DF 11: 3/30/87

3/30/87 - The Spectrum - Philadelphia, PA

Finally, our long national nightmare is over. So let's get back to the tunes!

The Spectrum was another one of the Dead's homes away from home, much the same way Madison Square Garden was referred to during the band's many East Coast visits. This show fell on the second night of a three-show stop in the city of brotherly love, and although 1987 isn't looked on as one of the uber-quality years, this show is excellent, and I'm happy that it's the first DF in the post-LMA-controversy era. You may not be able to download the sbd from archive, but listening to it at the office will put a smile on your face nonetheless, guaranteed.

I'm really big on the importance of a strong opening tune, and "Shakedown Street" was one of the Dead's best openers. Unfortunately, Jerry kind of telegraphs it with his opening warm-ups, but the spoiled surprise is well worth it -- he's getting his chops ready, the drummers give the queue, and BOOM! Shakedown. And what a version it is! Jer is doing some fine work at the beginning. The sound source changes about 3 minutes in, but it's done pretty seemlessly. Very hot Shakedown, a strong candidate for best of that particular year, I'd say. "It's All Over Now" follows with some rhythm issues at the very beginning, but a fine version is turned in. A relatively rare "Stagger Lee" comes next, it's always fun to hear the crowd's reaction to this one. It's a fun tune, doesn't normally lead into moments of musical brilliance, but it does please the ears.

Brent gets a turn next with the first "Never Trust a Woman" for 1987. He'd been doing this tune since the early 80s, but I really think it got better with age. In fact, I think it hit its prime in 1990, the last year of Brent's life. Just listen to the version on "Dozin at the Knick" to see what I mean. Tons of fun. It's good here, but gets better. Woah, "Box of Rain!" A bit of a surprise, and it's a really pretty version. one of the better I can remember hearing recently. Phil messes up the first couple lines in the song, but it's kind of endearing.

"Loser" is the perfect choice to follow "Box of Rain." Why? I don't know. Maybe it's the contrast the two songs provide: optimism versus pessimism. Something like that. "Cassidy" is good, but fairly standard, and surprise! That's the end of the first set. I think the short sets in 1987 might have been for Jerry's sake. He'd been in a coma the year before, after all, and probably needed that rest that came with setbreak.

Iko -> Saint to start the second set. Interesting choice! Not one I would have called, but it's pulled off pretty well, and makes for an auspicious start to the set. Again, a slow Jerry tune to follow an upbeat optimistic tune seems like the perfect choice. "He's Gone" is performed beautifully, with one of my favorite "Smile Smile Smile!" instances ever. Listen and smile! The vocal jam that follows is wonderful, this thing isn't scripted at all, but at quite a few points, the boys harmonize on queue - it's almost eerie. Then the delve into a very niiiice slow jam featuring some great poignant stuff from Jer.

This brings us into Drums, and it's a pretty groovy segment. It sounds for awhile like we're in the islands, mon! NFA rhythm comes at about 8 minutes in, and we hear the audience begin to clap along in rhythm. The band wasn't about to skip the Space segment, naturally, but this definitely hints at things to come. Space itself is a nice clean-guitars version, which seemed to be par for the course for 1987. If someone is more familiar with '87, could you chime in on that? Were Space jams free of the MIDI that later stuff was known for? There's a touch of delay, but that's the only real effect I can hear.

Jerry starts to tease Truckin' toward the end of Space, then the drummers queue the beginning, and Bam! -- we're into the song itself. Nice version, great organ, and Phil is prominent in the mix. But it's nothing compared to "The Other One" that comes next. The pre-verse jam is glorious, and this is probably my favorite part of the show. The band is smokin', Bobby uses the weird vocal effects, and we get treated to a wonderful late-80s version of the tune. Awesome awesome stuff. The "Wharf Rat" that comes next is just the ticket to come down from the chaos of TOO. By this point, Jerry's role in this show is clear: use the slower songs to bring us down from the wonderful anarchy of the previous tune. This band knew exactly what to play when. "Rat" is good, but Jer's voice is definitely tiring out for the night.

Bobby takes over to round the night out with a decent "Throwin' Stones" and then the whole band delivers the previously-promised NFA. It's a great one, too! Jerry delivers a great solo starting around 2:00. He's flying all over that fretboard for awhile, and then brings us down again. The ending is tight, with just vocals and drums as normal, until it's only the drummers that survive.

What better way to end the night than with Jerry Garcia singing Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." His voice is perfect for the tune, and it's what Jerry has been giving the crowd all night - perfectly executed tenderness.

So what's next? I don't know. Ben has started to put together a list of the best AUDs available for download at LMA, maybe I'll use one of them? It'll be my first AUD DF, but it might be fun. Looking at the list of shows I've done, I'm due for another Godchaux-era show, so it's highly probable that the next DF will be an AUD from the 70s. See you then.