Dead of the Day: 08-31-1985
Manor Downs
Austin, Texas
There are a bunch of late seventies and early eighties shows from this date in Dead history. And, for our Dead of the Day, we go to the latest of those, an Austin, Texas engagement from 1985. You can practically hear the end of summer in the air on this front of the board recording. And the Mississippi Half-Step opener is the perfect way to capture that idle, expansive feel of a summer evening. A song later, as you would expect, Bobby did not miss the opportunity to bust out the cowboy songs in Texas, beginning with an El Paso. After, the boys play a fun Dupree’s before Bobby pulls out another cowboy tune with Mexicali, which feeds into Big River. Then the inventiveness turns up a notch further with a solid Althea and roaring Brother Esau. They continue the fine playing on a fast Jack-A-Roe before sending the first set out with an exceptional Let It Grow.
The Dead came out of the break with Terrapin Station, eliciting a much-deserved roar from the crowd. The Terrapin is wonderful, but even better as it marks the beginning of a very good set. The next thing to roll out is a monster Estimated with a crisp, raging jam in the middle and then an absolutely epic latin sounding jam in the second half, leading into Drums. Out of Space, the Dead head into Going Down The Road Feeling Bad, which has some nice runs before settling into a short but haunting Stella Blue. Afterwards, Throwing Stones brings it to a set-closing Not Fade Away that the drummers and the crowd keep going into a reprise at the end. Whatever you do, though, don’t miss the first encore, as Jerry plays an utterly emotional and beautiful version of She Belongs To Me.
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