So I listened to this and many other Shakedowns recently. This is a nice one, but my favorite is 12-28-82, It certainly starts out a little sloppy, but stay with it. Peace to all.

This was my first show! I prefer the audience recording to remind me of the energy of that day. This is the best audience recording of the lot.Thanks to everyone for all their time and energy to get this in our hands!

A few notes on the show
- I love Jerry's solo at the end of "Mississippi Half Step". He really hits those beautiful high tones.
- "Keep on Growing" and "Gimmie Some Lovin" are great. I love Brent and Phil vocals.
- "Shakedown" is very good, don't remember what got the audience in a frenzy at the end.
- I remember "Samson" chorus, where everyone on the field were singing along.
- "He's Gone" is very good, great crowd participation.
- Great version of "Other One"
- Beautiful version of "Stella Blue"

I have seen many classic bands at Merriwether, as Md is my home state. My first concert was GoGo's and A Flock of Seagulls, Bob w Scaring the Children,Allman Brothers, Steely Dan, Pirates Ball (cancelled but we went and partied on the lot dosed) Would have lovved to see gd there. But I didnt start going to gd shows til 3 14 1990. Anyway this is a great show with Cryptical and all.

Hitchhiked from Houston. Supposed to meet a friend in the parking lot who had my ticket. "I'll be in a green, or a brown van" he said.

Got caught up in a crowd of gate crashers who were between ticket holders and the gate. SO intensely crushing that my feet came up off the ground and I couldn't breathe. Almost lost my shit. 11 people died at the Who ran through my mind as I began to be very high.

Gatekeepers relented. Made it into the show by CC Rider, found my friends, and had the time of my life.
The boys were having as much fun as we were.

Party continued well into the night in the park. Even giving some super square undercover cops trying to buy drugs from us the shine was fun. Silly rabbits...

Good lord I miss the Dead - RIP Jerry.

If you want to have a pretty much flawless show with some of , if not thee best sound OADE is it. Some people didn't dig '85 and I still don't get it. I only saw maybe 28 or so shows the whole year and I cannot remember any lame shows except 1 night in the spring on Long Island it was the show that didn't start Truckin>smokestack or the UJB nite. But this nite at Mmp had it all, I don't try to explain the effect fungus had on our scene and our minds but just like the dude's comment right above mine the Sugar Magnolia was way high and we were like the last row of seats and this place is just about fucking shaking and we were standing on concrete. 1985 was great maybe Garcia didn't even look a little bit healthy and Phil was ending his Heineken years weir always looked the same back then but the bottom line was THE MUSIC and this night we got music

not gloating, but was at both nights, new to the Dead scene then, but the beautiful SBDS of this show remind me of a great time in my life, and one killer show. No one should be without this tape in their collection

I'm usually more of a fan of the early 70's stuff, but recently I've been turned onto '85 and I'm digging it deeply. Jerry just tears it up all over the place and the band grooves hard behind him. It doesn't have the gloriously subtle interplay of the earlier years, but it has intensity and groove. Of the five or so shows I've heard from this year, this might just be the best. Shakedown is insane, and they ride that peak right into Samson for an incredibly locked in and rocketing rendition. The transition from He's Gone to Cryptical is out of this world. So smooth and spooky and when they finally hit it the audience is nuts. On THE OTHER ONE they really go for broke and conjure up some of that old school dead magic. Overall, definately worth the download. Love the vibe of these AUDs

I was at the next evening, July 1 and I'm sorry I missed this show. I listen to this show so much - over and over. Just filled with energy and great versions of all the songs. Even the slow stuff is listenable as it has a nice feel. One of the best Shakedowns ever! These board recordings are a God send 'cause I don't remember most specifics about the over 16 Dead shows I saw in my life. In fact, I don't remember the July 1 show and I was there 'cause I still have the ticket stubs as it was the first Dead show I took mh future wife to see.

I just turned 19 and was living in Wyoming, not many Dead shows around! Got this fresh tape from a friend on the ECoast and got turned on to Jerry right away. Moved up to Bozeman MT the next year and started hitting West Coast shows whenever I could, this tape started it all. Lots of great memories, and 25 years later still listen to the Dead every day. Would have loved to be at this show, and interestingly enough, after going to tons of shows and listening to so many others, this still stands out as a favorite, for me, especially first set energy. Love it! 4 for sound, 5 for pure energy and crowd effect!!!

Regarding the 13:43 crowd surge, same thing happens around 6+ mark. I think it's in response to the jam and probably the lights. It was still light outside, but kinda dark under the shed. I don't recall fence jumping problems until the next night and those were NOTHING compared to what I witnessed in Richmand 4 months later (ass clowns wrapped in sheets running through the plate glass windows of the coliseum).

boy this is one for the history books! to bad the rest of the show is a tad on the sloppy, but they had it goin on during shakedown. the whole jam is perfection but yes, around that 13 minute mark the tone shifts, and something more profound starts happening... man i can only imagine what it would have been like to be there for that.
For me, this could be the best live Grateful Dead moment ever...
5 stars, for shakedown alone

Sounds to me like the crowd is cheering for Jerry's solo. Hard to believe people would cheer for fence jumpers, especially since those kinds of things made it hard for the band to tour in later days. Could be the banner, but sounds like it corresponds with Jer and his gee-tar.

These were the only two summer shows I saw this year and they were a blast. After my friends went to Saratoga and had their minds blown, we hit the road. When we arrived we had no tickets and my buddy went to the box office right at show time and scored 4 front row seats, we could not believe it and rushed in. The first set was very good and the band was having a blast. The highlight had to be the pre-drums and that killer Shakedown. When they broke out Gimme Some Lovin it was wild, listen to the crowd chant the old harmonies. The second half had some great moments too. The ending was very strong and Jerry,in the spirit of partisianship or lack of, gave us a rousing send off. Columbia was this planed community and we must have not have been in their plans, we were never invited back after two nights of zany antics. Their loss.

...becase @ that moment the backfence on stage left was trampled by the rush of fence jumpers. t was my first show, sorry bout the fence.

i am sure that had a huge effect on the crowd that night. I because illegal at midnight. These two shows were so much fun. Personally I loved the second night but i suspect that has to do with my location.
The camp scene was wonderful, different areas denoted by colours. So much unbridled fun!

they had the griffin banner up all summer. can't really recall if they unfurled it or it was in place from the get-go, but it was up in cincinatti, blossom, the post and saratoga maybe. hershey not.

chris, it might be because of the 20-years/'we will survive' banner being unfurled? not sure if they were doing that yet but by fall '85 they had done it at the 10/28 Fox Theater show.
i remember hearing 'sgt. peppers' on the PA system a show or two during that summer...

"it seemed like a main era."

Yet another great show from the summer '85 tour (the next night has my all time favorite drum/space).

And yes, the Shakedown is one of the best ever, once they stop the silly singing. Weir is taking his effects pedal to freaking town from ten minutes onwards.

One mystery (at least from this tape) is why the crowd goes apeshit at the 13:46 mark. What's happening? I mean, the music is good, but there is a swell of enthusiasm that seems to erupt from something other than the jamming and which then seems to carry the band along with it.

Anyone there who can explain? Lighting maybe?

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Thanks upstairs for the two cents. The thing is that I, too, remember this cassettee "from back in the day." It was a board and I recall the peak moment being more "obvious," which is to say, "more audible." I guess I should try to dig out the tape from the boxes and boxes of tapes ...

I'd review this show, but I need to check myself into the med tent after listening to that Shakedown.

Chris U, try giving it another listen. It should be clear that the crowd is peaking right along with the jam. Jerry hits the sweet spot, lifts the audience about three feet off the ground, and keeps the people suspended in mid-air for good five to ten bars. They can't help but to scream, as they hold on for dear life. If the lighting was extraordinarily spectacular, then that was just the icing on the cake.

This was one of my favorite cassettes from back in the day when I actually still had any of my old stuff, and Shakedown Street is one of the best I ever heard, the reason being its utter intensity. Coming across this show today, I clicked it on, remembering it as being a firecracker, but all the years do combine, and sometimes it's difficult to distinguish from memory what was hot and what was even hotter.

This show was an "even hotter!"

So, ride out the drive down Shakedown, but fasten your seat belt, because that low-ridin' Chevy you're cruising in transforms into a space shuttle, Captain Trips* at the helm.

There's a lot of really smokin' stuff here: Brown-Eyed Women, Big Railroad Blues, Samson & Delilah, Gimme Some Lovin', Around & Around>Sugar Magnolia. Cryptical Envelopment coming out of He's Gone electrifies the crowd. And if ballads are your cup of tea, then drink in Looks Like Rain and Stella Blue and savor them.


*I know he hated that name, and this might be the first time I've referred to him as that in 30 years. But in this case it is apropos.

This is a classic mid-80s show at a classic, classic venue. Wish I'd been there.

only shows i saw that summer were at alpine so i missed some great ones. too late now. anyway, this is one i am really sorry i missed. when i heard the tape back then i was blown away by the shakedown/samson and the sugar mag (i agree, definitely underrated). oade quality is excellent, capturing the feel of the pavillion. i deduct a star because the cryptical envelopment is awful, except for the excellent transition from he's gone. the 85 crypticals generally are a let down in my opinion.

i like the burp and beer can opening sounds pre-shakedown.......gotta be phil right? shakedown is the best version ive heard

again, 20 years ago tonite i was onstage behind phils equipment looking out at the crowd and they opened the 2nd set with shakedown! hellll yeah! i remember the light bank coming down and shining out on the audience when phil hit those powerchords during the opening notes. ahhh summer 85 was a great time to be on tour yes it was. get the oade auds til the awesome cm sbd comes out. its a true 5 star recording. hahah i almost forgot..i ran into uncle bobo there as he was out walking thru the crowd. he was real nice, but didnt seem to like us when we said uncle bobo. o well, we all got over it.

I wasn't there but I agree those were the days and this night in particular was peak Dead. You were very lucky to have been in that little dosed out pavalion June 30th 1985. Old school pre-Touch scene everyone partying down before with low hassle untill late 80's War On Drugs crack down. Shakedown is no doubt top 5 maybe 1 or 2? So yea that would of been a trip and a real treat to have been there.
The He's Gone > Crypytical is sublime.

Here's the whole show in Oade Aud format. This Audience tape captures the MPP atmosphere well, and while it's not for sbd purists, it satisfies those of us who were there. The levels are great, and all the sound is there. You get the Phil bombs on these Oade recordings. Set 1 had some PA problems that can be heard here during CC Rider. I believe Phil had fried a few speakers during the Dew in Hershey 2 nights prior.
Plenty has been said about this show, and with good reason. My wife and I were in the pavillion this night, and there was unquestionably something special in the air. There was a vibe that was wild and kind. The excitement level among the audience from the Shakedown through the MOST UNDERRATED Sugar Mag/SSDD ever, was phenomenal! People were singing along and dancing like it was the last night on Earth. I'll never forget the way it looked in there during that SSDD jam - Every body was *in motion* and the howl of *LOVE* was hair raisingly beautiful. The band shined their light back at us like the yellow rays of the rising sun. The POWER of the music was incredible.
Out of well over 100 GD concerts, this was my favorite. The circus of the Deadheads was at a huge peak just before the word got out to the populace general. We camped in the woods and fields on the venue property outside the gates, and we were left to do as we pleased.
Let the critics have their keith&donna, I'll take this serving of tasty, wild 1985 summer glory anytime.
LP