The Dead took two days off, if you can count traveling from Miami to Rhode Island “off.” That Miami show’s second set had such a nice improvised interlude before Ship Of Fools to start things off that they decided to do it again, this time a couple of songs into Providence’s second set.
The bit of wandering, which opens this “highlights” Dick’s Picks, might not have been quite as long or fully developed as its Miami cousin, but Providence’s was a special moment nonetheless before easing into a China>Rider.
Thankfully, whatever circumstances earlier in the tour that required Kidd Candelario to shape up the mix for our recording during the first song had passed. Everything sounds just exactly perfect, although Phil’s bass has shifted to the left in the soundscape, close to Jerry’s guitar, which seems a little odd but whatever.
Leshian Way
To be accurate, the China Cat Sunflower features almost four more minutes of comfortable, rolling jam before the first verse. There’s a reason this one makes a lot of lists. The band never turns it up to 11, but yet again everyone on stage is on his game.
Lesh does have to telegraph it once for the rest to catch on, but they take a quick lap around the Feelin’ Groovy jam (mislabeled as the MLB jam on the Dick’s Picks) before proceeding to I Know You Rider.
This is a good reminder that if you revisit all the officially released 1974 shows in a row like I’m doing, one thing you may find yourself thinking is, “Wow, Phil sings a lot more than I remembered in these shows.” He’s got actual vocal, like, responsibilities, and he does them well in his Leshian way.
Both Keith and Phil try to give the headlight verse a little something extra, as one should.
Middle Meh
A quick gulp of Beer Barrel Polka represents one for the road before Bob takes the listener Truckin’. The post-vocal jam drives on smartly until an Other One hint comes from Jerry somewhat surprisingly. Also surprising that they don’t transition but rather roll to a stop, at which point Phil noodles for a little bit before opening up the Other One theme.
The final part of this little surprise triptych is that they then change course after about 30 seconds, bail on the Other One altogether, and commence what would be listed as a 15-minute Spanish Jam.
In truth, they take a break from the Spanishness after 6ish minutes to feint toward and bypass The Other One yet again, with a bout of semi-deconstructed jam of no particular nationality after that.
I guess it would’ve been difficult to bisect a 2nd-set jam, but moving straight from Truckin’ to Wharf Rat would’ve done better and freed up 18 minutes for something else.
An unusual, slow, slightly eerie jam in ¾ emerges out of that, and Jerry eventually teases the U.S. Blues intro two or three times before sinking back into the mire. Now we’re basically plinking along with three minutes yet until the next proper song. It’s not interesting.
Not a minute too soon, Wharf Rat comes to the rescue. It’s a nice version other than clipping the curb chord-wise as they turned into the bridge. The outro stakes its claim as the prettiest moment, with Keith setting off on some lush, extended 8th-note runs that inspire Garcia to do the same.
As with Road Trips 2.3 compiling Des Moines and Louisville, I guess it would’ve been difficult to bisect a 2nd-set jam, but moving straight from Truckin’ to Wharf Rat would’ve done better and freed up 18 minutes for something else. This pre-Wharf Rat passage was really the only subpar stretch of the entire disc.
Eyes Have The Last Word
The second CD starts with the remaining Providence track in the set: the pleasant surprise of a standalone encore Eyes Of The World. I guess if I were Jerry Garcia in 1974 and hadn’t played Eyes for three days, I might feel like ending the night with it, too.
If I were Jerry Garcia in 1974 and hadn’t played Eyes for three days, I might feel like ending the night with it, too.
Nothing about it says encore: it doesn’t sound tired or rushed in any way. They groove through the ’74 changes while Bill focuses on that ride cymbal and seems to gain energy as Phil cruises through his extended lead section.
The guys ramp it up through the last cycle and then Jerry suddenly issues a forceful chord to bring a true bonus of an encore to an end.
“Thanks a lot, folks,” said Phil. “See you on Friday.”
Sugar Begonias!
The first thing you hear onstage from the Boston’s June 28 portion of the recording is somebody slightly off mic asking, “What are we doing?” and someone else saying “Sugar Magnolia.”
And that’s exactly what they do, except longer and with no Sunshine Daydream section. Instead, they ride that Sugar Mag outro and ride it some more before a one-chord crash stop, a quick breath, and a pivot into Scarlet Begonias.
The 9-minute performance is hitting on all cylinders, doing all of the things that make a good ’74 standalone Scarlet my favorite Scarlet, with the second half less a jam than a visit to a zone or environment. Only an extra fly-by on the ending keeps it from being to my ears a flawless effort, and even that is pretty damn picky. I’ve underestimated this Sugar > Scarlet over the years.
Boston: Decent First Set Picks
Big River follows strength with strength. One of those moments where it’s just a privilege to listen to Kreutzmann back there by himself, making that snare work and accentuating with kick-and-cymbal punches.
Jerry chooses a piece of the last verse to chime in on maybe every fourth word. It’s amusing. Then he goes to town on the solo. The crowd, as they say, goes wild.
Jerry chooses a piece of the last verse to chime in on maybe every fourth word. It’s amusing. Then he goes to town on the solo. The crowd, as they say, goes wild.
Seeing as how Dick’s Picks 12 contains the entire second set of the Boston show (doesn’t only one show in Boston seem weird?), next up are To Lay Me Down and Me & My Uncle. If the first one seems out of place, you’re right. Out of 7 appearances this year, this marked the only time it showed up after intermission. Still not nuts about the song, but Garcia’s solo is solid.
Bob introduces a reasonably hot Me & My Uncle as “another tragic lament of romance, lost love, and hot lead.”
Again the band keeps the room’s energy level in check, dialing it right back down with a lovely Row Jimmy.
Weather Report Suite
The last preliminary dispensed with, time for the set’s major effort had arrived. Row Jimmy’s delicacy carries over and into the first part of Weather Report Suite. Jerry, Donna, and Phil take care with their call-and-response section with Bob right before Let It Grow.
I mentioned a show or two ago that that Let It Grow outro train could get away from Jerry a little now and then. It doesn’t here. But after a solid overall band performance, the real draw on this homestretch is Bill, providing more evidence to support my belief that ’74 Kreutzmann is the best Kreutzmann. He just goes off. I would listen to just the isolated drums.
No conventional wrapup riff and descent at all this time around, the Let It Grow outro eventually just dissolves and drops into space fairly quickly.
The “Jam” Jam
On the Dick’s Picks release, the next 27 minutes has a track title that both sounds low-profile and packs maximum potential: “Jam.” In reality, “Jams” would have been more accurate as the time includes a midtempo MLB jam before drifting gently but distinctly into some Dark Star matter. These two themes take a little more than half of the jam.
A two-chord jazzy 6/8 emerges from that no-vocals transitive nightfall. Of course, it swings a bit. Garcia is out front in general, unsurprisingly. But everyone is fully engaged. It lasts longer than I expected, past the 21-minute mark before bubbling faster and peeling apart.
It’s Garcia, Kreutzmann, and a little Weir getting trippy. Godchaux eventually dares to enter the fray and things escalate into straight-up freak-out territory. Billy and Keith eventually make a break for it, and that simplifies into everyone but Phil (still no Phil) settling into a streamlined, pulsing groove.
U.S. Blues’ conclusion wraps the evening’s 50ish-minute main jam unlike any other. They didn’t quite come at U.S. Blues on the full sprint I thought I recalled, but the overall jam was also better than I remembered.
That groove carries us to the end of the not quite 28-minute jam, to Lesh’s reappearance, and to the fairly smooth brief recalibration into the shuffle that becomes recognizable as U.S. Blues.
No vocals yet, but the guys do move through the changes once (not entirely in sync with each other) after a good while just riffing on the I.
Finally, Garcia delivers a good and well enunciated vocal performance, halved by a solo that gets support from Keith firing off a fusillade of 16th-note triplets.
U.S. Blues’ conclusion wraps the evening’s 50ish-minute main jam unlike any other. They didn’t quite come at U.S. Blues on the full sprint I thought I recalled, but the overall jam was also better than I remembered.
That Sandwich Is A Wrap
Promised Land continues the cultural and geographical tour across America. Garcia’s tucks some especially nifty little turns into his first solo. No ending for the song once they hit California — Bill doesn’t let up and they turn right back around and start down the road feelin’ bad.
It’s another moment of finely calibrated ensemble playing. They could do it in their sleep, but that doesn’t change how easy it is to imagine the Boston crowd boogie-ing to it and twirling those dresses all the way to the back of the floor.
They don’t slow down for the We Bid You Goodnight bit, coming to a clumsy full stop instead. But when they then immediately hit that first chord to reveal the back slice of the full-set Sugar Magnolia > Sunshine Daydream sandwich, the crowd shows its appreciation.
Foolish Ship, New Slot
“OK OK OK OK,” Phil says as the band returns to the stage for the encore. “If you’ll just shut up a second, we’ll play a quiet thing. Tender. Meaningful. Sympathetic. Heavy-duty ballad … in the key of B-flat.”
Ship Of Fools continues what would be a long, fine tradition of mellow encores. This is the first of only two encore appearances for the song, both in summer ’74. It fits the bill for a downtempo comedown, but it doesn’t really rate in terms of out-the-door goodwill and warm feelings like others deployed for this job, does it?
An above-average second set in Boston, pretty much start to finish. Especially impressive without the benefit of any Eyes, Truckin’, Other One, or Dark Star beyond its several instrumental minutes.
But for us, eavesdropping on the night decades later, it works just fine, a then-new song that would stay strong but probably never get better than it was right then. Everyone hits their harmonies and even the “Oooh-oooh’s,” too.
“It was later than I thought …”
An above-average second set in Boston, pretty much start to finish. Especially impressive without the benefit of any Eyes, Truckin’, Other One, or Dark Star beyond its several instrumental minutes.
6/26/74 Providence & 6/28/74 Boston
Dick’s Picks 12
CD1: jam > china cat sunflower > I know you rider / beer barrel polka / trucking > other one jam > spanish jam > wharf rat / sugar magnolia
CD2: eyes of the world / seastones / sugar magnolia / scarlet begonias / big river / to lay me down / me & my uncle / row jimmy
CD3: weather report suite > jam > u.s. blues / promised land > GDTRFB > sunshine daydream // ship of fools
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