Another Shoreline show (the third one, if I'm not mistaken, that we could see thanks to Shakedown Stream), but this time one from 1989. The Grateful Dead were booked for three shows in a row again, and this was the first of that run. Shoreline isn't one of my favorite venues where the group has played, but as I've said before: no Grateful Dead show is the same, and you never really know what to expect. That is evident in this late September show as well, which contains at least one big surprise.
It was the first time in 19 (!) years that they played Death Don't Have No Mercy, and my god, what an amazing version it turned out to be. I am and remain a big fan of Brent Mydland's voice, but I never expected him to take on a verse. It is one of my favorite songs anyway, and I think this might just be my favorite performance. Besides this very pleasant surprise, there is plenty else to experience in this show. The opener, Good Times > Feel Like a Stranger, immediately sets the tone. Mydland delivers a delightful solo on Franklin’s Tower (although I am a bit surprised they didn't play Slipknot and Help on the Way, but I would gladly trade those for Death Don’t Have No Mercy), and that transition from China Cat Sunflower to I Know You Rider is also just really cool. Admittedly, there are a number of songs I could have perfectly well lived without (Wang Dang Doodle just doesn't do it for me), but I'm not complaining.
You also get a double dose of Mydland served up with We Can Run and Blow Away, although it is a shame that the latter ends somewhat abruptly. It was building up beautifully, with Mydland suddenly shouting “Hold it,” after which everything goes quiet and we get some tuning before Playing in the Band kicks in... It felt a bit like an anticlimax. However, it is a band in top form. Jerry Garcia has dusted off his Wolf guitar (which was brought back from retirement somewhere in the late 80s to serve for some MIDI synthesizer experiments) and is soloing away with gusto. He is also just wonderful vocally, and that adds just that little bit extra to songs like Terrapin Station. He also just seems very relaxed and smiles at everyone from the first second to the last, although that might also be partly due to the fact that you regularly see him lighting up a joint. It was also a show with quite a few technical issues (that tuning issue between Blow Away and Playing in the Band, but also during Terrapin Station, the guitar strap broke off Phil Lesh’s bass, meaning they had to improvise for a moment), but they don't let it get them down.
Many of the shows can be found as audio on Archive, but it is also so much more fun to watch the visuals, so be sure to check that out on YouTube! Those little winks between Jerry and Brent are priceless and just give you a tremendously good feeling. It just goes to show that every show can offer something different; one moment you might suddenly hear a song they haven't played in almost 20 years...
Tracklist:
- Good Times
- Feel Like a Stranger
- Franklin's Tower
- Wang Dang Doodle
- Jack-A-Roe
- Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
- We Can Run
- Bird Song
- Promised Land
- China Cat Sunflower
- I Know You Rider
- Blow Away
- Playing in the Band
- Terrapin Station
- Drums
- Space
- I Need a Miracle
- Death Don't Have No Mercy
- Sugar Magnolia
- Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
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