Tonite we had teeth. This was so much fun. I am writing to you right after the set and the second was a gas. First set was kind of mellow except for a rockin Baba Jingo. Hunter was on stage left with a big smile on his face. I think he liked it. We are finding the rhythm of the night. We are starting to play deep groove stuff. We are achieving groove depth. Bob sang a wonderful Shakedown Street and the crowd went wild on the refrain of " don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart, you just got to poke around".

Bill and I are locked tight. He is playing so good, sometimes I have to stop drumming just to listen to him play. What an amazing drummer he is. Now, I have played with a lot, a lot of drummers in my day. Some are considered the best in the world, but there is nobody, I mean nobody, who plays like him. He is the unsung hero of the Grateful Dead. He is the very center of it all. Everything revolves around his steady groove, be sure of that.

The front line and drums are really communicating. Alligator was swampy. I could almost see that creepy alligator come a sliding out of the mud tonight. Alligator-Caution was like a beast almost out of control. We always called it "Caution, Do Not Stop on Tracks", and this was a new "Caution" for a new day.

The drums were powerful and the space was insane, totally out of control. Bill was triggering the chanting of the Gyuto Monks Tantric Choir on the pads and it laid us all out. The Dalai Lama has said to me that this sound can make the world a better place, and tonight it certainly did.

Phil kicked Caution to a breakneck speed and we were flying the lofty peaks.

Susan Tadeschi joined our merry band tonight for the first time. She has a marvelous voice, a cross between Bonnie Raitt and Janis. It might have been a little weird for her, but she will get used to it. She was smilin and dancin and had a real good time. We did Loose Lucy which was really a deep pocket groove. So far we haven’t repeated a song all tour.