24/41: Franklin's Tower (14:13) -> Drumz (33:26) -> Watchtower (7:25) -> Days Between (13:30) -> Good Lovin'.

Good show that certainly has its ups and downs. First set on the whole is solid, well-executed and present, clocking in at around an hour. As for the second, might as well skip straight to the Help, where for all intents and purposes the set should have started. Franklin’s Tower is interesting, has a different groove to it and segues into Drums. Those Garcia guitar sounds midway and near the end of Space are quite possibly the saddest sound in the universe. Its haunting tone carries over to the Watchtower. Surprisingly not so much in the Days Between, which tbh is really shaky to start, lyrically a mess, but heavy as ever. 

This was my 1st GD show , and what a time it was . Me & and friend drove from Iowa the night before , and arrived in the middle of an intense rain storm .

Camped in Forest park ( in Noblesville , and ran into friends from IA city unexpectedly ; sinchronicty ]

The 21st , a thursday was a sunny , hot day filled with fun . In the venue , the band ripped into a cool 1st set . The same thing and Jack a roe did it for me in the 1st half ; although Muusic never stopped , touch > greatest , uncle > mexicali were stroingly played .

The 2d set was really fun , loved Phils If the shoe fits amidst all of the other great music .

We then drove to Chicago to catch the saturday July 23 rd show ; and then home . that chicago show was also a ral high time .

Peace

Considering I received my diploma on the stage at deer creek just 2 weeks before my first shows, makes this a magical place no matter what the music was like. I have to say I agree that deer creek was not the place for many legendary shows but certainly saw its share of legendary moments. 1992 brought us the final To lay me down and a raucous first set closer of Newspeedway into Smokestack. Or was it the other way around? Then in 1993 who can forget the Dark Star on the third night, (my personal weakest deer creek run next to 95) and then 1994 is first in my heart for an amazing playin and throwin the first night, Mathilda and post space uncle johns the second and if you listen closely you can hear a Stephen tease coming out of watchtower in the 2nd set of the third night. God I miss you guys.

I lived about 3 miles from Deer Creek growing up, and made it to all the Dead shows from 1991-1995..the stars were aligned for this show, you had to be there...the only thing bad was, at this time, there was small farmhouses scattered about around Deer Creek, and they were complaining ALOT about dudes busting out the grills in their front yards while waiting in long traffic lines on SR 238 for the gates to open...lol

Track down an audience recording of this one and you will hear Jerry blurt out "this place is perfect" as the boys tuned up for the second set. His mic was on, but the PA was off so Bobby repeated "He said: this place is perfect" with the PA on. Not really a perfect show, but anybody who every made it to the creek knows what a special place it was. Listen to this one for the nostalgia and a good help>slip>frank, but if your looking for something to listen to time and time again keep looking...1994 was tough.

The whole night turns around for help>slip>frank. The whole first set is pretty poorly executed, and the first three songs of the second set are very lackluster. Then they just whip out a very strong help>slip>frank into drums. Jerry outta nowhere starts tearing it up, and seems like he isn't just rolling through the motions. Major tempo issues bog down both the Watchtower and the Days out of space. Overall I don't think the show is spectacular by any stretch, hence the 3 star rating (which I think is generous considering help>slip>frank are the only really competently played tunes of the night). It is a good sounding recording though, with only a couple minor glitches. If you weren't there and getting it for the sake of nostalgia, your bandwidth is best spent elsewhere.

Revision: Not to disagree with anyone, but this show is not, in my opinion, a classic example of the typical Deer Creek shows. I saw every show there from 89 thru 94, and although 93 was not great and 92 wasn't amazing either, 94 (musically) was by far the worst run there. And I can only express happiness that I wasn't there in 95 for that travesty.

no offense Donaldo, but Jerry, Weir and Phil were doing midi and digital as far back as 1988, maybe even earlier than that. Jerry had a Roland GK-2 strapped on his Wolf in 1988, and in 1990 The Rosebud had it imbedded under the faceplate. Jerry actually conceptualized some pretty advanced loop technology that had made it into his rig by not long after this. They had the digital thing down pat by this point in their existence. Do a google search for "Garcia's guitars" and you will find a link to a page that describes it in excruciating detail.

There were indeed many moments in this show where the band just didn't seem to be on the same page. The Help Slip Franklin is a real gem, however. For those who are interested in the band's transitions over the decades, this show and others during this year offer a unique opportunity to hear a band who has always pushed the limits of soundscape through technology, come to terms with a new digital era. To hear Jerry take little forays into crisp digital domains, as with the other members, is a real treat. No, they didn't have it down, but they are experimenting with new sounds and afterall, isn't that what the Dead do?

great show, and this copy is a bit better than the other. the help slip franklin into drums was great. a classic example of a deer creek run. i saw this show, and it was a good one of many.