09-15-1985
Devore Field, Southwestern University
Chula Vista, California
Alabama Getaway and Promised Land are solid enough, but with West LA Fadeaway, the band really finds their groove. After a shot of Mama Tried into a spacious Big River, the band turn to Dupree’s and Smokestack Lightning for a pair of down and dirty Dead blues tunes played in the best of their eighties style. The Smokestack Lightning also sets up an absolutely incendiary Deal to cap the first set.
Promised Land
West L.A. Fadeaway
Mama Tried >
Big River
Dupree’s Diamond Blues
Smokestack Lightning >
Deal
Scarlet Begonias >
Fire On The Mountain
Samson & Delilah
She Belongs To Me
Truckin’ >
Comes A Time >
Around & Around >
Drums >
Space >
U.S. Blues >
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Encore:
Brokedown Palace
Bob Weir – Guitar
Brent Mydland – Keyboards
Phil Lesh – Bass
Bill Kreutzmann – Drums
Mickey Hart – Drums
The second half begins with an insane Twilight Zone tuning – the sound circling your head like evil poltergeists – that must have totally freaked folks at the show. Acting like nothing ever happened, the band transitions into a sweet Scarlet Begonias that leaves Rod Serling far behind. And the Scarlet> Fire that unfolds is epic, all you want in that magical pairing. Afterwards, the Dead turn to a powerful Samson And Delilah that includes a couple massive Jerry solos. Then we get one of the few – there were only nine, all of them in 1985 – She Belongs to Me. And it is a beautiful rendering of the Dylan classic right up to its abrupt end. The Dead then make a slow start on Truckin’. Yet before too long, the Truckin’ is storming across the land, rolling straight into a haunting Comes A Time. And this takes it to Around And Around, unusually placed directly before Drums. From the very beginning of the transition from Drums into Space, it is clear that the Twilight Zone opening to the set has not escaped Jerry and the gang’s consciousness. A series of alternatively lucid, surreal, and eerie passages ensue over the next nine minutes. The transition into US Blues slowly emerges out of the ectoplasm, and laser beams continue to punctuate the early portions of the song. The Satisfaction that follows is a barn burner that sees the set out. Brokedown Palace provides a lovely end to the evening, a peaceful lullaby to rock the Heads’ souls and send them home.
Video of this show:
Today’s Dead of the Day:
Other September 15th Shows and Recordings:
- 1967 – Hollywood Bowl – Hollywood, California
- 1972 – Boston Music Hall – Boston, Massachusetts
- 1973 – Providence Civic Center – Providence, Rhode Island
- 1978 – Sphinx Theater – Giza, Egypt
- 1982 – Capital Centre – Landover, Maryland
- 1987 – Madison Square Garden – New York, New York
- 1988 – Madison Square Garden – New York. New York
- 1990 – Madison Square Garden – New York, New York
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