis, Indiana
A sprightly Bertha opens the show, allowing the band and the crowd to get their bearings. By Mama Tried, everyone is on point, and with the Deal – short, but fervid – things really start to cook. Cassidy then soars forth. Jerry’s sparse runs mesh perfectly with the rest of the band’s playing, and a brief, beatific jam that takes flight in the latter half. From there, the Dead turn to FOTD, Donna providing some lovely, measured accompaniment to Jerry’s rich vocal effort. A bang up Big River follows before a solid Brown-Eyed Women that Phil is all over. After It’s All Over Now, the highlight of the first half comes out in a stratospheric Scarlet. While Phil bombs away throughout, Jerry just lights the Scarlet up on top of the drummers sensational beat for one of the best stand-alone versions of the tune. And the set finishes strong with a steamy Promised Land.
Bertha, Mama Tried, Deal, Cassidy, Friend Of The Devil, Big River, Brown Eyed Women, It’s All Over Now, Scarlet Begonias, Promised Land
Set 2
Might As Well, Samson & Delilah, Help On The Way-> Slipknot!-> Franklin’s Tower, Dancin’ In The Streets-> Drums-> The Wheel-> Ship of Fools-> Dancin’ In The Streets-> Goin’ Down The Road Feelin’ Bad-> One More Saturday Night, E: U.S. Blues
Might As Well breaks open the action in the second half before a pounding and jammed out intro to Samson. And the powerful Samson itself resets the vibe of the set, ushering in a transcendent serious of movements, starting with a ridiculous Help> Slip> Franklin’s. The Slipknot!, in particular, is just off the hook. Throughout the early going, Phil’s bass is ever-present, and Keith puts in some almost discordant fills, constructing an unearthly moment in the jam. But the best passage in the Slipknot! might be the final jam into Franklin’s, which starts out settled and relaxed before Phil starts playing a few licks that set the rest of the boys off on a fantastic transition. Franklin’s breaks forth beautifully from there with its own series of heady jams with Jerry making some incredible runs. All told, the suite is simply mind-blowing. But the show is far from over. After a short breather, the drummers set off on Dancin’ in the Street, and the band does not look back, playing a ridiculously funky first half of the tune before everyone cedes the stage to the drummers for a short and insatiable percussive interlude out of which The Wheel rises. But the Dead are far from done with Dancin’. And, on the tail end of that luscious Wheel, the boys create a jam that somehow combines the dark rapture of The Wheel and the groove of Dancin’ before transforming into a precious, even ethereal space that eventually dissolves into Ship of Fools. Afterwards, we get a final spin through Dancin’ before it segues to a wide open GDTRFB. A breakneck One More Saturday Night closes out the set, and US Blues puts a cap on the entire evening.
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