Got Wings?

Finally, a show.

Putting up 60-70 shows or so from Sept 23-Dec 31 kinda wore me out.

Grateful Dead -- March 31, 1973
Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York
SBD mp3 320 kbps download
1st Set: Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, The Race Is On,
Sugaree, Mexicali Blues, Box Of Rain, Tennessee Jed, Jack Straw,
Big Railroad Blues, El Paso, Row Jimmy, Looks Like Rain,
They Love Each Other, Playing In The Band

Set 2: The Promised Land-> Bertha-> Greatest Story Ever Told,
He's Gone-> Truckin'-> Jam-> Drums-> The Other One->
Spanish Jam-> I Know You Rider, Sugar Magnolia

Encore: Casey Jones

Because of a few minor cuts here and there, this isn't the smoothest recording but the cassette generation in the lineage seemingly doesn't have any negative effect on the overall sound. It's pretty sweet throughout.

The show itself is a very nice example of when the boys (and girl) went out and played an essentially flawless show. I really find it impossible to pick a highlight of the first set... maybe Tennessee Jed. One thing not so great to me is when Playin' winds back up from the jammy spaceland they had been in, I personally find Donna's wailing at that point to grate on my every nerve. She's not bad during Race Is On and during other moments when her harmonies I find pleasing. But that spot in PITB: oi. Not nice.

The second set features a smokin' Greatest Story and He's Gone through the end of the set is just magnificent: the Grateful Dead at some of its best in '73! Listen closely for some of the Close Encounters of the Third Kind theme. Hmmm, I think John Williams ripped this off from Jerry and not the other way around! One more interesting note -- I Know You Rider is played without China Cat Sunflower: first time since 11/8/70. A rarity indeed.

Once upon a time, the meat of Set 2 was played on The Grateful Dead Hour and that's all that existed for this show. Here's the Compendium review for that chunk o' music:

transcribed from: The Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Volume 1: An In-Depth Guide to the Music of the Grateful Dead on Tape, 1959-1974 by Michael Getz and John Dwork [out of print] Here we have a wide variety of musical styles that segue in and out of each other effortlessly. This is one of those shows where is seems like the band must have practiced this sequence for weeks; it just sounds that slick. But we all know better . . . It starts out with a long, relaxed "He's Gone," featuring some playful, nearly goofy vocal harmonies by Lesh at the end. After sliding into the shuffle mode with a solid take on "Truckin'," the Dead unwind into the blues feel of a short "Nobody's Fault" instrumental. Billy solos for a few minutes before they all charge into the "Other One" chords. But before any singing occurs, Keith comes up with an irresistible groove to change the tempo; Garcia takes note of it, and so off they go into a fired-up, jazzy jam. This soon melts into a very slow jam with just Garcia, Lesh, and Billy. Garcia, as if recalling two sudden appointments he has to be at, suddenly starts playing both the "Other One" and the "Spanish Jam" themes simultaneously. The band soon opts for the latter, playing it short but brisk and rather unusual-sounding. This, of course, flows right back into "The Other One," where they sing verse one. In keeping with the program, they all bail out of this and dissolve into a drumless space that includes: Garcia doing his hiccup chops (not a "Tiger," though); Lesh dropping potentially fatal, precisely timed bombs; Weir's scraping, scab-pickin' feedback; and Keith playing what sounds like a harpsichord--though he may be strumming the inside of the piano strings a la Henry Cowell. Garcia switches to his wah-wah pedal and begins to play a vaguely familiar melody . . . until Lesh interrupts it all with a note of finality. Billy returns and immediately lays down some fresh jazz rolls as the band cruises joyfully into a "Feelin' Groovy Jam." As was the norm for this period, the Dead take this jam right into an inspired "Rider" to end a fascinating fifty-minute performance. by MICHAEL M. GETZ

3-31-73 aka 03-31-73 aka 3/31/73 aka 03-31-73 aka 73-03-31 War Memorial? Nope

Source: Soundboard> Master Cassette> Cass> DAT> CD> FLAC (Bertha Remaster) Audio Quality:	3/31/73 Buffalo @ the Internet Archive: the Soundboard for Listening Only
Download The Soundboard Here Set One -- 3/31/73 3/31/73 -- 2nd Set ** the Set 1 .rar file says "71" but it's correct, no worries **