Three 3-day runs at MSG with a day off in between each (this is the 3rd night of 9 in 11 days). The days of extraordinary popularity. There is some below average playing and some nice playing but the show is mostly handed to Branford Marsalis on sax. It's not better/worse than the rest of the run as much as different – if you prefer Branford/Hornsby, then you will like. And if you want to try sax in yr Dead, you might start with this one.

First Set. The Shakedown opener is tentative, with everybody testing, which is why the solo breaks kind of fall out – nobody wants to step on anybody else (which will happen all night). This is a sax set, not a Jerry set. That said, a sax-based See, See Rider Blues is a rarity in the catalog (Bobby's Slide Practice™ not so much). Hornsby is great in a nice It Takes a Lot to Laugh (all '91/'92s come in from a See See). Though Black-Throated Wind is clunky, High Time ain't half bad. The sax works here and is not just an add-on. Even better, Cassidy is nearly perfect, even without Jer prominence, demonstrating nice ensemble playing from Hornsby/Marsalis. Jer really steps back on Deal, which loses some momentum on tenor sax.

Second Set. Help>Slip>Franklin's is solid, albeit vampy. But Estimated has some rough moments, and leads into a barely there Dawk Staw. There is psychedelic Star, primal Star, flowery Star, but this is lite rock Star. It has its moments, but 38min of mellowness is a lot by the end of the reprise. Here Marsalis is handed the reins, and some might find it fresh or unique, while others might say jazz-wanking isn't GOGD. A decent Miracle breaks the discursion ("splendor in the dirt"), followed by a pretty groggy Standing on the Moon. The rest is average '91.

1st Set:  C+
2nd Set: C
Overall = 2¾ stars

Highlights:
Cassidy – nearly perfect example of this config, works nicely

SOURCES: The 157119_dsbd_miller is the updated SBD. The 138917_cmc34 is a great AUD if you rebalance. The DAT_ONeill_Mahoney_Noel is a crisp, crystal AUD, if a little shrill [use EQ]. Least dry is the haugh_gems_98701 MTX. 30 Trips has the whole show [multitrack mixdown]. Definitive Live has High Time. The show is usually up on YouTube.

I had seen everything from Hartford thru Albany in Spring 90 but had to finallly go back to College & skipped my hometown shows in LI. Woops. Thanks to C.B. a tremendous taper, i had amazing audience tapes within a few days of the epicness. But as amazing as that Birdsong, Eyes, Dark Star & Wharf Rat were, i felt bummed I'd missed it.

Catching this MSG show with Branford for the entirety took alot of the sting out a full 18 months later. I saw 4 nights ofthe 91 MSG run & this one was tremendous. Hornsby & Branford? Oh yeah. There was such a rich flavor to the sound that night. Great show!

I seriously never thought I'd find a show in '91 that I could truly honestly and without reservation say is 5-star material, but this one fits the bill. It's just a ridiculously hot meeting of musical minds w/Branford and Bruce totally locked in and given plenty of room to add color and nuance and power to every song.

Especially awesome is the "Shakedown", "Help>Slip>Tower" combo, a lovely jazzy "Dark Star" and a beautiful bluesy "Takes a Lot to Laugh" that finds Jerry in fine vocal form, even at this late date in the band's history.

An amazing performance all around, and this coming from a head who believes the band peaked (consistency-wise anyway) in 1977.

This is a 5 star show all the way for me, a desert island disc for sure. In fact, I rank this as the best post Keith and Donna show and rank the Help>Slip>Franklins as one of the ultimate expressions of the GD magic, EVER. Check out Phil on the Help. Jerry, Bruce and Branford contribute to an acid drenched and quite jazzy version of Slipknot, shades of Bitches Brew era Miles Davis. They take their time with Franklins Tower, everybody gets a chance to shine.
Now for the very few flaws in this performance- While Bruce brought some great chops to the table and definately got Jerry fired up, he can be overbearing at times. And Vince stumbles on occasion (Estimated "sax", Dark Star organ). Like others have mentioned, the sound is a bit cluttered at points, to be expected with 8 musicians onstage.
But that is a small price to play for the breathtaking heights that this show reaches. Every song played here is an all time version, with the exception of Dark Star and Lovelight, and thats only cuz of the epic versions of these tunes they tossed off in the 60s-early 70s.
Grateful Dead music just doesn't get any better than this.
And for the record, this show absolutely CRUSHES 12-31-90 and is better overall than 3-29-90(except for the Eyes of course).

This will make it as a dead cd release someday.. Bastard friends went to mooch a shower without me in the a.m. Who's laughing now??? I got up and scored on and they stunk all day. Try catching a Shower in NYC without a room.. Great Show, Great Times, Great Friends

now after saying that,I will let you know that I am not spinning and bowing and kissing the ground---BUT this show turned me into a wave of sound,that floats and bounces from galaxy to galaxy,chasing butterflies through houses of mirrors----------OK get the point--what a fuckin show!!!!!Branford,Bruce and MSG--jsut listen to it---my ex and I brought a couple of her friends to their first Dead show on this night,and they were completely blown away-after the show d. told me that he never had witnessed anything so perfect before--he was completely amazed by the way the crowd melted into the sound and then the band--no drugs either--

Saw them first in 1976; a lot from '77-'84, this was almost the last time. Increasingly, as the years went on, they (or Jerry) were less focused, rambled more, more wasted notes.
Not this night.
Dark Star is just amazing; different from the great '69 and '71 versions, of course, but equally transporting; wild, but completely within itself. A gem.

The best Tuesday night I have ever had. By far the best show I've ever seen. The level of talent onstage was remarkable.

I could not believe the electricity that filled MSG, it was truly a special night. Very biased, but I think this is the show of the 90's.

You my friend have stumbled upon something amazing . . . if it be by choice or happen stance . . . welcome . . .

The MSG 1991 shows are fantastic, simply put.

The help-->slip-->franklin's here is amazing. Better than the 3-30-90 one on Without a Net , IMO due to the personnel involved with this version. Branford really makes this version special . . . couple that with Hornsby and it is even that much more so. Listening to Garcia come out of nowhere with a ripping lick of finger work is great after hearing Branford and Hornsby dual together for a while.

The dead and Branford enjoy playing dark stars together . . . ie. 3-29-90 . . . check that show out as well. (a ‘net’ recording show actually) This version is a good example of ones from the early 90’s, and it has both verses so that always makes one special. Branford’s sax sounds perfect with everyone, a testament to his musical ability for sure.

This particular SOTM always makes me tingle, Garcia belting out those lyrics and Branford playing the sax in perfect unison is just amazing. “I’d rather be with you . . .” Then on into Lovelight . . . Branford really takes this one and makes it. I wish he played with the boys more often, again . . . check out 3-29-90 in particular.

The first set is great as well, especially the shakedown . . . but the whole second set stands alone as one of the best examples of early 90’s dead that they ever played. The late 70’s shows and these early 90’s ones are quite possibly some of the finest dead periods.

I thoroughly enjoy listening to this over again.

FYI . . . SBD's of this show are relatively easy to find, and I highly recommend downloading it. An easy 5 star rating . . . ;)

The lineup this rare evening is inspiring. The boys take things in new directions; jazz is present all night long. The Dead have always had a tendency toward the looseness of a jazzy groove; it makes me happy to find it prominent and revisited here.

It can be stated that this is a top-notch, late '91 glossy-tight show. It may seem muddled to some ears but my take is that it's 8 musicians playing at once. I can assume if I was in that house it would have sounded just perfectly fine. '91 is a legendary year with Hornsby sitting in; I agree with all who declare he rallied this Band back up to old standards from years of lore. Rock on. We Are Everywhere.

This show is grate. D/L this from GDLive on shn. The sound quality is superb. Everything is crystal clear, the mix is perfect. Put on your boogie shoes for the show. Just take a look at the 2nd setlist if there are any doubts. I love this show.

This was one of the first cassettes I ever collected. Oh my god. I still get a chill up my spine when they kick into 'Shakedown'. I agree that Dark Star is a little shaky at the start (thanks vinnie) but all in all this whole show rocks. That CC Rider->Train to Cry is just sweet. High Time with Brandford seems strange on paper, but it fit so so soooo well. Required listening. Thanks to the blanks and postage guy who threw this show in as a bonus. He hooked me up with a bunch of fall tour tapes.

THis show is incredible...Phil lights it u on a number of tunes...especially Shakedown. I was late to the game in downloading this SBD...if anyone has a cpoy, please send me ane email semrod@redwoodcreekcapital.com

this is the better sounding source on the archive.
this was a fun show to be at, but (at least for me) doesn't quite live up to just how good i thought it was at the time. comparing them now, nearly any '89 show is superior, imho. too much going on here...kind of distracts from jerome. (also, it seems vince is too hign in the mix, always an unwelcome occurence.)

it's hard to believe that people actually write critical reviews of these dead shows when they are supposedly dead fans (not deadheads since the road has been closed for about ten years now)

for this show everyone was waiting for Marsalis to sit in some more - I caught him for the first time at Nassau the winter before although it was hard to see him and we wondered for a while who was jamming with Jerry with that crazy new sound that could not have been the keyboards; MSG was ready and waiting for the full show with him

the song list, the garden, the third night of a always so wonderful long fall run in manhattan and the energy and play among all the band made us walk away again smiling and thinking how good it was once again - estimated and dark star especially great as well as starting the show with shakedown and cc rider

no more bitching about this show and that show - knowck it off, smoke a bone, crank it listen and ENJOY and dance a bit instead of writing critical music reviews

This show is most certainly required listening. The first set is pretty wonderful in its inspired song choices and terrific versions. And the second is a tripped out big band version of the grateful dead, in a good way. After listening to the show I just wanted to whine a little bit about Vince. Im a big 91 fan but I really wish that Vince would have just shut up a little more while Bruce was around. On soundboards like this do you ever notice that he's always on the high end and that he at times drowns out Jerry. Also, and I know he was new, but I find he at times actually hampered the playing. For example at the beginning of Darkstar in this show, Jerry and Brandford simultaneously fall right into it and delve right in but Vince goes into this terrible "Darkstar" organ line and they literally have to almost stop and restart the song. Sometimes I like the stuff Vince would come up with from 92 on, as he seemed to find more of a better voice that fit with the band. Don't let this deter you from listening to this show though, as its a good one.

of Branford and Bruce together along with an "on" Jerry in a great sounding flac. COMPEL YOU!!!

Get this

they already have a good version but 1 more won't hurt

I didnt listen to the show yet but since it sounds really good to me Ill start it out with 5 stars