Grateful Dead Concert Review 1988

During the 1970's and 1980's I was trying to see a many rock super groups as I could. In general tickets were cheap, and as long as you had a phone with a redial button, you could usually get some good seats if you called the box office the day the tickets went on sale. This was just before the time of cell phones, and then the tactic became to stand on line at the box office the day tickets went on sale-with your sell phone in hand calling the box office at the same time.

So once again the Gratetful Dead came to my area, and on April 5 1988, the 3rd of a 3 night run in Hartford I went to their concert at the Civic Center. This was a big deal with all the local radio stations and local press covering the concerts. Getting there I was amazed at the crowd outside the Civic Center. Many of the Dead’s fan’s had camped out in nearby Bushnell Park, and driving in from the suburbs into their world was unexpectedly interesting.

The band lineup that evening was of course; Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart and Brent Mydland. As best as I can remember, the songs played that evening included;

Hell in a Bucket, Sugaree, Walkin' Blues, Dire Wolf, It's All Over Now, Bird Song, Masterpiece,
Might As Well, Iko Iko, Louie Louie, Samson and Delilah, Ship of Fools, Smokestack Lightnin'
drums & space, I Need a Miracle, Wharf Rat, Throwin' Stones, Not Fade Away and Knockin' on Heaven's Door.

Being my first Dead concert I must say I was super impressed. The guitar playing of both Jerry and Phil was overwhelmingly great. Opening the show with the song with Hell in a Bucket , this song was as straight forward -fast played rock song as you could imagine. Other personal highlights included; Bird Song, Iko Iko and I Need a Miracle. Ending with Knockin on Heaven’s Door was an interesting coda, not only for the show, and for the Greatful Dead, but for the late 1980's as well. As the show ended I noticed the band walking towards the back of the stage, a curtain opened and it was their tour bus that had pulled up into the Civic Center. They got in and off they went !