Grateful Dead - Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco 9/6/69
Grateful Dead - Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WA 10/25/73
Grateful Dead - Live at the Cow Palace, New Year’s Eve 1976 (+ bonus disc)
Grateful Dead - Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT 5/28/77

This Dead roundup starts with a short 45 minute-ish show from the days where they played the Family Dog pretty frequently, many of the gigs which kind of strike me as average, including this one. There’s a nice “Doing That Rag” and a rather long and rare ”He Was a Friend of Mine” that more or less make up the set’s highlights, the rest is rather average (although they didn’t do “Big Boy Pete” all that much either).

The Dane County later 1973 show popped up in my pile and it at least approximately gets me ready for the big Winterland 73 box that ended up being almost my sole music purchase for the month of April. To say the least, I can’t wait, as this period is one of the best in the Dead’s long, rambling history. While this 10/25/73 gig may not be quite up to the standards of the Dicks Picks already released from this tour (particulary #14, one of the series best), average for the Dead around this time was still a very good thing. Highlights include a brilliant “Here Comes Sunshine” and naturally the “Dark Star” with “Mind Left Body Jam” that may have been the central reason why this was the most “out” period for the group.

Got another listen in to the Rhino NYE 1976 disc. While I still think this is one of the better NYE shows by the band, most of which I consider kind of weak and tepid, and it includes a very solid “Playin’,” my opinion on this might have dropped a hair after this listen. The rest of the first set isn’t really all that notable and even the long jam suite and the Help>Slipknot duo are a bit on the average side. The bonus disc on this one, is actually quite a bit more interesting in spots. In particular the “Crazy Fingers” from 6/9/76 with its delicate and beautifully intricate dual guitar work makes you wonder why they rarely returned to it and you also get another very solid Playin’ sandwich (from 9/24/76) that makes me very happy, as usual, that I preorder items like this from dead.net.

And finally my first listen to a show from another of my favorite periods of the Dead, the early 77 tour following up Terrapin Station. While this isn’t the very best gig of the month, it’s definitely solid and holds up well on its own. The gigantic “Sugaree” in the first set is certainly a plus as it really feels like the band lets loose earlier than usual and the long suite that meanders from “Estimated Prophet” into “Playin’ in the Band” and then three other songs before reprising Playin’ are particularly epic for this period, where the shows are often just a little shorter than they were before their mid-70s retirement.