This set is totally pristine. 1989 the best year for the Dead by light years.

So I was hanging out with this wonderful lady friend since the show from the night before. I had told her that I would love to hear Saint Of Circumstance. Need I say more?

And they had a wonderful room set up for dancing with lots of speakers and pics from the previous year at Alpine.

1st Set: "Hell" starts out a tad loose, but comes full circle with a raucous ending. The men are not going for the tender and delicate even though it's "TLEO." (First time in a while a 'Sugaree' did not follow.) "Rooster" is strong, a rare time when Brent's rasps are sexy instead of combative. Wring out some blood Jerry (early 7's) "Stagger" is a tad plain, but nothing too dull so I don't have to skip ahead. "Mama" is typically short but sweet...like a sharp piece of Wisconsin cheese, without the sop. Kick your heels up with some "Mexicali" polka. It's pretty active and well-paced but not especially gripping. The following "Bird" is more forceful, at first Jerry's vocals make it appealingly fluttering, but the jam is increasingly hard-pressed to make a statement. By the 7's it's not just noise anymore, and by the 8:18 Brent's twiddling becomes so slight it's precious. Not a memorable climax but I guess it'll suffice.

2nd Set: "Scarlet" is bright and cheery, but not particularly memorable. There's an equal amount of commitment from the particpants which dismays because Jerry should be the leader. The playing is professional, but noone really shines. Keen poking into "Fire" It worms its way around the main theme but ends up telling a straight-forward story that neither thrills or bores. OK...the first "Saint" in a long while...though I remember it being played in late '88. It's credibly played and threatens to cut loose during the tense build-up, but its slide is smooth and less contentious. However, the vocals are nice. The consistency continues with a cool "truckin." It's as if the boys realize they're in a zone and are content to play the music without any emotional commitment. Therefore, the songs are all more than competently handled, but sound thin and as if they're disinterested in bonding with the crowd. Although we could have gone the 'blues song' route with the familiar outro jam, we end up in for a pounding with "Drums." The end features ringing xylos that would be employed for a romantic montage in some S. Pacific locale. Apparently, "Space" woke up the dormant Garcia who enlivens the first half of "TOO." On the downside, it settles into comfortable territory half-way through eventually dissembling into "Stella." It's modest with Jerry admirably scaling in the 4's. "Throwing" and its follow-up "Lovelite" are standard goodness, the latter noted for its extended, without a false ending, looseness.

We'll leave you with a spunkily sung, yet typically nice if undifferentiated "Box."

3 stars

This show smokes both in terms of Sound and musicianship. There is so many good versions here, it ain't even worth mentioning. IMHO, one of the best of Spring 89!

It's also funny hearing Weir blow the lyrics to Saint. One of the two Saint's in 1989.

Just like the night before - short but solid show. This source sounds a bit better than the previous night. What a strong time this was for the boys. This is a fantastic listen.

Check out the Rooster...

so this was fixed, right? i apologize that i don't know much about the audio digital software folks run...i'll have to google shntool to learn more about it. anyway, i know i checked this out before and the quality of the recording was just not that good...and i was super bummed, b/c for some reason i always loved this show among the 120+ i saw...great show at a stellar venue.

thanks willy!

Good show, good sound. Worthy of any collection. Was 1989 fuckin' awesome or what? Especially the five Wisconsin shows. 7/17 being the best. Pick this one up. Stagger Lee and TLEO ROCK!!!!! Scarlet>Fire is fantastic too!