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Set 1:

Mississippi Half Step , Passenger , Tennessee Jed , El Paso , Candyman , Minglewood Blues , They Love Each Other , Let It Grow

Set 2:

Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain , Samson And Delilah , Terrapin Station > Playing In The Band > Drums [1] > Space [2] > Black Peter > Truckin' > Good Lovin'

[1] Includes Phil on bass

[2] with Drummers

Like the other two nights of the Grateful Dead’s three night stint here in Chicago, tonight’s performance is well done.  While it may not contain some of the real blow-you-away moments that you’ll find in the other two early ’78 Chicago shows, this one, especially the first set, is laid back and well played.It’s the little things tonight, with the Dead really rocking on songs that I normally don’t care for, like New Minglewood Blues and They Love Each Other.  Jerry’s busted-up voice is put to good use on Tennessee Jed and the opening Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo sets the tone for everything else.  But the best part of the night is the set-closing Let It Grow, which gets very sparse 2/3 of the way through – this is not your typical Jerry shred-fest (although that’s here too).  It’s a very nuanced, beautiful rendition of a great song.The second set opens with Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain, and while this version is pretty dang good, it’s still fairly average compared to what the Dead had been doing with this pair in 1977.  Another second-half highlight is Playin’ in the Band, which, like Let It Grow, gets very empty in the middle portions.  This is the Grateful Dead trying out some spacier moments and it works really well in this intimate venue.  The thirteen-minute Black Peter that pops up a little later is a big, fat version of that song and it transitions into a rip roaring Truckin’.All and all, this is a fun night with the Dead.  They’re playing some things gently, but that subtlety is great to hear in a year not known for it.  Oh, and the Matrix recording is fantastic. 

  • Weather:
  • High: 16.1 °F
  • Low: 5.3 °F
  • Feels Like High: 2.5 °F
  • Feels Like Low: -10.4 °F
  • Wind Speed: 13.9 mph
  • Humidity: 55.4 %
  • Moonphase: 0.75 
  • Clear conditions throughout the day.
  • Show Certainty Confirmed
  • Setlist Certainty Confirmed
  • Ticket Price $8.50 / $9.50
  • Sellout Yes
  • In Attendance 4381
  • Gross $38,802.00