Heard this show on the Dead channel recently. Nobody's Fault jam has personal significance for me since I was present in KC, mo in 1985 where they stretched it out fully. Really though the Stella Blue here is beautiful.

I love 81' shows...that's all I have to say other than God bless the folks that made these early eighties recordings....well, live recordings in general over the decades. This one is particularly good.

This show is INCREDIBLE!
I too have listened to it on cassette for years. I came across the cassette today and went looking... I discovered this SUPERB recording by Doug Mow & Alex Ford.

I feel like a Dead Historian when I come on some of these reviews.
Well, what's let to be said that hasn't already been said? Well, having done the entire tour that May, I can add a 'nugget' here and there.

As noted, the Shakedown is one great one. Certainly one of the best I've ever heard.

What was surprising was the 'vocal reprise' at the end after the jam. It was totally spontaneous. The band never did it before that night and this was the fourth Shakedown of this tour. Out of the blue, Jerry walks up to the mic and started singing "Nothin' shakin' on Skakedown Street" as everybody, including the other band members, looked at him.

The Dead kept doing it that way the next 14 years.

Check out the first few notes after Saint ends. It's LA Woman.

My daughter will be attending Ithaca this fall..It shares the campus with Cornell..She has grown up DEAD and is aware of the overrated 5-8-77 show..my opinion! I would much rather listen to this FUNKY 81 show with a great song selection throughout and all well played. With a Shakedown that is in the top 5 ever played.The sound quality is pretty good but not an "A" I will tell you like I always do..Give it a whirl..it will not disappoint! and I hope my daughter does the same,make your Dead Daddy proud!!!Forever Grateful>Forever Dead

It's been years since I've heard this show and it sounds as good now as it did when I was there. Near the end of the Dead's long unpredictable show era.
Small venue, the whole joint was jumpin' to a great choice of tunes. Hot Stranger flows into FOTD then the "country western theme", some blues mixed into hot first set. Second set almost continual jams, band was tight - great line change -sweet Jane verse- in Truckin', beautiful Stella right into GDTRFB - from sublime to rockin', beautiful! Show wraps up with UJB sending all the children home with a SMILE!
This show was excellent BUT 9/26 show in Buffalo even hotter!!!

This one gets overlooked because of the 77 show but this show was epic, spacey, rocking all the above . A highlight on this run for sure. I saw most of the north east shows on this tour and this one haunts me. Every note of this show was right on. People have reviewed the Bertha, the Shakedown which was epic etc... throughout the comments but also to be noted is the Lost Sailor saint which was in heavy rotation at this time but this one was out there, the Stella Blue which i had on my tape back then as Stella Dew because it just was spectacular . It was so far out that the boys had to rip some chords at the start of going down the road to knock everyone out of the daze. (Maybe that was just me. he he he) What a show ! in all the haze of the years this one sticks out for me for some reason. Love this venue!

It's been a long time since I heard this. It clearly was a staple in my rotation in 81 and 82. I simply got lost in the volume of material available, and forgot about this show.

This Shakedown is certainly one to remember. Very easy and funky groove. Jerry is absolutely into it in every way, lot's of subtle emphasis at points along the way in his playing and his vocals.

Prefer the Nak source to the Senn source too. Something happens about 9:30 into it on the Senn source...more Weir on the Senn source, but the bottom end seems thicker to me on the Naks.

It all depends on your mood, I suppose, either way can't go wrong. Great show but for me Shakedown is just out there as few ever were. Outstanding!!

After going back and listening to this source again, the sound itself is sweet. The only issue I find is that "rolling" sound from left to right. Probably from the cassette transfer.

This one isn't bad, but IMHO the Senn recording is MUCH better. This one has a tinnier, slightly echoey quality, the other is much cleaner and fuller.

The Dead hit some sweet spots in this pair of shows, 5-15-81 and 5-16-81. In both shows, the vocals are good and playing is tight. Both are good quality audience recordings. The previous night (5-15), however, is the better of the two, a more consistently good performance and slightly better set list. This show is nothing to sneeze at, though.

Overall, a good first set. A nice groove on parts of Feel Like a Stranger. Sweet guitar work in Friend of the Devil. Despite Brent's cheesy keyboard setting, Big River has some of the old sparkle of the pre-1975 break. Althea always a pleasure from this era. Passenger is another highlight of the first set. Let it Grow cooks.

Shakedown Street breaks the momentum with repetition that gets tiresome at times, and runs out of ideas long before it ends. A little later, Spanish jam (from circa 1968) makes an unexpected appearance to spice things up. There's also an interesting jam out of space and a solid Truckin' with a smooth transition in to Nobody's Fault But Mine, which is instrumental-only but a nice jam. Jerry then delivers an expressive Stella Blue, both vocally and instrumentally—one of the highlights of the show. Clean, rockin', dancing, Going Down the Road and Saturday round out the second set.

I always thought this was the best recording of shakedown. The middle to end has some vocal improv which i love and thought it should've been the one to put on that 30 yrs gd compilation they made some years back. I remember they asked the deadheads which years for feedback and this was always the one for me. It never made it on there.

Well this show was my coming of age show with the Dead - began to lose my mind during the break, chasing it around the cinder track at Barton Hall and then the 2nd set started with a thunderous 1st chord of Shakedown Street, I felt the Barton Hall rafters vibrating - my appreciation totally changed and I will never forget that moment - this will be my most closely guarded archive. Enjoy it and crank it up for that 1st chord second set!!

The sex change lyric is worth a 5 straight up!

I listened to this show every day for at least a decade - starting from the day after the show, when my roomate at Cornell handed me the boot. I always swore it was one of the best shows I'd heard. Still do. Freaky vibe, well deserved. Thanks.

amazing sound quality

seriously, this show has revitalized my obsession(which was already raging strong!)...the Let It Grow is blazing! the Althea is sublime! the Shakedown jam is hot, the Sailor> Saint is powerful, the Stella sent chills up my spine..just a great, great show...I'm not a fan of AUD's but this one sounds great, good levels, low crowd noise...worth the download for sure! enjoy! thanks LMA!

Listening to this one now..finished the first set, into Shakedown now..never been a big "Shakedown" fan but it's growing on me..this show helps! Loved the first set..great recording and energy as mentioned before..Let it Grow is a killer..Stranger is a killer..great Althea..slow and sweet..

I found some killer artwork for this show at
gdcdcovers.com Tons of great artwork to match the 5 star shows on this site.

A superb recording of an outstanding show!!! Lots of energy and tight playing!

This source is a definate upgrade from the pre- existing FOB source. If you don't have this one, get it. You'll thank me later.

Just something about Barton Hall during the month of may. The jam session at the end Shakedown leading into Bertha is absolutely superb and worthy of 5 stars in of itself.