I heard Bear was at these shows, and Walter Cronkite was seen at the 10/16/89 Meadowlands ... anyway the Title Downhill From Here I always thought was about Mud sliders That I heard about even though I didn't go to Alpine '89 .. I like the Stagger Lee and Candyman a lot and the entire 2nd set .'89 Other Ones were hot and this one doesn't disappoint .Wharf Rat in the Classic '80's Brent style a smoking Sugar Magnolia again featuring some impressive work from Brent who was on all night . A really soulful and Special Brokedown Palace for the Encore . I remember outside before this show the sun finally broke through the clouds after cold Rain since after last night at The Meadowlands , and the Crowd outside the Spectrum was huge with Conga Drums EChoing around through the clouds of confusion and it was like a huge pep rally this crowd had so much energy , and Inside it seemed every one of them knew every word to every song ,and kind of like at the Garden Nassau and Meadowlands the Crowds are going to get a good show because they bring so much energy

the fall 89 run till brents death was the dead hitting a brand new peak starting in hampton they began bringing back choice gems from their past jerry loved the way brent would try to one up him in every jam and you get jerry most inspired playing in years as he would dig in and mow him down {on a good night}this show just happened to grab me by the brain and take me round the world where each song was a different stop many calledthis the worst of the three nights but if you could see the smiles on the fatmams face wow alli got to say" you get what you come for your ready to go just 1 in 10000 come for the show great band great venue this night for whatever reason changed my life forever ...... maybee it was the half ounce of shrooms who knows

this is a good show, except for brent. like keith and donna before him, he brought nothing to the band. if anyone out there remembers the old dead, they will know what i am talking about. they sucked. sorry younger and newer fans. but some of us old guys remember it as it was, and the latter dead sometimes just didn't cut it. the show from truckin' on was like a trip down memory lane. shows me they still had it in them when they wanted to jam even though a touch of grey was slowing them down. brought a tear to my eye the day jerry died. wish the guy was able to straighten himself out. try though he did he wasn't able to. he's in a better place now playing with the angels. god rest his soul. peace. love.

Highly recommended. Good thing Brent plays really well on this, cause he's turned up WAY loud, especially in the post-Drums segment. You can hardly hear Jerry at times.

Though the I Will Take You Home interruption of the 30 minute epic Other 1 does lessen the pace for that moment.

Jerry seems a little vocally sloppy second set, that is he forgets 60% of Fire on the Mountain (i didn't care). Musically brilliant in sections. Brent really shines with excellent key and midi work during the Other 1 Jam pre-drums. Should also applaud the interesting second set structure.

Hey Pocky Way>Scarlet>Fire>Other 1 Jam>Drums>Space>IWTYH>Other 1>Wharf Rat>Sugar Mag, The interjection of this dark, long, and spacey other 1 jam would build a foundation to the darker (and better) October 26th, Miami Arena tour ender, with that monster Dark Star of Midi madness. Nice energy most of the way. Just happens to be a show caught in a month of other really really good ones.

87>>90 Brent really blossomed and this is a excellent example of his prowess. Just like with all the prior dead lineups each with its own particular sound Brent had emerged with his own musical personality, and he could really get the crowd hopping. Fantastic Sugar Mags / Sunshine Daydream It was the sound that I identified with and still do. The Tennessee Jed is great and while I listened to Jerry's guitar buildup I got the chills all down my back. I'm still searching for the epic Tenn. Jed though. Anyone have any faves?

I think its unnecessary reading between the lines to assume "Downhill From Here" was titled as such to insinuate that in fact the MUSIC went downhill after that show. It didnt. Actually, many here among us (me included) consider 1990 to be the band's best year. Spring and summer with Brent was filled with tasty treats, and the MSG shows in the fall with Hornsby were absolutely phenominal.

Even post '90, there was still plenty of magic happening. '91 featured an AMAZING garded run as well as some solid spring shows, most notably late march in greensboro. '92 gets little love (presumably because there was no fall tour) but in fact had some REALLY solid shows, especially in the spring. Vegas '92 was stunning, and there were some gems throughout spring and summer. Heck, the first half of '93 was pretty outstanding. After that, we had alot of hit and miss, but right up till (or VERY near) the end there were magic nights. Even in '95, the Vegas (always a hot spot it seemed. no pun intended!!) run was very solid (especially the final show) and 2/21/95 in SLC was a wonderful show start to finish.

Anyway, don't read anything into the video title. Doesn't mean a thing!!
Has it occured to you that the "downhill" could be LITERAL, as the show was in a valley?
you know, HILLS around the valley?

4 star show here IMHO.

I really enjoyed this run.I think the Other one here is great,Phil drops his intro bomb several times.Scarlet >Fire is nice ,but at times Fire is sloppy and Jerry forgets the words,but it has its moments.There may some flubs here and there but the jams here are great.The Other one Jam is deep.

This show has been oen I have been after for a long time. I did download it prior to the shut down but am not happy with the recoring. I have beenusing an FM transmitter to stream the shows to a CDR burner and have been gettign kind quality tunage off this site but this show, is very tough to enjoy. The symbols are soundign like Micky is playing the air hose at a localgarage. The symbols are sooo high in the mix that it osunds like bursts of static or an air hose. I have streamed and recorded this show 5 times and each itme have meesed with the treble and it still sound lame. Too bad this show is mixed that way, it is basically ruined. The symbols litterally give me a head ache. 5 for the performance an d a negative 1 for sound quality.

Did the guys forget about this tour when they dubbed everything after the Alpine 89 Run as "Downhill From Here"? This whole Fall 89 Run is AMAZING. The sound on just about all these shows is excellent too. We miss you Brent.

P.S. - Factman.....Despite the fact that my question was rhetorical rather than literal, I wasn't really being TOO serious, and yes I know some goon who worked for the Dead was probably the one who came up with the title "Downhill From Here" as opposed to one of the member's of the Dead (Although i had heard at one point that it was Phil who named the video release FWIW). Additionally, as you said there is LOTS of great post Alpine 89 GD shows, and that was my point when I posted the "Downhill" question. Anyhoo, the factman is correct, California Earthquake is a Rodney Crowell song, not an old hymnal.

From a great run. My only Spectrum show. Stayed at a very strange hotel across the river called walber's that as far as I can tell had no other occupants. Kinda spooky.

Love this show. The first set is a joy and the second set...well...I was jonesin' hard all night for Dark Star but when I looked a the clock and saw that the bnd had played way way past curfew---the Truckin/Other One jam pre-Drums is fabulous---well I just thought...next time. I never did see a single Dark Star in any form.

I love my Audience source of this show but this is nice too. Five stars because of California earthquake and despite an extremely wonky Fire on the Mountain.

Another great show from a great year. This is my favorite year in Dead history believe it or not. High Energy show from start to finish. The California Earthquake alone makes it worth getting.

Another strong show, typical of the fall '89 run, to finish off a nice visit to Philly. Long first set (10 songs!) with CA Earthquake surprise after Promised Land. Otherwise, nothing too exceptional about the 1st set.

2nd set had some neat stuff go down. Slipping Hey Pocky in before Scarlet/Fire was nice. Truckin was routine, but then the 15 minute Other One jam with all kinds of crazy MIDI effects was really a mind-blower.

Sadly, the vibe really gets broken by the insertion of Take You Home after space (I was never a fan of that tune) ... it would have been much better to rip straight into Other One.

I downloaded this show back in 9 or 10/04 when you could still do a download of the board.
I checked the md5 against what on db.etree and it's the real McCoy. If it wasn't for Tenn. Jed and I...Home I'd give this a 5. Sorry if you a Tenn. Jed fan. I could never hear it again and be ok.

Enjoy the song - only played it twice I guess. I think its pretty tight.

I remember the show well, and it was an enjoyable one. Don't let the poor editing distract you from the music.

kick ass show front to back, not a lul in the action here. IMO this is what the Dead is all about.

Well, first of all, the only thing the Dead did was name a video release "Downhill From Here". If they thought it (everything afterward) was really that, would they have released so much material from Spring '90? More from that time period is inevitable.
One could make the analogy that it was in fact downhill from there if you look at summer '89 through summer '90 as the top of the hill. With the exception of summer '91 and parts of fall '91, you could easily see a decline in inspired performances.
California Earthquake was performed 3 days after the San Francisco earthquake on 10-17-89, and was written by Rodney Crowell, a comtemporary musician. So Cali Earthquake that night was neither chillingly prophetic, nor an old hymnal. Pretty darn good tune, though. Wished I'd have managed my money better on the first two days of the run; I'd have probably scored a ticket that night as well.
Adam Katz was found dead on 10-14-89 under or near an overpass in the parking lot at the Meadowlands. It was later determined that he had been placed where he was to make it look like an accident or suicide, when in fact he had been beaten to death. He was found before the concert was over by someone who was milling around after giving up on trying to gain entry. He'd left the concert at some point, so he wasn't gone long enough to be considered missing by anyone.
As far as I know, there were never any charges brought against anyone. Unsolved.

Proof that the title "downhill from here" is horseshit negativity. Earthquake is chillingly prophetic. Hey Pockey is out of this Wayworld. And the jams are 5 star. R.I.P. Adam Katz too...I think this was the run of shows where he ended up missing due to some power-tripping security guard? :..(

Like shooting fish in a barrel, plucking gems from Fall 89 is easy work. This show, from the final night of the Spectrum run is a great example of the band at a truly creative peak, possibly it's strongest tour since fall '79.

The first set is both lengthy and well played. As others have noted, the real treat is the first live performance of "California Earthquake" an old hymnal sung in honor of the victims of the SF Earthquake of 1906 and played here to honor those who perished in the earthquake that hit the Bay Area the night (or two?) before this show. I too was there and it was spine tingling. Other first set highlights include the Touch>GSET opener and a tasty Candyman.

Brent kicks things off with a spirited Hey Pokey and the short Scarlet is followed by a well jammed (though vocally flubbed) Fire on the Mountain. Truckin segues into an extended exploration (14 min. +) of the Other One, deadbase lists it as the first "Other One Jam" since the GAMH show in 1975. The fur flies liberally as Brent and Jerry go to town and Healy works with the band to create some truly eerie sounds. Post Space lands with Brent's lullaby and a return visit to the O1 land (take on another 10 min.!) before closing out with an energetic Sugar Mags.

The sound quality is generally good, though the beginning of the 2d set sounds a little low to my ear. While several other Fall '89 shows are better (10/8,10/9,10/26) this certainly more than holds its own.

RECOMMENDED

Top notch Was there earthqake song still gives me chills sweet sound quality

I arrive late (during Candyman) on a direct drive from Boston through NY and Philly rush hr. traffic.

"Earthquake" has us in tears; eyes are all on Jerry but thoughts are 3K miles away.

At the start of the second set a dude sitting next to me whips out the biggest steamroller I've ever seen. I pack it for both of us and after we finish, too stoned to move, we just sit there and listen to the Boys transition in to "Fire". After one of the verses Bobby thinks they're going to do one more round and screams "Fire," but realizes noone else is there with him. I can see him smile from my seat at the back of the Rectum.

This source has some undocumented issues. The analog SBD I had years ago (long since eaten by a JVC tape deck in my car) was a lot cleaner. As near as I can tell both archived sources have the audience splices and they're not that clean. Something's also going on with Sugar Mags during the intro.

Of course whosoever is responsible for posting these versions rocks all, but I think potential downloaders should be aware of the issues.

Thanks for the memories!!

I went to school right outside Philly and saw 15 shows at that concrete jungle.Let me tell ya.I dont know if its the CStakes, the water,Southstreet,or just the vibe at the Spec,but the boys ALWAYS played right on in this venue.These were the last shows I went to at the "Rectum",but Iwas not let down.This was the best of all the nights and I have to say that my buddy said that because of the quake in San Fran a few days before,something was going down.Well........we got the old traditional earthquake rendition.Long pause before set break.Garcia does not leave the stage.Brent sees this shit and stays also.We have our first of only 2 quakes.I actually think the redition 3 days later in charlotte is better,but this was was was more of the cuff..For the rest of the show,I spent in awe,as the boys were all in the X factor.
Oct of 89 in general was a energized time for the GD.From july 1989 to july 1990(do ya see a pattern.....his names BRENT),the band smoked.WE MISS YA BRENT or shall I say///Cliff Hanger.I would download this show for the consistamt jamming.I taped this show w/3 nak 300.I have not listend to this DSBD.I am sure Dans copy is nice.
If you like this show,check out 10-11/12 from The Medowlands in NJ.

The 15-minute predrums Other One jam was by far the deepest exploration of that theme in 15 years or more. The rest of the show, sans Jerry's lyric difficulties in Fire, ain't exactly shabby. Get it.

I remember sitting next to a tour buddy and saying "They don't play like this anymore." The second set is definitely a list topping experience for any Head. Sit back and enjoy.