Dead of the Day: 04-28-1985
Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University
Palo Alto, California
Minglewood starts to rev things up, offering up some sharp jams. But Bird Song really brings it all together. Brent delivers moody fills while Jerry offers up soaring riffs, creating a wonderful soundscape of pure beauty. The Tons of Steel up next is fun, but the set-closing China> Rider, where the rollicking China Cat transitions with impeccable dexterity into the sweeping runs of I Know You Rider, steps it up again. The pairing not only provides an intricately woven end to the short first half, but also presages the magnificent transitions waiting in the second.
A Hell in the Bucket opens that latter part of the show seguing into a Crazy Fingers. A keys-heavy jam at the end of Crazy Fingers serves as the beginning of a sparkling transition into Playin’. The Playin’ that follows is tight with sharp and focused jams, and the passage into China Doll is lovely and perfectly executed, providing a momentary lapse into what is almost another theme altogether before fully entering into the illustrious China Doll. Then we get another brilliant progression, this time the other way, from China Doll back into Playin’. Once into the song, the drummers slowly start to dictate more of the Playin’ jam while they are also moving from more snare-based to wood-block dominated drumming. Drums eventually takes over completely, proceeding down various paths before a single resonant note from Jerry provides the fulcrum into Space. Coming out of Space into Playin’ is another real transition treat with the boys suddenly rolling along in the reprise before you even know it. The Wharf Rat that follows is dark and misty with some serious Phil bombs. And then the set closes out with a fun Throwing Stones> NFA before US Blues rocks the encore. But the band returns again for a more subdued, though stunning She Belongs to Me, one of only ten times the Dead covered that particular Dylan tune.

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