| 1981-12-31 | Oakland Auditorium Arena, Oakland, CA | Thunder Skull Award |
| Set 1: Me And Bobby McGee, Bye Bye Love, Lucifer's Eyes, Children Of The Eighties, Banks Of The Ohio | ||
| Set 2: Shakedown Street, Me And My Uncle > Mexicali Blues, Cold Rain And Snow, C.C. Rider, It Must Have Been The Roses > Beat It On Down The Line, Big Boss Man > Minglewood Blues, Don't Ease Me In | Shakedown Street, Mexicali Blues, |
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| Set 3: Iko Iko, Playin' In The Band > Terrapin Station > Playin' In The Band > Drums > Space > The Other One > Not Fade Away > Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad > Morning Dew, E: Dark Star > E: Bertha > E: Good Lovin', E: It's All Over Now Baby Blue | Playin' In The Band > E: Dark Star > |
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| Corrections / Observations | ||
| Received by Dick | 1982-03-15 | |
| Tape Source | Susie Haverstock | |
| Review Entry Date | 1983-06-09 | |
| Dick's Review | I’ve heard this show so many times that I could almost evaluate it by memory. It is clearly the most exciting and thrilling New Year’s show ever! At least since 1970. I can’t see how it could be much better! Shakedown Street starts things off in excellent fashion (nothing great but still does well at expressing the excitement in the air) The remainder of the 1st set is average with nothing special occurring. The real excitement starts with Kesey’s monologue and then one of Bill Graham’s special request: Iko Iko to open New Years. Finally a surprise instead of Sugar Magnolia! What really makes this show a Thunder Skull Award winner is the 2nd set jam. Playin' In The Band is excellent and deliberate. There is some fine playing just before they go into Terrapin Station. I especially love the final ending of Playin' In The Band just seconds before the percussion jam. The most tantalizing segment is the jam just before The Other One. It is quite lengthy and a terrible tease but tolerable because of the treat soon to follow. The remainder of the jam is the guts of it all with excellent and thrilling versions of each song. I thought the show was over after Morning Dew but I forgot about Graham’s other request: Dark Star. This attempt is the best yet since 10/18/74. Of course there only have been 3 others since then and this one is not too long but it’s inspiring. |