Some people don't like reviews that don't focus exclusively on the music. I happen to love reviews like these and I feel like I understand more about the Dead from having read a ton of reviews on Archive.org that talk about crowd, vibes, weather etc. This summer, I'm going to try to review nearly every show and try to give a context to these bad boys. Anyway:

This was the first show I went to by myself. Every other show I've attended has been with my (now) wife. I had always been curious about what it's like to go solo. I'd say that it's just a lot more mellow. It was a pleasant experience, but much more relaxing than going with someone else. I saw two great dancers in row 1 somewhere around section 16. One woman had long red dreads and her friend had straight brown hair. The two ladies had constant energy throughout the songs and appeared to synchronize well with each other and with the music.

The first set had an overall mellow feel to it. It felt very 'contemporary.' Much more of a kind of quieter rock set than ragers or funky songs. There was a lot of talk between Trey and Page between songs. This always worries me. I get paranoid that they're arguing.

Wingsuit and Fuego where the highlights of the first set. Group vocals are on.

Mike's Song is where things started to pop off for me. This has been a favorite of my wife's, and I could feel her there with me. I haven't listened to the MP3's yet, but at some point Mike's bass was super loud and warm and I felt like it was giving me a brainscan. During Weekapaug Groove, I felt my brain being massaged and thought about how kids are doing X and Molly these days and this song kind of produces a similar feeling to that caused by EDM (I imagine). Hood had a very deep brainscan effect on me as well.

I don't quite remember Cavern. I'm not a huge fan of Julius...it didn't do much of me as the encore. Nothing wrong with the song choice or how they played it...it just isn't my thing. Lights went on, and the Great Woods old ladies told us all to leave.

A few notes: Security was really heavy for this show. For some reason, they had guys take their hats off and show them to staff as we walked through the gates. They really dug through my bag, too. The lot was fairly quiet. Sometimes, it feels like a near riot, but last night it was chill. I saw some girls getting taken away in golf carts by security. At first, I was like...'why are they sitting on their hands with their backs so straight...?' Kind of an undignified way to go out...in a golf cart...People were setting off heavy duty fireworks in the lot afterwards. Dug that. Weather was hot, but there was a good breeze. US was in World Cup (not that I'm a fan)...all in all a great Tuesday night. Writing this, I feel calm, relaxed...just had a great night off.