Went to shows after 86â and he did have a renewed sense in a few short years there. A couple of the new songs were good but most just âokâ to concession breaks. But worse were the drunken crowds and narcs.
Last shows I went to were I think 91â. Jerry was very tired. It was somewhat sad. Still glad I went and more interesting to hear Jerry slowhand and weakly sing a Sugaree than listen to Mayer showboat solo to the Coachella bohoâs through one were even the old guys are even wondering if heâs going to transition.
IMNSHO
He never did quite kick his demons, back and forth over the subsequent years. I did see a couple of very good vegas shows in 92 or 93.
As for Mayer, i thought he did a decent job...best post jerry dead-related show i had seen.
It was very hot there that day (100°). They had lots of equipment issues. I haven't looked ahead but I recall Bob kicking an amp near the end of the first set and being really pissed.
There was a blown speaker in a cabinet on the left side stack. It was making Phil's bass rasp out on the lower register. So during songs Mama Tried and (especially) Me and My Uncle he uses the upper register to play. In the process he hams it up. It shows in video but what isn't clear is the look of how annoyed he is with the blown speaker. You can see him walking to the left to talk to techs and to listen for it. The crowd was amused by the blown speaker but Phil was shaking his head about it. During Me and My Uncle he just goes with it and hams it up on the upper register. I recall Jerry looking at him like "what the hell?". Around 25:00 someone had climbed the stack trying to find the specific blown speaker. In this recording you can only hear the problem well at about 26:30 when Phil intentionally drops to the lower register and makes the speaker wrasp out bad enough to hear it (and for the tech to find it). The tech unplugged it and issue resolved. Shortly after Bob's equipment started acting up.
Though it was hot, it was nice because the place wasn't sold out. That was just before they really filled most good sized venues (unless on coasts). Shows later in the 80's became frat boy hang outs for drinking too much, looking for acid, not being able to handle either and being asses. At that point I didn't go out of my way to attend shows. It was very evident Jerry was tired and the fun carnival atmosphere was no longer the same.
Yeah, the whole touch of grey crowd was a bit much, but i disagree re. jerry and the band. 84 , 85 garcia was a strung out junkie. late 80s he got some of his life back, like this 87 show from foxboro:
And Jerry was certainly strung out here.
Went to shows after 86â and he did have a renewed sense in a few short years there. A couple of the new songs were good but most just âokâ to concession breaks. But worse were the drunken crowds and narcs.
Last shows I went to were I think 91â. Jerry was very tired. It was somewhat sad. Still glad I went and more interesting to hear Jerry slowhand and weakly sing a Sugaree than listen to Mayer showboat solo to the Coachella bohoâs through one were even the old guys are even wondering if heâs going to transition.
It was very hot there that day (100°). They had lots of equipment issues. I haven't looked ahead but I recall Bob kicking an amp near the end of the first set and being really pissed.
There was a blown speaker in a cabinet on the left side stack. It was making Phil's bass rasp out on the lower register. So during songs Mama Tried and (especially) Me and My Uncle he uses the upper register to play. In the process he hams it up. It shows in video but what isn't clear is the look of how annoyed he is with the blown speaker. You can see him walking to the left to talk to techs and to listen for it. The crowd was amused by the blown speaker but Phil was shaking his head about it. During Me and My Uncle he just goes with it and hams it up on the upper register. I recall Jerry looking at him like "what the hell?". Around 25:00 someone had climbed the stack trying to find the specific blown speaker. In this recording you can only hear the problem well at about 26:30 when Phil intentionally drops to the lower register and makes the speaker wrasp out bad enough to hear it (and for the tech to find it). The tech unplugged it and issue resolved. Shortly after Bob's equipment started acting up.
Though it was hot, it was nice because the place wasn't sold out. That was just before they really filled most good sized venues (unless on coasts). Shows later in the 80's became frat boy hang outs for drinking too much, looking for acid, not being able to handle either and being asses. At that point I didn't go out of my way to attend shows. It was very evident Jerry was tired and the fun carnival atmosphere was no longer the same.
Yeah, the whole touch of grey crowd was a bit much, but i disagree re. jerry and the band. 84 , 85 garcia was a strung out junkie. late 80s he got some of his life back, like this 87 show from foxboro:
It was very hot there that day (100°). They had lots of equipment issues. I haven't looked ahead but I recall Bob kicking an amp near the end of the first set and being really pissed.
There was a blown speaker in a cabinet on the left side stack. It was making Phil's bass rasp out on the lower register. So during songs Mama Tried and (especially) Me and My Uncle he uses the upper register to play. In the process he hams it up. It shows in video but what isn't clear is the look of how annoyed he is with the blown speaker. You can see him walking to the left to talk to techs and to listen for it. The crowd was amused by the blown speaker but Phil was shaking his head about it. During Me and My Uncle he just goes with it and hams it up on the upper register. I recall Jerry looking at him like "what the hell?". Around 25:00 someone had climbed the stack trying to find the specific blown speaker. In this recording you can only hear the problem well at about 26:30 when Phil intentionally drops to the lower register and makes the speaker wrasp out bad enough to hear it (and for the tech to find it). The tech unplugged it and issue resolved. Shortly after Bob's equipment started acting up.
Though it was hot, it was nice because the place wasn't sold out. That was just before they really filled most good sized venues (unless on coasts). Shows later in the 80's became frat boy hang outs for drinking too much, looking for acid, not being able to handle either and being asses. At that point I didn't go out of my way to attend shows. It was very evident Jerry was tired and the fun carnival atmosphere was no longer the same.
I was at the last Dallas show (next to last of the tour, before Austin, which I was also at) and it was arguably one of the top 2-3 shows of the whole Fall tour last year. They brought the house down.
Meanwhile, I went to the final 2 shows of the 2018 Summer tour at Folsom and they were utterly mind-blowing. Can't lose either way.
