Grateful Dead
Dave's Picks 54 Baltimore Civic Center
Baltimore, MD 3/26/73
****and1/2 out of *****
Standard disclaimer: When reviewing any Grateful Dead release at this point, it needs to be noted that a lot of the truly great shows from the band have already been professionally released. (If you are new to the band, check out RtBE's Beginners Guide to The Grateful Dead Part's one and two.) With their vast back catalog on archive.org and all of their previous releases, the band's selections are running thin when it comes to must own, professionally released concerts.
That said, the band still release shows because rabid fans (RtBE included) will listen to everything they put out. So let's dive in...
Early '73 has been well represented in the Dave's Picks series, and with reason; the band was playing very, very well. In total there are seven official releases from the band's shows captured in February, March and April 1973. One of RtBE's favorite shows was the band's previous, held on 3/24/73 in Philly and released as Dave's Picks 32 and while the main show in Dave's 54 might not be quite as exciting as that one, it still displays some top-notch playing and the bonus disk is a beauty.
Overall, the mood on 3/26 is very mellow, professional and solid. Not as exploratory as some '73 shows, but contains enough adventure to surprise long time fans and enough straight ahead goodness for newcomers. The Dead had recently lost founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and March '73 seemed to be a bit reserved because of that.
The first set is well played with Keith Godchaux keys sounding up front along with Phil Lesh's bass. Keith's wife Donna also sounds nice on the fun cover of "The Race Is On" while an early version of "Wave That Flag" is also interesting to check out.
The group seems to really start to click during "Jack Straw", which is followed by a great live version of "Box of Rain", a smooth "Brown-Eyed Women", and a quirky solo from Jerry Garcia on "El Paso" all are nice first set moments, in a set that has no flubs or true must hears until the closer. The set highlight comes at the end with an excellent spin through "Playin' In The Band" as Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann on drums drive the tune with twinkling from Godchaux and Garcia.
The dynamite tune does not propel them into greatness to start the second set though. After a fun intro from none other than Wolfman Jack, the band starts with, of course, "Ramble on Rose" to shout out the DJ, then go back into more smooth, solid, if unremarkable versions of "Big River", "Here Comes Sunshine" and "Candy Man". Disk 3 of this collection finds the band synching up best as the run starts with "He's Gone". The bass again leads the warm, easy flowing way while vocally Donna, Bob Weir and Garcia all sound great and soulful on the languid effort that drips into a relaxed "Truckin'".
Garcia's slide work and Keith's keys form the transition into "Weather Report Suite: Prelude" and then the most interesting thing occurs, the band moves into freeform territory but with a focus; this jam is really special and worth seeking out. The jamming is ethereal, wandering, easily the most unique part of the show as the tone turns ominous after four minutes as Jerry gets a little freaky, but things become cool and flowing again as the band seamlessly starts "Wharf Rat".
This brief (by Dead standards) cosmic adventure seems to spark the group as "Me and Bobby McGee" contains a very moving solo from Garcia and the final pairing of an early take on "Eyes of the World" and a powerful "Morning Dew" deliver the most energy of the show and two very solid versions of crowd favorites.
This would be a good to great release as a stand alone show, but the band also tosses in a bonus disk, part of the March 31, 1973 show, played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. The tunes included from this night in upstate New York are all really well done and make this collection a must own for fans of the band.
Another spin through "Playing In The Band" starts things out and the Dead get out there quickly with spacey, jazz like playing that is a really cool exploratory version of the tune led by Billy, Keith and Jerry. While maybe a little less exciting than the 3/26 version of the tune, this one is still worth the journey.
On the other hand, both "He's Gone" and "Truckin'" are more upbeat and better than their 3/26 counterparts. Both have an easy flowing vibe to them, and the transition between the two is great with "Truckin'" touching a bit on "Nobody's Fault But My Own" before a brief "Drums" and then the real special part of this bonus disk, "The Other One". This jam goes all over and shows the range of this band as it could easily be labeled "The Other One>Spanish Jam>Space>Feelin' Groovy Jam>I Know You Rider".
The amazing work in "The Other One" leads to the only stand alone "I Know You Rider" after 1970 from the group before the band get whacky with "Sugar Magnolia" as Bobby and Donna get screechy and crazy during the "Sunshine Daydream" section. Overall this bonus disk is phenomenal, pairing it with such a solid full show results in one of the best Dave's Picks in some time.
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