Welcome back to the Tapers’ Section, where this week we have a double dose of 1988 Grateful Dead music, and music from Vince Welnick’s second show with the Dead.
First up is the entire first set from Tacoma, WA, on 8/26/88, from the Tacoma Dome. If you’ve ever driven on Highway I-5 just a bit south of Seattle, you’ve definitely seen the Tacoma Dome, sitting just a few feet west of the highway. Unmissable. From that show, we have Hell In A Bucket ; Sugaree ; Never Trust A Woman ; Iko Iko ; Walkin' Blues ; When Push Comes To Shove ; When I Paint My Masterpiece ; Row Jimmy ; The Music Never Stopped.
Next is the end of the second set and encore from 9/3/88 in Landover, MD. I was fortunate to attend this show, and it was a very high-energy Saturday night in DC, a drastically different show than the low-energy show of the night before. From this show, we have Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad > I Need A Miracle > Morning Dew, One More Saturday Night, Ripple. This was the first electric Ripple since 1971, and the first of any kind since the acoustic version on 10/16/81 in Amsterdam. It was also the final version ever played.
Lastly this week is the end of the show from the second night of a two night run Richfield, OH, Vince’s second show. They played it mostly quite safe at these shows, but Vince filled some huge shoes very admirably, having joined the band only a couple of weeks earlier. All Along The Watchtower > SteIla Blue > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away, One More Saturday Night. I remember vividly the love with which Vince was greeted in Richfield by 18,000 people, all eager to welcome the new guy into the family.
Be sure to join us here next week for more music from the vault.
David Lemieux
Email: vault@dead.net
Twitter: @lemieuxdavid