Dead of the Day: 10-27-1979
Cape Cod Coliseum
South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
The show opens with a fine, ripping Jack Straw, and rolls through a solid first set. It seems, though, that it is the last few songs of it that are the real highlight. The Lost Sailor soars, followed up by a stellar Saint of Circumstance, both made all the better by being in the first set where they just seem to be more at home. The boys also do not try to get as much out of them’ rather than pushing the tunes to their breaking point, they deliver sweetly rendered – and paced – bliss. Following that, a short, raging Deal takes the set out. The second half opens with a monstrous, completely funked out to the point of ridiculousness Dancin’ In The Streets. In the midst of the raucousness, right when you think they cannot get any deeper, Phil steps forward and drives home an earth-shattering bass riff that sends the rest of the band into convulsions as they answer his call. Then, a couple minutes later, there is the righteous segue into Franklin’s, and the boys are off again. And boy does this Franklin’s smoke with some more aggressive Phil bombs in the midst of it. But really, it is the great interplay between everyone, Jer especially, that makes this one so damn tasty. A majestic He’s Gone then goes into a Caution Jam, or at least a close approximation of one, which then peaks right into an intense The Other One. Phil carpet bombs the tune, creating powerful aftershocks into which Jerry and Bobby blitz in. Eventually, they leave the stage to the drummers, who drive it into Not Fade Away. The post-Drums section does not match the earlier half of the set, but then what could. Instead, after the NFA, we get a good Black Peter and then a fun Around And Around.
By this point in ’79, it seems that Brent was completely integrated into the band. At the same time, his style of playing was reinvigorating the Dead, provoking a level of excitement and inventiveness in the music that the boys had not shown in a few years. And so, once again, the Grateful Dead were reimagining their sound.
Post about this show:
- Dancin’ In The Streets – The Dead played a tremendous disco funk version of Dancin’ In The Streets on this day in 1979. Read more about the song and listen to some of the very best of the Dead’s Dancin’ In The Streets performances.
Yesterday’s Dead of the Day:
Other October 27th Shows and Recordings:
- 1971 – Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium – Syracuse, New York
- 1972 – Veterans Memorial Auditorium – Columbus, Ohio
- 1973 – State Fair Coliseum – Indianapolis, Indiana
- 1980 – Radio City Music Hall – New York, New York
- 1984 – Berkeley Community Theater – Berkeley, California
- 1990 – The Zenith – Paris, France
- 1991 – Oakland Coliseum Arena – Oakland, California
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