As if thanking fans for their patience, the Grateful Dead rolled out of “Seastones” with a gentle, slow-to-unfold jam that served as a balm to the abrasive sounds that preceded it. 

Led by bassist Phil Lesh, guitarist Jerry Garcia and pianist Keith Godchaux, this musical flower-opening followed the debut of Lesh and Ned Lagin’s extramusical experiment that on this night – June 23, 1974, at Miami’s Jai-Alai Fronton – combined the sounds of a dentist’s drill, a jackhammer and a close encounter with a UFO. 

Together, these wordless pieces represent the best and most-challenging aspects of the full-show Dave’s Picks Volume 34, which showcases the Dead on a very good, very loose, and also very tight, night that includes, among other rarities, the band’s only rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Let it Rock,” which is kicking enough to have merited further exploration. 

This is the kind of performance people are taking about when they reference Godchaux’s early genius as his acoustic piano adds key textures and solos to rockers (“Beat it on Down the Line”) country ballads (“El Paso”), country rockers (“Big River”) and rock ballads (“China Doll”). 

The big gee-whiz moment comes late in the second set, when, 14 minutes into an instrumental “Dark Star,” Lesh, Garcia, Godchaux – on electric piano – and drummer Bill Kreutzmann lock into a propulsive sequence that carries through to a gritty “Spanish Jam,” featuring dirt-caked runs by Garcia, fat low notes from Lesh and a martial beat from Kreutzmann. 

This, in turn, smashes directly into a rambunctious reading of “U.S. Blues” that causes Bob Weir to exclaim “the United States blues!” while the players take a short breather to tune back up. 

Pretty much all of the 24 performances are winners and despite being occasionally bassy and punchy, the three-CD sounds pretty much the same in your living room in 2020 as it did in Florida in 1974.