Ever since she went and had a sex change?

Here's the middle show of my super extremely ultra uber mega mini February 1982 marathon. I wanted to string all three together rather quickly but kinda got interrupted a little by this little thing called life. Electric word life, it means forever, and that's a mighty long time... but I'm here to tell ya, there's something else -- The Grateful Dead!

Grateful Dead -- February 16, 1982
Warfield Theatre -- San Francisco, California
SBD mp3 320 kbps download
1st Set: Shakedown Street, Greatest Story Ever Told,
Friend Of The Devil-> Little Red Rooster, Me & My Uncle-> Big River,
Althea, Looks Like Rain-> Might As Well

Set 2: China Cat Sunflower-> I Know You Rider,
Playing In The Band-> Terrapin Station-> Drums->
Space-> Truckin'-> Nobody's Fault But Mine Jam-> Black Peter->
Playing In The Band-> Around And Around-> Good Lovin'

Encore: Don't Ease Me In

Aside from one show in May of '81 (5/22/81) which wasn't really the Grateful Dead but was essentially the Grateful Dead except with John Kahn sitting in for Phil, this show marks the band's return to the Warfield since their famous 15-show run in September-early October 1980.

My initial reaction to the sound quality here was not good. I felt like I was in the seat in the house that was the absolute furthest away from the stage and that by the time the music got to me, it was muddied so much that it was mostly a giant glob of sound; to pick out each individual instrument was quite a task.

It was virtually impossible to get a feel for how hot or not the show's opening song was. My disappointment in the recording quality ruled the moment. The fans sure liked Shakedown, though, so that's cool. The great thing about ourselves and shows like this is, if we're really going to listen to it, our ears are able to adjust. As Greatest Story rolled along, I found myself adjusting. That didn't make the sound quality any better, I was just able to enjoy it a little more. The fact that it was a pretty smokin' GSET helped, too. Friend Of The Devil features some excellent rhythm from Bobby while Jerry waits to take over. Instrumentation is seemingly coming through a little clearer now as we also get a nice dose of Phil. The following Rooster is mayhaps the hottest moment of the set: such sweet slide from Bob and a great moment from Brent on keys, all culminating in such a peak that has the crowd goin' nuts. But wait, there's more! A standard Uncle moves into a the total dance-fest that is Big River -- more outstanding Brent helps make this absolutely the rockinest song of the set! Wow!! The last three songs are half ho hum (Althea and most of Looks Like Rain) and half not bad -- LLR builds to another nice albeit brief peak and while the mega-high energy Big River really should have ended the set on such a high note, the set-ending Might As Well isn't bad.

transcribed from: The Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Volume II: An In-Depth Guide To The Music of the Grateful Dead on Tape, 1975-1985 [out of print] The first set is a sleeper. The are few highlights besides some sweet harmonies during "Friend of the Devil" and a furious blues battle during "Little Red Rooster" that keeps building and building as Bobby pulls out a serious slide guitar solo. Jerry tries to one-up him, mimicking Bobby's lead note for note without the slide. It is an impressive confrontation with Bobby emerging as the victor. Other than these brief moments of brightness, there is not much to get excited about. The band just can't seem to put this tempting set list together. Luckily the band gets it together in the second set and keeps the energy up for the remainder of the show. Did the Grateful Dead ever do a bad version of "China" > "Rider"? This version, like many from the period, is right on the money. Every riff was played with authority, and there are no lyrical mishaps. Of course both Bobby and Jerry nail their lines during "I Know You Rider." "Playing" flows easily out of "Rider" as Bobby takes control of the song with his roaring vocals. Bobby then drops into a serene open-ended jam that reminds one of a braided stream in the forest, each musician weaving his instrument in and out of the flow of the music with beauty and grace. The jam then flows into a space segment with some very discrete and chaotic riffs. Out of the confusion the first notes of "Terrapin Station" can be heard from Jerry. Like a specter rising from the grave this "Terrapin" creeps up and starts spinning its spell with Hunter's haunting lyrics. The movement out of it is slow, soft, and thick like fog rolling down the side of a mountain. It doesn't pick up momentum as it progresses but becomes heavier or denser. The "Space" on this night is exceptional. Through it you can hear wailing porpoises, caged lions, lumbering hippos, buzzing hornets, and laughing hyenas. It is a virtual musical safari. The first notes of "Truckin'" can be heard screaming through this wild zoo and all the animals fall in line as if they were going for a sail on the ark. Coming together two by two the band rides the ship as "Truckin'" floods in. Bobby is extremely excited, and he gets Jerry going, especially on the lyrics, which I am not normally a fan of. An abbreviated closing jam moves into a sweet "Nobody's Jam" that allows you to forget how short the "Truckin'" jam was. "Playing in the Band" resurfaces after a average "Black Peter." Phil begins the resurrection with thundering notes that shake the band out of slumber. An "Around and Around" > "Good Lovin'" set-closer is one of most vigorous pairings of these songs ever. The entire band is tight and peppy as they romp and frolic through these tunes. This is all-around good-time party music at its best. ADAM MACCONNELL

Well, while China->Rider may have been flawless, it didn't do too much for me and there are many that are so much better. The jam heading out of the main body of Playin' is dominated by the drummers, at times, who are really leading the charge while the rest of the band plays their spaceyness around them.

The description for Terrapin in the Compendium sure makes it sound heavenly but it's not really all that and a bag of chips, methinks. There are lyrical errors and the pace is that of a 3-toed sloth (to go along with the Compendium review's momentary safari theme.) The band's take of this great saga feels too safe on this night. Drums kicks things up. Mickey & Billy are just two but they've got the feel of a herd of elephants here, or wildebeest perhaps, a whole heard of 'em stormin' down the Sierra Nevada foothills on a trek to the ocean.

A somewhat fascinating moment occurs as Drums warps into Space -- I've never heard more freaks scream so loudly so many times for so many songs that have nothing to do with the Dead! "Intergalactic Space" [something] and "Cat Scratch Fever"??? And then there's the dude yelling things like "DR. J RULESSSSS!!!!" and "GO DR. J!!!" What?!?! All's I know is a bunch of people were having fun yellin' shit out for a couple minutes there. (At least no one yelled "Allligaaatorrrrr!!!!")

Come to think of it, Space does have more of an Intergalactic feel than that of the sounds of or the thought of animals in the wild. It's floating and out there then hectic with no known direction yet it's going a thousand directions at the same time. This cosmic disturbance is soon to implode, or find some civility again? We all know it's the latter as the boys bring it all together for Truckin'. Bobby flubs a line early on but it rolls forward with ferocity and is such a well-played version. What we also get here is a fairly rare version with Weir's line in place of "Livin' on reds, vitamin C and cocaine" -- "Ever since she went and had her sex change."

The rest of the show finishes off nicely but that Nobody's Fault But Mine Jam is just way too short. Oh well. The re-emergence of Playin' is fun and Around-> Good Lovin' is a great way to end the set. I'm not sure they wanted to end the night as it seems they were just getting fired up. The encore, Don't Ease, is a little anti-climactic for my tastes but the crowd, I'm sure, walked out into that San Francisco night a bunch of happy campers.

Overall this isn't a terrible listen. At first I was appalled at the sound but it gets to a decent place. The playing in the first set is a little uneven but high energy does indeed stay strong through set two. I'd totally dig a soundboard of this but unfortunately this is all we've got. Maybe someday.

2-16-82 aka 02-16-82 aka 2/16/82 aka 02/16/82 aka 82-02-16 The Warfield Theater

Source: Master Aud Cassette (taped by Steven Martin)> CDR> SHN Audio Quality:	2/16/82 Warfield @ Archive.org: the AUD for Listening or Downloading
As of Feb 17, 2009, there is no Soundboard in circulation