I’m not a big fan of the Dead’s version of It’s All Over Now, but they do it up here tonight, and the set closing(?) Hell in a Bucket is a rocker. I first noticed the crispness of Jerry’s runs during Queen Jane Approximately, but he’s really doing yeoman’s work on most of the songs.
The whole band, but especially Jerry Garcia, is playing very nicely tonight, and when Jerry plays well in the 90’s, you’re almost always going to have a good show. (If you’re at all interested in my “big take” on Vince, you can read it here). When you listen to this show, please keep in mind that this was Vince’s fourth night playing with the Dead, and I think that he equates himself quite well, considering that he had to learn a ton of material in a very short time with (likely) very little support from his new band mates.
This show at the Spectrum, where many a classic Dead show took place, falls during that very brief six show period in 1990 when Vince Welnick was the only keyboard player for the Grateful Dead, and it’s an interesting study just to hear the ideas that Vince brought to the band before he was swept under by the storm surge of hurricane Hornsby.
