• https://www.dead.net/features/blair-jackson/blair-s-golden-road-blog-december-remember
    Blair’s Golden Road Blog: A December to Remember

    By Blair Jackson

    Twenty years ago this month—December 1992—the Grateful Dead started Comeback 2, six years after Garcia’s near-death in the summer of ’86 had precipitated Comeback 1. This time, there was not quite the same level of concern among fans when, immediately following a six-show Garcia Band tour of California that concluded in the San Diego area the day after Jerry’s 50th birthday (8/1/92), a number of health issues caught up with him, and his doctor and various holistic medicine types ordered him to stop touring and take care of himself.

    In all, 23 concerts scheduled between August 22 and October 1 (including six each in Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden) were canceled, with money refunded. It was a drag, of course (we had tickets for three late-August Shoreline Amphitheatre shows in hand), but as had been the case in the summer and fall of ’86, we just wanted Jerry to be well again. Though at the time we didn’t hear many details of his latest meltdown—other than a report on an enlarged heart, chronic lung problems and that old celebrity standby, “exhaustion”—there was no coma this time, and it didn’t seem to be life-threatening. The reports coming out of the Garcia camp in the late summer and early fall were all encouraging: Jerry’s dropped a lot of weight, he’s become a vegetarian, he’s exercising regularly, he’s clean. Evidently, Manasha Matheson—his paramour and housemate at the time (and mother of their 4-year-old daughter, Keelin)—had set Jerry on a healthful regimen that completely turned his health around in a matter of weeks. Yay!

    I can’t recall at what point in the fall of ’92 we learned there would be no New Year’s shows for the first time since 1976—16 years! It wasn’t a complete surprise. There had been some talk the previous year, 1991, of skipping New Year’s in the wake of Bill Graham’s tragic death in a helicopter accident in late October. But the New Year’s run at the Oakland Coliseum was already booked, and since New Year’s Eve was always as much Bill’s night as the Dead’s, the shows went on as planned, partly in his honor, and the band played pretty well all four nights (especially 12/28). Still, Bill’s Father Time entrance was sorely missed on New Year’s Eve and his absence cast a strange pall over the evening for me and many others.

    Antonio Rionegro’s design for the 12/3/92 backstage pass.

    Early in ’92 we started hearing rumors that the Dead might end the New Year’s tradition. Apparently, it had become as burdensome for them at the end of a long touring year as it was for those of us who had to endure the lines, the cold and often rainy December weather, and four nights of general admission seat/space stress in a large impersonal arena just days after the Christmas madness had subsided. So, when BGP finally announced that the Dead would instead play four shows in early December at the Oakland Coliseum, following two in Denver and two near Phoenix, I was, frankly, relieved. (However, I’m sure the news disappointed many folks who traditionally traveled from all over for the year-end fete and had already made plans.)

    Those of us in the Bay Area got our first glimpse of the “new” Garcia when the JGB played a Halloween show at the Oakland Coliseum (with Vince Welnick’s awesome cover band, The Affordables, opening). Jerry looked fantastic—even better than he had post-coma, when, though clear-eyed and happy, he seemed somewhat fragile for several months. I remember before the newly svelte(ish) Jerry even played a note at that Halloween show, he bent over to adjust a pedal and did it with an ease that would have been impossible earlier in the year. His ebullience was apparent and infectious—what a great night of music that was, culminating, as we all hoped it would, with “Werewolves of London.”

    By the time the December mini-tour reached Oakland, we’d heard about the first version of The Beatles’ “Rain” opening night in Denver (12/2), the “Morning Dew” closer and “Gloria” encore the next, and most exciting of all, the return of “Here Comes Sunshine” at Compton Terrace (12/6) for the first time since 1974. The Affordables had played a dynamite “Here Comes Sunshine” at the Halloween show, so we wondered if it would be a similar arrangement (it was, though not exactly). At that point we weren’t trying to compare it with the hot ’73 versions; we were just ecstatic it was back in any form!

    The mood in Oakland at the first of the Dead’s five shows there was positively jubilant—though nothing on the order of the comeback shows in December ’86, when it felt as if we’d collectively beaten back the Grim Reaper so we could dance together another day. When Jerry was happy, healthy and relaxed, the world seemed like a better place. Or at least our little corner of the world.

    Night Two was marked by the first “Dark Star” in six months and a “Rain” encore that far exceeded my expectations. We got our “Here Comes Sunshine” to open the second set on 12/13 (as well as a fine “Other One” > “Morning Dew”), and 12/16 was solid from beginning to end, with “Feel Like a Stranger” and “Let It Grow” bookending the first set, and jamming tunes such as “Shakedown,” “Playing in the Band” and, out of “space,” the second verse of the “Dark Star” that started on 12/12. The encore was the rare “Casey Jones.” This show was released as Dick’s Picks Vol. 27 in 2003; a good choice in my view.

    The following night’s show (12/17) wasn’t quite as good, but it did contain a standout “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire on the Mountain,” another “Here Comes Sunshine,” a wonderful “Not Fade Away” and the exciting encore duo, introduced in the spring, of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” (sung convincingly by Vince) and The Beatles’ trippy “Tomorrow Never Knows.” (Those last three songs, along with “Throwing Stones,” appeared as “filler” on that Dick’s Picks 27.)

    On Dec. 18, we woke up and our Grateful Dead year was over; an odd feeling after 11 straight years of New Year’s series (for Regan and me). Without the year-end shows looming, the holiday season was markedly more relaxed for us—or as relaxed as they could be with a two-year-old toddler in the house. I honestly don’t remember what we did that New Year’s Eve. No doubt we were with our show buddies Jon and Deb, but I can’t recall if that was the year master chef Jon brought live lobsters and plunged them into boiling water as the rest of us cowered in the next room. I do know that midnight came with copious amounts of champagne and dancing to a Grateful Dead bootleg VHS tape—probably the “Sugar Mag” from the Closing of Winterland.

    It wasn’t the same as being at a show, but it still felt special (“close enough to pretend”), and with already-announced Oakland Coliseum shows set for January and February ’93, we weren’t jonesin’ too bad. In fact, with Healthy Jerry and a week of fun shows in our recent memories, it seemed as if we might be on the cusp of something great—exactly the feeling you want to have going into a New Year.

    Happy Holidays, everyone! Be safe and love each other. I’ll be back in this space in early January. In the meantime, I’ve got these Furthur New Year’s shows to deal with. Let’s see…loge, Phil side, about two-thirds of the way back. Is it too early to start lining up?

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  • 84-95
    11 years 3 months ago
    Texas Dragonfly . . .
    One of many things I'd forgotten. Thanks for bringing that one back!
  • Default Avatar
    morning_drew
    11 years 3 months ago
    Coliseum shows
    Saw all these shows very fond memories for sure... Rain, Here comes Sunshine. Either the night before the Casey Jones encore or the night after the Bart broke down and we got stuck in a tunnel (trouble ahead for sure) imagine coming home from a show in train load of heads all bug eyed wow that was crazy. Then the following January Chinese New Year shows, February Madi Grahs and of course a few JGB shows in between at the Warfield those were some of the last shows i saw.... Oh yeah after 20 years and maybe 100 shows that was my first Dark Star it took two shows and 3 nights to get the whole thing. So seeing an East Coast St. Stephen and a West Coast Dark Star.....life was complete.
  • mustin321
    11 years 3 months ago
    Dicks PIcks 27
    I really like DP27 but I really like all the releases. This was a great night for the band and I wish I could have been but I wish I could have been at any show. Vince singing Baba O'riley is fantastic. And of course, who doesn't love Loose Lucy? One night while listening to this show my roommates girlfriend, who is not a deadhead, made the comment that this show sounds "really solid!"
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14 years 11 months

By Blair Jackson

Twenty years ago this month—December 1992—the Grateful Dead started Comeback 2, six years after Garcia’s near-death in the summer of ’86 had precipitated Comeback 1. This time, there was not quite the same level of concern among fans when, immediately following a six-show Garcia Band tour of California that concluded in the San Diego area the day after Jerry’s 50th birthday (8/1/92), a number of health issues caught up with him, and his doctor and various holistic medicine types ordered him to stop touring and take care of himself.

In all, 23 concerts scheduled between August 22 and October 1 (including six each in Madison Square Garden and Boston Garden) were canceled, with money refunded. It was a drag, of course (we had tickets for three late-August Shoreline Amphitheatre shows in hand), but as had been the case in the summer and fall of ’86, we just wanted Jerry to be well again. Though at the time we didn’t hear many details of his latest meltdown—other than a report on an enlarged heart, chronic lung problems and that old celebrity standby, “exhaustion”—there was no coma this time, and it didn’t seem to be life-threatening. The reports coming out of the Garcia camp in the late summer and early fall were all encouraging: Jerry’s dropped a lot of weight, he’s become a vegetarian, he’s exercising regularly, he’s clean. Evidently, Manasha Matheson—his paramour and housemate at the time (and mother of their 4-year-old daughter, Keelin)—had set Jerry on a healthful regimen that completely turned his health around in a matter of weeks. Yay!

I can’t recall at what point in the fall of ’92 we learned there would be no New Year’s shows for the first time since 1976—16 years! It wasn’t a complete surprise. There had been some talk the previous year, 1991, of skipping New Year’s in the wake of Bill Graham’s tragic death in a helicopter accident in late October. But the New Year’s run at the Oakland Coliseum was already booked, and since New Year’s Eve was always as much Bill’s night as the Dead’s, the shows went on as planned, partly in his honor, and the band played pretty well all four nights (especially 12/28). Still, Bill’s Father Time entrance was sorely missed on New Year’s Eve and his absence cast a strange pall over the evening for me and many others.

Antonio Rionegro’s design for the 12/3/92 backstage pass.

Early in ’92 we started hearing rumors that the Dead might end the New Year’s tradition. Apparently, it had become as burdensome for them at the end of a long touring year as it was for those of us who had to endure the lines, the cold and often rainy December weather, and four nights of general admission seat/space stress in a large impersonal arena just days after the Christmas madness had subsided. So, when BGP finally announced that the Dead would instead play four shows in early December at the Oakland Coliseum, following two in Denver and two near Phoenix, I was, frankly, relieved. (However, I’m sure the news disappointed many folks who traditionally traveled from all over for the year-end fete and had already made plans.)

Those of us in the Bay Area got our first glimpse of the “new” Garcia when the JGB played a Halloween show at the Oakland Coliseum (with Vince Welnick’s awesome cover band, The Affordables, opening). Jerry looked fantastic—even better than he had post-coma, when, though clear-eyed and happy, he seemed somewhat fragile for several months. I remember before the newly svelte(ish) Jerry even played a note at that Halloween show, he bent over to adjust a pedal and did it with an ease that would have been impossible earlier in the year. His ebullience was apparent and infectious—what a great night of music that was, culminating, as we all hoped it would, with “Werewolves of London.”

By the time the December mini-tour reached Oakland, we’d heard about the first version of The Beatles’ “Rain” opening night in Denver (12/2), the “Morning Dew” closer and “Gloria” encore the next, and most exciting of all, the return of “Here Comes Sunshine” at Compton Terrace (12/6) for the first time since 1974. The Affordables had played a dynamite “Here Comes Sunshine” at the Halloween show, so we wondered if it would be a similar arrangement (it was, though not exactly). At that point we weren’t trying to compare it with the hot ’73 versions; we were just ecstatic it was back in any form!

The mood in Oakland at the first of the Dead’s five shows there was positively jubilant—though nothing on the order of the comeback shows in December ’86, when it felt as if we’d collectively beaten back the Grim Reaper so we could dance together another day. When Jerry was happy, healthy and relaxed, the world seemed like a better place. Or at least our little corner of the world.

Night Two was marked by the first “Dark Star” in six months and a “Rain” encore that far exceeded my expectations. We got our “Here Comes Sunshine” to open the second set on 12/13 (as well as a fine “Other One” > “Morning Dew”), and 12/16 was solid from beginning to end, with “Feel Like a Stranger” and “Let It Grow” bookending the first set, and jamming tunes such as “Shakedown,” “Playing in the Band” and, out of “space,” the second verse of the “Dark Star” that started on 12/12. The encore was the rare “Casey Jones.” This show was released as Dick’s Picks Vol. 27 in 2003; a good choice in my view.

The following night’s show (12/17) wasn’t quite as good, but it did contain a standout “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire on the Mountain,” another “Here Comes Sunshine,” a wonderful “Not Fade Away” and the exciting encore duo, introduced in the spring, of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” (sung convincingly by Vince) and The Beatles’ trippy “Tomorrow Never Knows.” (Those last three songs, along with “Throwing Stones,” appeared as “filler” on that Dick’s Picks 27.)

On Dec. 18, we woke up and our Grateful Dead year was over; an odd feeling after 11 straight years of New Year’s series (for Regan and me). Without the year-end shows looming, the holiday season was markedly more relaxed for us—or as relaxed as they could be with a two-year-old toddler in the house. I honestly don’t remember what we did that New Year’s Eve. No doubt we were with our show buddies Jon and Deb, but I can’t recall if that was the year master chef Jon brought live lobsters and plunged them into boiling water as the rest of us cowered in the next room. I do know that midnight came with copious amounts of champagne and dancing to a Grateful Dead bootleg VHS tape—probably the “Sugar Mag” from the Closing of Winterland.

It wasn’t the same as being at a show, but it still felt special (“close enough to pretend”), and with already-announced Oakland Coliseum shows set for January and February ’93, we weren’t jonesin’ too bad. In fact, with Healthy Jerry and a week of fun shows in our recent memories, it seemed as if we might be on the cusp of something great—exactly the feeling you want to have going into a New Year.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Be safe and love each other. I’ll be back in this space in early January. In the meantime, I’ve got these Furthur New Year’s shows to deal with. Let’s see…loge, Phil side, about two-thirds of the way back. Is it too early to start lining up?

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Twenty years ago this month—December 1992—the Grateful Dead started Comeback 2, six years after Garcia’s near-death in the summer of ’86 had precipitated Comeback 1. This time, there was not quite the same level of concern among fans when, immediately following a six-show Garcia Band tour of California that concluded in the San Diego area the day after Jerry’s 50th birthday (8/1/92), a number of health issues caught up with him, and his doctor and various holistic medicine types ordered him to stop touring and take care of himself.

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I remember the weekend well. Jerry looked great. He was more energetic and shed a lot of weight. Those 2 shows may be the first Grateful Dead concerts I attended where I didn't see jerry light up a cigarette. I remember the break out of Here Comes Sunshine, which was welcome for a Great Lakes area person such as myself to be at an outdoor concert in December, while my hometown was buried under feet of snow. I also remeber Mickey utilizing more "bongo drum" type sounds/instruments into his drum rig, and I also remember the "Texas Dragonfly" Bob Weir commented about. It was a guy flying above the crowd with his ultralight. I also remember that Bob had added a Soldano amp to his rig, giving him a dirtier nastier tone, which I liked. Are these shows under consideration for potential releases? I'd buy 'em.
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12 years 7 months
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I really like DP27 but I really like all the releases. This was a great night for the band and I wish I could have been but I wish I could have been at any show. Vince singing Baba O'riley is fantastic. And of course, who doesn't love Loose Lucy? One night while listening to this show my roommates girlfriend, who is not a deadhead, made the comment that this show sounds "really solid!"
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Saw all these shows very fond memories for sure... Rain, Here comes Sunshine. Either the night before the Casey Jones encore or the night after the Bart broke down and we got stuck in a tunnel (trouble ahead for sure) imagine coming home from a show in train load of heads all bug eyed wow that was crazy. Then the following January Chinese New Year shows, February Madi Grahs and of course a few JGB shows in between at the Warfield those were some of the last shows i saw.... Oh yeah after 20 years and maybe 100 shows that was my first Dark Star it took two shows and 3 nights to get the whole thing. So seeing an East Coast St. Stephen and a West Coast Dark Star.....life was complete.
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11 years 6 months
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One of many things I'd forgotten. Thanks for bringing that one back!
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14 years 3 months
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I only tried to make it to NYE once and got in, thanks to Bill Grahm's kindness on 12/3182 as well as getting into three of the other 4 shows where tickets were somewhat easier to get. New Year's eve was special but as Jerry and the boys said the thing itself became bigger than they were able to deliver on. Therefore, it was more often than not a musical letdown. I recently had the chance to watch The Closing Of Winterland and it really showed what a family affair it was for the band and their close friends/guests to get up there and play. There in SF it almost seems as if things were going in slow motion, in a relaxed sort of way. The larger scene was just an extension of what was up there on the stage. There was always a lot of tents around the Oakland Aud. and A LOT of "free enterprise" going on.,,I was always surprised at the amount of racial harmony in the Lake Merritt area. Inside was just as festive an atmosphere with old friends getting together and playing volleyball state on state. It was a happier time where it was easier to be happy and enjoy yourself with whomever you found yourself thrown together with. Where did the time go?
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16 years 5 months
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With a special shout out to Mr. Jackson! Although I often air my views here rather forcefully, and find myself in the minority on many Dead-related issues, I offer my heartfelt blessing to all members of the extended Dead family, friends and fans. Hey, we may disagree on details, but we agree on what, to paraphrase Kesey, is "the big thought", that the Dead were a unique band, that there was nothing like a Dead concert, and that we all keep that long strange trip going in our own personal ways. Happy holidays to all!
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Thanks for the '92 memory reboot everyone.Tempe?Compton Terrace? Aww shucks- Synchronicity has it that this post is coming from 5 Compton Terrace, Islington London, UK where we are visiting/touring for the holidays. Kory Quinn (son Rory) has music gigs in London, son Liam lives and works here, son Keefe is at Musa Qalaf, on the Helmand River, Sangin with his Marines. Merry Christmas everyone. All best wishes for you and everyone in the Big Family. bear
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12 years 1 month
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Is what Bobby said about the Dragonfly.Remember the blizzard driving from Denver to Tempe? I-40 and I-10 both closed in New Mexico and Ariz. I didn't make it into the first Tempe until the drums...
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16 years 3 months
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Much Thanks Blair for your blog. After reading it I went to Archive and am now listening to December 13 1992. Wishing Everyone Peace, Love, Health & Happiness.
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12 years 7 months
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Where is the blog this week? Thanks for all your writing. Since I never got a chance to see the Grateful Dead, I really appreciate your blogs on the music and history of the best band that ever existed. Its a small way of making me feel like Im a part of the family. Michael Mustin Indianapolis, Indiana
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16 years 9 months
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...but perhaps you didn't read to the end of the blog, which explains I took last week, off...
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12 years 7 months
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I guess my memory has slipped my mind again.
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16 years 9 months
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Will we ever see an official release from Compton Terrace '90 or '92? There are no soundboard sources in circulation/streaming on etree for both 12/8/90 or 12/5/92, which make these rarities.
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I had the best time at Compton Terrace both in 90 and 92. It was just down the hill from home in Grant County, New Mexico. The storm of 92 was one to remember. I beat it on down the line to below the snow level from Silver City the day before. Raining cats and dogs on the low desert. Every wash was awash. Then on the day of the first show, clear skies. The music from 1990 and 1992 stood out. 92 was the last time I saw the Dead outdoors. Compton Terrace by the way was on the Gila River Indian Reservation (Pima) birth place of Ira Hayes (Iwo Jima) and Russell "Big Chief" Moore (the great trombone player who toured with Louis Armstrong in the 1940s and 1960s). Nothing like winter rain on the desert to soothe the soul. Happy New Year to all. Bring on the winter cold, rain and snow.
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13 years 6 months
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Compton Terrace '90 was a very good weekend. Vegas '92 was also top notch - especially Sunday.
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Hey Blair!I remember this show well, as it was Jon's 40th birthday, and a smokin' show to boot! He was so pumped! So many memories of dancing next to you and Regan...and we're still dancing! That New Year's Eve may well have been the memorable lobster boil! I do remember that not having to do the New Year's shows that year was a bit of a relief for me, too. By the end of a New Year's run, it sometimes felt like we had survived the Bataan Death March o' fun. Not to sound ungrateful... I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
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Thank God for the "Contrarians" like David Latavla or we'd never get the Picks like Dick's who could just cruise into '92 and pick out the show that was just beckoning.
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Two great weekends of Grateful Dead music in the Valley of the Sun. 12/6/92 Here Comes Sunshine as the cloudy morning gave way to sunshine was just amazing. Wish the 12/9/90 and 12/6/92 shows would get released on CD. Arizona still not represented in Dick's or Dave's Picks.