Reviewer:
trem_two
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
November 4, 2023
Subject:
Yet another hot show from a great run
I'm a fan of the October/November 1985 east coast tour. The band was cooking - songs were typically high tempo and full of energy. Both Bobby and Jerry were generally in good voice throughout this run, certainly by their mid 80s vocal standards. The November 1st date in Richmond was immortalized as Dick's Picks Volume 21, followed by a 2nd night in Richmond that could just as easily have been made an official release, and the Halloween show in Columbia, SC is another fan favorite that opened with a unique Space > Werewolves Of London.
This night's first set has a high energy start, with the band zipping through Alabama Getaway and Promised Land. Another highlight is a smoky West L.A. Fadeaway with Jerry locking into a groove in the solos. Jerry adds some interesting riffs to this version of Minglewood, which also features a hot solo from Brent. Overall this isn't my favorite selection of 1st set tunes from this era, but I have no complaints regarding the performances.
The 2nd set is where this show really lifts off. A hot China > Rider pairing kicks things off after the intermission, followed by inspired versions of PITB and Terrapin Station, both featuring nice jam sections. 80s versions of Playing typically aren't selected by fans to be among the best versions of the song, which is understandable if you compare them to the towering performances from the Keith and Donna lineup, but Playin' frequently featured some of the best pure improvisation from the Brent era. The Wheel emerges out of a weird and interesting Drums/Space, followed by a sprint through Truckin', a powerful Wharf Rat performance, and celebratory versions of Sugar Magnolia and US Blues (Bobby signs off with: "thank y'all, see ya mañana") -- but strangely US Blues is missing from this source.
This a nice sounding source, which has a bit more clarity, separation, and high end detail compared to the other SBDs, at least to my ears. The lack of the encore US Blues is an odd omission, but my recommendation is to listen to this source for the rest of the show and switch to one of the other SBDs to hear the encore.
Maybe I'm being overly picky by giving this show "only" 4 stars, because again, the performances in set 1 are perfectly fine, but during the whole stretch from Minglewood through Might As Well I just get impatient wanting to get to the much more interesting 2nd set. On the whole this is a good representation of the Dead in fine form in the mid 80s, and is a recommended listen if you want to dig deeper into this era beyond the lauded Nov 1st Dick's Picks show.