Dead of the Day: 10-04-1981
Rainbow Theater
London, England
As the show begins, Bobby explains that “not all of our equipment is working just exactly perfectly,” but that they have their “crack technical staff” working on it. Another minute of banter ensues before the rest of the boys start in on a little jam, testing the sound system. Clearly enjoying themselves, they then head into a really fun and energetic Jack Straw, making up for lack of truly eloquent jamming with outright verve and zip. The Friend of the Devil that follows is slow and contemplative with Brent taking the lead on the interstices between verses. In the El Paso that comes next, Jerry catches fire, playing alongside Brent in a magnificent combination, evoking the lovelorn rider crossing the desert to find his dear Felina. Afterwards, the boys seem to settle in a little more, navigating through the middle portion of the set with a bit more noise, but maybe not the same virtuosity. But things heat up again beginning with the Minglewood as Jerry once again throws down and Bobby tosses in a “London fillies” reference. The Row Jimmy that follows is perfectly paced, leading into a phenomenal Let It Grow. The song builds slowly, mainly carried along by Bobby’s vocals at the beginning. But, before too long, the playing starts to flame up, leading to a ferocious series of turns before quieting down and ambling into the Deal set closer. The second half opens with the wobbly organ sound of Brent’s keys ushering in a fine version of Cold Rain & Snow. After that Bobby keeps the banter going as they head into a Brent-dominated, scorcher of a Samson and Delilah. The Scarlet> Fire that comes out next is one of the absolute highlights of the show. The Scarlet chips along before turning into a Brent and Jerry jam-fest, becoming spacier as they make their way to Fire On The Mountain. The drummers bring it on Fire, and Jerry lights up the second half. Lost Sailor and a seriously clipped Saint of Circumstance – there are other breaks in the recording on Minglewood and Sugar Mags – take it into Drums and Space. A Spanish Jam brings it out of Space and into The Other One, but these tunes and the Stella, though very good, are not quite up to the standard set by the rest of the show. All is redeemed with the set-closing Sugar Mags, which, lacking Bobby’s guitar in the mix, is focused on Jerry and Brent.
This show is the third of four of the Rainbow Theater run in the middle of the Dead’s second ’81 European tour. Yes, you read it right, the Dead had made a short five-show trip across the pond in April and returned again for a longer, fourteen-show ramble across the continent in the fall. The music was hot throughout, but as Blair Jackson explains, the soundboard recordings were poor in that they failed to capture much of any of Bobby and Phil’s playing. Nonetheless, the show here is sweet, as you surely have realized. However, it might only be the second best of the tour, taking a back seat to the stellar second show at the Club Melk Weg in Amsterdam two weeks later.

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