Grateful Dead

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Worst Dead show I ever saw! The acoustics were non existent. For some reason, only Petty was understandable! Shame!

Couldn't understand a thing. I remember my friend saying, " Hey, I think they're playing Truckin'!" I said "I can't tell." Horrible venue for a concert or a baseball game

u said it perfectly. was so bad almost swore off Dead but realized it was the 'dome. what is that dome good for? sucks for sports, too

I remember the wave of fans that jumped from the field seats on to the floor. Hundreds if not thousands. The Dome is without doubt the worst venue for a rock band - especially a band with nuance like the Dead. Like being inside a giant freaking marshmallow. Petty still rocked, but it wasn't the place to see one of the greatest rock bands ever. Try Alpine Valley.

Agreed, the acoustics Sucked!!!!!!. I remember the review in the anti-Dead Minneapolis Star-Trib the next day blaming everything on the dead insisting on controlling the sound. It couldn't be their beloved gasbag! Another comment by the press sticks in my minds craw, something to the effect of the Dead keeping down the free acoustical expression of Minneapolis' "Native Son", Bob Dylan.. Hibbing is a far-flung burb of the twin cities, dontcha know.

I'm telling you. . . . You have Dylan and the Dead in Dylans home state and you have the show where??????? the humpty dumpty dome????? who was Truth of the matter was is that the sound was better outside!!!! They should have just set up in the parking lot and well then we'd have a little something to talk about huh?/

That ceiling made me really dizzy. Very strange place for a show, in a bad way.

All the years combine They melt into a dream

As Mike Ditka put it. I was 2nd or 3rd row off to the left side of the stage for this. I made it through the Dead but 3 songs into Dylan/Petty I passed out. I drove the night before from Chicago - no sleep! By 11 am. we had several cases of beer along with damn near every illegal contriband we could get. Wasted! Wasted! Wasted! and luckly it was one of the worst sounding shows I can remember! I don't think I missed much!

I came from the Pacific NW thinking this Dead-Dylan thing might be a once in a lifetime chance. This show, as piss-poor as it was forever changed Big River for me. Not that it was played this night but I met this very cute blonde sweet southern gal at this show. One of those stand-out memories of certain people you get to know at shows when they hang with you for a set or two. So forever after I'd hear the line "I met her accidentally in St Paul Minnesota, tore me up every time I heard her drawl that Southern drawl".. it was just one more of those moments when I feel every lyric delivered by the Dead is telling the story of MY life... and I remember the hurricane force winds as we exited as they tried to keep that dome inflated.. crazy

Went for Dylan Left a Dead Fan. Even with the poor sound. PRL

Worst show ever! And the media made it sound like it would be the best ever. Thank god for the alpine shows the next few days!

This show happened before the Twins won their first World Series in 87. One of my favorite parts of the World Series highlight film is seeing the Dead banner hanging up in the Metrodome stands. Dead tour had been part of my summer ritual for a bunch of summers in the early 80's, especially since the Twins stunk so BAD. The tide was turning, as the team was building for that championship year, and a new "fat man" (KIR-BEEE Puckett) was rockin' my life pretty hard. Jerry was going through some tough health and legal trouble then, but when the Boyz came to town, ya had to show support! Come on, it was Dylan & the Dead--with a radical new venue. The band organization was still up to a few new tricks at that time--supposedly some modern sound approach to fill the arena. Fluffiest sonic garbage I'd ever heard! Lots of anxiety to see the show and very little payback. Couldn't tell what "Tennessee Jed" was. Second set was a little better--I would have liked to better hear "Terrapin," I remember. "Black Peter" was prophetic. Couldn't make out any of the Dylan part, as I roamed the concourse. Petty was the only one whose music was listenable. Simple arena rock. It felt like the wheels were coming off that night. I do remember scoring a sweet steely/dylan shirt from a friend I went to New Years 83/84 with... I'm glad there were more shows, as it would've been a horrible way to end my Dead run. Way below the "Mendoza Line" that night.

This was maybe the worst show ever in the entire history of rock and roll music, certainly in the top 5. Being from MN we didnt like the idea of the Dead in the Dome from the start. You cant even understand the baseball announcer let alone a band in that place. But the radio said that the dead were sending in their 'Special' sound people ahead of time to make sure everything went smooth. Either that never happened or they came to town dosed to the hilt because the sound just SUCKED!We started on the upper level because I was seeing some friends up there, and I moved within 5 seconds because the sound was so bad that you couldnt make out anything, just sounded like a bunch of 18 wheelers starting and revin it up. We got to the lower level where it wasnt much better but you were able to make out that a concert was taking place at that level. We saw people jumping the wall to the floor so my wife and I did just that before security put an end to it. On the floor, the sound was at least bearable, but still bad. We made the most of the Deads part, but it was just really really bad. When Dylan and Petty came out after the Dead, we moved back to the lower level to find the friends we came with and the sound seemed to have gotten even worse than before. I remember my wifes favorite Dylan song is of course 'like a rolling stone', and during the last chorus, she realizes what song it is and she says "Oh, I like this song" and a few seconds later, the song was over. And so were we. We left early and wondered why we ever trusted that the Dome would be a good place to see the Dead in the first place.

to the justly notorious Moscone Center show with Jefferson Whatever. Let's just say there's a good reason Moscone is not a concert venue...

This was the worst sounding show I have ever been to except for maybe something in some sh*thole bar with a crappy sound system and a leather-eared sound man. It was also one of the lamest Dead shows I've seen. I don't remember there being a set break-- seems to me that they went right from Mexicali into Terrapin, and we knew it was going to be a truncated show.

1 So Long, Good Luck And Goodbye 2 Positively 4th Street 3 Clean-Cut Kid 4 I'll Remember You 5 Shot Of Love 6 We Had It All 7 Masters Of War 8 Straight Into Darkness (Petty) 9 Even the Losers (Petty) 10 The Waiting (Petty) 1 Breakdown (Petty) 2 To Ramona(acoustic) 3 One Too Many Mornings (acoustic) 4 A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (acoustic) 5 I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know 6 Just Like A Woman 7 When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky 8 Lonesome Town 1 Ballad Of A Thin Man 2 So You Want to Be a Rock & Roll Star 3 Spike (Petty) 4 Bye Bye Johnny (C Berry) 5 Refugee (Petty) 6 Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 7 Seeing The Real You At Last 8 Across The Borderline 9 I And I 11 Like A Rolling Stone 12 In The Garden 13 Blowin' In The Wind 14 Let The Good Times Roll 15 Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Came here this morning and really am struggling to listen to it but wanted to listen again to see just how awful this sounded. I do not think the masters from this show would sound good. Tough place for sound. All that said I remember Shawn " the Duke " Elfie and I were all in the way back of the floor . Best part was Shawn flopping around on the ground drunk and goofing around. We knew back then it was a real bad sound , hence getting drunk and messing around as best we could. Am really trying to get threw it only into Tennessee Jed might not make 2nd half. Correction, did not make it past estimated just to shallow a sound nothing to it . As far as the sound goes in 86 there were times they sounded crystal clear. Check out the Frost shows and Greek. Another place in time seems like. Hard to believe the very next night they were the good ole Grateful Dead. Much better sound.

My 1st show-- drove from Chicago-wrecked mt car-was dropped off in front of the stadium by tow truck driver--sat at the back of the stadium. As bad as it sounds, These are some of my fondest memories, of being in an atmosphere of what I have made my life, since that day!!

it is interesting to hear that EVERYONE felt the sound was horrible at the dome. for many of the songs...i didn't even know what they were playing. much better in Bloomington in 88 and 89.

During Dylan's set and realizing WHAT A CHORE it was to try to even identify what songs were being played I thought it would be a good idea to get some very needed sleep. I went up to the upper upper level. I remember looking down at the entire Metrodome, and the whole scene looked so tiny. I was so far away from what was going on it was like not even being at a show at all. The atmosphere was like the inside of a terrarium. I imagine what a bug would feel like. The band looked like tiny little bobble head dolls. I went to sleep. And I slept throughout much of the show. I remember my friends holding me up walking back to our vehicle as I was trying to stay awake. I'm pretty sure we ended up in a motel somewhere. I was exhausted from the road but totally refreshed for Alpine Valley --which was like coming home. Hanging out there for a few days was like a breath of fresh air. Literally. Why they booked an indoor venue like that one especially during summer tour was who's idea?