12/28/83 San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, CA

First Set: Feel Like A Stranger, Dire Wolf, Mama Tried > Mexicali Blues,

Loser, New Minglewood Blues, Bird Song.

Second Set: China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Playing In The

Band > Drums > Space > The Wheel > Playing Riff > The Other One >

Around & Around > Johnny B. Goode.

Encore: It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.

Source: SBD, Quality : A, Length 2:30, Geneology: M > C > circulation.

Comments: Assumed master flip as Garcia and Weir emerge for Space.

Text: First set: Unremarkable. Very late start.

Second set: I have always been a Playing > Drums man.

If you like to hear

The Dead's freest number flow seamlessly into Drums/Space (more

jamming), unsullied by vocals or chord progressions, then you are

too. Or woman. 12/28/83 II has been one of my favorite tapes,

ever since I acquired it in early '84. The introduction to

China Cat is unique and funky. This is not a flawless rendition,

but therein lies some of its charm. Throughout their career, The

Dead have been able to parley a lack of tightness into spontaneous

combustion. This tape is a prime example. Following some techincal

difficulties and one very stale joke, the jamming begins. The

first thing you notice is that Weir's guitar is inaudible. He

seems to figure out, just before Drums, that the only way he can

get a signal to his amplifier is through his fuzz box. Liability?

No. Asset. Hart locks onto Kreutzman's muted bass drum for a perfectly

hypnotic duet. When they finally ease into The Wheel, The Dead have

been free-form jamming for at least 27 minutes.

Apparently, it wasn't enough.

Another 2 minute jam, including a brief return to the Playing

riff, slams them into an incendiary '83 Other One. Here Weir

literally spits out the vocals. His shredded voice makes "The bus

came by and I got on/That's when it all began" sound vitriolic.

Between verses, jamming that was once loud, discordant

and abrasive slows until only Garcia is playing.

Then, like stretched rubber band that suddenly snaps, the entire

band is playing the same riff at the same time. Somehow these 8

seconds of tightness balance the preceding hour of looseness.

The Stella Blue is wonderful.

Weir's locked-on-fuzztone guitar, struggling to be

heard, echoes the singer, struggling to win.

Of course, that is not the end of the set, but I recommend

erasing Weir's attempt to bark through the two Chuck Berry songs.

It was immediately after this show that I overheard the best summation

of the Grateful Dead experience. "If they're going to

continue to blow my mind like that, I'm going to have to take drugs

every show."

By Joshua A. Solomon.