Boston Run in September 1993 - Utterly Ridiculous

I haven't been very regular in updating the blog but I assure you that I'm always listening to Grateful Dead, and almost exclusively Grateful Dead from the 1990s.

It's been 17 years since Jerry died and thanks to technology I've been able to download and hear soundboard recordings of tons of shows (although  I wish the band would officially release all the recordings from the 1990s).

I've never been very good about memorizing which shows really stand out and I'm not one of those Deadheads that can tell you what show has "the best performance of Samson ever". One reason for this is because after I hear a great tape, I am immediately trying to forget it so that I can "rediscover" it again in another year or two.

Well in the last week or two, I worked my way through a run of shows from Boston in September 1993 that contain some unbelievable Grateful Dead moments and is probably the best GD run ever (to my unique tastes). Of course, if I could go back to any show in a time machine, it would be the Harmonic Convergence show in 1987, but a close second would be this run back east.

Grateful Dead Played Better on the East Coast?

I have to admit, although I've seen some great shows, I never saw the band firing on all cylinders like this run.  It features huge stretches of flawless and inspired performances by Jerry. Of course, he is just newly playing the "Lightning Bolt" guitar which allowed him to play easily and fluidly compared to the previous Doug Irwin guitars. To those who disparage the "acoustic tone" of Lightning Bolt, I would urge them to listen to Jerry reinvent some old tunes during this run (I write a lot more about Lightning Bolt here).

Again, I have listened to show recordings for the 17 Grateful Dead shows I went to and they just don't compare to the band in Boston during this run (possible exception was the Sunday night Vegas show I saw in 1994).  Shoreline (aka Snoreline) shows in particular pale in comparison.

I have come to the undeniable conclusion that the band played better on the East Coast (specifically New York, Philadelphia, and Boston).

Audio and Video Links and More Discussion about These Shows

I found one youtube video of a complete concert from these shows (the 3rd of 6 shows - Sunday, 9/26/93 thanks Voodoonola!). I'm going to post links to the archive.org recordings for all these shows.

Then down below  the video, I am going to maybe weigh in on some specific thoughts and highlights from these shows (I do this way down the page so that the person who may be hearing these for the first time can listen without knowing the setlist and enjoy the surprise of the show).

• First show,  Friday, 9/24/93 - archive.org link 
• Second show,  Saturday, 9/25/93 - archive.org link 
• Third show,  Sunday, 9/26/93 -  archive.org link  
• Fourth show,  Tuesday, 9/28/93 - archive.org link  
• Fifth show,  Wednesday, 9/29/93 - archive.org link 
• Sixth show,  Thursday, 9/30/93 - archive.org link 

Some Random Thoughts from This Historic Boston Run

• First show,  Friday, 9/24/93 - Setlist Link

This show is great, but I wasn't listening as closely because I didn't realize it was such a monumental run. Any show with Scarlet/Fire is great and the Days Between was good as well.

• Second show,  Saturday, 9/25/93 - Setlist Link

This first set is ridiculous.  There is an absolutely incredible Loser and the Cassidy/Deal closer shows Jerry playing at a magical level.   The Foolish Heart is always an ambitious choice and this is a "pretty good" version (very long).  Crazy Fingers and The Wheel are 2 of my favorite songs and make the 2nd set a winner, but overall, the 1st set owns the night.

• Third show,  Sunday, 9/26/93 - Setlist Link

So it was during this tape that I really started realizing how great this run is.  High Time (first set) and Ship of Fools (2nd set) are rare and awesome to hear especially in the same show.  The Standing on the Moon closer and Rain encore left me speechless.

• Fourth show,  Tuesday, 9/28/93 - Setlist Link

This is the only show that I didn't have the soundboard of so I listened to the audience recording from archive.org.  More of the band and Jerry playing great.  A great China/Rider and a personal favorite Attics of My Life highlight this show.  The ending Throwing Stones then Good Lovin' and then US. Blues encore just further highlight how much more special the Dead seemed to treat their East Coast runs.

• Fifth show,  Wednesday, 9/29/93 - Setlist Link

Sugaree and Dire Wolf highlight the first set, and the surprising/disappointing (choice) Tennessee Jed set closer is redeemed when the band comes out and opens the 2nd set with Eyes of the World. Terrapin is great and the surprising Playin' Reprise is great coming out of Space.

• Sixth show,  Thursday, 9/30/93 - Setlist Link

This is my favorite show of this run...  Here Comes Sunshine is incredible and the Candyman and Stagger Lee are played really well although you can hear Jerry's voice is really struggling...I think it was the last show of Fall Tour. If you really want to hear how clear and beautiful Lightning Bolt sounded, listen to the opening notes of Candyman from this show.... that guitar just cut through clear as a bell.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is a personal favorite so as 2nd set opener I think that's great.  Crazy Fingers played for the 2nd time this run and is good (Stagger Lee is also played twice on this run and it's one of my all time favorites with Crazy Fingers so you can imagine how much extra that makes me like this run and this show in particular).  Jerry plays some great guitar at the end of He's Gone (during the "ooooh nothing's gonna bring him back..."), I've never heard him play like that during this part of the song.

Other One>Wharf Rat is not a sequence I like that much but instead of the usual Lovelight after they switch it up and go to Not Fade Away where Jerry plays and sings just incredibly (what happened to the 1st set hoarseness I have no idea).  The show ends on such a high note and then of course what else could end a 6 night run (and tour) better than Brokedown.... perfection.

Disclaimer: This is part of my blog that reviews all things Grateful Dead for fun. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion.

Crazy Fingers - Grateful Dead Song Review

My favorite Grateful Dead song. I've contemplated making a list and it would definitely evolve over time but this one would always be number 1. It actually is so great I've been stalling on writing about it because, I just don't know if you can do the song justice. But I try....

First of all, Crazy Fingers wasn't my favorite song at first. It took years to really appreciate it. I did see it at my first show on May 15th, 1993 (Sam Boyd Silver Bowl, Las Vegas - Saturday night show) and the melody of the verse really was great and memorable, but the song requires a fine appreciation for the Dead to really absorb how unique and original it is.

Crazy Fingers is a slow, middling tune that was pretty inconsistent in it's delivery over the years. The studio version from Blues for Allah is extremely tight and well executed and just creates an aura of a really good mellow, mature, psychedelic reggae song (psychedelic reggae - not a genre you often hear about and maybe still not that accurate for this song but that shows how original this song really is).

The early live versions of this song held pretty true to the form on Blues for Allah (most notably from One for the Vault) including the guitar flanger effect. Naturally, I prefer the song the way it evolved into the nineties - but probably not the very last couple of years because I really like my Crazy Fingers to be crisply delivered and it did get really loose in the last couple of years. An absolutely phenomenal version of the song is on youtube from Dean Smith Center, North Carolina in 1993. That version has such a great solo on it with just the right amount of sparkling reverb and delay and Jerry taking the lyrical soaring leads seemingly in slow motion. The solo in Crazy Fingers is always a highlight for me, and is always delivered with just the right amount of effects. While it outlines the verse melody, it is still always thoughtfully and lyrically delivered in a unique and improvisational way - no two Crazy Fingers solos are the same (after the first few bars).

Before I even get into the words I must point out that Crazy Fingers is SO UNIQUE in its composition. From the slow haunting intro Jerry would play to the almost dissonant bridge section Life may be sweeter for this, I don't know.... to the bass heavy jam outro it is just like nothing else out there (and please do tell if there is other music you know of similar to this I would love to hear it).

The first hundred or so times I heard Crazy Fingers I think the melody on the bridge section (ie where they sing Gone are the days... we stopped to decide...) might have just rubbed my ears the wrong way, but now I can really appreciate the harmonic quality of the change and know that it is non traditional and therefore unfamiliar. It pushes the boundaries of the beautiful harmony that is established in the verses and is congruent with the dual nature of the lyrics that are joyous and beautiful but also about sadness and loss. The bridge really works with the song and breaks it up perfectly because while the verse melody is extremely pretty, it is a bit simple.

Now I have to talk about the words. I just can't do these lyrics justice. I've read them described as a haiku before (I think even by Robert Hunter's own description) but they are not the kind of (5-7-5) Haiku that I remember learning to create in elementary school.

The entire song is just perfect but a couple of favorite sections:

Cloud hands, reaching from a rainbow,
tapping at your window
touch your hair

So swift and bright,
strange figures of light
float in air

So this is just psychedelia at its finest. This sounds like the best LSD experience of all time. Those lines always make me picture the most beautiful imagery and fill me with a sense of wonder at what beauty exists in nature that we may not comprehend until a moment when we are "opened up" to the beauty surrounding us.

Hang your heart on a laughing willow
stray down to the water
deep sea of love...

Beneath the sweet calm face of the sea
swift undertow

Deep stuff. This reminds me of the uneasy feeling that comes along with tripping when you contemplate that loving others and having relationships with them carries with it a risk of being disappointed in a way that can wound you more than any physical injury. Also, how could this line not require a mention of the fact that Jerry Garcia's father drowned when Jerry was just a young boy.

This song is mostly joyous but there is also a dark duality to it that reminds of the temporal fleeting nature of this life which is endlessly slipping by.

Finally, the best line of all:

Midnight on a carousel ride
reaching for the gold ring down inside

Never couldd reach it...
just slips away...
but I try...

So you take the man Jerry Garcia (and include his writing partner Robert Hunter) and you have artists who continually evolved and kept pushing the envelope for almost thirty years - never playing it safe or going for the easy home run but continually searching for another hidden musical gem, another magical combination of songs, another performance to bring audience and performer to a higher level of consciousness. In my opinion this is the highest calling someone can hope to fulfill in this life and Jerry and Robert were able to inspire people with their music and words for decades to the point that I am still chronicling it fourteen years after it came to an end in August 1995 (keep in mind I only really knew the Dead for two years at that point and consider what an impact it must have made on me).

So they never reached the gold ring? Maybe. But they helped inspired us to reach for ours within ourselves- it is the greatest gift you can give. I think that this is the effect that the wizards, shamans, and holy men who've been chronicled throughout the ages have had on people. This is the true magic, and this song is a spell.


Crazy Fingers Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 10.0

Disclaimer: This is part of my review of every Grateful Dead song from A-Z. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion (and be sure to read my blog manifesto to understand a little more about where I'm coming from).

Grateful Dead Concert Recording Review from Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA 12-30-1990

This is a great show and one that represents the Dead in their finest hour (in my opinion). The playing is tight and the crowd is into the show. Jerry is really “on” for the most part. This tape had some crazy sound going on (see Memphis Blues and Looks Like Rain below).

Bertha starts off the show, I’ve stated other places in my blog that I feel that Bertha is a great song… while you’re at a concert but seems to drag on a bit when I hear it on tapes. This version is excellent with spirited piano from Hornsby in addition to Vince’s keys.

Jerry plays Bertha perfectly, has a great solo, and even sings some lines very emphatically (like “Throw me in the JAILHOUSE” ) and the crowd just eats it up.

Anytime there is an opener before Feel Like a Stranger I always think to myself that it is like getting two openers for the price of one! Feel Like a Stranger is one of my favorite openers, although granted it lost a little bit of its swagger after Brent died. This version is great and the first odd sounds in the mix are apparent at about the 14:00 minute mark (of the entire show). Bobby’s guitar (he’s playing great) really comes out in front of everything to the point where it sounds like overdubs. A bit of magic in the recording (or maybe in the air that night).

Candyman is just a great old fashioned Grateful Dead tune and fits perfectly after those two high powered openers. This version is great with Jerry emphasizing all the “crowd favorite lines” (If I had a shotgun I’d blow you straaaaight to heeellll) and the crowd response is audible on the tape at these moments. Jerry goes into the solo with the usual effect on his guitar (kind of like a chorus/tremolo) and the band starts to really push him and he starts playing a really fast solo which is an awesome harbinger of things to come.

Me and My Uncle is a routine song that is mercifully short but this one is well played and goes seamlessly into Maggie’s Farm which is really cool because Vince sings a lead (as well as Hornsby). Vince sings “… I don’t know the words…” when he is caught unprepared which for some reason kind of bothers me because it makes light of the Dead concert which is a pretty awesome affair that a lot of work goes into creating and involves some of the world’s best (or most interesting) musicians. Then again it is just a lighthearted thing to sing and it definitely gets a good crowd response. I am a huge fan of Vince which you will find out if you read much of my blog.

The first bona fide “chills up your spine” moment of the show comes after Maggie’s Farm when Jerry starts playing the intro to High Time and you can feel the excitement of the crowd as they quickly realize it (I actually thought it was To Lay Me Down for a few bars). The crowd response to Jerry’s first line, “You told me good bye…” is great.

Next is Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again which is a rare gem and one of the (not so many) Bobby songs that I really like. During this song the drums completely cut out of the recording a couple of times. It is so abrupt (and cuts in and out right at the beginning of a measures) that I at first thought it was intentional, but it am pretty sure it was a microphone/recording error. I’ve never heard anything like this in any other Grateful Dead recording.

Tennessee Jed follows and this is a song that I loved to hear live but not a personal favorite to listen to on tapes. I did notice that this version is a really rocking rendition and Jerry is at the top of his game.

Valley Road closes the 1st set and this is not one of the Hornsby songs I like (Stander on the Mountain is the only one I can think of at this time that I have an affinity for). I would’ve been really disappointed to be at this gig and have this close out the first set.


Set II

One reason I really like this show is that it has an interesting setlist. The 1990s are my favorite era for the Dead even more than the 1980s. I have discussed elsewhere on my blog how I think that the 1980s are more consistently rocking, but the 1990s are more interesting. Mississippi Half Step Uptown Toodeloo is case in point because I always associate this song with opening the first set.

I like the entire Mississipi Half Step song but of course the part that really pulls at my heart strings is the beautiful ending progression where Jerry sings “Acroooooss the Rio Graaande-ooo.” He delivers in fine form on this version.

Looks like Rain is next and is a somewhat surprising down-tempo change to the set. Still, it is a great song and a great version. One part that I’ve always really liked about this song is Jerry’s delicate lyrical “bird like” (as in the animal not the Jazz musician) trills at the end when Bobby is saying “Turning grey and it looks like rain.” The unique sonic quality of this show is on display again at around the 5:00 mark of the song when Bobby’s guitar comes forward in the mix so much (and he’s playing great while singing) that it honestly sounds like it is overdubbed. Then there is some thunder sound effects and it creates a great feeling for this excellent version of Looks Like Rain.

Crazy Fingers begins shortly after Looks Like Rain.

You will learn from my song reviews that Crazy Fingers is my favorite Dead song (if I had to choose – which is so difficult to do). As soon as you can hear the opening notes where Jerry outlines the G and C chord in 6/8 time it sends chills up my spine EVERY TIME. This is a great 90’s version and while I listen to this I am thoroughly convinced that this is going to be a Dead concert for the ages… until…

Jerry murders the final verse. The final verse of Crazy Fingers is my favorite verse of any Dead song and Jerry sings the wrong verse. Now, I am a huge Jerry fanatic and I think he can do no wrong for the most part. In fact I used to love it when he flubbed the lyrics when I was at the concert and sometimes it would earn the biggest audience cheer of the whole night- as if to show how much unconditional love and support there was in the room. However, in this case, I have to say that it is such an extreme and egregious mistake that it kind of casts a shadow over the rest of the concert and robs the show of a lot of momentum and it seems Jerry loses a little bit of the energy that he never really regains in the show. I could be imagining this because he pulls out an excellent solo on the outro of Crazy Fingers, but I still think it was the moment in which this show turned from one that was going to be “for the ages” to being “a great Dead show.” Still, here’s few things better in life than listening to “a great Dead show…”

Our buddy the professor at KOPN does an admirable job in delivering the Dead hour but in this case the show goes from Crazy Fingers -> Me and My Uncle ->Drumz…. so there must’ve been some technical difficulties, but oh well, I am sure the Playin’ was great and I’m sure I’ll get to hear it someday.


Drums begins with the standard drums solo as usual and then sound effects begin - good and scary- whipping around and panning left and right .

You can hear the crowd roar as some band members (presumably Jerry) step out on stage and the Space begins. There are a lot of interesting sound effects including a marimba in a disjointed atonal theme.

Jerry busts out flute sound effects and then the trumpet sound which he uses to play an eerie theme that reminds me of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Terrapin begins without much fanfare, but continuing on my thread of Jerry losing a step after Crazy Fingers, he sounds a little hoarse and unenthusiastic. Don’t get me wrong I love Terrapin every time I hear it. The band behind him sounds great and Jerry plays a great solo in the middle of the “Lady with a Fan” verses, and there is also a great group improvisation section leading into the “since the end is never told” transition into Terrapin Station.


The buildup at the end of Terrapin Station is well executed, but I think it could’ve used a little more juice in the drums (I always like it when Terrapin precedes Drums – that last section usually explodes with Mickey and Billy starting to “take off.”)

Phil starts a interesting 1-5 pedal tone during the end of Terrapin Station and forces the jam awkwardly into Sugar Magnolia. Of course there is a great crowd reaction to this and that is a beautiful thing to hear. Sugar Magnolia seems the quintessential NYE song, I know Bill Graham loved it. I definitely got a chill listening to the end of this Sunshine Daydream although I could’ve sworn Morning Dew was coming next for some reason.

US. Blues encore– this one always makes me feel like I’m in a time warp, and I always picture the cartoon at the beginning of the Grateful Dead Movie. Although I was born in 1975 I still have a little memory of the spirit of the 70's and this song is a great rock song from this era. The lyrics are lighthearted and it is a great encore - to the best of my knowledge it seemed to end shows that were excellent. A great ending to a great show.

I could only imagine how great it would have been to have been there and seen this great concert and yet known that New Years Eve was still to come...