@bertoletdown said:

Andrew, I agree with some of your critique (of the critique) esp. the first set piece. I have never liked Miner's tendency to do this either. Who do we know who skips first sets and shows up for second sets?

Even the Grateful Dead frequently played first sets worthy of mention, and yes, the 7/1 Fee is better than many of the jams mentioned favorably in this piece.

But overall I think CG did a good job with this. The task is sort of herculean.

Agreed. My critique of the critique was somewhat tongue-in-cheek if that didn't come across. @J_D_G, I do think it's worthwhile exercise, was never refuting that. Only suggesting that maybe there was a way to still consider potential first set meat, so-to-speak (ie. Type II jams, segues, etc), without having to somehow objectively weigh the merits of a Skin it Back vs. Happiness is a Warm Gun. But as @bertoletdown points out, that would have made an already hefty task pretty daunting. Maybe someone wants to do a "ranking the first sets"? Certainly not as fun, but there are great moments peppered throughout the tour that are worth hearing. The aforementioned 7/1 Fee being one, for sure...