#deadfreaksunite 1982

#deadfreaksunite 1982
tape-by-tape notes

An extended listening project tracking the Grateful Dead’s evolution, recording by recording. Originally posted on Twitter on each show’s 40th/50th anniversary and edited here for readability and occasional revision/correction and minor expansion. Many shows streamable via archive.org. Expanded notes for many shows (with press, scene reports, and images) can be found on Twitter by searching for my username (bourgwick) and the show date. Please consult JerryBase for the latest data, Dead Sources for original articles (1965-1975), and LostLiveDead/Hootrollin for deep dives.

[1965] [1966] [1967] [1968] [1969] [1970] [1971] [1972] [1973] [1974] [1975] [1976] [1977] [1978] [1979] [1980] [1981] [1982] [1983]

2/16/82 warfield theater: a benefit for many heady organizations, including @seva_foundation, @NaropaU, @rilkotrust, & more. synth watch – a bendy solo in ALTHEA & more washes on LOOKS LIKE RAIN. weir watch – spiel developing a little more shape. “into each life some rain must fall” he adds here, an ella fitzgerald reference. hard to confirm but i’m pretty sure that, with this show, mydland switches from the chiming dyna-rhodes keyboard to a piano-sounding set of slightly-duller sounding electric keys. as band takes stage for 2nd set, crowd claps in unison & garcia uses it to set tempo for crisp & forceful 12-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER, a just-slightly-updated bounce for ’82. talk about literally reading the room. 74-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > TERRAPIN STATION > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > BLACK PETER > PLAYING IN THE BAND > AROUND & AROUND > GOOD LOVIN’. brief but cool PLAYING jam latches into quiet conversation from the drop, coalescing in/out of mellow dust storms. for the warfield, a surprising amount of wooks unheadily wooking during SPACE. spookiness & thumb piano splashes feel a bit dimmed on audience tape. TRUCKIN’ sways into NOBODY’S FAULT jam. brisk BLACK PETER with arcing solo that bends delightedly into jam.

2/17/82 warfield theater: a benefit for many groups, a precursor to the rex foundation. weir plays only covers in his 1st set slots, mostly ones i don’t care for, but the usually sloggy ALL OVER NOW flares a bit. garcia pulls out brisk but uneventful SUGAREE & 9-minute BIRD SONG with dense piano/guitar cloud peak. after CC RIDER, can hear lesh call out for bear, still on the crew, just before his move to australia. weir hits a delay at start of LOSER, which seems to open up cool space for a semi-new conversational pocket. solid 22-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN where weir’s conservative delay sets tone for spare jam. drummers lay way back, weir leading charge to slightly atonal peak. early FIRE pyrotechnics settling to chill flows. 75-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > NOT FADE AWAY > WHARF RAT > SUGAR MAGNOLIA. after weir stops scatting, ESTIMATED keeps peaking, coming to smooth ending, a seemingly amnesiac moment starting EYES, settling at comfortable mid-tempo. SPACE drifts into allegedly the last version of garcia’s TIGER meltdown, with hart going appropriately berserker on thumb piano, excellent prelude to THE WHEEL. all late set songs flower briefly into openness, with fun spillover chaos into SUGAR MAGNOLIA. apparently, the 1st show dead show for phil lesh’s soon-to-be-wife jill, recreated loosely by furthur in 2011.

2/19/82 san diego: some spritely garcia in 1st set DIRE WOLF & CASSIDY but show doesn’t really pick up until the 2nd set jam, 59-minute LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > STELLA BLUE. LOST SAILOR begins with short, melodious bass solo by lesh, totally uncharacteristic. SAINT has open-feeling middle, then melts into not-quite-SPANISH JAM mysteriousness before garcia bails. weir & mydland & drummers build assertive jagged thrills, unusually jazzy keys. post-DRUMZ is essentially 18-minute OTHER ONE with lonnnnnggggggg build, beginning with garcia/weir dialogue. never gets too far out, but during the first quieter half it does get pretty far in.

2/20/82 san diego: last of their 9 shows at golden hall over 12 years (& last in san diego city limits ’til ’93). tape begins with some taper teamwork, with only one mic set up when the band hits stage, right channel popping on just as band hits the opening JACK STRAW. amusingly, vocal mics aren’t on at first, either. audience member nearby notices the taper in between songs: “he’s got a fuckin’ microphone on his head… that’s *cool* man.” also some entertaingly stoned taper chatter after CC RIDER about whether or not to pause. garcia finds melodious & inventive ragtime mellowness during his last TENNESSEE JED solo. surprisingly taps back into the same delighted space in MEXICALI BLUES break, pushing it a few bright choruses longer than usual. 12-minute LET IT GROW starts hot & goes volcanic. 18-minute set-opening FRANKLIN’S TOWER > SAMSON & DELILAH has more bright flecks, though goes bit in/out of focus. cool segue, though, almost accidental. 62-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > BLACK PETER > AROUND & AROUND > ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT.  “play something different, bob!” someone hassles just before PLAYING, which starts almost gently. jam moves through the-1-is-where-you-think-it-is jazz dances, floating/speeding/darting/thinning/spacing/ever-spacing. after the guitarists disappear, mydland plays an instrumental draft of his song ONLY A FOOL (debuted & played once in ’84), which sounds dramatic in an ‘80s pop/soundtrack kinda way. there’ve been a few mydland/drummer jams, but 1st time it falls more into song category. SPACE churns up an impressive chaos-cloud that almost resolves briefly into a proper jam, dissipates, & re-forms into TRUCKIN’. the “new york” lyric gets a cheer *even in san diego.*

2/21/82 pauley pavilion: last of a half-dozen gigs at @UCLA’s pauley pavilion. 12-minute SHAKEDOWN STREET opens with prominent electric keys, mydland bouncing in dialogue with garcia. dense 10-minute BIRD SONG. jazzy staccato chords by weir, mydland chatters, drummers flow, garcia ties room together for final melodic arrival. fuego garcia throughout 13-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER once transition jam gets going. slim jam sequence, though: 51-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > STELLA BLUE. ESTIMATED crystallizes/fractalizes only briefly. midtempo EYES flickers but doesn’t open. brief SPACE has short garcia/hand-DRUMZ zone but never solidifies until drumless slide into NOT FADE AWAY. sensitive STELLA BLUE; no huge peak, but beautiful.

3/13/82 reno: last ever reno gig. speedy but exuberant 11-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER closes 1st set, with garcia threading breathless inside-out melodies all through the transition, like a magician pulling an unending ribbon from a hat. good party flow on set-opening FEEL LIKE A STRANGER / FRANKLIN’S TOWER combo with bright garcia. all turn a solidly weird corner in the STRANGER jam, landing in bizarro funk, reeled back all too soon. mydland’s new keys distorting quietly but hideously on soundboard. 69-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > BLACK PETER > AROUND & AROUND > GOOD LOVIN’. once again ESTIMATED unspools all the way. EYES is at early ‘70s tempo but garcia still not stating the full chord changes, sounding less dynamic. SPACE stays motionless besides chaos that lands in brief 4th world-ish zone of percussion/staccato guitar/feedback. OTHER ONE wilds a bit, with brief riff that sounds flashingly like DEAR PRUDENCE (or LUCY IN THE SKY WITH DIAMONDS?) en route to BLACK PETER.

3/14/82 davis: “there’s something we forgot to do last night,” weir says, opening the sunday show with ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT. the ‘80s were wild, man. new topical lyric: “president comes on the news… his wife says ‘don’t get crazy, ron…’” SUGAREE feeling a little muted. weir finds a more spacious delay guitar part for RAMBLE ON ROSE (as with LOSER at the warfield), subtly new feel. almost subliminal conversational piano on evenly-flapping BIRD SONG. LET IT GROW heavier with mydland’s new keys. 68-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > WHARF RAT > SUGAR MAGNOLIA. PLAYING drips watercolor hues, with a lovely blur that pairs it with SCARLET for the only time besides 8/6/74, seemingly to band’s surprise. SCARLET/FIRE is a lil subdued, though mydland shreds a bit during FIRE. in SPACE, weir plays a deconstructed HAPPY BIRTHDAY for lesh, 42 at midnight. jam into NOT FADE AWAY is cool example of playing around the groove without anybody stating it fully.

4/2/82 duke: jerry garcia & phil lesh switch spots (garcia moving right, next to keys), a setup that will last the rest of their career. very quickly, garcia & mydland show off the new side-by-side dynamic, some great quiet playing mid-SUGAREE. another joyous extra-long MEXICALI BLUES guitar break. mydland scatting all over LITTLE RED ROOSTER. at least it’s on one of my least favorite covers. 70-minute HE’S GONE > TRUCKIN’ > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > BLACK PETER > SUGAR MAGNOLIA. HE’S GONE widens from blues piano, solidifies into a new shape, & moves towards THE OTHER ONE before drummers crash into the marching band intro to TRUCKIN’. garcia in sensitive control of his wounded later-period voice on the quiet songs. weir watch: adding vocal echoes in TRUCKIN’, “strange trip! strange trip!” & staggering just behind garcia with a second “get back truckin’ on.” 2nd one is fun; would be cool with harmonies. great final cartoony mutation in TRUCKIN’ before surrendering to the percussion zones. not totally sure what’s happening during the hand DRUMZ segment, but i think it’s giant blown-out drones from hart & the beam. after 3 years with dyna-rhodes, mydland’s new yamaha means he no longer has to struggle to be heard, thick electric keys craziness during extended OTHER ONE prelude. weir watch, cont.: repeating falsetto “just a dream” during SUNSHINE DAYDREAM outro.

4/3/82 norfolk: a rare non-hampton spring visit to virginia. with just exactly perfect level of WTF, the dead play their only show ever in norfolk, virginia & don’t play THE PROMISED LAND. since when is weir too cool for school? an absolutely infinite feeling crawl through CC RIDER. jfc. 10-minute BIRD SONG has a few inspired arcs & quiet guitar/piano spaces despite some slop-o-vision moments. 25-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN finds verdant drumless valley during transition, nice extended FIRE ending with brief cooldown before last peak. 59-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > GOOD TIME BLUES > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > STELLA BLUE. ESTIMATED topples into cascades & busy/messy tempo-resistant EYES, starting ultra-slow & doubling, groove sliding all over. unchill but not unfun, purdy coda. barely a transition into GOOD TIME BLUES, more like a musical shrug, garcia invisible except a few burning solos. SPACE comes galloping with hand-DRUMZ but sputters out entirely. crowd sings along to NOT FADE AWAY during outro, mydland scats atop them.

4/5/82 philadelphia: garcia shreds a good bunch during show-opening JACK STRAW, but not much happening in the 1st set. the electric DEEP ELEM BLUES is a reliably fun song. how about that? 70-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > SHIP OF FOOLS > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > PLAYING IN THE BAND > WHARF RAT > GOOD LOVIN’ cracks open enough to feel like the first real jam sequence of the year. PLAYING turns dramatic corner & settles gracefully into SHIP OF FOOLS. the real action happens as SHIP OF FOOLS melts back into a PLAYING-adjacent jam, mydland getting aggressive on new yamaha, dancing briefly with garcia. garcia bails quickly & the drummers try to take over, but mydland & weir hold their ground & find rumbling new territory. SPACE is blurred into non-distinction on the audience tape, catching some lolling jam space beyond THE WHEEL & eventually a big surfing outro to WHARF RAT, garcia jumping peak to peak.

4/6/82 philadelphia: COLD RAIN & SNOW opener for the big storm, though heads argue about if the storm was before/during/after the show. lotsa garcia pep. the era of unexpectedly thrilling MEXICALI BLUES solos continues. show highlighted by 13-minute SHAKEDOWN STREET 2nd set opener, getting into bubbling garcia/mydland conversation near end that floats in place. as song folds up, the faintest memory of CRAZY FINGERS, not played since ’76. 54-minute TERRAPIN STATION > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > THE OTHER ONE > MORNING DEW. brief starlight jam in TERRAPIN & scattered zones elsewhere. TRUCKIN’ barrels right into THE OTHER ONE like ye olden days, but one of the shortest ever, 2nd verse only, just over 2 minutes. garcia hits a big drop into the 1st MORNING DEW of the year, which stays pretty sleepy (with nice dynamics) until gnarly outro solo. 1st IT’S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE of the year sounds lovely with mydland’s new piano sound.

4/8/82 syracuse: 1st set is barely an hour. expansive FEEL LIKE A STRANGER opener. garcia taps into deep melodic sweetness on THEY LOVE EACH OTHER, both vocals & solos. pillowy jams through set-closing LET IT GROW. “we’re gonna take a short nap,” sez weir. 75-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER > PLAYING IN THE BAND is a whole barrel full, though some of the jams feel fast-forwarded. always love the perpetually-rare UNCLE JOHN’S even if the jam never quite blossoms, slashing somewhat musically into ESTIMATED, which billows pretty exquisitely by the end. then garcia butterflies into a faster-than-you’ll-ever-be EYES, which also has gorgeous moments. garcia kinda shorts the BLACK PETER solo to lead the band back into the PLAYING reprise, which ends up being a brief (& seemingly accidental) garcia near-soliloquy in a few spots, but an unusual late show spotlight moment.

4/9/82 rochester: 1st set finds a quiet corner in which to curl up during 9-minute BIRD SONG, clear little garcia cascades & ripples. some happening squiggly chaos in the 1st part of CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER. an unusually start/stop show after the previous night’s segue-fest. pretty much a full stop after LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE before 45-minute DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > STELLA BLUE > GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > SATISFACTION. a few hot licks (especially as THE OTHER ONE settles in) but little jamming. SATISFACTION veers from eyeroll-dumb (weir & mydland’s vocal outro) to good-dumb (weir popping off few falsetto shrieks).

4/11/82 nassau coliseum: easter sunday. digging garcia’s setlist variety on the tour, but in 18-minute MISSISSIPPI HALF-STEP > FRANKLIN’S TOWER, he’s forgetting many lyrics on the former & takes the latter at deeply un-chill tempo, but bright & convincing & sometimes piercing transition. mydland scats a solo on LITTLE RED ROOSTER. let’s keep it to weir’s blues, buddy. 1st rare ROW JIMMY of ’82 sounds nice with new electric piano. l’il shaky but cool bulletpoint guitar fills near end. “wake of the flood” pairing with 12-minute LET IT GROW, delicious flares. 58-minute HE’S GONE > TRUCKIN’ > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER > AROUND & AROUND > GOOD LOVIN’. usual pathway into TRUCKIN’ which hits its big peaks well & then opening a tiny window of wavy squigglation. signs of life in SPACE, 2 pockets of action. some hand-DRUMZ & garcialogues. enticing entwined guitar conversation that seems headed somewhere new for a long moment that somehow ripcords into NOT FADE AWAY.

4/12/82 nassau coliseum: a pretty fun monday. this show has the dubious honor of both sets opening with the band’s similar sounding boomer calypso shuffle covers, IKO IKO & MAN SMART, WOMAN SMARTER, respectively. my brain would’ve thought it was broken & looping. but: hot show, no foolin’. for whatever weird reason, ’82 is a hot period for MEXICALI BLUES & this one rips. but so even does LOOKS LIKE RAIN (delicate garcia figures wrap around outro & build) & TENNESSEE JED (with big bouncing weave). brief & soaring BIRD SONG, the band lifting together. rare 2nd set SUGAREE, 14 minutes, channeling days of yore. 55-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > STELLA BLUE. the jam in ESTIMATED gets far out then resolves (like in the song) back to the home key & makes a bridge. sorta. another multi-episode content-rich SPACE, free piano blurtations & feedback & garcia squigglies lay groundwork for a properly roaring wall o’ noise. i swear a hear a mutated/inverted HAPPY BIRTHDAY theme in the chaos, too. weir watch: skips the 1st OTHER ONE verse by mistake, so he corrects by… singing the 2nd verse again. one of the rare versions of the era to let a little loose, this time garcia the one holding it together while weir freaks. weir watch: SUNSHINE DAYDREAM keeps expanding & now involves crowd work, call/response on the phrase “sweet dream,” followed by mondo falsetto. one commenter says weir jumped into the pit? SATISFACTION encore repeats the formula with huge crowd singalong.

4/14/82 glens falls: attendees remember announcements about bad acid, cliche but real tonight, or at least the announcements were. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER gently sprawls, mydland leading jam for nice moment on electric piano before garcia beams/floats over a few more choruses. 1st LAZY LIGHTNING > SUPPLICATION & I NEED A MIRACLE of the year, a little slurry, apparently the result of a request. 14-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER has patient jam that feels just a breath from the FEELIN’ GROOVY transition. 53-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > I NEED A MIRACLE > BLACK PETER > PLAYING IN THE BAND. deep PLAYING. garcia/mydland get heavy while weir does seagull squawks; heavier when weir actually plays guitar. 5 minutes of tastiness after garcia bails. 1st MIRACLE of the year. before i started this project, i would’ve guessed they were playing that, like, every other night in the early ‘80s. shocked to find it both rare & fresh-feeling compared to other late-set rawkers, though maybe just ‘cuz it’s rare.

4/15/82 providence: “nothing works,” weir is saying as tape starts & band starts into tuning jam that feels surprisingly deep, sadly dropping it once garcia’s guitar comes online. quiet raindrop guitar by garcia dances with electric piano on LOOKS LIKE RAIN. 22-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN is just slightly rushed, finding a thoughtful place in the transition, but not a lot of climbing, discovering more of a valley route to FIRE. 62-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > HE’S GONE > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > MORNING DEW. lotta yelling in ESTIMATED but floats down nicely into HE’S GONE, which rips into a fun, uptempo weir/mydland jam the moment garcia leaves. SPACE floats around lazily on clouds until one turns into TRUCKIN’. a vague memory of the MIND LEFT BODY JAM (or at least a few descending chords) land in MORNING DEW, more dynamic than tour’s previous version, maybe less of a peak.

4/17/82 hartford: there should be a clever term when weir only plays cover songs in his 1st set slots. any ideas? on the other hand, nice needle-threading/weaving by garcia & mydland in BIRD SONG. 15-minute SHAKEDOWN STREET with excellent garcia/mydland chatter. after LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE, garcia bails instantly before 56-minute SPANISH JAM > DRUMZ > SPACE > UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > NOT FADE AWAY > WHARF RAT > AROUND & AROUND > ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT. mydland holds onto a thread & weir steers band into SPANISH JAM. more unusually, though, lesh sticks around, popping through with lead bass. though garcia’s gone, the jam comes alive in the way a lot of early ‘80s jams don’t. lesh enters early during SPACE, too, though disappears into the muck, occasionally penetrated by duck calls & garcia noodles. without a PLAYING IN THE BAND reprise to resolve to, some nice question marks in UNCLE JOHN’S BAND. weir drops donald duck impression. garcia fully inside IT’S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE encore & the guitar breaks, building it so well that the metronomic drumming almost feels like a punchline.

4/18/82 hartford: lesh comes alive. 1st set wakes up with 13-minute closing LET IT GROW, digging deep into the conversational middle & especially a buoyant outro jam that grabs onto a new pattern & surfs a new pattern into the shore. 47-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > BLACK PETER. slithering PLAYING jam glides to nice peak. semi-chill EYES back in the “new” ’81 groove pattern with nice harmonized outro jam by garcia/weir/mydland. for 2nd straight night, lesh makes his presence felt after being kinda AWOL in recent years. labeled PHIL’S EARTHQUAKE SPACE, should maybe be titled THEME FROM SAN FRANCISCO JAM, band spacing on 1936 movie theme as lesh narrates 76th anniversary of SF earthquake. barely a segue into BLACK PETER, even, just a wisp of a guitar bridge. as garica winds song down, he veers into the PLAYING reprise, but (with audible onstage confusion) weir starts 13-minute SUGAR MAGNOLIA > PLAYING IN THE BAND REPRISE > SUNSHINE DAYDREAM.

4/19/82 baltimore: a good deal of fun across both sets. slightly frayed but good energy. garaged-up SHE’S ON THE ROAD AGAIN. drummers & garcia give weir shit off-mic before CASSIDY (about song entrances?). some melodic bass gets cheers, which continues through IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE ROSES. welcome back, phil! in a garcia song slot, CUMBERLAND BLUES retains a charge. weir watch: new preacher persona. “alright children, i’mma tell you a story…” & drummers seem to think it’s going to be SAMSON & DELILAH, before weir shifts into MAN SMART, WOMAN SMARTER. really a packed 2nd set, with a properly histrionic FEEL LIKE A STRANGER getting a little jammy to set up rambling 78-minute FRANKLIN’S TOWER > ESTIMATED PROPHET > TERRAPIN STATION > DRUMS > SPACE > THE WHEEL > TRUCKIN’ > STELLA BLUE, a variety of payoffs within. very little that’s graceful about this FRANKLIN’S TOWER but there’s a lot that’s fun, kaleidoscopic flashes of colors & chords & flourishes & more bass. ESTIMATED ascends into the proverbial shaft of light pretty gloriously. labeled PHIL’S RAVEN SPACE, lesh riffs spookily on local goth hero edgar allan poe (“not exactly the boy next do’,” as lou reed said), while kretuzmann (?) cackles & quacks. satisfying commitment to the bit, though kreutzmann breaks scene & makes nitrous/dentist jokes. stately roll into THE WHEEL with some nice inventive turns. weir watch: “there’s something we can do about it / we can change it.” i believe this is the 1st time he’s equated GOOD LOVIN’ with social justice.

5/21/82 greek theatre: featuring gigantic new @courtenaytiedye backdrops & with staggered start times, earlier each evening, tonight at 7pm. lovely springtime energy throughout, 1st set taking flight with 11-minute BIRD SONG, flapping around the jeweled mysteries just as the sun is setting over berkeley, occasionally finding & floating on gentle new currents. some just off-mic full-band chatter before the set starts as they negotiate song order.
lesh [semi-maniacally]: PLAYING IN THE BAND & then UNCLE JOHN’S BAND & then fuck ‘em!
kreutzmann [chuckling]: is that what you call it?
2nd set gets right to jamming, with the drummers counting along with weir’s count-off into 62-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > PLAYING IN THE BAND > BLACK PETER, jumping into mid-set break extra quickly, but not insubstantially. garcia & weir sketch PLAYING into wistfulness while on the path to UNCLE JOHN’S, garcia playing rhythm & weir playing lead figures. and, following UNCLE JOHN’S outro, busy & purposeful conversation full of 2-guitar chatter before garcia exits for weir/mydland zones. some serious low vibrations late in DRUMZ, possibly beam, possibly bass. ultra-present lesh in noisy & dissociative SPACE playing busy & weird & deep along with squalling garcia, distorting the master soundboard tape. weir (supposedly) squonks pennywhistle occasionally. deliberate but still fresh-feeling climb out of THE WHEEL, moving towards the PLAYING reprise. since the ’72 versions, so many details have disappeared from SUGAR MAGNOLIA, pretty new feel, almost a different mode of garciaing.

5/22/82 greek theatre: 5pm start. expansive & brisk SUGAREE with a big garcia peak settling into a mellow pocket before last verse with B3 & weir guitar delay. big buckets of sloppiness, but smokin’ CUMBERLAND BLUES & convincing open territory in LAZY LIGHTNING > SUPPLICATION jam. 2nd set opens with solid 12-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER, big fun in the jam with super conversational dancing around as jam gets going with bouncing lesh & mydland piano, garcia finding a few new joyous dips & loop-de-loops in the transition. 63-minute HE’S GONE > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > WHARF RAT > AROUND & AROUND > GOOD LOVIN’ doesn’t feel terribly inspired. jagged bluesish HE’S GONE coda, weir apparently playing pennywhistle in DRUMZ. wavy gravy watching behind band. SPACE builds up a fairly coherent head of shapeshifting steam with squalling garcia, noisy weir, busy mydland, & even lesh getting back into the game, but NOT FADE AWAY intro is almost like a bubble popping. weir watch: “there’s a darkness upon this world, that’s what everybody seems to say…” & all you need is… GOOD LOVIN’? some frayed sloppy energy in the rockin’ finale portion but surely great springtime fun at the greek.

5/23/82 greek theatre: 3pm start. weir is super-hot in the soundboard mix & 13-minute SHAKEDOWN STREET opener takes off when he starts adding co-leads & strident feels, eventually joined by mydland, & band hits full weave for a nice moment. nice THEY LOVE EACH OTHER piano solo. mydland takes a pretty aggro verse on LITTLE RED ROOSTER. for perhaps that reason, the jam has a little extra oomph, though it’s still LITTLE RED ROOSTER. dynamite 22-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, sloppy in some detailing but inspired transition jamming, hitting a timeless choogle trance that could be DANCING IN THE STREET. maybe the weir-heavy mix, but even the FIRE peak seems to take different route. digging the return of the electric piano for SHIP OF FOOLS. 61-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > STELLA BLUE > I NEED A MIRACLE. nice blur into medium-fast EYES, garcia bailing ASAP post-song, resulting in short/meh weir jam. pennywhistle & bird calls during DRUMZ act as transition to revving a miked-up motorcycle, excellent layer of SPACE chaos. “put it in idle!” hart yells & it does in fact resolve into a fantastic rumbling pulse that almost sounds like a modular synth. SPACE is the place with solid synth & alien-tongued conversational garcia, winding into a long but somewhat bland OTHER ONE. refreshing to hear CASEY JONES (absent since december) in the set-closing slot, though pretty messy.

5/28/82 moscone center: the grateful dead & bay area luminaries celebrate opening of the @MosconeCenter, the dead’s last time on a bill with a jefferson ___ band & one of the last with proper liquid light show. abbreviated 70-minute dead set followed by all-star jamboree. venue is set up with stage on the long side. very cool to see the old style liquid lights bubbling behind the band. they’d never play the venue again. airto moreira joins for whole set, a blurry extra layer of percussion chaos on tape. garcia spends bits of set with back to crowd, facing airto. 36-minute TRUCKIN’ > DRUMZ > SPACE > GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > NOT FADE AWAY, flora purim vocalizing during DRUMZ. 2nd set is pretty much just a half-hour blooze-rock superjam featuring boz scaggs & john cipollina, which won’t be getting many repeat spins over here. sung by scaggs, 1st WALKIN’ BLUES since pigpen era, which weir will revive again in ’85. weir does the 1st american TURN ON YOUR LOVELIGHT since pigpen died, going back in the closet for another few years, missing the old gravitas. some stories say pete sears played bass. LOVELIGHT is MIA on video, but lesh is on video before/after.

7/17/82 ventura: the dead open their summer touring on the beach, their 1st summer tour of majority outdoor venues. short 1st set. a few garcia/weir sparks in THEY LOVE EACH OTHER jam. 1st TRUCKIN’ in a proper opening set since 12/73 &, almost certainly due to its weird placement, it builds to a wild doozy of a reprise. fun stuff. 25-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER has some pretty big energy, especially a propulsive CHINA CAT jam. could be the slightly unusual slot, but it also could be because hart’s quasi-marching snare dominates the mix. or cuz it’s the ‘80s. 37-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > PLAYING IN THE BAND. cheers for “burning shore”/“standing on the beach” lyric in ESTIMATED & some very present co-lead lesh in the big guitar break. jam abstracts, garcia splits, & weir/mydland spark it back to life. short SPACE flashes briefly into elegiac moment, like a fleeting thought, before rising into THE WHEEL. weir watch: doing some vocal extemporizing during the PLAYING reprise.

7/18/82 ventura: these beachside shows must’ve been the bee’s knees, but the music is so ’82. LOSER has some outsized turns, with a messy solo framed by big bass bombs on either side. FRANKLIN’S TOWER smothers any gliding mellowness it once had. the 1st CRAZY FINGERS since 10/77 is a very welcome return, a bit clunkier than its younger self but garcia sails it triumphantly into the mysteries, opening a 54-minute CRAZY FINGERS > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > THE OTHER ONE > WHARF RAT > SUGAR MAGNOLIA. SPACE is beautifully noisy but deflates into NOT FADE AWAY, which swells suddenly as band charges into OTHER ONE, loses a little air, then builds again. the reactivation of lesh still feels like breaking news.

7/25/82 tempe: the ol’ MISSISSIPPI HALF-STEP > FRANKLIN’S TOWER opener feels a little scrambled, though FRANKLIN’S has a more controlled feel than previous gig, an era where song performances fall to the background. sleepy BIRD SONG finds a few currents. somewhat undramatic 18-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN with casual conversational semi-peak. 53-minute CRAZY FINGERS > ESTIMATED PROPHET > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER. simplified CRAZY FINGERS defaults into SPANISH JAM-like marching snare. as is garcia’s habit these days, he jumps out of the jam before everybody else & weir/mydland shape a few minutes of something new & pretty exciting with the drummers. SPACE starts to find a shape of its own but turns into NOT FADE AWAY.

7/27/82 red rocks: opening of a rainy 3-night stand. the 1st soundboard of the tour is a bit uneven (as is audience mix, for that matter), but underscores the changes in garcia’s voice, getting way reedier in recent years. this week in ’82 was also the jack kerouac conference at nearby @NaropaU, with many beat all-stars spotted in attendance at red rocks, including allen ginsberg, william s. burroughs, ken kesey, & others. an all-suited 2nd set, excellent fun, but achieved by cutting out the shorter opening songs. 65-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > TERRAPIN STATION > PLAYING JAM > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > THE OTHER ONE > STELLA BLUE > PLAYING OF THE BAND. weir watch #1: falsetto vocalizations over 1st PLAYING jam (as well as reprise). musical subtraction by addition. all jams are brief, TERRAPIN flipping back to MAIN TEN, though (in the year’s most dispiriting theme) garcia again splits early for weir/mydland showcase. “defense! defense!” the drummers yell at each other. “big hand for the rhythm gestapo, ladies & gentleman,” weir announces. brief OTHER ONE has briefer moment of chaos, with wide bass punctuation. delayed weir watch #2: since early spring, weir has been expanding the OTHER ONE “comin’ around” chorus with “y’all now” after having previously expanded it to the already-extraneous “y’all.” i regret having just fact-checked this information.

7/28/82 red rocks: taper beef on audience recording. “what’re you doing to my levels, man? don’t put ‘em up…” “now you’re on the tape” “he just put my fuckin’ levels up, i’m gonna scream in the mikes all night long if you fuckin’ touch my levels. that fuckin’ sucks.” rainy 1st set. weir: “if you see any of us disappear in a shower of sparks, don’t be surprised.” long SHAKEDOWN STREET latches into pocket with lotsa piano detail. with BEAT IT ON DOWN THE LINE > GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, weir grabs 3 1st set twofers; unfair, even for weir. weir: “this is the annual red rocks rainout, but we’re still here.” nice habit-busting ALTHEA & thunder-shouty LET IT GROW in set 2 as prelude to 60-minute HE’S GONE > TRUCKIN’ > DRUMZ > SPANISH JAM > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER. big TRUCKIN’ peak kinda kersplats, sliding into new territory exactly as garcia splits, turning into a jam with weir/lesh/drummers, with some active bass co-leads/chording by lesh. and, out of a very brief SPANISH JAM, the band slides very briefly into ST. STEPHEN (!!?), not played since ’79, the full dead running through the changes & sounding quite nice until weir vetoes it for NOT FADE AWAY, getting into some serious screamo.

7/29/82 red rocks: another stormy night. weir watch – a solid dylan reference in the usually sleazy NEW MINGLEWOOD BLUES fill-in-the-city slot, “these rainy day women start lookin’ good.” slow FRIEND OF THE DEVIL sprawls nicely with a few hazed guitar breaks. unusual mid-set FEEL LIKE A STRANGER is a nice alternative to weir’s increasingly predictable cowboy & blues slots, upshot of not repeating songs over 3 night stand. according to some, the rain turned to fog & eerily drenched the amphitheater during 68-minute CRAZY FINGERS > I NEED A MIRACLE > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > WHARF RAT > AROUND & AROUND > GOOD LOVIN’. CRAZY FINGERS missing the old reggae lilt with its new feel, but still something new waiting to be born in the ‘80s, spiraling down to MIRACLE, which itself reverts back to CRAZY FINGERS/OTHER ONE territory, garcia darting all the way to the drum break.

7/31/82 austin: manor downs was opened in the mid-‘70s by dead family members sam cutler (after his departure from the dead scene) & his partner frances carr (of texas oil $$). carr was still around in ’82, but pretty sure cutler was gone by then. enough missed lyrics/changes to make it not-quite-a-classic, but still a fully loaded summer jam in an era of skimpy sets. delightful 1st set garcia including invocatory BIRD SONG & ‘80s-scuzzed “europe ’72” classics RAMBLE ON ROSE & BROWN EYED WOMEN. not every jam transcends, but the setlist brings the juice, starting with set-closing combo of 1st MUSIC NEVER STOPPED of ’82 & DEAL, both summer garcia heaters. 2nd set hops right to it with meandering, liquid, & low-key 24-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN. the band plays late & garcia turns 40 at midnight, somewhere during 71-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > TRUCKIN’ > MORNING DEW. set feels generous if not totally inventive throughout, especially post-DRUMZ. EYES is on the speedier side, but with enough swing to keep it somewhat vibey with thoughtful summer melancholy, garcia bringing the jam down a shimmer before his exit. weir & mydland strike into their own jam, splattering into free zones. logical tumble into TRUCKIN’ but band borks entrance slightly & doubles back. great flow into MORNING DEW, a little gnarly in an ‘80s way but powerful. ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT seems weirdly earned.

8/1/82 oklahoma city: garcia’s 40th. short 1st set in the mega-heat, garcia leaning into summer slowness besides punchy CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER. weir: “how many of you were in colorado? remember that nice cool rain on your face?” rare stage acknowledgment of touring heads. band is improving at threading full-segued sets. some lumpy transitions in 75-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > IKO IKO > LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > PLAYING IN THE BAND > BLACK PETER, but more fun & unusual sequencing & a few deep pockets. PLAYING is also extra-brisk & unrolls with high-content conversation that doesn’t lose momentum, flowing pretty painlessly into IKO IKO & evenly back into the PLAYING zone. though weir decides to play LOST SAILOR instead, an abrupt key/mood change. smooth reentry via THE WHEEL. weir, during AROUND & AROUND: “let the animals out.” totally. i know there was a group of animal liberation front heads on tour later in the ‘80s, maybe not yet. mydland is revved up & scats along with his JOHNNY B. GOODE solo.

8/3/82 kansas city, MO: opening 20-minute MISSISSIPPI HALF-STEP > FRANKLIN’S TOWER feels more inspired than it sometimes does in this era, garcia’s croaking voice not withstanding. some nice wilding just before the transition & breezy solos for a sweet summer evening. perfumed good vibes float gently with PEGGY-O, shredding CUMBERLAND BLUES (in a slot between garcia & weir tunes, maybe called by lesh). smoking CASSIDY. could do without MAN SMART, WOMAN SMARTER (better here than set 2?) but at least there’s lots of garcia tunes. 14-minute SHAKEDOWN STREET 2nd set opener, jumping into hot garcia/mydland conversation but settling into less-busy shuffle-funk & peaking again just before a mostly clean ending, which the drummers roll right into SAMSON & DELILAH. 72-minute LET IT GROW > DRUMZ > SPACE > HE’S GONE > THE OTHER ONE > STELLA BLUE > SUGAR MAGNOLIA. not much exploration around LET IT GROW, but assertive SPACE jams with drumzers hanging out & making big shapes before quiet landing into HE’S GONE.

8/4/82 st. louis: 1st indoor show of the tour. great conversational piano throughout FEEL LIKE A STRANGER. jam doesn’t travel far, but feels deep. FRIEND OF THE DEVIL catches a breeze with the new yamaha, too. 1st STAGGER LEE since 12/79, played in recent garcia solo sets, but revived by the dead in the city where the deal went down, at bill curtis’s elite club, about a mile away. weir still trying to play slide on it. rare GOOD TIME BLUES set opener is a slight buzzkill, but sure. 70-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > TERRAPIN STATION > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER > AROUND & AROUND > GOOD LOVIN’ elevates occasionally. unusually graceful transition into TERRAPIN, coming to clean landing & bubbling into an effortless epilogue, adjacent to PLAYING IN THE BAND, but pointed towards its own mysteries. wish they always did this. garcia skips out early. again.

8/6/82 st. paul: lovely 11-minute BIRD SONG, solo starting deliberately with lots of garcia/mydland conversation as jam gets busier, mydland sometimes doubling & then responding to garcia before easing down. super-summery 24-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN. 71-minute LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > WHARF RAT > AROUND & AROUND > GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > JOHNNY B. GOODE. a brief burp at SAINT’s end where drummzers try to take over, opening to excellent & dug-in 4-minute outro jam. wild multi-section SPACE, first blowing into dense turf with drummerly chaos & mydland uncharacteristically pounding on piano keys, before brief TRUCKIN’/OTHER ONE fake-outs, & then a deep jam in 11 that briefly/thrillingly approaches the entrance to the actual THE ELEVEN. band again kersplats the TRUCKIN’ outro, but it’s kind of okay. garcia refreshingly short-circuits weir’s usual patterns by dropping GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD exactly at the moment weir usually jumps to AROUND & AROUND. BABY BLUE encore feels unusually committed.

8/7/82 east troy: 1st MUSIC NEVER STOPPED opener since ’77 results in delightful MUSIC NEVER STOPPED > SUGAREE > MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, a segue they’d landed on once in ’79, but not as sandwich. slight lumpiness in the transitions but unexpected open fields for band/audience. can’t totally put my finger on it, but band finds disney-esque flavor under the “she comes from the town…” verse of LET IT GROW, psychedelic animatronic “small world”-style swing before a smoking multi-flare jam, deep keyboard pocket during finale. wonderful 14-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER that lands in a cool ascending pattern before a genetic memory of the old FEELIN’ GROOVY transition, similar to the way they brushed up against THE ELEVEN the night before. 47-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > PLAYING IN THE BAND > MORNING DEW > ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT. PLAYING is brief but fierce, another night of aggressive key mashin’ by mydland. i like this development. mournful blurping en route to THE WHEEL & a big purposeful drop into MORNING DEW, which is a little furry in places but holds together with some dramatic quiet in the middle. not much of a peak, but gets there.

8/8/82 east troy: slightly snoozy 1st set, at least for my tastes, though garcia gets a little noisy in LITTLE RED ROOSTER. did mydland sing his angry dude verse? i’m not going back to check. SAMSON & DELILAH 1st set closer is a little unusual. also unusual is 2nd set opening with mydland’s FAR FROM ME, 1st since the fall & the 2nd since 9/80, not a song i was clamoring to return or ever open a set, but more palatable to me with the piano sound. 23-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN with garcia sliding into busy sing-song ouroboros-y guitar lines midway through the jam, almost everybody else subsequently popping into the chat, nice jumpy conversation. 60-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE OTHER ONE > NOT FADE AWAY > WHARF RAT > GOOD LOVIN’, weir having some difficulties near the beginning. long ESTIMATED goes to unusual place, drummers shifting busily out of the prog-reggae instead of just dissolving. tabla master zakir hussain appears for DRUMZ, adding deep texture, stays the rest of the night, his only appearance with the dead amid decades of collaboration with hart. most compelling when garcia/weir return for SPACE pulsing, garcia teasing the entrance to THE ELEVEN. late in SPACE, john cipollina joins, too, & also sticks around, occasionally cutting through THE OTHER ONE with fuzzy clang, moreso after weir’s abrupt splice into NOT FADE AWAY, but garcia not giving him much room to blow. over SATISFACTION, weir sings the 1st verse of WANG DANG DOODLE, which makes it sound way more ominous & cool than when weir starts singing WANG DANG GOODLE regularly the following summer.

8/10/82 iowa city: not a lot of deep jamming in the tour closer, but garcia’s especially engaged in the 1st set, really present singing on TENNESSEE JED, IT MUST’VE BEEN THE ROSES, & the revived STAGGER LEE, which then disappears again until ’85. weir watch: another attempt to create a 1st set pairing of SHE’S ON THE ROAD AGAIN & BEAT IT ON DOWN THE LINE, which i’m down with except that the musical linkage doesn’t really work. the once common I NEED A MIRACLE > BERTHA pairing still sort of does it though. 38-minute EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > IKO IKO. fast EYES with ’81 riff addition, garcia butterflying through a brief jam. rumble-SPACE turns to garcialogue & a crisp IKO IKO marked by aggressive weir grooves & articulate/committed garcia vocals. after a pause, set closes with 25-minute TRUCKIN’ > STELLA BLUE > SUGAR MAGNOLIA, weir fully playing the intro to AROUND & AROUND before opting for SUGAR MAGNOLIA, which is absolutely ace by me, no pun intended.

8/28/82 veneta: 10 years & 1 day after the benefit for the springfield creamery, a benefit to help @oregoncfair purchase its land with the robert cray band & flying karamazov bros. pretty sharp contrast with the benefit a decade earlier, though some hot moments. garcia struggling for the words throughout BERTHA. burning ALTHEA solo. ken babbs’s sole appearance comes before the 2nd set & only sort of introduces the band. debut of 1st garcia/hunter dead tunes since ’79. opening 2nd set is KEEP YOUR DAY JOB, oft-maligned boogie retread, but far from my least-fave song here. the greasy, sleazy WEST LA FADEAWAY (with extra verse) is perfect dead blooze for the ‘80s, room to get a lot moodier. 56-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > THE OTHER ONE > TRUCKIN’ > BLACK PETER > PLAYING IN THE BAND. short PLAYING follows the churn but doesn’t stray until drums thin out for brief coda. early SPACE coherence dissolves before stately WHEEL. crisp high-speed OTHER ONE stays between the lines. encore is 1st DUPREE’S DIAMOND BLUES since 4/78, always a hoot.

8/29/82 seattle: garcia’s vocals feel a bit shouty & off tonight, as does the energy in general. down with WEST LA FADEAWAY every show, but it shoulda been illegal for weir to follow with more blues, or really ever. slightly subdued LET IT GROW leads to cool garciaing. econo jamming in the 2nd set. 42-minute HE’S GONE > DRUMZ > NOT FADE AWAY > WHARF RAT. long vocal HE’S GONE vocal outro, briefly skatin’ around TRUCKIN’ & eventually finding a bright bounce, though garcia doesn’t hang for long.

9/5/82 levore: around breakfast time, the grateful dead at steve wozniak’s us festival, a late addition after bill graham came in to help save ticket sales. much dead air to start. lesh: “so this is the us festival, right? & how are we feeling this morning? snuggle down & spread, cuz it’s time for breakfast in bed with the grateful dead… soon anyway.” garcia: “my guitar’s experiencing technical reluctance.” opening 18-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > SHAKEDOWN STREET is a fun transition, though barely a PLAYING jam, garcia signaling towards SHAKEDOWN at the 1st sign of spaciness. hopped-up 10-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER hops even further up during jam. even more econo tonight: 41-minute TRUCKIN’ > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER > SUGAR MAGNOLIA, lame segues, highlighted by deep SPACE bass & enveloping synth while mydland also right-hand jams on piano. neat garcia en route into NOT FADE AWAY.

9/9/82 new orleans: super-short first set, not even 45 minutes with torrential garcia in MISSISSIPPI HALF-STEP > FRANKLIN’S TOWER opener, half-landing in speedy FEEL LIKE A STRANGER, taking everybody but weir by surprise. weir exits slide-damaged ALTHEA early due to tech issues, leading to subtly different (& nifty) outro jam & rare garcia setbreak announcement. “we’re gonna fix this stuff, take a break now, be back a little later & finish up.” really selling it, jer. 77-minute UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > SAMSON & DELILAH > UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > THE OTHER ONE > WHARF RAT > GOOD LOVIN’ mostly earns its segue marks. UNCLE JOHN’S spirals normally & semi-cleanly drops into SAMSON on last beat. garcia tries to do the same to bring it back, but rest of band doesn’t quite get it. garcia robbed of 2nd set slot with 2-minute UNCLE JOHN’S reprise. smooth counted move into ESTIMATED, though. many (including me) give the band a lot of guff for the super-zooted hyper-speed EYES from the ‘80s, but tonight they drop into the relaxed early ‘70s tempo. they don’t bring it far, but some nice summer sweetness. not much happening in THE OTHER ONE (with weir scrambling the lyrics pretty deeply), but he does make a clever little transition from the WHARF RAT tail-out into the intro to GOOD LOVIN’.

9/11/82 west palm beach: mickey hart’s 39th. snoozy 1st half minus revived DUPREE’S DIAMOND BLUES. most of the action occurs at the fold, with set-closing LET IT GROW & opening 23-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, garcia & mydland churning up some whitecaps during transition. 50-minute TERRAPIN STATION > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > STELLA BLUE > AROUND & AROUND > ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT is calorie-free all around. TERRAPIN almost ends entirely. committed garcia on both STELLA BLUE & IT’S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE encore.

9/12/82 lakeland: garcia fully occupying WEST LA FADEAWAY, which weir again pairs with another blues. c’mon, man. mydland scats pretty, uh, enthusiastically in IT’S ALL OVER NOW. short set, no jams. weir watch: dedicates MAN SMART, WOMAN SMARTER to “the girls backstage, the rock angels,” perhaps his most ’80s dedication yet. he or maybe mydland crashes the landing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 51-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > NOT FADE AWAY > MORNING DEW is more diet dead but garcia commits to PLAYING jam, which goes wide/deep, getting manic as drummers skitter. unusually, NOT FADE AWAY takes mildly deconstructive turn.

9/14/82 charlottesville: setlists getting slightly beefier as band moves north. nice alternating jam feels in the 1st set with flickering & conversational BIRD SONG & semi-rare guaranteed spark-raiser LAZY LIGHTNING > SUPPLICATION. diving bass in detailed CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER transition. not much open territory in 55-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > HE’S GONE > DRUMZ > SPACE > IKO IKO > TRUCKIN’ > BLACK PETER. weir watch: “ever since she went & got her head re-arranged.”

9/15/82 landover: the most exciting show in a minute & debut of their most popular all-time song. whatever the band has been lacking for the past few months, it returns in full force at the capital centre, oft reported as a miserable venue. the best of all possible 1982 grateful deads throughout the night. show opens with 28-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > CRAZY FINGERS > LITTLE RED ROOSTER, with PLAYING-ish jams then weaving in throughout the show. impressive wandering post-CRAZY FINGERS with a decent landing in ROOSTER, as well as it can possibly be framed. after IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE ROSES, band lands & it’s as if a slight wind blows them into a 14-minute PLAYING JAM > LET IT GROW, building into a torrent before extra-rushing LET IT GROW that seems slightly more open than usual, ending hitting crisply to set-closing DAY JOB. core of 2nd set is fully unified 61-minute SHAKEDOWN STREET > PLAYING JAM > LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY > STELLA BLUE, that 1st pair of segues making all the difference in giving the set a special feel. extended conversational NOT FADE AWAY. there’ve been clapalongs with the song on/off since 1970 or so, but the clap/singalong at this show feels like a breakthrough of sorts in making it the big participatory showstopper. for encore, 1st TOUCH OF GREY, the biggest garcia/hunter song in years & maybe ever, a few flipped lyrics but already triumphant, somehow both caustic & affirming. won’t be released for 5 years but between jams & new/revived songs, might seem like new age.

9/17/82 portland, ME: for reasons unexplained, mydland doesn’t get a vocal mic at this show, so all the vocals are just garcia & weir. garcia plays 2 of his 3 new ones, slinky WEST LA FADEAWAY in 1st set & punchy TOUCH OF GREY opening the 2nd, both hitting confidently. peak weir in 1st set, playing only covers (arena chuck berry? yup! arena blues? check! arena c&w? present! arena bar-band stones? yo!) & then debuting THROWING STONES, his & barlow’s wordy ‘80s apolitical rocker with a way catchy arena chorus. fun new dead music! 43-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > SPANISH JAM > THE OTHER ONE. EYES at vibey early ‘70s tempo. drumless & leisurely SPANISH conversation, bass poking through, crowd chanting “phil! phil! phil!” before messy but satisfying OTHER ONE drop. thread drops briefly before 14-minute GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > MORNING DEW. pretty titanic DEW (by ’82 standards, with metronomic backbeat), present vocals, screaming garcia leads, & lesh just thromping all over the place.

9/18/82 boston: weir announces that it’s mydland’s birthday (which it’s not) preceding rare FAR FROM ME & dedicates SAMSON & DELILAH to boston garden (much hated by the musicians for the shitty sound), a hint of the band’s impending move to worcester. 66-minute UNCLE JOHN’S BAND > PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THROWING STONES > THE WHEEL > TRUCKIN’ > WHARF RAT > AROUND & AROUND > ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT. lumpy UNCLE JOHN’S outro. PLAYING churns, gets briefly choppy & new-ish when garcia leaves & weir leads. THROWING STONES out of SPACE for 1st time, good vehicle for weir’s ever-deepening voice. some alt. lyrics & middle jam, missing singalong outro, though people already singing along. why does he pronounce “chance” as “chonce” + “pants” as “ponts”? local atherton dialect? TRUCKIN’ very briefly floats into a cool pocket as it exits, like it’s headed back to UNCLE JOHN’S or PLAYING but folds into WHARF RAT. weir watch: and for an encore presentation, weir announces that it’s lesh’s birthday, which it’s also not.

9/20/82 madison square garden: bopping SHAKEDOWN STREET opener feels like a warm-up. ROW JIMMY sways, occasionally jerks. been so long since any new songs that THROWING STONES & DAY JOB feel most fresh. also aware this feeling probably won’t last. nearly swingless forward-charging 22-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, SCARLET’s main riff pretty blurred over. somewhat static jam with cool garcia/mydland unison pockets, not so much peaking as shimmering into FIRE. 49-minute TERRAPIN STATION > DRUMZ > SPACE > SPANISH JAM > TRUCKIN’ > THE OTHER ONE > STELLA BLUE highlighted by deconstructive SPANISH JAM with splattering drumz, carrying across a bit into THE OTHER ONE. TOUCH OF GREY so confidently in encore slot.

9/21/82 madison square garden: promoter john scher introduces band, healy adds efx. purposeful 30-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > CRAZY FINGERS > ME & MY UNCLE > BIG RIVER. transition into C&W conjures memories of ’72, followed by great placement of new WEST LA FADEAWAY. neatly sparking CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER. 62-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > HE’S GONE > DRUMZ > SPACE > THROWING STONES > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER. beautiful, chill ESTIMATED wind-down. wish it hung in that space longer. elegant HE’S GONE coda. weir watch: for the first time, the new THROWING STONES links (via vocal outro & its implicit bo diddley beat) to NOT FADE AWAY. they’re still tinkering with the arrangement, but the pairing will stick on/off (mostly on) through ’95.

9/23/82 new haven: band feels pretty locked in but don’t do a whole lot of jamming. hour-long 1st set closes with fairly burning LET IT GROW, garcia turning on the heat for the last few phases. THROWING STONES is a standalone with a very short but open garcia jam that lands smartly in the last verse & outro singalong. as always, garcia’s harmony part is awesome. a clean break before DRUMZ, though they sort of pick up the bo diddley beat. 50-minute DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > THE OTHER ONE > WHARF RAT > AROUND & AROUND > JOHNNY B. GOODE. high energy SPACE, bordering on JAM, with percussionists sticking around under garcialogue, occasional counter-lesh, smooth downshift & roll into THE WHEEL. beavis-mode mydland on JOHNNY B. GOODE, scatting all over the solo/ending, which is somethin’. a couple of muffs in IT’S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE encore, but garcia leans in hard to a few verses & it’s awesome.

9/24/82 syracuse: the 1st indoor mega-show of the modern era. gorgeous 10-minute BIRD SONG, surprising sensitivity for a giant indoor stadium, floating into crashing conversation & thinning out. weir’s LOOKS LIKE RAIN blowout balanced nicely by beautiful garcia torrents. 80-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > CRAZY FINGERS > THROWING STONES > DRUMZ > SPACE > IKO IKO > TRUCKIN’ > GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > AROUND & AROUND > SUGAR MAGNOLIA with the PLAYING riff again helping to build segues. CRAZY FINGERS seems like garcia’s ripcord from the PLAYING jam, but hard to complain, flipping to the PLAYING riff as a smooth bridge into THROWING STONES, which again digs into its middle jam before surrendering to the DRUMZ. PLAYING riff is less-smooth bridge to TRUCKIN’. lesh, before the encore: “tonight is bob’s 5th wedding anniversary & we’ve brought his wife all the way from california to give him a big, fat, wet kiss onstage. c’mon out mrs. bob weir…” ever thus to pranksters.

10/9/82 frost amphitheatre: the dead’s @frost_stanford_ debut & 1st hometown show since ’73, a favorite ‘80s venue. PSA intro from bill graham. as with john scher, dan healy smears some obnoxious efx, “thanks, dan,” graham notes, & healy lays off. slightly. graham warns boogiers to boogie on level ground & asks heads to not climb/sit/dance in the trees. this audience tape is truly incredible. some low end muffling but nearly as good as the best soundboards, especially on headphones, each instrument at a different sonic depth. more than any individual performance, the tape is the highlight, bringing out band dynamics. hometown debuts for 3 songs. nice crossfade from THROWING STONES outro into TOUCH OF GREY. funny lyric slip-up that totally works: “must be getting early, clouds are running late.” 61-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > THE OTHER ONE > MORNING DEW. sweet slow EYES feels more kaleidoscopic with warmer audience mix. DRUMZ & SPACE might be better on the soundboard, though, especially for the @akronfamily-like nonsense chanting as the guitarists return & subsequent stereo swirls. econo-OTHER ONE. rich ambient quiet on DEW.

10/10/82 frost amphitheatre: by all account, one of the nicest playing situations the dead & heads ever had. mellow tunes for an exquisite early fall day in california, somehow embodied by both TENNESSEE JED & the “shave & a haircut” tag garcia adds here. as with the night before, keshavan’s whole audience tape has a borderline ambient feel, soundtracking a palpably chill scene. energy steps up with CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER but vibe carries through. “thank god for the harvest!” says someone in crowd (presumably smonking a big joint) just before 32-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > CRAZY FINGERS > LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE. quick, decisive PLAYING but CRAZY FINGERS opens into self-transforming cloud formations. LOST SAILOR always feels more powerful when it’s framed coming out of a jam. garcia’s solo in SAINT starts out impressively atonal, like he can’t wait for weir to debut VICTIM OR THE CRIME, building to a screaming unpredictable peak. fire stuff. 48-minute TOUCH OF GREY > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > THROWING STONES > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER. only desultory post-TOUCH noodles. somebody compared garcia’s solos in these early THROWING STONES to SLIPKNOT! & it’s kinda true, cool cubist shape-climbing.

10/17/82 santa fe: 1st ever show in santa fe, promoted by john morris, manager of the fillmore east & who helped sam cutler plot the europe ’72 tour. a big deal for the many new mexico commune heads. things are a little patchy, but 16-minute MISSISSIPPI HALF-STEP > FRANKLIN’S TOWER sets tone for what sounds like a glorious autumn afternoon in the desert. weir watch: “we’re going to do some local color tunes” before ME & MY UNCLE > MEXICALI BLUES. almost goes into EL PASO. almost certainly, curly jim stalarow–who taught the former song to weir & who weir was visiting when inspired to write the latter–was there. 65-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > HE’S GONE > DRUMZ > SPACE > THROWING STONES > GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > THE WHEEL > THE OTHER ONE > WHARF RAT with most of the surprises coming late in the sequence. weir lunges into HE’S GONE jam & garcia stays engaged. briefly. jam gets cooler anyway as weir & mydland find their way. THROWING STONES seems most engaged, with big garcia shreds, extending outro, & surprising charge into GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD.

11/25/82 montego bay: band hits stage at 4:30 in the morning. charming local intro, “do you have a jamaica head?! do we have the deadheads? … are you ready to do some truckin’?” not a stellar dead show. some fire in garcia’s LOSER solo & the set-closing LET IT GROW. econo 56-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN > DRUMZ > SPACE > THROWING STONES > NOT FADE AWAY > BLACK PETER > GOOD LOVIN’ apparently starts as the sun is rising. no real fanfare to open FIRE, cool staccato organ details, melancholic outro. big energy & big bass near end of NOT FADE AWAY. the dead finish up in the rain at 7am. 5 hours later, bobby & the midnites open the “next” day’s festivities.

12/26/82 oakland auditorium arena: another new era begins with the debut of lesh’s 6-string bass, getting extra workout during blitzkrieg 12-minute CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER > I KNOW YOU RIDER, diving/bombing/shredding almost as hard as garcia during transition. cool descent just before landing in RIDER. intense FAR FROM ME, not often a tune that registers with me. 42-minute ESTIMATED PROPHET > EYES OF THE WORLD > DRUMZ > SPACE > THROWING STONES. molasses ESTIMATED rainbows into EYES, choppy & even slower than early ‘70s takes. less filling, more lesh, gets to cool bubble. assertive melancholic garcia moods in SPACE but after THROWING STONES he can’t quite figure out how to start WHARF RAT. gets the words but phrases the groove oddly. disconcerting, a little literally. gets going again by big crashing outro solo.

12/27/82 oakland auditorium arena: though lesh’s new 6-string is less prominent tonight, it’s clear that it’s another new era, all kinds of super-busy bass weaving through BIRD SONG & especially LET IT GROW, where it seemingly inspires hart to new heights of cowbellism. 20-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN, garcia’s voice moving more deeply into extra-reedy period, which (not coincidentally) feels more emotionally distant. lesh’s bubbling around the transition & in the breaks happily recalls some ’77 versions. 49-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > THE WHEEL > THE OTHER ONE > BLACK PETER > SUGAR MAGNOLIA. short PLAYING is twining noodle lightning, dribbling out. semi-default OTHER ONE has more mega-lesh.

12/28/82 oakland auditorium arena: lesh’s new 6-string punches through metronomic double-drumming, even MAN SMART/WOMAN SMARTER has new level of fun conversation (& obstinate bass non-sequiturs). unmentioned, 1st EL PASO since marty robbins’ death. high-speed thrills on sloppyish LAZY LIGHTNING > SUPPLICATION, blowing through ending & opting for rare fade-out before jumping to DEAL. garcia barely remembers SHAKEDOWN STREET lyrics (& some riffs), but more super-bass & enjoyable percolation. 53-minute TERRAPIN STATION > DRUMZ > SPACE > THROWING STONES > NOT FADE AWAY > MORNING DEW. nice to hear lesh moving into TERRAPIN’s starlight jam, but is there any more symbolic scramble than garcia half-heartedly singing, “inspiration, sue me brightly”? excellent garcia shreds in the THROWING STONES break. weir/mydland work out slightly new vocal outro & (unnecessarily) weir tries to count-off/manage the segue into NOT FADE AWAY.

12/30/82 oakland auditorium arena: pretty driving 1st set besides LITTLE RED ROOSTER, though less than an hour. super-charged lesh bass pushes semi-rare FEEL LIKE A STRANGER towards open jam-space. all the uptempo tunes feel extra-conversational. according to @[email protected]’s research, start of set 2 (TOUCH OF GREY) was shown on ABC, a live phil donahue broadcast between the gator bowl & local news. not in listings & probably not announced, which would explain lack of tape. 19-minute THROWING STONES > FRANKLIN’S TOWER, garcia crossfading from the vocal outro, the same way weir does with NOT FADE AWAY. can’t believe this only happened once. establishes a great bounce for FRANKLIN’S, buoyant & exploratory, stretching the edges of the groove. unbaked jams in 68-minute LOST SAILOR > SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE > HE’S GONE > DRUMZ > SPACE > TRUCKIN’ > STELLA BLUE > GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > JOHNNY B. GOODE. lesh joins for SPACE, with big half-cohered moment before settlin’. sleepy STELLA BLUE hits, though. etta james & the tower of power horns join for shockingly (kinda) tight encore. 1st HARD TO HANDLE since 8/71 with pigpen. hilariously, lesh is only one who hits signature intro riff. then james’s ’67 single TELL MAMA. band just finding groove when it ends.

12/31/82 oakland coliseum arena: local supergroup the dinosaurs open with r. hunter (dead), j. cipollina (quicksilver), b. melton (the fish), s. dryden (airplane/new riders), p. albin (big brother) plus @TheNickyHopkins. hunter’s only time opening for the dead. scattered new year’s energy, never quite peaking. short 1st set with short jams. kingfish’s matt kelly plays harmonica on CC RIDER & pleasantly stays there. CUMBERLAND BLUES & CASSIDY flare for moments at a time. at midnight, bill graham emerges from mushroom to the mars segment of holst’s THE PLANETS before dead head into SUGAR MAGNOLIA. “holy fuck that’s a lot of balloons,” sez weir. nice drop into middling SUGAREE, SUNSHINE DAYDREAM saved for set’s end. 32-minute PLAYING IN THE BAND > DRUMZ > SPACE > NOT FADE AWAY, PLAYING finding l’il freakout near end. SPACE feints towards OTHER ONE before cipollina joins. love garcia’s groove under him during NOT FADE AWAY & his alternate perspective on DEAL. short 3rd set with tower of power horns, led by weir’s TURN ON YOUR LOVELIGHT, garcia shredding, 1st since amsterdam ’81, 2nd since europe ’72. band lays out weir’s freestyle, but doesn’t catch. etta james joins at end. devived again until ’84. james joins for 4, sounding a bit zooted herself. band & horns are tight & big fun, even if nothing ignites. TELL MAMA & HARD TO HANDLE from previous eve, plus jimmy reed’s BABY WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO, last in garciaverse almost exactly a decade earlier. 1st MIDNIGHT HOUR since 4/71, sung by weir & james, some miscommunication, but charming. like LOVELIGHT, won’t return to regular sets until ’84. i can wait. b. graham encourages crowd to hang for orange juice, coffee, crossaints, etc. small mysteries dept., via @corry342: a percussionist joins for the last set, probably tower of power drummer david garibaldi, or maybe mike hinton, hart’s former student who joined for apocalypse now sessions & became a serious broadway drummer.

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