July 3, 1978 - St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN





The second show of the July '78 tour was actually supposed to be the third. The July 2 gig in Milwaukee was cancelled due to inclement weather and concerns about the safety of the band playing in such conditions. This was unusual for the Dead as they made every effort to not miss a show and disappoint their fans.

Their frustration at a lost opportunity is evident from the outset here. They play the first set of the evening as if someone had lit a fire under them. Opening with New Minglewood Blues then plowing ahead into three longer numbers with Loser, Looks Like Rain, and a tasty Ramble On Rose. All three feature some extended jams, with the band being tightly focused and in sync with the audience. There are other highlights in the first set, too, notably Weir's romping take on Mama Tried and the set-closing duo of Deal > The Music Never Stopped. The latter number hits a sweet spot around the 4:30 mark and sweeps along for three full minutes of some of the best playing of this tour, with Weir and Garcia trading some nasty licks while the rhythm section of Lesh, Kreutzmann, and Hart reaches a whole different plane of existence before reigning the band back into to a crashing close.

The second set opens up with some wicked psychedelic reggae as the band kicks into a fine Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain. An extensive Dancing In The Street sees Garcia laying down some astounding blues leads with Lesh prodding him to go further and further with a throbbing bass line. This gives way to a frantic Rhythm Devils from Hart and Kreutzmann which in turn comes back to earth with a Not Fade Away that, on this night, sounds more like a declaration of intent than anything else. They jam straight ahead into a blissful Stella Blue > Sugar Magnolia to round things out. The evening's encore of Werewolves Of London is just pure fun with Weir, Garcia, and Donna Godchaux howling gleefully along as the night's festivities come to an end.

This one is a great, but often overlooked, show in the Dead's storied history. Check out a couple of clips from the night below and see if you agree.

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July 5, 1978 - Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, NE





One of the things the Dead wanted to do on this short summer tour through the middle of the country was play to fresh audiences in places that the Dead Head culture had not fully permeated. Omaha, Nebraska certainly fell into that category. Most accounts of the gig cite the fact that there were less than 1,000 people in attendance. That didn't deter the band in the least, however, as they played almost three full hours to those who showed, leaving a few more converts to the cause in their wake.

The first set is honestly hit and miss for me. Sugaree is a great opener here, and it's almost always a highlight for me whenever they would play Looks Like Rain, and this one is no exception. That tune is followed by a nice run through Dire Wolf. The rest of the set has its moments, too, but overall it sounds like a good rehearsal more than a great show.

The second set takes a bit to really start cooking, but when it does it was surely worth the time to get there. Deal, Samson And Delilah, and Ship Of Fools all find the band looking for a good space to take off from. It's not until Estimated Prophet that things begin to move into the stratosphere. Garcia simply melts faces off with one of his amazing, percolating solos beginning around 3:20 and stretches out until right past the 5:00 mark. Around 6:50 in the same song he takes off again, in a more measured fashion this time, with his guitar sounding like some sort of bubbling orange sunshine that pulses through the next six minutes or so into a rousing Eyes Of The World before Hart and Kreutzmann pound their way into Rhythm Devils which is followed by an extensive Space that eventually folds itself into a jam of Wharf Rat > Truckin' > Iko Iko > Around And Around. The evening ends with a run through Chuck Berry's The Promised Land that surely left everyone with a big goofy grin on their face.

Audience Recording from Archive.org

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Bobby & The Midnites
Arista, 1981



Bob Weir's 1981 album features a monster lineup including Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland, Billy Cobham on drums, Bobby Cochran on guitars, and bassist Alphonso Johnson. This may lead you to think this record would be a jazzy affair, but it actually rocks in a way the previous two Grateful Dead albums hadn't. Even the calypso/reggae rave on Book Of Rules is hard and punchy. The bluesy Josephine shows off Matthew Kelly on harmonica, as his solos are juxtaposed with Mydland's killer keyboard lines in perfect balance. Weir delivers one of his most elegant ballads here as well with Carry Me.

This outfit played a slew of shows between 1980-1984. Some are available on YouTube, and they're worth searching out to see the great interplay these musicians had with each other in a live setting.

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I'm just seeing this thread now. Very good descriptions. I need to check to see if any of these live shows are on Tidal so I can check them out there when I have time.

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Phil Lesh And Friends - Live At The Warfield, San Francisco, CA
Relix Records/Image Entertainment, 2006





A 2-CD/1-DVD set that gathers some highlights from a two night run from May18-19, 2006 at the historic Warfield Theater in San Francisco. Lesh is playing with an absolutely stunning combo on this album. With him are Joan Osborne (vocals), John Scofield and Larry Campbell (guitars), Rob Barroco (keyboards), John Molo (drums), and Greg Osby (saxophone).

Disc One kicks off with a great take on Shakedown Street and just never lets up. There's a cool country run through Pride Of Cucamonga, a jamming Scarlet Begonias, and a disc-closing romp with Turn On Your Lovelight to go along with a couple other tunes as well.

Disc Two features a mind blowing Dark Star > Morning Dew > I Know You Rider > The Other One > Dark Star > The Other One > Box Of Rain set that is so transcendent no description can do it justice.

The video below is taken from the second of these shows, and even though it doesn't feature any of the songs on this album, it's well worth watching. This was one the best combos Lesh has ever performed with outside of his time with the Grateful Dead.

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