Set 1



Alabama Getaway ->

Greatest Story Ever Told

They Love Each Other

El Paso

Tennessee Jed

I Ain't Superstitious ->

Down In The Bottom

Dupree's DiamondBlues

Looks Like Rain ->

Might As Well



Set 2



China Cat Sunflower ->

I Know You Rider

Playing In The Band ->

Drums ->

Space ->

The Wheel ->

The Other One ->

Wharf Rat ->

Around And Around ->

Johnny B. Goode



Encore

Keep Your Day Job

I'll apologize upfront for the lack of archival information of this source. I made a cassette copy of this show when I was in college 20 some odd years ago from a cassette of unknown generation. When I bought my first computer with a CD burner back in 1999 I transferred the cassette recording to CD. Since I have never seen a SBD copy of this show circulate over the years and no SBD seed is listed in the etree database, I thought I'd post it for those interested (and just maybe a cleaner seed will surface as result?). The recording has enough hiss, warble, pops, and clicks to make the pure audiophile cringe, but don't let it scare you - I was thrilled to get my hands on a SBD of this quality 20+ years ago. It's just easy to get spoiled by the quality that circulates today.







As for the show itself, I've always felt that it was underrated. The setlist is fairly typical of a tour opener, but the playing is crisp and clean throughout and the band shows lots of energy. Nothing particularly stands out in the first set, but the band is tight showing no signs of sloppiness. The China -> Rider has always been one of my favorites. The Playin' in the Band -> Drums -> Space is absolutely fantastic. I've always felt the best Drums -> Space were played in 1985 and this show supports that opinion. Great show for Brent, he really tears up the second set! For me, some shows just emote the feeling the band is genuinely happy to be there and this show is one of them.







Alabama Getaway beginning cuts and the quality of the recording is a little rough, but improves.







The jam in Playing in the Band is spectacular and the original taper must have thought so too, having broke it out as a separate jam on the tape cover, which I honored in the transfer to CD. The jam actually extends 3 minutes into Drums.







Two second cut in Drums at 6:22 (tape flip?)







Jerry teases with the first few notes of St. Stephen during Space.







Around and Around has small cut at 2:33.







J.B. Goode end is cut and Day Job is missing.

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Reviewer: halfofwhatyathoughtyouhad - favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 3, 2019

Subject: Great Show Love this spring tour & this start is pretty epic. I mean you have a smoking Alabama Getaway to start, 2nd set great China/Rider & a long jamed out playing. - April 3, 2019Great Show

Reviewer: c-freedom - favorite favorite favorite favorite - March 4, 2017

Subject: Bound to wind up DEAD.. Good tempo for Alabama>Greatest

Jerry blows lyrics, They would pretty much shelve the getaway after 85, Too bad, I think it is a great tune.

T.L.E.O- Perhaps in a nod to this songs 73 roots they have some zing to this. (Healy with that reverb)

El Paso> Tenn Jed ----85 had a bunch of these odd couplets that worked nicely.

I Ain't Superstitious ->The Bottom--Notice this keeps the same time as the original MINGLEWOOD from the early days. "We all need each other, you know its true"

Dupree's Diamond Blues-Song rocked in 85

Looks Like Rain ->Might As Well- The LLR has a faster clip to it. Bob gives us some free advice with a rhyme --- and MIGHT AS WELL is for us dancin' fools!



China ->Rider--Solid. When Jerry was down or scattered vocally, Weir could go up and Garcia's guitar was the center of the GD Universe.

Playing In The Band -> I like the Playin' jam!!!

Drums ->Space ->

The Wheel ->The Other One ->

(They had just done Other 1>Wheel in Berkeley)

I like the transition from Wheel to Other One which seemed flavored by the pre-drum P.I.T.B jam.

Wharf Rat ->Around And Around ->Johnny B. Goode

(Weir brings the st-stut-stutter for Round)



Good show and i concur with Matthew Vernon

the band is smiling as they play.. - March 4, 2017Bound to wind up DEAD..

Reviewer: dupree413 - favorite favorite favorite favorite - February 13, 2012

Subject: Hampton '85 Obviously, we didn't know how special `86 Hampton would be with Phil breaking out "Box of Rain", but in hindsight these 2 shows (esp this night) are largely overlooked.



Before them, the boys do a solid Cali Feb run and after these 2, you have Springfield, Nassau, and Philly. For the most part those shows are all 4 stars or better. I KNOW not every show can get 5 stars - kind of defeats the purpose.



But I agree with 8995 below - Weir is a force in just about '85 show.



I remember people saying "he's trying to hard" or "he wants to be sammy haggar" , etc....



IMHO - Weir just steps up for Garcia (whose playing is phenomonal this year, but whose "presence" sometimes wandered).



Superstious>bottom (did they ever play a bad one?) is unreal here. China>Rider, etc...



Weir could be quirky to some, but he is absolutely "on" for most of the '85 shows.



This show - in another year - would be in the top 5. But is easy to over look with the aforementioned Spring run...the Summer shows - and of course the legendary Fall East Coast run.



Enjoy and God Bless. - February 13, 2012Hampton '85

Reviewer: corby112 - favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 21, 2010

Subject: Another great show from March, '85! The first of two nights in Hampton is another great performance from March of '85. June of this year gets all of the attention but there are several excellent performances from March, including this one, that tend to get overlooked.



The show starts with a rousing Alabama Getaway>Greatest Story that features fiery soloing and solid vocals. This duo starts the set off with a bang and the energy continues throughout the evening. They Love Each Other slows the pace a bit but Jerry's vocal performance is good and his solo is very spirited. An unusual El Paso>Tennessee Jed combo is next, featuring great guitar work by Garcia. His noodling behind Bobby's vocals during El Paso is very enthusiastic. Jed is lengthy and twangy, a nice rendition. The Superstitious/Bottom combo fills the Bobby blues slot nicely, featuring some firey slide work and a nice Brent solo. The Looks Like Rain>Might As Well combo that finishes the set is enthusiastic and features some great licks from Garcia.



The second set starts off with a bang and continues the energy with an amazing China>Rider which is one of the highlights of the evening. It starts off a bit sloppy but they pull things together quickly and there is some furious jamming in the transition and during Rider. Jerry belts out the headlight line and the crowd goes nuts! A very spacey Playin' concludes the pre Drums segment with a long, dark trippy jam. This is another highlight of the evening with Boby providing some nice accompaniment to jerry's noodling. After Space they tease a Playin' reprise but instead go into The Wheel. A brief Other One has a nice psychedelic jam and quickly segues into a soulful rendition of Wharf Rat in the ballad slot. The jam at the end is long and intense. This version should not be missed. Bob closes out the show with two rockin' tunes. Don't sleep on this show! - July 21, 2010Another great show from March, '85!

Reviewer: afroskull8995 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - July 15, 2010

Subject: bobby Bobby is on fire this whole show. 85 is an extremely strong year for him. this china rider is unreal. bottom is sick. - July 15, 2010bobby

Reviewer: WeWantPhil - - January 31, 2010

Subject: text corrections/additions based on Aud tape, cut in Drums is c.30 sec, cut in Around is c.8 sec - January 31, 2010text corrections/additions

Reviewer: Sedula - favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 23, 2009

Subject: Teasing St. Stephen?? The Reviewer said: "Jerry teases with the first few notes of St. Stephen during Space."



I was at this show, as well as having seen St. Stephen, and I think this statement is totally wrong. There are only 12 notes on the guitar (and any western instrument) and F# is one of them. F# is the first two notes of St. Stephen. You could say than he teased this on every space as it is hard to avoid an F# when your noodling during space for 8-10 minutes, running up & down the fretboard with only 12 notes to play. I'v played guitar professionally for 35 years and have a very good ear (especially for Dead songs) and I don't hear it. I do hear a lot of F3's though. - December 23, 2009Teasing St. Stephen??

Reviewer: ProfIguanaDeadZoneDJ - favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 22, 2009

Subject: Jerry In Red I'm not one for using personal experience as the basis of my reviews, or in the production of my weekly radio show (Dead Zone, WRHU.ORG, Tuesdays, 7-9pm), but I this show calls for an exception to the rule. Why? well, it's not simply because Hampton VA turned out to be anything but the bucolic Virginia my buddy and I imagined as we made our way down from the oh so idyllic Rose Hill in the gritty Bronx. There's not much to say about Hampton VA, unfortunately, although the Coliseum was small and had a barn-like quality to the sound. But I digress! What makes this show special is something as seemingly trivial as the t-shirt Jerry was wearing that night. Well, trivial aside from the fact that it was BRIGHT RED! and not the customary black. Indeed, the Red t-shirt was, as far as I know, worn by Jerry for the first time at this show, a signifier for his recent run-in with the law in Golden Gate park, or so it was thought. Listen carefully to the energy in Jerry's voice during 'Alabama' and you hear what I'm saying. He was a bit 'edgy' to say the least! And the show was full of energy from top to bottom. Too bad there are some gaps, cause it is truly one of the hidden gems in the archives! ProfIguanaDeadZoneDJ -- December 22, 2009Jerry In Red