Dylan and the
Grateful Dead kicked off their historic tour thirty years ago today in Foxboro
Stadium on July 4, 1987. The Dead started the affair with a one-set performance
that was lackluster, unimaginative, and not a good omen for the upcoming Dylan/Dead
set. This was Dylan’s first show in eleven months, and he was rustier than an old
dirt shovel in a porous toolshed. This show is only noteworthy because Dylan played
his first live versions of “Queen Jane Approximately and “Joey,” and he also performed
“John Brown” and “Chimes of Freedom” for the first time since 1963 and 1964 respectively.
The next Dylan Dead gig at JFK Stadium in six days was an improvement, setting
the stage for a brilliant performance on July 12. Their first joint appearance
on Independence Day was nothing to boast about, but Garcia and Dylan have
provided many thrills through the years on July 4. 
1. 7-4-75 Legion
of Mary, Great American Music Hall, San Francisco: This potent group featuring
Garcia, John Kahn (bass), Merl Saunders
(keyboards), Ron Tutt (drums), and Martin Fierro (sax and flute), played a
sensational show, highlighted by “Tough Mama,” perhaps Garcia’s finest performance
of a Dylan song. It was a night of scintillating solos from Jerry, especially
the last two of “Tough Mama” and one from a poignant version of Jesse
Winchester’s “Every Word You Say.” Garcia hammers the blues on “Someday Baby”
and “That’s All Right Mama,” and lays down the funk with Merl Saunders on “Boggie
on Reggae Woman” and “The Harder They Come.”
2. 7-4-86 Rich
Stadium, Buffalo: Appearing on the same bill, the Grateful Dead, and Dylan
(backed by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), contributed short sets for the
simulcast of the second Farm Aid benefit concert, held in Austin, Texas. After
a short, lackluster opening set, Garcia pulled off a heroic second set segment,
considering Garcia was feeling ill, and he would lapse into a near fatal coma
five days later. The set opened with “Cold Rain and Snow” and segued into “Fire
on the Mountain.” Against a rambunctious beat, Garcia worked the fretboard with
blazing precision, as if he could make amends for all the missteps of his recent
past. Like a mythical figure, Garcia’s guitar playing onslaught continued during
a biblical serving of “Samson and Delilah.”
Bob Weir welcomed the
national TV audience tuned in to Farm Aid. Sufficiently warmed up from the first
three songs of set two, the Grateful Dead segued three of their finest compositions:
The Wheel > I Need a Miracle > Uncle John’s Band. The jams were dynamic without
superfluous meandering, and the vocal harmonies were superb. In the second set,
Garcia, as he did on many occasions, came off as a heroic figure, doing his best
work just when you counted him out. After the TV cameras were turned off, the
rest of the show fizzled. Dylan’s performance was more consistent than the Dead’s,
and he looked fine wearing a long sleeve red shirt under his black vest to go
with his bouffant hairdo and dangling earrings. Dylan played twenty-four songs
and Petty played eight during this professional performance.
3. 7-4-2007: I’ve
seen around 120 Dylan shows, so it’s hard to rank them, but this July 4
celebration in Montreal might be one of the ten best I’ve seen during the Never
Ending Tour. There were several lively performances from the recently released Modern Times. Bob played electric guitar
for the first four numbers and then plunked the keys for the remainder of the
show. The surprise songs of the night were “Shelter from the Storm” and “Chimes
of Freedom.” After a moving rendition of “Nettie Moore,” the set ended with “Summer
Days” and Like a Rolling Stone.” The encores were “Thunder on the Mountain” and
“Watchtower.” Dylan and his Cowboy Band rocked those last four songs as hard as
I’ve ever seen them. Dylan was giddy and animated when he came out for his
final salute from the audience. Denny Freeman had his best hour as lead
guitarist in Dylan’s band. He may be the most underrated guitarist that Dylan
has ever employed.
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