This past summer, the Grateful Dead’s ongoing Dave’s Pick’s CD subscription series made its first foray into the band’s so-called “dirty eighties” era when it released the Boise, ID show from September 2, 1983 as the 27th release since its inception in 2011. It remains a standout show from one of the more inconsistent eras from the Grateful Dead’s 30-year history from 1965 to 1995, and after repeated listens, it prompted a deep dive into the two weeks of shows in the western U.S. that followed it–and what we re-discovered was too much fun not to share.
The so-called “dirty eighties” era ran from March 1983 through July 1986, in the middle of an 11-year period from 1979 to 1990 that featured the longest run of one lineup in the band’s history: guitarists/vocalists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, keyboardist/vocalist Brent Mydland and drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. Musically, the “dirty eighties” era is frequently defined by Jerry Garcia’s inconsistent performances due to health issues, but the band continued to sell out arenas because the “on” shows, (or the “on” portion of a shows) would contain unusual bursts of creativity that came out of nowhere but then were almost never repeated. Shows from this era can also be immediately identified by Brent Mydland’s polarizing use of a more synthesized keyboard sound (as opposed to a piano) as his primary tone, but this was the era Brent also made significant leaps as a creative contributor out of necessity. He had to be much busier on Garcia’s off-nights, and by the time Garcia’s health had returned in 1987, Mydland’s ability to follow his playing and react accordingly bordered on the telepathic.
PRELUDE
The Boise show was always on the short list for official release as it has a great performance and a great setlist, but it was also the first show of a great run for this era. After a week of gigs in the Pacific Northwest (a fertile territory for Grateful Dead music from the early days), and still remains so now that generated momentum, the Boise show kicked off an 8-show run bolstered by a “secret weapon”: a lovestruck Phil Lesh.
A look back through Phil Lesh’s memoir Searching for The Sound reveals that the bassist was in the early days of his relationship with his soon-to-be-spouse Jill (the couple recently celebrated their 34th anniversary), and he was looking for a way to spend some extra time with her on the road:
“So I stayed up late one night in Eugene, Oregon, concocting a plan: I would rent a car and we would drive, just the two of us, through Portland and Pendleton on the way to our next gig, Boise – and maybe even from there…we laughed and talked our way across the countryside, picking up local radio stations wherever we could, discovering incredible synchronicities between the places we were and the music we heard.” (SFTS, p. 262)
BOISE – September 2nd
As one might expect, Phil was in a great mood at the Boise show, taking a rare step to the mike to good-naturedly declare, “Citizens of Boise! Surrender or perish, for you are a conquered people!” before the band eased into a surprise opener of “Wang Dang Doodle” in its second-ever airing, followed by “Jack Straw”. The remainder of the first set contained a healthy selection of western-themed songs, but the second set went deep into psychedelic territory with stellar versions of “Help on the Way” > Slipknot > Franklin’s Tower” and “Estimated Prophet” into “Eyes of the World” into a long Bob & Brent jam.
Unfortunately, the Dave’s Picks version of the show is sold out and is not found on streaming services, but a link to an audience recording of the show is here.
However, Boise was only the beginning, and it was already far from a “normal” road trip when Jill and Phil had a real-life close encounter of the first kind after the show: “While traveling from Boise to Park City, Utah, we saw a flying saucer streak across the sky in front of us.” SFTS, p. 262
Well, then.
PARK CITY – September 4th
The Grateful Dead’s next show at Park City Mountain Resort on September 4th took place in a decidedly casual setting, even for the era–an uncovered stage was set up next to the resort’s ski lift, and some well-connected fans were actually able to view the daytime show from the balconies of the ski condos situated directly behind the stage. And while the Boise show got the nod for a Dave’s Picks release, the Park City show could have easily been chosen in its place.
A strong 10-song first set kicks things off, featuring 1983 regular and subsequent rarity “Brother Esau”, “Althea”, an early “Hell in A Bucket” and “China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider” to close. Meanwhile, the second started with a standout 27-minute “Scarlet Begonias” > “Fire on the Mountain” and a surging sequence of “Spanish Jam” > “Other One” > Wharf Rat” out of space before Bob changed the lyrics throughout the “One More Saturday Night” encore to “One More Labor Day Night”.
RED ROCKS – September 6th, 7th and 8th
The legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, a venue carved into a hillside between two stone monoliths, is a venue that conjured up musical magic from the Grateful Dead from 1978 onwards, and Phil didn’t half know it: “I had been talking up Red Rocks and the music we made there all the way from Portland, and I was going to make sure she got some great shows. With a crescent moon in the sky, I showed off for Jill by dropping bass bombs (loud, profoundly percussive low notes or chords) left and right. By the third show I was bopping around the stage with a fiendish grin on my face–it was that much fun.” SFTS, p. 263
The first night on September 6th was the band’s third straight exemplary show, with a first set highlighted by “Bird Song” and one of the Grateful Dead’s final performances of the much-missed “Lazy Lightning > Supplication”, while the second set centered around an interstellar 54-minute journey comprised of “Playing in The Band” > “Drums” > “Space” > “Uncle John’s Band” > “Playing in The Band”.
The second night on September 7th contained a more “standard” setlist on paper with the notable exception of “I Need a Miracle” leading off a second set for the first time since 1979, and playing remained powerful and energetic throughout. The final night of the run on September 8th started with the only “Shakedown Street” on this run and a strong “Deal” to close out the first set, and the show’s peaks came from a pre-drums sequence of the second 27-minute “Scarlet > Fire” in a week, followed by a bass-driven “Estimated Prophet” into “Terrapin Station.”
After the final Red Rocks show Phil and Jill headed south on the day off, but they made a point to undertake some of the journey after dark: “We stopped and got out, walking away from the car under the high plains stars. Not quite as an intimate experience as in Egypt, these stars, but more brilliant, more colorful, sharper and clearer. We at first stood, transfixed, then climbed on top of the car to lie on our backs, drinking in the glory.” SFTS, p. 263
SANTA FE – September 10th and 11th
The next morning, Phil and Jill continued south to New Mexico for the next two shows at the Downs of Santa Fe racetrack, but not without incident:
“We cruise over the last rise before the turnoff in Santa Fe, and–what’s this? State police standing on the side of the road, waving everyone over? They pull seven or eight cars, including us, over to the side and give us all speeding tickets. Apparently they’ve been tracking us, along with hundreds of Heads on their way to the show, for thirty miles by plane. So after a thousand miles, the journey ends with a speeding ticket, literally within sight of our destination.” SFTS p. 262-264
That minor setback had no effect on the Santa Fe shows, with a pair of weekend daytime shows that each took place at 2:00 p.m. The first show on September 10th features a highly unusual set list, nearly always the sign of a strong show: “The Music Never Stopped” was the surprise opener, while Phil subsequently donned a large sombrero to the delight of the crowd for one of the last first-set appearances of “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider” in this slot before its permanent move to the second set. Following a rain-induced intermission the second set kicked off with “Man Smart, Woman Smarter” in its only second set opener appearance of 1983, and later came a five-minute jam after “China Doll” led by Bob and Brent, a rare “no ballads” post-drums sequence of “The Other One” > “Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad” > “One More Saturday Night” and an only-time-ever “Cold Rain & Snow” encore as grey skies and rain clouds approached.
The band then celebrated Mickey Hart’s 40th birthday on September 11th by delivering the fourth of the four exceptional shows from this run. While the 10-song first set was rock solid, the second set rivalled Boise with another “Help>Slip>Franklin’s” trio, a rare second-set appearance by “Let It Grow” (one of only seven after 1980), and the tasty post-drums salvo included the still-new “Wang Dang Doodle” (extended to nearly 11 greasy minutes due to equipment problems) into the sole “Morning Dew” performed during these 8 shows.
AUSTIN – September 13th
Phil and Jill then turned in their rental car and flew to Austin with the rest of the band for the final show of the run on September 13th at the Manor Downs racetrack in Austin, Texas. While this show doesn’t quite match up to the previous shows on this run, it’s still an above-average show by 1983 standards and serves as a nice “encore” to the preceding seven. The first set is set apart by a completely random middle-of-the-set version of “Don’t Ease Me In” (well away from its usual position as the set-closer), and the second set’s clear highlight was the 30-minute “Scarlet > Fire”, followed by the autobiographical anthem “Truckin,”, which couldn’t be better placed for the fortunate souls that experienced some (or all!) of this western swing firsthand.
Happy listening and safe travels!
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