Grateful Dead

Good stuff You All!
Dig the stories.

1986 - Shows you what a state we're in that '86 seems like the good ole days. But man, they do!
We are on the same trajectory on our Dead show paths DV, I saw my first show 4 days after you saw yours at the ripe old age of 16. Good times ensued and a lifetime of adventure began.

Not sure where I found that Dylan & TP set, but lmk if you have trouble locating it. It's worth a listen or two. I've been enjoying it since I found it earlier this month. Tom Petty definitely brings it and Dylan seems interested. The back up singers are wonderful too. I posted about this randomly on 9/3 after I got it. But based on what I was hearing the GD kinda got upstaged that day.

FWIW the sound at Akron Rubber Bowl a few days later sucked as well, and you can hear it on the audience tapes, the vocals get muddy in the mix due to too much reverb or something. But I enjoy those opening sets with Dylan & TP, man he was good in concert. I love his take on So You Want To Be A Rock N' Roll Star.

And boy do I remember the feeling of thinking Jerry's not doing well so I gotta go see these guys and then a few days after my second show he was in that coma and nearly died. We were all so lucky and excited when he pulled through and got to continue some more good times!

Speaking of Death. I'm sure it's been discussed, but the odd coincidence that Jerry broke out Visions of Johanna in '86 shortly before he went into a coma and nearly died, and then didn't play it again with the band until '95 shortly before he died seems striking. Weird GD stuff going on there. Insert Twilight Zone theme by GD circa 1985.

So all this talk of '86 & '95 got me listening to 3/19/86 today. Now I know '86 has a bad reputation. And rightly so in some cases, but listen to this show. The China Cat > Rider absolutely smokes and you can hear that Hampton roar and energy. If it doesn't give you a smile, well I can't help you. Set 1 SBD is out there, and this Set 2 Audience is a nice recording:
https://archive.org/details/gd1986-03-19.senn.441.me80.buyers.118517.fl…

And for '95, Bluecrow & ConeKid I checked out 7/8/95 Space > TOO > Visions > OMSN and US Blues yesterday while riding to the library. Dug it, the Space starts out really cool with some far out panning. And the reading of Visions is... well I'm not sure I have the words, but heartfelt, aching, bittersweet and wonderful would all apply.

Seattle '95 - I've got that run, have you listened to the Soundcheck dated 5/24/95? Jerry "...it sounds nice up here in Seattle" :)
Somebody was talking about this yesterday, but based on the Tapes we have, the Vault closed down quite a bit with Healy's departure. So a lot of the '95 SBDs never saw the light of day. I have my suspicions, most of them never will.
Happy to be wrong. But... not a lot of progress on that front in the last 25 years.
I'll try and get that SBD portion in and 5/26 is grabbing my eye. Personally I like '94-'95 just because I've only heard most of it once and a lot of that was in a fever dream of collecting it.

So much great music to hear, one life time.

We sit here stranded, though we're all doin' our best to deny it

Thanks for sharing You All!
Keeping me entertained and I appreciate it.

No stories to tell, I didn’t even remember the set list except that I got a Visions. Looked up the set list, and it looks decent on paper.....
I have the recording, which I haven’t listened to in quite a while, probably because the overall show was weak.

On 7-9 my friend and I had the feeling that it was going to be the last show until 96, when a hopefully recovered and rejuvenated Jerry would return. But then fall tour mail order was announced, and it didn’t look like Jerry was going to get to take a break and rest for a while.....

“To Lay Me Down”, reflective song, conjures autumn. Powerful lyrics. The tone of Jerry’s acoustic guitar is so sweet. Interesting that 1970 and 1980 were the banner years for acoustic Dead. About the only years. Of course I was lucky to see several 1970 Dead shows with acoustic sets. I missed 1980 altogether. The few December 1981 Dead shows I saw with acoustic sets backing Joan Baez may or may not count. Last night while listening to the Warfield set I thought about where I was 40 years ago caretaking a ranch just south of Glacier National Park, living in an old homesteaders cabin. Living the dream. “All lost in dreaming”. “Cowboys Dream”. By Lon Megargee 1936.
Question? Where have many of the participants on these boards gone? Most notably the women. AnnaRx, Gypsy Cowgirl, Dina W, even would be great to hear from MaryE again. Would love to see a book from Betty Cantor. I love the book from Rosie McGee. Would love to see a book from Carolyn Adams aka MG.
I also feel a strong desire to pay more attention to Pick of the Week and the Tapers Section. Also Grateful Dead Hour from David Gans is a treasure trove of archives and knowledge.
And a message to any hotshot publishers out there, Ken Babbs is a living national treasure. Out of respect for this “Intrepid Traveler “ who was there, would Penguin or Viking or even City Lights publish the mans book. First hand history, not second or third accounts.
Meanwhile, in the high country, “last leaves are falling”.

https://youtu.be/92syshlVsp0

https://archive.org/details/gd1995-05-24.partial.sbd.larson.35181.sbeok…

GOGD - first 5 songs on this link, Iko through Estimated, are pre Drumz 1st night. The Trucking>Terrapin are from Cal Expo May 1991 (by coincidence my only Cal Expo run - excellent also, and there's a Spanish Jam tease in there.)

Show was GA and I was on the rail DFC. Sound was awesome. Band was happy, Jerry was happy, he had a bounce in his step - really! Chicago '95 was like a whole different scene.

I Want To Tell was a crazy amazing surprise cover.

GOGD, I have never heard that SBD, I will for sure check it out.
I was 15 when I went to this show and was really green. I got into the Dead the year before when my older sister left for college and left behind two cassettes, Shakedown Street and a tape labeled 12/30/83. Needless to say I was blown away and was hooked.
The acoustics of the dome were not great and I remember the sound not being the best. I think at the time, we knew that Jerry was not doing the best and the end could come at anytime. We were just psyched to get a change to see the band. Looking back I think the play was a little sloppy, but we didn't know that at the time. I remember Dylan not sounding that great, but at the time I really didn't listen to much Dylan. That changed as I got older. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers seemed to deliver that night.

Two days later we headed down to Apline and that was a completely different experience. Alpine in 86 was so different from 87 or 88, or the last run in 89.

First of all, there were not nearly as many people at these shows in 1986. You could move around in the lawn without a problem. The music was great and the sound quality out there was really good.

It was really hippie central and we were so young and clueless. It was like nothing I had ever seen and I loved it. Two week later Jerry was in a comma.
We thought that was it. Can you imagine if the Dead ended in 1986? Hard to imagine...
Then he recovered and 87 was wild. Couldn't believe how many more people went to the shows at Alpine. Of course In The Dark.

Yes, I went to all the shows, I think, the Dead performed in MN and WI from 86-89. Unbelievable times and memories. Could never figure out why they never came back to MN and WI??

Who knows GOGD, maybe we crossed paths at Alpine??

Be well all.

DV: That Dylan & TP set from 6/26/86 is really good, have you checked it out? There's a good SBD, listened to it pretty recent and really dug it. Must've been an interesting experience seeing the GD open a show and play one long set?
Curious what you thought about it.
And yeah that worm must've turned, you went to all the Alpine Shows after that huh?
Far Out.

BlueCrow: Nice call on the 7/8/95 Visions of Johanna, man Jerry could convey emotion through music.
You & Conekid got stories from that show?

Speaking of Visions of Johanna that studio version on the All Good Things Outtakes.. that's worth seeking out / relistening.
Gonnna give 3/19/86 Visions a spin today.

Still working on 9/26/80 got distracted, great Acoustic set & fun Set 1.

Be Well All

https://gratefuldeadoftheday.com/09-26-1980?fbclid=IwAR19O8eK2Jsyp54xGL…

September 26, 1980
Warfield Theater
San Francisco, California

the worm was known to turn at Alpine. wasn't able to see any '86 shows. friends came back from Hampton that spring all jazzed up. first Visions was there and I checked it out yesterday after the one from 7/8. looking at the set list and its crazy that it showed up in the 1st set! those summer shows with Dylan and Tom Petty struck me as a cool line up but don't really know much about them. To my regret never saw Tom perform.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend everyone.

Bluecrow, my first show was Dylan, the Dead and Tom Petty, June 26, 1986 at the old Metrodome. Not the best place to see a show, but the worm definitely turned for me a few days later in Alpine.