March 3 - March 9, 2008
This week, like we’ve done a few times so far in 2008, we’re going to look at a year in Grateful Dead history rather than just this week in Grateful Dead history. Well, two years, really. Rest assured, we’ll get back to our weekly focus soon, but for now, we’re going to listen to some music from 1984 and 1985.
Our first selection this week is from the concert on 4/1/84 at Marin Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium in beautiful San Rafael, California. The band had just played Marin Vets in October, 1983, when they played the final ever St. Stephen, and returned for a final four night run at the tiny venue in Marin for four shows in the Spring of 1984. This final show of the run featured some great material, and we are pleased to play the end of the first set, Big Railroad Blues, Cassidy, Tennessee Jed, My Brother Esau, Don't Ease Me In. This is a classic sequence from 1984 that we thought you’d dig. Well, we sure dig it.
Next up is some music from two weeks later on 4/16/84 in Rochester, NY. From the first set, we have the show-opening Shakedown Street, and from the second set, we have the combination that went into Drums, Far From Me>He’s Gone with a great jam out of He’s Gone, featuring Brent and Bobby hinting at the Other One, which would come out of Space a bit later.
Moving forward a couple of months to the magnificent Red Rocks show on 6/14/84, we have a slew of songs from the first set, specifically Minglewood Blues, Brown Eyed Woman, Jack Straw, Day Job. Like our selection from 4/1/84 heard above, this is a classic 1984 grouping of songs. Later in this show, the band would perform the first-ever Dear Mr. Fantasy, which we played here last year.
We’ll now go forward about a year to 6/27/85 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the band’s penultimate show at this magical little venue in upstate New York (they would return one last time, on 6/28/88). This show featured all sorts of shenanigans (“I say, Phil, my dog has no nose.” “No nose? How does he smell” “Blooming awful!”; and, “yo, butch, don’t hang from the balcony!”), plus loads of great music, as heard in this excellent show-opening trio, Midnight Hour, Bertha, Little Red Rooster.
From the Fall Tour of 1985, we have some music from the second set of 11/2/85 in Richmond, VA. The previous night, 11/1/85, with its exceptionally bizarre song list (even by 1985 standards!) makes up Dick’s Picks Vol. 21, but this second night is equally good. From the pre-Drums segment of the show we have Estimated Prophet>Uncle John’s Band>China Doll, and from the post-Drums part of the show, we have Morning Dew>Throwing Stones>Lovelight, Baby Blue. A little more straightforward than the previous night in regards to song selection, but very well played nonetheless.
Check in next week for more great music. Although it’s a mystery to even us here at the Tapers’ Section what we’ll be playing, rest assured we’re digging through the vault to find you some tasty bits to play. Likely some 1973 rarities among other stuff. As always, feel free to write to me at the email address below, always putting something in your subject line to grab my attention (something like “Grateful Dead” is always good). Also, you’ll get separated from the spam nicely that way.
David Lemieux
vault [at] dead.net
I was at the SPAC show.As I recall there were 50,000 + people in attendence . Which led the SPAC officials to put a cap on the sale of lawn seats to 25,000.Not bad for a small venue.It was a great show!!!Total craziness.Thanx Dave!!!!!!
k, just would like to shout out a BIG thank you because this week, I found a new appreciation for your site when I was a my friends listening to DEAD Wheel on cassette and the tape squealed real bad. I thought, "taper's doesn't have that." woohoo
round and round
Thanks David for a grate start to the week :)
Morning Dew>Throwing Stones>Lovelight, Baby Blue.
well i was here ,, you know what i`ll say again...looks nice to hear.....
I was at both the Richmond shows that year. I have always felt the second night gets short changed. What a weekend, still sends chills down my spine. 1984 and 1985 were really a couple of great years for the band.
1984 has become my favorite year
merci David
Juju
Juju
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can't listen to far from me > he's gone, rest is great tho:)