almost always agree w/ doug the dude and do so here: this show and the healy ultra mix is the bomb... jerry pulls out a loser and candyman in set one? awesome. as much as i like the scarlet/fire estimated eyes, that post space sequence a 10 on energy scale w/ bob doing his thing. killer stuff -- and a box of rain encore... cherry on top. thx to all who made this happen.

Not a bad show for a year when the boys did not get adventurous with their jamming. After a drive all the way across New York State and a dicey border crossing where one of our party was almost not admitted to the Dominion of Canada, we made it across the bridge, around the lake, and up to the venue. Little did we know it was a Hanna-Barbera theme park! We obtained some refreshments in the lot and headed in to see the sights. Somewhere during a game of miniature golf, we all lost interest and flopped down by a pond with a bunch of other freaks who weren't digging the park but found the water and sky fascinating. :-)

The venue itself was beautiful, with incredibly plush grass on the lawn. The first set standouts were Loser, with a searing guitar solo, and the surprise of Masterpiece. The fun really began in the second set as the sun went down. The Scarlet jam was adequate, nothing more, but things took off during Fire on the Mountain. The park's central "snow"-capped mountain was bathed in orange from the sunset, and Bobby frantically gestured over the crowd to get everyone to look. I was convinced Jerry was singing directly to me.

I recall a weird interval in the pause between Scarlet > Fire and Estimated, where somebody lit a smoke bomb on the lawn and then somebody else walked past selling stickers. The vibe got decidedly creepy as they lurched into Estimated Prophet, but smoothed out near the end of the song. The transition to Eyes was perfect, with Phil holding a B while Jerry transitioned to the E major scale, then dropping the big E in the bass. No fumbles, no hesitation, no break in stride, just pure silk.

The center of the set was exploratory, as Phil & Jerry left the stag to Bob & Brent for an impromptu jam before the drums. Mr. Mydland got a nice hand as he left the stage, and the sound effects began. Drums, power tools, and a motorcycle swirled around the venue as we careened into the deepest, darkest part of the show. When Jerry & Bob came back, things settled into a soft, swirly space with Healy modifications. After a brief tease of a Spanish jam, Jerry cued up The Other One. Bob came in with the soft intro that was typical of many late 1980s shows. To this day, I don't know what he was thinking.

The rest of the set was standard-issue Dead, sending us home happy after a nice China Doll and the obligatory Bobby rockers.

best show ive ever attended in my life.I was 17 yrs old. my first time enjoying bean sprouts n cream cheese, washed down by %6 canadian labbats extra stock, with lsd. hope everyone enjoys this matrix as much as i am. .... peace kids!

I was there also. My fondest dead memory was walking back down the hill, seeing the roller coasters around the park, the light was just right shining into the back of the pavilion as hundreds of hippie chicks in tie dye skirts swayed rhythmically as the band opened the second set with my favorite Scarlet>Fire! Oh and yes, that was a motorcycle on stage.

Awesome. You've got to be a fan of Healy's ultra-matrix boards and sound effects here to go all the way with this one (I think it's all great). Just listen to Jerry from high upon the mountain for that interstellar Loser and again on Candyman - W*O*W

The only quibble I'll take here is that, as lush as this board is, Jerry's guitar is buried in the mix a bit low. I know very little about the process of remastering, and no idea if that sound could ever be "amped up" or not, but he does have some extraordinarily dense soloing in Minglewood and the Other One, which is just a little drowned in the percussion. Oh well; nothing against the band here - this is a fantastic summer show from '87. Is that a chainsaw on the beam there?

Not expecting this from '87. Good Lovin' is a barn burner. and that Scarlet-Fire-Estimated-Eyes, well Eyes is a little fast but Holy Shit! I was streaming this at work at a low volume with crappy PC desktop speakers. so I can't wait to crank it at home on the Hi Fi. The Boys always seem to do well in the Great White North.

A Quarter Century ago yesterday (6/30/87) the Romanoff Republic invaded Wonderland north of the Boarder. Another unforgettable adventure to a strange universe was had by ALL who attended. Killer brenoli, international spirits and another incredible performance by The Boys made this 48 hour sojourn into a foriegn land one of my personal favorites. Sadly, one romanoff did not return as Billy Bob took one too many to the head and spilled his Guts to the wrong fellows, and ended up too hurt to continue. Check out the Map of Wonderland for Flashbacks and Memories from one of Many fanastic voyages of 1987. REMEMBER to continue the trek, FURTHUR on up the road. BRENOLI!


Nicoli Romanoff



p.s.... Best Scarlet-Fire EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

second night at alpine after eyes of the world this pteradactyl like "gooney" bird was heard quite clearly. as i absorb this intense, trippy, show. A. the eyes is ultra cool and quick. and thenin space in kingswood the gooney bird reappears belching its macabre noises. the threads that tie the mundane to mean something. not sure if anyone commented on this bird calls? great sounding tape, killer echo effects, makes ultra trippy yet muscular not thin and frail

I have to agree with many of the contributers on this show. I have written about several of these shows preceeding the dylan/dead shows.

I have to say that despite some incredibly short versions of "eyes" and "other one", this show may be the best of the Pitt, Roanoke, Kingswood concerts.

Let me start by saying I find this first set to be very well played and executed - also longer than what the boys had been playing for the past 1 and 1/2 years. For me the "Masterpiece" was great - I had no idea that it (along with "queen jane" and "stuck inside of mobile") would become staples of the Dead's touring until Jerry's passing. And as I stated - I think they played it with a much different feel than they did starting in '88.

Anyway, Scarlet>Fire>Estimated>eyes>jam>d/s - I too had a tape at the time with Spanish Jam and never heard it come to fruation. As someone wrote - check out 10/15/83 and others for this well executed jam.

So a revisit to '87 seems to point to these late june and early july shows as the cream of the crop.

Enjoy and God Bless.

Good show. Not enough bass in this mix though. Otherwise okay sound quality. Not great though.

Where?

Bob playing two lines of the basic theme without anyone else, especially Jerry, joining in is hardly a 'Spanish Jam'
Try: 8/28/81, 9/27/81, 9/17/82 & of course 2/11/70 - now there are some fabulous examples of The Spanish Jam.

The Other One: Man, those '87 TOO's where Bob starts singing verse one during Jerry's lead-in are pretty shocking for us older Deadheads used to Phil's 'rumble' starting the song followed by an instrumental before verse one is sung.....
The last minute before verse two Jerry gets going but that's about it.

Go back to 80'-83 if you want to hear 'modern' Dead (post '77) where Jerry can still bring it & hit's major peaks on a regular basis.
If you want to hear a really great Other One, start with the NINETEEN minute version from 4/23/83.

China Doll - Jerry sounds like the person he's singing about, his voice is so bad.....

And, where's the jam out of the song?
Certainly no 11/30/80 or 3/10/81.......

1987 has to rank at the bottom of the list as far as Dead years go (besides '86, '93 -'95) It's the least jammed year along with '88. I've heard very few good shows from either year.

How could you folks keep going show after show with the band playing at this level? And this is the year's best? Egads!

I came back for one show this year based on the 'In The Dark' hype & walked out in the 2nd set vowing never to return (Hampton Dark Star changed my mind of course as Jerry became Midi-revived & jammed out again).

I would be remiss to not add that Scarlet > Fire is pretty good however. Nothing special, but not bad.

Check out the whole show but highlights for me.
Touch,Loser,Candyman,Ramble Rose and Don't Ease!!Can you say Jerry!!Thats the first set!Listen to Don't Ease and tell me Jerry wasn't feeling good?
Dare I say top 10 on this Candyman,Ramble On Rose?
The whole second set is awesome and puts this show in legedary discussion!
Oh yeah Bobby does a great Masterpiece only because by this time Jerry was gasping for air because he was on his back the whole first set:)

Overall: this easily gets my vote for best show of 87 (perhaps followed by 9/9/87). The venue, the energy, the tune selection, the quality of play = truly standout show in a decent, but not great year. This recording is really great because it captures the feel of the venue - I don't think a soundboard does true justice to the show. Of the two recordings of this show on archive at this time, I think this is the better one.

The scene: this was my third show. The ampitheater is inside Canada's Wonderland - an amusement park I'd visited once with my dad a few years prior (I grew up in Rochester, about 2-3 hours away). At that time, we walked through Kingswood Theater and there was some sort of variety show going on. I never would have imagined that I'd be seeing the GD there a few years later. It seemed way too tiny for a real concert. I've learned the venue is 14,000, but it seemed much smalled to me. So dropping and then riding the standup roller coaster, then seeing a GD show at a small interesting venue? How about one of the best days you can imagine??

The music: So strong. First set is extra long for the time period because they're building up their "endurance" for the Dylan/Dead shows that start a week later (at those shows they combined their own 1st and 2nd sets into one really long set, then backed Dylan for a second set). Some really great board work by Healey, who adds great echoes and sound effects. The venue was perfect for this because it had this multi-teared tent-like structure as the top of the ampitheater that naturally created some weird (awesome) acoustics. Picture Shoreline at a quarter the size and with the tent hung by someone with a sense of humor and you'll have the right idea generally. So each and every song in the first set is really strong and well played by each and every member of the band. No weak links. Check out the perfect harmonies on Masterpiece. But the second set is where it really gets special. A tiny bit of space erupts into a smokin Scarlet. Then a really great transition to Fire. It's no 77, but it's very very good for this time period. Then when they get to Fire, Healey turns Phil up EXTRA loud for two bars and the crowd just erupts. At the time, the sun was setting behind the venue in a really spectacular sunset. The Estimated is vocally my favorite of all time. Yes, of all time. The jamming is no better than "very good" but Bobby's vocals, combined with Healey's echos and pitch distortions really make this *vocally* a very special Estimated. Please feel free to email me if you know of one that is better vocally because I'd truly love to hear it. The Eyes is solid but a little short, but we're treated with a really great Brent/Bobby jam. The drums/space is also one of the best of this time period. The band is basically still out in space when they start the Other One, which is a fantastic version. They slow down for a very pretty China Doll. Then it is all out rockfest. Fantasy, Around>Good Lovin is spectacular. This is 87 and I'm using the word spectacular. Rare. Bobby does a great rap for the Good Lovin. If you can't feel the energy dripping from the stage and the audience at that point, you are numb. Phil rounds it out perfectly with a Box encore. A truly great show.

What a show to be introduced to the Dead - the day was PERFECT and so were the surroundings.
The guy with the broken leg in a cast "freaking out" was ironically enough the brother of the Drummer of OUR LADY PEACE - poor James - he thought he was being led down to the executioner to get his head chopped off with an axe - taken away by the guys in white coats, he was put in a room with a few others to come down and missed the show. Big thanks to the big girl in the tie dyed Muu-Muu who promptly put him on his ass and stopped him from throwing bottles in the air. The problem was the CLOWN ACID - much more potent then any of us locals were used to.
That show changed my life.

No boarder crossing, ride the rides all day trippin, c the dead, some guy stripping down naked saying out of america what more can i say but the fact that i was hooked. Go Brent. Only saw 3 out 105 with brent.

1987 is one of those years with few bright spots. While this is no shining star, it is a solid and relatively balanced show. If you can put up with a very hoarse Brent, then you might enjoy this show. The Scarlet>Fire is very nice. Brent makes up for his vocal issues with some nice key-work. No time for a detailed review, but I will say that this one is worth the listen, but don't kill yourself trying to find a downloadable version.

BTW, I too support the jag's highly literate
criticism. It's a lot better than the all too
common, "got way fucked up on acid, duuude,
didn't hear a note the whole time but an
awesome show, dude!"

worst border crossing ever - vw van fulla freaks from NYC - took one look at us and pulled us over into the secondary - what a scene of woe! spent the better part of 4 hours having our van shredded, then came the dope-sniffing dogs....ouch...finally got outta there...did they find it? no!! haha! celebration time!

great show, great sky - we got there early and mingled with the families out on their day trips...highlight; tripping mightily at the little mimi-theater in the amusement park while a "menudo tribute band" (!!!) jammed - there were like, 40 normal people watching with kids and a bunch of heads doing the deadhead twirly-dance in the aisles and at the back - the look on parent's faces: priceless....the look on "pseudo menudo" guys faces - even better! the whole scene? surreal. fun!
this board was out and about pretty soon thereafter and is a nice one, quality-wise - tho not the best.

I was at this show, not consciously to see the Dead, but as a 10-year old on a Maryland travel soccer team spending the day at the amusement park! I only remember thinking how strange the cars in the parking lot were, and how there was a palpable buzzz in the air!

It was another 6 years until I saw actually saw the band with that intention, and, of course, I was hooked...

Only later did I put it together that this band I was now in love with was that same "strange scene at the Toronto amusement park."

:-)

Certainly JBoy has reviewed almost every show from this period. I think he's making his way into the 90's, but I don't see him there yet. At any rate JBoy, I enjoy your reviewing style and interesting writing about the shows. Bravo JBoy.

I already chimed on this one and had 15th row seats for it. Right there with MSG 9/18 as the topg dogs for 1987. Just plain classic and the band was finally breaking out of it's conservative shell by this point after a vanilla Spring 87 tour. 4 1/2 stars rounded to 5.

This is the first Grateful Dead show I have ever downloaded. I am too young to have accually been to any, but this is definitally an amazing show. Scarlet and Fire are just... Awesome.

Nothing else to say. Get this show.

I made the trip up from NYC for this one - easily the most unique venue for a show I attended. Nice, long show with a "Box of Rain" encore - what more do you need? great crowd, great performaces and a great download. Well worth your time.

Jboy - You're such a pretentious asshole. Shut the fuck up already.

What a long strange trip it was! So, we left WI on a BIG-TIME HIGH. The crew had changed in the bus; three girls, three guys; perfect. We're driving through Michigan in the heaviest rain I'd seen, and pull into this rest stop. Oh yeah, out-of-smoke. It was one of those real clean rest stops with an info booth and nice vending machines. The rain would stop for a couple of minutes, and the sun would break the clouds; then, this thunderous rain with drops the size of quarters would turn everything into a grey blanket of water. Standard for that part of the country. Anyway, you had to time the run from the bus to the restroom, or you might as well had jumped into a swimming pool. So I got there dry, but I had to wait on the return trip. The only other person in that rest stop was this guy wearing plaid pants, wing-tip shoes, a Kasmier vest, and a Titalist visor. He looked pretty stiff; but, in my ragged glory, I fashioned a conversation.
"Believe it or not," I said, " I'm a golfer too." Looking me over, he smiled and said in a southern accent, " Believe it or not, I'm a Deadhead." We talked shop on both subjects. He was on Tour with the PGA, but as a spectator. I think Craig Staddler was his guy...I was all about "The 'G'-MAN". The conversation slowed, and as we made our way back to our respective rides, he asked me if I smoked grass. I told him that I was out, but would gladly smoke him out if I had. He kinda chuckled and said, "Would you like some?"
"Sure," I said. Then he went into the trunk of his towncar and pulled me an Oz out of a whole duffle bag full. I told him that I couldn't pay for it. He just gaveit to me saying, " It's not that stoney, but does the trick." Apparently, his brother grew it and called it-dig this-'Kentucky Rose-Bud'. We said our Alohas, and got back truckin' on
Now, pulling into Motown, we faced the dilema of taking the bridge or the tunnel into Canada. We chose the tunnel. Prior to attempting the crossing, all goodies got stowed real well. We got pulled into secondary anyway. Looking like we did-All Headed Out-and the mobile looking the same, the question came swiftly, "Okay, where are you hidding the drugs?" That answer, "What are you talking about?" came just as swift. After a thorough toung-lashing about everything and anything related to 'hidin' out in a rock-n-roll band', they denied us access to Canada. Back to Detroit, for the night. To be cont.

Ive Been searching for this show for , well since 1988. A buddy of mine had it on tape from a local taper who was there , Last time I heard this was 1989. Wow The Estimated>Eyes, was so good to me....others may disagree, But thats why we live no particular way but our own...Peace ..john

After all the great reviews on this show, I had to download it. It proved to me that if you were at a show, you love it like only a mother could.

I am surely guilty too... I do try to be real about the shows I have attended and reviewed here. Many were bad. Many were great. Many were in the middle somewhere...

The recording/mix seems average to me. It is hard to hear Jerry at all. There are a variety of common band blunders which is just common to the Dead. No biggie, but I think this all adds up to charm of the experience if you were there. I wasn't. It was a hard listen for me.

Everyone loves this show; I hope I will too.

1st Set: Brent's deep hues embellish a mature "Touch," though the energy kinda sags as the song proceeds. Delicate lyric reading by Jer. Smooth transition to "Greatest." Wow, the bouncin' effect of Bobby and Brent's vocals are reverberating throygh my mind. Even though Bobby's lead lacks force, without realizing, musically the members are putting together a nice palatte. "Loser" is appropriately moody, not necessarily befitting a summer evening, but it definitely transports you from your current state of mind. "Minglewood" is also solemn, and dyed the right shade. Not an overwhelming energy, but my gosh, Brent's lead is carrying the band tonight. He's really rearing to go. "Candyman" kinda drags, but they've captured a certain dramatic essence that rings true. "Far" epitomizes the feel of the show as these versions are kinda draggy, but everything feels right. Thanks to the drummers, "Mama" is skippy. Hmmm, "River" is delghtfully chill, I'm feeling neglected cause I don't currently have the pleasure of watching a pretty lady's shoulders move with sensual conviction. (Think View from the Vault III during "River, the assured lady on the side of the stage.) Jerry's beginning to understand that the band is on the same page tonight which leads to a mildly euphoric "Ramble." "Masterpiece" is more than decent, with some early-on nice singing by Bobby. Anyways, this uniquely felt set ends with a quick "Ease." "That's it for the 1st set, but stick around for the 2nd." says Mr. Weir.

2nd Set: An assortment of mild Tropicalia welcome "Scarlet." It's easy to feel good about this version. There's plenty of careful listening by each bandmember, which allows Jerry and company to present a powerful "Fire." Again, "Estimated" is not overpowering, but always interests. Nothing's rushed, everything is casually, calmly executed. Feels admiringly lived-in. Anyways, we glide into a short "Eyes." The verses are quickly read through just so the members can explore this ethereal jazziness. In fact, they leave 'Eyes' after 6 1/2 minutes to strike out some unique chording on their own. "Drums" is memorable for those 'motorcycles' that continue to cross our terrain around the 5:00-6:00 minute mark. "Space" is rather quiet... Mickey's circling spatial design (what is it called?) extends to the beginning of a sonic "TOO." It gains cohesion during the middle jam, around 4:00. Slow, slow up "China." It's sweet, but not intrinsically lived-in. Hmmm..., this is the first "Fantasy" in a looong time. Good call too. It's a kick-ass version, that pumps me up for our rocking finish. First a yummy "Around" appetizer, and then the reaffirming sounds of "Good Lovin." Let's all get cheesy and silly and attempt Bobby yelps.
A humanizing, hold your dearest close... "Box" closes out this genuine, earnestly played show.

3 1/2 stars:
Does not supercede the excitement of the 6/26 Alpine show, but is consistently warm.

This is definately one of the best of 1987. The whole second set rips and in particular the other one I think is one of the best of the 80's as is dear mr fantasy. Encore of box of rain?? Remember for those of us actively touring then something anything that distinguished the show as unique was their signal to 'us' we had seen something special box of rain is ostensibly that but there is not a defect in this whole show - A ripper!!! 21 Songs with a very long space.

My first show, too. Hamal is right about the sky. Kingswood is located in Canada's Wonderland (a huge amusement park - quite the venue for a Dead show) about an hour north of Toronto. It is dominated by a man-made mountain. With the colourful sky, there certainly looked like there was a Fire on the Mountain. Bobby even acknowledges the trippy sky during Estimated when he follows the line "and my word fills the sky with flame" with "Check it out!"

The Scarlet>Fire is top-notch, the Eyes has a wonderful rolling beat. The Other one creeps out of Spanish Jam and the Good Lovin is HEAVY! Phil really belts out the last line of Box of Rain, too

I just wanted you all to know that I have seen over 50 dead shows and even thouguh this is the first dead show I ever saw, I still consider it to be the BEST show I have ever seen. This show is definitely well worth a listen and it brings back soooo many fond memories......enjoy.

Just a note about the origin of this Soundboard copy of the show. A Toronto College radio station, CKLN, wanted to broadcast the concert live and the Amphitheatre refused to allow its broadcast without a royalty fee paid to the amphitheatre. Being a college radio station, they were unable to produce the required funds. Dan Healy, the Dead's soundboard guy at the time, got word of this and provided the radio station with a crispy soundboard copy of the show for them to air at a later date. Thanks Dan, for allowing such a phenominal Soundboard copy of this concert to circulate. I have been searching it out in digital format for some time, since I heard it played live on the radio in 1987 the week after the show:)

Check out the smokin' jam after Eyes. Bob and Brent have some great interplay during this one. If I recall correctly from my rather hazy memories of this show, Jerry and Phil walked offstage after Eyes, leaving Bob, Brent and the drummers to jam a bit before the drums/space segment.

Good show, good recording. At the show, the sky was an incredibly strange color during Scarlet, lending an edge to the lyric "the sky was yellow and the sun was blue," that many at the show commented on. During Fire the crowd goes bananas at one point. The sound during drums that resembles one of the drummers having bad gas was a motorcycle being miked on the stage. You don't see that at every Dead show. A friend of mine who I went to show with swears to this day that he heard Garcia sing "wake up to find out that you are the SIZE of the world." A fitting change, but I did not hear it at the time, nor on the recording.