I was trippin absolute spaceballs this night, and got a peek at heaven. When I got shunted back to my body I took it hard. It was 30 yrs before I would be able to live happy again, but every minute was worth it.

What happened to the Deadlist Project???

I’m not sure I can think of a show where they started the show as blazing as this. The sound quality is perfect. I’d put it up against a 75 or 76. Jerry was great in the late 80’s (85,88,89,90). And Brent....don’t even get me started. His heart....

most perfect transition I have ever heard.

Dead and co. Return to Alpine valley this summer and I will be there waiting... Sometimes I can't even believe this is real... All these years later and still we are going strong!!!!!! Thank God This Music found me!

It was the 2nd time I'd scene the Dead, so lucky to have been at these shows. AMAZING!! They were banned until 2002 from Alpine Valley after that. We camped for 4 nights...it rained and rained. Estimates say 400,000+ attended the show. The estimates were from the Army National Guard that flew over taking estimates from the air(my g-pa was one of them). It was WI's first state of emergency. LOL NEVER have scene anything like it to date! What a "trip" it was.... :)

Mind-blowingly seamless Sugar->Scarlet discussed ad nauseum below. Wished they would have followed through with ->FOTM ... I wonder if Jerry may have changed the plan at the last second (see video for yourself). The rendition of Eyes was remarkable. Enjoyed many other moments, but the Birdsong with lengthy and apparent Dark Star tease was an omen of things to come in Hampton 2 1/2 months later during the Fall '89 tour.

As everyone has said this show was off the hook. I missed the previous night, but caught the 18th and 19th.

There is going to be a theater showing of this show uncut on 2012-04-19. Hopefully this is a prelude to releasing a Blu-Ray set of all three nights.

I can dream.

This show is the best of the 7/17, 7/18, 7/19 run of Alpine Valley in '89. 1989 was such a fantastic year. Touch of Grey > Jack Straw was always something I enjoyed, and the Sugar Magnolia and Sunshine Daydream as bookends for the second set is a cool concept. Promised Land is great as well. Phil is really on for this show. Happy listening.

no, it didn't rain until the VERY end of this show I remember sliding down the hill in the mud to Friend of the Devil I see alot of stuff about what was good or what was better than that, I saw almost every show through this time frame and they were ALL good this one was special because we all came together in that moment and celebrated god bless the archive too bad we can't download it thanks bobby

This show sounds great! I like the upbeat set list, and the Touch of Grey opener got me into the Dead Zone quickly.

A good year that's for sure, especially summer and fall. Much has already been said about the Sugar Mag Scarlet transition and it's great, but check out the drums and space. Spooky and experimental, sounds like some electronica circa 1995 and the transition into China Doll is fantastic. The Bird Song is gorgeous. Great show with Phil as second lead guitarist, he's really on for this show.

Overall: why does the previous night get more attention than this night?? Just b/c they released a video of that night?? I think this night is actually better, but that’s just me. Phil is simply all over the place here. Great stuff. Great recording as well, although I’d also love to hear a high quality AUD or matrix for this show. But I’ll also reiterate that I think while these were fantastic shows, I think they get a little blown out of proportion. I think the Cal Expo and Greek shows after this were just as good and, of course, fall 89 and then spring 90 were on a whole ‘nuther level (NOT just b/c of MIDI). Just my opinion.

The scene: welcome to the mudbowl. The rain began the previous night after the show and it was torrential at times leading up to this show. By the time the show started, people were sliding down the hill, creating a mud/water slide. But if memory serves correct, I don’t think it actually rained during this show (maybe just towards the very end?), which is always helpful for those of us not under the shell!

The music: it’s all good here. Obviously, this is an incredible Phil show, but everyone is on. Jerry’s solo on FOTD is a favorite 1st set moment here for me. Bird Song>Promised Land smokes nicely. As for the Mags>Scarlet transition, I’ll say it is very smooth, but it’s only about one minute with no “jamming” just a subtle change in chord progression (the two songs are very similar chordwise, so the real wonder is that they didn’t do this combo more often), so I’m not sure I agree with the hoopla that it’s really “amazing.” Nice Eyes>jam. Good post-space block as well.

We travelled from the(only)nearby hotel-the one the band stayed in....(to remain namelss) up 'G'road to these 3 shows. All 3 shows were fan-tastic! Of the 150 or so shows that I attended these were right up there with the best. These are must have shows for your collection. The recordings are excellent and take me back to a wonderful experience that will never be reproduced. They never returned to Alpine and it truly was downhill from here. While I saw many shows after these(and obviously before), these 3 performances capture the true essence of the Grateful Dead. Also,check out May '77 and summer of'85. Enjoy the fruits of the archive.

what a wonderfull 3 day adventure... aside from the rain and wind was a beautiful set of shows 17 18 19 remember the mud sliding from the top of the hill hehehe

I've written reviews for the other 2 nights(when 7/17 was still up) - and to the last reviewer - clearly you haven't heard the EPIC verions of Music and China Cat>Rider from 7/17, so check them out for sure. It is so hard to rate this greatest 3 night stand in the history of the band, when the powerful potential of the MIDI experiment was realized in a way that would lead to some of the epic shows of the fall(including the return of help>slipknot and dark star), but this night is kind of the "fun" night of the three. The touch opener, pair of jacks, and the absolutely MINDBLOWING Sugar>Scarlet transistion tell me that the band was just reveling in the fact that they were just flat out ON FIRE. A really fun setlist, perfect for the middle night of this run, and appropriate after the absolute atomic bomb of energy that was the 2nd set from the previous night. So sad that the soundboard from 7/17 is no longer on the archive. Thanks to Bobby and Ratdog for that.

1st off, this show's a SMOKER! Almost 20 years later I finally know what all the hoopla was about after this show was played. I'm in Cali and got to see many shows from '87-'90. Some considered very special shows, and this Alpine has always been toted as one. Now I know why, just damn hot! Phil is all over the place, he started with Jack and never stopped, it seemed that he was leading the band that night, JMO.

Now time to bitch, lol. This show would've PERFECT, in my opinion, if they lead off with Music or maybe even an old classic opener of China/Rider, but that's a stretch. Music fits very nicely with the theme. But my real complaint is Bobby's whiney choice of Throwing out of that sweet Fantasy/Jude. "Front Spot Light" Weir couldn't keep the mood and go in Let It Grow/Sunshine. It's perfect fit, at least it seems so to me.

That's, this shows rocks!!! Take it now and save it on back-up. Definitely a keeper!!!

Thanks guys for this beautiful gift...

Peace,
Audiohead22
audiophilehead@hotmail.com

good show. didnt they make a video of this one?

hey ratinacage..what the hell did that rant have to do with this recording or show? if you don't have something critically pertinent to say, why don't you save it.

this was/is a great show. good sound here. weren't playing china doll too often during these days. i think this was one of maybe 5-6 total i saw. summer '89 was very good...fall '89 was great

First off, this show is awesome. The second set is the place to listen here. It starts off with an amazing transition sugar magnolia -> scarlet begonias. the transition is so flawless, the jam out of sugar mag sounds like sunshine daydream, but it just fades into scarlet begonias like one fluid song (just listen for yourself). By the way phil absolutely rips on this begonias; the fills he just throws in there are incredible. After this i usually skip right to the juicy eyes, everybody is on on this version, and Brent really makes some great contributions. Brent is really up in the mix for the entire show creating a presence i never felt with godchaux nor appreciated with the later hornsby and welnick.

china doll is solid and beautiful. Brent shines again in dear mr. fantasy->hey jude. His voice is so unbelievably high and has a wonderful raspy undercurrent to it that is straight up amazing. they wrap up the show with a sweet sunshine daydream and an encore of quinn, finishing the show in true '89 fashion

The SBD is still available for download and it sounds great! Get it while you can. [Missing Jack a Roe through Promised Land]

It seemed that on this night the clouds parted just in time for the show, and then of course the drops can be heard on my tapes as they dig into Quinn for the encore. I agree this is the best Scarlet transition I have ever heard and the crowd on the hill where my wife and I were dancing became ecstatic. Actually the Sugar-Scarlet-Women-Eyes was frenzied. I remember walking out after the show back to camp and one poor fellow without a ticket called out "one of the best shows ever huh?"

GD was on fire in 89, IMO it was the best year they played together. Alpine Valley is the culmination of Summer 89, arguably being the best run they ever played. This night, while not the best of the three, is outstanding. Brent proves he the best keyboardist the GD ever had; check out his playing on memphis blues and mr fantasy. Like mentioned previously, the transition of sugarmag>scarlet is PHENOMENAL!! Their transitions are typically either standard originals(cant think of a better synonym) (ie: the China>Rider transition) or a transitionary song will be played right after the previous one (ie:Terrapin>Playin). Thats what makes this segue so amazing and unique. The transition is more like SurgarMag>Sunshine Daydream tease>Scarlet. The segue is seamless and sounds perfectly natural. The crowd goes absolutely nuts when Jer bust out, "When I was walking..." This is one of the best transitions I've ever heard the GD play. BTW, the song themselves kick ass. Jerry and brent play the hell out of the second set.

I was at this show in the eleventh row. During Throwing Stones, someone hits Phil's bass with a glow sick. He was pissed and kicked it off stage. It happens at 8:53 as Bob says "possibilies" on this recording. I have heard way better recordings of this show, which I will try to post. On better versions with a better bass mix, it sounds like a thunderous hammer...which is what it sounded like live. This one has a strange reverb to it, almost as if it was mixed with an aud. feed or someone screwed it up...

This is the show that they should have put out on DVD! But all 3 night were Great. The best memories from these shows

Drove all the way from NY for this 3-show run and was NOT disappointed despite a persistent 3-day downpour that made it feel more like October than July.

All 3 shows are beautifully played and these boards are great but this is my favorite of the 3 nights, just b/c the set list is so adventerous (Sugar_Scarlet_Smarter) and the like...

One indelible memory post-show, night 3: In a completely un-lit "parking lot", really just a big field turned into a mud-bowl by all the rain...everything dark and messy and nasty--some poor poor 'Head wandered by and stopped in front of me and my friend Grant, and in all seriousness, among these thousands of people and vehicles all obscured by darkness and mud, says: "Have you guys seen a brown car?"

Neither of us could answer...just stared at him in disbelief as he slowly shuffled off through the mud. I hope he at least got to enjoy the show, I really do!

I agree with Trannyman. Why didn't they just release all three nights in their entirity on DHFH DVD? There are too many incredible songs left off the DVD. IMO, these three nights are the best "post coma" dead shows....PERIOD! They have it all...and the boys are playing so well together...the energy is electric from the first note of Good Times on 7/17 all the way through the last note of Lovelight on 7/19. Actually, if I were older and could have seen any shows after 1978, these would be the ones. PURE MAGIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sound quality is superb - if I had to mention something, bass is a bit too high. This night, I would give sound an A, playing an A. Some could say and some may be true, it was "downhill from here" but at least we were enjoying the ride.

Download all 3 nights.

Could safely say that this is the best 3 day run of shows the band has ever played. That is not an overstatement.

as stated below by the fellow reviews this is a great show id like to point out the end of china doll its damn beautiful with jerry's midi work thats all i got to say

This is one 3-night run I dont have to wish I was at. I live on the border of WI and IL near the lake. So this was a regular thing for me since 87. This last run here was so fun hanging out with buddies smoking dank, doin' some shrooms, drinking some brews and the hot girls running around. The venue itself is a cool out-door ski hill ampitheater with trees in the backround. I remember thinking it looked kind of like a story pop up book. I ate some gooney birds and got into the Touch of grey opener seeing rainbow trails off Jerry's opening guitar solo and groving with everyone out on the lawn and then headed down into the pavilion for second set. Awesome show.
The Jerry Garcia band played after this in Sept. and I had to catch that also. Hitting Deercreek and prior to that in the spring the Milwaukee Mecca shows 4/15 and 4/16/89 were such sick shopws I couldn't believe what I jamming to at the I noticed they improved in this 89 spring tour from 88. I was getting crushed by the dead in that small cozy arena down town. Those shows and this Summer run were such a treat its unbelievable.

I would agree with previous reviewers regarding the Sugar>Scarlet: the transition is spine-tingling. That being said, I prefer the combo from 3/27/88 because they jam out the Sugar much more before revving up an absolutely insane Scarlet>Fire.

As for this show, I've had a cassette copy of set II for more than 10 years. It was nice to finally get to hear the rock-solid first set; Minglewood and Bird Song are particularly sweet. Sound quality is superb. Definitely a must have.

these shows rocked!! All three nights!

This show is hot! Deer Creek started a nice run of 4 shows. The weather was not as hot as the previous year. These Alpine shows are all worth the download. You get a great pair of Jacks in the first set. The second set is well played. The Sugar/Scarlet is equal to Buffalo 1990. Great transitions! Enjoy!

The entire show is hot, but the Sugar Mag>Scarlet Begonias transition is (IMHO) the best they ever pulled off. It's seamless, and still to this day gives me goosebumps when I hear it.
Thanks Archive, you've left every other site in the dust!

We kind of wormed our way down toward the stage inbetween sets and ended up in an area roped off by "police line" tape. We sat down, and nobody said anything, so we held our breaths and the lights went down and the game was on.

The first set definitely whet our appetite, and the second delivered on the yummies. The Sugar Mags was and always will be a great way to start a set, and this one was a ton of fun. I remember dancin' my ass off during the jam out of Sugar Mags, when all of a sudden I hear Jerry sing "As I was walkin' round Grovernor's Square...". WOW, they sure slipped that transition in there sweet as can be. NICE...now we're really into it...but there was a little piece of nice, flat, open space right in front of the stage just to the right of the speaker stack behind Brent..so, what the hell, we abandoned our seats and went for it.
There was a security guard sitting right on the stage right where we wanted to dance, and he seemed completely oblivious to us. I took off my glasses, my shirt and my shoes and set them right next to the speaker stack and proceeded to dance my ass off for the rest of the show...except for the China Doll of course.

I couldn't believe our luck in finding this space that the 3 of us shared for that magical second set. Great, LOUD sound...plenty of flat space to boogie, and a security guard to watch my stuff while I did the apoplectic boneless arm dance all night.

This was one fun night...but man, did it start rainin' during that second set, and it never stopped...

a nice recording of what is a really a sweet sounding band, with all of the story telling,
velvety smooth leads, well oiled harmonies(see Memphis), deep backbone of Phil ...so glad i could make it, so glad its here for us to revisit..