Several briefly stated reasons why this show is worth a listen-to: Devotion to a Dream features some truly inspired, Jerry-like boogie-ing by Trey on the guitar, and as is nearly always the case--but it just hits home here--those leads integrate well with the other three members' contributions to result in a conversional Type-I jam, in that, if you are always chasing huge jams like me, and let it get in the way of enjoying a standard show by their lack, this DtaD helps you see the forest for the trees. Waking Up Dead kind of reminds me of The Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows: very culturo-musically omnivorous in its sphere of influence. The primary connotation seems to be an Egyptian sort of vibe, to me, but it's certainly an interesting composition--and I get a laugh out of the "vac-u-uming" and am simultaneously somewhat unnerved by it, LOL--and I hope it gets a chance to stretch out. Lengthwise is, of course, a treat, and Wolfman's is fun, but that's about all I have to say about the first set.

Mercury is always a treat, and although the true segue is from Mercury into Twist, it's the Twist > I Always Wanted It This Way that interests me most about this show. Sped-up 2001 or not I have always wanted Page to use a more-varied synthesizer palette this way, and it's already paying dividends. Simply captivating and I have high hopes for what will happen with Always Wanted in the future, both near and far. Lovely, heartfelt tribute in Miss You, and I'm beginning to develop a real affinity for this song. Fuego's segue into Sand is not whipcrack-tight, but it's worth hearing in an era where most segues are of the > variety if at all, and the ->'s tend to be less transcendent(?), fluid (I think that's more what I mean) than in years past. Also glad to see Joy still in rotation.