The Gorge Night 1

I remember this release as being entirely forgettable. Relistening to it for the first time in many years gave me a different perspective. Dave's voice is an absolute wreck (and at times borderline nonexistent) for the first part of the show, #41 and SATELLITE in particular, and although it gets better as the show goes on, it's never particularly strong. On top of his voice being in bad shape, he completely butchers the lyrics to WORLD ENDS. But if you can put that aside—and I recognize that's a big if—there's some really exceptional playing here. For example, the jam on #41 is absolutely top tier. The run from FOOL TO THINK through the end of the show is really strong, particularly the instrumental intro to ONE SWEET, GREY ST., and ANTS. GRAVEDIGGER belongs as a Dave & Friends song or a Dave solo E1, as it is here. If you're like me and wrote this release off long ago, give it another shot. I think you'll be surprised.