Great show in a small venue. Checked myself out of the hospital in Christiansburg after getting really sick from the Rainbow gathering the week before. Two days in the hospital but I said no sir to day 3. Had to get there before my friends sold my ticket (no cell phones of coarse). Saw I wasn't the only one with the rainbow runs that week.... https://archive.org/details/%40c-freedom

Philly and Anaheim are the big, highly-regarded shows of this month, but there are some great Jer moments in this show, and Brent is invested - when you can hear him. The two Virginia shows were added after mail order sales, in the smallest venue of the tour, to fill a gap in between Dylan dates. They are sometimes endorsed on lists, in part due to a special mention in Deadbase. This show was set up in quad so the sound could be rolled around the Heads. And those VA Heads were lucky - they had just played in the state in March.

First Set. Hell in a Bucket is a strong opener - Bobby is already better than the night before. When Jer takes the torch for Sugaree, he matches that level. But It's All Over Now is solid but Dupree's is a struggle in places. I always liked Brent's Good Time Blues (never trust a woman), though apparently a lot of Heads don't. But check the band backing him here on one of the best versions. Masterpiece is the 4th one, and is still being worked out and sized up. Jer makes up for it with a smoker of a Big Railroad, although the showstopper in this set is the Let it Grow. Setting mix issues aside, this is sharp.

Second Set. This is a superb Scarlet>Fire: all excited atoms and paisley quarks. Bobby lets out too much bark, but Estimated still has a lot of bite in each hot segment. Drums is distorted on the SBD so you might use an AUD. Intense! The Other One is teased in Space, but instead it's a rare late Crazy Fingers (solid enough if standard). Bobby is spotlight-ready and stuttering for that Xenon Trouper on Truckin' (living on crack/fucking shame). He does a brief Spoonful tease [he'll get it on the 19th]. Comes a Time is only the second of the year, and the last until 12/27/90. Quite sleepy. Sugar Mag isn't the tightest; that's okay, but Bobby sounds spent at this point. Like much of the month, Jer is not, solidifying the Black Muddy closer. The playing is there on this night, but it's obscured by the mixes .

1st Set:  B-
2nd Set: B-
Overall = 3½ stars

Highlights:
Good Time Blues - one of the best versions
Let it Grow - poor mix but great playing
Scarlet Begonias - excited atoms; paisley quarks
Fire on the Mountain - the Estimated shines too
Drums - was becoming an era highlight, like here

SOURCES: Phil's playing is just thuds on many Healey mic-matrices, and this one (miller_90146) has a poor SBD ratio. But if you take the SBD-MM and EQ liberally you'll get by. A round, echoey venue means echoey AUDs, and the P.A. front of house wasn't necessarily mixed better than the SBD [i. e. no Phil, sometimes missing rhythm guitar or Brent]. So there is no single great source. The 2nd set is somewhat better, especially after Drums.

I recommend the Aud. recording by Bill Koucky, Chris Ladner. Healy Ultra-mix or SBD? Labeled as both, sounds like neither.

I sang a little while and then moved on.

I think, I could be wrong, that this sounds muffled the saaame way most recordings of 10/12/84 sound, facility walls were likely shaking and sound was bouncing off the walls-one of those "U had to be there" events. Maybe a better recording exists but doubt it considering the source of this one... RR Blues is one of my top 200 favorite songs so can't go wrong with that. 3 stars for sound bouncing off the walls, blame someone not sure who.....not CM not DH...blame the cement walls. Show is 6 stars.

A bunch of us left out of Queens in my buddies cargo van. Our first stop was the National Rainbow Gathering in North Carolina. Living in the forest with a bunch of naked hippies was pretty intense. We got rained on an awful lot but the 4th of July circle made it all worth while. By the time we left there after a week in the National Forest we were so toasted that even a super small venue of around 10,000 people seemed like a mind blowing experience.
The down side of the bliss bunny was we all contracted the Rainbow Runs,,, so go figure I spent half my time in the can during the show so I am real excited to hear this now.
I really like Crazy Fingers so I want to hear how they brought it out of space.
Oh yeah after this we went to the Philly show with Dylan and the Dead it was in the monster old stadium. I really like Dylan but truthfully I felt like he was out to lunch. (I know he got better as the tour went on but he really sucked in Philadelphia-IMHO)
I will go out on a limb and give this a 4 because it was a very sweet venue and I vaguely remember enjoying what I managed to hear.
mini review:HEADPHONES MANDATORY
Set 1: check out the reverb on Jerry's vocals
at the start of Sugaree.
Nice funky Used To LOVE HER
Excellent Dupree's
"Right now I feel like hell" I remember that!
Wicked reverb on Bob's vocals for Masterpiece.
RxR blues-3 minutes about all I could dance at time, Let It Grow-around 6 minutes in they get busy.
REGARDING SOUND-This was a really tiny roundish indoor gig with sound literally bounding off the walls.
I will defer to Dr. Flashback, dustbowltom and the other fine reviews for Set two!!!

wonderful crowd surge thru fire VERY high for 87 !!!
@4:30 into fire it hits a peak BOTH band &Audience that gives me shivers the "specialness of it" with crowd surge thru 6min !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i think healy needs some credit for producing what i see &hear is a Livematrix, he seems to had mic'ed the audience in a very lite way as to only hear the totallity ,not some guy clappin or talkin.
i was there , as good as 7/6 87 pitts with nevilles

Great show, good recording, but is it really a soundboard?

I use your reviews like... a "bible" ... maybe not THE bible.. you dissapeared a few years back. And now you're posting in 2012! Feburary no doubt! Dr. Flashback, I want YOUR top 50! Write me anytime. mightythefoxNOSPAM@hotmailDOTcom

I think you know what to remove. it's exactly as it says: all one word, no spaces, remove the no-spam bit and add Hotmail(DOT)com- love to hear from you!!! You turned me on to some of my ALL TIME fav./ shows and now you're covering the 80's!??! GET IN TOUCH, PLEASE! Shoot, I'd PAY for your top 50 list! :) WE MISSED YOU!!!

I remember getting these tapes from a good friend like 3 days after the show - seemed like a such a treasure!!

I would have to say these two shows from Roanoke (along with Ontario 6/30/87 and the Pitt 7/6/87) are easily the most underrated of the year.

You won't find better shows - energy or otherwise in the fall tour (my opinion).

Preceeding the stadium shows with Bob Dylan - these gems were awesome. Hints (again I say hints) at '85 - check out Bobby's Truckin' you gotta love the way he stutters the final verse!! You can hear (Bob?) trying to slide into a smokestack or spoonful. But it is cut off and Jerry delivers one his best versions of Comes a Time.

Solid play on both nights. I prefer the 1/2 Step opener to a Bucket...but... .

Hard to top the 2nd set Scarlet>Fire> Estimated>He's Gone.

It took a while for West L.A. to grow on me and it did not seem to be a great opener - but looking back 24 years, I much more appreciate this choice by the band.

Oh, forgot this (along with 6/30) was the first Paint my Masterpiece I had heard by the GD. I fully expected Jer to sing it as he had so often on his solo gigs. But I was pleasantly suprised at Weir's delivery and how different the song sounded from the '88 - '90 versions.

Anyway - get these two shows (along w/ 6/30 and 7/6). And if you think '87 was an off year in many ways - perhaps these 4 diamonds can change your mind!!

5 stars for '87
4.5 for any year

I was at both of these shows.Tickets were hard to come by,small venue.In a summer of huge stadium shows,this was a nice stop!I don't want to go on forever(blah,blah,blah)but this is a sweet show for 87'Jerry was gettin' it this night.Solid show all in all>nice Estimated.Give it a whirl for sure!!

Bucket...jacked up up from the first note !
Sugaree....Grateful Shred !
DDN...Never a "bad" DDN..party in full force now...
Never Trust a Woman...oh well..somke another one..oh yeah buddy next is
Masterpiece !! Can't go wrong with a '87 Masterpeice right before the Dead/Dylan tour..little fast tho...makes me want to listen to the '74 Dylan/Band...
BRR...time to dance and twirl...
LIG...somke another one..those first few notes are like "right on Bro we are gonna get a "Let it Grow!...beats the heck out of the 90's where we would say ..all right we get a "Samba"..but I digress
2md set - Jerry's set -
Scarlet/Fire/....love the aaudience...miss the band way too much to ever say there is a "bad one"...what would you give to see them do Scarlet/Fire again..?

Estimated..FUNKY..Psycho ...screaming preaching Bob and The Fat Man going all over the place @ 4:00-5:10 solo..Rainbows end down that highway where ocean breezes blow...then praise the maker we get a

"He's Gone" ....again ..miss 'em too much..never a bad one..(you may know better but I miss them too much...)
Drums>Space...hey its '87...no one else was doing this..My God "Jefferson airplane/starship"..were playing the Fargo State Fair...uggggh

Crazy Fingers..are you kidding me....man i thought it was just the srictnine..time to find those twirling girls....
TRUCKIN.....THE GD IN ALL THEIR TYE_DYED ACID SOAKED GLORY....
Comes a time...so rare and sweet....needed to slow down anyways...Oh boy "SUGAR MAG..always get ya back up...
what will they close with....please maybe a Fantasy..or a brokedown...no f'n way BLACK MUDDY RIVER !!!!! thanks guys....

Well for those who know their 1987, this show is another slam dunk pick. This was the last show before the run with Dylan, two shows which would become part of View From the Vault #4 (7/24 and 7/26).Needless to say, the band was well rehearsed and on a roll.

I must however comment on this Matrix, Charlie did the best he could with this one, but to be honest, I think Healy was a little too baked when he mixed this one. It sounds way more like an AUD, albeit a great one, than a SBD. You hear almost no Phil, Brent is often low in the mix, and the vocals and drums have way too much reverb and distance.

That said, the song selection and playing are both so over the top, that the sound quality (always a low priority factor for me in picking top shows, since so often newer upgrades are released, the sound quality factor is very changeable) does not deter one bit from enjoying this show. Look at the second set - again, as in 5/2/87, this could be a 1977 show, say 5/25/77 when they did the exact same sequence - Scarlet>Fire, Estimated>He's Gone>Drums. What a stacked deck!


A thundering Bucket opens the show, followed by a fairly up tempo Sugaree, which is much better than some 80's versions where the song tends to drag slow. Jerry delivers a great vocal here. All Over Now is a good choice next, keeping the feeling of fun and beach balls in the air.
Dupree's adds to the carnival atmosphere. Brent contributes some nice keys on this, not too toy piano sounding, just right. I could do without
Good Times, but it could also be worse (Tons of Steel) and it's actually pretty good, Jerry throws down some tasty blues.

Masterpiece, obviously invokes the spirit of Dylan's recent appearance and takes the show to the next level. And you can hear the band loosen
up a bit and begin to jam more, especially Phil. A fine version, Bob handles the vocals nicely. RxR Blues is a perfect addition to set you up
for the end of the set. One of the songs brought back from the old days and it really has that 1971-72 feeling here. Did I say jam? Jerry really
turns himself loose on this one for the first time in the set. Hot!
No Let it Grow can top those of 1973 and 1974, but this one is no slouch. Lots of speed and power. Garcia hits all the notes and plays with a big confident sound. He growls, he sails high, he shoots sparks. The drummers keep a strong polyrhythmic platform going for the band to jam around. The ending is masterfully done, and the cosmic twinkle that the jams contain hint that what's to come in Set Two will be something special indeed.

The drums really kick off Scarlet and don't let up. Garcia's solos are focused and lively. The ending jam is jazzy and on the mellow side and gently slides into Fire. At about 2:30 Jerry really gets serious and delivers some scorching leads, not to mention some great singing. Healy throws in some vocal delays here and there, just to mess with you. Jerry whips the audience into a frenzy and you can hear their roar of approval. This is NOT your Grandmother's Fire. Wow what a version. The urge to stop writing and get up and dance is overwhelming.

Estimated keeps the beat going, with great ensemble playing by the group. The drums absolutely dominate, incredible playing by Bill and Mickey. Wait, what are those other sounds? Is that my brain melting? Infectious grooves abound. He's Gone is also well done and lightens the mood a bit. Smile, smile smile. Nice harmonies too. And they include the Gospel First Church of Funky ending with the call and response vocals. Who wouldn't be happy now?

Even though the 70's will always be my favorite era, there's one thing that they did not have - SPACE. When you think about it, the Space segment is kinda like every show having a Dark Star in it. Jerry begins this jam with the wah and a minor mode mellow type of style, then moves to a more fuzzed tone with synth polytones, as Bob and Mickey add swirly sounds. A very laid back, yet trippy segment. The shift to Crazy Fingers is almost seamless. I never was thrilled with the Crazy Fingers of 1976, and it wasn't until I got into the 1980's shows that I discovered what they could do with this song as a jam vehicle, not to
mention Brent's contributions to the song. Jerry's tone is clear as spring water as he fires off little waterfalls of notes. The harmonies are
nice too. The last 2-3 minutes of jamming are gorgeous moments.
Truckin picks up the pace perfectly. Bob remembers the words! What a event! So he has some fun with his "stutter rap" effect and the crowd
loves it. This Truckin is just the strong cup of espresso you need to get your second wind and make it to the encore.
Then another shift to the mellow side with a version of Comes a Time that brings the house down. I must admit, this matrix is nice to hear
during this song to experience the crowd reaction. They become part of the song. As a matter of fact, Garcia delivers such a passionate version, the whole universe becomes part of the song. Only love can fill. What a solo at the end!

If you haven't noticed by now, this is a Jerry show hands down - he's playing all his favorite songs, Scarlet>Fire, He's Gone, Crazy Fingers,
Comes a Time, RxR Blues.
They race to the finish line and summon even more energy with a blazing Sugar Mag. The drums pound like thunder, and Jerry pushes the fire higher and higher. Wow. Black Muddy River is a much needed long cool drink and a big hug before going home. A perfect close to a classic 80's show, and a well deserved five stars. An essential show for
any 1987 collection.

cheers,
Dr. Flashback

When the Dead took a break while touring with Dylan in the mega-stadiums it was usually something special. See the Pitt Civic Center (7-6-87) and Roanoke show before this.

I'm giving this a 4.7

Sweet show. Exelent C Miller remaster. Could use a little more bass for those of us with small shelf stereos with no subwoofer.