As we approach what would have been Jerry Garcia's 75th birthday on Tuesday, I always struggle with finding the appropriate show to feature. I settled on a classic show from the summer of 1972 which showcases the band during one of their best periods. This comes to us from July 25th, 1972 at the Paramount Theater in Portland Oregon. It is surely not the 'best' show of this year, perhaps not even the best show of the run, but it is surely a good show; the band is listening to each other and playing together well. Jerry soars. This is a long first set (especially compared to later years). I hope you enjoy it as we take some time to reflect on what could have been.    Grateful Dead Paramount Theatre Portland, OR Date 7/25/72 - Tuesday One   The Promised Land [3:06] (1) ; Sugaree [7:06] ; (2) Me And My Uncle [2:53] ; Bird Song [8:49] ; Black Throated Wind [5:20] ; Cumberland Blues [5:05] ; Jack Straw [4:41] ; Big Railroad Blues [4:41] ; El Paso [4:36] (3) ; Tennessee Jed [7:20] ; Playing In The Band [13:24] ; Loser [6:36] ; (4) Beat It On Down The Line [3:09] ; Casey Jones [#5:27] (5)   (1) Weir: Why thank you. (2) Weir: We're gonna continue the show now with a song that made somebody famous. It goes something like this. (3) Weir: thank you. (4) 14 beats (5) Weir: We're gonna take a short break and we'll be back and we'll be playing for a while after that.      You can listen to this week's Deadpod here:  http://traffic.libsyn.com/deadshow/deadpod072817.mp3     My sincere thanks to the kind folks able to support the Deadpod..    practice kindness :)