Sand Castles And Glass Camels

Sand Castles And Glass Camels

10-09, 10-82 Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

The Frost Amphitheatre was a beautiful place to see the Grateful Dead and 1982 marked the band's first appearance at the Frost at Stanford University.

Saturday the 9th, kicked off with a fun Alabama Getaway->Greatest Story Ever Told. The They Love Each Other has a great jam and wonderful interplay between Jerry's guitar and Brent's electric piano. On The Road Again->Beat It On Down The Line is a really good renditions of both songs. West L.A. Fadeaway was pulled out the month before and features an extra verse not found in later versions. Me And My Uncle->Big River was pleasant and it's nice to hear the band pull out a "standard" at a new venue. Dupree's Diamond Blues has just been revived after a four year absence. The Music Never Stopped->Deal to close the first set packed a wallop.

New songs Throwing Stones->Touch Of Grey opened the second portion of the show on a strong note. The Estimated Prophet->Eyes Of The World->Drums->Space is good but it's the following Truckin'->The Other One->Morning Dew-> One More Saturday Night find the show returning to classic status. The Brokedown Palace is a wonderful version and ends the first show with all of us happy.

The Sunday show was nothing short of stellar and belongs in any one's list of legendary Grateful Dead shows. Yep, it's an all timer. Opening with a blistering New Minglewood Blues->Sugaree->Little Red Rooster, the band never lets up. Phil in particular is playing riffs in a different and interesting fashion. Tennessee Jed is very, very good with a great jam before crashing to it's end. Cassidy is jammed out while Loser smokes with hard core blues playing. The recently revived Far From Me gives Brent a chance to shine while the Looks Like Rain->China Cat Sunflower-I Know You Rider end the set in a classic fashion.

The second set of Playing In The Band->Crazy Fingers->Lost Sailor->Saint Of Circumstance->Touch Of Grey->Drums is nearly letter perfect aside from Bob's guitar being a little low at the beginning. The Playing is nicely jammed out while Crazy Fingers is as good as it gets. Lost Sailor->Saint Of Circumstance is very well played and new song Touch Of Grey is loads of fun. Not to be outdone, the Space->The Wheel->Throwing Stones->Not Fade Away->Black Peter->Sugar Magnolia is of the same quality as the pre-Drums portion of the set. The band ends the show with a double encore of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction->It's All Over Now, Baby Blue.

3-27, 28-89 The Omni, Atlanta, GA

Spring 1989 starts at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia and the first set opens with a good Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo->Walkin' Blues. Next up are good versions of the new songs Built To Last and We Can Run. Queen Jane Approximately is very nice and Brent gets a nice synth piano solo. Candyman is very nice with the band in good voices and Jerry takes a great solo while Cassidy spaces out nicely. Touch Of Grey makes for a rare first set ender and is well played.

The Scarlet Begonias->Fire On The Mountain is very good and features some well played jams. Estimated Prophet->Eyes Of The World->Drums is good with the Estimated Prophet being the standout. Space->The Wheel is fantastic and leads into a great I Need A Miracle which leads into another then new song, Standing On The Moon. Turn On Your Lovelight ends the second set in a strong fashion with a hot U.S. Blues.

The second show opens with hot versions of Let The Good Times Roll->Franklin's Tower->Feel Like A Stranger. Stagger Lee comes next and features a great crescendo at the end. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again is tonight's Dylan cover and is nicely played with Bob getting most of the lyrics. Ramble On Rose is upbeat with a good jam and everybody sounding inspired. Let It Grow is tasty and runs into a nice Don't Ease Me In.

Samson And Delilah sounds uneven to me while Ship Of Fools is another noteworthy performance. Playing In The Band has a good jam and is the second time since '77 that it would be played complete without leading into another song. This would also be the last time that it would happen. A good Foolish Heart starts on the end of Playing and leads into Drums->Space. Gimmie Some Lovin' out of space is very well played as is Wharf Rat->Throwing Stones->Not Fade Away and the encore of Box Of Rain.

6-12, 13, 14-84 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO

The first set of the first night starts off with a good Alabama Getaway->Greatest Story Ever Told. The Friend Of The Devil that follows has a nice feel while the Little Red Rooster, Big Railroad Blues and Me And My Uncle->Mexicali Blues are their usual selves. Althea is very good with some great Jerry soloing. Looks Like Rain is good as is the set ending Might As Well. The Scarlet Begonias->Touch Of Grey is very nice and the first time we'd get this short lived combination. Estimated Prophet->Eyes Of The World->Drums->Space->The Other One->Wharf Rat->Around And Around->Johnny B. Goode and U.S. Blues are typical of the era but a good listen none the less.

The second night had a lightning storm during the show and begins with Hell In A Bucket. The Candyman, C.C. Rider, Ramble On Rose and My Brother Esau that follows is very nice before leading to the set ending Cold, Rain And Snow->Don't Ease Me In. The China Cat Sunflower-I Know You Rider gets a big cheer with the "cool Colorado rain" line. Man Smart, Women Smarter and Ship Of Fools are good with Let It Grow jamming out into the Drums. Space->The Wheel->I Need A Miracle->Stella Blue->Sugar Magnolia are all good and It's All Over Now, Baby Blue is sweet.

The third and final night opens with Iko-Iko followed by a nice Cassidy->It Must Have Been The Roses. New Minglewood Blues is typical for the era while the Brown-Eyed Women and Jack Straw are above average. Jack Straw->Day Job ends the first set. Shakedown Street is okay but not the best of the year by any means. Playing In The Band is quite nice and leads into the first Dear Mr. Fantasy before leading into Drums->Space which then leads back into Playing In The Band. Black Peter is strong and leads into Throwing Stones->Not Fade Away with a repeat encore of U.S. Blues.

2-17-79 Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA

This show, which ended up being Keith and Donna's last, is quite good and features a few songs which hadn't been played in years. Greatest Story Ever Told opens the first set and makes it's first appearance since October '74. Don't Ease Me In, Mama Tried->Mexicali Blues and Friend Of The Devil are all well played. However, Passenger, the first High Time since May '77, Looks Like Rain, Jack A Roe and Lazy Lightning->Supplication are the standouts in the first set.

The second set opens with Might As Well but it's the I Need A Miracle->Bertha->Good Lovin' that get the set going. Donna's From The Heart Of Me gets it's last performance with Donna forgetting the words. Big Railroad Blues is better in it's first live performance since October '74. The second set jam of Terrapin Station->Playing In The Band->Drums->The Wheel->Shakedown Street->Playing In The Band->Sugar Magnolia is fantastic. The Playing In The Band has a deep jam and I love the beginning of Shakedown Street at a slower tempo and the way it builds up after The Wheel. The One More Saturday Night encore is the last we would here from Keith and Donna as members of the band.

9-26-81 War Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, N.Y.

This show starts of with a groovin' Shakedown Street->C.C. Rider opener. The Shakedown seems pretty fitting given that the auditorium wasn't in the nicest neighbourhood in town. They Love Each Other, Cassidy and Jack A Roe are all very well played while On The Road Again makes a nice appearance. Ramble On Rose is nice and has a rather laid back beat with the "New York City" line getting a huge cheer. Looks Like Rain is a good version as is the Brown-Eyed Women that follows. The Let It Grow is massive before giving way to Don't Ease Me In to end the set.

The second set has the unusual song pairing of Playing In The Band->Bertha->Estimated Prophet->Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad before going into Drums. Space is nice and we get a long slow burn of Not Fade Away out of it. Morning Dew is really good and featuring some great singing by Jerry before heading back into Playing In The Band. One More Saturday Night comes out of the very end of Playing and ends the second set while Johnny B. Goode is the encore.

3-7-81 Cole Field House, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

This is one of those shows that has a typical set list for the time but every song is a standout version. The Alabama Getaway->Greatest Story Ever Told starts off at an explosive rate. Dire Wolf is fun and energetic while Me And My Uncle->Big River is an A+ version. Candyman->C.C. Rider have soulful playing and singing. Jack A Roe is played at a fairly fast tempo with Jerry getting the verses and Passenger rocks hard. the Bird Song->Looks Like Rain->Deal is as good as it gets with Bird Song being the longest version ever clocking at over 18 minutes.

The Iko-Iko that opens the second set is fun. Lost Sailor->Saint Of Circumstance is very well played and gives way to a jam that starts off like Uncle John's Band but quickly turns into something else. The Drums->Space is very good and gives way to a great Truckin'. Black Peter comes out of Truckin' and features some good bluesy licks. Around And Around->Johnny B. Goode is a high energy end to the show as is the One More Saturday Night encore.