I was there in December of 1981. Didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. Wish I could go back in time. I was only 18 and didn't really appreciate what I was seeing. Had never been to a concert where nobody sat down and everybody danced throughout the whole show for 3 hours. Never have had such an uplifting concert experience since. When I entered the Colosseum there was a guy selling acid in the lobby. Had a scale hanging from his pocket and held a big sign over his head that said "Fucking A" Cops didn't even look at him. Loved Madison in the early 80's. Different days from today.
Dear Voodoonola, you're a precious gem radiating out into the TH-cam world sharing all this wonderful material with us! Thank youvery much,my..-I'd really like to call you my brother
Flew in from Buffalo NY to catch this gig. Had 2 days left to get back to Egypt in the USAF - made it by 4 hrs for flight from New Jersey. Thank you for the post and the wonderful memories.
So a couple of things. Man this is a SMOKING HOT SHOW! If this was MY first show I would have quit my job and hit the road with the Boys! There is always speculation about which substances were being consumed during any given Era by the band. Jerry is obviously on fire, but I have never heard a show quite like this one! The warp speed Bertha at the end of set one leads me to speculate that Sasha Shulgin's infamous Drug "X" might have been given to the band this night, or that the Columbian Booger Fairy was in town! Jerry's tone is clear and I love how the band congeales behind him as he takes multiple runs at the solo. I loved how you can hear Jerry explore the solo in vastly different ways each cycle. And man does the band hit there mark, cheering him on. Brent is playing piano and organ tones that I have never heard him play before. The growl of the Hammond on "Loser" is one of the best organ tones I have ever heard! I hope a clear remastered soundboard rscording eventually comes out. One of the most underrated years in my humble opinion. There were so few videos of the boys performing when I first started seeing them in '85. It is great that we are now seeing videos resurfacing and Voodoo is a Saint. Thank you for the awesome show!
I drove from Boston and saw every show on this tour: Pittsburgh, Dayton, Indianapolis, Madison, Chicago, Des Moines and Boulder. This was my favorite 1st set on the tour. The Miracle--->Bertha close was crazy. The snow was fun too. Great tour. Mack The Knife in Dayton. Greatfull Dead spelling on the Marquee in Dayton as well. One of the top Music Never Stopped in Des Moines. Ahhh....The Dead.
My 2nd or 3rd show. I do know that Spanish Jam>Truckin>Black Peter>Round and Round>Johnny B Goode got me hooked and I've never looked back. Let's hope they can clean up the audio and release this remastered. Thanks for all the music Jerry, Happy Birthday!
This is about 2 1/2 months after my first show, 9-12-81 Greek. No video yet of that show. This is the closest approximation to the band I saw on that day in Berkeley.
And it was just three days before my first show, 12-6-81 at Rosemont, outside of Chicago, when I was 15 years old. I have one photo a friend took at that one, and of course I've had the audio since 83 or 84, but have never seen any video. So I feel the same way ... this is the same incarnation of the band when they hooked me for life, and it's a huge pleasure to watch.
the next summer they played at alpine valley Wisconsin then 83 back to Madison and they liked alpine so much they went there every year after till the 20 year ban ended in Milwaukee and played 2 shows in downtown Milwaukee in april of 1989 which were awesome and again at alpine in the summer I lived in Milwaukee and with the band and the jerry and bob stuff as well as the jerry Garcia band I was able to see like 14 shows in a little over a year with out leaving the state those were the best times for live dead I still miss jerry .....but check out "weir here" they talk about the old day's a lot a very good web show at bob weir's new studio which is way fuckin cool and high tec thanks for the time and check out weir here ....see ya.... Scott Fab Milwaukee, 2015 January 8
The weather was not the greatest thru this tour but the music sure as hell was. It is nice to see this stuff you close your eye's and you go back to where you were for this show and on this nite about 3 sections out on the first level on jerry's side which shortly there after was phil's. Great stuff
Voodoonola! Thank you so much for posting all of these. Quite a treasure trove! Any chance you have the Dead at Mountain Air (Calaveras) in 1987? My first show!
This should have been my first GD show. But I probably was kinda broke. It was my freshman year at the UW. it wasn't till the last Coliseum show in 83 that I finally saw the. Bummer cuz this is a great one.
It really was. This was my freshman year at UW Platteville. Not a pot to piss in but I wasn't missing this show. Didn't even have tickets before we got there. Would have snuck in if I had to.
Yea, well said. Sometimes nailed some sweet solos but mostly NOT! Seems if he chose a better tone, was louder on the mix, and stayed away from going too low on the fretboard he would've sounded better. Just my humble opinion...though usually his slide work was really great when playing rhythm.
An interesting change for that era...seems Jerry liked being near Brent in the early 80's thru his untimely death in '90, but Jerry stayed stage left until the end. Great '84 show!
This is just a few months after my first show (8/81). But I never saw the boys with Jerry on Bob's right. Seems with the way Bob spends so much time lookin at his fret board they probably switched so that they could keep a better eye on one another(?)
good point about 73 show was a killer show too. they also used this venue in 78 and it's on Dick's Picks 18 must've liked the joint cuz it was a good show also.
I was there too. I especially remember the crowd bouncing to the Althea groove. Baby Blue was sublime. After the show I got a roadie to toss me one of Jerry’s picks. Snow falling in the parking lot added to the vibe. I’d go back if I could.
My first show !! I spent the next 14 years chasing it.**** INCREDIBLE *****
Drove through a major snowstorm from Marquette, Michigan to this show. What fun! Thanks for posting.
1981 is an absolute killer year. Some of the greatest setlists and the jamming is just stellar.
I was there in December of 1981. Didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. Wish I could go back in time. I was only 18 and didn't really appreciate what I was seeing. Had never been to a concert where nobody sat down and everybody danced throughout the whole show for 3 hours. Never have had such an uplifting concert experience since. When I entered the Colosseum there was a guy selling acid in the lobby. Had a scale hanging from his pocket and held a big sign over his head that said "Fucking A" Cops didn't even look at him. Loved Madison in the early 80's. Different days from today.
Thank God we still have memories....Great memories.
I'm watching this 12/03/1981 on 12/03/2018.😅😂🤣
Dear Voodoonola, you're a precious gem radiating out into the TH-cam world sharing all this wonderful material with us! Thank youvery much,my..-I'd really like to call you my brother
Flew in from Buffalo NY to catch this gig. Had 2 days left to get back to
Egypt in the USAF - made it by 4 hrs for flight from New Jersey. Thank you for the post and the wonderful memories.
I was born in Buffalo during this gig
Thank you for posting this video, I have shared it with many many many......
So a couple of things. Man this is a SMOKING HOT SHOW! If this was MY first show I would have quit my job and hit the road with the Boys! There is always speculation about which substances were being consumed during any given Era by the band. Jerry is obviously on fire, but I have never heard a show quite like this one! The warp speed Bertha at the end of set one leads me to speculate that Sasha Shulgin's infamous Drug "X" might have been given to the band this night, or that the Columbian Booger Fairy was in town! Jerry's tone is clear and I love how the band congeales behind him as he takes multiple runs at the solo. I loved how you can hear Jerry explore the solo in vastly different ways each cycle. And man does the band hit there mark, cheering him on. Brent is playing piano and organ tones that I have never heard him play before. The growl of the Hammond on "Loser" is one of the best organ tones I have ever heard! I hope a clear remastered soundboard rscording eventually comes out. One of the most underrated years in my humble opinion. There were so few videos of the boys performing when I first started seeing them in '85. It is great that we are now seeing videos resurfacing and Voodoo is a Saint. Thank you for the awesome show!
💥 Nice show!!!🍄😁
This show is special, the boys are firing on all cylinders.
Thank you voodoo 🎉🎉🎉
Quite a set list! 👍✌😊⚘🎸
VOO thanks for the miracle tic. love my set great view lol. love this raw stuff thanks
The first set was one of my first tapes, Oh to be seventeen again. I love this show. Memories......
My first show, thanks for posting. This is an upgrade of a VHS tape I acquired a few years back
That was a fine show at a tough time in my life. As per another comment, walked out uplifted to new snow.
So.. This is what the Boys were up to during my birth? Awesome! (~):}
Its strange how shows played on the listeners particular birthday seem to vibe with them
I drove from Boston and saw every show on this tour: Pittsburgh, Dayton, Indianapolis, Madison, Chicago, Des Moines and Boulder. This was my favorite 1st set on the tour. The Miracle--->Bertha close was crazy. The snow was fun too. Great tour. Mack The Knife in Dayton. Greatfull Dead spelling on the Marquee in Dayton as well. One of the top Music Never Stopped in Des Moines. Ahhh....The Dead.
You went to Pittsburgh, Dayton, Champlain, Madison, Indianapolis, Chicago, and Des Moines. Then home to Boston. Ok @DanielWeintraub??
My 2nd or 3rd show. I do know that Spanish Jam>Truckin>Black Peter>Round and Round>Johnny B Goode got me hooked and I've never looked back. Let's hope they can clean up the audio and release this remastered. Thanks for all the music Jerry, Happy Birthday!
So good. Thanks for this!!
Love Brent's playing on They love each other!
Love Jerry's jam after Black Peter!!!
This is about 2 1/2 months after my first show, 9-12-81 Greek. No video yet of that show. This is the closest approximation to the band I saw on that day in Berkeley.
And it was just three days before my first show, 12-6-81 at Rosemont, outside of Chicago, when I was 15 years old. I have one photo a friend took at that one, and of course I've had the audio since 83 or 84, but have never seen any video. So I feel the same way ... this is the same incarnation of the band when they hooked me for life, and it's a huge pleasure to watch.
which.... ain't too bad, I'm pretty GD sure
Was at this show. Was very good.
went too see them at there stint at the rainbow theatre in london
thank you ! Your a true Dead Head.
2:45:00 - Bobby audibles to Jerry. 2:45:05 - Jerry kicks into Johnny B Goode.
the next summer they played at alpine valley Wisconsin then 83 back to Madison and they liked alpine so much they went there every year after till the 20 year ban ended in Milwaukee and played 2 shows in downtown Milwaukee in april of 1989 which were awesome and again at alpine in the summer I lived in Milwaukee and with the band and the jerry and bob stuff as well as the jerry Garcia band I was able to see like 14 shows in a little over a year with out leaving the state those were the best times for live dead I still miss jerry .....but check out "weir here" they talk about the old day's a lot a very good web show at bob weir's new studio which is way fuckin cool and high tec thanks for the time and check out weir here ....see ya.... Scott Fab Milwaukee, 2015 January 8
thank you
MUCHOS GRACIAS!
TLEO might be my favorite song of all time.
Love me a good shot of PRIMO '81.
The weather was not the greatest thru this tour but the music sure as hell was. It is nice to see this stuff you close your eye's and you go back to where you were for this show and on this nite about 3 sections out on the first level on jerry's side which shortly there after was phil's. Great stuff
If you asked me when I was young I would have said no way, but I gotta admit, it's true, imma gonna sit right here until I die
So good.
Voodoonola! Thank you so much for posting all of these. Quite a treasure trove! Any chance you have the Dead at Mountain Air (Calaveras) in 1987? My first show!
Looks like i really am just gonna sit right here until I die lol
jerry's absolutely ripping in this show. great scarlet jam.
This should have been my first GD show. But I probably was kinda broke. It was my freshman year at the UW. it wasn't till the last Coliseum show in 83 that I finally saw the. Bummer cuz this is a great one.
It really was. This was my freshman year at UW Platteville. Not a pot to piss in but I wasn't missing this show. Didn't even have tickets before we got there. Would have snuck in if I had to.
bobby with the cc solo! smoking hot! bobby can play slide (sometimes) :)
Yea, well said. Sometimes nailed some sweet solos but mostly NOT! Seems if he chose a better tone, was louder on the mix, and stayed away from going too low on the fretboard he would've sounded better. Just my humble opinion...though usually his slide work was really great when playing rhythm.
Lance Anderson agreed
Jake Tunney I love Bobby but he's a terrible slide player!!!
3 people who have never played the slide attempt to criticize the grateful dead, pitiful.
I can kinda play slide. But yeah , Bobby sucks at it.
There , I said it!
😁👍
Jerry on Phil's side worked just fine.
mooovees Supposedly it was an issue with their monitors.
An interesting change for that era...seems Jerry liked being near Brent in the early 80's thru his untimely death in '90, but Jerry stayed stage left until the end. Great '84 show!
Sorry correction on the year...of course this '81. I've been so immersed in VOODOO's awesome collection, I forgot where I was! ;-)
It can be heard but this is the Dead so it just dont matter.
Nice screaming thin fuzz tone there Jerry! You didn't keep it for long but I like it.
'we're gunna get Truckin'...
2:25:40 haha! First time hearing those lyrics lol!
Ha
Bob would be cancelled in 2023
12 song first set !
This is just a few months after my first show (8/81). But I never saw the boys with Jerry on Bob's right. Seems with the way Bob spends so much time lookin at his fret board they probably switched so that they could keep a better eye on one another(?)
I think Jerry wanted to be closer to Brent for the jamming possibilities.
good point about 73 show was a killer show too. they also used this venue in 78 and it's on Dick's Picks 18 must've liked the joint cuz it was a good show also.
Smokin 'Black Peter.
!cc rider!
cool
THAT'S WHAT I ALWAYS USED TO SAY!
👋
magic ariola is great
I was there.
Me too. My freshman year at UW Platteville. Madison was only an hour drive.
i was not there. sigh. goddamnit.
I was there too. I especially remember the crowd bouncing to the Althea groove. Baby Blue was sublime. After the show I got a roadie to toss me one of Jerry’s picks. Snow falling in the parking lot added to the vibe. I’d go back if I could.
DEAD LIVE
Yeah,Johnny B. Goode is a "classic" but a bit overplayed.
It's a shame they played Johnny B Goode so much. There are so many BETTER songs than that.
Christopher Bassett , do you stutter or something?
Love Brent's playing on They love each other!
thank you