Having grown up in the suburbs just north of Chicago, Alpine Valley Grateful Dead shows have a special place in my heart. It really was a wonderful place, and the 'vibes' before, during, and after the shows have been permanently imprinted into my DNA. In fact, it is easy for me to conjure up visions of GD playing there on the nights I
missed in the early and mid-80s. All I need to do is hear tapes of shows from Alpine's past in good stereo sound, and I can teleport myself back. This is due in no small part to the fact that I benefited from having seen them there (on psychedelics) a number of times in 1988 and 1989, so I have the advantage of having built a palace of this location and the Dead playing there in my mind
Anyway, when reviewing the Dick's Picks #32 (8/7/82), I was continually brought back to one of my favorite shows that I ever saw at Alpine Valley (7/17/89) in order to properly contextualize and visualize what I was hearing. A reference point and personal standard for me, this show stands out for a multitude of reason. But lets start with the set list for the moment:
07/17/89
Alpine Valley Music Theater - East Troy, WI
Set 1:
Let The Good Times Roll
Feel Like A Stranger
Built To Last
Me And My Uncle
Cumberland Blues
It's All Over Now
Row Jimmy
When I Paint My Masterpiece
When Push Comes To Shove
The Music Never Stopped
Set 2:
China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
Playin' In The Band
Uncle John's Band
Standing On The Moon
Drums
The Wheel
Gimme Some Lovin'
Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad
Not Fade Away
Encore:
We Bid You Goodnight
Johnny B. Goode
A helluva show on paper. Performance-wise it leaves no doubt and answers all questions. What I'd like to address for the moment though is the closing of the 2nd set; specifically the combination of GDTRFB > NFA. At the moment that this was played during the show, I was transported back to the early 70s when this combination was played regularly. To me, this particular medley was a natural and very loose GD, as opposed to the predictable, stiffly executed, and familiar motions of Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away. Think the flow of Tai Chi rather than a robotic 'kata'.
There are many vivid memories from this particularly brilliant night of Grateful Dead, and many academically-cozy statistics to accompany them (a 10 song first set, the return of 'We Bid You Goodnight', a double encore on the first night of a run, Me & My Uncle > Cumberland Blues, etc), but GDTRFB > NFA deserves special mention from a 'stats' point of view:
* The last time that combo had been played was Summer Tour 1983 (Harrisburg 6/22/83)
* It was also played at the 5/28/82 (Moscone Center) Vietnam Vets benefit show
* You'll reach back to Spring 1977 (4/23/77 Springfield, Ma) to find an appearance before that
* Prior to that night in 1977 above, it was played only once in 1974 (2/24/74), a handful of times in 1973, but it was played all the time in 1972
My point here is that GDTRFB > NFA in 1989 was its own form of 'bust-out' that night at Alpine Valley!
So after establishing that GDTRFB > NFA (in 1989) was exceedingly rare it nevertheless provoked an interesting conversation with one of my best sources for GD banter, EVOp. His take is that it is the inverse, NFA > GDTRFB, seems more rare in his mind and that particular combo should also be examined a bit more closely. So I decided to look at those stats to compare 'rarity factors'. NFA > GDTRFB was performed:
* For a final time on 4/15/83 (Rochester), but also a few weeks before that 1983 Spring Tour they played the combo at the Warfield in SF (3/29/83)
* Before that it was played on New Years 1981
* Twice in 1980, once in 1979, six times in 1978, twice in 1977, and countless times in the early 70s
So when we break down the rarity of these particular combos, here is what I find:
* I count GDTRFB > NFA being played a total of four times after the year 1975
* I count NFA > GDTRFB being played fourteen times after the year 1975
Some special notes about Goin' Down the Road in general:
* Brent Mydland played his first show with GD on 4/22/79. However, he did not play GDTRFB with the band until 4/28/80 (Birmingham, Al)
* There was only one single solitary GDTRFB in both the year 1979 and the year 1992
* Sadly the song became very infrequent during GD's final years (only 8 times between 1992-1995)
Yes, GDTRFB is not a Grateful Dead original, but it is a critical part of their songbook and history so I consider it worth examining very closely. I was blessed with seeing it at least once every year that I saw them (1988-1995), and I considered it quite a treat every time. It continues to be a timeless song, and I especially love the version that Jerry selected for the theatrical release of The Grateful Dead Movie. To me, that particular cinematic selection means that the song also meant something timeless to him, the band, and their crew too. Happy Trails!
***FINAL NOTE***
One of my crucial sources, EVOp, has come forward and stated a few things (paraphrased):
1. Did you know that they added land and almost doubled the size of the hill inside the venue around 1987? In the early 80s and mid 80s, Alpine was a more intimate venue (not unlike Deer Creek, the Riverport Ampitheater in St. Louis, or even Star Lake in Pittsburgh)
2. The NFA > GDTRFB from 5/14/78 (Providence, R.I.) is especially out of control
To his point on #1, I did find an old website that is meant for Alpine Valley staff workers. It does have a bit more history on the expansion of the venue, but does not specify the year(s) that the work was done - http://www.alpinestaff.com/about_us.html
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