The historical value equals the musical value on GarciaLive: Volume #19 Oakland Coliseum Arena October 31st, 1992. While on the latter front, it might not seem an essential item in the canon of work by the titular leader of the Grateful Dead, it is nonetheless significant as a recording of his first public performance following his second major health scare of the era (another life-threatening coma).
Those elements are taken together, this release in the longstanding archive series is an object lesson in how great artists speak to their audiences, explicitly and implicitly, through their choice of material as much as the way they play it. Even the graphic design of Oakland Arena Coliseum October 31st, 1992 makes a statement: the ghostly image inside the dual fold-digipak picturing Garcia with his guitar held dramatically in hand speaks to his indefatigable drive to create.
It’s a distinct impression reaffirmed by the punchy sound as originally recorded by John Cutler, and subsequently remastered by Fred Kevorkian. The sonics capture a band playing with agile snap and consistent authority right from the start of “How Sweet It Is (To Be Love By You)” and while the rhythm section of bassist John Kahn and drummer David Kemper may be the most prominent of the sextet at the outset, but it’s not long before vocalists Jacklyn LaBranch and Gloria Jones assert themselves.
The sonorous blend of their voices simultaneously cushions and amplifies the frontman’s singing. In much the same way, when keyboardist Melvin Seals begins to solo on “Stop That Train,” the unfurling of Hammond organ lines supply a foundation for Garcia as effective as the rhythmic comping on this rendition of the Peter Tosh tune; running roughly seven and a half minutes, this selection serves as a benchmark for the general extent to which the JGB stretches out over the course of this approximately two hours total.
Only The Manhattans’ “Shining Star” and Bob Dylan’s “Tangled Up In Blue ” extend into double-figure duration. That pair of covers appears, not surprisingly, as Jerry Garcia and company begin to generate some discernible momentum, and even if the ensemble doesn’t reach truly transcendent peaks, the event itself is nevertheless life-affirming, the celebratory nature of which its Halloween date only further elevates.
That said, there are precious few surprises in the sixteen tracks of #19 either. Still, the wisdom of the various inclusions here demonstrates the pragmatism of the most experienced musician(s): the band as sure in its raucous shuffling on the Garcia/Hunter number “Deal” as it’s steady percolating during Clapton’s “Lay Down Sally.” And the progression of guitar solos of the ensemble’s namesake ratifies the wisdom of the overall cautious approach, particularly as his fingering of the fretboard on Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” coaxes forth increasingly bright, twinkling lines.
Meanwhile, Garcia’s own vocal delivery likewise gains incremental force as the show unfolds. Hear Van Morrison’s “And It Stoned Me,” not to mention the Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” And he wails on Hank Ballard’s “Tore Up Over You,” that gusto in contrast to (and perhaps accounting for) the fatigue he displays on the cull from Blood On The Tracks.
The Nobel Laureate’s composition was long a staple in the repertoire of Jerry’s solo, but in the context of this occasion, its ‘..keep on keepin’ on…’ refrain carries extra resonance. As is also the case with Bruce Cockburn’s “Waiting For A Miracle” and, perhaps even more so, “The Maker;” such solemn and direct expressions of connection between artist and audience only renders more uproarious the encore of the late Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” The October 31st date of the event might’ve turned that choice predictable, but it instead becomes the joyous culmination of the tacit unity among those present on stage and in the audience of the seventeen-thousand-seat venue.
More photos of the colorfully-costumed crowd or action shots of the musicians might well have supplanted the lengthy essay by Joe Jupille. Better to jump from the first sentence of the second paragraph to the last where the Garcia scholar denotes the traditions of All Hallows Eve: a track-by-track exposition of this performance is superfluous because, in a direct reflection of the dark but vibrant purple-toned color scheme of this double-CD package, the music itself speaks volumes.
