Grateful Dead

We’ve been having such a good time sticking with one year during the past few installments of the Taper’s Section, we’ve decided to continue with this format for yet another week. This week, we’re finally breaking out of the 1960s and 1970s by jumping forward to 1990. There was plenty of great music played throughout the year by the Grateful Dead, so on to the music.

Our first selection is the show opening combination from 6/23/90 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Feel Like A Stranger, West LA Fadeaway. This was the first of a two day run of concerts that began at noon with an opening set by Little Feat, followed by three hours of music by the Grateful Dead with the shows wrapping up by 5 PM, leaving the evenings free to explore beautiful Eugene.

Next we’ll take a little trip to Europe to stop in and check out the second set opener from Berlin on 10/20/90, Eyes of the World>Samson and Delilah. Although I only attended the Paris and London shows on this tour, I heard stories of a small theatre in Berlin, at which each and every seat had a little fold-out desk top, complete with a little lamp. A perfect place for tapers to rest their D-5s. This show was broadcast on the radio, and it certainly must have been a treat to hear Eyes of the World in a foreign country.

Next we’ll pay a visit to Albany, NY, where the Grateful Dead played their first shows at the then-new Knickerbocker Arena in March, 1990. A good chunk of that run of concerts has been justifiably immortalized on the excellent Dozin’ At The Knick, but there was plenty of great music played aside from what made the album. From 3/26/90, we have this unique second set jam of Victim or the Crime>China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider>Women Are Smarter. Brent does some great stuff with Women Are Smarter, and the jam out of Victim is suitably chaotic.

Finally this week, we have the big jam from the final show in Europe in 1990, 11/1/90 at Wembley Arena. The first two nights at Wembley were sold out, but this final night was only about half full, and it was very odd to see the Grateful Dead performing at the height of their popularity in an 11,000 seat arena that was only half full. From this final show of the tour, we have a very interesting palindromatic sequence of Playing In The Band>Dark Star>Drums>Space>Dark Star>Playing In The Band. Bruce does some extremely spacey things during the latter parts of the jam. A perfect way to end the tour, and, of course, the encore that night would be non-other than U.S. Blues.

Check back next Monday for more great music here at the Taper’s Section. As always, we encourage you to write with questions or comments. Please send to the email address below.

David Lemieux
vault [at] dead.net