NP4 Bobby in the Early '80s

The early ‘80s were a fruitful (at least monetarily) time for The Grateful Dead, and a period of playfulness for Bob Weir. His goofy cutoff jean shorts and purple polo were ever-present, accompanied by his helium-pitched “thank you” after crowd-pleasers or at set break. If there was a dearth of new songs being added into the mix, leave it to Bobby to spice up the proceedings with humor and action.

Bobby In The Early ‘80s presents an hour of his compositions and covers, arranged in a shortened setlist format. A rare Weir/Garcia acoustic duo kicks things off: “Mexicali Blues > Oh Boy”. Another acoustic performance, “Cassidy”, from the ’80 residencies follows. Those bi-coastal residencies are chock full of beautiful acoustic performances - check out the official release Reckoning if you don't have the time to take in the complete sets. 

“Feel Like A Stranger” suffers audio problems for the first minute and a half, but hang on, because it’s gonna be a long, silky, crazy night. Jerry is buried in the mix, but this is about Bob.

After being revived in ’80 and played often in ’81, “On the Road Again” is presented here near its final retirement, leading into “Beat It On Down the Line” for a double-Weir segue. After one “BIODTL > On The Road Again”, the song order was reversed and performed twice more, one of which is presented here. Weir’s vocal delivery is injected with humor, as he periodically assumes the voice of the woman in “On the Road Again”. According to Bobby, the segue was efficient and right on time - “just like a Swiss watch”. 

Next up is a “Let It Grow” from the SBD-troubled Europe ’81 tour (which I’ll feature in a new matrix mix later). His guitar is barely audible for much of the song, but the performance is undoubtedly inspired. Almost every tape from this tour is addled with problems, like Phil and Weir's guitar being buried in the mix.

The artificial second “set” begins with a “Samson & Delilah” from the under-appreciated Spring ’83 tour (I’ll be featuring this tour later). While generally derided, Weir’s slide work wasn’t all bad! Humor is center stage again during Bobby’s “Lost Sailor” rap from 9.23.82: “drifting…dreaming… maybe goin on a feelin…” complete with falsetto. “Just what the FUCK you gonna do!?”

Admittedly, July ’86 isn’t “Early ‘80s” - sue me. I couldn’t pass up this “Satisfaction” encore, and you’ll see why. Weir breaks the fourth wall and introduces the band between bouts of laughter. It’s worth mentioning that this is the last song played before Jerry’s coma and the Grateful Dead’s 5-month break. “Satisfaction” would be followed by the band’s longest break from touring in a decade: the hiatus of ’75.

Put this one on when you've got an hour and want to hear Jerry focus on guitar and harmony vocals, while Bobby steals the show.

Set 1:
Mexicali Blues > (3.2.82)
Oh Boy (3.2.82)
Cassidy (10.6.80)
Feel Like A Stranger (5.14.83)
On The Road Again > (8.10.82)
Beat It On Down The Line (8.10.82)
Let It Grow (10.19.81)

Set 2:
Samson & Delilah (4.15.83)
Lost Sailor > (9.23.82)
Saint Of Circumstance (9.23.82)
Satisfaction (7.7.86)

Running Time: 64:15

Click here for my MP3 mix of Bobby In The Early '80s. Join the folder and receive updates each time a new release is added!