10-05-1984
Charlotte Coliseum
Charlotte, North Carolina
After closing out the summer at Ventura back in July, this Charlotte Coliseum date kicked off an eleven show fall East Coast tour. And it seems like there is a little more darkness – and that is not all a bad thing – at the outset. This makes the Bertha into more of a desperate plea about eternity than a sort of joking admonition to a lovable but disruptive friend. Even the cross-country joy of Promised Land (with a stop in Charlotte, of course) seems somehow dark. A particularly seedy trundle through West LA Fadeaway and a shadowy, direful sort of turn to Little Red Rooster definitely keep the lurking evil around. But then a roly-poly Dupree’s shakes off the sinister atmosphere. And, despite shadowboxing the apocalypse, Brother Esau keeps it at bay. The boys then unload a plucky Brown-Eyed Women, replete with sweet runs and a feisty jam. After some spacey tuning, the Dead then drop into Feel Like A Stranger, the crowd roaring its approval. Jerry leads the band on to a lengthy, totally satisfying exploration of the theme in the latter half before a characteristically jolly Might As Well brings some unmitigated exhilaration – “I’ve never had such a good time,” followed up by a ripping jam – to the end of the set.
China Cat cracks open the second, and this one sparkles with a heady jam before a quick transition into I Know You Rider, the pairing one of the sure highlights. Afterwards, Brent adds immeasurably as the boys tear up Estimated, ending in a speedy jam that bleeds over into a super fast Eyes. There, Phil’s contemplative bass and Brent’s exploratory keys provide some texture to the luscious headlong rush. Slowly, the Rhythm Devils take over and transform the earthly delights of Eyes into, by the end of Drums, a percussive prelude to Space. And the Space itself that follows is truly fantastic with interstellar battle action, long periods of extra-planetary exploration, and haunting moments adrift, deep in the cosmos. But Space eventually reenters the atmosphere, and a ferocious Other One bursts forth across the land. At the end of that seething Other One, a cool little interlude takes it into Black Peter, which is luscious. The Sugar Magnolia that follows takes a while to gel, as Bobby and Jerry head off at different speeds. But once it does, Sugar Mags rages. And just a few seconds after, a similarly frothy Johnny B. Goode closes out the set in rocking fashion. The beautifully rendered Baby Blue encore slows it down to send the faithful up the road to Richmond for the second night of the tour.
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