“This is not a show.” announces Larry Kelp, writing for the Oakland Tribune in late 1976. “The band don’t wear costumes or provide dazzling lighting effects. The emphasis is solely on the music and while the basic structure is the same each night, the instrumental work is always new, live music for the moment.” Kelp was knocking the formulaic music found in the more popular forms of music in the 1970’s. Arena or corporate rock and disco had lost much of their experimentation and were controlled by record and concert executives interested in replicating shared  experiences either on vinyl or in stadiums. Kelp was impressed by the multiple styles that Garcia used when playing at the Keystone Berkeley. Music writers around the Bay Area had seen the transformation of concert into big business and they seemed grateful that the Keystone Berkeley and other similar venues were keeping the musical freedom available to music lovers.