Grateful Dead 1985-03-29

Friday, December 21, 2007


The Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead is the granddaddy of taper friendly bands, and Archive.org is the internet repository for Dead shows. There are over 2,000 live Dead shows to explore. They come in two flavors downloadable shows (like this one) and stream only. The downloadable shows tend to be audience recordings, while the streaming shows are sound board recordings that the band has or might release on CD.

The 1980's are a period that I haven't explored with the Grateful Dead, so I wanted to choose a mid-decade to share for this post. The sonic mixture of this show is rich and tasty (if that can be used to describe sound). As a bass player I tend to focus first on that area of the spectrum, and for this show Phil Lesh was on fire. His bass tone during this period retained his earlier upper end definition, while adding a smooth mid-range growl.
"So we are pretty convinced we don't want to play huge stadiums unless we can play them well." -Jerry Garcia
The first part of the set is stronger than the second. I love the fact they opened up with "Cold Rain & Snow." This is a staple of Garcia's acoustic work, and it was enjoyable to hear the whole band playing it. "Johnny B. Goode" is notable for its fast tempo, but isn't my favorite Dead version. Overall a very satisfying show. The set played out like this:
Set I
Cold Rain & Snow
Down In The Bottom > I Ain't Superstitious
Friend Of The Devil
Supplication Jam >
My Brother Esau
Tennessee Jed
Minglewood Blues
Donít Ease Me In

Set II
Terrapin Station >
Women Are Smarter >
Goiní Down The Road Feeliní Bad > Jam >
Baby What You Want Me to Do? > Jam >
Drumz >
Space >
Wharf Rat >
Throwiní Stones >
Johnny B. Goode
E: Brokedown Palace

This show was recorded by the Oade brothers. Thank you, sound quality is A.

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