By the close of 1981, the Grateful Dead had settled into what many fans think of as the sleek, muscular sound of their early arena era. Brent Mydland, now three years into the keyboard chair, had fully found his footing — his Hammond B3 and piano work lending the band a harder, bluesier edge than the more celestial Keith Godchaux years. Jerry Garcia's guitar playing in this period could swing between laser-focused economy and gorgeous, patient exploration, often within the same song. The band was road-hardened and confident, still drawing devoted crowds to mid-sized venues across the country before the phenomenon of the mid-decade arena explosion would fully take hold. The Events Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder sits at altitude with an energy all its own. College-town Dead shows in this era had a particular electricity — younger crowds who had grown up on the legend mixing with long-haul heads who'd been following the band for years, everyone packed in together with a lot at stake. Boulder itself had been something of a Dead stronghold for years, and the Rocky Mountain faithful could always be counted on to push the band toward inspired territory. There's a reason the band kept coming back to Colorado.
From the songs we have documented here, two very different flavors of the Dead's range are on display. "Mama Tried" — Merle Haggard's country classic — was a reliable first-set staple in this era, a loose and good-humored romp that let the band stretch out with a bar-room grin. It's the kind of song that sounds like the Dead enjoying themselves, and you can usually hear it in the playing. "I Know You Rider," on the other hand, is one of the true pillars of the Dead repertoire — a traditional blues piece the band had been playing since the earliest days, typically closing out a "China Cat Sunflower" pairing. Whether it appears here in that classic combination or stands on its own, listeners should tune in for the back half, where Garcia's guitar and the band's vocal harmonies build toward one of the most emotionally direct payoffs in any Dead show. The recording quality for this show may vary depending on the source in circulation — Boulder area tapers were generally active and capable — but even a decent audience tape from this period captures the room's natural reverb and the crowd's warmth. Pull this one up and let it take you to the mountains.