Last Grateful Dead Show! That is all that needs to be said...

At his weakest Jerry was 1000 times better! This was the end of the Grateful Dead a band that left so much music we have volumes of material to enjoy. ---The copycat supposed "jam" bands are an outright disrespect to the legacy. Jerry was authentic he played from the heart every show. Like Jim Morrison said "why don't you go write something?"

the last good shows for the Dead were in August of 1993 in Eugene.
the group of friends I was with back then and had seen over 50 shows with had moved on to Phish tour in 1992 but full time in the fall of 1994. We couldn't take the dark scene pre-post show, the bad playing (95% of the time) as well as the cops.
the 90's were a great time to see JGB though.
peace.

I'm listening on the anniversary and read jerome230's comment that Pearl Jam played on their stage. It's always good to learn something new!

My lord that was a moving piece of music. Even at death's door Jerry was still the best thing to ever cross over from the other side. As I take my life's inventory I find that my cup is overflowing because of you Jerry. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

The rating is for the entirety of my 15 years of experiences on the road with the GD. And this So Many Roads does a magnificent job of encapsulating it all in one song.

Peace, stay healthy in these crazy times.

Ron

so many memories so many roads. I went to my first dead show almost 23 yrs ago will be 32 years in 3 days 4-988 worcester centrum. the bus came by I got on that's where it all begalthough not the best show I seen but an. I spent from that day until 7-9-95 touring just east coast shows. I told mt best friend I wanted to save money for a show away from the east coast. We chose 7-9-95 chicago as the show. that whole tour seemed different for some reason we arrived in chicago on the 7th went to the lot on the 8th tied to score tickets but no go so just enjoyed the scene outside. 7-9-95 arrived at soldier field early afternoon partied all afternoon dosed and hour before the show. not the best show I've seen but not the worst either. When jerry sand so many roads a feeling of emptiness came over me and tears flowed I tod my friend after he finished this is it it's the end of the road. then fast forward to black muddy river and jerry missing the lyrics for a minute I knew it was good bye. my friend asked me after the show what was going on and I told him my feelings he said it was the doses. little did we realize one short month later it was the end of the road. I miss you jerry and leroy thanks for the memories thanks for the golden road I give my love with unlimited devotion.

come here every time im missing Jerry badly. he sounds so passionate on this take. singing like he knows its time soon. listening to his last Roads I cry but feel like hes got his hand on my shoulder. just hope he knows how much we love him and remain forever grateful...

This is the last concert. While it may not be as enjoyable as older concerts from the 70s, its a must listen if you're a fan of the Grateful Dead.

How about everyone just relax. Were you there? If so enjoy it, if not, enjoy it

I missed this show. I really wish I would have been there but its ok, the expieriences i had with the dead were beyond my wildest dreams. i expierienced being in touch with the Infinite. And i can hear the spirit of the grateful dead was in fact at this show. Peace and I always remind myself to focus on the positive influences and leave negative behind.

How ironic is it that the last song the Dead played together was Box Of Rain? The synchronicity that the Dead were know for was working up until the last.
The show however is incredibly sloppy, Jerry is missing in action for almost every song. Samba in the Rain is comical it's such a train wreck. SMR is funereal and I suppose that's appropriate but it's really sad. Drums and Space is the only redeeming piece of music in the entire show. The band sounds like they can't hear each other and don't care to be onstage. I originally gave this show a three and then listened to it again.

Fare the well my honey. Fare you well, my only true one.
All the birds that were singing have flown, except you alone.

Fare you well
Fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the FatMan sing sweet songs to rock our souls

it's too bad; you should've used the money you spent in the Phish lot buying nugs on spelling lessons- it's "charade"

Statements just seem vain at last...
I'm still pretty broke up over Jer's death I guess...
I can barely listen to the shows off my era ( Bruce \ Vince) without weeping. It was ALL good music.
There is no difference between 73 83 and 93 they are all just under a different DYNAMIC.
Jerry, Bob, Phil, Micky, Bill, Pig, Donna Jean and Keith, Brent, Bruce and Vince. You guys are the fucking BEST
and always will be .

Thanks for posting this. This show had too many strong points to be so harshly criticized. I recall it sounding pretty good when I saw it. At the time it was just another show. Now of course it's the last one for Jerry so maybe just be happy you get to listen to it again. Back in 1995 that wasn't an option for most people.

Can someone please tell me why the Dead did a double encore this night? With fireworks too. I believe the band knew this was their last show. 30 years had come to an end with bad things happen on this tour I felt that this was going to be the last tour especially when I heard of the double encore. Also Phil busted out the Unbroken chain spring 95 which I was told would never happen.
Also thanks to this site for bringing back good times and good memories !! I miss you Jerry. If not for you my life wouldn't be the same.

FUN !!!!!!! My brother lived in Chicago we had fun . The band was good so was the GratefulDead !! Visions of Bob Dylan - left with a smile on my face

That's all that can be said. I only listened to that one. Noting else to say. Thanks Grateful Dead. Hope to meet you all and everyone else in the great gig in the sky. Someday. We'll have a great ol' time with the Box of Rain.

Great sound, I really love this recording of the last show, Sends a chill up my spine

My main thing with these shows post-brent is I just do not like the newer songs as much and many of them seemed to pepper the setlist in that era. Samba and some of the others aren't bad but just not great. But the Drums/Space is cool and some of the stuff Little Red Rooster, Samson and Delilah and a few others sound good...No a lot of these later shows were nothing to write home about (when compared to past glories and greatness previously achieved) but hey, I will take average GD over a lot of mainstream crap people listen to and play incessantly on the radio.

Anyone going to the 50th Anniversary Shows should be GRATEFUL to have one last chance to experience what was an amazing experience of love. My last show was Portland '95, when Jerry had a meltdown when he was trying to remember the lyrics to Crazy Fingers. But hell, the Shakedown Street he had played just 25 minutes earlier was outstanding! Remember what Bill Graham used to quote about the Grateful Dead..."They are not just the best at what they do, they are the only ones that can do it..." Peace, Love, and be GRATEFUL!!!

"Never could reach "them" just slipped away, but I tried"
I tried to get in on the 3 day travel packages thru CID to no avail. The day tickets went on sale to the general public I had 3 people with 5 computers going. Wait time 15 minutes, wait time 9 minutes, wait time 3 minutes, then ... tickets not available. That same day I bought two tickets thru Tickets Now to the last show for $975ea only to get an email two hours later saying the tickets were no longer available. Fuck Stub Hub their prices were ridiculous. Anyway it's all good. I know the band doesn't benefit from Tickets Now or Stub Hubs high prices but I'm glad to see the demand was still overwhelmingly high. I'm proud of the band. They worked there asses off for 50 years touring, touring and more touring. I'm happy to see them get one last HUGE payday. They deserve it. The band for the final show is an incredible line up. Bruce on grand piano and Jeff on the keyboards rock and Trey can play his ass off. These shows will be wonderful. I'm praying they do a simulcast. This (1st) last show from 95 was actually a well played show considering the stage in life Garcia was in. I saw many shows and loved every one of them warts and all. Miss you Jerry !

Right back where it all ended, a crappy show to be 20 years followed by another crappy show. And by the way, why no Hornsby? he was the best keys player any damn way. Phish were terrible and i only went to their show to get some fat nugs. A waste, i hope all the people who spend thousands on this sharade to get the worst show ever - and they problably will!

and those with the same tired lme arguments. Brent was about to be booted for being unreliable, i am tired of all this revisionist history on brent. there was as much bitching when he played most of his songs as with Vince. I am tired of the he and Jerry were kindred spirits. Jerry would not even come out at times for Brents songs. We all want to think we saw at there peak. There are great shows in absolutley every era. Those who shut their ears simply because someone passed, make me wonder if they were ever really fans. Now this show is overrated star wise because of its historical significance. The playing is about a1.5-2 stars the history 5. the recording 3.5-4. I give it a 2 overall.

And it ends here again! 50 years thank god its Trey not Warren! No other guitarist could come close to the spirt of Jerry! Thanks guys! Core 4 Trey Jeff and Bruce

Too bad tray and not Warren.

I don't know if anyone's said this because frankly I have no desire to read through all the comments below. Rock Scully died a couple of weeks ago, and was quoted in Rellics thusly:

[Timothy] Leary was telling the multitudes, “Turn on, tune in, drop out,” the Dead’s mantra was, “Plug in, freak out, fall down.”

I plan on following the Dead's advice until I fall down for the last time.

Thanks to the Dead for being only too happy to oblige my quest for adventure in music for so many years. You're the fucking best and always will be.

I was fortunate enough to see 99 shows before Jerry died and have to say the shows in the late 80's and early 90's were the best. I loved hearing Brent belting out tunes and Jerry was sounding great. This show, now 19 years since their final show is a real treat. I do love the new iterations of the band that Bobby and Phil have created but this show was the end of an era.

So many roads says it all.
I don't listen to much after 1985 at the latest, as there are so few shows that are blessed with the incredibleness that was the Grateful Dead at their peak.

Jerry singing So Many Roads is enough to pull this one up.....

10 stars for So Many Roads....1 for the rest.....

I was at this show and recall saying to my friends, as I had thought after every show for the previous year or two, that Jerry and the entire band sounded like they needed a year or two off from touring. Jerry was embarassingly bad, though the rest of the band tried gamely to pick up the slack. When Phil sings the final line of Box of Rain, he really sounds like he is signing off for good.

This tour summed up the scene. The band and touring heads just ran it into the ground. Hind sight being 20/20 we all should have stopped buying tickets. Jerry still wouldn't have gone to a heart specialist but they would have gotten off the road. That being said I just wanna thank Jerry for a real good time.

This page has become the online obituary for the GD! Just say thank you and don't get all hung up on how things went downhill at the end. Jerry baring his soul on So Many Roads says it all, and Phil got ironically lucky to have the last word on the matter, as he generally did. RIP.

Hey you all, just pointing out the lesson i learned listening to the dead. Not everyone gets the light however it is better to point the way than condemn those wandering lost. That being said, boscomorgan , i'll leave you with the words of a song

I see you've got your list out
Say your piece and get out
Yes I get the gist of it
but it's all right
Sorry that you feel that way
The only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a
Touch of grey
I will get by / I will get by
I will get by / I will survive

This show will be listened to, remembered, cherished and survive well past your disappointment.

come in out of the dark (~);}

Right, this might not be a kicker but what a chump change punk ass cry baby you are bosco Morgan first off how in the fucking world would you know you been to 411 shows? Not 410 or 412 I couldn't tell you an exact number of shows I've been to if my life depended on it. Yea you just don't get it, the ebb and flow of things yea some nights were better then others , right thank you captain fucking obvious there wasn't a fucking thing wrong with Jer or anybody in the band was vince as good as Brent no way in my opinion so what. I don't have any drothers about how things changed and how many new songs were played or whatever, things change that's how life is you candy ass wanna be deader than thou non kind person. This shows about a three for me. Good karma to all g d family

Man... how depressing it must be to see the world through your eyes. I have never posted on any of these types of sites but found your post so completely ridiculous and off base I had to respond. Tired and broken!? In the summer of 1990 Jerry was probably in the best shape he has been in since early 20's, he had a new girlfriend and was staying relatively clean, tan, even wore shorts, and seemed very happy. Some of Jerry's most innovated music came after Brent passed with the midi and the multitude of sounds he got from it. Trust me I love Brent but there is plenty of good music post Brent. I wish you had stopped seeing the dead too after Brent passed so I wouldn't have to read your stupid post boasting about how many shows you saw. Unfortunately all those shows and you still don't get it. Hanging out with you must be just a breath of sunshine and rainbows. Your like Debbie Downer check it out on SNL but whats worse is your totally misguided stuck in an era and cant appreciate the present. Save your depressing BS

Gotta remeber folks- friends far and wide, greetings to you!- that when Jerry has... well, plain and simple are these melodies, and as always he gave us his soul... let's give ours to this, beacuse the music, say what you will but I don't see all of you complainers going around lookin around for something new CAUSE THIS IS IT!- this is something of the soul we'll alwasy break out into day and shine with and it'll be joyous and give and Jerry that good old friend we always assumed we had well it doesn't take knowing him to understand what a journey it was... we all have our own... let's go home to the sound, let's find the melody and joyous, this music is good!- the weariness ensues, and the music is all the more true and beautiful because, so it is a four-five star thing here (but why rate a Dead show?)*(i know i just did though :D )

This might"ve been the last show jerry did but it really went south after brent passed. How many of you would see jerry on stage mid song and he was resting both hands on his guitar? Did you notice that you could barely hear him play? The only music that garcia got off on was when he would go out on the road with his band and what was weak about that was jerry was having fun and the music had energy but then a dead tour would follow and we thought "wow jerry had fun he was happy and most of all the music was really goo" then it was such a let down when he would come out on stage no smile's and most of all NO ENERGY AT ALL. We would be leaving after the show's tinking where we would eat instead of trying to talk about the show only because there was nothing to talk about they were usually way lame .If he was not responsible for peoples health insurance many jobs in the dead enterprise there is not a doubt in my mind the band would have stopped touring after brent passed . I wish i would have stopped going to shows but with already having been to 411 shows you always had that hope that all of a sudden jerry would start having fun again ,but that was not to be. I get by on the memories of the 380 shows i saw before vince welnick came on the scene because after vince joined that was the end of the Grateful Dead as i knew it.The absolute last straw that did it for me was when in the middle of the music never stopped weir took the band into easy answers at that moment that was the end of the band.PERIOD

Put this concert next to Wembley '72, Cornell '77, the Fillmore West shows of '69 - it's nowhere near any of them.
But that's not the point. Fact is, Jerry still came out and played as fast and powerful as his frail body could. He gave it his all when he had little left to give.
For this, WE ALL thank you.

I am so grateful that the Dead played as long as they did. I also appreciate that their concerts are preserved so well. How great it is that we can revisit so many shows through this website. Thanks everyone!

This is a five star review, and some say I must justify it, so here ya go: This show has quite a few newer songs, but fittingly so. After all, it's pretty late in their career. Also, I must admit that I only listened from "So Many Roads" through the encore.

So Many Roads, Samba, Corrina, and Unbroken Chain are all the best versions I've heard.

If I want a smoking Morning Dew, I'll go elsewhere, but if I want to hear the newer songs (call me crazy if you like), I know to come here.

mr_cozmick_charlie_told_me_so - - November 6, 2011....
I love his comment, "Don't judge the music you are missing the miracle." I love him for saying that. How dare anyone who loves the dead pick the music apart. It is all one song! Sung in many places, some artists who came and went, and states of mind/health. If you were there, you would know. If you did this during the show I feel sad for you. You missed it.

Hello,

Long time reader, first time poster. I just thought I'd tell some of you about a show that happened at Soldier Field 2 days after the Dead's final show. Pearl Jam played on July 11, 1995 - and the Dead let PJ borrow their actual stage. I've read that this was far from the Dead's best show, but in Pearl Jam lore, PJ's 7/11 show indisputably lands in their top 5 of all time. Eddie Vedder said on the stage, "I don't think we should play another note until we thank the Grateful Dead for letting us use their stage. They left it for us...there were still joints left on it from Saturday...So we only think its right for us to play as long as they do." They wound up playing over 2 1/2 hours. Something about that stage...

Has it really been 17 years?!?!?!? Still listen to the boys everyday [thank you Sirius and these Archives]. Each Monday thru Friday I pick a "Today in GD History" to listen to at work- -forces me to listen to shows from every era of the bands' amazing evolutionary journey. From jug band to fast paced psychedelic pop to the original acid driven jam band to jazz and blues and country and folk and rock and every other influence that made them "not the best at what they do, but the only ones that do what they do." I do disagree with one thing hb_scone said. Even if they sounded like this when I first heard them, I still would have been intrigued enough to listen. I first heard the Dead in 7th grade [fall 1970] when a friend brought in his older brother's copy of Workingman's Dead on "bring an album to class day" - - a once a month occurrence in my music class. I had brought in JT's "Sweet Baby James" the month before and Workingman's seemed to take that to another level. Not just singer songwriter tunes with some rock mixed in. But songs with an intangible that sucked you into the songs.... as if you were sitting round the fire and the Dire Wolf showed up..... or you were the guy laying there dying ala Black Peter. So as a not quite 12 year old, it wasn't the jamming that pulled me into the proverbial "pudding", it was the lyrics and the vocals and the intangible "realness" of it all. And even on the worst day of 1995, that intangible was still there. So while Samba in the Rain, Way to Go Home, and Corrina wouldn't have gotten me into the band, hearing the old tunes from Workingman's and the newer Jerry "dirges" ala So Many Roads and Days Between would have had the drawn me in like a moth to a flame.

Anyway, I wasn't at this show [the JFK shows were my last... just shy of 21 years after my first] so wouldn't rate it b/c I feel you need to have been there to really get the vibe down. And I won't claim this is a show I would make a point of listening to if it weren't the last and/or didn't pop up on my "Today in GD History" list. But, there are some sentimental moments, as well as a few of those intangibles that still bring a smile to my face. Is it the band I first heard in 1970, first saw in 1974? Not at all. But it is the end result of one of the most amazing musical evolutions ever. And even though parts of '95 were more de-evolution than evolution, Jerry gave his all till the end. And for that I can never do anything other than say thank you Jerry. May you rest in peace!!

This band saw it's peak in 1990 but after Brent Mydland passed away things changed musically. Jerrys health by 1995 was in bad shape and the music was not a shell of its former self unfortunately. Still the Grateful Dead are arguably the best band ever. Good times good music good people.

Hearing this "so many roads" and Jerry singing last muddy river in his last "black muddy river" brings a tear everytime i hear this.

dont try to judge the music and be critical. you are missing the point. did you buy tickets, or get a miracle download?

well whats to say Touch was a little weak on vocals,then another Rooster,but Lazy River and Masterpiece and very well played Cumberland brought us to life..Promised Land eased us in....2nd set opener "boom"Shakedown into an awaiting Sampson and no words for the next number, So Many Roads,which is Jerrys best balled ever(my opinion)a nice Samba brought us back to reality after space and Muddy to finish what was once part of our lives as true heads who went for the music and may have gotten tripped up once an awhile,but "we will survive"...i love and miss you Jerry,always and forever.

What a great piece by hb_scone below.
The encores sometimes bring me to tears. I still have my tics for the '95 September Boston Garden shows. Eventually, when we are all hopefully in heaven, I'll be able to use those tics.
It's just heartbreaking to hear Jerry dying on stage. I do miss him so very much.

...MISSING YOU...
THANKS FOR THE LOVE
AND SEWING YOUR PRECIOUS SEED
PEACE AND LOVE

just wish you were still here...

I did not attend a Grateful Dead show after 1992. I'm not saying there were not good shows from '93-'95. But for me, the interaction and spontanity of the band and their music had declined rapidly by the early 90's.
Once they started putting in the earpieces (which may have helped them) instead of shouting to each other from their place on stage (often the coolest thing about boards was their onstage banter) - I think it put a division between the band and their audience. And that is just an example.

Hope for all who attended that they appreciated what a great band they were.

Miss them.

...it's not! TOG is ok, 'Masterpiece' is pretty nice, TPL is kinda hot, 'Cumberland' is pretty tight. The "swan song" tunes (SMR,BMR) are great based on nothing but the emotion behind the lyrics plus the band keeps it together well enough. They manage a decent jam in SS, S&D gets in stride.

When it comes down to it, I'd really rather hear Garcia struggle with his guitar than Phil struggle with his vocal chords :) .

This show isn't much worse than the 1st set of Springfield '77 or RFK '73

I'm a pretty positive person, and I love the Grateful Dead, so I suppose it's best to simply say... this final show should serve as a good cautionary tale as to what happens to an artist if s/he doesn't take care of her/himself. That's about the most positive I can glean from it. The only other thing that I could say is... this show reminds us of how great that they once had been. I was in tears listening through Jerry fumbling through Unbroken Chain, unable to solo, unable (for the most part) to even play the lick that everyone else plays while he was supposed to be soloing. That struggle was always part of what made the band great... struggling with passion, with inner demons, trying to get hands to play things that the mind could only dream. But this wasn't the same KIND of struggle. Unbeknownst to us, it was a struggle with death. It makes me sad to hear Jerry reduced this way... the same guy who played that Slipknot on 8.13.75 (as one of a billion examples of his otherworldliness.) I reflect after hearing it on the fact that sometimes it's important not to candy coat... to think everything was wonderful that the boys did-- they didn't think so, either-- but to recognize what was happening at a given place and at a given time. I'm sure that Jerry was doing what he could with what he had, because he loved us, his fans, so desperately much. He was a people pleaser. Whenever he was up to it, he gave it his all. I won't rate this show with stars, because it makes me uncomfortable. I won't trash this show, because I have no idea how hard they were trying to make this come off. But I will say that it is extremely difficult to hear a band you've loved all the way back to the early 70s sound like this. It was a different band, on some level. I intuit that, while Jerry never gave up on music or on us, he gave up on himself... and what a wonderful, funny, brilliant and original person he was. I'm reminded of Garp's dream... the man who could do magical things but couldn't feel them until he took his gloves off and died. Maybe Jerry could never really feel his importance or how well loved he was. I'd rather think it was more that that just selfish, self-centered addiction. My positive is this: Because this was the LAST show, doesn't mean it typified the Dead... who they were... what they were about... how they sounded. I doubt any of us would've fallen in love with them in the first place if they'd sounded like this when we started listening. But it is testament to their unbelievablosity that we all sit here, posting our thoughts, some enthusiastic, some dreadful... taking time to commemorate what happened to be the end... because the beginning and middle were so fucking interesting!!!

Sometimes somebody must say the obvious: The only two things that improve with age are our memories of our youth and our ability to be cranky and hypercritical.
Having been at almost 300 shows from 1967 until 1995, my personal "top five" contain three shows from 1990 forward.
Like most things, the Grateful Dead improved with age - which does not mean they were getting younger.
One hopes that as we all grow older, that we GROW older, and don't become low and mean; criticising those who went and did while we WATCHED.
If you don't like this show, or shows past some date in the distant past, by all means, don't listen.
Just don't be a "whinin' boy" about it...

The fact is that Jerry was in poor health and no longer could perform with the same energy he once had. The fact that the band had been getting old is irrelevant. The Phil, Ratdog and Furthur shows of today are far more energtic than the Dead were in the last couple of years; and Phil and Bobby are more than 15 years older.

This is not a great show, its OK. I started seeing the Dead in the late 70's, I saw shows in the 80's that were nothing less than breath taking, but as the 90's wore on, great nights became less frequent and far in between.

The drugs, smoking, over weight and diabetes took its toll on Jerry. And as much as I loved him, still more than any other musician, the music, Phil and Bobby were given new life after Jerry's death.

What I wouldn't give to see just one more mid 80's show from Madison Square Garden.

I just have to say that all the complaining about the dead's performance quality in their later years is really ridiculous. Honestly, what makes any of you think that there is even the chance that they would be as good or even comparable to the glory days of the 70's in their later years. Does anything constantly improve or even stay the same over years and years of time? No, things tend to start off as some beautifully un-noticed accident, evolve into some sort of formula, and then become a cliche' of that formula. Nothing is ever as good or as pure once it becomes obscenely popular like the dead did after 'Touch of Grey."
Just look at hip-hop, it was basically ruined after Puffy made it radio-friendly. I'm a musician myself, and I can tell you that you are only as good as your audience. a great audience will inspire you while a shit-audience will tire you. Look at how the dead's constituency changed of the years. it just wasn't the intimate setting where folks could walk out their trips naked if they wanted to anymore. Also, all this nit-picking about how they could have done this or that differently assumes that there was someone driving that bus. the dead were like a force of nature. when it rains , you might not like it , but you don't presume to think that you can change it. you just wait for the sun. I really don't think any of them ever entertained the delusion that they could, with any real precision, steer the boat this way or that. that's not why they did it anyway. they enjoyed the " beautiful accident" that is pure music. and just like free- speech, it can get pretty fuckin' messy. but if you try to control it, you've missed the point. so to all the 90's bashers, and the vince and donna- haters, i say, like it or don't like it, just don't forget that it's FREE, so please be at least a bit Grateful.

Listening to Jerry sing "the LAST muddy river" in one of the verses of Black Muddy River, always chokes me up.

5 Star rating for Jerry giving it his all.

God Bless Jerry Garcia.

With all due respect to the apologists who rate this show based on "historical significance" or the good time they had: a stinker is a stinker. Period. And to those who believe this gig (or much else from the last few years) was well-played: Open your ears. Jerry may have bottomed out in '95, but the sad descent began long before. To those who truly loved the band, these were NOT happy times.

After 315 other reviews, there isn't a whole heckuva lot to add...

I greeted the news of Jerry's passing with profound sorrow that left me a changed man, and since I was living abroad at the time in a country that barely had heard of the Grateful Dead, I felt particularly isolated in my mourning.

I never could bring myself to listen to the '95 tours; I used (and still use) the following litmus test on how good a show was: I'd play it in the background when non-Deadheads were visiting. If someone noticed it and asked who it was, or commented on the playing, I knew it was a winner. If they said "what's this dreary, out-of-tune junk you have on?" I knew it was...well, dreary out-of-tune junk. I found the Dead got noticed and applauded by these non-Deads through the '77 shows (mostly '69-'72). I got the most complaints whenever I played something from the post-Mydland era.

This show, I know without even testing, would get a universal thumbs down... Old Jerry's vocals and guitar are distracting in their spectacular ruin; it truly is a heartbreak that transcends words to describe it.

The Black Muddy River/Box of Rain ending is about as well-scripted for an ending as possible, and their poignancy sends shivers up my spine.

But, let's face it, the music is a wreck, even there. It is utterly painful and spirit-quashing to hear; Garcia sounds so utterly defeated, which indeed he was... There's no way to justify the music on this at all, and it is unplayable to all except the most diehard Head...

I downloaded it for its documentary value, as ghoulish as it is, because with all artists I collect, I want each stage of their music represented. But I can't imagine listening to it again except when it makes its way through my shuffle function... And when it does, I'll feel that same sting I felt so suddenly in 1995, and mourn the passing of a great musician who had already died except in corporeal form by that point.

Such a waste. And I hate the "he gave his life to music" arguments. He did not. He gave his life to drugs. As Lesh said at the time, in the end, the drugs meant more to him than the music did.

And the rot had set in as early as the coke days of 1978; I could never slip a '78 show across in my non-Deadhead litmus tests, people asked me to put something else on...

It's hard to see that when your world was or is the Dead; and yes, there was more to the "experience" than just the music, something outsiders can never quite know.

But if it is music that interests you, this show isn't the place to look for it. Pay your respects, by all means. But there is no music here.

it's just a bad show. Doesn't matter how many times I listen to it and try to put it in context -- the set list is poop and the performance borderline embarrasing. Saying otherwise is akin to applauding for your child when he strikes out five times in Little League. Which is perfectly okay -- sometimes love trumps the truth.

...Just for the fact that it was the last time we all shared what we undoubtingly cared more for,than our own possesions!...And thats dancing uncontrollably as Jerry kindly keeps a close eye on the mayhem...keeping us all in check with his magical guitar and sinfully sweet music!.....And as for *snydel*...another ignorant soul,who chooses to only hear what his OLD ASS wants to hear!...Listen,to think that`89-`91 aren`t the GD`s most energetic,explosive and musically tight era inwhich they performed,is absolutely,RIDICULOUS!...so if you wanna continue to spread comments,saying`80`s and beyond are useless...then you just need to stop listening alltogether....because,obviously,you`re missing out on a ton of beautiful music.....either love it all and tell the world...or keep your"opinion"...and thats all it is"your opinion!!"to yourself,for the one`s who love Grateful Dead magic,hear happiness in all shows!.......FOR REAL....Listen to the same sweet songs...to ROCK,your soul!

what happened to it? they aren't seriously considering releasing THIS are they?!

anyways, terrible show, of course, but i have much love and respect for good 'ol JJG. now that the 15th anniversary has come and gone, it doesn't make it any easier that we lost this brilliant soul.

RIP

....when I read some of the idiotic reviews from morons who claim to be "old school," have seen 99 shows and are in possession of 3,000 tapes. They miss the entire point of the Dead experience. Yes, a certain musical perfectionism was part of that, and it was rarely on display in some of the later shows (though this last show was actually quite decent and Jerry pulled something out of a hat on SMR and BMR). But above all, the Dead are about community, and it didn't matter whether the show on any given day was great or not. It was ALWAYS great to be there, to be part of the crowd, to dance, to sing and do whatever else turned you on. Nitpicking individual performances is fine for those who are looking for great shows to download, but beyond that, spare us your crap, you clueless imbeciles.

Bottom line is that this is the final Dead show with Jerry at the helm. Not one of their best shows by any stretch but it is a piece of history. Not the worst show on record either. I suppose that I am biased having the priviledge of being at this show. Not knowing that it would be the "last time", I walked out of that show on cloud nine. Now that I have found this incredible archive of events, I can cherish with greater fondness the amazing legacy of live shows left behind!!! This site also makes up somewhat for losing hundreds of bootleg tapes to a basement flood 4 years ago!

Any one who says this show or any other dead was bad is crazy going to theses shows were the best times my life!!!!!!!!!!!! Jerry great fianl go man RIP MISS ya

lamagonzo ...your missin out, every head out there who says they have seen the best dead there is and dont wanna waste their time with furthur you really need to rethink your attitude... of course they are not like they used to be.. hell there way up there in age and JK is no Jerry to say the least.. that being said if you wanna hear the best versions of dead tunes comin out today, bobby in capri pants and a huge mustache, JK puttin his own spin on Jerry Gems while preserving his essentiance spirit, and i almost forgot phil layin down BOMBS! then youll check out furthur, they havnt let me down yet, even when bobby is singin prudence, who cares im just happy to still see them out there doin what they love, be faithful, be grateful.. be a head

if you want to hear the Grateful Dead at their best ya gotta listen to 1966 through 1980 (1982 at the very latest). Any new listeners reading this post take my advice. You won't be disappointed. Nobody likes to hear that the years they saw the Dead in-person sucked but the reality is post-1982 Grateful Dead is nowheres near pre-1982.

The last show. Jerry's guitar very low in the mix. Relief that this tour was almost over. My comments would be directed to:
1) So Many Roads -- very nice but far from the best version ever
2) Black Muddy River -- I never heard "last" muddy river but I sure as shit heard "years" fall from eyes instead of stones. Very appropriate and telling :(
3) Box Of Rain -- Yeah, there is no doubt that Phil is belting this one out but we'll never know if that was because it was poignant or because Phil & the boys were trying to beat the clock. It was probably both.
Note: I am dog tired about arguing with people about Furthur going in to this New Year 2010 but I'll tell you this -- I'll take this show w/Jerry above any Furthur show, don't ya know, cuz I'm
Dead to the core

Sorry kids, but I did this whole Summer tour, went to 110+ shows since 3/7/81 and Summer 95 was a disaster. Only 2 shows even remotely worth getting, Pittsburgh and 1st night in Detroit. Jerry flat out was horrible, Shakedown had no funk what so ever.HEROIN SUCKS!!!! I blew off the 1st Chicago show to see Luther Allison @ Buddy Guy's, should have gone again. At least those Blues dudes played with a fire that Jerry lost in the early 90's. I agree w/ the poster who said check out the 2009 version of The Dead. Much more heart. I was so heartbroken at this show I left early during the encore. I couldn't take it any more. As a recovering addict myself, I knew the pain and suffering Jerry was going through. Too bad his heart gave out before he could get clean. I have many fond memories of my years going to see the Grateful Dead and still keep in touch with some of my old Touring buds. I listen to shows all the time and even do a Dead/Zappa radio show in Jackson Hole, but this show, as in the case of much of the 90's shows, is proof that drugs destroy lives and talent. Frank Zappa put it best. Why do you think they call it Dope?

RIP Jerry, long live The Dead

I can honestly say he has been an inspiring person in my life musically. As I learned about his life, I realized how many people depended on him, and he was a yes guy. He always was willing to help others through his music. A benefit here, another show here, he felt personally responsible for the entire GD family. He was seen like a work horse, Playing sets for the purple sage opening act then playing all night for the dead in the early 70's. He's been quoted many times saying he loves making money at something he LOVES to do. It wasn't a chore for him. They really didn't make the big bucks till the '80's so for many years he did it for the music. As the Grateful Dead became a global empire, so much was expected of him, at meetings everyone wanted to gear up and he felt like it was time to gear down, maybe go to rehab or have a life with his kids. The deadly sin of Greed is cunning, he may have not been worried about the money, but the empire was and without him it was nothing. In the end, a year he should have been resting or kicking dope, he made that " One more tour this summer, then you can do what you need for yourself". I would hate to be the guy that proposed this. Jerry was quoted saying," There's always one more tour, one more show, one more benefit." laughing it off as if its life, he pressed on because we needed him and he knew that. Also being off heroin myself for over 12 yrs., I understand his health. He was too unhealthy to be running like he did. It seemed like there was never any time for him to become well again, to ensure a future of music for his most important people in his career, his fans. The band, being in much better health then him, wanted to capitalize on the always sold out "madison square garden's" around the country. They were ranked in FORBES as a huge money maker, They never thought Jerry couldn't make it. He always worked harder and longer then most. The band always turned a blind eye to his sickness. All of this is such a tragedy, maybe even destiny. What a run and a myriad of shows to enjoy. Jerry truly changed the world and not many men can say they did that in their lifetime.
As his present wife makes millions off his neck ties, we mourn a man with a true sense of giving. Its too bad he couldn't give to himself in return. I rate this show high not out of comparison to 1974 but to 1995 and all he gave us this year. We should have boycotted his shows until he went to treatment (out of love). I doubt that would work, but maybe he and the others would have listened to that. RIP Jerome Garcia.

Miss U

amen

I can't give enough love to Jerry on So Many Roads here, he's just belting it out with everything and I love it, especially the ending lines sung here like a prayer.

Would like to augment my original review (below).

I was lucky enough to see 60 or so shows from '88 on. Some were GREAT, some were dreadful. This particular show (which I attended) goes into the Dreadful category.

The whole sound of the 95 summer tour was just thin...no meat, no bones. The rhythm section is on, as they were at all shows, but Jerry's absence yields horrid results.

The only cool thing about this show was the backstage pass I had to watch The Band open.

It's like the beast sprung back to life for one final gig before finally slipping away. The boys were on this particular evening, almost as if the unseen forces wouldn't allow them to bow out on a negative note. Sound quality, playing and singing are right on this evening. Normally this would warrent a 3 or 4 star rating, but because of the historical significance of this show it earns 5 stars.

anyone have a copy of the bonus disk from the fillmore box set? if so i will get you a copy of any soundboard on this site!! really any one. just e-m

Jerry totally redeems himself with So Many Roads

Hope you had grate fun in Philly...I wandered onto this show looking for the current Chicago show and just couldn't keep going without listening to a couple of Jerry ballads. I LOVE Black Muddy River...that voice...that feeling. I felt like it was my first time. The back-up vocals are so supportive ya know it's almost like chanting that ...unstruck quality... Anyway, no more chai tea for me tonight, and always grateful for anew vibration... :)

I suppose this IS the format the express your opinion about segments of shows, and it is fun the share and read stuff. But in general, no Dead show is perfect in terms of acoustics, performance etc. This is the Dead! not an over-produced machine like the Eagles. You take what you want. As some have reminded, this is THE LAST SHOW. Hats off to HippieBuddah, who said "how do you rate a MIRACLE?"
Best to you all. I'm off to Philly!

Just listened to the beginning of Touch. This band is toast on this date, they are more then going through the motions, they are irrelevant as a band at this point and the performance lacks any redeeming quality, unless you incert your own sentimentality. The Last One thing does nothing for me. start at '89 and go back from there to hear the band. Or even go see the 2009 tour, they are actually playing with heart again, even without Garcia.

The smoking double encore and the So Many Roads were worth the price of admission alone. Great memories of a wonderful night !!!

Thanks for the great times and beautiful music.

Grate recording of a Grate show. Pooh to the over analyzers and naysayers! Long live the smile and the song! Jerry is with us in mind and music! Viva la Revolution!

I give the show four stars, not because of quality or excellence in playing, but because of the memories attached to this show.
I listen to this show from time to time, just to remember Jerry. From Touch of Grey all the way through to Box of Rain, you can hear and feel the pain and hardships Jerry is going through.
Not the least bit surprising to any Deadhead, Jerry checks into the Betty Ford Clinic the same month, and after a two week stay moves to Serenity Knolls. The rehab clinic would the home of his final few weeks. RIP Jerry, 9 August 1995.

i always regret in life that 251 shows I saw between 1985 to 1995. gave tickets away for a job I took that I hated a month later not the best but the last my number one regret al time the SMR still brings me back to a time I cherise so much

I agree that this is a tough show to listen too sometimes. The only Cumberland Blues of the tour makes me cringe to hear those first few notes come out, you can tell it's going to be a bumpy road. But, all of that comes with time and becoming an old man so whatever.

So Many Roads is more than any other song ive heard the dead play to be honest with everyone. No matter what, every song they play is just a song, but here Jerry isnt just playing, he's TELLING. He's just telling everyone how it is, how he feels and how far he's gone. Nothing mroe or less, just a one on one with the crowd and his fans to tell them one last time how he feels.

This was my last show. I had been given a ticket 24 hours and 750 miles away. I made the trip knowing it would be the last show of summer tour and had seen five others that summer. I'm glad I made the trip. It was everything a show had meant to me over the years. Good friends, good tunes and a great ride to and fro. One month later I happened to be with the person who gave me the ticket. We found out together, and were so glad to had gotten to see what was our first show together, just in time. This is the first review on the site from me, and I give it a five because of the effect this concert on this day in history had on me, not just for the show, but for the memories I had all wrapped up into one and getting to finally see a show with my brother. Love you man.

I'd say Box of rain was alright,.....

the only reason this show gets more than ONE star is because:

2) Black muddy river (listen to the first chorus, he DEFINITELY says "LAST" muddy river...) scary stuff!

but.... the golden GEM of this whole show, the ONLY reason you should download it at all is for the.....

1) SO MANY ROADS

It's considered by many "old school heads" to be one of, if not THE BEST SMR- EVER!!!! And I'm not just saying that because it's the last show.

Yeah, if I really want to get sad I'll listen to this show. If I want my MIND BLOWN old school style I'll listen to:

3-1-69 ( I *think* that's it; the one with the "Hey Jude" encore )

or... if you want to hear JERRY at HIS BEST, and you can actually find a copy ( I have one- email me for B&P) get the Legion of Mary show, 05-22-75; it will BLOW your F*CKING MIND! No joke.

Otherwise, OTHER THAN THE ANAL "must have it all" collector, I give this one two stars; not because I doubt Jerry; he's given so much over such a little amount of time, (such a long time to be gone, such a short time to be there!)

Last point: IRONY?!? Opening with a "touch" (just a 'touch'!) of Grey, and closing with the ol' "Box of Rain"....

poetry in motion. Too bad, even with cowboy Neil at the wheel, this bus ride finally had to come to a stop.

Responsible heads email me; I have QUITE the arsenal of shows: mightythefox@hotmail.com

Peace.

Ive always thought it was such an interesting observation that Pig was the leader of the 60's, Jerry the 70s, Weir the 80's, and Phil the 90's...

so I just went thru and casually listened to some of the highlights of the show- Masterpiece, So Many Roads, Sugar Mag, Black Muddy River...and what actually gave ME the chills is not the impassioned Garcia ballads here...but the Box of Rain. holy christ...

everyone knows this song was written for Phil to sing to his dying father on his death bed. well here's Phil stepping up and singing this song to his dying friend, on stage for all of us to see and hear and share. The words of this song have never been more poignant or clear to me. There is a definite seriousness and urgency to Phil in this... how moving to share Phil's final goodbye to both his 'brother'and to his band, the Grateful Dead.

heavy heavy heavy heavy

I'm still getting the chills as I write this...

I'm going to give this show 2 stars. I don't really firmly think you can really rate a show or any type of art with stars. It's just a little more complex than that. But if I have to, than 2 I guess. The recording is great. You know, when I last saw them in Pittsburgh the week before on the Jumbotron, I thought Jerry looked like he could barely move. His face looked so different than it did not that long before. He had on a light blue t-shirt and I think his pants were maroon. He had granny glasses and his guitar was different. It really was odd seeing so many differences with him. Listening to this show made me feel tired. There isn't much energy. The rest of the band can't sound lively if their lead guitarist doesn't, so they all sound dull. I noticed that Jerry often turned his guitar down so we couldn't hear is weak playing. I know some people might feel I'm being too critical on this show, but it really doesn't do much for me. I feel the sentiments that Acousticpob expressed. I heard Phil say on VH1 that the last 4 or 5 years of the band didn't give him many memorable nights and Jerry didn't have that spark like he had before those. I have to agree. This show doesn't have a spark in it. The recording is excellent though.

You People that give this show 1,2 or 3 stars come on get the spirit THIS IS THE LAST SHOW! Remember Jerry for what he was, This was a very hard time for them with addictions and general other problems you know I love this show very much just because its the last thing to remember a Relic in time!

As luck would have it, I happened to receive a second row middle ticket for this show. Which, was very ironic as I was usually the freaker over by the speaker somewhere in the back. There seems to be a mournful feeling with many regarding this show. I just want to share the memory that it was actually a very upbeat, energetic concert. After the fences going down in Vermont, the lightening striking in Washington, the riot at Deer Creek and the balcony falling in St Louis, there seemed to be a serious sense of relief and a genuine sense of good cheer to have made it to Chicago. Bobby was "counting heads" as he came on stage and was laughing at himself so hard during Promised Land for missing a lyric, he missed another! Mickey and Bill were all smiles and Phil was obviously feeling good as he rocked out and sang 3 songs. Even Jerry seemed to look and sound comfortable and grinned and smiled at us all night. During Touch of Grey and Shakedown Street the whole joint was jumping and it was the only Cumberland Blues of the tour. The So Many Roads is simply beyond words and the Masterpiece is surely some of Bobby at his best. I've read that Jerry was going to play China Doll after Unbroken Chain but Bobby cut him off and played Sugar Magnolia. After listening to the stream again, you can definatly hear Jerry starting up on China Doll. It is nice to read everyones take on the show and their memories, thank you all so much for sharing. People would ask me what my favorite show was, and I would always say the NEXT one. But this is actually one of my favorites. The mood before, during, and after the show seemed to be one of unity and healing, even after all we had been through on the Summer 95 tour. I remember leaving the show on a high that lasted for days. It would have been nice to see where we could have taken that. In the end, though, how do you rate a MIRACLE? They could have played the phone book and we would have still danced. And, I would give anything to still be looking for that "next" show...

I don't see what all the 1's and 2 stars are about. I would give this show a 3 1/2 overall, round it to 4.It's really not too bad. After reading all the reviews I was scared to listen to it. ITS ALL PRETTY GOOD, not the greatest show ever, but definitely listenable. Enjoyable even. I'm rockin' out to Samson right now. It's good music. I would rather listen to a mediocre dead show than practically anything else besides a GREAT dead show.
C'mon, all these high emotions running amok, people spreading their toxicity to each other. Why can't we all just get along? Nuthins personal. Especially on the internet. We're all gonna die someday, even the great ones among us. Case and point right here. Can't we just enjoy the life we have and let others do the same?
"Such a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be there!"

Peace all.

The So Many Roads is indeed, the high point of this show.
That being said, I think it's absolutely ridiculous for anyone to try and make "roads" and "black muddy" seem prophetic. The truth is, Jerry never wanted to keep on touring in the last few years of the Dead as anyone who was close to them or associated with them will tell you. It was the rest of the band who wanted to keep going, as they were addicted to "affluence", as is commonly stated. Jerry's attitude was "another tour? Don't you have enough money?"
Jerry didn't like the pedestal he was on, and the strain of being the figurehead of something so immensely huge. His final years were very self-indulgent and reclusive.
You can only give so much, with so many taking.
I miss Jerry and the Boys very much, but it was just their time, and perhaps Jerry finally got the peace he needed.
Rest in peace friend.
Because of all the debate that rages on this show for all the wrong reasons, I've decided not to rate this show.
Peace.

This was an awesome show after the numerous troubles from almost the beginning of the year. This show was one of the most memorible shows not only for the shear energy and connection that the entire band had going. But also for it being the last time I would be able to see the spirit that had shown me so much.
I have listened to this show numerous times since it has been posted and am grateful that it was finially posted, thank you. It has grate sound quality and such high energy. I hope all are enjoying it as much as I am.

Peace,
Dan

You can feel the vibe through the music they are all on the same wavelength and their flowing in the same motion endlessly throughout the whole thing ,man. It's just phenomenol, outstanding, remarkable, uncomprehendable. It's like they turned into gods from another celestial plane of some sort. It's out there. I'm telling you my cousin was there. I live in Chicago and this is a renound concert. In my eyes this was the ideal concert I wish I could have been there but I was too young at the time. I would have been there chilling grooving to the music like never before. I pray to the creator that I will someday be there. I know it sounds out there but if we have learned anything from this most remarkable group of all time that anything is possible. With all this intergalactal warfare that is waging we all must focus our energy apon the good side. I am not deeply religous but I beleive in something and I hope that something is a Grateful Dead fan. Hail to ye' GD!
Thanks for reading and good day to you.
the most grateful Grateful Dead fan ever Matt.C

The drums are out of this world from this show. I'm always amazed at how versatile these drummers are. Who really does this kind of thing anymore. They are true musical geniuses. All that exercise behind the drums for 30 years really paid off for them. Mickey is still going strong and billy is starting to get back in the Mix of things. Peace.

Was it the gratest show-no. But I dont believe it was the worse, besides its the Dead. All shows have some hits and some misses. Thats what its about. I feel Jerry's soul more on some of the shows were he was off. This was the last time he stepped on stage and you can feel that he sensed it and had been for a few months-Deer Creek was the essence of that-you here is his voice, Jerry's heart was broken.

And yes is a good setlist and a very nice aud. recording(props to the taper and all the tapers how have poured countless hours into preserving what has kept me sane all these years)!

This is still a must have for any serious collector, just on the fact it is the last show

And to all who like to sit back and blast a show on how poor it was-I dont believe anyone to this day has been able to began to re-create what those guys did pretty much day-in and day-out for not just years but decades! And the magic they pulled off on some nights is so much sweeter because of some of the sour notes hit along that long bus ride.

To say that Jerry or any of the guys never stepped on stage with the intent to bring the roof down is a sad statment indeed and an incorrect one at that. We must all remember that they were mere humans who were thrust into a god-like light that no-one should ever hafta to encounter and I believe they had to cope with it they only way they could and it eventually took a few lifes along the road, but to have it any other way-The Grateful Dead story, Jerry's epic-to have it happen and end any other way, well that just wouldnt be the Grateful Dead, its all part of the story, the epic tale that was and still is...

May the music never stop!

First off, I noticed a lot of arguing on these posts. Music is about 90% opinion (no right or wrong), I can't remember the last time someone won a debate based on opinion. Just express how you feel and read how others feel, that's all.

IMHO, considering the circumstances, this show could not have been any better or worse. They performed how they performed, that is what they always did.

Did they play well that night? I think most can agree the answer is no. There were both highlights and low lights. However, is that what the Dead were all about? Playing a great show every night? It is what they attempted, but rarely achieved.

I feel that this concert is the embodiment of a dying artist. His voice withering, his guitar crying, and his frame just standing there, hunched over. It was the end of this man's life, how dear we expect anything more from one who gave us so much for so long?

His performance on July 9th was reflective of his state, a true artist...giving us what he had, no more and no less.

Let's be thankful he gave at all.

I for one am thankful because I was a sophmore in '94 when I first got exposed to the Dead, and this turned out to be only my second show (and obviously my last). So I'm happy I got to see them while I could. Thanks to the archive, I haven't missed a beat!!!

peace

To acousticpob, It sounds like you spent too many years looking for the dead and never found the grateful! I thoroughly enjoyed about 170 shows. The rest I regretted. BECAUSE I MISSED THEM! In going through the archives, I've yet to one show that didn't have high points! And on the dead's worst night, they were world's above most bands. In my opinion, THEY NEVER EARNED LESS THAN 2 STARS! And never earned 5, Because I CAN'T EVEN FATHOM WHAT PERFECTION WOULD HAVE BEEN FOR THEM! I, for one, am eternally GRATEFUL!

The show is a 3 on performance but was it really always about the performance being 100% free of somebody's criticism? No. That was the essence of the music, trial and experimentation. So, firstly...thank you MGOSHEY. Your comment was beautiful and I am looking forward to running into you at a show somehow in the future. Putting Jerry's lyrics to work in our life is all the creators could ask for.

To a dude like AcousticPob...you stopped feeling magic after Brent died? God pal, you really suck.

Magic happened all over after Brent god blessedly rest his soul..and....there is no single decision I'm more proud of then jumping in the car and driving from Upstate New York to Chicago for these last two shows. This set list is killer. No show was ever without flaws. NOt with our boys but did you really want to listen to an album or see a show? Appreciation happens from within. Don't click off everyshow if you hear the crew miss a note or lyric.

Shakedown street is awful. They sound like they'd just as soon stop singing. Listen to how Bobby, not Jerry...Bobby drops the line in Promise Land and they fall about till the magic re occurs. They put on a mean Samson when they just naturally (out of creating it) never needing to doubt it, pull all types of magic together in that Jam. People who discredit they're shows really have to examine why they think the Dead played and made their music...to jam till you die.

Go Ratdog, Phil and Friends, The other Ones and the like....peace again MGOSHEY...I hope to catch you at another great show somewhere some time.

To AcousticPob one question...do you play acoustic music by chance? And if so, do you play so people will sit home and listen to your album or record so they'll come out to see you perform? I still cry to hear Jerry sing so many roads…I mean to hear it live again…no…they lost it when Brent died right?

that there were multiple camps of heads. I never fit in with the 'deader than thou' crowd who seemed to get an ego boost reciting their dead pedigree and declaring the 'approved' interpretation of a particular show.

Nor could I relate to the 'Jerry must be god' folks who seemed so sadly out of touch. I can't imagine Jerry appreciated the idol worship.

Once I was walking around before a show and must have looked a bit sullen. A stranger stopped me in my tracks to shake my hand and offered me a sincere smile, as though he was acting out the "strangers stopping strangers" line in Scarlet Begonias, sort of a deadhead version of community service.

That brief exchange epitomized the sort of people I loved seeing at shows. I have to admit, I find myself missing them more and more these days.

As for this particular show, its not a favorite, though in spite of the problems at the time I would have enjoyed being there.

been a fan and followed the boys from 87 to the spring of 91. After Brent died there was not One show that I walked out and saying... WOW glad I was at this one. So I stopped going. Glad I did too. After listening to hours upon hours to the shows on here... many with 5 start just because someone had a good time, it seams people are rating shows on good times and not the actual music. Try listening to 3.27.88 or 3.22.87 - please people. Rate on the music... not the time you had at the show!

In honor of Jerry's b-day, I've spent the day at work streaming the Boyz from Archive.org. Started with some of the earliest recordings posted (1965), now jumped to the last show.

Happy Birthday, Jerry! Thanks to you and the rest of the band for these (and all of your other) musical gifts to us.

Thank you, Archive.org (and to all those that have made it possible, whether through making the recordings, posting them to the site, or through financially supporting the site).

Keep on Truckin'.

well, I was there...my wife (now ex-wife) and I decided about a week before deer creek to go to the show. I simply went to the local ticketmaster and purchased tickets, also Southwest airlines was cheap so I got airplane tickets, and got a room at the beloved palmer house. Typically, I had some really good libations for the the night of the 8th, needless to say the ceiling in the parlour of the palmer house took a life of it's own after the show!

This is the first show where phil sang three tunes! Also, the encore of box of rain is so fitting becuase the song is about re-incarnation. I thought the 8th was better than the 9th mostly...the 9th seemed a little sluggish, you could tell with all the vibes on tour that jerry didn't feel well, and no doubt according to phil's book, there were serious death threats against jerry garcia. crazy wacky world...there was no doubt that everybody sensed a hiatus with the hopeful prospect of a great studio album of all the tunes. I really thought that album was going to be good, the drums really tightened up like 1977.

If I remember there were beeps over the PA and it's on the both sources SBD and AUD at the end of the show probably to signify curfew maybe, also there were fireworks after the show with hendrix's star spangled banner, a nice treat to end the end...only a second encore of johnny b goode could be more fitting! I must say the PA sound was excellent at the show, I was on the phil's side in the stands, and it was clean and clear sound out the PA. Probably the best large concert I had heard then and mostly now too!

I definately remember gazing back on the crowd thinking how long could this last? I felt this way even before the show after witnessing the debacle of deer creek riot. That was a real low, and fans didn't get the next night's performance, we went to bed without dinner, and recieved a poignant rebuke by letter from the band. I don't know why fans would do this with all the police presence at deer creek, there were k-9 cops at least 5 -7 guarding the hill in the back of the ampitheatre and yet still fans stormed the back of the place. This was the only time I felt threated at a rock concert, like zebra in the serengetti while a lion is on the prowl. Also, the deck collapse in Mo. before the last shows was terrible although the GD not responsible, it hurt the whole scene.

Anyway, the show is what it is...and there will never be another grateful dead

bill graham said it best about the dead...

"there not the best at what they do; they are the only ones that do what they do"

Donnie L.

all of the reviews below are either "best show ever!" or "Worst show ever!" Remember, this probably was just-another-show to the Dead. I'm sure that they weren't aware that it was to be their last. To be honest. If everyone didn't know that this was the last show, everyone probably would agree that it was just an ok show. and that is all that it is. Just an ok show. So... Let's get over ourselves people

When I entered Soldier Field that night, I had no idea it was going to be my last Dead show ever. But looking back after Jerry died, I think he knew it was going to be his last. I get chills when I think about it. He was off the entire show, as is well documented, but he came out for the encore and did Black Muddy River with such conviction and energy, it was almost like he knew he wasnt going to do it ever again. I mean c'mon, just the choice of that song alone speaks volumes. Listen to the rest of this show and then listen to BMR. Dont just listen to song, listen to the lyrics too. Take it all in. There is a definite difference. It was like his farewell. I remember from that night thinking about that song and how it completely turned the show around for me. Maybe he got a shot of something backstage, who knows... I like to think it was Jerry's last gift to all those that loved him and the Dead.

To the day..


R.I.P.

Thanks for everything.

Great sounding recording, but its hard to listen to... :(

its like how a small candle can light up a large room..

I saw my 1st GD show in 1978 at the Capitol Theatre in NJ . Since then Ive seen over 250 shows of all incarnations . For me it was never about quality, we all wanted a good show but it was more about the moment . That feeling you got during the pre song noodling " hey its goona be Scarlet " or whatever . We all had that moment and it was always good . For me it was human , it showed that the most unlikely of people could achieve greatness - even if it wasnt always pretty . I miss Jerry alot but the moment still is there , and it will be there at the Arts Center fpr me in August when I see Ratdog and the Allmans and when i see Phil in PA . Funny the stuff you realize in the days that lie between . Miss you big guy - 5 STARS and the gratest version of So Many Roads ever . Fare The Well .

And once again,the Assbag entity known as Tito, shows the world what he's really all about.... You really and truly are a sad and pathetic excuse for a human being.....As for the show,I give it Five Stars,just for it's significance,The End Of A Truly Special Era, 'Nuff Said.....

Donna and all the keyboard players. It has been a while for me too, the last time I listened to this show it was just too painful. How beautiful to read the compassionate thoughts of so many reviewers in 2008. I only saw the boys a few times in the 80's but I've listened to untold hours of so many shows and they really did give us a special gift. I'm getting older and feeling more pain every year and I can totally identify with how hard it must have been for Jerry, not to mention the other guys, to do those monster 90's tours. The point of this show is not the quality of the playing, it is the soul obvious in the effort. I pray Jerry is resting in true eternal peace. I've also discovered the music that Bob and Phil are still cranking out these days and am so thankful for them and to them for keeping the music alive.

All you young Deadheads out there....treasure this music. It is for the ages.

About me-1st show Alpine 84...saw 200plus shows(so what right)

Ok, This might sound like a life time acheivement review of this show but oh well. This show is great for so many reasons. 1st of all, it's the last show...very significant. To say it's not significant is plain wrong. Someone saw their 1st and last show here. Was it the Deads best show,obviously no. Was it there worst?Probably not. Listen to that drums/space, that's good isnt it? The last song EVER PLAYED was Box of Rain. You no likey? I'm sorry if you were not old enough to get to see a better show or if Jerry didnt blow your mind on this night. I wish I could have seen them in 77 or even better in 74. Improvisation is just that. Sometimes you have to hit some bad notes to get to the good ones. That's rock and roll. Anyhow, I give this show 5 stars for it's SIGNIFICANCE, it's the LAST SHOW. A must have download. RIP Capt'n Trips Thank you for your gift.

For those who can’t recognize these gentlemen rocked our asses for over 30 years. Solo tours in between seasonal tours and you know what? They did it for their fans. It started because they did it for themselves but after reinventing rock and roll and making a music that promoted spirituality…they lost their spirit at times. You get up everyday with the same attitude for work? They did it for Clive don’t forget.

Act as a fool and be a critic to the shows in the later years. They were more electric than anything Dave Mathews or Phish (in all their efforts) put together in one tour. They brought something new every tour. Spring to Summer to Fall tour…every tour they brought something new. Who has done that so far for music? Anyhow. I was in the taper section at Soldier Field both nights. To the “song selection” critic with zero stars for this show…you idiot…they pulled a double encore and brought out box of rain. So what, we got two vince songs…did you have somewhere else to go?? You should appreciate what you get more, you may actually like it. I can’t stand Dead critics. Talk to me in 2021 when DMB plays for 30 years or Phish who went on hiatus 5to7 years after hitting it big and then played with Tom Hanks and JayZ and tried mainstream for two mores years before collapsing. Anyhoot. I miss you Jerry. Love you and Thank You; to, Phil and Bob and Bill and Pigpen and any and all of the Vinces and Donnas of the band.

Chris Lawrence Little York, NY

I loved it, so many roads, unbroken, masterpiece, box of rain, and black muddy river. I loved it. So what if so many people hated it, I loved it, I love the grateful dead, and that was a good show. Relax and hear the message!! I am a recovering heroin addict, and I heard so much out of this show. Thank you Jerry, and your not alone up in heaven.

I am sick and tired of hearing these so called "fans" talking trash about this show. These guys gave their lives to us. Jerry could've been chilling somewhere trying to feel better, but he got up on that stage for all of us. To rate this show (or any show for that matter) is completly besides the point. We all have our prefrences for one reason or another what shows are better. Let's respect one another and just love the memories that The Dead gave us. PEACE!

I was at this show and I left early cause I remember thinking to myself that God himself could come on stage and play guitar and not be able to redeeme one of the worst dead shows ever(Tampa 95 was up there too) the song selection sucked, the band had 0 energy and when you c pix of Jerry from Chicago he looks faded. The last good dead show was 1st night albany summer 95. They came out of the gate smokin and never let up.plus no vince songs.2nd night St Louis was the last time they kicked it out there with some nice jams in the 2nd set.Chicago was done before it started.

So I gave it a 3stars just because its the boys. I was 15yrs old in 1995 and got to see GD here in VT at Highgate. I was only 15 and I could tell from all the live shows I had previously listened to that it was over. Sloppy Playing, bad vocals, etc. We all know how the story goes. I will say I would have rather been there than seeing some shit MTV band. These guys rocked it for a long long time and sadly this was the end. I can relate to Jerry now that I've been through Opiate addiction, it is not a fun time being sick! I really enjoyed Dylan opening the show on 6.15.95. That was great. Ok show, not as good as the 1994 show here in VT @ Highgate but I obviously had a blast. Then Jerry dies and I had nowhere to go but Phishing! Best route I've ever taken, I ended up liking Phish more than I ever did the Dead..for some reason, like a first love, GD will always be my favorite though I suppose! Smile, Smile, Smile!

to bobweirsucks...YOU SUCK

Wow - I finally got around to listening to this - shied away from it just cause - but you know - everybody is right - its an awful show - it's an amazing show - it's a part of the ride show - it's the end show the closing chapter - the unbroken chain - the one big circle that was the Grateful Dead finally collapsing around on itself - like a building coming down no matter how hard Phil tries to growl out his lyrics - it's done and he knows it and can't save it (built to last) we watch in awe.

It's all there - As a DJ for ten years I played Mars Hotel religiously - Unbroken Chain is one of my favorites and I missed hearing them do it live by one night in Philadelphia, and after hearing this version I'm glad I did - because my last show was up, up, up (St. Patricks Day 1995 - extended Revolution opening because a mic went out) fun, fun, fun because of who we were with and great seats - so I missed the cosmic plug being pulled and I'm glad I did - BUT now a new discovery - and wow blown away again...hey Jerry not fair.

In my opinion - it sounds to me that Jerry's head cleared in the middle of the show but to start the show and after the break I'm afraid he was badly polluted - So Many Roads is exactly what people think it is - singing is testifying - not just showing off and playing licks - performing has to be about something other than yourself or it gets old quick - this show is worth it for So Many Roads - yes "LAST" Muddy River is a muddy, worn, sad crawl off this mortal coil for Jerry and the bitter sweet in that - but So Many Roads is a last gasp testimony a rise up from the ashes and haze of addiction - a defiant - I ain't done yet, died with their boots on - final punch of consciousness and enlightenment - he knew it while he was in it too - don't doubt that for a minute - all the rest of the time just trying to get through it but here - this moment a final burst of light a super nova tour de force as to what it all is and what it was all - and that's the song folks - I've been on the bus since 1973 - and that version of So Many Roads lays it all out there - that's his last gasp and it's a beauty. I mean think of it - listen to it - the finite and the infinite are mingling right there for you through our conduit of all those years Uncle Jerry.

Thank you Jerry I'm sorry that heroin took you out god people stay away from that shit - like cigarettes took George Harrison we are just biological bodies and we need to be extremely careful about what we put into our bodies and the Earth.

It was great being born into a time on Earth when you Jerry were, and all the wonderful happenings and moments we all explored separately and together. Rest assured the Road Goes on Forever and the magic is not in any one man but in all of us and in our conscious and unconscious being - enjoy the ride - stay righteous, be kind - and smile, smile, smile.

Love to all,

Paul
Author-Journey Home

"as i sit and listen i cannot help but feel joy my experience with the grateful dead still remains a life changing one all the years all the memories and the music are PERMENANTLY embeded in my soul on august ninth Jerome john garcia gave his best for us just like all the other times he he performed it is now mar 2008 and i am still learning from the selfless acts they commited for some many years on so many roads I am forever grateful"


May I continue to play and project my soul until the day I die.
We miss you Cap'n Trips.. and we loved you through both best and worst

I have to agree with some of the other posters that if Jerry had taken a year off, he might still be with us today.

The last few shows I attended, Jerry looked exhausted and like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

What was his motivation for trudging ahead? A couple of reasons I suppose. These shows arent exactly dreamed up a week before they happen...It's called the 1995 tour because the band makes a yearlong commitment to the tour and the fans a year in advance.

I know the free-sprirted nature of deadheads prevents a lot of them from understanding this kind of commitment, but it is probably the main reason Jerry kept on truckin' despite his ailing health.

I think we should be even more grateful for the nights he had to struggle through a performance. He may have had no idea how grave his health situation had become. (even if he did know, he may have decided he was going to keep playing till his last breath.)

After all, he crawled off what seemed to be his death-bed in 1986, learned to play again, and gave us another nine years.

To think that I was almost 5 when they played this last show. I didnt know who Garcia or the Dead were. Not I'm nearly 18 and I love them. It's a shame I didn't appreciate the music sooner.

Looking at the negative reviews here, someimes it's good to remember that this is a different kind of music. Sure Jer was great in 1967, but he was great in 1977, and 1989 too. My best friend's life was changed by 8-4-79, not the greatest show by my standards. But the point is this: it's a kind of music where they spoke to us directly in a bizarre kind of social communion (and still do in the recordings). Any Dead show has the magic if you put yourself in the right place. A confession Rob Bertrando once made on Deadnet in the 90s was instructive: he and his taper friends were griping during the June 1974 tour that they wished they were still at those Portchester 70 shows. And as they griped, the Dead were laying down some of the most fabulous music in God's eyes, and they weren't hearing it because they were thinking about being somewhere else. What makes this music precious is always there---it's up to you to hear it. If you're interested, I have more theories about this stuff: http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~ganterg/dead.htm

as i sit and listen i cannot help but feel joy my experience with the grateful dead still remains a life changing one all the years all the memories and the music are PERMENANTLY embeded in my soul on august ninth Jerome john garcia gave his best for us just like all the other times he he performed it is now mar 2008 and i am still learning from the selfless acts they commited for some many years on so many roads I am forever grateful

The men finished strong. What a great thirty years they provided to us lucky fans. What more 'do you want them to do'. Keep it all in perspective when you listen to this grand finale(it is what it is) and don't too critical and picky. Consider yourself lucky(old son(s)- and daughters. Greatest band ever and a nice summer tour finale. Enjoy your retirement fellas! Play when you want and when you feel genuinely appreciated. I know that I never left any of your shows anything but happy,lucid, thankful,delighted and fulfilled.

this was only the beginning the musics guna live on in all uss forever

I BEGAN SEEING THE DEAD IN 1977. IT WAS ONE OF MY JOYS TO GO AND SEE THEM AT LEAST 5 TIMES A YEAR TILL 94. JERRY WAS NOT WELL BUT HE GAVE IT HIS ALL TILL THE END. I SAW SHOWS THAT WERE GREAT AND SOMETIMES GREAT BECAUSE I WAS STANDING ON THE MOON. I WAS THE YOUNGEST OF 6 KIDS ALL OF WHOM PLAY MUSIC AND LIVED FOR MUSIC. MY OLDEST BROTHER WENT TO WOODSTOCK WITH BOTH MY SISTERS HUSBANDS. THE CONCERTS WE ALL WENT TO COULD FILL AN ARCHIVE BY THEMSELVES. ITS WHAT WE LOVE TO DO. I FELT BAD AS JERRY BEGAN TO DECLINE PHYSICALLY. I CRIED AND GOT DRUNK THAT MORNING I HEARD FROM A GIRL FRIEND IN CALIFORNIA WHO CALLED ME WITH THE NEWS JERRY WAS GONE. I FELT LIKE IT WAS AN END OF AN ERA. JERRY STILL PLAYS. HE AND THE BAND ARE STILL MY FAVORITE. PEACE AND LOVE. NOT THE BEST SHOW, NOT THE ONLY SOW.

well it's been over 12 years and I still have yet 2 listen 2 this entire show, what I did want to listen 2 of course was the touch grey, roads n muddy river, obviuos irony in last show openr.
road here in deed has soul and might b one of the if not the best b/c its the last real good performance by jerry w/the dead b/c muddy river is all around sad and as i read in phil's book or somewhere Phil's heart was broken w.that rendition both jerry and his box rain kinda last ditch grasp at saving his 'ol pal"what do u want me to do to do 4 u 2 c u thru...for this is all a dream we dreamed 1 afternoon long ago" (like 30 some odd years) i guess i now have not seen a live show for as many years as i saw live shows majority of 150 or so from early 80's to 90 east(msg,nassau,rochester,carrierdome, niagara falls in 84 that whole tour in fact hampton, merriweather early 80's Rich stadium, oxford plains akron, etc etc west Greek, frost, shoreline, kasier, Oakland, LA, vegas AZ etc alpine in between) lost interest when we lost brent i was mad, saw the occasional local but no more tours for me, like many of us the ol man was a father figure, and now that im a father in my 40's i recall the days when i was a kid and saw him as a man, mmmmm talk about a TRIP. well tears come to my eyes every time i do listen to that so many roads "lord, so many road to ease my soul" jerry adds the lord, he knows he's goin to see him, and the plainness at the start "I thought i head a jug band playin if i dont who will" (mother mcree's!) to the sadness of "..lonely and i call ur name no place left 2 go aint that a shame" "i've been walkin down that road," as if he were really the person the song was about. well will not rate this show b/c it is unrateable, often to this day i recall those days and the innocence and simplicity. Jerry's light was a bright one and he always gave it all to the music, and he lives on...

[EDIT again, and I wonders why?]

For one, Gaybo, lol, that makes me laugh, even though it is not very original.

But unclesam77, isn't the review suppose to about criticism? That has been one of the points through out this posting mess. To tell the show how it is. And yes, there are some songs, that I think I mentioned (not by name), where you can hear Jerry really feeling it.

All in all, I understand all of your points, and it really isn't worth any of our times to keep flaming back and forth. I was just trying to convey, that this show isn't really that great to listen to. And that, besides a couple of songs, it really sounded like the band was going through the motions....which excludes the condition of Jerry, his goes without saying.

I just wonder sometimes, if the fans of such mass gathering would except change as much as the whole idea of seeing their band live, maybe some of these "jambands" (sorry I hate that word as well) would still exist. I mean, with the talent this band had, I think it was a waste to only corner them into a certain catalog or "package" of songs. I agree, the catalog was vast, but I am sure they wanted to live a little a change, but couldn't.

Why? I don't know, Dylan did it, despite all the "booing" and whatnot, and has done it more than once.

Anyway, rambling on. Peace all! And for those of you, don't take my work for a grain of salt. I mean, who the f@#! am I?

[EDIT for those speaking to me]

I really do want to start a war on MY OPINION, so I will try my best.

CT, why the door? What did I say wrong, other than giving my honest opinion of the show? I really didn't think it was all that special, and even stated the obvious, they sounded tired.

How is that wrong to say? Again I do not understand the mentality of half you people, and your negative responses to someones mind. I did not come down, negate, nor take away ANYTHING from either one of these musicians. Nor did I EVER say that I could do better.

I did say, that I am sure they were and have been sick and tired of playing the music to all of you, wouldn't you? I mean, don't you think after playing a song for so many years, you would get tired of doing it? I say yes, even if they were blessed with the ability to chaneg it up and never play it the same twice. Again, you just don't get it. Musicians are artists, and they need to create. If they don't it gets stale. And I am sure playing DarkStar a million times would get old. Don't you think a painter would become tired of painting the same painting over and over, year after year, even though he changed colors, brushes, and added or subtracted things each time? Again, I would say yes. Why, because I am one myself, and the best feeling in the world, other than having a magic moment on a jam, is creating something new and fresh.

As for you Dylan, I am sorry I hurt your feelings in regards to Phil. And FYI, I listen to Phil & Friends quite a bit on this archive, so I have no issues with Mr. Lesh and I absolutley love his bass playing. Again, I only commented on the vocals, and how bad they sounded in contrast to the music. So, I guess stating my opinion is wrong? Whatever.

As for listening to this and that, that is not the point of this review. It is to comment on the show. Not to say, compared to this show in the 70s' or that show in the 80s' this song or that song was better. I do agree however, to point someone to a better show in light of this VERY UNENERGIC UNCARING show. But alas, since most of you are such experts in this matter, I will keep my mouth shut. Besides, the best way to enjoy everything, both good, bad, ugly, and beautiful is to try and listen to as much of these shows as you can.
[END]

This is meant to be a review of the show not a whining and bitching session.

I never have gotten into the "scene", and I in ways, I am glad I didn't. As it appears that most of y'all only care about yourselves and whom has seen what and how it was...blah blah blah

I am going to listen to this show, and I will then make my 1st rating based on "HOW I THOUGHT" it was. It will be pure and honest, with nothing weighted due to this or that.

Hate to jump into the fire with the rest. But if you honestly think about it, it was you that made the band go down hill. You all became greedy, even when with all the tapes in circulation and side projects...you couldn't get enough.

It is sad, some of these jam bands get around the whole corporation only to still be held down by the scene. Odd, music is the most beautiful and pure thing, but when it is too good, too special, it almost becomes tainted. People don't want to others in, nor do they want the music to stop.

You have to understand, these are people, yes people you are watching, listening to. They have lives, feelings, goals. Let them be, let them do, specially if you love them so much.

Peace

[edit]
I heard the set and I must say, really was not all that. However, seems the vocals weren't there, specially for Jerry in some songs, sounded a little low. Overall, Jerry sings when he wants to, and it does sing and play well when you have him on a song he wants to do. I guess, you know, after all those years of playing so many of those tunes, he got bored. Do you blame him? Heck, I know I would, even if you were blessed enough to "supposedly (sp?)" never play the same song twice.

Anyway, I enjoyed listening to this, except when Phil sang. I am sorry Phil, just can't handle your vocal. I realize you have had issues, surgery and all that, but honestly, how can you live with yourself singing over something and killing it as you do?

I am giving this show a 2. Why? There was no energy, they sounded like they were tired, and a bunch of old men...which they kind of are/were. Also, what were they thinking about when they agreed to the keys player? In the opener, it sounded like someone was playing along with a casio keyboard they got from christmas and it made it on the tape somehow.

Anyway, thanks all for giving me an interesting read about a show. Odd parallel you fans have with phans. It is too bad that Jerry couldn't have done what Trey did, and kill the monster before it killed him. But even if he did, I am sure all the hate that would have come out of it, would have brought him down as well.

Enjoy the music people, please, stop whining about it...you miss the point if you stand around picking it apart.

C

Honestly, the majority of this show is hard to listen to, knowing the pain that Jerry was in at the time. I'm a fellow recovering addict and "It hurts me too". I discovered this show in my former life and the So Many Roads and Black Muddy River were a treat in the good times and a crutch in the bad. I just listened to them again for the first time since I've straightened up (18mos ago). I was sitting on the couch with my lady friend, who's a virgin to the Dead. I was explaining the background of the show and Jerry's struggle as I was searching for it. I played "Roads" first, and when I heard Jerry's voice, I thought "Damn, I'm gonna' cry". Well, as soon as he started into that first guitar solo, I was defenseless. It felt pretty damn good, too. Its so hard to rate something like this, so I won't try to. "All I know is the sun STILL shines and the rain refuses to fall" on this old 'head.

I'm not sure why there is so much criticism of the show. We all know who Jerry is and was and that he had some skeletons in his closet. The scene was far gone by '95, but listening to the show, I hear some nice jams, and well, I've heard worse GD shows. I think Jerry finished strong, as you can hear in his JGB shows too. The guy was a pickin' junkie and this was the last chapter of a great era.

The sound quality is very good. Rythem Devils and Phil are anchoring the whole band for a decent show. Jerry has enough tone, and voices are soulful enough. Enjoy it for what it is.

I also read an interview with Phil from 1980 (I think it was in David Gans' book Conversations With the Dead) where he was asked about Unbroken Chain and why they didn't play it live any more. He talked about damaging his voice and also that it was a complex arrangement, and then in what seemed an off-hand comment he said that if they ever played it again it would portend the "end of the Grateful Dead". No shit. The first time they played it after that statement was of course 3/19/95, and I think it's no accident it appears here as well.

Just think of this as Jerry's farewell to all his devoted fans. Don't get caught up in the quality of the voices. Listen to it for what it was. Jerry was tired and unhealthy but he still toured. May not have been the right thing but that's what it was.....Remember he died one month to the day from this last concert. Would any of you who criticized the quality rathered they didn't do this show? If yes then you are not truly a Dead Head. For me I look to the setlist and take meaning from the line up of songs. I don't even think I will rate this show. I know when I listen to it the quality doesn't come to mind, only that this was the last show the Dead ever did. And that to me guys is the sad sad fact of it all. What once was will never be again. Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there.....gratefully yours,

Hey man... theres no to critisize anything about this show. We all know that the dead kind of struggled towards the end of the road but you know what man, its just a part of the ride. When you listen to this show dont try to pick out the bad parts of it. You have to think about how serious and touching of a moment it is to hear Jerry sing black muddy river as his last song. this is it man... enjoy it.. dont bash it. Black muddy river, roll on forever

Hey Raybo,

I understand where you are comming from in regards to the painter comparison. Alot of pressure was placed on the Dead to constantly tour even when Jerry was paining severly. The scene couldnt just let the band take a hiatus or stop playing all together if they want to. I wouldn't want to play Dark Star 477 times either. Its hard to remain genuine and to "never repeat the same song twice" after playing 3,500 shows.

My point about Phil was that he was doing what he could to hold a weaker show together, not that your opinion was "wrong". Thats what makes an opinion an opinion. I as well listen to P&F and admit that after this show he has had MUCH better vocal moments than this. It is sad when everything is deteriorating so much that Phil, the most vocally challenged :) of the vocals in the group has to step up and hold it together.

Heres to the good times and respecting eachothers OPINIONS.

People lets not argue who the bigger Dead Head is, lets stick to the music. Muscially this was a tough show to stomach. Between song selection, sound and fatigue this show was boring. Wih that being said, listen to the so many roads. If your like me you will have come full circle!

to all you total idiots that are having a fucking cow because some people are saying this show sucked,take a fucking pill already.Its called a review.Some people actually read the reviews to get a feel on how the show may be,and this show sucked.Its not all rainbows and fucking waterfalls man.Review the show,stop telling stupid fucking stories about how your car broke down that night and you were high on acid and some kind sister with fucking disgusting hairy armpits miracled you and it started raining and bob weir was singing to you and your dad fucking died and Garcia played "hes gone" for him.Jesus Christ you morons are stupid.I saw the GD over 300 times and i liked the music,not the ridiculous poser fucking hippy bums that ruined the good venues(Deer Creek,Greek Theater to name a few)i didnt dress like a goddamn bum and try to screw people out of everything,i went for the music,and thats what it should be.I read fucking reviews where people say they saw Garcia crying during Stella Blue or So many roads or whatever.I ask you this question,why in the fucking world would the man cry while he was singing Stella Blue?Cry?Tears?Huh?Maybe tears of joy for all the fucking money he was making.Just remeber,Garcia was in my mind the greatest musician ever,but he wasnt some peace loving hippie wanting to change the world and supporting"The Cause".He was a junk food eating,Deadbeat Dad,womanizing junkie.You may say"Tito,you just dont get it".No YOU just dont get it,open your fucking eyes.

Today was the day the I finally decided to listen to this show. I have around 800 shows and have had this one for about 5 years and have never listened till today. Im not sure why I waited. I couldnt be at this show because, well I couldnt be at any show after somewhere in 1992. The scene was just too far gone at that point.

Listening to So many Roads and Black Muddy River was very intense.I really cant put into words the emotions that ran through me as I was listening, but im sure that there are many of you out there that dont need an explanation.

One thing about Jerry being gone though. A lot of you people say how you miss Jerry. Well even though Ive seen so many shows, I never knew Jerry, the person and The Grateful Dead had died some time before he did. I cant really say that I miss Jerry becuase I never knew Jerry, the person. I cant say that I miss Jerry as a musician either because just about every single day of my life, The boys, led by Jerry, take my mind on a journey and make my soul glow. There is no one that will ever be able to take my mind on the explorations that Jerry did with his guitar. No one will ever take my soul to those places that I never knew existed. I cant dwell on what might never happen again though. I choose to just be thankful for what did.

Thank you so much Jerry :)

The door's thataway. Nobody's making you listen... Besides, I've heard these guys sound alot worse than this. There were some truly horrific train wreck shows back in the 60's and 70's. You know, where everybody forgets the words, stops playing too soon or overshoots a curve in the song, the lighting designer blacks out the stage in the middle of a hot song and the guys are all pissed off for the duration. This is peanuts in terms of major fuck ups. The Old Man was tired, f'er Christ sakes. It ain't easy pourin' your soul out night after night for 40 years to a bunch of snotty kids that think they got a direct line on Nirvana that begins and ends with how good a guy plays that night. I'll give 5 stars to any one of you Negative Nellies that can rip it up like this here a month before y'er pushin' up roses. I'm done now. Go find another show to listen to for free.

-CT

This show is a thousand times better than anything anyone on this forum ever played in their lives.

Ditto!!!!!!!!

Un-Grateful bastarts. I'm sick of these so called experts baging on Garcia cause he's not perfect..wasn't that the point behind the hole thing? Had Jerry took off a few years he'd still be with us. He gave his life for his fans right up till the bitter-sweet end. This wasn't the great 68-69 band, or the Superdead from the 70's, or even the monsters of the Brent era. No this was the Grateful Dead and Jerry at the end of his days. You fake deadheads would probley rip on Louie Armstrong's last show when he was near death, or say Johnny Cash's last recording sucked compared to his early work, or say Billie Holiday's singing on Lady in Satin sucked. Your missing the F***in' point. When someone you love is facing death it takes on an even deeper level of emotion. He did this shit for you remember that! I am so Grateful for being at that show and I will defend ever show they did because they did for us not the $ or the fame for us. Jerry was a worrior 30 years of live performing when his health was failing he stood on that stage and gave his soul away every night. Just listen to so many roads the best live performance the Grateful Dead ever did in any era in my oppion. The emotion he puts in that song and the meaning behind the words break my heart and make me cry till this day. I want to thank Jerry Garcia for the love he gave away every time his played music. Remember if every show was perfect they would be Yes not the Grateful Dead.

Thank you Guys!

I saw the Dead earlier this tour at Three Rivers, and must agree, it was not the band at it's full potential, yet there were many times in my own history of seeing them (1984-1995) that they did not always play to their full potential. Much like Three Rivers, I think musically.....not so bad, vocally.....not so good (especially Jerry). If this was the only show you ever got to see live, it's too bad, but if you saw them many times, you may have seen better, and may have seen worse. Listen here at the Archive, and find some you like, enjoy them, remember them if you were there, and never forget them.

I don't like to attend open-casket funerals, as I prefer to remember the person as they were, when they were healthy & alive.

Similarly, I'm glad I wasn't at this show.

RIP, Jerry.

In my memories you remain Forever Young.

Doug

Love this version!! If anyone knows where or how i can download, buy, Trade...whatever please please let me know! Thanks for the mighty fine trip!

For those of you that want to gripe about this show this, and this show that, please sit back smell the roses and think about the big picture. This was all done for us, as fans. Be glad it was there when it was. In my eyes there is no Dead show that deserves less than 5 stars. Lets keep this thing going!

I started seeing the Dead in 1970. I started to lose interest in 1978.

The band's magnificence begins really in 67 when the band first shifted identities from Pig Pen's backup band to Jerry's backup band.

The music they produced in the years 67-69 is really in a class by itself. During this period, the music was (instrumentally) centered on Jerry's unique guitar playing. There is no better example of the Dead's musical magic, for which to introduce someone to the band, than "Dark Star" on "Live Dead."

Jerry's guitar lines were the central heart around which Phil, Bobby and the drummers flowed around.

Jerry started to retreat from this position as musical voice "on top" in the early 70's.

He switched from Gibson to thinner sounding Strat and then the Alembic.
He changed his finguring technique from a three-fingered rock-blues style to a four-fingered jazz style.

There are positives and negatives to be drawn from this change. For me, the musical high point of the band (instrumentally speaking) is the Live Dead era, specifically, early 1969.

The rise and fall of the Grateful Dead is charted to the rise and fall of Jerry Garcia. As early as 1973, his thinning guitar style began to take on a meandering, doddling nature.

The "last" shows from Winterland in Oct. 74 show the band in decline. Mainly because of Jerry. I was there.I saw all five nights.

After the hiatus, they reemerged to mixed musical success. The GAMH show broadcasted nationwide in 8/75 showed the band in truly fine form. This was like sex after a long breakup.

When they began touring the following year, the same trends in Garcia's playing reemerged. However, for some reason (I suspect, believe it or not, the *initial* influence of heroin), Jerry's playing found a new lease on life, particularly for some reason in May 77.

The shows from this short period have some remarkable playing. Unfortunately, this was ephemeral.

I saw them after the Egypt shows in Oct. 78 and clearly something was wrong. Jerry's hands simply could no longer move about the fretboard with the facility of prior times.

Within a year or so, he lost his voice.

A year ago, I saw on PBS the broadcast of the closing of Winterland shows from 1978 (or was it 1980 -- I forget...). If anything, it made me feel embarrassed. "St. Stephen shall remain, all he lost he shall regain..." ????

I don't think so.

Later, I saw the Dead sporadically, maybe three or four times in 1979 and the early 80s.

Musically, the band had very little to say, mainly because the lead guitarist could no longer really play, and he certainly couln't sing, as he had physically lost his voice.

There were one or two truly magical, beautiful songs written (Black Muddy River, Foolish Heart), but essentially, these musicians had nothing relevant to add to the conversation.

I will always love the Dead. Their music stands unique in history. I still listen to them (shows from the 60s and very early 70s). They are a part of me.

I mean no disrespect to Jerry's memory; but a fact is a fact. The man's spirit failed. He became a junkie. According to some, his first use happened in the 1974 (short) Europe tour.

In the 80s I happened to reconnect with an old friend from high school. He now was part of the Dead scene. These people were using heroin.
Dead Heads were now heroin users. Okeeeee.....

This is why the music is so bad. This is what happened to the dream. It got defiled by hard drugs. Jerry's spirit was not strong enough. Did you know that Emmet Grogan of Diggers fame from SF Summer of Love was found dead homeless in a NYC subway train some years ago...

Phil and Bobby survived. Jerry, for whatever reason, could not.

May he rest in peace. He was a shell of a man when he died. But he had ceased to have anything musically worthwhile to say at least 15 years earlier.

A shame.

Sorry.

i don't like to listen to these shows from 92-95, just because it's really not good, sure some gems in there, as there will always be, but i could really care less that this is the last show. the last show for me is the last one i just listened to. the dead to me are alive and well , bringing me immense joy on a daily basis. yeah it's a shame about jerry, he finally gave in to what demons were haunting his soul for many years, but he lived 53 years, so be grateful for it. let's keep the spirit alive, no matter how strange and sad life can get.

it comes down to one thing as it regards the "review" below... did you go to see the dead for a cosmic awakening, or did you go to see a rock'n'roll band?

As much as everyone wants to believe in some grandious collective where everyone was a member of some family, etc... and the world's problems would all be solved if Jerry would only play Morning Dew... that's great and really cool in a very idealitic sense.

The reality is that just like the stones, the who, jimi hendrix, led zeppelin, janis joplin, the band, bob dylan, et al, etc, etc and so on... The Grateful Dead were a rock band and they were artists. They charged people money to come and see them perform their art - rock'n'roll music.

There are moments where I start to think otherwise... then I recall spending a whole ton of money to watch Jerry forget words, not play leads, and nod out on the microphone...

A different journey, indeed...

I am so gr8ful that there of us out there, still, over 12 years later, who still lament about the loss of the Jerry. I regularly shed tears for our loss and think of Jerry, the band, and the memories several times daily.

I unforunately was not at this last show, but have it on various different versions of bootleg. To those of you who dare critize the performance, I seriously pity you for missing the point. It was another trip, another adventure, another place the boys brought us to as they had so many times before. Regardless of the the quality...they we still playing. I'd give anything to still be able to see them live and go back on tour, to get back involvoled in the parking lot scence. On or off the mark, they played their best, and desreve nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation.

The worst Dead show was a more positive and enlighening experience that the the best perforance of any other band. Period.

For 30 years they gave us all. In return they will always have my heart, my ears, and my mind. None of that could fade away.

There's a line in "So Many Roads" that goes "Tell
me why you treat me so unkind". To listen to this
show is one thing, but I sat seventh row center on this night and eleventh row center the night
before. These shows are best viewed in their context. They were the last two shows of a run
described by Phil Lesh in his book as the "Tour
from Hell". In this light, I will concede that
the preformances were eneven at best. However,
"So Many Roads" and the encores make this more
than worthwhile to listen to. If you're a true
Deadhead and you can do it without getting choked up, you've got my congradulations.

i felt a need to chime in after reading almost all or all 'reviews' of this show so far, many agree that this show was not good, many of us have seen and heard many very good and great grateful dead shows, i myself think that vince was atrocious and after brent the sound was gone, though the nineties had moments, no one can deny this.

this show gives me the shivers, because i believe jerry, and phil. knew something, maybe that it was the last show. listen to jerry in black muddy, his vocals, he really does 'moan,' like the ripples he sings of, and the richness to his tone as he sings, and his inflections, bring us jerry from the soul, and i think hefelt something, he says ' stones fall from my eyes instead of years,' not tears, and it's not a fuck up because he BELTS it.

The show was over and phil bombed the first note box bomb and they were off, and listen to him SCREAM these word: such a long long time to be gone, and a short time to be here .... everyone knows phil can't sing but he can scream when he means it and man did he mean that .....

thank you jerry, for the 'short time' you were here and will meet, all of us, shaken' our hands, when we make to the promised land ..... bless you jerry and all who read this

I sent off my comment before concluding with my acknowledgments to sugar23ee, Thank you for the kind reminder. Bill was a great inspiration and mentor to me! That being said, let it be known, these reviews are simply a blog where we can all share our memories of "the laughter, the love, and the music"! I don't take the harsh comments all that seriously. Peace.

I wasn't at this show, however I have listened to it several times. It wasn't their best, so what and now we all know why. It pains me to read some of these reviews. I have been to many, many shows between 1976 and 1995 and frankly those of you who feel it necessary to be a critic til the end miss the point. Someone once said they are not the best at what they do, they are the only ones that do what they do". Know who?????????? As for me, I wouldn't trade one minute of the 300+ shows I've seen.

Much love, Jerry!

Much much LOVE!!!

You guys are all the best .. having been at the 95 Chicago run .. for what its worth .. it was clear that Mr. Garcia Gave us what he was capable of at the time .. I'm listening right now .. and remembering so .. why not get your own band together and grind it out for 30 years + ... let me know how that works out for you ..

I was also at Stevie Ray Vaughan's last show at alpine .. so maybe he's terrible too i mean .. he wasn't even on heroin or anything or Clapton either .. i mean Clapton doesn't even play his own solos.. and I saw Ray Charles *very* late in his career also not on heroin .. and man I tell ya .that guy is just AWFUL i mean .. he's frigging blind for god sakes ... .
... get over yourselves ...
(sometimes id give anything to have one more lousy rotten weekend with the dead ..)

i went for the magic .(read Goosebumps .. an I *Never* failed to get goosebumps at a dead show) . and yes it wasn't 8 solid hours of it .. it got down to little glimpses _ sat Visions - Sun BMR etc.. so .. have a great day ......reminds me of an old Joke .. What did one Deadhead say to the other when the drugs ran out ? These guys SUCK!.. anyway glad i had the experience.. hope you all get your Music Critic Jobs At Billboard or Rolling Stone .. or whatever .. Peace & Love .... p.s. one poster did actually get the point .. I'd rather be at a Lousy Dead Show than anywhere else ...

Maybe he should have died earlier ..say 1986 from the coma .. then you all would have been spared so many many poor poor pitiful ( Zevon reference - yeah .. he's dead too so he must suck as well ) dreadful agonizing eternities .. of all those lousy terrible shows that followed .. and we could be kibitzing about how 1985 was the Worst Year Ever ! and How this Brent guy really isnt Pigpen and my god none of those men went to Juilliard or Berkelee how can they Possibly call themselves musicians ?!?!?!? .. anyway .. 11 years later .. cant just let it go .. ??? so in the end ... 3 stars 5 star historical significance 1 star for showing up one last time .. . Best they could muster . also check out Mickey's book... ( can't remember which one & I paraphrase ) .. ."Magic doesn't just happen .. you have to set a place for it" .. see you all on the road

I'm going to listen to the whole lousy show now ... cause I can -
My Honest Heartfelt Thanks to every last one of you tapers ... for preserving all that crap !!!!

R.I.P Jerry , Brent , Pig, Vince , Keith and anyone i may have missed - Dick , RamRod , Kesey et.al.

this is the last show sadly, i will give it a 5 for its memory. my cousin was there, its hard to listen to it. out of respect.

Jack, sounds like you ARE on...There's plenty of room so bring friends. So what if we got on a little late, that just means the vibe is being kept alive and growing!

Touching that Jerry's last song was Black Muddy River, so much to think about between the lines of music and history itself. The saddest thing is the last song the boys did together was Phil's tone deaf box of crap. I love phil, the bombs that shook foundations across the world but he can sing fer shat.

I miss the scene but we are all blessed that we have all of these shows to charish.

God Bless

yes i didn't hop on any busses, no i never even went to any shows, never expierienced a dead show... that don't mean i dont get teh same vibes as you when you pop in an album. I love the grateful dead. I dont nessicarly have any memories from concerts but i still have memories when i pop in a cd. I went to italy once and forgot my cd on the plane and the only cd i had was the one i had in my cd player and that was american beauty, thats all i had to listen to... now every time i hear that album it reminds me of Italy.

To the young one.If you don't get on the bus,you can't get to know the riders.

Im only 16 but i heard this from my biology teacher after i told him my one of my favorite songs is unbroken chain. he said there was a myth of rumor that the dead would never play unbroken chain live and if they did something bad would happen. they played unbroken chain and jerry died... a little wierd but probably just coqencedence. anyway just a weird fact. The show isn't all that grate not very much energy and the one time they did play unbroken chain it sucked...

Right on Zim. Box of Rain was written by Hunter about Phil's father dying. That makes it being the last song extra sad. :.( Thanks for the memories! :)

If you were there you should remember that the boys were walking off the stage when Phil started into Box of Rain. You should treasure that moment of clarity that defining moment. I was 17 and that was it for me. I knew it was special then and as I saw someone else review say that Phil pushed through it like never before. The first and second night were the only times I got to see them Ever I rate this a five because I was there and my memories of the night make the show one of the best, I love to listen to all of the missed lyrics and laugh again and again. Jerry is missed.

Good or bad is indiferent...what matters is the memories. Those that were at the last show, this is priceless. Those that were at other shows, you have your memories as well. It is all about the memories and the trip it takes you on!

In 1995 I was 16 years old. My best friends older sister was really into the grateful dead and turned me onto them. She had been to a few shows and had tickets to this show. She offered my friend and I tickets to go. We knew our parents would never let us (at 16 years old!) go to Chicago to see the Dead, so we decided to lie and sneak out and drove 3.5 hours to Chicago. I had the best time ever. It was an amazing experience that I will remember and cherish forever. This is actually the first time I have listened to the show since it was played live. Just sitting here listening to the music and knowing that I was there gave me the chills. I wish I was able to go to more shows, but I am forever thankful that I atleast made it to one show...the last one...that makes it even more cherishable! My freinds sister passed away 2 years ago, so not only am I thankful of the grateful dead and the experience that I had, I am thankful for my friend for making it all possible. R.I.P. Jerry and R.I.P Melissa
Thank you both for the wonderful memories!

Good show..
OR
Bad show...

It was Jerry's final show.


We ALL miss him.... R.I.P Old Man

I would have to agree with most of the other reviews. This was a sub-par Dead show. Compared to other Dead shows this was really a one star performance. So many Roads is good, and Mickey and Bill had a fun Drums session. Can't say much more about it. However, compared to other shows in general, it is still the Dead, and I'd rather be a one star Dead show, than a Bon Jovi, or Whitesnake, or Kelly Clarkson show. So it is what it is. It is worth listening to for the historical value, and I agree with one of the review, I didn't know I still had tears to shed for Jerry, but listening to this, and knowing this was the last, my heart was broken again. Peace.

this day I will always remember being the last dead show....
and a month later jerry would be dead..... this show although
has some high points you could just tell about 1995 shows
in general that the dead were at the end of the road......sad
but true and 12 years later I am truely grateful for bands
like DSO and Ratdog and JGB that keep the magic and spirit of
Jerry alive and well..... thanks to the archive I love the music
ten times more than I did 12 years ago........

Can anyone tell me if theres any way to record these so's I can burn them/ my email is ellard356@hotmail.com

I see it an insult to the Grateful Dead not to vote on the merits of the music and love/energy produced as a result. Vote how you feel. For my taste, this show is very poor with only a few enjoyable moments.

Overall it is a good show for the 90's era. Some people dislike this show because it was the last, but it wasnt a bad show bu t anymeans. I myself am too young to have seen the dead w/ jerry , sigh. So I have to get my fix with Phil and Freinds and The Dead 2003,2004.

I think that the Grateful Dead had a great run, and will always be the greatest rock and roll band of all time. 30 years, 30000+ songs, I mean no one can top what they did. RIP Jerry

PS: Vince Welnick pass away this morning. GD keyboardist 90-95 . RIP

yes i must agree nothing stands out to me just historical value


*since when were we not allowed to be negative in our criticisums??????isnt that what critics do they are suppose to tell u if something is good or not. plus art is made to be criticized and if everything thing was just "stayed postitive" and was good then art would lose its value, b/c then essentially there is no difference so if i were to compare garcia to kelly clarkson we essentially can say that they both are awesome(since we have to stay positive)and there is no difference then right?plz art is made to be criticized seriously though its people like that that give 4 or 5 star ratings to 2 or 3 star shows come on guys just admit it they were just average a lot of the times and suck some of the time so please 4 or 5 star ratings to shows that were just average come on be alittle critical because i see 4 or 5 stars on every show except for audience recordings come on guys

om a side note-we need more ppl like skuzzlebutt ppl that are actually listening not just barely listening thinkin that the dead were these magical musical titans come on guys lets just admit they were just not always like that they were human and how was his/her review egotisical???????? i think it was just plain honest

I will always love this band but can't give this show a five just for posterity's sake (or even a two for that matter). There's no energy here at all. The whole band sounds sloppy and bored, it's simply not a good show and a piss poor representation of what the dead were all about. They literally crawled across the finish line. Total crap.

I was lucky enough to catch the last three Dead shows ever - St. Louis and Chicago. I was traveling with a tour friend, and we got to share these final moments with Jerry together. Now over 10 years later, my tour friend is now my wife and we have an incredibly beautiful 14 month old son. I cannot express how badly I wish my little guy could have seen Jerry, however he definitely loves the music (his favorite song seeems to be Shakedown Street).

Anyways, it's strange how life takes you places you never would have guessed... So this show, Jerry was absolutely dying in front of our eyes. My incredible denial kept me from admitting what I knew in my heart/soul that he was leaving soon. I tried to ignore the lyrical mishaps and sometimes inaudible guitar (he'd turn himself down a lot), but the one thing he never denied us was his soul. There were those tunes that Jerry just identified with and his brilliance just poured out into all of our souls... His frailty, his humility and willingness to just drop his guard and tell us what his heart had to say.

So Many Roads was one of those moments, in fact the most powerful soul experience I ever witnessed from Jerry (in my 69 shows). He was just laying it out there as a gift and affirmation maybe, a resignation to the fact that life is fleeting and so precious that it should be lived in every moment. At least that's what I take away from it.

Unbroken Chain was actually pretty well played, and of course was a surprise coming out of space, really sweet. I was totally bummed in the moment when Jerry was winding down Unbroken Chain and Bob jumped in with Sugar Mag... If you listen very closely to the end of Unbroken, I swear you can hear Jerry slowly trickle down and wind up on what i swear was the opening chord of Morning Dew, or possibly China Doll. Imagine if he could have given us just one more final Dew...

The double encore of Black Muddy River > Box of Rain made up for Jerry getting snubbed. BMR was the first one i'd ever heard, so it was quite a moment regardless, let alone that he couldn't have picked a more fitting and tragic song. His last story was about him taking a walk towards death and finally sing himself a song, just like he did for us for so long. Strange to think of his perspective of the whole Dead experience... very different from ours! But regardless of our "point of view" we were ALL connected directly on a soul level in those deep and magical moments, which gives me consolation and will always remind me of the incredible mystery this "life/dream" really is.

PS: I have to rate this show as a 5 for the simple fact that it IS a 5 to me personally.

Interesting to see the strong feelings this show elicits.

With all the other shows here I don't see how this can be rated highly at all. I'm giving it a one. I have listened to it twice, thinking maybe I was missing something, but am almost certain that I will never listen to it again.

Why? Well, for starters because of the overall lack of energy. The drummers are lethargic, Phil's contirbutions are relatively uninspired, Weir sounds almost as though he is playing with a different group, and poor Jerry's playing just isn't very good here- there's simply nothing interesting or impressive going on in his playing.

Secondly, I don't rate shows relative to their era. A great show is a great show period, whether its 3/1/69, 11/6/77, 3/27/88 or whatever. Same applies to bad shows, and this most certainly is bad show (as are most from '95 and '95, sad to say). I'm not cutting this one any slack because it came during the weak 90s.

Still, all reveiws are just opinions, and opinions definately can bring out some firey passions. I'm not writing this to piss off fans of 90s Dead or "take sides" in the back-and-forth that seems to have taken place here. I'm just throwing in my two cents that what I hear here is very poor in light of what I know this band was capable of on a good night.

I find it odd that the previous reviewer says "no one" can honestly tell him they don't like "Samba In the Rain" when almost nobody I've ever met liked it.

As for the 90s, if people think they sucked, then to them, they sucked. End of discussion. If you liked them, great, then to you they didn't suck.

What isn't great is this final Dead show. Just hollow and lifeless; not much I can add to what others have already noted. If this show hadn't been the last one there wouldn't be 10 reviews here, much less almost 200, and the average rating would be one and a half stars. The show just isn't good.

i like many feel that this was not one of the best performances the band has had. and, yes it does rank near the bottom of the 90's class of shows for obvious reasons. i was at many of the shows in 95 and almost all of the summer shows that year and can tell you guys first hand that most of them were not worth much of note - maybe with the exception of the rfk shows. that being said, those who continue to trash the 90's as a whole remind me of the guy in a comic book store that will say, ohhh well the way superman was written 40 years ago is far superior to now. would you want to continue reading the same comic from 40 years ago or would you like a change, some new innovations. the dead experimented throughout their career and changed up things as they saw fit. i love the shows from the 60's and 70's but would be bored if that's all i listened to. there are reasons why the band itself stopped playing some songs: boredom on the road. there's a reason why we flinch whenever we hear the same five dead songs on the radio all of the time: no variety. what the band bought to the table in the late 80's and early nineties was an exciting change. although vince's vocals are not the greatest no-one can tell me honestly that they don't like samba. it's a great tune(especially if sung by someone else). so, no this was not a good show by any means, and i defy anyone to contradict me with true sincerity and truthfulness, but, let's stop trashing the 90's as a whole - there were several outstanding performances - i know 'cause i was there(not relying on the tapes as a reference. btw, this is coming from someone who saw them for over 3 decades.

The Grateful Dead had a great time. But now, when you listen to such records from 91 to present, you feel that they're on the way down from their peak. Jerry very sick, Lesh plays shit, sorry but his higtime is over. No Brent Mydland...

"Lord I've been walking death road."
God bless you Jerry, you gave us a great time full of beautiful music.

I agree with those giving this show poor marks. It's simply not very good; the musicianship is sloppy, just as it usually was the last few years, but what's worse is that the "jams" aren't really jams at all, just sort of pointless noodling. A poor performance not just measured against the 70s and 80s but against any spot on the band's career other than these last 2-3 awful years. It's likely those who are rather hysterically defending it are doing so because they either feel like they have to because it was the last show or because they simply don't believe the Dead are capable of producing anything substandard. I suppose there are also those who got on the bus late and just stubbornly refuse to believe they missed the best part of the ride, but that's the way it goes. A disappointing end to a great and important band.

Here we go again with people acting like little babies, getting all irritated because objective listeners won't by into the 90s hype and bow down and praise this show or shower it with four and five star reviews because it's the "last one" or because the Dead were "better" than all other bands. I've got an idea, how about just rating it what you want to and stop crying because others won't "be positive" and rate it the way you want it rated. My opinion is that this show is lousy,anyone who's ever played music will tell you how sloppy it is, and you don't need to be a Deadhead to tell the band is tired. No points for history- this show really is as bad as some of the one star reviews say it is.

WHAT A BUNCH OF BITTER DEADHEADS! I don't know how you can give this one star. It seems just to prove your obviously superior knowledge to those people who rate it better. Although lyrically somewhat ruff (when did Phil ever sing in tune?) the dead play well. Just because you want to give some show from '72 or '77 or '84 10 stars doesn't mean you have to crap on this show. THIS IS STILL A GOOD BAND PLAYING A GOOD SHOW. If I had to compare this show against the other "jam bands" out there I'd probably give it a 5!

Come on, give me a break. Jerry's missing notes so the show sucks? He was missing stuff for 30 years. So this time he's probably sick and dying instead of flying in outer space. Jerry's screw ups on songs is part of the best things of all of these shows.

This shows a classic. History not withstanding a lot of this show is as good as it gets. Has a bunch of my favorite songs sounding great. If I was allowed to download it I would and blast in all the time but alas....

I don't want to rate this show, as it is simply not about stars. But I have to so I'll give it 5. Just because I can, so there.
People who talk about how ininspired this show is are right. Of course they are right, there are so many shows that are so much better than this one. But is this really the point?
Ignore the nagativity and get this show. You know its the last show ever and they knew it was the last show ever when they played it. Its a collector's item.

I listen to bits and peices of this one , I geuss cause its kinda hard to listen to for a few reasons. Last show ever. Also not a fan of the vince days at all. That being said a reviewer earlier said it, the vocals are there the sounds not that bad and I imagine from time to time i will go back and listen to other parts of this one. All that being said i was thinking how there are so many perfect ears out here. Maybe we are spoiled,maybe we just love these guys so much. There so many oppions out here from show to show. I bet anything that if there were a way to go back in time and they advertised the dead would play one last show(jerry included) and that show would be something like hmmmm donner summit show of 85. You can bet your bottom dollar we would all be there. Lets just say they were only gonna play el paso dont ease and day job. we would all be there..........point is we were lucky folk to have had the chances we all had and if your reading this your above ground and thats a lucky thing too. Alot of us lived really hard for really long some may still be living that way. I am sure am glad i got to see the boys sooooooooooooooooooooooo many times. I will never forget.

I know Jerry's guitar was having problems during the show and that is why he switched to Tiger at some point. Could this have something to do with his playing sounding like it's missing so many notes?

I'm honestly suprised to see anything here above one star. This show stinks, people. I'm not trying to make anyone cry because it was "the last one" but in the big scheme of Dead shows, it ranks near the bottom. It really is awful.

Garcia is wheezing his way along and his guitar playing is quite sloppy and uninspired. The rest of the band more or less just sits there going through the motions, glad that the tour is ending-a finacial success but an artistic nightmare, just like most of the tours from the post-Brent era. First set is out of snyc and out of tune in spots, ditto the second set. I'm not sure what people are hearing in the "So Many Roads" and can only conclude they are mistaking exhaustion for emotion.

We can argue about the 60s vs. the 70s. vs. the 80s all day and all of the night but by 1995 there really wasn't a Grateful Dead anymore, just a bunch of rich, aging hippies playing mediocre, unthreatening, uninspired muzak to an audience too in awe of their very presence to dare criticize them.

The Dead began declining just a bit in the 1980s but were still an incredible band. that's fair- no one can stay at their peak forever. 1990 was the last year worthy of note. '91 and '92 had their moments but things were really unravelling fast by the this point. '93-'95 forget it- just six guys, five of whom used to be in the Grateful Dead, immitating the Dead.

Also, what's with people telling these long stories about how great it was to be there and then doling out a five star rating? And what's with some of the crybabies who get all upset when you trash a show? Garcia once said that one of the things that bothered him about being in the Dead was the lack of much negative feedback, that too many of the fans just seemed like they loved everything the band played no matter how bad it was.

What a sad day to come in August. My first show was a copy of a copy of a copy of a wet tape that was on the Titanic. So to all that nock this one..I disagree...you can hear lyrics clearly w/ some music too! I've seen worse set lists. I will down this one with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye because of what it represents and be glad I can hear the boys together one last time until we all get upstairs. Thanks for leavin' it hang for so long! All of forty years and still truckin!
UPDATE...THIS SHOW STILL ROCKS!

Agree w/most - the show did not rate w/anything quality the guys had produced over the years. Still, the tune, So Many Roads was quality - and if that is all that can be glimmered from this date in Dead history - I'll take it

Maybe we're not supposed to do this, but since "JaMmM On" opened the door down below by going off on the individual who dared to dissent from the worshipping flock: Pal, you need to quit being so thin-skinned and give others room for their own opinions. If someone thought this show sucked then, to them, IT SUCKED. Period. I'm so sick of people acting like babies when someone dares to break from the uncritical majority and slag a show. "Ooooo...don't be so critical, they were still trying, you'd kill to hear Jerry one more time...." What's that got to do with reviewing the performance????? I happen to agree with Kwikfix- this performance just stinks, it blows, it's inept, it's poorly played, uninspired, and flat. Jerry sounds awful, the drummers are frequently out of sync...I could go on. Grow up and quit taking things so personally.

Yeh so my sister's first show was Bruce Hornsby's second to last show in Detroit of 1992. Jack Straw opener, prob the best ever played. Rain n Snow, Walkin Blues, n just a rockin Loose Lucy.

Then there is Masterpiece from her night. Amazin. West LA, BIODTL, Tenn Jed, Music to close da first set.

My sister toured from there and saw this the very last show. And I toured from July 19th 1994 to July 9th 1995.

Can any of you tell the difference in our thoughts of Grateful Dead?

For her, the Dead got worse and worse every year. For me, the Dead actually got better and better. 1994 was so boring to me as the first year I saw them. 1995 was a much more interesting year for me. I could hear that Jerry wasnt doin the guitar as much, but that just made the rest of the band play as hard as they could.

And what about the vocals? If you all listen, as Jerry;s guitar got worse and worse from 91 to 95, everyone's vocals got better and better! I never heard Bobby sound so good as 1995! And Phil! WOW! 1995 was the only year I also thought Vince was actually not flat and nasty too! And Jerry, oh wow!

You all have to understand, for me, I saw them in their most out of it in 1994, then I caught 3 shows of spring 1995. But after I graduated in class of 1995 from high school, I saw 2 detroit shows, skipped Pittsburgh, and then saw every show from there!

Deer Creek, the gates are crashed, my car is breakin down, but I drive the piece of crap to St Louis goin 55 mph the whole time! 2 horrid shows there, only to have that thing crash down on the heads at that campground!

Got my car fixed n drove to Chicago!! First show in Chicago was awful, prob worst I ever saw the Dead! And the Dead sent that letter to the fans about them hating people who showed up w no tix at their shows! I was 17! This whole experience was crazy for me!

Ok! so this last show was the only show I didnt have a ticket for. And there were a million people lookin for tix that day! BUT!!!! If any of u know Soldier Field, there are bridges that cross over the train tracks, that bring people in who are walkin in!!

Me havin a brain, I figured, well anyone who is on those bridges, is someone just comin into the parkin lot....so if any one of those people are someone sellin tix, then they are just showin up, and they still have tix!

Oh YEAH!!!!!! Sure enough, I stand on the corner of one bridge w my finger up yellin the miracle call, and this guy sells me, ROW K, for face value!!!!!!!!!

THis was the best experience I ever had! 17 on tour, and the last show I get ROW K! I ran off like Charlie n the Choc factory and I just found the golden ticket!!!!

So after this whole disaster tour, Deer Crk gate crash, St Louis pavillion falln, and many poor ass shows, oh yeah...the Touch of Grey opener was fuckin amazin!

I thought, for how bad they had played in 1995, this was the Dead's best show of 1995! The 3rd repeat of "I will Get By" in Touch, after that whole week, just said it all!!

Vince on Little Red was amazin! Bobby cracklin the "Newspaper Men" line in Masterpiece w Vince on high just brought me to tears! For me at 17, Phil's Childhood's End said it all! And then the ONLY Cumberland of 1995! And I thought it jammed!!!

Ok Promised was slow, Shakedown was awful, n Samson (well I wont go there). But come on....that So Many Roads may not have had Jerry howlin like some of the 1994 versions.....but when he is sayin "I Found a Road, Lord I been Walkin Down the Road!" u have to give it to him...that improv is just so amazin.....and he seemed in tears durin that too....u know...his voice wasn't stretchin as it was in 1994...but we all know why....I still thought he hit some great notes!!!

Thought for the first time Samba was kewl, and def, for the very FIRST time, I love the Corrina! Have u listend to that JAM into DRUMZ??? Prob the best jam of 1995!!!! I didnt leave the floor for drumz or space...

Then unbroken has such a beautiful start!!! the whole song is well played, prob second best to the version played w Bruce! The Sugar Mags brought me outta my seat....Bob's emotion at the end!

And Jerry's tearful Black Muddy River! But nobody can talk shit about Phil's double encore w Box of Rain!!! Come on! I dont think he ever did that song better, and I have heard many versions!!! Most versions have a slow, almost dying beat....but that one, he pushed so hard!

And u have to admit, the 2nd encore is such a surprise! I watched it! People were like 3 feat from their seats, goin home, and when that came on, the cheer was amazin! I saw men cry at that moment! I danced like I never had! It was the best moment, and it was the last moment!

This is my fav show ever, but again, I only saw shows in 1994 n 1995.....so i hope y'all understand why

hey buddy.... i agree with you that 95 was not 77.... you can't compare... and even though jerry was sick, he still gave it his all, every show.... but we followed this band from the beginning.... they were an enviroment... a lifestyle... we weren't gonna just quit on them because they tailed off performance wise from 92 on..... come on think about it.... you'd give anything for jerry to come back right now and play 1 song... and if he wasn't taken from us so soon... he'd still be playing, and they'd still be selling out shows... and we'd all still be there, like we always said.... we'd be there till the end... so instead of being so critical.... accept the music for what it is/was and just enjoy....

Not sure what the mind control thing below was about, but I am sure that listening to this show is a profoundly depressing experience. The magic was gone by 1995; the Dead at this point were nothing more than a money-making machine running on inertia.

The sound here is good, but by 1995 there was really no excuse for subpar recordings, either from the board or the audience. The first set is DOA. We will get by....oh really? Care to prove it? The second set feints at life a couple of times, but never achieves any real momentum. There's nothing especially noteworthy about this "So many Roads" either- don't believe the hype! I suspect people want to find somehting to like about this show or attach some sort of significance to it because it was the last one, but the truth is that the boys really didn't play as a band by this point. They were essentially just six highly-paid individuals who didn't listen to each other much on stage.

There simply isn't anything exciting going on here musically. The drummers fail to propel the action, Weir and Phil sound uninvolved, and poor of Jerry just can't find the spark anymore. What's worse, a sizable chunk of the audience seemed too swept up in the glow of Garcia's celebrity and the Dead mythology as a whole to notice the difference.

Please limit your comments to issues pertaining to the show, and sound quality, not other reviewers.

Sound Quality=*****
Instrumental is good, just like the Grateful Dead has been, and will be, forever the most powerful influence on the USA's youthful minds.
Better then some of thier old terrible recordings.
Over all rating= *** 1/2*

it's so disappointing you guys really overrate this SMR.... try listening to 10/1/94 boston garden..... that leaves this in the dust as far as emotional versions go..... there were tears in garcia's eye as the words came out of his mouth.... he was just staring into the crowd, pouring his heart and soul into that version.... this is nothing more than historical value.... i just don't see it...

the grateful dead were the greatest band ever, but they should have called it quits long before this depressing, macabre farewell. constant touring during the 90's to support the hundreds(if not thousands) of people that were on their payroll flat out ruined the music and contributed to jerry's failing health. They had $500,000+ in overhead a MONTH just to keep up all the roadies that worked their way onto the payroll. And although heroin took a horrible toll on Jerry, it was made clear in his autopsy that his chain-smoking Pall Mall full flavors for 40ish years was what really killed him. That being said, for someone a month from his death, he lays it all out there, just like he always did. He had nothing left to prove, so be grateful for all the beautiful music and art he left to us.

Update:

I listened to this this show again and it is really depressing. It is like going to a funeral and looking at the corpse lying in state. Listen to it once fvor historical value. Then find a much earlier show and enjoy yourself. But I'll still give stars for sentimental value.

My original review follows:

Sadly, the Dead went downhill, due in a large part, to Jerry's addiction. In my opinion, the nineties material can't touch the seventies or even the eighties. However, I grew up with the Dead and am still emotional about the death of Jerry. As such, even though this show isn't up to the quality of the Dead in their prime, it has great historical value. For this, I give it a top rating.

I am still struck by the last line they played: "such a long long time to be gone and a short time to be there."

PS: sadly, I have lost respect for Phil and the rest of the survivors for playing the Jerry songs as Phil & Friends, The Dead, etc. Let Jerry rest and get some new material. The past is the past.

Hard to believe anyone would give this pathetic outing more than two stars...I can see maybe three out of sympathy but four or five? There's nothing on this tape that couldn't be easily dupplicated by a drunken bar band. Jerry had run out of gas and the rest of the boys were just in it for the money. This idea that any old Dead show is a great one is just silly. A lot of people rave about the "So Many Roads" here but I think even that is just so-so. The rest of this show flat out blows.

its a doozy!!!!

jerry is playing a little off and he is spacing tons of lyrics, but his voice is really, really clear and nice on most of this stuff, and i have heard him space lyrics back in 85-86, and sound like he was gonna croak at any minute.

i'll tell ya' what is screwing him up at this show:

1- rock-star bob with his fucking heavy distortion/compression over to jer's right. get with it bob - this is the fucking grateful dead!

2 - vince ain't helping with his off-key shrieking worse than donna ever could, and that damned casio he refused to leave at home.

i don't know what the fuck bobby is thinking about though - his sound is awful. maybe he was sick of the dead by then, but he is ruining the songs with that guitar and those effects' settings - horrible. so over done on everything (and i worship bobby as a rhythm guitar player), like he's really reaching for attention. i don't get it. rock-star bobby - whoo-hoo.

see ya', jerry
love ya
miss ya
can't think too much about ya'
cause it hurts too much.

thanks to all the boys for delivering all the good stuff for so many years - thanks to the remaining boys for keeping it alive - bob & phil, mickey, and bill

ps- jerry is clearly a shadow of his former self - it really is quite sad. the show is not their worst ever though.

The last show - and isn't it ironic that the Dead played a mediocre uninspired show. I can compare each version of these songs and find more emotion, more enthusiasm, more groove etc... in any countless number of shows than at this particular show. So why am I giving it 5 stars, because the Grateful Dead were the Harlem 'Fucking' Globetrotters even when they were off and disinterested (they still won).

I won't say this one is as bad as some mid 80s stuff I saw when jerry was so smacked out but I agree it's not very good, lacking musically. Seriously weak first set, second set it a little better (So Many Roads is good like most have said) but overall nothing impressive going on. I give it a two but only because of the sound quality; music is a one.

dieseldoug you need to chill, if someone hates a show what's it to you? you sound like some kind of weird attitude cop trying to make sure everyone toes the line. I saw 100+ shows 77 to 86 and I love this band but when they were off they were terrible.

Download it for historical significance if you must, but standing alone as a musical artifact, this show is pretty much worthless. Don't buy into all the sentimentality and hype. This review has nothing to do with loving Jerry or the Dead, or being thankful they were around as long as they were, or the effort they gave, or being kind, anything like that. It's about the music, and the truth is that this show flat out sucks. Garcia sounds as if he is on the verge of a coma and an asthma attack simultaneously, and the rest of the group seems disinterested in the proceedings. Except for a brief flash of power and emotion near the end of "So Many Roads" that many others have commented on, there is no energy anywhere to be found ANYWHERE in this limp performance. There IS a difference between musical improvisation and just playing aimless notes while ignoring what the other musicians are doing. There is also a HUGE difference between taking musical risks and just not giving a shit. Several members of the band have admitted that by the mid-90s they didn't really listen to each other on stage anymore and that the Dead simply wasn't very good down the stretch. It's perfectly acceptable to still love the Dead and what they meant to all of us without paying lip service to this toilet of a show. Unless you are a completist or a blind follower who just worships any and all things Jerry, do yourself a favor and don't waste any time tracking down a copy of this auditory embarrassment. Even with all of the soundboards taken down, there are literally hundreds of better shows here at the archive.

Revised- As to the reviewer who feels obliged to indulge in name calling because he can't stand the fact that my opinion differs from his...so what if you were there? We're reviewing the download of the show, not trying to stay positive. I'll not indulge in blind hero worship. My opinion is that this particular performance ranks with the worst the Dead ever did, and if you can't handle that, too bad.

I was there .IT HAS MUSICAL VALUE.enough with your egotistical B.S. Nobody wants your negative input.

My 39th show, I had never seen Black Muddy River, and we left during Sugar Mags to beat the traffic. IDIOT - as Napoleon Dynamite would say.
Anyway, Thanks to Jerry for changing my life. You were amazing to see live and I appreciate all you gave. Sound quality here is great.
(In my defense, we had to drive back to Kentucky)

RIP Jerry.

Alas, the last show. I just wish that Jerry hadn't been wondering around lost on stage, and sounding like crap. Bobby covered for him all night.

5 stars for the importance of the recording.

Hearing this show makes me sad. I didn't know I still had tears left in me for Jerry.

Farewell Jerry, thanks for everything, it was amazing.

Busted out this extra fine soundboard again this week. Man,this show is special for me musically.

First set isn't too bad, but I think the 2nd is the best of 95, last show or not.

Best SMR, Best SITR, and mighty fine Shakedown>Samson. Space UBChain >Sugar Mags magical.

get this show....for the music.

a cloud formed above that looked like jerry. everyone saw it and pointed at the sky. i think wavy gravy made mention of him watching us from above. i cried.it was like he approved of the jams that came out that night.if i knew this was the last year in 95 i would have quit my job and gone on tour but i did manage to get my wife and little brother's faces stole off of their heads in tampa of all places{lame venue but an awesome "visions"
that one live song expereince caused her to name our daughter born in 98 Johannah)."so many roads" is what it is sprctacular if not only self encompassing of the whole experience with the dead.

To Jerry... Rest-In-Peace, Old Man.

For all you haters on this show, for fuck sake its the last Dead show ever. Pay some fucking respect to Garcia. If you knew your shit you would know Garcia was not fed up with the Dead. He actually stated shortly after the concert he didn't want it to end, even though it was considered the tour from hell. No matter how shitty they played Captain Trips will always want to play another show and will never, ever be fed up with the music.

RIP Jerry

All the bitchin I hear about this show has forced me to write a review. Yes, it is far from perfect but it is The Grateful GOD DAMN Dead enjoy it. R.I.P. Capt. Trips

I thought the band, sans Jerry, sound great but Jerry was clearly sick and tired. Did he get the lyrics to any song right? Did he play like he wanted to be there? I think he was tired of the Dead (they were long overdue for a break and probably should have taken on after Brent died)and a month later he dropped dead froma heart attack. This show sounds like it.

You Zipper Heads have to read some literature instead of listining to rumours on the road...Garcia was on the right track in the last few months of his life. He was diving alot more and it was taking the place of his habit. He was eating better and his whole attitude was improving. Just one last drug binge and it was all his old heart could take. I know he would still be with us if he had not used that last time...You all are not listening to a dying man in this recording. Your listening to the sound of a man who was finally ready to rid himself of the demons that plagued him for so long. He figured one last time could'nt hurt, and he was wrong. He was very close to full recovery. Nobody new. You see, Jerry got high alone all the time, no one could have saved him. He ALMOST made it out. To this day I glance at my unused Boston Garden tickets and wonder what great shows they would have been.......Goodbye Old Friend.

I can't believe the reviews of this show. The only things sadder than the declination of a shining star like Jerry is the sound of hippies bitching and whining. Take beauty in all it's forms for chrissake. The lack of the element of Love around this scene is making me consider slapping on a suit and tie and getting corporate. The one mass of people that offer an alternative to the poor grime of daily grinder life is now filled with judgemental hipocrites. Be kind. Love. Smile. Embody the beauty from which this (and other) great band(s) sprang from. This bit of music is music! It is all Love people. Loosen up and enjoy Life. Take the good where it can be found. The Grateful Dead personified a void of the ego, a transcendence of the b.s. In other words, getting past your hang-ups. So hang em' up people. Dance and sing with wide smiles and let your Love shine a little light. Shine it on to Jerry, wherever he may be.

Regardless of how inconsistent or poorly played other portions of this show may have been, So Many Roads is really powerful. Jerry gives it his all and offers some yowled vocal emotings I've never previously heard from him on any tape, or at any show. Plus, at 10:27 in the song he sings, "LORD..so many roads..." Sort of a surprising vocal ad-lib for him. Anyway, the show may have been fairly weak, but So Many Roads is a 5. Some of it will give you chills when you figure that, as weak as Jerry obviously was, he really gives it his all in the later parts of the song. PS: there's another So Many Roads from somewhere in '95 that has Jerry doing some falsetto lead vocals atthe end. I only heard it once, several years ago. I've never subsequently been able to place what show it was. But that version of the song was pretty potent, too, as I recall.

The "So Many Roads" rehursal sessions!---- 1992,2,21 ------ The day this maserpiece was crafted. ----- Read my review, stream the show, and push bak you living room furnature; the road crew needs the room to set up the equipment.---- The "SMR" project; I have found the 53 live versions of this song, almost five hours of quality streamed cassette tape, that puts the DEAD into perspective, thanks to archive.org, and the DEAD; this is the soundtrack of my life!

phil is the man...bob weir sucks....i hope ratdog sells 10 tickets. indian giver

Good or bad I don't care what anyone says...it's classic Dead. I still get choked up whenever I hear Jerry flub the lyrics to Muddy River and sing "the 'last' muddy river..." the first time around.

not the train wreck I expected. Decent show, an utterly exhausted man giving it his all. Jerry's spirit shines through. So many roads very poignant.

There is no doubt listening to So Many Roads that Jerry knew this was the end.

It's sad to hear Jerry in this show; his vocals kind of remind me of the late Billie Holiday recordings where the feeling is still in the voice, but he can just barely sustain the tune and kind of squeezes out the ends of notes a la Billie. No better on the guitar solos. The rest of the boys kept the motor running; Vince's harmonies, as they often did, tended to hurt my musicians ears.
I'd gotten kind of used to Phil's heavily dipthonged word endings, before the new liver and voice lessons, and enjoyed hearing him get Three songs in one show with the Box of Rain for his bandmate nearing the end of his road, like Phil's dad when he wrote that song.

anyone have problems with the samson and delilah and/or samba in the rain? i got an error in the stream and it wontplay........just wondering......i'm not going to write a review because i found one that says it all that someone already posted~~~ <<<>>>(r.i.p.~missed you then, miss you now)

I too have a 2nd set video of this evening. After an interesting start to Shakedown things pick up as the music begins to flow. I've enjoyed viewing the whole thing. Corrina is just amazing. So Many Road is beautiful!!! To be able to see a drums->space is beyond imagination Billy!!! There is about a minute segment of just him.. hehhe. No Encores though, will have to sample the audio of Black Muddy River.

I'm under choc after having heard this rendition of "So Many Roads". absolutely incredible, the best I've ever heard. I went crying near the end. I have part of this show on video, it's so hard to see Jerry was already gone. on some songs is barely playing, looking so tired, like his fingers could almost move. 5 stars because of so many roads

It is a crime that shows like this one are no longer available for free download. Making the shows available in streaming format was a good shot toward trying to compromise, but there is still one huge problem. What becomes of those of us with dial-up who can't stream music without it stopping every 10 seconds or so to buffer? We just get left out in the cold while others continue to enjoy this incredible music.

Can someone find it in their hearts to re-up this show? I have been looking for a long time, found it, but found out it is only streaming.

There is something going on in the air, during this song, you can almost tell its his death cry. This is definitely my favorite Black Muddy River ever played, and I will give this show 5 for it.

I believe Mr Lesh was in (or near) tears as he sang Box of Rain that day, wanting to end the tour on a somewhat more positive note.


Jim

He's missing notes, missing keys. He really sounds like he's ready to croak. Well, he did a month later. What's up with all the synth in the beginning. I guess you have to have this one for sentimental reasons but it just ain't a good show.

Is that Lesh singing in Box of Rain? He's wailing! Whoa.

I'm amazed at the sound of this show. Garcia doesn't sound tired at all to me. He sounds fantastic. Really great performance. I'm impressed. Thanks to everyone who made it possible for this show to be up and available. Garcia was a professional to the very end.

final show, yes. worst show, no. as with anyother grateful dead show, not one is perfect. lets pretend for one minute that jerry and the boys are only human, and can have a bad moment here and again. this show isn't even in need of a rating. let this just be a lesson to all of you, the grateful dead blessed us all with serenity and warmth of their music for 40 years. there is no judging this for musical sake. everyone that visits this site is aware of the grateful deads talent and direction.im thankful for this show. o granted, it was jerrys last apperance on the stage, and i am thankful for this show being available,i really am..but listen to this show and give ode to what you really love about the grateful dead...the strength they had to pull it threw, the masterpiece of every tune.the heartfelt attempt of every single member. although we no longer have jerry, the music never stopped. keep this alive. let this show be a marker for a time in history when we only got stronger, and better. ill give this show a 5 and finish on one more thing to say..Thank you Jerry.

and a short time to be there.

God Bless.

Just check out all the finality in the songs played and the conotations with death, such as Lazy River Road, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Promised Land, Box of Rain, composed by Phil Lesh for his dying father and listen to the first line of the first chours to Black Muddy River. Jerry sings " the LAST muddy river".

"Masterpiece"... check it out. Lot's of soul from Bobby, it's so contageous it wakes Jerry;-) It's as if Bobby is finding inspiration in "someday". After a year like this one, can't say I blame him. Too bad "someday" never happened again.

I was at this show and the So Many Roads is great even though I didn't really like the song (I think it made the So Many Roads cd). Jerry is lost at times, quite sad. Takes him a while to catch up after Unbroken. Somewhat below average show from a poor year.

For what its all worth this is show (or all of '95)is not that bad at all - suppose that some might want it to be a "stellar" sort of show -
this show is ok - shame and all, but oh well. the real shame though IMHO is that vocals were getting interesting and different this year. Very emotive and not at all like anything b4

I never met Jerry.....
but a part of my family he was.
I miss him so.....

I'm 37, from the UK and have been a deadhead since the first time I heard them at 16.
I remember travelling on a train between my Home in Scotland and London and reading an excellent obituary of Jerry in a national paper called the Indepedent. As I read the final paragraph: "crying as I write this, Jerry played, at times, like an angel weeping over the end of the world" ; my heart melted into a torrent of tears also. This rendition of "So Many Roads" is just one of those times. It penetrates through and beyond the vaults of heaven, surely to the bosom of God Himself....

This particular version of So Many Roads sums up best what I loved about Jerry. His playing/singing was truly analogous to the "triumph of the human soul". One moment he would hit a bum note or forget a lyric and the next he would play/sing something so beautiful and fragile it could make you cry. He never forgot to remind us that he was just like you or me.

When he starts talking to the lord, it give me the impression that he knew what was around the bend... and to me, he was letting us know that he was going to be ok. I know that some will not agree, but this is just my opinion. I'm grateful to the Archive for making this show available, thanks.

There are several reasons why this show is worth having. Historically it is the coda to a long strange trip many were fortunate to ride along. But its significance resides in the same reasons many criticize it. Given time to place it in perspective, the sentimental appeal is obvious. Yet the flaws documented are every bit as precious for exhibiting what made this band great. They were uncompromising. They were not concerned with image, or fame or popularity or hits,unless these things interfered with their main purpose. They played their music out of love for playing. And it's all on tape, warts and all: when they soared and when they flopped, Every miscue, every sour note, every flubbed line. It's all recorded for generations to TRY and recreate. But for those fortunate enough to have actually participated, it is an experience that could never be truly transmitted to another, unless they too have been on the bus. With that said this performance has its defining moments as already mentioned. furthermore they are performing new music right to the end. And it's quality stuff too. The Stones can't say that, although they are still breathing(well..er sorta)My point is that GD were a going concern even at the bitter end. And despite a marked decline in Jerry's ability due to failing health and his notorious dependency, he could still pull some magic tricks out of his sleeve. Even in decline he could still shine. I agree this performance is often tragic, even pathetic at times. But it's honest and that's what characterized this band and Jerry. Integrity set them apart from the multitude of rock stars and pop entertainers that litter the music scene today or then. The Grateful Dead on a bad night were better than many bands on their best. Evaluating this show in the context of age, physical condition, & historical significance, this performance provides a poignant image of an old soldier of the road fading into the dusk.

This version is so amzing!!Its also a very very very heart felt performance by the boys.First off,we get an extra solo section after the last verse which is great.The END is the "X" factor GD!Vocally,I dont think i have ever heard Jer so soulful.At one pint,he actually moans amd groans.I must say,the first time I heard this version,i went from smiling to crying,to smiling all in a 7:50 minute period.The one intesting thing also is Jerry has stated serveral times that he does not mention g-d in anything he sings.In this version,we get a"Lord..so many roads to ease my soul"in the ending.Man i can listen to this version all day!!!!If you havent heard it(which i know you probably have)Please Do!!!5 stars for quality and 5 stars for SO MANY RDS ALONE!!!!

I just read about 50 of the reviews on this show , most are not actually reviews on the show but instead thoughts on Jerry , the whole scene,
life , laughs , sadness, the deterieration of the band in the 90's etc. I'd just like to say that the 50+ shows I saw from 3/31/86 to whatever Highgate 95 was the best time I ever had. Certainly we have the band to thank for all the music that went on for 30 years , we also have each other to thank. So THANK YOU !!! Everyone one of you who ever walked by , nodded, smiled , passed me a joint or a beer, hooked me up with a tape , sold me a t-shirt , gave me directions, gave me info on security , danced next to me,yelled in my ear during Crazy Fingers , THANKS! A long strange trip indeed. Let's all consider ourselves lucky that we were all able to be there , in whatever varying degrees, 500 shows or 1. We were all part of the greatest communtunity , the biggest traveling circus and sideshow that ever roamed the countryside. The most prolific and enduring concert attraction in the history of rock and roll.There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.

Being a studio musician and composer for many years now, I just wanted to say that this show is amazing. The bottom line is simple: 30, 40 years? They gave everything to us, the fans. All this free music, most SBD quality, AUDs as well. Wonderful. This show is warm, well played, and historic. Jerry and the crew touched us all, and it is now our turn make sure the music never stop....and so on...

This show is great. Good tunes, Jerry gave everything he had. We all died a little inside. Download this, and play it loud. It is NOT a bad show, 95 or not. If you get confused....

Highlights - Unbroken is great. Black muddy, wonderful.
Box of Rain - well, if you need it....if not...

The Grateful Dead wasn't just about the music. It was about the friendship and togetherness of people from all over the place. Going to a show that musically may have been sub-par does not mean that the experience of just being there wasn't wonderful. The Grateful Dead created something that had never been created before, and definately will never be created again - not with phish, not with string cheese, NO ONE! That special something officially ended with this show. The dead scene went through stages just like any thing else that is alive. It was born, it grew and matured, it changed with the times, and eventually it died. This show is so special that no number of stars could do it justice. Don't listen to this show with a critical ear, or expecting Jer to remember all the words, but listen to this show and be grateful for all the love and music and good times that were had over the years. Time just flys. It doesn't seem like it was that long ago when the fat man was up there serenading us. Damn.

We miss you more than words can tell.

Well, this is the last one. Very sad indeed that the boys went out this way. I gave up my ticket for this one, but no regrets. I was lucky to see them over 60 times since 1984. This show has a decent Unbroken Chain that most of us were waiting to hear. The board is very nice, but poor Jerry was on his last leg. This one is good for the true collector. Thanks for the great times, Jerry. I still miss you.

when Jerry left us. Believe me, he left a lot of great music for the world to hear, and thankfully the vast majority of it is preserved on this wonderful site. RIP Jerome John Garcia 1942-95.

Used to live within walking distance of soldier field and saw every show there sinse the run began in '91. Each year I would find more and more to complain about afterwards and that's not including the whole scene outside before the shows (alot of heads should not have been trying to even walk across busy Lake Shore Drive let alone drive down it...and watching heads trying to get the cabbies to drive them back up to Wisconsin was insane and comical).

For a large outdoor stadium, old Soldier field was an excellent venue not only visually (with the skyline, the lake and the greek columns surrounding the facade) but it's old bowl shape was about as intimate as a football stadium could get. I never understood why Chicago hadn't reached the "summer dead show mystique" of a place like RFK, Deer Creek or even a Rich Stadium. I was always expecting the band to come into the Chicago shows (considering the beautiful surroundings) with the mindset that they could make it a special stop on the tour.

But like I said, I was always left wanting a few more memories to take away...like I had with other cities I had seen shows in. Why should I see amazing show after amazing show in little Richfield, Ohio but not in downtown Chicago?!

By the time I got to Summer '95, I had all but stopped the drugs and the hanging out and was really looking for the "pure experience". In retrospect, I should have gotten completely baked with the guys sitting next to me, because they sure as hell didn't care that Jerry was basically being propped up with a broomstick, force-fed a teleprompter like some stiff weather man, and looking down at his guitar in befuddlement as it seemingly was playing itself on auto-pilot mode.

It's hard to review the first set as no memories of it exist for me whatsoever...nothing stuck with me. I remember the second set opening-Shakedown (with scenes of the city on the big screen) had people in my group very excited that we may get a real departure from the standard 2nd sets the boys were playing that particular summer. Then we get a Samson, a So Many Roads, a Samba and a Corrina...where are the jams at? It was like we got another first set and I didn't pay for two jam-less sets!

I was screaming along at the end of "Roads", don't get me wrong, but it seemed to me that the band was just not even wanting at that point to start any kind of intense improvising for fear that Jerry would embarrass himself. The band would end up playing the entire concert pretty close to the vest, with the classic Dead suprize factor all but gone.

Funny how when you are sober, Drums and Space (especially '95 space) would just have you checking your watch at times and looking around watching people sleeping, going to get a hot dog or just goofing off in general...the space from this show just wouldn't end and when the band has no coherent idea what it wants space to be, they end up taking up most of the space segment just trying to find something that sticks...nothing did that night so they just ended it with an Unbroken Chain that seemed to catch everyone in the band off-guard, including Phil. I enjoyed hearing that song live for the first time, but novelty doesn't make for any lifelong memories.

After the show, I didn't know what to think other than I was surely willing to give them another chance and another and another after that...never got to and I still have that bad taste in my mouth to this day.

This show reminds me of a Miles Davis concert I saw just before he died. On the stage was a creative giant, who had achieved more than all of us combined, struggling with his mortality. (Like Jerry, Miles had a problem with Mr. Charlie.) There are those that say that Miles, Jerry, opera's Joan Sutherland, Sinatra should have quit earlier, gone out on a high note. I disagree. They continued to give something precious, ineffible, world-enhancing. They kept on keeping on not for the money -- they had plenty. The did it because music was the blood that flowed through their veins.

THAT being said, to give this show 5 stars does a disservice to the hundreds of really fine shows the Grateful Dead pulled out of the ether. After you listen to this show, listen to any of the Dick's Picks from any period. You'll hear a fiery passion in Jerry's guitar, or a tender coaxing of humanity from the strings, technically creative and clever, guitar that moves the soul, guitar you can listen to by itself, and guitar that syncs intimately with the rest of the band. It's not here. Cumberland Blues embodies this. Jerry's most soulful vocal here is BMR, and it's good, but it's not a 5 star performance. Listen to the Morning Dews of the '70's (try 1974-6-18), or Loser almost from any period. The band doesn't mesh here, and Phil is just awful.

I didn't know what to expect on Sunday August 13, 1995, when I headed towards the Memorial in the Golden Gate Park Polo Fields, San Francisco. As the sounds of Jerry came over the sound system, the people gave tributes, laid flowers on a shrine, strangers stoppin  strangers just to shake their hand, and talking, talking, talking. More celebratory than sad. Silence fell on the crowd, though, when the speakers played We Bid You Good Night. We are mortal, even the giants.

I was at this show 3rd. row and i must tell you the so many roads was steller. a must have version. so blues at the end.

the american culture is in no doubt richer thanks to the grateful dead thanks to all involved for 40 years grateful dead forever cheers

To dis this show 10 years after Jerry's death well, I really don't know. What kind of person does that?

Thank you Jerry, for many, many, many moments of sheer bliss.

5 stars for every jam I witnessed personally from 4/16/83 to 5/14/95. I would give it 10 stars if I could.

7:00pm 7/9/2005

10 years to the day...

*sniff*
Thanks Jerry for all you have done .
We will miss you.

R.I.P.

The Grateful Dead


Jerry
Bobby
Billy
Phil
Pigpen
Mickey
Vince
Bruce
Brent
Keith
Donna
T.C.
Hunter
Barlow
Peterson


**********Thanks for all the music.**********


------------------------------------------------------

12:20 am 7/10/2005

I just finished listening to the whole concert.
Brings a tear to my eye.

Thanks Jerry for everything.
you will live on as long as there are people to listen and enjoy.

LONG LIVE THE GRATEFUL DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!

All the negativity towards this night...while it wasn't the best I'd give anything to go back to this just to be there again- no matter how good or bad.

Ten years...I miss ya Jer!

Such a long long time to be gone......

Im sitting on my back porch in july.drinking some wine..10 years to the hour of the last show..i love you jerry and all the boys..you changed my life..jimmy in MD yes that jimmy...jackstraw69

We miss you jerry...

Leaving out all the historical significance and emotion attached to this show, Touch of Grey was horrible, Rooster was Rooster (never liked it), Lazy River Road was excellent, Masterpiece was good, Childhood's End was fair, Cumberland was OK (not much Jerry there), Promised Land was weak. Short first set. Shakedown was poor when compared to all the other wonderful versions out there, Samson was poor, So Many Roads was quite nice (lots of emotion from Jerry on this one), Samba In The Rain never once worked (seems like Jerry couldn't get his head around this one, his playing NEVER clicked once) *wow, four 'S' songs in a row*, Corrina was actually pretty good (the first version that I ever actually enjoyed), Drums and Space were also quite good (seems like the drummers were really in a groove during spring and summer of this year), Unbroken Chain also suffered from poor Jerry playing (just couldn't find the notes), Sugar Mag has a GREAT Bob tone and attack (his guitar was sounding pretty cool on this tour), BMRiver had lots of emotion due to Jerry's voice being what it was (even if one was unaware of all the 'heavy' significance surrounding this song/show, it was sound pretty 'emotional'), and 'far out! double encore!' Box Of Rain (not much to comment on there). The sound quality of this show is absolutely wonderful (close to perfect) and the performance is a bit on the shoddy side, many more wonderful shows to choose from this year (Seattle 05-25-95 or 05-26-95 come to mind, particularly the 25th). Pretty weak show, great sound and some very high moments.

I would never listen to anything after 1990, but I always check out shows from this day in Dead history, just about every day of the year. I read all of the performance reviews and decided to take a listen to Cumberland. It's not that bad, but something is missing. So Many Roads is impassioned, although I think people read too much into Jerry's declining health and that he just knew...Anyhow, this is a passage from Phil's Book: "At the last show, I watched in despair as Jerry, whey-faced, hunched over with chin on chest, fighting for breath before singing every line, struggled through an incredibly moving performance of So Many Roads...he seemed to respond only on the slowest, saddest songs...for the encore Jerry sang Black Muddy River, and then I launched into Box of Rain at the last minute because I couldn't stand the thought of ending the tour with one of Jerry's most sorrowful songs"

Didn't want to be the only LMA user who failed to comment on this historic mediocre show so here's my take. Beyond being the last one nothing to recommend here. With a few exceptions not a whole lot worth bothering with after 91.Sure get this one and the first to bookend your collection but I can't imagine listening to this too often with 2000+ better shows out there. Decent recording though.
UPDATE: Ok today's the one day when I'll give this a short listen, then quickly move on to some favorites of mine from 74,77, and 69. RIP Jerry we still miss you.

It ended on a bad note. I will say this is the worst Dead show that I witnessed. Jerry just just kept bringing it down. Phil wasn't much better. The highlight of the show was that I got in. I had been scouring the scene for tickets, when some guy grabbed me just before they went on. Bad show but I'm glad I was there.

It is my view, as it is many others, that it is impossible to grade this show, as their is too much else surrounding it. The show, by a musical standpoint,is poor. Jerry was obviously not all there. It is sad indeed to hear this great man struggle mightly where he used to soar with ease. Jerry has brought boundless joy and love into my love through his music and message. This show should not be thought of as an end to anything; for the music still exists, thus Jerry lives on. We help to spread the Deads message every time we turn others on to the music. Let there be songs to fill the air.

considering what Jerry was going through, his diabetes, addiction, death threats, crowd violence he played a great final show. the best so many roads and encore "Last" Muddy River. Anything but a 5 star would be unfair.

Just a box of rain -
wind and water -
Believe it if you need it,
if you don't just pass it on

Words don't even come close... but thank you for showing me my heart...

Thank you,
Tom Constanten (keyboards; born March 19, 1944), Jerry Garcia (guitar, vocals; born August 1, 1942, died August 9, 1995), Donna Godchaux (vocals; born August 22, 1945), Keith Godchaux (keyboards; born July 14, 1948, died July 21, 1980), Mickey Hart (drums, percussion; born September 11, 1943), Robert Hunter (lyricist; born June 23, 1941), Bill Kreutzmann (drums; born April 7, 1946), Phil Lesh (bass, vocals; born March 15, 1940), Ron ÂPigpen  McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals; born September 8, 1945, died March 8, 1973), Brent Mydland (keyboards, vocals; born October 21, 1952, died July 26, 1990), Bob Weir (guitar, vocals; born October 16, 1947), Vince Welnick (born February 22, 1951; keyboards).
Info is from http://www.rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=113

Thanks for spending so much time with me while my wife was in grad school. It is very sad and such a G** Damn waste. I have been comming to this site for a long time now and some how never put two and two together as to wheather the archive had the last show. I wish now that I had not. Thanks to all who work at the archive and thanks to the Dead for years of that feeling you get when you KNOW the band is enjoying playing what your listening to. Five stars out of respect.

HAS ANYONE NOTICED THAT JERRY MAY HAVE KNOWN THAT THE END WAS GETTING CLOSE??!! IF YOU PAY REAL CLOSE ATTENTION TO BLACK MUDDY RIVER'S LYRIC'S YOU WILL HEAR JERRY SING
("AND I WILL WALK ALONE BY THE 'LAST' MUDDY RIVER") ONCE YOU HEAR THIS YOU WILL NEVER LOOK AT THIS SHOW THE SAME WAY AGIAN. IT SENDS CHILLS DOWN MY SPINE EVERY TIME I HEAR THIS SONG FROM THIS SHOW!!! HAVE TO GIVE THIS SHOW A 5-STAR FOR THE FACT THAT THIS IS THE LAST SHOW, ONE OF THE BEST SO MANY ROADS AND FOR THE SPINE CHILLING BLACK MUDDY RIVER. ALSO THE LAZY RIVER ROAD IS QUITE EXCEPTIONAL TO. IF YOU DOWNLOAD THIS FOR ANY REASON, LET IT BE FOR ITS HISTORICAL VALUE AND RECORDING!

I don't really know why I have the urge to weigh in on this one but I don't think it's too bad a show overall. On the plus side the sound quality is great. In fact theres a chance this could be in the top 20 or so shows of 1995!!! Ok, an outside chance. By the way, we all have learned that 1995 was in fact in the "nineties" but what is the year 2005 in? Really, I wanna know.

5* just for black muddy river - as good as it gets

well, since no one else has yet - i'll give it the 100th. This show is real bad, or rather, really really sad. Like many people have commented - it is good for its historical significance only. Thank god i never saw any video of this - from the sounds of it, it is a horror show. Oh well, rest in peace Jerry.

The Grateful Dead meant alot to me for many years. Near the end I stopped seeing shows due to the slow decline of the quality of music, and the music was the reason I started seeing them in the 1st place. Unfortunately, I have heard the tapes of this show and even worse, I have seen the video of this. Giving this show a low rating is no disrespect to everyones past experiences with the Dead. It is a reflection of how bad this show was and if you've seen pictures or video of it your heart will break to see Jerry up there looking as bad as he ever did. I put away all the tapes of this show and put the DVD I have on the bottom of the stack so I may never have to think of Jerry or the Dead in this crappy state of being. 1 star (who's gonna give it the 100th review?)

this show might not have been their best performance, but it saddens me to see that people are actually rating it low and actually posting bad reviews because of the quality of their playing. if one had the mentality of a true deadhead, they would know what this show means and at least give your respect to The Man. please stop the negativity, and give the boys the respect they deserve for bringing us 30 years of great music...a very sad must have for anybody

ya know?

I have read a lot of horrid reviews of this show, but c'mon, it was the eighties, cut some slack for the drug induced performance! I will never be as moved as i am when i hear this Black Muddy River, it was a phenominal show and the boys deserve our endless praise.

One can truly feel the sad emotion coming from the stage. Jerry sounds so sad while singing BMR. Long live the Grateful Dead spirit! I rate this show a 4 purely for the emotion. The performance... it's just so sad.

Thanks Guys. We miss you Jerry...Keep on Shinin'

phil made some awesome remarks regarding this, the last of ALL GD!


Still my favorite band...still the greatest band

So Many Roads, people, So Many Roads. . .

Listen to Black Muddy, at about 50-55 secs in, I believe Jerry sings" Last Muddy River"??

all though many have formulated their own opinions we need to keep a clear mind and understand that where we are is not permanent. appreciate the small things, such as timeless sounds gifted from jerry. cherish this sound for it was the last of an erra. feel happy knowing that phil, bobby, bill and mickey are pushing forward and are doing what they can to keep jerry's music growing.

Look - we all owe the Grateful Dead for all that they brought to each of us, in our own way. I love them, I love Jerry, I bet everyone here does.

But listen to this show. Jerry is barely present. He is a sad shadow of what he was, not that long earlier.

I mean, c'mon, Bobby's playing just about all the guitar. Just listen to it.

Give the Grateful Dead five stars for making it how ever many years they made it.

But, by whatever standard you want to use, this show is simply not very good at all. If this show is five out of five, then they all must be.

Forget about the review that I wrote 50 or so reviews ealier. I finally listened to this show from Start to Finish; and I must tell you, the sound quality is 4.5 stars, everyone in the band is playing three stars, but after 'Drums/Space' the show is a total disaster! Jerry must have checked out after 'So Many Roads', because up to that point, the show is OK to decent, but AFTER drums/space the show has to be one of the worst concerts ever! Jerry sounds like a senile old man playing with a guitar. I am really sorry to say it. Listen to it. Its painful to hear, but during 'Unbroken Chain' the end was apparent. Then Mr. Weir tries to salvage some dignity by cutting in with a 'Sugar Mag', but it really was too late. The 'Black Muddy River' is really painful to listen to, too. 'Box of Rain' is the redeeming quality; -- Redemption -- pretty much sums up the band's repetoire. I love the GD, but its such a damn shame!!

P.S. To the "Tito & Touch head rules crowd", I think your completely right about bastardized version of the GD known as 'The Dead' destroying Jerry's legacy. ....But remember 'the Dead' is not the 'Grateful Dead'. They are a new different band , with a new evolved sound of old classics. They may not be liked by all, but their damn good musicians with a great sound. (EXCEPT when they try to tackle jerrys' ballads!) You have to take the good with the bad, I quess...
It just reaffirms that every artist is truly unique and when their gone, "they ain't coming back." So you just got to let it go and move on!
No one can ever duplicate an artist's genius, especially jerry's. -- That's what made the GD, so damn SWEET!!!

Sorry for superfluous words. and Thanks for letting me get that out!! Thanks to those responsible for this site!!

...So it goes.

This is a great site because you do not need to download this entire show to enjoy what is of value here. Get the So Many Roads and Black Muddy River. Everything else is of no value, historically and musically.
As for all of the negative comments about tour, etc. I think we need to review the music only, not about your experience at the hotel. Recommend some songs, thats it. Writting about other stuff is really boring. Show facts: do not regret missing this show, because the music was average or below average-if you conisder thirty years of Grateful Dead. I left this show during So Many Roads. Did I miss much? My cup was filled years before by this band.

94 reviews of this show is ample. What can be discussed/argued/observed that hasn't been already? Everyone is going to have an opinion of this show lets just leave it at that. It is what it is: the end of what we cherish.

BTW my rating is based solely on playing and sound. Honestly I'm not a fan of anything post Bruce.

if nothing else, this show really helps people vent. I think it's clear this show was pretty much a disaster, but people still have a lot of pain from Garcia's demise.

Not bad considering the time. You can't expect them to sound the same as they did 25 years before, but you can appreciate it for what it's worth. Overall, I listen to this show just to listen to it, not necessarily because it's the last.
Not a bad recording either!

By the way tito, 329 dead shows and you still dont know what the dead its all about?? No need to trash a reviewer

Be glad that-
We even have this at all,
IT'S A SOUNDBOARD,
and it's free.
Just download it and
be thankful for the memories.

Willie Mays stayed around too long as well, but what can you do? The drums and space has a surprising amount of energy, but that's it. Phil's vocals are appalling, almost sounds drunk. I'll still give it 3 stars for historical significance/sound, but it's not for the sqeamish.

yeah, its the grateful deads last show, so its a definate must have. the show it self is not the greatest, but is fairly standard for the time. however you feel about, get it. keep it, and be glad that what the dead had lasted sooooo long. sound quality is fairly decent on this one, considering the venue size. and a side note: this section is for reviews...not pointless rude trash talk about other reviewers. GROW UP GUYS.

I'm 18 and was about 8 when jerry died. never got to see the real grateful dead. I've seen the dead and the other ones and yeah it's nice to see bobby but the magic isn't there that I hear on the tapes even this one, the last, and presumably one of the worst. But I like to hear it. It's got its historical context, and makes me smile, as the bands I listen to today do. I wish some of you guys on here would stop all this bickering. Yeah I see where you're coming from when you say taht druggies are ruining the scene and have been for years, but at the same time they're not. They've always been there, and always will be. In many respects the music we listen to goes hand and hand with the drugs that we see at the concerts. But i dont' think you should dis it, it's something a lot of have participated in. I think instead you should just let people be whoever the fuck they want to be.

That's what the dead did for me when I started listening to them at 13. It kept me from becoming another obnoxious iggnorant fool at my rural school in Virginia. It exposed me to a whole new world out there, full of amazing music, amazing people, and yes the drugs that much of the time go hand and hand with the community we're all involved with.

So i guess what I'm trying to say is let it go. I mean we are tarnishing the Dead's last show by renouncing each other as being punks. What would jerry say if he saw these posts? He probably wouldn't be smiling. Not one bit.

Oh and as far as the show is concerned. So many roads really is a touching write off. Amazing, everything else is tough to get through. If you're a newb looking for some good dead. I love primal dead 67-70...

May 77 was exceptionally good.
And europe 72, i'm a big fan of...
Good luck, and may you not end up like these bickering fools!

hey...ease up on jerry...is anybody out there perfect? what have you guys done for the music world?....i doubt anything except pretend you understand.....not that i do...we are lucky jerry and the band was ever around...stop all the b.s about heroin.....geez thank god for 60's 70's 80's and 90's dead by the way...this show is still better than any of these so called "jam" bands out there ---- please--- oh...start a message board, nerds!

If you can listen to So Many Roads or Black Muddy River knowing that this is the last time and not shed a tear you have no soul.I won't comment on much else for I don't feel Im expert enough but those two somgs considering the circumstances are near divine.

"So many roads I know
All I want is one to take me home
From the high road to the low
So many roads I know
So many roads so many roads

So many roads to ease my soul"


Wiping away a tear I say "Thanks Jerry"

Let me first say that my reviews are based on the performance of the shows themselves and not the fun time time I had or the great music the band has given me over the years. That's just the way I choose to go. As for this show, I do think people should download it for a keep sake, but PERSONALLY speaking, it is very hard for me to listen to because this is not the band I loved and got involved with.

as for the BMR, based on many other reviewers postive comments I went back and listened again and I still feel the same way. Jerry's voice is cracking and he hits a lot of "clams". One of the reasons to provide reviews is to steer someone in the direction of something great. based on that I would recommend an '86/ "87 version of this song when it was just as much an anthem as Touch of Grey and garcia was strong and healthy.

Again, one man's opinion.

At least listen to the so many rds. and the muddy river. You can hear how tired Jerry is. I was there and vividly remember these tunes that final night. I wouldn't bother with the rest of the show. The sound quality is superb, the show mediocre at best minus the so many roads and the muddy river. Thanks Jerry

I have to agree with the majority of you that have reviewed this show. It sucked. Anyone who had been on the bus knows that at this point the shine had clearly worn off Jerry. The band's playing during the "Tour From Hell" was nearly heroic in that they were carrying him. We, in a sense, were watching him die.

Why the five stars? Three words: "Black Muddy River". Jerry's rendering of this tune makes me forget the sloppy guitar work and spotty vocals.

This song has been on "repeat" during my morning commute, and I hear something different each time it is played...BMR never fails to make my hair stand on end. The way his voice catches as he delivers the line, "When the last bolt of sunshine hits the mountain..." serves as a reminder as to just how shallow most of music has become today...makes his death all the more damaging...the tune that more urgent-prophetic.

Like any vocalist worth his or her salt, Jerry always found a way to "become" the song. Proving that you can wipe your bum with a set of good "pipes". Plastic never makes it. Delivery is everything. Do you think Rubin Stoddard and others in the vast pot of treacle known as "Pop Music" could take us down along the BMR as Jer does? I don't think do. His voice is pure unadulterated emotion. I can see the "swirls", hear the "ripples", feel the singer's isolation. If the Crucifixion had a soundtrack, this would be the final cut; the stage serving as Golgotha, the sweet "Judas" kiss of opium (his betrayer)flowing through his veins...leading him to the BMR. One more editorial comment, and I'm done.

Can you even begin to imagine the physical/spiritual burden that he carried the last five years of his life feeding the public's incessant needs and those that depended on him for the basics? Deification on any level is a heavy trip. Take a look at the paparazzi shots of him at Serenity Knowles days before he died...head cradled in his hands a very exhausted, very mortal man who was already walking the banks of the Black Muddy River. Never has one tune been so historically appropriate as a "swan song".

okay, okay, it wasn't one of the greatest shows, but it wasn't bad. I gotta disagree on SMR. it sounded pretty good, and I don't even like that tune. dead shows are like pizza, even when they're bad, they're good

I came on board in 88, meaning thats when I attended my first shows. I don't understand the commments about the music. The music was born out of the most uncontrolled circumstances. They played the music because there was no limits or limitations on the music, just music to fill the air. You can't judge what can't be judged and expect what can't be expected. I loved every minute I was able to spend in their presence, from the 3rd row at Deer Creek to the nose bleed section in the Omni. To me, they were the gratest band ever. They played the music based on how they felt and not for how it was going to be judged. God bless and have mercy on Jerry's soul, he was a musician and a kind human being.

To read some of these reviews makes me sick. This was the end of an era, a historic moment for all those anyway connected with the Dead. God blessed us with the gift of the dead's music, and on this day it ended and many of still pay our respects and are thankful everyday for the joy the Dead brought into our lives.
This may not be the best show ever, but it was the last and all you people with yer negative comments should be grateful that there ever was a last show. Just imagine life without the dead. Sucks don't it?
God bless you and thank you jerry. May you walk alone by the black muddy river.

It's the last show of an era. You're going to download it no matter what anyone says. However, there are better sounding FOB tapes out there.

Rosebud opened the show in Jerry's arms, and sang for its last time...midway thru the show his baby experienced some tech. difficulties, so he had to bring Tiger out from the closet. A fitting way to end a long and glorious run of incredible music and memories...for both Jerry, and Heads alike.

He was 53 years old, and still touring like he was 27... trying to bring the same happiness and joy that he brought so many people, for so many years.

Say what you like, just remember what this man gave...his heart, his soul, and his life.

For everyone with negetive comments to make, whats the point? move on. There is plenty of music preserved thru-out the years (thank god) for you to revisit, or hear for the first time. If you have nothing good to say, dont say it.
It saddens me to see so many say this is sh!t, and also saddens me to hear people say this is great, or the best show.

you say upsetting and depressing? I SAY THANKYOU.

No, it may not compare to the supposed "last shows" of the mid70's, but this show is the final grain of sand to drop in the hourglass. Rumor holds that the destiny of the band is foreshadowed in "Black Muddy River." When Jerry sings the fateful tune, he substitutes the line "I will walk alone by the LAST muddy river."
GD
1965-1995

the musical content of this show is irrelavant. I will say this though, I feel sorry for the individual(s) who feel that the band should have stopped playing pre 92' I didn't see my first show until 93 and only got to see about 17 shows but that makes me no less a fan. what i do know is a dead show was an event. friends ,camping, music, expansion and peace. i am a better person for listening to them. they were unselfish and gave us a lifetime of music to enjoy.they were human so of course some shows sucked but not all after 92 iknow most dont think so but lets not get crazy with the negative man. la 94 was a life changing night for me and i will never forget it. long live the grateful dead.rip jg

jerrys farewell song. this show may not be the best ever, but i'll give it 5 stars because it is the end of the greatest rock n roll band of all time. Thank you for the beautiful music Mr. Garcia

Was a great atmosphere prior to show. Chicago is always fun, unless you were a victim of Chicago's finest. Jerry was done by this time. Glimpses of emotion, flickering here and there, but he was in bad shape. Playing was bad, voice was done. Stumbled through the show like a horse in a log jam. Unfortunate. Saw them many times in the 80s, what were they thinking with Vince, sorry...but cmon...Miss those guys though, miss em a lot....Never understood the Phish fad that soon followed, Bradies on the coat tails....

Time to go back to the beginning, when we were all younger than we are today and Jerry was hitting on all four cylinders. Check out "Viola Lee Blues" on Dick's Picks Vol. 8 (5/2/70) or the earlier back pages of the archive ...

This is not a show that needs a review. The Grateful Dead touched us in so many ways, and it is a shame that the last show was so poor. But it is what it is. So Many Roads is great as is the Black Muddy, and that's what we're left with. That's the way it's supposed to be. Do what I do, listen to this show and remember all the good times, because this is definitely not one of them.

I find myself listening to "So Many Roads" over and over again. So many of the reviewers deems this Jerry's goodbye, or last gasp. I think I see this show as probably the guys did, last show of a fateful tour, only to be re-energized for the next go round. The naysayers point out Jerry being atr the end of the road, but I find just as many reviewers pointing out great shows they had seen a week or a month or whatever ago.

Each tour had its ups and downs, and the frequency depended on what you were looking for. But I challenge everyone to show me that you knew this was it at the time. Jerry had risen from the dead so many times, we all expected it again. The moments in this show just seemed a glimpse of what will be again.

For all those who say they saw the unravelling of the band, or any similar remark, and I can show you just as many reviews that point to the idea that the boys weren't done yet. That being said, this show is a necessity for closure, and in hindsight, So Many Roads is Jerry's swan song, but not because he is saying goodbye (at that time), but more of the idea that Jerry is saying "Look, I can still do it!" The passion in this song is unrivaled by any performance.

To all of us, had this not been the show to end all shows, we would all be looking forward to the next run or tour, and we would have been looking back at moments of this show for what they were....a jumping off point to would was to be

I just found this website, and for a longtime fan, it doesn't get much better than this. I had scored tickets from the dead mail-in service, and I took my brother, my best friend, and one of my old guitar players. We were right next to the soundboard, and the music was out of this world. I've heard many shows on tape, and now thru DL, but obviously the real deal smokes any recording. Big time.
After a long day on Shakedown with drum circles fifty drummers around, stoned dogs, grey dreads, grilled cheese, miracles, and many wonderful smells, we decided to have a fungal time right before the show.
When the lights went down and everyone lit their lighters, it looked like space on earth. I had seen Jerry and the boys the year before, but that was before I really knew their music. After my first show I started buying and taping tons of shows. This time I was ready. Unfortunatly my guitar player hadn't really studied the dead like I did, so he didn't get the same effect. But he was pretty impressed we were on the fifty yard line where the Bears played. The Chicago Bears, I mean. The couple in front of us had both taken 7 hits of LSD a piece, and they were really jamming. That girl got so much more beautiful as the night wore on.
As to the show. Opening with TOG was an excellent way to begin, I thought. Sort of ironic too... "I will survive." Jerry, unfortunatly, looked bad. It was obvious how the drugs had taken their toll. He warmed up as the night went on, for sure, but those close ups on the mega-tron of his face hurt my heart. Bobby was right on, though. I had never heard Masterpiece before that, but I immediatly caught the meaning and really dug it. Phil as always, was smokin hot. I had heard of Lesh bombs, and now, I'll never forget them.
I remembered looking around during Shakedown Street and thinking that everyone in the stadium was a kind of musician, and that made me think of Playing in the Band's meaning, and the line, "the music played the band" from The Music Never Stopped. The music wasn't just coming from the speakers, but from everywhere. And it seemed like people there had a say in the outcome. It really amazed me and made me look at music in a very different way forever. It was like, there were the boys on stage, and the band was everywhere around me. Made me wonder if anyone else had ever thought about that.
Anyway, rumors about Unbroken Chain were everywhere, and they panned out to be true. That was amazing from a historical standpoint. The last bit about the show that really got me was drums. At one point the music swelled and I thought my head was going to explode. Thumbs up to Mickey and Billy for that moment. Way up.
Of course Box of Rain and the double encore were an added bonus, and I was even really impressed with the fireworks. My guitar player told me that at some point I turned into a fish during the night, which seemed about right.
I am very grateful for this site, again. Not only can I listen to all the other shows, but this one, which means a lot to me. That's why I am giving it 5 stars. It's a little hard to listen to the lyrical mistakes, but the places that they go otherwise, well, that's deserving. Plus, Jerry died a month later. It's commendable to do this kind of performance in the shape he was in.
The show effected me so much that I decided I was definitely going on the road with them the next summer... Oh well. All I can say is, "We will survive."

This show is crap!!!!
I attended many, many shows, unfortunately or fortunately, I did not attend this one. I loved this band, but I can still call a spade a spade.
I never really liked the sound of the band after Vince took over the keyboards. I saw all of the shows at Soldier Field in the four years prior to this mess. Wow! What a difference a year makes. One of the earlier comments stated that nobody would want this show in their collection if Jerry hadn't passed. I couldn't agree more. Believe me, I am a very Grateful Head, and sure this show has plenty of historical value, but I rate the shows based on the music, and this one was a real stinker!!!!

I think this show is a remarkable show not because of it's music but its place in history. Even so there were a couple of interesting musical moments the real Magic of the show is in the cosmic prophecy. Just listen to Jerry singing the end of So Many Roads and you know what I mean.
It took a friend to point out the LAST Muddy River Jerry sang on the first refrain around....Also first DOUBLE ENCORE in a long, long time!
Unforgettable also the fireworks that closed everything out. Maybe the best I've ever seen.
An unforgettable FINALE to an exceptional journey!!!!
I think a lot of the negative reviews come from people who haven't been there and didn't feel this special Moment

of course there are better shows but it doesn't mean everyone has to be hateful about it. i like this show, for whatever reason. A heartfelt So many roads is always good, phil's solid as always,
Phils solid, sings Box of Rain, with the ending verse eerily prophetic. not a five star, so spend your time downloading something else, but definitely not worth all the criticism.

Of course listening to a band crumble isn't fun. Yes, it is downright painful. Being a part of this world meant taking the good with the bad though- it was about not only the music, but the utterly unique relationship between the band and the audience. I don't want to listen to this show but it is the moment of closure. Of course it's a line flub on "last muddy river...." and heroin saps life even from the most spirited. I only wish that this show had a "Foolish Heart" in it to provide the final irony. We gave our love to a foolish heart, and it finally failed. Nonetheless, hearing that heart sing is the coda.

For anyone with a sense of pitch or phrasing, this is NOT a show to hear. Darn near every note from Jerry's guitar hurts. Literally hurts. You'd do better yourself on a case of Coors and a $30 used Danelectro. Yuck.

I am sooo glad I didn't make it to this show.Highgate was the last show I attended before Jerry died...I dropped and then left after BTW because you could feel it all coming to an end...Jerry was just a shell of himself and it hurt like hell to hear it and see it.I did not care at all for Vince and though I respect Bruce,neither one understood the trip like Pig and Brent...It just wasn't the same anymore and the magic seemed lost.So you say you want to try heroin? Well,hopefully this show will change your mind...I love you Jerry,peace.

I saw the last 5 shows Jerry did, and I was up very close for the 2 St. Louis shows and the last one at Soldier Field. The music really was hit and miss, but the dead were always that way. Jerry Garcia was a person who commanded immense personal power, and it was obvious up close, even at this show. He looked much older than his years, and was clearly in poor health. Don't be fooled, though, he definately still had the power, just not the health to push us all from one musical vista to the next for a whole show. Also, recall the Deer Creek riot incident and the campground disaster where 100+ people got injured after the St. Louis show. These things cast a lot of negativity into tha band and that is why the music suffered-not really Jerry fault, entirely. Musically decent, just a real bad mojo in the air.

No argument here: The Grateful Dead was a terrific rock band that gave us all a tremendous amount of joy.
But that doesn't mean reviews of this show should be turned into some sort of lifetime achievement award.
I give this show two stars -- both because I'm generous, and because the So Many Roads is a genuine highlight.
Other than that, the band sounds tapped out and uninspired.

This show was a sad ending to a wonderful 30-year run.
But it was what it was, and calling it anything other than disappointing is just flat-out wrong.
If you want to celebrate the good times, find a good show elsewhere in the Archives and give *that* five stars.
Don't waste them on this.

Reading these eviews and listening to this show, I have the suspicion that it's you that has the emotion, not the show. I heard that Phil said that the last like, 7 years was just a dismal blur for him. I think this show is evidence. It WAS a fantastic voyage and it's over now as we knew it. Let's accept that it went out with a whimper.

This show is definitely not as bad as people say it is. While it can't compare to shows from earlier in their careers, it is quite good when you consider how sick Jerry was and how exhausted the rest of the band was, as well.
Also, you can't divorce the show from its historical value. It was the last show of the greatest band in rock history, and it is the last time that Jerry ever recorded live. We should consider ourselves lucky to be able to have this show.
Forever Jerry! And for everybody else in the band, just keep truckin' on...

Quand on ©coute So Many Roads et que l'on sait que c'est son dernier concert c'est tr ¨s ©mouvant..
La qualit © du concert et bonne avec une bonne version de Black Muddy River.
Ce n'est pas le Jerry Garcia de 71 mais qu'elle humanit © !
Salut Jerry ... See you soon on the other side

first off thanks to all the folks who have put this site together and all who contribute music history. alas that is what this show is for certain. It will be marked as the last grateful dead show.. I just listened to black muddy again . i had not played this tape in years.. it bought a tear to my eye... I had seen the giants stadium shows and felt we were seeing garcia for the last time... This show makes me ask what if all over again..If you rode the bus .. lived for the tours, shows than keep at least black muddy from this show in your collection.. and when you play it.. look up to the heavens and say thanks to jerry....

just to echo what's been said...this is pretty awful. sure we all get worked up over the end, but be thankful it ever was. giving this show anything other than 1 or 2 stars means you haven't actually listened to the show.

I remember as I walked out of Soilder field that fatrful night saying, it was a ok show, about what we had come to expect from the boys at that time. But people rating these 90's shows aganst early 70's shows ???? I remember after hearing the news thinking , it was a tragic end to what was dubbed "the tragic tour"..... to be honest I don't feel the band(s) ever played any "bad" shows, just some were better then others. thank you for a real good tyme.!!!!

well i was just wondering why people are bumming out so much about this show. I though that it was pretty good especially the BMR, it was literally spine tingling. This is a good show, and although not their greatest, is definitly worth downloading. For those of you who havnt heard anything from '65-'69 you definitly should and also the Europe '72 tour.

I think to bill this as the end of it all is wrong. The Dead live on, and so does Jerry. Don't dwell on the bad notes or strained vocals just listen. People who do that just dont get it! Plain and simple! As you listen take only a brief mental note that this was Jerry's last show, but please dont hover over it because if you do that you will be very disappointed. Enjoy! Oh yeah take notice to the rest of the band! Jerry is not the only member.

Yes the last show with Jerry. Im not sure how to rate this. The sound quality is excellent and all and all, despite other reviewers I think it was a pretty good show. I dont care that Jerry wasn't performing his best. One highlite is definitly so many roads. Take a listen, and enjoy. The "LAST" muddy river, as Jerry sings in Black muddy river.

Don't diss this show, if you do, then you're disrespecting everything that the band put into this show. Especially Jerry. A dying man playing for hours on stage. I don't think alot of people in this world can do that. If you disrespect all that he did in this show, then you truly aren't a fan.

Thank you, Jerry for everything you did.

I have just gotten into the Dead and when i heard this last performance i was deeply moved.
Jerrys' health was failing, the band might have been tired from a long summer of touring and still i loved the performance. Did Jerry or Phil or the rest of the band know he was dying?
Does it matter?? Really?
Stop worrying about the *hidden messages* ( if there are any) and just listen. Please
Shed a tear for Jerry if you like, i obviously didn't know him but i sense he would want us not to cry so much as listen and love the music.
Peace and be good to each other

Skippy

This show hurts. I feel Jerry dyin'. I think Jerry wanted us to feel him dyin'. No matter how much Jerry meant to sooooo.... many people, nobody meant as much to Jerry as Heroin Death. Not the fans, not his family, not his band of brothers. Sad but honest. I am not judging, I have had Jerry pick, strum and sing me out of many a dark time. But reality is is that he couldn't make it and now we all miss him. Does make me cry to hear the struggle in his voice and guitar. So many roads, I pray his Road Is Easy now.

I have listened to this show several times, both out of sentiment and mourning. Although many have raved over the stark beauty of So Many Roads, I cannot help but to shake my head. In the end the show represents the mediocre end of a great band.

Jerry does say LAST instead of BLACK on BMR. Very strange. It was worth getting but I do not enjoy listening to it for very long. HEROIN SUCKS...

So much has already been said about the ÂSo Many Roads  from this show, so I won Ât pile on. What gets me choked up more than the SMR are the last 2 songs. It was as if Jerry knew he was dying and so did the band, so they put every ounce of energy and emotion that they had to give into those last 2 songs (read Blair Jackson Âs excellent bio of Jerry  he describes Jerry being helped up the stairs to the stage for the second set that night. That being known, Jerry gave us all we could ask of him for the second half of the show.) Listen carefully to Jerry during the first chorus of ÂBlack Muddy River and you will hear him INTENTLY sing Âlast muddy river.  Later in the song, he sang Âstones fall from my eyes instead of years.  Listen to Phil during ÂBox of Rain;  you won Ât find a more emotional version of this song anywhere. It was obvious that he knew that this was his last song with Jer. He sang is heart out throughout the song. Listen to the last line, Phil SHOUTS, Âsuch a long, long time to be gone, and a short time to be THEEEEERRRRE! Â

Listen to "So Many Roads." It will send chills up your spine.

id have to agree with a fellow reviewer anyone that got to see this concert our any grateful dead shows and uses ill words to describe it should be ashamed and un-Grateful to have been there i to would have give a testicle to see this our any show of an any year i know it wasnt the best but it was the last and all of us who were born in the wrong timeperiod as i see it get to only imagine how great it was , oh and theres no way u can say that so many roads doesnt bring a tear to your eye if it doesnt u dont really got the love . Oh ya and todays music scene is pretty pathetic its pretty sad that good rock and roll music is pretty much gone so basically be GRATEFUL

All I want is one to take me home. Just listen, and you can feel it! This is a GREAT show!!!!

to simply assign a good/bad value judgement to this show based on the musicianship of the band/and or setlist or sound of the recording is completely idiotic. This show must be judged for what it is: the last grateful dead show and the last recording of jerry garcia playing the music many of you were lucky enough to see/hear live, and many of us who weren't around can only see/hear through recordings stored on this site and others as well as dvd's out on the market. It sucks to read some of the negative comments written on this board about this last show of theirs because--you should say to yourself--"I was lucky to see this show or at least have the opportunity to have bought tickets for this show and many other shows during the 80's, 70's and even 60's." Many of us downloading these files and buying the DVD's and even having the opportunity to see the current band tour would give a right arm and eyeball to see the band even when they were not on top form. I would give a testicle to have the opportunity to go back in time and catch the band at any point in their history--just to have the opportunity to experience the magic that was the GD. This recording represents more then a good/bad show, or a good/bad recording: this show represents the end of a legacy, the end of an era--and band that can never be replaced. Just take a look now at the current music scene and you can understand what I mean. There is for sure an empty space where the grateful dead (and other great bands of the 60's & 70's) once occupied, and music will never be the same again. So please, don't be ungrateful and accept this recording--with all of its imperfection et cetera--for what it is, a special show that marked the end of a way of life for many of you, and most deffinitely the end of an era...

i thought this was a pretty phat show. to say this was the worst show of 95 or the 90's is a crime. sure it's not one of the best shows the boys put together but think about it, this is the last show of a long, hot & rainy summer tour. ever stop and think that maybe the band is tired and ready to take a break? after all they are only human and humans get tired. i dont think anyone who has anything bad to say about any show the dead ever played dont aprecieate the grateful dead and what they gave to us. stop your negative flappin and be thankful you had a chance to see the boys play. if you had a good time while your were at the show and out on tour, there really should be nothing to complain about and thanks to all the tapers out there working their asses off, you can have the memory to cherrish for the rest of your days. just enjoy it and stop complaining. this was a great show as well as the night before. i recomend it to anyone who still has a love for the grateful dead.

Previous reviews have pointed out the several "bad" parts of this show, but few have pointed out that, overall, it's at least an average show compared to the other 1991-1995 stuff, and isn't as horrible as some have stated--musically, it's not bad at all. Good recording, especially since you can hear Weir's flourishes better than in many other recordings. Even with all the alleged "Garcia problems", he's still whipping out some very nice riffs, many times.

"Touch of Grey", "Lazy River", "Little Red Rooster", "Black Muddy River", "Shakedown", and "Masterpiece" are all musically tight. "Sugar Magnolia" and a few others are kind of messy, and Garcia certainly sang better, but the guitars sound better than average in my opinion. In fact, the poor vocal work on "Shakedown" is kind of a benefit, in a way, since the music is so good.

Give it a 2nd chance, if you've heard it before. It's got some very good ensemble playing, and some very good Weir guitar.

This is a terrible Dead show, emotion or not. Sound quality is pretty good, but give me a break with this "this is the best show of '95" crap......Sorry.

Unlike the edited version of "So Many Roads" that appears on the box set of the same name, this version is the real deal. Jerry doubles up on the "ice-blue-roses" verse and this is his original intro, not the pasted on version.

I hear the next Gans/Cuttler project is to go back and clean up all of Picasso's later works. Apparently he was pretty fucked up and didn't know what he was doing.

This show is the best one of '95, and while it's not flawless, there are some wonderful moments.

I find it amazing that the majority of reviews of this show speak to other reviews rather than the music itself. I enjoy lazy river road, childhoods end, the cumberland, and the shakedown. The unbroken is wonderful too.

This isn't Jerry's brightest moment, but it's one hell of a swan song.

dont diss the show just listen

I HAVE MANY DEAD SHOWS BUT THIS ONE HAS MORE EMOTION THAN ANY I HAVE HEARD. JERRY SINGS TOUCH OF GREY WITH SUCH DESPAIR. YES, HIS PERFORMANCE IS AWFUL. BUT IT MAKE'S YOU WONDER IF HE KNEW HE WAS ON THE WAY OUT.DURING THE FINAL SONG, BOX OF RAIN, BOB SOUNDS ALONE ON THE STAGE, AS IF JERRY IS GONE. IT'S HAUNTING IF YOU HEAR BETWEEN THE LINES. THIS SHOW IS A SAD MUST HAVE.

Nice recording.
So Many Roads to ease my soul.
:(

poor jerry his playing was shot. its sad to think its his last show.

R.I.P. jerry

This is a mediocre show. It's poignant because it's the last show. The 1st set basically blows. The 2nd set is pure mediocrity except for the obvious: Jerry almost blows So Many Roads but then pulls a rabbit out of his hat for the magical, gospel build-up ending which makes you want to cry. The Unbroken out of Space is pretty decent, but it's the band playing and Jerry barely even audible, kind of like most of the show. From listening to the Black Muddy encore, Jerry sounds pretty strong and it actually sounds like Vince that screws it up in the transition. Phil shines on this, always thought Childhood's End was a pretty nice one, too. Sad to listen to this, but this was the culmination of Jerry's long, slow decline. Pretty good SQ with this SBD, sounds like it's been mixed or something.

Must've been TIC (tongue in cheek)

This show is not a good one however you listen to it. However, I must say that the SBD version is a big advance on the AUD copy that I had prior to this. I was surprised that on listnening to this show that it was a lot better than I remembered it. I think the audience copy sounded a lot worse because you could hear Garcia's tired vocals (or lack of) and frequent bum notes echo around the stadium. But this copy isn't so bad. Difficult to review show-wise. Garcia's last two songs were So Many Roads and Black Muddy River, and the last song they ever played was Box Of Rain. They speak for themselves...

on black muddy river in the first chorus Jerry says Last muddy river.....coincidence, i dont know. but this show regardless of the flaws brings a tear to my eye everytime i listen to it. I love the Dead and I hate giving them bad reviws because everyone has a bad day here and there and I think they deserve a good review for everything or at least a decent one. well misss you Jerry.

Last show. Historical value only. Great quality, at least in this show from '95 they are TRYING...
Between Jerry's overall health, his carpal tunnel syndrome was KILLING his playing.
So Many Roads was a diamond in the extreme rough, almost hard to listen to emotionally.
Box of Rain sums up the career.

The bright spot of this show is Phil; Childhood's End, Unbroken Chain, and Box Of Rain were all strong.

And So Many Roads was Jerry's goodbye.

this show is basically crap, but the so many roads was definitely jerry writing his epitaph. i cry every time i listen to it.

I have to say that I also saw my first show when touch of grey came out,and this show was a bummer and I now have a touch of grey.But I will get by, I will survive,lets see some 81,82,83,84,86,87,88,89.
Chow

1995 was the most painful year to endure as a fan. The 6 shows I attended were terrible, Jerry's health decline was frightening to witness and the influx of loser newbie Deadheads that ruined the concert scene make this the most forgetable year in the band's 30 year career. Sadly, Jerry & band bow out with this chillingly bad gig. Man, I thought the '95 Shoreline run was bad. This one is even worse.

I didn't think this was quite as disastrous as some others did ... still, it was not too good, and kinda sad to listen to at times.

(Incidentally: I greatly appreciate having all this Dead on the Live Music Archive, but why put a bum year like '95 up before, say, 1988 or 1980?)

I give this 4 stars for the recording,
1/2 a star for part of So Many Roads.

The rest of the show is just plain terrible
and painful to listen to, like much of the
GD from 1993 on.

...just for the So Many Roads. Other than the historical significance this show is pretty much worthless. If it's good for anything it serves to show how far the Grateful Dead had fallen. At times it's almost painful to listen to. IMO very few shows after 1991 are worth five stars. If it wasn't for the SMR I'd look to give this show no stars.

WOW and WOW, that's all i can say. i have been a dead head ever since touch of grey came out and boy did i get down. this was my second show and it was the best!! Jerry sounded great and so did the others. a must have!!

I agree, I keep seeing reviews from the 90's with 5 stars- there just weren't that many 5 star shows after 91. i wonder if the folks who are giving those ratings have ever listened to Europe 72, May 73, May 77, Summer 82, Summer 89 There are a lot of 5 star shows in those times, but 02,93,94,95 they were few and far between

don't give this show 5 stars for all the joy the dead created over the years. this show, standing alone, is terrible. if zero stars was an option, this show would deserve it.

i don't want some newbie to see a bunch of 5 star reviews, dl this show, and wonder what the he11 the fuss is about. there are far, far, far better shows spanning the dead's 30 year career. there are even better shows in '95 for heaven's sake. keep it fair people.

Scary, sad note.

Thank you Jerry.