Last night I finally got around to watching the DVD disc that came along with the Crimson, White & Indigo official release (Philly 7/7/89 - 2 years and a day after my first show and on the opposite side of PA). I guess I forgot it came with a DVD. It’s easy to forget when it’s on the CD rack and not with my other Dead DVD’s. Didn’t happen with the Egypt shows though, I watched that one immediately.
Anyway…wow! Great one to watch. You get a lot more out of it with the video. It’s a great show anyway but there were things I missed just listening to the audio. It had been awhile so I watched the DVD without refreshing my memory on the setlist. It was a little like seeing it live. I didn’t always know what was coming next. No, Standing On The Moon wasn’t a surprise. If you want the same experience then skip everything I’m about to say and go watch the 2nd video I’m posting below.
Jerry was in a good mood and showed a lot of emotion and interaction with the rest of the band, especially Brent. And he seemed to enjoy Bobby ramping up the energy during Memphis Blues (which was awesome).They opened with an unusual Bucket, Iko combo which started things off with high energy (Iko being the first of two repeats from my first show, the Knockin’ encore being the second).
The first half of the second set was stellar, of course. Starting with Box, Scarlet > Fire, and Estimated, a string of personal faves, then instead of the Eyes that everyone was probably expecting, they went into the Standing On The Moon that inspired the title of the release. It’s a good one, although I’m partial to the one from Alpine on 7/17/89 that appears on Downhill From Here and which I attended (and featured a great big orange full moon hanging over the pavilion when they played it). After Space it was Other One > Wharf Rat > Lovelight
But the highlight of the show might have been the Blow Away that ended the first set. It’s a good song but I’m not crazy about Brent’s rapping. I always thought the “What do you think your rib cage is? A jail cell?” line was horribly cheesy. He’s no Pigpen. But in this performance he was so passionate and showed such command of the audience that I can overlook it. Was that the first time he used that metaphor? I’d have to do some research. But this one was particularly powerful and seeing him with his fist in the air was really something. The video sheds a whole new light (just a little light?) on it. When I watched it last night, my first impression was that Brent didn’t know Jerry was going to launch into his song. Watching it again I’m not so sure. Jerry and Brent were playing off each other during the first set and were obviously enjoying it. At one point Jerry went over to talk with Brent and maybe they were setting it up then. I don’t know. But Jerry very forcibly steered the band into the song at the end of Let It Grow and he was obviously all in whether it was predetermined or not. Just an awesome rendition.
The whole show was smokin’ from start to finish and it was really refreshing to take that step back in time watching it almost live. Also it was the last concert ever performed at JFK before it’s destruction sonic had that historical significance. Maybe the only thing missing was a Samson 2nd encore. That would’ve been pretty cool.
Here’s the Blow Away:
Here’s the whole show: