Bust Outs: Early ’90s Grateful Dead

Chuck Berry Double Stack – Greensboro Coliseum, NC 3/31/90

Just one example of setlist trickery during this period, the band closed out the second stanza of this popular show (with a great Eyes) from the period with a double dose of Chuck Berry’s blues, taking Around & Around straight into Johnny B. Goode for a set-closing boogie down.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd91-03-31.GEMS_.d3t03_64kb-2.mp3]

First Reuben & Cerise – Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 3/17/91

If there exists anybody out there who doesn’t enjoy the song Reuben & Cerise, I haven’t met them. And they were most definitely not in attendance on March 17, 1991 at the Capital Centre. A longtime fan favorite from the Jerry Garcia Band, which appeared under the title Rubin & Cherise on the 1978 release, Cats Under the Stars, the Grateful Dead finally played it as a band for the first time 13 years later to a glorious reception.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd1991-03-17d1t07_vbr1.mp3]

Werewolves of London Halloween Encore in London – Wembley Arena, London GB, 10/31/90

Sometimes the obvious choice is the best choice. The second to last night of the 11 show Europe tour in 1990 just so happened to fall on Halloween at Wembley Arena. You know what that means, right? The setting couldn’t have been more perfect for a Werewolves of London encore and sure enough: Aahhhhoooo, draw blood.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd1990-10-31d3t07_64kb.mp3]

Stander on the Mountain – Zenith, Paris, FR, 10/28/90

Just a few days earlier on the Europe tour, the Grateful Dead wound down the first set of their second night in Paris with their first ever take on Bruce Hornsby’s well-known Stander on the Mountain, which as the name might suggest, meanders through some nice peaks and valleys.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd1990-10-28d1t11_64kb.mp3]

First Loose Lucy Since 1974 – Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 3/14/90

If there’s one thing to take away from all of these selections, it’s that what you lose in an audience recording in terms of sound quality, you make up for in crowd cheers. When the band took Loose Lucy off the shelf at the first night of the March Capital Centre run after a mere 974 shows, the place went berserk. In contrast to earlier versions, this one has more of a blues feel than the funkier sound that the song normally takes on – and that every band under the sun emulates in covering the tune.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd1990-03-14d1t06_64kb.mp3]

Hey Jude/Dear Mr. Fantasy Sandwich – Copps Coliseum, Ontario, CA, 3/22/90

Not only did the Canucks get treated to a mean Hey Jude>Dead Mr. Fantasy>Hey Jude sandwich, but this marked the first complete Hey Jude since 1969, a 1,525 show gap.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd1990-03-22d3t03_64kb-2.mp3]

Revolution – Capital Centre, Landover, MD, 3/14/90

Are you getting the picture about these three night Capital Centre March runs yet? The second night in ’90 contained even more fireworks, as the band brought down the house for Phil’s 50th birthday party. Not only did they dust off Easy to Love You after a 673 show gap, but they also closed it down with this barn-burning rendition of The Beatles’ Revolution, the first in 298 shows.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd1990-03-15d3t08_64kb.mp3]

Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues – Oakland Coliseum, CA, 2/26/90

Finally, in a funny introduction, Bob Weir kicks off this first set Tom Thumb Blues – one of about a bazillion Bob Dylan tunes the band played during this era – with the famous introduction that always opened James Brown’s concerts, “Are you ready for star time?”

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gd1990-02-26d1t07_64kb.mp3]