The Pacific Northwest in May, the best time to be here. This area, out in the Columbia River Gorge, gets incredibly hot in July and August, but in May it is simply stunning.
Although the Grateful Dead never visited this venue back in their touring days, in 1996, on the very first Furthur Festival, the Grateful Dead’s continuing traveling circus made a visit this gorgeous spot along the river. I don’t think I can think of a better looking view for concert-goers. Sitting on the hillside, looking down toward the band, and beyond them all you see is the winding Columbia River, and a strange-looking desertscape that seems oddly out of place way up here in Washington State. Regardless, those of you making this Saturday night trek are in for a real treat if you’ve never been to the Gorge.
The Grateful Dead visited the Pacific Northwest early and often. Seattle, Eugene and Portland were the main sites visited, with Seattle seeing 27 Grateful Dead shows, Portland hosting 22 shows, and Eugene seeing 21 shows. Add to this shows in Corvalis, Ashland, Veneta (near Eugene), Tacoma (near Seattle), Spokane and a few shows in Vancouver, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest was well-covered by the Grateful Dead.
There have been several historically “important” shows in the Pacific Northwest, and plenty of musical highlights, and heading southbound, we’ll look at a few. Vancouver, Canada featured the first-ever Grateful Dead concerts outside of the state of California, great nights of music in July, 1966. They also visited this magnificent city in 1973 and 1974 for excellent shows in both years. Seattle highlights include the January 1968 that was part of the band’s tour of the Pacific Northwest featuring Quicksilver Messenger Service (the 1/23/68 concert featured the finest Viola Lee Blues these ears have ever heard); the July, 1972 concerts that were released as Download Series Volume 10 ; and, like in Vancouver, the great shows of 1973 and 1974. Portland was always a great place for the Grateful Dead, including stops on the 1968 tour (during which Dark Star was played as a rare encore on 2/2/68 at the Crystal Ballroom); shows in 1973 and 1974 on the same tour as the aforementioned Vancouver and Seattle gigs; the comeback shows on 6/3&4/76 at the Paramount (now the Schnitzer Concert Hall); the 1972 shows at the same venue; the terrific little show on 1/18/70 that was released as Download Series Vol. 2; and the 1980 show, during which, at the exact time the Grateful Dead were playing Fire On The Mountain, Mount St. Helen’s volcano erupted just a hundred miles northeast of the Memorial Coliseum. Eugene saw plenty of good Grateful Dead action, with terrific shows on 1/22/78 at McArthur Court, and solid shows in 1983 and 1984 at the Hult Center, as well as loads of excellent nights at Autzen Stadium. Oh, and don’t forget visits to Veneta on 8/27/72 and 8/28/82.
Musically, there is so much to talk about in regards to the Grateful Dead’s history in the Pacific Northwest, but we’ll keep this brief, to two visits that were important moments in Grateful Dead history. The first is 8/27/72 at the Springfield Creamery Benefit in Veneta. You have likely seen the film Sunshine Daydream and it truly represents the idealized image of what it was like to be at a Grateful Dead concert: thousands of hippies, under the hot sun in a field in Oregon, with the soundtrack to the day being the Grateful Dead at the height of its powers. And the music at this show is, for the most, not overrated, which is to say that there are moments from this show that are some of the finest in the band’s history. Highlights that I’ve always thought made this show really stand out include: Bird Song, China>Rider, Bertha, Playing In The Band, Greatest Story Ever Told, Dark Star, Sing Me Back Home. Each of these songs could easily be played as magnificent examples of the Grateful Dead’s magic. Add to this the set and setting of the day, and you have one of the finest Grateful Dead experiences captured on film and multi-track audio tape. The other shows to mention are the two nights at the Paramount in 1976. The shows weren’t the best of 1976, and were the first Grateful Dead shows outside of California since the September, 1974 European tour, but the Grateful Dead that emerged that night was incredibly different from the 1974 Grateful Dead. First of all, Mickey was back, propelling the band forward with a powerful second rhythmic push, but equally important was the return of older, classic songs (Cosmic Charlie; Dancing In The Street in a very different arrangement from 1970; St. Stephen played at the soundcheck and debuted a week later; different arrangements of They Love Each Other and Cassidy), and the addition of many new songs, including Might As Well, Lazy Lightning>Supplication, The Wheel, Mission In The Rain and Samson and Delilah. Clearly, the genesis of the Grateful Dead that would play for the next 20 years was started at these two very interesting shows. Check them out if you get a chance.
Well, it’s really been fun going through the Grateful Dead’s touring history as we follow The Dead’s tour, from North Carolina to the Pacific Northwest, with plenty of great and exciting stops along the way. Thanks for joining us!
We'll update this page shortly after the show with the setlist and to recap each performance by The Dead as it relates to the context of the Grateful Dead's history at this venue or city.
Set 1
The final show of the tour, on a gloriously beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. It’s with a sense of relief but also dread that the tour ends, everyone exhausted but satisfied with the music, and a fun quotient that is as high as it’s ever been for these guys, and for the 15,000 (or more) people who came out every night. This show was a late addition to the tour, and it was a very welcome addition, especially those dwellers north of the Bay Area. A sold out concert, with two opening acts (including the omnipresent Warren Haynes) bodes well for a good party to end the tour. Opening with The Music Never Stopped is such an appropriate way to start things out, and with a Sirius XM audience listening along, this show will be reaching 23,000 at The Gorge, and countless others across the satellite airwaves. Loose Lucy and Crazy Fingers take us on a short trip through the mid-1970s era Dead, and then comes the surprising mid-first set Dark Star, always great to hear, especially Phil playing in and out of the guitar parts. Nice. Dire Wolf follows, a surprising choice out of Dark Star, but I suppose little is surprising on this tour. Tom Thumb’s Blues (a tour first? Zomby?) comes next, always great to hear Phil sing a Phil song from back in the day. Goin’ back to San Anselmo, I do believe they’ve had enough… Into the Mystic and Women Are Smarter (another tour first?) end things nicely, with a gorgeous sunset setting the stage for the tour’s final set.
Set 2The second set opens with two great Weir rockers (ok, one was written by Phil), Passenger and Hell in a Bucket, of which have been ripping on this tour. I love Jerry’s slide playing on Passenger, in which he plays with some really raunchy tones (Phil’s intention in writing the song), but Warren has been doing a nice job with it. Donna, and later Brent, always sang such great high harmony background vocals on this, and Warren’s voice suits this just fine. Following two Weir tunes come two Garcia-Hunter tunes, Althea and Eyes of the World. Certainly no complaints here with those two songs back-to-back. Mickey and Bill’s final trip through the cosmos of the tour (they were GOOD this tour; check them out closely if you bought the CDs or the downloads) during Rhythm Devils ventures, of course, into Space, followed by Days Between. The Dark Star reprise from the first set is somewhat expected with this band, and is greeted very happily by the masses. One More Saturday Night, of course, ends things off with Bobby rocking the house (or the desert/Columbia River Gorge) one last time on the tour. An encore of Box of Rain is a fitting way to send people home after what is up there with the 1998 Other Ones tour as the finest tour these guys have done since 1995.
Thanks for stopping by these Tour Pages, and thanks to the web team at Rhino for keeping things fresh and current. It’s been a blast writing for the site and meeting so many of you out on the road or via email (vault@dead.net reaches me easily) during the tour. Check back soon when we’ll have a tour recap, and as always, we encourage your comments and discussions here on the site. Thanks again.
name to the list of people attending the show.
(Set 1)
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The Music Never Stopped
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Loose Lucy
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Crazy Fingers
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Dark Star
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Dire Wolf
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Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
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Into The Mystic
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Women Are Smarter
(Set 2)
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Passenger
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Hell In A Bucket
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Althea
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Eyes of the World
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Drums
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Space
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Days Between
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Dark Star
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One More Saturday Night
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Donor Rap
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Box Of Rain
(Encore)
Comments
Great Tour
Thank you to the band and crew for another awesome experience... reconnecting the family, the music and the good vibes.... it came just in time. I was able to catch both Shorelines and listen to most of the rest... How about keepin that freight train rollin down the track w/ a Fall Tour. Gratefully yours... thank you for a real good time
Once in awhile you get shown the light...
What about
the way the ended the second verse of Dark Star (Nightfall of Diamonds repeated)? Have they ended it like this before? Also One More Saturday Night had repeated endings as well, very cool. Great setting for a show, thanks for playing the NW. Hope you come back soon.
Great show, great adventure.
Saturday,10:30 am decide to make the trek to see Dead, Allmans and Doobies at the Gorge, ticketless, soldout show, and solo...what more could I ask for. ( I did Dead / Allmans 04 with cousin Daryl for first Gorge experience - need to relive) - This Gorge show was not on the original Dead '09 tour schedule but was added late as the final tour stop for the run-i was unaware.
Border lineup was SLOW 90min estimate at Truck crossing. Made it even worse by trying the ol' "buy a pack of gum at duty free and skip line" trick. Everyone else was thinking the same thing this long weekend and it did nothing but add more “waiting in line doing nothing” time. I of course get pulled in for questioning, no biggie we’ve been down this road before. 30 min later I am finally officially Gorge bound. I don't know how many hours later going, 140 the entire way down i find my self fading and in need of food, coffee and draining of the bladder. Getting back to the I90 was not as easy as it should have been. After two terrible sets of directions from "probably fake locals" i am driving in the middle of nowhere, rural farm land (Adel, OR anyone?), not on the freeway i would like to be on. To stubborn to turn back and feeling a second wind of adrenalin i keep trucking forward, contemplating camping in the middle of one of these fields if i end up in the completely wrong direction - i have a 6 pack of Red Hook from the pit stop.
Fork in the road, i can go left or right. Right takes me to a town which name I recognize as being on the way to the gorge, i take it and am back on the I90 East in 25min - back on track baby!
6:30pm Arrive at Gorge in George, Wa. Camping/parking ticket no prob, I head to the back fence. I have never seen the grounds so packed. Finger in the air for tix while passing Shakedown and heads, no luck whatsoever.
Find a spot next to Kelsey and his girlfriend, nice couple form Organ. We pop some beers, he hands me some stems & caps and we all start a hunt for a miracle. Stop off at Shakedown for some fungi chocolates - tasty. Kelsey goes for acid. They give up early and we split. No tickets anywhere, everyone needs, its nutz, did not expect this. I do the walk all the way to the amphitheater entrance. The closer you get to the show the more fucked up people are. I stand up against a fence and have an idea. People are leaving cause Allmans just ended. First guy I ask for a stub -he plops his ticket right into my hand-shrooms are starting to kick in, I am feeling hope-he gives me some pointers about the set up. I enter far right-guy sees my ticket, does a quick frisk and I’ve passed stage 1. Only one ticket scanner person, here we go – all or nothing. Make quick chatter with guy next to me, line moving fast. Gets to me, lady scans, I hear negative sound, she doesn’t. Hearts pounding, adrenaline rushing – I fucking did it – I am in. Everything is going to be perfect.
When show starts I get to middle of the path, bottom of the lawn. Same place as Dead 04. With a great group of people for first set – smoke bowls with Kevin. Band kills it, they sound amazing. Dire Wolf was probably my favorite of 1st set cause I was blasting it while lost in butt fuck Washington. Didn’t even realize/remember they played Into The Mystic till later – feeling good.
I chill on the lawn for set break with a crew form San Fran. Sun sets, second set begins. Never been a huge fan of Dark Star but know it’s a treat to hear it. Space was insane. One More Saturday Night was, need I say more? Phil does his organ donor speech and they encore with Box of Rain – I wanted anything off American Beauty all night so that was perfect. It’s the last show of the tour so they do a thank you and bring the crew onstage – I want that road managers job!
Show ends and sea of people begin. I run into Mackinnon and his buddy Mike – amazing. The three of us head for Shakedown to chow some grilled cheese. Then to car for beers. Down a bunch then Mike and I build a 6 pack and head back to Shakedown to shakedown. Dawn hits, back to camp. I pull out the tent – not gonna happen. Wrap my self in a sleeping bag and cocoon inside the unhatched tent and cover eyes from sun. Wake at 9 go for a burrito, buy a shirt. Start for home. So stoked.
Great show, great adventure.
I owe everything to Mioi for telling me about this show Thursday night...thanks chow!
Going for Triple Crown:
Dead
Phish
Burning Man
The Gorge: my review
The Doobie Brothers: great harmonies, good music; so many classic songs. Luckily, they DIDN'T do "what a fool believes".
The Allman Brothers: hot snot smokin' rock. Kindred spirits to the GD. The highlight of the show, for me, a skeleton Deadhead (as opposed to a dancing bear Deadhead).
The Dead: SLOW. plink plink. It was like touring the ruins of ancient Greece or Rome (oh the streets of Rome, are filled with rubble). Still something there to experience, but a far cry from the glories of yesteryear. Direct quote from my neighbors: "EYES OF THE WORLD! YES!" My mind replies: "It's only a model" (think: MP & the Holy Grail.)
God bless 'em for touring at all, but man, 2003 and 2004 at the Gorge were so much more energetic.
I'll go back if they come back...hopefully someone will bring a few lattes for the band.
Onward...
I agree with Harry Blotter.
I agree with Harry Blotter. While I had a wonderful time the Gorge show didn't flow as it did back in 2004. Individual songs were powerful, but it never all fit together for me. Too many moments had me sitting and taking a break. The space jam followed with Days Between really killed the vibe for me. At least Saturday Night brought the energy back.
2004 was insane, the show just kept building and building. I would have went home happy after the insanely powerful Casey Jones in set I.
Gorge and Disability Act
Zombiewulf, you post brought tears to my eyes. What the hell is going on with our country? We sat there and watched the Great Wall St robbery, then snoozed while our corrupt gov't provided them bonuses in the from of bailouts, and now we putting up with this crap in the name of "our bad economy". B.S. This show and the whole tour was an awesome money-making endeavor, but the greedy want more.
I am writing letters to the Gorge, my reps in gov't, and Dead mgmt. There is absolutely no reason for this crap. The shows were tremendous, ran into a lot of good heads and had a ball. Let's not let the mongers steal us blind and treat us like turds people.
I'll just add to Zomby's
I'll just add to Zomby's post by saying I had a girl who appeared to die right in front of me during the ABB set. She had SEVERE sun stroke (cold as ice, couldn't find a pulse, eyes wide open and 100% unconscious total panic from family).
Luckily some of us rallied, and most importantly an old school head/ICU nurse stepped up and saved the day.
That said, I could not get security to budge. No matter how many people screamed, literally, they wouldn't move from guarding the bathrooms like it was fort knox. It took ten minutes for someone to show up, and they were from Live Nation, not the medical team.
Security was beyond stunningly incompetent. There refusal to become involved was criminal negligent, and thank God this didn't turn into a situation that required a medical kit, or that girl would have been brain damaged or dead.
Other than that deeply and literally sobering 15 minutes - The venue and the scene was old school. The ABB killed it, Doobies were having so much fun...as for the dead, I've never heard so many people talk about falling asleep at a show. I think we all thought they'd go out big and they were halfway home already. Such is life. It did remind me of many a mediocre/not jelling Grateful Dead shows. It happens ;+)
I encourage everyone to write letters (real letters :+)) to Gorge/Dead/Live Nation management. The incompetence of the staff is dangerous, and we've got to look out for the next person who really needs help.
End of the tour
Being this show was the last one of the tour, and it was an add-on show, I had a fear that it would seem like the end of the tour. By this I mean these guys had a long month on the road, and not to mention they were playing to the home audience two nights earlier. When I woke up Friday and checked the set list and saw what they played there, I was bummed. Not only bummed by what they played, but sensed that they had given them their all, and what they had left was what we got at the gorge. While I was so happy they were on the road again, and this is no easy feat being that they are all in their mid and late sixties, one must remember this is not 20 years ago.
The playing of the band was fine; it wasn't bad, but it didn't seem inspired. I had four friends whom had never been to a Dead show before with me, and they all asked at the end of it if it were missing something, because they couldn't believe that this had gone on so long and been so huge, and this is what it was.
The energy just wasn't there for one reason or other. I think mainly due in part that they are older, they had a long tour, and they played a really high energy show in Shoreline two nights earlier. I was in the mid section for the first set and on the lawn for the second, and while their was more energy by the fans down below, the lawn started to clear out by drums. Where the lawn had been packed in tight at the beginning of the first set, there was definately enough room by the second.
For the first time ever at a concert, I actually dozed off during the Days Between/Dark Star.
I really wanted to write this review and be ecstatic about the show. Instead today, I feel kind of blue. The Into the Mystic was great though.
WELOME HOME
WELOME HOME
The biggest complaint I have
The biggest complaint I have about the Gorge show was the massive amounts of alcohol consumed and the never ending talking.
I am disabled, and even though I can walk short distances, I cannot move around as freely as I once could. I decided to sit in the back so I could get back out to the car easier, but what a mistake. The "beer gardens" were in back and the drunks found it easier to drive away most of the people around the picnic tables in the back than to find their way back to where they were originally sitting.
I remember when alcohol was a rarity at Dead shows, but in the eighties it started to flow in more often, and now it seems to have become a right of passage for those who come for the party, not the music.
Next time the Dead come out to play, I'll probably sit at home and order the discs of the show. I'll miss the true "deadheads" and alll the friends I've met, but I have over four decades of memories that won't become tarnished by the ignorance of drunken fools. There is only one question for those who were to drunk to remember the music: Why spend over fifty dollars to go to a show just to get drunk and act like you are the only ones who have the right to be there.