With much excitement building for this week and next week's Fare Thee Well shows, I decided to feature a show from the windy city on this week (and next week's) Deadpod.. this one comes from the Auditorium Theater back on June 29th, 1976. The first thing you'll notice, as with any shows from this period, is the slower tempo. Some people love the more deliberate pacing, some hate it, but I enjoy hearing these shows from time to time and think its easy to appreciate how the band is reinventing themselves after their long layoff in '75. The 'Tennessee Jed' that serves as the opener here is certainly out of place to our ears, but I enjoy the way Jerry phrases his notes here.

Cassidy follows, then, another much slower tempo Peggy-O.. Mama Tried follows then, a treat, the very last time the Grateful Dead played 'Mission in the Rain'.. while this was to be a standard in the Garcia Band, I'm pleased to be able to hear it here. Other highlights in this first set include a sparkling Brown-Eyed Women and to me, the languid, almost dream-like 'Row Jimmy'..

Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Ill (6/29/76) Tennessee Jed Cassidy Peggy-O Mama Tried Mission in the Rain Looks Like Rain Brown Eyed Women Lazy Lightnin' Supplication Row Jimmy Music Never Stopped Might As Well You can listen to this week's Deadpod here: http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod062615.mp3 My sincere hopes that everyone going to the shows this weekend has a marvelous time! And thank you, to all of you whose kind contributions keep the Deadpod publishing every week..