1990/07/21 World Music Theatre, Tinley Park, IL, USA

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I have to admit, I always struggle a bit with those shows from July 1990. Not that they are of such terrible quality (although they are somewhat average), but it was on July 26 1990, that keyboardist Brent Mydland died of an overdose, and it always gives me a bittersweet feeling to see him having so much fun just a few days earlier. This performance at Tinley Park is the first of a set of three and is therefore also the last venue where the Grateful Dead performed in this lineup.

It is therefore a bit of a shock that they open with Touch of Grey (how beautiful I’ve always found that I will get by/We will get by), but it packs a punch right away, and I am starting to appreciate Greatest Story Ever Told more and more. Just like Jack-A-Roe, by the way. In the first set, we also get a fairly rare Mydland song (they only played Just a Little Light 21 times in total, of which this is the last performance, but it is a lovely song) and a somewhat lukewarm Friend of the Devil. In general, that first set - there are always a few exceptions - feels a bit tame. I have heard Bird Song in much better versions, and Queen Jane Approximately has been better too. During the set break, however, the gentlemen have had a pick-me-up and start with a wonderful Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain, followed by Playing in the Band. It is at moments like these that I really do miss Donna Godchaux, because for some reason Weir decides to do a scream just like Donna... Not exactly the desired result, but Garcia apparently found it hilarious.

For those who want to see the video of this: brace yourself for the worst camera crew ever. Tinley Park had only been open for a little over two months (Cher opened it on June 2, 1990), and it looks like the camera crew was either stoned or completely wasted. During Just a Little Light, the shot focuses on Weir instead of Mydland, for example, and at other moments it really looks like the person behind the camera has fallen over... On the other hand, you don't get those damn outdated and especially ugly effects during Space of Drums, like in those other shows, which is a plus. In any case, the second set is already a lot better. Crazy Fingers remains a top track, and it is such a damn shame that Weir insisted on picking up Playing in the Band again. He already hints at the song after Crazy Fingers, but Dear Mr. Fantasy is such a great Mydland song and takes precedence. Although Mydland wasn't always in top voice here, I would have loved to see the Hey Jude transition just like they did on July 2 1989. Weir, however, perseveres, causing us to return to Playing in the Band. Otherwise, there were few surprises with One More Saturday Night, and they ended with The Mighty Quinn.

Spring 1990 was still a blessed year for Deadheads, or so I’ve been told, but apparently I’m mostly fishing in the summer period. So it is high time to look for something else, and since the weekly Shakedown Stream has also ended by now, I need to find another way to get my weekly dose of the Grateful Dead video. There are plenty of CDs or Archives, but there is still quite a bit of video material on YouTube. To be continued, no doubt!


Tracklist:

  1. Touch of Grey
  2. Greatest Story Ever Told
  3. Jack-A-Roe
  4. Walkin' Blues
  5. Friend of the Devil
  6. Just a Little Light
  7. Queen Jane Approximately
  8. Bird Song
  9. Scarlet Begonias
  10. Fire on the Mountain
  11. Playing in the Band
  12. He's Gone
  13. Drums
  14. Space
  15. I Need a Miracle
  16. Crazy Fingers
  17. Dear Mr. Fantasy
  18. Playing in the Band
  19. One More Saturday Night
  20. Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)


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