Byrds, The – 1968.11.02 – Avalon Ballroom – San Francisco, CA – SBD 1CD A _Upgrade

1. Old Blue
2. My Back Pages / Baby What You Want Me To Do
3. Mr Spaceman
4. Time Between
5. Goin’ Back
6. Blue Suede Shoes
7. He Was A Friend Of Mine
8. So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
9. Drug Store Truck Driving Man
10. This Wheel’s On Fire
11. Stanley’s Song
12. Pretty Boy Floyd
13. Eight Miles High
14. You Don’t Miss Your Water
15. So You Want To Be A Rock ‘N’ Roll Star
16. Hickory Wind
17. King Apathy III
18. Bad Night At The Whiskey
19. Nashville West

Possibly the earliest recorded show to feature the Clarence White – Gene Parsons – John York lineup, and in fact, York couldn’t have been in the Byrds more than a week or so. And, as Roy Josephson comments, there are some real highlights and some disappointments. Clarence is absolutely incredible here, especially in the first part of the tape. His guitar is very out front. There appear to be 2 sets. Old Blue is great; Time Between excellent – McGuinn forgets what album it’s on. Clarence adds a whole new dimension to Mr. Spaceman – possibly his best work at this show. Blue Suede Shoes is a real hoot. Goin Back, Rock ‘n’ Roll Star, This Wheel, Back Pages and He Was a Friend are the same versions as on the FM broadcast tape. Drug Store Truck Driving Man is a dasslc with a long Ralph Emery story from Roger, harmony from Clarence, and Clarence doing the steel part on his stringbender. Stanley’s Song is incomplete but good, done during the pre-show sound check I’d say, although it’s In the middle of the tape. Pretty Boy Floyd is done with all guitars – it appears McGuinn says he left the banjo at the hotel. A strong version indeed.

The show deteriorates toward the end of the tape in the second set. A second R & R Star is not as strong as the first. McGuinn just can’t cut Hickory Wind, and York is no better. And King Apathy and Bad Night at the Whiskey are just shadows of what’s on the album. There are feedback problems. York gets a little carried away on harmony. Clarence’s guitar fades to the back of the mix on some numbers. There’s feedback, bad distortlon, poor mix and cutting out. I don’t hear Gene Parsons on anything but drums. There’s lots of commentary from McGuinn. Some guy In the audience hollers for 100 Years and McGuinn does an impromptu first verse. It really didn’t sound like there were many people in the audience. Nashville West is a strong closer though. I think Clarence and Gene could play that in their sleep by then.