10-28-1979
Cape Cod Coliseum
South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
The boys come out of the gate with a solid Mississippi Half-Step that absolutely takes off in the latter portion as Jerry lets loose on guitar. From there, a sensational transition brings them into Franklin’s Tower, which is spectacularly rendered with relentless jamming throughout. After the two Jerry songs, Bobby comes back with his own double-shot of Mama Tried> Mexicali. Both him and Jerry continue the fine playing of the first two tunes, trading licks and intertwining their runs along with Brent. After a long pause, the boys then go into a sultry Althea. After some rough vocals in parts of the opening two tunes, Jerry’s voice is on during Althea and so is his guitar as he offers up some deeply emotional licks. The Passenger that comes next is blistering, followed up by a delightful Ramble On Rose. Then, a rocking Music Never Stops takes it into the break, finishing off an exceptionally bright and lucid first set.
A rousing China Cat opens the second half. On it, Brent kicks off a jam that everyone joins in on, creating a blistering barrage of awesomeness pock-marked by Phil’s earth-shattering bombs. The ridiculousness continues into Rider, before the boys bring it down just a notch only so they can trade up on the lyrics before returning to some scintillating playing. The Samson that comes next is just as heady, driving onwards in powerful fashion. While Ship Of Fools provides a bit of a breather, it, too, is perfectly conceived and executed by the band, who is, quite obviously, dialed in on this evening. Following a lengthy pause, a masterful Playin’ comes out that the drummers continue to drive forward while the rest of the boys go off on some imaginative and evocative flights of fancy while, somehow, maintaining a coherence and stickiness. Slowly, over the last few minutes of the tune, the band cedes more and more control to Billy and Mickey, eventually leaving the stage to them completely. A fantastic Stella – even Jerry’s hoarse vocals are saved by Bobby and Brent during some key sections – forms out of a short Drums> Space. From there, they finish off the set with Sugar Mags and then the entire night with US Blues.
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