...and they shouldn't give concerts in sports stadiums. This was far and away the worst venue that I ever heard the Dead play in. From where I was sitting, way up in the rafters, the band looked like ants, and it wasn't really loud enough. The slow songs had gotten even slower. Later on, I read somewhere that the Inglewood cops had murdered some poor, hapless stoner out in the parking lot. This was my 13th G.D. concert, and my last before moving to Europe. I wouldn't see the band again until 1981.

The Inglewood Forum was LA's biggest indoor sports venue (approx 18,600 seats ) and home to the LA Lakers. Down at the end of Prarie Blvd, with zillions of jets perpetually flying into the international airport just a few blocks away, and a race track next door. Lotsa tours begin and end here, being El-Lay and all. The Stones frequented it, I'd camped for Neil Young and Allman Brothers there (to the bemusement of the local brothas), seen Dylan's 74 comeback there, along with dozens of others. In 73 Tull and Zep slugged it out to sell out 4 or 5 nights each.
The Dead were regularly selling out New York's Madison Square Garden so they must've felt the time was right to give the Forum a whack. It failed to sell out, which was either a reflection of El-Lay/Hollywood's still not being a "Dead" town (the West Coast version of Watkins Glen, with Dead/Allmans/Waylon was canceled in 73, possible due to poor sales), or perhaps local Heads simply balked at the big barn.
However, someone once remarked that all the concerts on this tour were like "little gems", and I think I'll go with that. More a "concert" than the usual Dead pandemonium, the playing was pristine and clean. I'd arrived way late to the San Berdoo gig a few months earlier, so this was the night I finally heard Estimated Prophet and Terrapin (the album was a good while off yet). I remember being quite spellbound by a spooky reggae number that kept saying "don't worry about me, no" and refraining "California" (presumably the title). I was pretty adept at counting odd beats and recognized a "7" like Pink Floyd's "Money". The downside, was that I was accompanied by my first and last blind date, a Deadhead girl from Boston literally screaming "What Is This Shit?? Play Casey Jones!!!".
Eventually came that epic tune the hitchhikers had told me about; "Terrapin". What a gorgeous tune and repeating progression. I did gather at first listening the lady, soldier and sailor, and remembered the lines "I will not forgive you if you will not take the chance" and "strategy was his strength, not disaster"...all very evocative. And shortly after, that stunning churning orchestral jam. Wowie Zowie.
I recall sitting on my front porch the next morning with bass guitar and headphones picking out Lady With A Fan and the Terrapin Jam, which turned out to be remarkably close to the real thing when I finally heard the record.