why do we need to compare with this or that era? It's the Grateful Dead, and I gotta say there has only been a few shows I could not listen too. Having said that it OK and i will listen to it today doing my homework.

As an aside it's cut the muster not mustard... honest. If you were no good you could not cut the muster and so were out!

Peace:Skippy

This is not a very exciting show. You can tell they just got back from a month off. Bad transitions between songs, bad notes hit, and a weird set list too. Jerry tries vocaly during the Dew, but it just falls short for me. Oh, and I agree that Watchtower is a weak ending for a show.

1st Set: A loose, sloppy "Big Boss Man" opens proceedings. Geez, someone slap Jerry awake. "Stranger" is ok, listenable but never mandatory listening. "Roses" is a sweet choice, but without vocal accompaniment, it doesn't cut the mustard. "Minglewood" is decent but be scared of Bobby when he gets ahold of the slide. Nice 'T for Oakland, where else now?' "Push" is standard blah. "Uncle" and "Cumberland" keeps the gig moving snappily, though the audio is in one ear-out the other. More Bobby vocals as we're going to a fine "Let it Grow." The jamming is fluid, but rather muted.

2nd Set: "Scarlet" is always a welcoming presence. Like 'Let' the jamming never reaches an explosive level, but it's consistently probing to certain medio stratospheres. Instead of bouncing us to "Fire" we're blasted to "Hell." The crowd sluts to the revving of a bike'e engine. "He's Gone" gets increasingly virile as the song progresses. Slow-burning blues outro leads us to a fluid "Drums/Space" section. "The Wheel" warms my heart like hot chocolate, while the "Gimme" is strictly standard. "Morning" is not an all-time masterpiece, but it's handled with care. Weak climax, btw. A decent "Watchtower" closes the proceedings, but come on... that cover should Not be closing 2nd sets.
We encore with a rough "Black."

2 1/2 stars rolled down.

not a bad show at all, pretty run of the mill for 87