With October 2 1987, I arrive at another show at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. A venue where the Grateful Dead have played nearly 40 times, and what makes this show special is that it is the first time they have played there. The Shoreline was built in 1985/1986 by concert promoter (and close friend of the band) Bill Graham, and originally, the plan was for the Dead to play the very first show of the venue there in 1986. However, due to Jerry Garcia's health problems (he was in a diabetic coma at the time), that did obviously not happen.
The Shoreline was eventually opened by comedian Rosanne Barr, who provided the opening act for Julio Iglesias (which is just a bit different from the Dead), but that is beside the point. So it took a bit longer than expected, but in 1987 the band was finally able to play at the Shoreline Amphitheatre, and they did so with a solid show. Cold Rain and Snow is a fine opener; you get a nice cover of Little Red Rooster and an excellent Me and My Uncle that transitions into Mexicali Blues. Even Stagger Lee, a song that doesn't always appeal to me, is worthwhile, and Far From Me, sung by Brent Mydland, is also nice. A bit of a shame about Let It Grow at the end of the first set. I keep thinking it's a song that still needs to grow on me (lame joke, I know), but honestly, so far there isn't much movement in it. Bob Weir's vocals are just too forced at times, and he seems to realize it too in the "And listen to the thunder shouting I am! I am! I am! I am" part.
The second set is also nice with China Cat Sunflower, which transitions very smoothly into I Know You Rider. So, just a very solid show, but one with few surprises. I could have sworn they were going to play Iko Iko, but it ended up being Man Smart, Woman Smarter (the lesser choice of the two if you ask me), though The Wheel is always a nice way to exit Drums/Space. Furthermore, Phil Lesh's blunder at the beginning of Gimme Some Lovin' stands out, as does, of course, that terrible shirt he's wearing. It's also strange to see Weir playing in a Madonna t-shirt anyway (a combination I actually hadn't expected; would Madonna ever have worn a Dead shirt?), but obviously, it has no effect on their performance. However, this does feel a bit like a more laid-back show: it's all a bit more easygoing, and Mydland isn't going completely wild like he usually does. For a moment it looked like it was going to be a Dylan-free show, but then All Along the Watchtower makes an appearance after all, and they close with Don't Ease Me In and the unexpected Black Muddy River. 1987 was, of course, the year of the unexpected success of In the Dark, so perhaps it is even stranger that they only play 1 song from that album, although the Dead have always done as they please, of course, and that is precisely what makes them so good.
Visually just as ugly as the Shoreline show from 1991, by the way. It is a huge shame, though, that they only have the versions with those psychedelic effects... It doesn't look good in 2026 anymore, and I wonder if that even worked back in 1987. Simply put, this is a solid show with little to criticize, but the chemistry isn't there. Admittedly, with a few exceptions, such as that amazing China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider as the opener of set 2.
Tracklist:
- Cold Rain and Snow
- Little Red Rooster
- Stagger Lee
- Me and My Uncle
- Mexicali Blues
- Row Jimmy
- Far From Me
- Let It Grow
- China Cat Sunflower
- I Know You Rider
- Man Smart, Woman Smarter
- Ship of Fools
- Truckin'
- Drums
- Space
- The Wheel
- Gimme Some Lovin'
- All Along the Watchtower
- Don't Ease Me In
- Black Muddy River
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