It Was Thirty Years Ago Today – Grateful Dead Offer A Nightfall of Diamonds (10/16/89)

1989 was one of the many turning points in the 30-year touring career of the Grateful Dead. The hype from “Touch Of Grey” had faded, but it never really affected the turnout at shows anyway. But that summer’s stadium tour, the first to feature the “no camping/no vending” rule provided ample evidence at how big “the scene” was becoming. But the band was playing fantastically, as all the subsequent audio and video releases document. They also began adding Holy Shit level rarities like “And We Bid You Goodnight” and “Death Don’t Have No Mercy.” Jerry had even broken out his Doug Irwin Wolf guitar with a crudely taped MIDI  (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) console.

Then the band played two “secret shows” in one of the many venues the aforementioned “scene” had gotten them banned from.  The “Formerly The Warlocks” shows at Hampton are a story all to themselves, but this writer wasn’t present.  I didn’t even believe the rumors when I heard about the shows happening and couldn’t have escaped my freshman year of college if I did. But I was there that magical Monday night at the Meadowlands area a week later for what would be the greatest of the 138 Grateful Dead shows I ever saw.

The Saturday, October 14th show proved that the “Help On The Way” and “Slipknot!” were thankfully not just one-time breakouts. Those of us in the arena also didn’t know that it was also the night that 19-year old Adam Katz, another college freshman, would die under questionable circumstances at the hands of Meadowlands security.  By Monday night, the flyers asking for any information on his death began appearing in the lot. Sunday’s show was solid but didn’t have any more Hampton breakouts. By Monday night, everyone was wondering if the band would play “Dark Star” again, following its Hampton breakout (first since 1984). Jerry Garcia had apparently been on WNEW 102.7 FM that day with legendary DJ Scott Muni saying that it would be “sooner than you think.”

This was also the tour that preceded what would be the Grateful Dead’s last studio album Built To Last -which Arista was releasing on Halloween; the pumpkin/skull stickers with “The Dead Will Rise Again” were already circulating. The 10/16/89  show also marked Bob Weir’s 42nd birthday, and everyone got a flyer on the way in to ask them to send their wishes.  You can hear Jerry playing “Happy Birthday” in-between “Stuck Inside of Mobile” and “Let It Grow.” Since they almost never played two Bobby songs in a row, it seemed like an acknowledgment that this was part of his present.

The first set was excellent and would get more attention if not for everything that happened in the second.  After “Picasso Moon,” the boys played an excellent “Mississippi Half Step.” Rather than do the “Rio Grande-eo” part they chugged into an excellent “Feel Like A Stranger,”  and “Let It Grow” into “Deal” was the first such pairing since 1985 and was a scorcher.

Everyone hoped but wasn’t sure to believe that the second set would begin with “Dark Star.” You can hear the beginning tuning on John Oswald’s “Grayfolded” and the rest on the official release “Nightfall Of Diamonds.” It was absolute bedlam when they began it and people were allegedly running to the payphones to tell call their friends as they had in Hampton. From “Dark Star” on, it was as if the set was one long song. When Jerry turned to his speaker stack, Wolf in hand, after the first verse I thought for a second he was taking shelter from the pandemonium in the crowd.  The “Playin’->Uncle John’s” was equally magical, though the “Playin’” jam that preceded “Drums” might have been the most inspired solo of the night.

The final stretch of “Dark Star,” “Attics Of My Life” and the “Playin’ Reprise” cemented this magical evening. When the band emerged with only Jerry holding his instrument, “And We Bid You Goodnight” was the only possible encore. It was beautiful and the only time I remember leaving a show thinking they couldn’t have done anything else to make it better.  

“Dark Star” was the first lyrics Robert Hunter wrote for the band in 1967. The song is what made the show so special and what gave the subsequent live album its title.  GDM tastefully dedicated Nightfall Of Diamonds to Adam Katz and the Twin Towers, which had fallen just three months prior, are featured prominently in the artwork. There are no liner notes to the album, but everyone who was there can attest to the amazing power of the music played that night.

10/16/89
Brendan Byrne Arena – East Rutherford, NJ

Set 1:
Picasso Moon
Mississippi Half-Step
Feel Like A Stranger
Good Time Blues
Built To Last
Stuck Inside Of Mobile
Let It Grow
Deal

Set 2:
Dark Star
Playin’ In The Band
Uncle John’s Band
Playin’ In The Band
Drums
I Will Take You Home
I Need A Miracle
Dark Star
Attics Of My Life
Playin’ Reprise

Encore:
And We Bid You Goodnight