Brent tears it up on Big River. I don’t remember if I knew then that Phil hadn’t sung in a decade. I remember it was GA and we were young and right in front of the stage. When he started singing Tom Thumb Blues, I think it was Mickey, stood up and started clapping. This three show run at Nassau was magical. Time passes. Phil is now 80. Thanks to the Internet Archive I can relive that lovely, crazy mid-week March as a high-schooler 35 years ago. Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul, indeed.

To the baked hippy below, reviews from folks who weren't at the show is perfectly fine, just make it thoughtful, some of the worst reviews are from those at the show...

I've always loved this show, especially the first set. SBD quality is good, original board was speeded up a touch. Besides the aforementioned half step and tom thumbs, the west la is well played as is the big river. In the second set, shakedown has a vocal flub or two, but there is some fine playing, a reverse UJB, Playin is next....Stella Blue is fonzy city

that was 12.28 84 at san fran civic, I was at both the new years '84 run and all spring east coast shows in '85..just a friendly correction...a great era for the band..loved this shakedown..not quite merriweather or philly from '85, or new years or Syracuse from '84 but very good.

May I make a suggestion - no more reviews from people who weren't at the show/ I don't need someone's opinion of the recording itself, since it can be heard. These kids who comment on the show that weren't there are totally clueless. Like the idiot saying this was an uneventful show. First Lesh solo lead vocal since '73 when they played Box of Rain regularly. That is 12 years. I guess some firebombs would've been "eventful", or Garcia biting the head off a bat. Hilarious.

I was there and while this was not the best show I have seen, it was notable for a few reasons.

1) It was the first time that the floor was general admission. Lots of room to dance right near the soundboard. Yahoo!

2) It was my first Mississippi 1/2 Step. Loved it.

3) It was the first time I heard Phil sing (Tom Thumb)

4) It was the 1st Tons of Steel (and I was a Brent fan so that was cool).

Many of the 1985 shows were short (the first set at Hershey later that summer was so short... after waiting in the rain all afternoon)... but this show still holds a special place in my memory.

Corby112, I'm surprised you call this show "uneventful". This was the first 1/2 Step they played in years and it was the first time Phil sang a song solo live in some 10 years. The show wasn't spectacular but these two "breakouts" made it quite eventful and certainly the best show of the 3 at the Nassau Coliseum and one of the best on the tour.

first I could find & I've been looking

...other than that this show is really uneventful. The first set is very short and uninspired and they seem to rush through most of the selections with great apathy. The Half Step>Bucket duo that opens the show has great energy and is promising but they rush through both without developing much in either. The rest of the set ranges from awful to average with the exception of a decent jam in Big River. Worth noting is the debut of Tom Thumb's Blues. It's not played particularly well but it s at least fun to listen to. Tons of Steel is atrocious and Jerry's vocals in Might As Well are brutal. They do play it with enthusiasm though and end the set on an up beat note.

The second set is a slight improvement but again, they rush through the songs at a break neck speed and the vocals are very suspect. Shakedown has a nice closing jam but Jerry sods like death. This is followed by a Uncle John's that is breezed through in record time. Either they are all on speed or were freebasing during the break. Playin' through Space is the highlight of the whole show but yet again the song portion is played at way too quick of a tempo. During the jam things settle down a bit and they delve into some very heavy, deep spacey territory. It is slightly jazzy but very dark with some disturbing, ominous jamming. This slowly winds down into Drums which segues into a nice Space which again features some very dark, almost scary themes. Beware, this potion of the show could easily induce "the fear". A ragged version of Stella Blue emerges from Space. It is sweetly played but the vocals are rough in spots and Jerry has a false start. Lovelight emerges out of the outro jam and ends the show on an upbeat note. An average version but it's always fun to hear.

that's a crazy playin jam, gets progressively weirder the closer you get to drums.

i've read lots lately about the band's drug use in this period, specifically garcia and how it was tearing them apart. but this jam disproves that a bit...

One of the great versions....love these crisp 85's.

First B`day show for me ever....I was so Grateful to get all the shows in the mail via Grateful Dead offices....what a gift....I know many say the next night 3/28 /85 is the strongest of the run ...But C`mon It is my B`day show...wooo hooo.... Phil pulls out an uncle toms for the fans (HEADS)... I was in Heaven.....Thanks for a real GOOD TIME....

I cant believe I found this weird Nassau show again. It was a favorite of mine in high school. Its weird. Fast tempo - Touch of Gray is a train wreck but interesting. Very good sound quality. If you are a fan of 1985 like I am this one is worth the download.

first phil solo in ten years. and he chooses one of the best dylan songs ever written. let me say it again: 1st phil solo in ten years. let me say it one last time: 1st phil solo in 10 years.

Another reviewer mentioned the length of this show. I thought, upon my first listen to this recording, that the pitch must surely be off. It's not. Man, are they playing FAST! No wonder it clocks in at less than two hours! And I was there, too; I don't remember them being in any hurry...

These shows were notable to me for the fact that the floor was general admission; I remember at the time that I thought "at Nassau? No way..." well, sure enough, they were, and it was a great crowd. Great shows, too. Personally, I DO think the 28th was better, but like others have mentioned, the second set grooves here. Shakedown is respectably funky (though nowhere near the version that blew us away at Merriweather later on June 30); Uncle Johns is excellent, and the transition into Playin is sweet; they don't miss a beat. The Stella out of space is the highlight for me; Jerry really (finally) finds his voice - he sings it about as well as could be expected. Lovelight is, well, a Bob Lovelight. I have heard better. And as for Jerry mumble/fumbling Touch, he was playing faster than he could sing at first! Quick fellas, back to the room!!!

This is not the best board I have heard, I will eventually d'ld the Oade Flac version and see how that one sounds... For the performance, four stars, for the recording, two, which averages it out to a three... That's my story, and I'm stickin to it ;-)

Oh, those GA tix were all of $13.50...

I always loved this 2nd set. Very tight. Even back in the analog days, I prefered the aud copy over this board. You really need to hear the crowd.

I've always liked this show. I think it gets overshadowed by 3/28, which was certainly a good one. Set II is short, but is VERY well played. Shakedown has lots of energy. The Playin' is hard,fast, and pretty psychedelic; Near the end, there is what I interpret as a nuclear exchange, complete with missiles flying overhead, explosions, and right before drums, somebody starting a beacon so they can be rescued in the fallout zone. Well, maybe I just ate too much paper when I first heard it those many years ago, but it's quite the auditory theater!

Post-drums is nothing to write home about, and during the Touch encore, Jerry really just falls apart. Still, the first half of set II is very good stuff.

This show was notable for Phil's return to solo vocals after nearly a dozen years with the band, wisely picking a more low-key, mid-week crowd (the show wasn't even a sellout) to break out his first live version of Tom Thumb's Blues, cutting off Jerry's BE Women intro in the process. I was down on the floor and I can remember seeing many that didn't recognize what was happening at first, confused by a possible guest star, but I felt he succeeded pretty well anyway. This would also start the popular "Let Phil Sing" chant that would continue for many years after.

The overall show was rather short in time (barely over 2 hrs.) but never short in energy, including a five song 2nd set with every version, especially Shakedown, done exceptionally well. There was some major Jerry flubs in the Touch encore.