Dead Therapy - The Last Alpine ‘89

Morning, Freaks!!

So, a really good friend has been touting this ’89 Alpine run a lot lately, and for very good reason. It’s true era dead and perfect. {Show Note ~ This is important! Go down and push play on this show now.}

Picture yourself there…You’re hanging on the sloping hill of the beautiful Alpine Valley Music Theatre on wondrous sunny day in July. It’s not hot like we would get down south in the middle of July. It’s mild, temps around the mid ‘70s on a Wednesday night, which is usually a school night…but you could give a shit less because you’re on summer tour. What the hell? You just rocked a week at Giant, RFK (where you randomly shared a hug and a joint with me and little bro at set break and some terrific shows, taboot), and the bad-ass Deer Creek and you’re in the heartland, in the rolling hills of Wisconsin. A perfect day for a peanut butter and mushroom sandwich, you choke it down with a tremendously heady microbrew you bought from some kid in the lot you met from Colorado. It’s his first time at Alpine, too. You  guys talk about how beautiful and green it is, and how easy it was to get into the lot, and how great the camping scene is here. You also reminisce briefly with your new buddy about how great the previous two nights have been. We Bid You Goodnight…where the hell did that come from, and why’d they decide to take it off the shelf at Alpine? Who knows?!? “That’s one of the mysteries of the Grateful Dead that keeps you coming back,” he says. You agree with a smile on your face. You say you got to hit it, it was great meeting you, but I got to get inside and find my place before this fungus kicks in. You hug goodbye and go off into the crowd of freaks. You love this place right now. You love the sights…a menagerie and kaleidoscope of colors, tie-dyes abound. You love the sounds….you pass a drum circle and hang for a minute, the rhythms and whooping and hollering captivate you. You watch as sun-drenched girls in lightly patterned batik and Moroccan and Indian prints twirl and smile in short fits of ecstasy brought by dance and sound. They don’t wear undergarments. You like this…..and then, there are the smells, the distinct smell of a Dead summer lot. The recipe is 1/3 patchouli, 1/3 kind bud, and 1/3 b.o. If you’ve smelled this smell once, you’ve smelled it a hundred times. Combined, it completely makes a new fragrance of its own and by now you know it well and you bask in it. You lilt through the crowd, in an attempt to make it to the venue gate, only to be distracted again as you make your way down Shakedown Street. You stop at a couple of tables to compliment these humble businesspeople on the quality of their wares. You see a bunch of t’s that you’ve seen throughout the whole tour, and some mass produced jewelry. Every once in a while, you come across something that’s a true handcraft and you pause to admire it. You’ve been looking around everywhere for that shirt you saw in the RFK lot. You know the one with the Cloud of Smoke Jerry Head Stealie, but you can’t seem to find the kid that was selling them anywhere. Damn’t, you know you got to start buying those things when you see them, no matter whether you have to carry it inside or not. For God Sakes, tie the shit around your waste. You stop for a minute to watch the hair-weaving girls. For some reason, you’re always intrigued by this. As stoned as they are, they still can crank out some cornrows. A couple of shady dudes pass you and whisper, “doses, shrooms, nugs”, you smile and nod them off…you’re already set for the evening and this is the last show of the tour. If you make it out to Cali, you’ll grab some goodies out there…but you know you can’t, you got to get back to school….bummer. 

You present your mail order stub and through the gate you go. You let out a short yelp of joy, because you were worried a little about security tonight, even though everybody in the lot assured you that you could’ve carried a bong in. Anyway, you’re comfortable now. You make your way quickly to the bathroom to readjust your stash (it’s been in your underwear for a while now, and you’ve had to piss for what seems like days now, and because you couldn’t find anywhere to go in the lot….and you really have to. You had seats the last night, but for tonight’s show you’re on the hill, which is perfectly fine with you. You make your way through the mass of people, seeing a couple old friends and a number of new acquaintances from tour. You stop to talk to that girl from Indiana and her friend from Michigan that you met at Deer Creek. Homegirl looks good, even though she hasn’t showered for three days, you dig it, hairy legs and all. She’s sweet, she gives you a hug and asks if she’s going to see you at Cal Expo. You say, no, got to get back to school, the bus ends here for you, but if she makes it out to Hampton in the Fall, you’ll see her there. You wink at her and make your way through the sea of people to hang with a few friends in your ”meet up spot” from the first night. Just in time…the lights go down…. the band swaggers on to the stage for Night 3…Jerry and Phil start tuning up…Bill and Mickey bang a little bit on the toms just to make sure there working…. you torch up with the rest of the lucky onlookers….the crowd cheers ….. smiles abound…you hear the first notes of bucket….GAME ON!!!

Show Notes:

Listen to the phenomenal flow of this magnificent beast. 1^st set is like a river. It ebbs, it flows, it turns tight corners, it opens wide in parts, it bumps over rocks and swirls in deltas. You get dealt a nice couple of cowboys with Mama Tried and Mexicali (Bobby and his affection for the youngsters, you think to yourself. Shit will get you shot, brother). You love the new use of sound effects on Victim. It’s really spacey for a first set Victim and sets your mushrooms off BIGTIME. Listen to Jerry’s string bends at the end. He is in the moment. Let me just add that Althea>Victim>Fadeaway is a sickening, haunting combo. It’s like you just put warming gel on my heart. Just the thought of these in tandem gives me goosebumps. The Desolation is nice and always well played. And then a big fat DEAL to close the set. You sit back on the hill and rest for a few. Smoke a joint with some new friends and chill, having laughs, light conversation, and beer.

The lights go down again…everybody stands up whooping and hollering again…the smell of marijuana hangs low in the cloudy summer sky…you hear the first notes of Box. You think to yourself, a Box opener, now that’s a rarity. You also notice that Phil’s voice actually is sounding pretty good tonight. Then, right into Foolish Heart, a relatively new song. You’ve only heard it a few times, but there is something unique and backwards about Jer’s melody lick intro. It sounds backwards, simple, but backwards and light. This song is growing on you. This version gets really airy for a few minutes on the jam and wonderful keys at the end. And we simply fall into LLR. LLR always brings you back to the one that slipped away. You smile to yourself, hugging your arms around your body…thinking about her (or him). She would’ve loved this…loved being here, on this beautiful night, sharing this beautiful experience with you, holding each other and rocking back and forth together to Bobby’s crooning of this gorgeous love song. Then you realize that you’re on drugs and how much she really sucked most of the time. Wow, I’m glad that thought was brief. Anyway, in your mind, you thank her for the great experience, and smile.  »»the opening chords of Terrapin…and away we go. RFK’s Terrapin last week was solid, you expect this one to be very, very big. Jerry tells the story, you sing along. You look around at the folks next to you. Everybody’s in the groove. The night is right, everyone knows it. Jerry and the boys build and retract over and over and over and over. Climbing step by step up the mountain. Jerry’s riffs get tremendous and powerful! Huge and Dynamic, the band continues to construct around the theme. Into Drums>Space…you run quickly to the bathroom and to grab your spot in the beer line. You run into Michigan girl (Indiana girl isn’t with her…bummer), and share a sweaty hug and “damn good show, huh?” You hear jerry and bobby drop into a very intricate opening to Other One. You almost piss yourself in excitement. YOU LOVE THIS SONG! WHY, BECAUSE YOU’RE ON THE FUCKIN’ BUS RIGHT NOW!!!! You got on at Giant in NY and have been riding for two weeks. A perfect way to end two weeks of tour. Everybody’s had one of those epiphany moment’s when the band plays the exact lyric at the exact time you need to hear it. Your epiphany is now. You notice the clouds give way to a full moon directly over the stage. More Cheers!  Jerry has extreme control over his midi effects tonight and he sounds a little like a trumpet, as he rifles through that famous melody. It’s like he’s played it millions of times. Although, not your typical blast-me-in-the-face Other Ones, this leans more in some parts to a jazzier feel. Jerry goes in and out of the horn sounds. Very tight transitions on the vocals. Then you get brought back down with the opening to a short Wheel, setting your feet on the earth, you notice the grass between your toes, and you think to yourself, “where did I leave my birks?” Whatever, I know they’re around here somewhere. I’ll find them at the end of the show. As if perfectly placed and timed, the opening riff of Morning Dew…you drift off again into the Lala Land in your head. You do a quick song count to see where we are in the set. We’re almost done…you think probably one more fast one after this to close out the set. Jerry’s vocals bring you back immediately with his screaming and wailing on the “young man moan” verse. He actually does moan and then lays into one of the most soaring solos of the evening. Looks like this will be the last song in the set. The band waves at us and leaves the stage. Hugs everywhere!! They come back on to cheers and we here the upbeat strum of a Lovelight encore. You think to yourself…not my first choice, but I can dig it, and you fall into the groove, bouncing your shoulders forward and back, and with reckless abandon you just let it go and dance like nobody’s watching… AND YOU THINK TO YOURSELF, I LOVE THIS PLACE RIGHT NOW!! I AM EXACTLY WHERE I’M SUPPOSED TO BE!!

This would be the last run the Dead would play at Alpine. They were at a peak…and you were there. :)

Plug it in here:

07-19-89 Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wi. (Wed)

1: Bucket> Sugaree, Mama Tried> Mexicali, Althea, Victim, West L. A., Desolation Row> Deal

2: Box Of Rain, Foolish Heart> L. L. Rain> Terrapin> Drumz> Other One> Wheel> Morning Dew E: Lovelight

“Box Of Rain” appears on “Fallout From The Phil Zone”

Wishing one of the absolute finest people in the world the Happiest Birthday ever this past week!! MATT BLUM!!! If you have or have had the honor of knowing him, thank your higher being, because he’s basically the shit. I love you, little bro. You’ve been with me through thick and thin, and I appreciate you in a big, big way. Wishing you many, many more years filled with peace, love, and prosperity.

You guys mean everything to me. Wherever this weekend finds you, may it be safe and exactly what you were looking for.

Enjoy! And thanks for coming with me to therapy today.

m-