This up and down show is a good testament to the Dead's sensitivity to atmosphere. Just barely set back from a suburban strip of offices and upscale stripmalls, this venue leaves a lot to be desired. On a steamy August day, the management should have known better than to force the crazies to mix with the suburbanites til 3 pm. I was actually on the lot at 9:45 with the shadow of my car clinging gratefully to the shadow of a lone tree in the lot and was just dozing when they began kicking the few early birds off the premises. Shakedown Street moved across the busy parkway to the stripmalls and there are many tales to tell I'm sure.
One of the lucky ones to actually get parked, I went into the venue just before Dylan began. Missed most of the chaos outside, but even inside, security was edgy and went off on stupid little goofs.
A nice fat playing of "UJB" signalled a promising start, then abruptly turned into "Hell in a Bucket".... The "Touch-heads" tossed their overpriced beers and went wild. Now I like both tunes equally well, but frankly find the pairing, well, STRANGE. As if to acknowledge the odd duality, Mickey launched into his self-consciously witty rap on "Only the Strange Remain".... ah ooooh. This was going to be a weird night, indeed.
Dylan's set kept the energy up.... I missed Joan on "Big Boss Man." "You Win Again" was a treat and well-suited to Dylan's unique talents.
"Dancin' in the Streets" has been strong all summer, though with Joan's bluesy vocal talents, I would like them to try returning to the Motown sound of old. Jimmy doesn't seem as comfortable with the toungue-in-cheek disco riffs as Jerry was. The transition into "Cumberland" was something of a trainwreck, but who cares. "Loose Lucy" rounded off the mostly in-your-face, goodtime set.
After Hunter I was ready for some more introspective, trippy Dead than we'd seen first set. Don't go by the setlist, this band was out there covering a lot of new territory in between the songs. Phil and Joan tucked their new little gem, "A Little Piece of You" into a fiery jam and then Bobby stepped up for a sparse, mostly solo "Me and Bobby McGee." Again off into the ether with Jimmy, Rob, and Jeff showing they do know how to follow those longtime misfits Bobby and Phil. Not sure who's shoulder Jerry was sitting on this night, probably making the rounds to nudge everyone a little bit further. Then it was Joan's turn to focus in on a song with "Night of 1000 Stars" which has acquired a really nice groove this summer.
A vast emotional landscape was covered this night, from the arm-in-arm camraderie of "UJB" to the bitter isolation of "Even So." Sometimes it's shocking to see Bobby as the elder statesman, but this is a powerful statement that hit me hard. Just a small niggle: I don't like the backing chorus of Phil and Joan "even so-oh-oh." For me, the solo voice is more poignant here. But they were bound to turn the corner, no? Like "Saint" into "Sailor" there had to be a "Golden Road." This may well be the Summer Getaway anthem.... a fine wine, from a great vintage, it only took 35 years to mature.
Billy took center stage for the drums tonight, a bit less Beam, and some goofy prepared tape drum sounds kept it interesting. Trippy, jangling jams caught the anxiety again, then Joan stepped up to deliver "China Doll." Mind boggling the speed with which she's absorbed all these notes and words; even more awe-inspiring how she's absorbed the spirit of these Hunter/Garcia gems. But despair can only last so long---dah-do-do-dah-dah-dah--it's "Uncle John's Band, here beside the rising tide." We needed the lift, and Phil was up to the vocal challenge of delivering the added promise of "Box of Rain." I cried in despair to "Even So" and "China Doll," but "Box of Rain" brings both tears of joy and acceptance of what one can not change or hold on to: "Such a short time to beee!"
A strong, affirmative "Liberty" brought back the goodtime rock and roll of the first set and put a solid cap on a richly emotional second set. All I can say is, "Thank you....for a real good time!"
Peter Butts, Holland, MI
Beautiful Day. Tickets in Row 10 right in front of where Brent's keyboards should have been. Huge anticipation, excited to re-capture what I saw at Alpine last year. Sounds good right?
I have to honestly say that I'm really disappointed. Bob Dylan may be a legend or something, but he screws up the vibe. His band was pretty good, but he should have stayed off stage and always remember that he is an opening act. The first set started okay, then Bob came back and played three songs and totally killed any momentum that was gathering. Bob Dylan really isn't very good with the Dead. I thought they'd have figured it out back in 1987. Why he sang Big Boss Man and You Win Again I'll never know. I cannot believe that Phil actually enjoys playing music with him? It was bad; I think it would have been better if I got my acoustic guitar and jammed on stage with the Dead. It really sounded bad. After three songs, the crowd was losing interest. Dancin' didn't bring the crowd back. Cumberland was weak and unfocused compared to what we saw Phil play at Alpine.
I tried to stay positive and hopeful. We hung out for a bit then went to see the end of Hunter. Okay, so now I'm ready to jam, want to dance, and want to boogie as I know this band can make me! It didn't even come close to happening. First six songs of set two were a waste. Joan should have sung Bobby McGee, Mickey should not sing at all, and new songs should be played by RatDog and P & P. I came to see the Dead, not hear new songs! I was dying! I wanted Minglewood, Music, Eyes, Samson, Scarlet, China>Rider, an Other One, something! China Doll was absolutely beautiful. Joan Osborne has an amazing voice. She's a groovy dancer too and is a nice addition. I hope she stays on, and she should sing more; her voice is tremendous. That went into the UJB reprise, which was short then BORain, which though nice is not something to get the crowd into a frenzy. I never imagined it would end up this way, but for me Liberty was the best song of the night. I can play that tune pretty well and I love the video, so when I play it on my acoustic I feel pretty close to Jerry. Bob did a nice job, and they rocked it pretty good. I walked back to the car shaking my head, totally disappointed. I know I was just unlucky to catch them when they chose these songs. There is nothing wrong with the band, everyone is healthy, playing well, strong voices, it's just that the setlist offered up in Columbus was horrible. Atlanta and Jones Beach look a lot more fun to me. Just my .02
Jeff, Aurora, OH