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
song list
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues 22
only once..
And I was really disappointed by the one song encore, we really deserved more than that , especially at the end of the tour, and after what we had to put up with from the "live nation" money grubbers. I know the boys had no say over the way the venue was operated, but maybe they should take a bit of interest in how the fans were abused. I for one will not ever be going to anything put on by those heartless bastards from live nation.
song list
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues 22
only once..
And I was really disappointed by the one song encore, we really deserved more than that , especially at the end of the tour, and after what we had to put up with from the "live nation" money grubbers. I know the boys had no say over the way the venue was operated, but maybe they should take a bit of interest in how the fans were abused. I for one will not ever be going to anything put on by those heartless bastards from live nation.
New light
Having been at the show and enjoyed most of it at the time.. (The Dead's Set) I have to say that listening to the aud and sbd recordings in a more controlled environment ( my truck and car) with no show distractions like where I was viewing and hearing the show, company I was with, people around me, mindset at the time etc... I have to say it translates a lot better. It's funny how any given moment in time there are so many filters that block us from where we want to be. Being at the show live I felt it was dragging a bit, was starting to get cold and felt dehydrated and was distracted by all of this. AND there is always the big vacuum left by Garcia not being in the room that always lingers whenever I see a version of this band.
That said, I have spent time after the fact listening to the show and have really grown to love the performance. The first set has some real jewels and the playing was really really good. Some of the 1st set inspiring moments for me are the Crazy Fingers>Dark Star.. At the time and still now the DS feels out of place but it makes sense to me when you arrive at the 2nd verse in set 2. Beautiful reading of both pieces.
Tom Thumbs Blues and Mystic sound great to me as well...
The real kicker is set 2... Passenger>Hell in a Bucket are strong but the real stuff starts after Althea for me.. Eyes>Rythym Devils>Drums>Space>Days Between> Darkstar... is the heart... and its a big one... god a friggin gift that at the time although appreciated has now really had yet another profound effect on my life. Damn they did it again to me : ).. A lot of this is subjective and of course the recipents circumstances while experiencing this music really plays a huge role. My feelings during the actual performance has been amplified through revisiting.
Eyes has always been a great piece for me. And since I've had children it has always been a song I have pointed out to them growing up and have played and sang it to them over the years.. and as many of thier songs do, Eyes has revealed new personal meanings to me as I changed and grew... I was very moved that night despite the distractions of the reading of Eyes. I teared up thinking of my beautiful boys and how much I love them... drums and space were awesome but the choice of Days Between really bugged me at the time. I felt the energy drain and it just seemed loong and cumbersome, darkstar was predictable and well... that pretty much was it for me that night...
Thank goodness for recordings... after revisiting the show Days Between was exactly perfect.. Maybe not so much seeing it live after a long drums space sequence... but for concept and idea flow within a set it is outstanding. Weir handles the lyrics really well in this rendition and it is beautifully played with a lot of care. A continuing commentary on our human condition and just how amazing our time is here that started with Eyes of the World.
"There were days
and there were days
and there were days between
polished like a golden bowl
the finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
still tender, young and green
left on shelves collecting dust
not knowing what they mean
valentines of flesh and blood
as soft as velveteen
hoping love would not forsake
the days that lie between lie between"
After listening to this sequence a few times I swear I am even closer, more finely focused and overwhelmingly appreciative of what I have.. the love I have for my boys has been amplified and aligned properly...
Darkstar(v2) we zoom back out and look at the big picture.. again perfect setlist placement... All of this performed very well. Reminds me of Jerrys take on experiencing playing live and seperating his feelings from the performance. At the time may not seem significant but listening back to what went down was.. "crackling with energy".. In a way it is much the same with life.. we can look back zoom in and zoom out and grasp the big picture and understand how we got to where we are..
The Box of Rain encore... just a gentle reminder of the message... perfect..
This show is beautiful and if you dig a little you will find a shining diamond. Maybe not as extravagant a show as MSG, Philly, Cali gigs, BUT sublime, deep, subtle, magical and amazing...
Thank you guys for playing this music always from the heart and giving me once again, though not fully realized at the time.. a long overdue wonderful soul rattling : )
My spare change
I just wanted to add some thoughts on the show.
First, the weather is perfect. Second, we're in the Jeff Zone, fifty feet from the stage, and Phil and Billy are invisible behind Jeff's B-3 and Leslie cabinet. I was looking forward to seeing Phil's bass light up, alas.
"MNS" opener, well-played. I find it interesting that Mickey is not playing a drum kit, and I like it. The interplay between him and Billy is so much better without the battle over whose kick and snare are the right ones.
"Lucy" is good. Man, Warren can really sing!
"Crazy Fingers" is spectacular! Bobby leads into it, and until the rest of the band joins in, I have no clue what he is playing. That's just one reason I really enjoy his playing; it's backwards and almost incomprehensible by itself, but it blends into every song seamlessly when the context is there. Some fourteen-year-old kid jumps on stage in the middle of the song. He turns around and looks totally shocked to discover that he is on stage. Bobby waves at him, then "they" come to take him away (the kid, not Bobby). Probably the first time someone leapt onto a Dead stage with all their clothes on.....
A first set "Dark Star," eh? This is definitely Bobby's band now, and I think they're better for it. The last couple tours, at least to my mind, have been marred by tension between Phil and Bobby trying to muscle each other in the direction each wants the band to go. In the past, they compromised by having nobody lead, and the music constantly meandered and never really went anywhere. Tonight, though, Bobby has the reins. We can obviously expect to hear the second half of the tune later. The jam is a little awkward; it sounds to me like Phil is trying to ditch the drummers and everyone else. Warren really wants to go into "The Eleven," but he's the only one. At last, the jam winds down and Phil takes a swing at something country-ish...and misses completely. Bobby tells him to take another try. This time, "Dire Wolf" sails into the outfield, only to be caught and thrown to third, where Bobby is tagged out. Seems he just can't remember the words....
Phi really has a way with "Tom Thumb." He seems to have re-worked the lyrics to fit the times, and the number is well played by the whole group.
"Into the Mystic" is a bright, shining beacon of psychedelia as only a Southern Rock master such as Warren can ignite. I recall the first Dead show I saw with him, at Portland Meadows in 2004, a terrifyingly abysmal affair, until he pulled out "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "She Said She Said" in the midst of the second set. He did it again tonight, only during a much better show.
"Women Smarter" comes out all right, too.
For the second set, the band comes stalking back onto the stage, and just blazes through an amazing, high-energy "Passenger." Oh, yeah! From there into "Hell in a Bucket," usually not one of my favorites, but it's spot on tonight.
"Althea" is jaw-droppingly gorgeous, just simply beautiful, and all because of Philip Chapman Lesh. He lays down the most wistful, aching melody for the bassline, not playing anything like he did on this tune back in the day, hitting all the changes perfectly and with such subtlety and grace. I don't think he repeats a singe musical phrase, either, just tailors a ten-minute-long (or so) melody out of whole cloth. One word sums it up: wow.
"Eyes" isn't quite as wonderful, but the jamming is brilliant. Warren is not playing anything complex at all (well, he gets in some great licks, of course), but every note is well-chosen and effective. I find myself comparing his playing to that of one of my favorites, Jimmy Herring (remember him?). Now, I love me some Jimmy Herring, but speaking as a guitar player, Herring had some tricks that he would do when he was obviously coasting, and he pulled them out so often they were quite frankly distracting. Not so with Warren tonight!
The musicians retire, except for Jeff, and he and Billy and Mickey take us through an electronic grooveland of dance beats and Obama samples that wends its way into an absorbing (and, of all things, tasteful!) drum duet. Space emerges from the ringing sustain of The Beam, and it is deep and wide, with many interesting nebulae and galaxies to explore along the way. The band settles back to earth with what I at first thought was going to be the return of "Dark Star," until I realize they are in G, not A. "Days Between" emerges. This is one of the best songs that Garcia and Hunter ever came up with. It is poignant, dramatic, and beautiful, polished like a golden bowl, the finest ever seen. It does not, however, suit Bobby's singing style.
As expected, "Dark Star" comes back, then, what else? "Saturday Night," which suits Bobby's sining style right down to the ground.
I was excited to hear "Box of Rain" for the encore; I thought for sure we'd get "Brokedown."
The name change
They are the Dead and we (the audience) are Grateful!
About "Shakedown Street"
Am living it. Tipper with u?Maybe u know legislation pending to keep people in Community and out of nursing homes; see Care2 petitions.Not 2 far from 60 mice elf.Living with shakedowns in home care field.Sumbuddy arrest them please!
Shall I send u a Six Mile Run CD?Need major distance btw. Nov 17 & me.Hiding in sleep, missed everything.Should have a life, but I can't find it. Bluebird 1 to 13. Get me out of this.Love the Dead best.pegi regine hohenzoller
GratefulMomentsattheGorge
Havent seen a show since the last show before Jerry died in 96..had an amazingly grateful time at the gorge 2009. Definitely different than it was back in the daze but the vibe and family remain the same.
Had a Magical Grateful moment..when in a stadium of 24,000 i ended up sitting one seat away from one of the heads i used to tour with in the 90's what are the chances? haven't seen him since the last show i saw..so here's a big shout out to Douglas and his wife in Squamish..a truly synchronistic moment..give me a holler if you get this (it's RAVEN and i told Jodie i saw you guys she sends all her best).
Had some super kind camp mates Jed and Gayle from idaho many kind thanks to you and your wee onesand Denver Dave (thanks for the session beers from your BC neighbours) still floating on the good vibes and even though i didn't get my much prayed for franklin's I was happy for the homecoming.
DRUMS rocked my soul and the women are smarter was an unexpected nugget. Here;s to shows in 2010 another one at the Gorge would rock for those of us in BC and and my franklins would be a supreme gift from the grateful gods
Blessings all & see you then!...canadian raven
wharf rats
Any wharf rats doing East Coast tour????