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Grateful Dead
1985-12-30
Oakland Coliseum
Oakland, CA
Soundboard Recoding
320 kbps
Artwork Included
1st Set:
01. Tuning
02. Gimme Some Lovin' >
03. Greatest Story Ever Told
04. West L.A. Fadeaway
05. My Brother Esau >
06. Stagger Lee
07. Little Red Rooster
08. Tennessee Jed >
09. Looks Like Rain >
10. Don't Ease Me In
2nd Set:
01. Tuning
02. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo) >
03. Samson And Delilah >
04. He's Gone >
05. I Need A Miracle >
06. Crazy Fingers >
07. Drums >
08. Space >
09. The Other One >
10. Wharf Rat >
11. Sugar Magnolia
Encore:
01. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
On September 3, 1977, me, my buddies and, along with 150,000 others, made the pilgrimage to Englishtown NJ, to see the Grateful Dead for the first time at what be the largest concert in the state's history. The day was hot - over 100 degrees - and the band was even hotter. Another performance that added to the legend of 1977. I would see 49 more after that, at least 1 show every year except 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1992, with the last show being June 18, 1995, just 2 month's before we lost Jerry Garcia. My long strange trip with the Dead was short compared to folks who saw hundreds of concerts, but it was memorable, as over a dozen shows that I attended were good enough to be officially released. It's been 3 decades since we lost Jerry, and I still miss the magic.
This soundboard recording captures the Grateful Dead across the Bay Bridge from their home turf in San Francisco, at the oakland Coliseum on Dececmber 30, 1985, 40 years ago today. That year, the Grateful Dead celebrated their 20th anniversary. Deadheads tend to passionately debate the quality of the music from 1985. Some feel that the band, inspired by their milestone anniversary, played their best shows of the 1980s. Others don't believe the music was much different from the prior years, and certainly not up to the standard of 1987 or 1989. I tend to lean in the direction that 1985 provided many inspired moments, especially during the Spring run, though it’s clear that by year's end, Jerry was mired deep in a cloud of drugs which would eventually contribute to his near death coma in 1986. In any event, in honor of the band's 20th anniversay celebration, we'll bring you another show from 1985 tomorrow.
3 comments:
Thank you very much for this memory and music! After I saw Jerry Garcia On August 11th that year (a recording that I'm still searching for), my cousin insisted that we go to the Dead the night before New Year's. He was a big dead head and off we went. I knew their hits but wasn't exactly sure what to expect. It was a fun show and I'm glad I got to see them with Jerry. That was my one and only true Dead concert, though I did see Dead & Company in 2015. Wow, 40 years ago today; that really puts things in perspective and make me feel my age a little bit more today... LOL
Thanks again and cheers to a happy and safe New Year's for you and your family!!
Great story. Here's a link with more info on that 1985-08-11 show - unfortunately, does nopt appear to be a recording of it.
https://jerrybase.com/events/19850811-01
Thank you so much for that, Speedy! That mirrors what I found, that there wasn't a recording that night. Sad since it was a really good show, but at least I have the setlist and the memory still locked away in my brain! I caught 7 concerts that summer, including Albert King/John Lee Hooker, Santana, Eric Clapton, Spyro Gyra, Howard Jones and The Tubes - and of course Jerry. Fun Times
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