07-26-1987
Anaheim Stadium
Anaheim, California
On this, the last of the six-show tour with Dylan, the Dead turn to Iko Iko to start the party, delivering a fresh and energetic version. A sharp Minglewood follows, Bobby extemporaneously tossing in “These Disney Minnies start looking good,” paying the Magic Kingdom just down the road a little homage. Brent then rolls out one of the best Tons of Steel ever, and Jerry follows it up with a pretty damn hot West L.A. Fadeaway. Even with Dylan waiting in the wings, Bobby turns to Masterpiece next before a ripping Mexicali makes it a Weir double-shot. From there, Jerry takes his turn as the band sends an immaculate, but attenuated, Bird Song. The set finishes off with a rocking Promised Land with Brent really spicing it up on the organ.
Iko Iko, Minglewood Blues, Tons Of Steel, West L.A. Fadeaway, When I Paint My Masterpiece-> Mexicali Blues, Bird Song-> Promised Land
Set 2
Shakedown Street, Looks Like Rain, Terrapin Station-> Drums-> Jam-> The Other One-> Stella Blue-> Throwing Stones-> Not Fade Away
Set 3
Mr. Tambourine Man, Dead Man, Maggie’s Farm, Simple Twist Of Fate, Watching The River Flow, It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, Chimes Of Freedom, Queen Jane Approximately, Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Rainy Day Women #12 And #35, Gotta Serve Somebody, All Along The Watchtower
Third set with Bob Dylan
The boys come out of the break with a monster Shakedown, Phil shaking the stadium to the core and Jerry throwing in some ferocious picking. Shifting the vibe, the band then turns to a lovely LL Rain. A beautiful Terrapin, accented nicely with superb soloing, spills forth next, taking it into Drums. On the backend of Space, the boys go for a quick, steely Other One, Healy playing with the vocals along the way. Out of the fury, the Dead turn to an alluring and emotionally rich Stella Blue. Throwing Stones comes next, firing up the audience for a monumental NFA to end the set.
As they did throughout their tour with Dylan, the boys then took the stage as the backup band for the master wordsmith. Dylan doesn’t leave the Dead too much time to stretch their legs, but there are some great nuggets, including the last romp in Watching the River Flow, the interstices of Rainy Day Women, and some ferocious runs in Watchtower to close out the set. Dylan’s voice is really not meant for the big stadiums, and, at times – no more so than on the opening Mr. Tambourine Man – the lyrics are almost indecipherable. But other songs are more lucid, and some, like Baby Blue, are just stunning. After Dylan’s set, the Dead come out for a Touch encore, before Dylan again joins them to send the night out with a Knocking on Heaven’s Door.
A number of songs – Bird Song, Terrapin, Other One, Stella, etc. – throughout the night seem a bit attenuated. And that was true through the earlier nights with Dylan; it is just tough to fit three big sets and a double encore into one evening. But the tour with Dylan and, especially, this Anaheim capper, was a special moment. And the Dead certainly liked some of their performances on the evening, judging by how many of them they have released. The Iko opener made it onto a Record Store Day single in 2013 with Ikos by Dr. John and The Dixie Cups on the flip side. The Throwing Stones also found its way onto Weir Here. And View from the Vault IV captured the Dead’s solo efforts on this night along with most of the Oakland show from two days prior. Finally, three of the songs from the Dylan set – Gotta Serve Somebody, Watchtower, and the Knockin’ encore – made the cut for the Dylan and the Dead album.
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