On 26 December 1979 at the Oakland Auditorium Arena, The Grateful Dead started their second set with their first performance of "Uncle John's Band" since October 1977. The concert was released in 1996 as Dick's Picks volume 5, and the song's first instrumental break has stood out for me ever since. I hear the three-minute break as having three parts: from 2:40 to 3:50, from 3:50 to 4:20, and from 4:20 to 5:40. While the first part drifts smoothly along, the second part stands out for me as a passage of spontaneous melodic composition by Jerry Garcia, before he turns to faster runs for most of the rest of the break. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 25 February 2026)