I remember right at the climax of Jack Straw Jerry moving a bit to his right and kicking a beach ball back into the crowd. Jerry's playing in 84 was spectacular.
4 TH ROW ORCHESTRA FOR THIS ONE got some awesome pics that have mounted on a board in my house to this day, stayed with me foR 30 years and will for 30 more I was 1st in line at a mall in Rockville Md and had the lady at Ticketron put concert in 5 min b4 on sale and hit button exactly at opening, usually went through GD Tickets in Rafael but got 4th row Orch for this one SWEET!!!!!
Timing an onsale is an art form, If you get it just right, you get front row center. I worked at a video store that was also a Ticket Master outlet. I worked there part time during my college years. It was perfect. I got to see everyone.
@@DennisCampbell777 I sold ticketmaster over the phone. Would print the first tickets for me and screw the caller. 😄 I'd scalp the ones to acts I didn't want to see. I got front row Wiltern JGB one time! Didn't scalp those!
@@staggerlee4979 My boss was so greedy that Ticket Master actually showed up with the police to confiscate the computer. Nothing changes. Same game new players.
@@DennisCampbell777 The art was once I secured my tickets, I had to quickly skip through the pages where I'd fill in the customer's information, then secure the caller's tickets before the seats were so bad they'd complain to ticketmaster or notice I was taking too long. I'd go back later, fill in the info and pay with whichever friend's credit card I used. We'd split the profit I made scalping them but I never scalped Dead related tickets. How could I when I had more friends than tickets. Those babies got used by us! Second row Irvine for a JGB show.. Always got great seats for JGB for some reason. Maybe less ticketmaster action for the onsale. Those were fun times. 🙄
Phil is actually head banging at 5:00! Great to see him and Bobby having so much fun while Jerry is cranking out that last solo in Jack Straw. Jerry was really amazing some nights in 83 and 84. I feel blessed to have seen a bunch of shows in the 90s but man would it have been cool to see Jerry pre coma when he could crank like this.
Jerry was good through '93. He was on fire during JGB summer tour that year, truly transcendent music making. While there were still some great shows in 94-95 it got rough at that point.
George Shew You ARE seeing them in the 80s with a better view than most. plug in the earphones, drop of visine, pick and have a ball! I know how you feel though. my first show was 1980 and LOVE those 70s extravaganzas.
Those early Modulus 6 stings sounded like nothing else. At the concerts it was a giant bass monster with a mouth big enough to swallow up the whole venue with audience in one gulp. Or so it seemed in my frame of mind. That sound, which lasted from late 1983 through the end of 1985 (possibly into 1986) inspired me to become a bassist. Although I own a Modulus Quantum, it will never sound like those skinny neck-though experimental models Phil no doubt still owns. Unknown if any others exist.
This was the hey day for me , I was at this show and by my count four or five more at merryweather , great place to see a show great sound great music ,, eatin rainbow dragons in the field and loving the joy of life !
Please raise your hand if you are among those who have made a critique of Garcia's playing AND you actually play guitar, or, for that matter, any musical instrument? Thanks. Now listen and enjoy the genius of this master of improvisation, and for those of us lucky to have seen him tens of times...no further comment is necessary.
It really cracks me up reading about people critiquing a band that hasn't performed in nearly 20 years. Most deadheads have done enough drugs to kill a small country. Its not like the band cared what the average fan thought. They did what they did for FUN. Granted the last few years they had so many darn people on the payroll they kept on touring to support them - supposedly. It would be nice if people could just BE GRATEFUL and appreciate that we got anything at all. Face it, we all got lucky.
bob733333 95 was a fun year but was nothing compared to any year in the 80s. Garcia in FOTD is amazing here! Anyway...every year Jerry was healthy were fun years. It's ALL good. ✌
Towards the end it was a chore for Garcia, he had more enthusiasm for the JGB shows. I consider myself lucky, but wish I was older (born 77). Saw God in the flesh. You can't critique when you hear Shakedown 6 30 85, you can only marvel. I'm sure they had mixed feelings throughout but they knew it was something special. Listen to this Loser. Couple on here are just pippin.
I AGREE WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE THE GRATEFUL DEAD TO LISTEN TO..THEY ARE YOU ALL WEALTHY SO I WOULDN'T FEEL SORRY FOR THE REMAINING MEMBERS..PHIL LESH AND BOB WEIR ARE EACH WORTH 40 MILLION APIECE..
To put it mildly, the Brother Esau Here, is biblical. Thanks V, this is particularly FUN to listen to. I've never heard this show before today. I effin love this show. Obviously the boys were treated well at Merriweather. Thanks guys, your family loves you. Great vid V. My favorite Let It Grow ever. WOW!
I attended both the shows at Merriweather in 84 and 85 too. I thought all the shows there were pretty good. As others posted, Jerry must have been in the heroin station mode in 84, but he still played well and sang well too. Bob was jamming and Phil was really into it too. It was great to be able to camp right in the parking lot. We had a great space by the woods. I met a lot of wonderful people from all around this world there. It was a really enjoyable experience.
Yes indeed, wasn't too far for us to drive from central Virginia, it was just up the road and we made it up there for more than a few shows through the mid 80's at this great venue!
Huge memory with this one. I was living in Philly for the summer (I am from Boston) with a college friend from South Jersey and we last minute decided to drive down for this show not realizing it was a 6:00 start. We rolled in during the second set to empty lots and could here Estimated Prophet playing in the distance. So disappointed but still bought a ticket and walked in during Eyes of the World and just in time for Why Don't We Do It in the Road and end of set 2! So amazing to see a video posted all these years later and it is only of the stuff I missed... Bizarre! Tje rest of Set 2.. Estimated Prophet Eyes of the World Why Don't We Do it in the Road drums Morning Dew Throwin' Stones Not Fade Away Brokedown Palace
My First Show!! traveled up with a couple friends from Chapel Hill NC. Was leaning on the the bar in the lawn.. couldn't see the band.. didn't know that really didn't matter.. but was totally amazed how high the spinners dancing in front of me lept in the air when they rolled out Jack Straw. Thanks for sharing.. now I can see the boyz and swim the flood of memories.
Was my very first Dead show. One year later, I had moved my college dropout ass to California and started following the tours out there. About a half hour after getting to the show, I discovered Shrooms and can't recall if the band had a great night as I did. Thank God someone recorded this!
I was outside this show looking for shrooms..I think I was 18..LOL We herd thw whole show cause Merriweather is out doors..Good memories of the Parking lot..I was lucky enough to see Jerry 9 times after that..I think the most fun I ever had was in the Parking Lot at Dead shows.Thanks for Putting these up..Peace..
I have a nephew who is only two years younger than me. I live in MA and he lived in Maryland at the time. He was an Izod wearing preppy, bordering on obnoxious about it. He came and visited me in spring of 1985 and promptly labeled be a "grit" because of my jeans and tie dye. One of my sisters and I traveled down to these shows and stayed with my other sister...his mother. I got him a ticket to the first show...his first show. He went and was hooked. The next day we went to the hotel where the band was staying and met Annabelle Garcia, Jerry's daughter. We all went up to her room and hung out...she wasn't Jerry, but it was very cool. So...my nephew got a ticket for the next show and the rest is history...who's the grit now Jim..Mr. super dead head taper section sitting tie dye wearing Jerry loving pain in the butt. By the way...I can't remember which night it was, but I got great pictures of Bobby, who was running from one side of the stage to the other...standing up on some speakers...it ain't easy being cheesy.
I was literally 15 feet away from Phil at this show. He was never so happy I bet. They were locked in this night…. Best band to have ever walked planet earth. And realms unknown……
That was my first show! It rained 6 '' that night in 3 hours! We were in the lawn area. Crazy night. So glad its on YOuTube! Technology has it's pluses! ;-) Great show!
haha, you arent the first person who I've had to tell this too. When they play a place so many consecutive years in a row it kind of all flows together, but I remember the rain show, I was 15 and by myself soaking wet and a couple on the lawn shared their umbrella with me. Leaving was like biblical proportions of rain and overflowing creeks. Never forget it, power went out too about three or four times, and once right before"Other times I can barely see"! What a trip.
Look at Phil, many Heinekens were consumed during before and probably after this show. I actually enjoy seeing this version of Phil 78-84 where he was partying hard.This period of the Dead is complicated, some great jams like the Let if Grow here Jerry's guitar playing was stellar. If you just heard the music and didn't see what he looked like to know what rough shape he was in at 41 years of age at this point you'd think he would look spry and energetic. His voice took a turn for worse during this period that would never fully recover. As far as his guitar playing goes you'll find some fantastic stuff during his dark period , I actually feel he lost some of his flow after the coma. This time period is hit or miss but they were playing some ambitious set lists and jams.
I understand how you feel; unless you are completely naive, have zero knowledge of addiction or you are from another planet; not only was it quite obvious Jerry was an addict but the term “completely" is not applicable. I love Jerry and I always will. I don’t need to hear about the type(s) of drug(s) Jerry was addicted to and how that is different. The most dangerous drug is alcohol and if he only drank booze he might not even make it to the gig and if he did, he would not be able to play well. I am not telling you how to feel; It’s devastating how the constant touring coupled with the variables of not maintaining your health can effect most addicts. Jerry physically looks quite different here than he did in1980. He is a little over a month shy of 42 here.
I really did not notice a difference in his playing style around this time…My first show was 04/82 Philly Spectrum. I was always impressed that they would change their sound (minor types of adjustments) each year (best, clearest, loudest of any bands I had ever seen); Yes, I noticed his physical appearance had changed (almost like it happened over night); The 85 tour was amazing but there were some times & moments I recall his voice straining. I believe I was too young and/or had not seen enough of Jerry to notice any changes in his playing style in 84.
Jonny Simon yea it's interesting like you said that every year kind of had its own theme and sound. I'm mostly familiar with the late 70s era so this is all new to me.
Jerry looks ok here but in a few months he's hunched over and super sick looking. His guitar style changes throughout time but his skills are still nice. His vocals could be shaky one second then he'll just rip your heart out on a ballad. Unreal
+Tony Danis Yes, amazing, love Brent's chimes, and here you can see him doing more of the cerebral stuff->ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Pf4B-p3B3K0.htmlh12m36s
didn't need to at an amphitheater like this one - the bass from the stage did a good job. Remember Dan's job was to make the room sound good, not the tapes. A sound engineer fills in from the PA what the room lacks.
whoever dosed me for an extra ticket,that was one crazy time.some kind of blotter with a dragon it. started scary,but it turned into bliss!!!thank you for a real good time!
Love to see I'm not the only 1 who hears that 1984 shows were smoking!! Not every show of course, but that's true of every year they played. Who cares if Garcia had long unkempt hair Lol, except for the early 70s 60s this was the whole band playing on a razors edge. After his coma & then Midi effects came in it never was this good imo. Tighter playing maybe like 87,89,90 but never as raw and Rock N Roll as this era. Grateful to be able to see this!
First song out of the gate and check out phil. We were in city island the night before this show and they had this feeling of "this summer is gonna be fun" and you know what it was. These cats were taking there energy as well asours out to the ozone, the set lists looked decent on the tapes but when you listened there was smoke coming out of my nak. Oh and how could we forget those plastic gels and the pillow cases of caps and stems.Never had such a good time.
jerry was best before MIDI. even 84. that slipknot is pretty insane for any era. the exception is most of 89 and spring of 90. the rest of that time, eh. but how lucky we were. my god.
It's not all here, but the second set of this show is one of the most straight ahead all out musical joy rides I've ever heard. I listen to all eras, but for some reason I come back to this second set time and time again; maybe cause this is when I cut my teeth with the Dead.
The whole band was getting high during this period, and Garcia was doing his thing but that stuff takes you to a place that is perfect and you can feel it in his playing. The whole summer tour was just like this for the most part .Lotsa liquid and fungus.
damn, I love these early Esaus, thanks for posting the video of this show, its nice to finally see some of the footage people were getting from the floor back then. I didn't hit tour myself until 85, but these merriweather shows were always some of my favorite tapes
Jerry playing and performing well but seriously in the full throws of addiction here. Mid 80's pre-coma he was a full blown junkie. I for one am glad he got better for a while to have that last great run late 80's through 90.
rm1133 I so agree with you on all points. Jerry was gowed to the gills...and he played very well. But he looked like he would rather be nodding in the backstage area.
I used to live at 29 &108 on the hill, before they destroyed our homes with a cloverleaf… we could hear them from our front yard.. we had the best seats for merrierweather and the fireworks.. the best part was watching all the traffic leave and not having to be in it
Sound is superb. So is the band. The crowd was high as kites and that always made for an excellent evening. Thanks again V-Nola. This stuff is priceless
This was some of the last we saw of the old style Phil. Pre 87/In the Dark and the marriage to Jill. Back when Phil was still drinking Heinekins, he wasn't always this animated during these years but I always love seeing him when he is. He never was as ferocious after 87.
That's about the time the ground under the stage started giving way, causing the whole stage to sink on Phil's side. See how everything tilts down on that side for the rest of the show. I think it's falling more and more as Phil pounds it out. Weir keeps sliding down that way too
My first concert; thanks to Nick Paumgarten in the NYer; and it makes a great background to scattered readings of Peter Reich, Nick and other emails.. a raga, a gamelan with love d
This doesn't seem like same concert from video given my view from lawn. It poured. The lightening was spectacular. Really thought people where going to die and amazed the stage electronics weren't impacted. It rain so hard, and I recall looking down at my feet. They looked like boats traveling uphill against a river of water. There were wakes from them because the water was gushing so fast. We laughed and froze. Going back to car, the park ranges had to divert traffic as entrances were washed out or blocked. I remember seeing 4 motorcycles parked near the creek, and all you could see was the mirrors sticking out above the water. We made it to the car and stripped off our wet clothes and marveled.
My first Dead show was the night before. Anybody got footage from that one? I'm amazed looking back that the next show I saw wasn't until fall 87 or early 88 when I moved to the North Bay area. I remember enjoying it enough to want to go back the next night (this show) but it was already sold out at that point. Who know how life might have been different if I had gotten in.
@bpar73 I'm glad live videos exist but sometimes seeing Jerry play in zombie mode kind of ruins the mood a bit to see how much his stage demeanor was subdued by his habits.
Where is the rest of the second set? Please tell me it exists! The MD is amazing. Had my most almost religious experience hearing that dew come out of space late one night in a psychedelic state of mind
where did this come from? I used to have it on VHS I got from my friend Kemp in VA who said he or his buddy recorded it. Yet loaned the VHS out and forgot to who :)
I'm pretty sure I was at this show. I caught one of the Merriweather shows in '84. The Dead were much better in the 80's than the 90's. Jerry was spot on.
