The Daily Nugs - July 2, 2024
From Grateful Dead of the Day
On this day back in '88 the Dead opened the first of two nights of a quintessential summer tour camping experience at the Oxford Plains Speedway in Maine. The show was fantastic from start to finish, but it got a lot better with Drums as the boys opened the gates and let everyone in. The entire crowd was then treated to a raucous final six tunes, including a Quinn encore and an achingly beautiful Morning Dew, one of the best of the late 80s. Give the entire show a listen at Grateful Dead of the Day.
To get summer tour started on this sweltering evening in 1989, Jerry comes on stage and asks the crowd, “how y’all doin’?” before an unusual Playin'> Crazy Fingers opener. But despite a gorgeous We Can Run and rare To Lay Me Down, the real action is in the second half. There, a tasty, slightly up-tempo FOTD opens the way for a powerful Truckin'> He's Gone, which becomes a spacey, meditative romp with some steely, purposeful noodling, magical percussion, and serious vamping before the boys just sparkle into Eyes. On the backside of Space, a fluffy Wheel billows forth before a not-to-be-missed Dear Mr. Fantasy> Hey Jude, the latter of which is laced with its own off-the-charts vamping. Click through and check out this fun New England summer night.
July 2nd Shows and Recordings:
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Until tomorrow, spread the love and enjoy the music!
Although this post talks about 7/2/88, and the link here goes to it, there must be a mistake: the setlist of that show does not match what is described. The show that’s being talked about is 7/2/89, and it is really good -
https://gratefuldeadoftheday.com/07-02-1989/