1982 came to a close in a major fashion. The Fall tour ended in mid-October, Jerry released Run For The Roses, The Grateful Dead played a festival show in Jamaica on Thanksgiving, and then they performed a 5-night residency at Oakland Auditorium.
Video footage exists from this run, and it ain't pretty. During the 12/31 show, Jerry spent most of the 3rd set hunched over, near his amp and not acknowledging the band or crowd. The music itself is pretty good, if you can listen past the audio issues that plague most of the early '80s. Cassette tapes do not age well; look no further than these tapes for evidence of that. The tapes are drum and vocal-heavy; it's pretty hard to find Phil in some of the mixes.
With respect to the performance, one fun aspect of this era is that In The Dark tunes are still in their infancy. "Throwin' Stones" and "Touch of Grey" are 3 months old, and neither have attained their synthed-out, bombastic attitude quite yet.
"Feel Like A Stranger" starts the show, in its 8th and final performance of the year. The set continues with the next song from the same night, 12.30: "Dupree’s Diamond Blues". Dupree’s had recently been revived for the second time, this time following a 4-year break.
"Cassidy" is the first song of the night to be adapted to a hectic tempo, and it works. A slow-as-molasses take on "Friend of the Devil" follows, then "CC Rider" with Matt Kelly on harmonica. Later, "Bird Song" allows for solos, and the best soundboards I could find were improved by the matrix mix I put together. I applied the same mix to "Beat It On Down the Line", which follows from the same show.
"Big Railroad Blues" leads into "Music Never Stopped > Don’t Ease Me In", all from the same show as Stranger and Dupree’s. The 12.27 and 12.30 shows are represented only in the first set.
"Touch of Grey" was performed for the first time in 1982: played 10 shows, and 5 of them opened the second set. This version is upbeat and the lyrics aren’t perfect. “Say your peace and piss off”
"Far From Me" is Brent’s entry, enjoying some renewed life after being played less regularly. In late 1982 it was sometimes performed before segueing into something else in the second set, and this version launches into "Estimated Prophet". The surprise is that the following "Eyes of the World" is not the typical speed of the era. It has a slow ’74 tempo, and you can hear Jerry searching for the vocal melody.
Drums > Space leads into an early "Throwin' Stones", which is not yet common in the late second set. "Not Fade Away" is followed by "Morning Dew", providing a welcome dynamic contrast.
The third set is taken from 12.31 and features Etta James and the Tower of Power Horns. Footage of this show exists, and unfortunately Jerry plays standing next to his amps, head down and un-animated for much of this set. "Love light" starts the festivities in its third performance since being retired in Europe ’72. Etta joins the stage (with a malfunctioning mic) in "Tell Mama". Brent’s organ tone fits in well, but Jerry is buried in the mix.
"Hard to Handle" was played only twice after 1971, and both were during this run. Yet another 11-year gap was broken with the "Midnight Hour". Bobby struggles with lyrics until Etta’s mic starts to work. After the "Brokedown" encore everyone goes home for 3 months. Hope you had fun!
First Set
Feel Like A Stranger (12.30.82)
Dupree's Diamond Blues (12.30.82)
Cassidy (12.26.82)
Friend Of The Devil (12.28.82)
CC Rider (12.31.82)
Cumberland Blues (12.31.82)
Bird Song (12.27.82) >
Beat It On Down The Line (12.27.82)
Big Railroad Blues (12.30.82)
Music Never Stopped (12.30.82) >
Don't Ease Me In (12.30.82)
Running time: 70:20
Second Set
Touch of Grey (12.28.82)
Far From Me (12.26.82) >
Estimated Prophet (12.26.82) >
Eyes Of The World (12.26.82) >
Drums (12.26.82) > Space (12.28.82) >
Throwin' Stones (12.28.82) >
Not Fade Away (12.28.82) >
Morning Dew (12.28.82)
Running time: 70:30
Third Set
Turn On Your Lovelight (12.31.82)
Tell Mama (12.31.82)
Baby What You Want Me To Do (12.31.82)
Hard To Handle (12.31.82)
In The Midnight Hour (12.31.82)
E: Brokedown Palace
Running time: 34:05