11-01-1990
Wembley Arena
London, England
On this day in 1990, the Dead played their last show of the 1990 European tour, which also happened to be the last time the band ever played outside North America. A big and bold Hell In A Bucket gets things started. And then we get a Friend Of The Devil in which a rich and velvety – with a few discordant chords for good measure – jam interlaces with the slow, luscious delivery of the vocals. The Walkin’ Blues that comes out next is hot, and there is just so much sound there with Hornsby added to the mix. And Bruce also levels up the Cold Rain And Snow before a Mama Tried. Then the Dead roll out an ensemble effort on Maggie’s Farm, with Phil getting the biggest roar from the crowd during his turn at the mic. A lovely Cassidy then takes it to the set closing Stander On The Mountain. This is just one of three versions of the classic Hornsby tune that the Dead played, and the way the boys send this one, it is a real shame they didn’t keep it in the rotation.
Friend Of The Devil
Walkin’ Blues
Cold Rain & Snow
Mama Tried >
Maggie’s Farm
Cassidy
Stander On The Mountain
Touch Of Grey
Playing In The Band >
Dark Star >
Drums >
Space >
Dark Star >
Playing In The Band Reprise >
Wharf Rat >
Throwing Stones >
Not Fade Away
U.S. Blues
Bob Weir – Guitar
Vince Welnick – Keyboards
Bruce Hornsby – Piano, Accordion
Phil Lesh – Bass
Bill Kreutzmann – Drums
Mickey Hart – Drums
Dark and intriguing drumming opens the action in the second half before the tell-tale chords of Victim Or The Crime ring out. And the Victim certainly reaches the spine-chilling promise of its beginning in the stormy and chaotic jam during the latter half. But like the sun breaking through foreboding clouds, Touch of Grey emerges. And with the sparkling keys, this would be a top-flight rendition, but for Jerry’s voice, which is absolutely shot. Afterwards, Playin’ In The Band comes out, descending into a rambling and discordant, yet thoroughly satisfying, jam out of which the unmistakable opening notes of Dark Star materializes. And this sends it off on a pleasurable, meandering trip to the first verse, after which things grow ever more spacey before the drummers take things over. On the flip side, Bruce builds out of Drums with a fantastic piano jam, which eventually coalesces into another verse of Dark Star before that spins off into the deep recesses of the universe. And much of this spacey exploration is unsettling and shadowy, reminding us of the Dark Star of just a few days – and two years – prior in Miami. Eventually, the band brings it out of the discomposed ether for another round of Playin’, which, somewhat like Touch earlier, washes all the uneasiness away in its pure unbridled joy. Following that, the band launches into Standing On The Moon only to shift seamlessly – perhaps Jerry realized he didn’t have the voice for it – into Wharf Rat. Even without the extraordinary tease, Jerry’s ragged voice and his towering guitar along with Vince and Bruce’s combined contributions make this a memorable version. A rocking, powerful Throwing Stones then struts out, the pounding beat eventually leading, to the surprise of no one, to Not Fade Away, which sends the set out. The boys come back out for US Blues, which is a bit of a bungled effort for their final European send off.
Video of this show:
Today’s Dead of the Day:
Other November 1st Shows and Recordings:
- 1968 – The Silver Dollar Fair – Chico, California
- 1969 – Family Dog at the Great Highway – San Francisco, California
- 1973 – McGaw Memorial Hall, Northwestern University – Evanston, Illinois
- 1977 – Cobo Arena – Detroit, Michigan
- 1979 – Nassau Coliseum – Uniondale, New York
- 1985 – Richmond Coliseum – Richmond, Virginia
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