whitt December 19, 2012, 13:41:29

“Formerly The Warlocks” 10.8-9.89 is pretty great for late 80s dead

Jay December 19, 2012, 13:45:04

3/29/90 First Branford with the Dead. Stellar!

Rich M December 19, 2012, 13:54:13

Best of 85, IMHO: Richmond Coliseum 11/1/85

Ryan December 19, 2012, 14:32:15

7/9/95 – Last time I saw Jerry.

steve b December 19, 2012, 14:53:04

that “so many roads” from 7/9/95 that gets me everytime.

Doc December 19, 2012, 15:08:18

best dead show I personally attended was RFK 91, first set all older tunes, and 2nd set was Help>Slip>Frank>estimated>Darkstar>drums/space>stella (I think) lovelight and Baby Blue for the E!

Mary Danboise December 19, 2012, 16:34:38

I think Lake Placid, NY was 1984 – amazing!

Ben December 19, 2012, 17:57:19

I always loved the Hampton, VA shows. The 11/1/85 show at Richmond that Rich mentioned were notable as were the Spectrum Easter weekend shows.

Chris Marshall December 19, 2012, 17:59:08

I almost agree with Rich M above except I would say it was the 2nd night of the 1985 Richmond shows: 11-2-85. By far the greatest weekend of music I ever experienced.

George Somerville December 19, 2012, 17:59:45

Hampton 10.9.89. No contest. There were a lot of good shows in the 1989-90 time frame, but that one was purely off the charts. 10.8.89 was the best show I had ever seen or heard, and 10.9 was better.

Ben December 19, 2012, 18:05:22

I always loved the Hampton, VA shows. The 11/1/85 show at Richmond that Rich mentioned were notable as were the Spectrum Easter weekend shows.

Shatsky December 19, 2012, 18:06:28

10/31/91 is one that stands out . The whole run was shrouded by sadness.. but high quality GD for sure . The June run in 1990 at Shoreline was pretty freakin good too …

Mark December 19, 2012, 19:25:08

NYE 1990 with Branforc Marsalis

zimbo December 19, 2012, 19:47:54

Too many to choose from, but Silver Stadium, Rochester, NY, late June 1987 stands out in my mind. Great day Great show; just before they hooked up with Bob Dylan that summer! They did an outstanding “ All Along the Wathtower that show!

Mark Lewandowski December 19, 2012, 20:14:17

July 3, 1984. Starlight Theater, KCMO. My third Dead show, but the first one where I “got it.” My brother and I were just a few feet from Phil. It was hot as hell, and after the first set closer of a transcendent “Looks Like Rain” and a ripping “Deal,” we wandered around in a daze. The second set opening “Scarlet-Touch-Fire” cemented my life long love affair with the GD.

Donald Jarrell December 19, 2012, 20:44:28

“Formerly The Warlocks” 10.8-9.89. Everything about those shows was special. The tour had been announced Hampton or any other venue close to Richmond, VA (my home) wasn’t on the schedule. I was sitting at home listening to the radio when I hear the DJ say we have a concert announcement “Formerly The Warlocks” will be at the Hampton Coliseum on such and such date tickets are on sale now only at the Richmond Coliseum box office and The Hampton box office. I jump up breaking all kinds of moving violations racing to the bank for cash and then to the R.C. box office I get there and I see five or six people in line all kind of stunned like me. I’ve heard people say 10/9 is overrated guess you had to be there, the band gave everything they had both nights but when they hit the first notes of Dark Star a cheer went up that I haven’t felt since. After We Bid You Goodnight was over and the lights went up the applause went on for a very long time we all knew we had experienced something very special indeed.

Bill Brina December 19, 2012, 20:59:42

03/26/90: Third night of their first three night stand at the then-new Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, NY. Always a treat to be able to WALK from my home to a Grateful Dead show! The last time I heard Brent, and arguably Brent’s greatest show ever. A scorching “Just A Little Light”; THE definitive live version of “Blow Away”, a soulful “Dear Mr. Fantasy” and a fun, out of left field rockin duet with Phil on “Gimme Some Lovin!” “Picasso Moon” was dark, weird and spacy; “I Need a Miracle” flat out rocked, and Jerry brought it all home with “Morning Dew”. The last GREAT Grateful Dead show I ever attended. BTW, it’s one of the shows featured in the Spring ’90 tour box set that was released earlier this year.

mike December 20, 2012, 07:23:49

7 17 89 alpine valley