Deer Creek: What A Day That Was: A Review

The July 4th weekend saw 60,000 Deadheads show up at a place that only seats 22,000.  Do the math.  It was high on energy only it was strange and negative energy.  There was a death threat against Jerry and so much traffic and people that it took us 3.5 hours to drive 3 miles to the show.  WTF!!!  Below is a recount of the set lists of this final Deerk Creek show and what the songs sounded like.

 

 

 

Here Comes Sunshine- A rousing show opener that promised a show we wouldn't end up getting. The band had great harmonies on this one.

Walking Blues- I just don't get Bob's blues songs. They aren't particularly good.

Dire Wolf-  Jerry is alive and the "don't murder me" line was eerie considering the threats against his life.

It's All Over Now- A competent yet uninspired performance of this Stones tune.

Broken Arrow- I guess we have to let Phil sing randomly.

Desolation Row*- Starts off great but the crowd of 2000 people crashed the gate thus rendering this concert infamous in Grateful Dead history. Bob Weir looked as if he wanted to kill someone.

Tennessee Jed- Jerry still doing a good job and giving us a good version of a song that was never my favorite.

Let It Grow- Bob sings it well but as if he just wants to get off the stage.

 

SET BREAK:  It was almost 70 minutes long.  The first row was full of FBI agents in tie-dyes.  The house lights were never turned off making this seem more like band practice than a concert.

Scarlet Begonias -> Jerry and the boys finally return to the stage for a good jam on this tune...

Fire on the Mountain- Jerry officially loses it on stage.  He has no clue what he's doing.  He plays only the third verse of the song and starts playing the most off key, sluggish, meandering "music" I have ever heard him play.  This was like a man tripping on LSD having a heart attack. Just plain awful to listen to.  The band tries to wake him up to no success. Phil even stops playing and tosses his hands up in the air.

Victim or the Crime- Bob looks at Jerry during the opening line, "Patience runs out on the junkie." Enough said.

It's All Too Much- It really was all too much.  Vince does a great version of this Beatles cover that I loved hearing at shows.

New Speedway Boogie -> Jerry comes back to life and gives us a rousing rendition of this early Dead tune.

Drums ->Who Cares
Space ->Who Cares

Attics of my Life -> The crowd erupted during the opening notes. I think the band forgot a verse, but no one cared. It sounded beautiful.

Sugar Magnolia- Bob knows how to end a show and this song never disappoints.

E: The Mighty Quinn- The boys played it well but you can tell they wanted to go home. This concert was a loss for us and for them. Although really not badly performed at all.

 

 

After the show everyone was cranky and disappointed. Dis-allusioned is more like it.  The security wouldn't let us leave.  Suddenly a tour bus came barreling down the road and off the property. It was the band.  They wanted to get the fuck out of dodge as quickly as possible and never look back. Funny thing is there is a story in a Dead Bio Book that states the bus got a mile down the road and then stuck in a ditch and a local farmer had to use his tractor to pull the boys out.  I guess their shitty night went on longer than ours.

 

The next night was cancelled.

The Dead never returned to Deer Creek because Jerry died. One suspects they wouldn't have been invited back although they have said Deer Creek was one of their favorite venues to play.

 

Such a shame and probably the most unfortunately memorable Dead Show I ever attended.

Sign Reads: We're Full Go Home.....IN ENGLISH

When are we going to finally admit that by letting everyone into this country we have made this country unsafe, bankrupt and overflowing?

When are we going to do something real about ridding ourselves of the plague of illegal immigrants?  Notice its always Mexican elected officials who want Amnesty for them. Of course you do; always looking our for your own people.  Why don't you go back to Mexico and be in that government.

I'm tired of the Mexican/American debate.

This is America.
We speak English.
We are here legally.

You are not.
You do not.
And you don't care.

You come here for the welfare and jobs and the free hand outs our stupid fucking government keeps giving you.


Get the fuck out and take most of our elected officials with you.

Soldier's Field 1995: The Final Show

We had fourth row for the show.  We were beyond excited, as most are before a Grateful Dead show.  We spent the afternoon out in the parking lot talking, smoking pot and having fun.

We made our way into the show.....

The moment Jerry took the stage my immediate reaction was, "Ewww! This dude looks awful."  We had just been to a show seven days earlier and he didn't look like this.  It had not been a good week for Jerry.  He was pasty and grey.  He seemed lifeless.

Set 1:
Touch Of Grey- Jerry started off the show with the usual suspect.  He flubbed a lyric or two, which at this point we expected.  His playing was a bit off key, hitting some sour notes.  But it was a decent opening.

 Little Red Rooster- Bob bores the crowd with a random blues tune, done better by most others.

 Lazy River Road- A great song for latter year GD, but Jerry hit so many sour notes during solo's, some downright painful.

 When I Paint My Masterpiece- When Bob cries out, "its been a long hard ride." it was as if we all felt the same way about a summer tour that was mired in death, controversy, and Jerry.

 Childhood's End-  Ok I guess Phil has to sing occasionally.

 Cumberland Blues-  A sweet and well performed surprise.

 Promised Land- Bob forgets the lyrics but in comedic fashion he grins and slaps himself on the forehead. The audience loves.
Set 2:
Shakedown Street- One of the greatest jam's this band can offer is marred by lackluster playing and Jerry mumbling his way through the lyrics.  Did he even know what song he was singing?

Samson And Delilah- Competently played. Never one of my fav's.

So Many Roads-God said to Jerry, "Sing son sing!!!" and Jerry came to life and performed the most heart wrenching version of this song ever.  And the energy in the audience was silent and full of tears.  We had been suffering right along side Jerry and in retrospect this was Jerry unburdening himself of his demons.  The song contained so much power and emotion.

Samba In The Rain- Vince songs are sometimes fun.  This was a very danceable tune.

Corrina- Bob brings the energy back for a great latter day Dead song. 

Drums- I never understood or really appreciated this part of the show. It was time to go to the bathroom or light another joint and sit down for a spell.

Space- Sometimes mind bending, usually just a lengthy tune up by the band.

Unbroken Chain- After so many years the Dead started playing this live, only problem was this was the one song they literally played exactly how it sounded on the album. Fun but uninspired.

Sugar Magnolia- Bob closes the show with some energy and power and rouses the crowd with his, "sunshine daydream..."

Encore:
Black Muddy River- Jerry's voice is very thin at this point, but it serves the song of a man who is walking alone and dreaming of his life gone by.  He makes a minor mistake, but the crowd is back with him feeling his pain and hearing the ache in his voice. Its Jerry's final song live ever.  The musician has been silenced.

 Box Of Rain- Phil the prick forces the band into this song to finish the show.  I found it insulting and robbing Jerry of the perfect legacy of playing the final song at the final Dead show ever. And to be left with Phil's Frankenstein voice as the finality of the Grateful Dead pisses me off to this day.  The only saving grace is that this song is about Death and is suitable for Jerry's passing one month later.


We left the show in awe of the So Many Roads and I silently felt disturbed by Jerry's appearance.  Something was not right, and one month later Jerry died in his sleep.

Its easy to have 20/20 hindsight, but in reality I think a lot of people knew that something wasn't right and the energy seemed to suggest this was the last time we'd see these guys play together.

And it was........