Let’s cut to the chase: almost the entire first set in Portland features either vocal mic technical trouble or a lack of exceptional playing, to the point where you’d consider it somewhere between just OK and borderline unreleasable.
The nascent, still-brief Scarlet Begonias is getting there. Meanwhile, the clean Me & Bobby McGee is the last officially released performance. Neither of those really justifies the archival effort, does it?
Start to finish, the 5/19/74 effort is very likely the most under-the-radar legit candidate for all-time Top China>Rider status.
But maybe you noticed that “almost” in the first sentence. That almost is for the China>Rider. I don’t need to tell you what makes a special China>Rider special. Instead, I’ll just say that start to finish, the 5/19/74 effort is very likely the most under-the-radar legit candidate for all-time Top China>Rider status.
Fortunately for the evening’s audience, it was a sign of things to come.
Three For The Show
One of the fun minor chapters in Grateful Dead setlisting has to do with this opening trio of Promised Land > Bertha > Greatest Story Ever Told, which showed up at or near the top of the second set at about ten shows across three years.
The band first strung together this uptempo trio in Waterbury, CT, 9/23/72. The next night, the threesome opened the second set again, except in reverse order (what pranksters). After that, it reverted to the original sequence and stayed that way through this night in Portland and on to its final appearance in October back at Winterland.
Then Bob sounded fairly worked up by the time GSET hits, and Jerry digging into that wah pedal does nothing to calm down the proceedings. Good times. Thousands of Oregonians and I can’t be wrong.
It was a great idea, fifteen minutes of varied but high-energy material that gained momentum as it flowed from one piece to the next. Here in its swan song, each one was a little better than the last. Promised Land was uneventful, Bertha was energetic and benefited from Keith’s fills.
Then Bob sounded fairly worked up by the time GSET hits, and Jerry digging into that wah pedal does nothing to calm down the proceedings. Good times. Thousands of Oregonians and I can’t be wrong.
Weather Looks Decent
Everyone’s earned a rest, so Ship Of Fools gets tapped for some high-quality languid rock. Indeed, it should earn a spot on anyone’s Languid Rock playlist. Keith has gotten comfortable riffing up in the higher register with that tremolo’d electric piano.
The show continues to redeem itself with a strong Weather Report Suite. Keith again picks up extra credit for some less typical pulses and flourishes through Part 1, which is also a good time to notice how much better the mix has gotten even since the earlier microphone glitch was fixed.
Nary a hiccup and we’re off to Let It Grow. It’s also solid until Bob finally blows some lyrics halfway through, after Jerry’s first solo.
The final jam starts out hot with all hands getting a little busier, and it proceeds nicely. As with the previous post-WRS segue (into Dark Star a few nights earlier), they sacrifice the spiraling riff downward to conclusion in order to turn straight into the next song.
I think it’s a bad trade, but so it goes, and August West has much bigger problems than that.
August’s Blues
Some nice, distinct ideas from Garcia and textured patterns from Weir here before the vocals even start for Wharf Rat. Bill hits the sweet spot tempo-wise, enabling everyone else to give it just enough of a lilt.
But then the playing drops to almost nothing as August tells the narrator he’ll get back on his feet someday. Who knows if August is lying or just doesn’t know himself that it won’t happen.
Either way, the band hits back with some force for the “fly away” and continues through the last verse.
“I know she’s been, I’m sure she’s been true to me …”
I mean, Robert Hunter. Damn.
The strong outro jam quickly achieves and maintains an interesting space for the remaining two or three minutes before it simply quiets down and stops. Turns out this was an exceptional Wharf Rat.
The strong outro jam quickly achieves and maintains an interesting space for the remaining two or three minutes before it simply quiets down and stops. Turns out this was an exceptional Wharf Rat.
Key-wise, they could have veered right into Big River, but it’s better they didn’t. Once they start it, though, Garcia is, dare I say, en fuego throughout his last solo.
The 4th-ever Peggy-O brings a little uncertainty in the first couple of verses. That gives way to more assured singing and playing in the rest of the tidy 6:15 version of a song that would only get better in the Dead’s hands.
Tico’s Trucking
The tracklist says Truckin’ comes next, but in reality, another technical difficulty paved the way for a fun 60-second Tico Tico jam by Jerry, Keith, and Bill.
Sonic gremlins dispatched, the Dead leap into Truckin’. You can even hear the whoops and hollers from the crowd bleeding into the microphones, not an easy feat when the band is playing full-strength.
They live up to the whoops with essentially a 9-minute sprint, crushing the shuffle before upping the intensity a little and departing the song to see where the jam takes them.
The rhythm section propels the sound forward and Garcia takes off. Listen to how, over in the right ear, Keith echoes Jerry’s playing but with his own minor variations, like a sort of reverb with AI capabilities.
It’s hard to find space in that mix, but Bob sits dead center, tossing out short, hard rhythm chunks and occasionally some curved, gnarled little lines. Great work like only he can do.
It’s hard to find space in that mix, but Bob sits dead center, tossing out short, hard rhythm chunks and occasionally some curved, gnarled little lines. Great work like only he can do.
After 5ish minutes of that, Bill moves over to what could be construed as a GDTRFB vibe, but apparently it’s more of a hint than a request, and back into the jam they go.
The last three minutes are not as cohesive. But things get a little quieter and a little slinkier, aided by Keith’s electric piano, and they keep that tension going until they ease up to turn the corner into Not Fade Away.
Going Down The Road Sounding Good
Both band and crowd are feeling it. It’s not a howling NFA. This one’s more about Kreutzmann driving the toms and ride cymbal as Bob holds down That Riff or something close to it, while Jerry and Keith spin their energetic, lithe solo lines out on either side of the stereo field.
They start thinking about that GDTRFB at last, feinting that way after six minutes of NFA goodness, but not before a fairly unusual stop-time break at the very end of the NFA.
The Dead remain in the zone, playing at a high level and making the most of every little corner of the arrangement – including an extra-slow last turn around We Bid You Goodnight before bringing the song (and the jam) to a surprisingly effective gentle stop.
The playing is strong but eventually Bob gives into the vocal shriek that no doubt felt right in the moment but doesn’t age as well on a recording.
That glow only last a couple of seconds before One More Saturday Night signifies the end of the set. The playing is strong but eventually Bob gives into the vocal shriek that no doubt felt right in the moment but doesn’t age as well on a recording.
That old softy Phil gives the fired-up crowd a nice “We love you” as the band returns to the stage for the U.S. Blues encore. Whether it’s the mix or personal energy level at this point, Phil is also the star of this rendition. As they have done for a large portion of the night, Jerry and Keith deploy a two-headed attack on the solo, sometimes call-and-response and sometimes simultaneously.
Summer’s nowhere near done and gone as they finish the song and the night with at least a couple of truly exceptional performances of familiar combos. From there, the band has a chance to rest up, with a scheduled day off despite having to only get up to Seattle next.
Grateful Dead
5/19/74 Portland, OR (Pacific Northwest box)
Set 1: Mississippi half-step uptown toodle-oo / Mexicali blues / big railroad blues / black-throated wind / scarlet begonias / BIODTL / Tennessee jed / me and bobby mcgee / sugaree / jack straw / it must have been the roses / el paso / loose lucy / money money / china cat sunflower > I know you rider
Set 2: promised land > bertha > greatest story ever told / ship of fools / weather report suite / wharf rat / big river / peggy-o / truckin’ > jam > not fade away > GDTRFB / one more Saturday night // u.s. blues
Visit the Grateful Dead 1974 Project main page.
