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Jerry Garcia once said that he didn’t care what venue he played at but that what he liked was to play the same venue on successive days.  These three nights in June, 1990 are nice sound board recordings of Jerry and the Grateful Dead on what was, for many, the last great tour.  Throughout the Dead’s career, the keyboard player was  integral to the Dead’s sound.  Amazingly the three great Dead key board players brought remarkably different talents to the band and indeed, the band (and Jerry) sounds very different depending if its Pig Pen or Godchaux or Mydland.  These shows of course are part of the Mydland era (his last show would be 23 July 1990 and he died on the 26th) .  The recordings on these three nights are available in full on the Internet Archive, are very good. These are NOT modern, cold, digital recordings.  The crowd can often be heard in the background.  Bob’s supporting guitar work is excellent and easy to hear on these tapes.  Jerry and Brent  are pretty subdued, and soulful.  Of the three shows 06/08 is my favorite the run from Bird Song through Foolish Heart are particularly sweet.  The second night, for me, suffers from a set list not to my tastes(although Lucy Loose and All Along the Watchtower are unforgettable.).  The last night has some great runs including Playin’ in the Band –> Crazy Fingers -> Playing In The Band Jam  as well as the closing of Standing On the Moon through ‘Last Time.  All of Jerry’s ‘first set classics’ like Jack-A-Roe, Jack Straw and Row Jimmy are great examples of the types of sweet solos Jerry developed late in his career.  If you are looking for the classic, happy hippy ‘Keep On Truckin’ Grateful Dead, you will not find them here.  This is the mature Jerry Garcia (he was 48 and in poor health) with thirty years and thousands of shows on the road.  Death did stalk the halls on these nights and Jerry plays against the devil.  And the music plays the band.

Cal Expo Amphitheatre: 1990-06-08

• 01 06:46 Cold Rain & Snow* Listen
• 02 07:13 Walkin’ Blues Listen
• 03 05:39 Easy To Love You Listen
• 04 05:01 Jack-A-Roe Listen
• 05 08:06 Queen Jane Approximately Listen
• 06 07:51 High Time Listen
• 07 08:52 It’s All Over Now Listen
• 08 12:00 Bird Song Listen
• 09 10:23 Uncle John’s Band ? Listen
• 10 11:22 China Cat Sunflower ? I Know You Rider Listen
• 11 10:10 Estimated Prophet ? Listen
• 12 14:53 Foolish Heart ? Jam ? Listen
• 13 07:05 Drums ? Listen
• 14 11:42 Space ? Listen
• 15 05:34 The Wheel** ? Listen
• 16 04:02 I Need A Miracle ? Listen
• 17 09:57 Black Peter ? Listen
• 18 08:44 Sugar Magnolia/ Listen
• 19 05:40 U.S. Blues Listen
• Concert Length: 02:08:00

Cal Expo Amphitheatre: 1990-06-09

• 01 04:32 Let The Good Times Roll Listen
• 02 08:54 Feel Like A Stranger Listen
• 03 09:52 Peggy-O Listen
• 04 02:47 Me And My Uncle > Listen
• 05 08:06 Mexicali Blues Listen
• 06 08:09 Loser Listen
• 07 07:03 When I Paint My Masterpiece Listen
• 08 09:48 Loose Lucy Listen
• 09 06:03 Cassidy > Listen
• 10 03:27 Don’t Ease Me In Listen
• 11 08:42 Victim Or The Crime > Listen
• 12 07:04 Touch Of Grey > Listen
• 13 08:27 Looks Like Rain > Listen
• 14 14:53 Terrapin Station > Listen
• 15 06:24 Drums > Listen
• 16 07:06 Space > Listen
• 17 06:09 Dear Mr. Fantasy > Listen
• 18 05:01 Hey Jude > Listen
• 19 06:17 All Along The Watchtower > Listen
• 20 07:09 Stella Blue* > Listen
• 21 07:57 Turn On Your Lovelight Listen
• 22 06:31 Black Muddy River** Listen
• Concert Length: 01:41:54

Cal Expo Amphitheatre: 1990-06-10

• 01 06:34 Bertha Listen
• 02 06:03 Jack Straw Listen
• 03 01:31 We want Phil Listen
• 04 03:42 Dire Wolf Listen
• 05 06:37 Wang Dang Doodle Listen
• 06 11:22 Row Jimmy Listen
• 07 07:26 Picasso Moon Listen
• 08 07:46 Tennessee Jed Listen
• 09 04:53 The Promised Land Listen
• 10 05:28 Box Of Rain Listen
• 11 14:59 Eyes of the World -\> Listen
• 12 08:27 Playing In The Band-\> Listen
• 13 10:17 Crazy Fingers -\> Playing In The Band Jam -\> Listen
• 14 07:30 Drums -\> Listen
• 15 08:44 Space-\> Listen
• 16 06:48 Gimme Some Lovin\’ -\> Listen
• 17 10:27 Standing On The Moon -\> Listen
• 18 09:08 Throwing Stines -\> Listen
• 19 07:50 Not Fade Away Listen
• 20 06:01 The Last Time Listen

Related articles

• The Grateful Dead – The 1990 Tapes On The Internet Archive (dlr2008.wordpress.com)