Okay, Enthusiasts, let’s settle this shit right now. A question is before us. Admittedly, the question didn’t exist before 30 seconds or so ago, but still: we have a puzzlement. The children, the noobs, the dilettantes, they argue about the Best EVAR show in Dead history. Advanced students kick around the topic of the three-gig stand, such as Winterland ’73 or Fillmore West ’69 or whatnot. Grad students wrestle with the Long Run: Warfield ’80 or MSG ’88?
But not us. We’re special.
So: here’s the question. What was the best two-show residency in Dead history? A double-hander, in the show biz parlance. (FUN FACT: “double-hander” means something very, very, very different on a gay porn set.) There’s some killer diptychs to choose from: December ’73 in Tampa; June ’74 in Miami; the ’76 Day(s) on the Green in Oakland. How about Augusta, Maine, in ’84?
Whatcha got, Enthusiasts?
I don’t feel qualified to objectively answer this, but i’ll cheat: Ann Arbor 71 & 89 are both two night runs that are crazy good. I’ll put it up as a 2×2 against any other city.
10/8 and 10/9/89. Easiest question ever
red rocks, august 1984? only because i was there….
Dawn must have been there, because there were 3 shows and she only remembers 2
A contender for me would be 2/13-2/14/70. DP 4. That Mason’s Children =
Saenger Theater in New Orleans, October 1980. The weather was good and the band was hot. Fun shows!
Saenger Theater in New Orleans, October 1980. The weather was good and the band was hot. Two shows between the Warfield run and Radio City. Fun shows!
ATL: May 18 and 19, 1977. 5/19 is a Dick’s Pick for good reason, especially the reverse intro of UJB.
5/5 & 5/6, 1990, Cal State Dominguez Hills. What a great weekend. 5/6 was a textbook lesson to “never miss a Sunday show”; big Brent day (ETLY, Blow Away – latter maybe not “the Miami one”, but pretty damn good) , giant Terrapin, Weight, SOTM , Lovelight, etc. And then after, somehow manage to miss the ride back north, so end up going down to Mexico for a few days instead – anyway, I digress. Good little two-fer; we all have the songs/shows of our own, but this one stacks damn well will the other epic examples named above…
By no means am I saying this was the best two night run ever but 6/16/91, 6/17/91 at Giants was the best dynamic duo I ever went to. 6/17 of course is a classic with the Eyes opener and the Hornsby led Dark Star teases throughout … but don’t sleep on 6/16. Give the Candyman and the Jack Straw a listen… both are hair standing on end quality. Hopefully Citi 6/15/18 and 6/16/18 will make another fine pair!
12/13-14/80 Long Beach. Tremendous audience copies exist. 12/13 features a Stranger opener that is as funked as your favorite Shakedown – Brent keys are so hot early after the refrain that he can only use them sparingly. One of my top Scarlet Fires as well.
12/14 is one of my all-time favorite shows and perhaps my call for most underrated of all time. I hesitate to call out any number – every single one is roaring with energy. Loser…Passenger….the Birdsong!!!….Candyman. Listen to Phil come into the Other One after an extended sneaky intro. Choice cuts for the top shelf.
I’m not saying it’s the best, but if I had a time sheath, I’d use it to hit 10/9-10/10/82, js.
Cape Cod ’79!
I have to go with the ’76 Days on the Green in Oakland, for 3 reasons:
1) I was there (for one show)
2) Double-bill with The Who
3) The shows almost didn’t happen at all – the stadium would have been unavailable if the A’s had made the playoffs.
Tampa, but only because I was there both nights. We got a Dark Star.
Next to last shows. Last was Miami at Jai-Alai.
Yep, 71-74. Five shows. Seemed like a lot at the time but that was before the eighties touring thing for which I was too old.
Thought about going in ninties “for old times saie” but Jerry died.
The Q got me going back, boy howdy.
Summer Jam 7/27-28/1973 Watkins Glen
Something to consider…
I was at all these shows:
11/13-14/78 Boston Music Hall – Boston, MA
10/11-12/84- Augusta Civic Center – Augusta, ME
07/2-3/88- Oxford Plains Speedway – Oxford, ME
I’d say that the ’84 Augusta shows were the best, musically – I remember that hat Playin’ reprise as it started flowering, but Oxford was the most fun — hey, outdoor shows in gorgeous weather in Maine? Sure. I do remember thinking on day 2 in Oxford “how the hell does Bobby remember every word to Queen Jane” but still manage to screw up Truckin’ and Playin?” Mysteries of the Dead…
The Music Hall was more intimate, and we had good seats. Entry to the venue on night 1 was really crowded; some knucklehead started hammering the doors, which won him a very quick removal from the premises via Boston’s Finest) There was that rare repeat of Staggerlee the second night (I remember Jerry cracking a grin on night 1 before signing the line “and shot him in the balls”).
But musically, which is the main criterion, I’d say (all the shows I went to were fun)? Couldn’t say definitively. I’m an early ’70’s snob and can’t really be bothered to listen to later shows very often.
Best duo’s is a pretty broad request, so a lot of us are just posting shows we are aware of, without doing an exhaustive search for the best.
That is cool I hope cause I am gonna do the same.
Cleveland 03/02/81 was my first show, they played the next night, 03/03/81
Just listening and the china rider is really wonderfully mellow in the transition yet really strong as well.
So not saying it is the best, but it is a two show residency.
Pros:
Early Brent, I love early Brent, he was rougher more diverse and more aggressive.
1981 Garcia, he was just rippin along, and some folks really like that. I do most of the time.
Just ran through the peggy-o, not peak peggyo but certainly above average.
I had to conduct research, so immediate disqualification. The only time I saw two shows in a row was 10/13 and 14/1980, at The Warfield Theater on Market Street, S.F. It was … um … the best sparkling wine I’ve ever drunk at a Dead show; thank you (again) BGP and Uncle Bobo. The acoustic sets were very good, although I’ve listened to the records/CDs so many times that they are what I remember, and not the experiences themselves.
Gonna break the rules for this one and say The Dead 2003 – Aug 9 & 10 at Jones Beach. In the summer of 2003, when Bonnarro was still a jam scene, the organizers were going to do a Bonnaroo North in Long Island with the Dead headlining to close out their summer tour. Permits were granted and when the locals finally figured out what it would entail, permits were revoked. To appease disappointed LI heads, the boys (and girl – Joan Osborne) decided to do two three-set shows at Jones Beach with an acoustic set starting each night.
The acoustic sets were fantastic and the electric stuff was sensational, especially the second night on the 10th. Things got so weird that night that they opened the first electric set with Drums. Think about that – they opened the set with Drums.
(The fact that Security confiscated my wineskin of tequila, forcing me to smoke grass for the second night, does not influence my love of these shows. Find a soundboard and take a listen for yourself)
I am a fully committed disciple of the cult of ’74, so the Miami shows (6/22-23) would be tough to top, but I could make a strong case for RFK 6/9-10/73. Both of them are full of epic highlights and overall consistently high level playing. Their 45th anniversary is this weekend and they’re worth celebrating with a listen.
Cape Cod Coliseum. I mean the Grateful Dead playing in South Yarmouth on Cape Cod. The place was a sweat box, Franklin’s Tower on both nights. Smoking shows and The Dead on Cape Cod. Capt Trips meets Capt Quint. I think we need a bigger boat vs. I think we need a bigger dose. Mr Peabody, fire up the way back machine and bring me back to 1979
After having listed shows I attended, and having admitted to an early ’70’ds bias, I feel it’s incumbent on me to offer up a real candidate. I speak of none other that the two-fer of Wembley Empire Pool, London, England April 7 and 8. No 1, because the Europe ’72 shows were some sort of peak for the Dead. The results of all the hard touring, coming together with a fine batch of new songs, on a working vacation of sorts in new — and sometimes legendary & majestic — surroundings, somehow added up to performances that highlighted a feeling of power and assuredness in their playing (witness the growth of Playin’ as a vehicle for their improvisations). Ok, and No 2 — this turned out to be Pigpen’s last hurrah, so in retrospect, it’s tinged with overshadings of mortality, loss (not that we don’t get that in Hunter’s lyrics). And last, and probably not least, the beast of a Dark Star on 4/8, one that I’d put up there in the firmament that shines as bright (or dark) as any other. It’s a Star with attitude and sharp elbows once the juices start flowing, and the lads take you out there but don’t leave you waiting in the bus station of uncertainty; it’s all to a purpose, and eventually they bring it all back, latching onto the joyous groove that eventually winds up being Sugar Magnolia. First heard this on a double LP bootleg called “Ramppen’s Revenge” somewhere in the late ’70’s (it’s still out there), and it’s still on my playlist; it’s fueled many an indoor cycling session.
So yeah, pertinent to the original question: The best? I’ll go with Wembley ’72.
Fat man rocks era…
Hampton 84
Merriweather 85
Richmond 85