I had the pleasure of meeting Vince about 10 years ago when he took the time out to show up and sit in on some tunes with a great and well known GD tribute band, Crazy Fingers, in South Florida. Despite all the demons he was battling internally, he was such a kind and down to earth soul. All the criticism leveled at him I have a hard time agreeing with. He was thrown into a situation where he had to learn a lot very fast and did as well as he could. And, being a longtime Deadhead himself, he was living his dream for an all too short amount of time. When Jerry died and the GD ended, he went into a deep depression that, it seems, he could never rebound from. Not to mention that he fought and beat cancer shortly after Jerry died. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him. Bless his soul!

As stated in a couple of the comments below, and in Grateful Dead Gear by Blair Jackson, Bob Bralove--not Vince Welnick--was responsible for the shitty synthesizer samples mixed into the Dead's sound during these early '90s tours. The corny electric fiddle that ruined "Jack-a-Roe," the godawful circus organ grinder that turned "Franklin's Tower" into a joke...that was Bralove mixing and sending those samples to Vince's keys from who knows what planet he was residing on at the time. For instance, I am listening to "Iko Iko" right now, and Vince is playing and blend of samples that sound like a mix between a steel drum and hand bells.

Vince had to work with what Bralove gave him. Sometimes, I can hear Vince changing sounds three or four times during a solo, as if he were thinking to himself, "Oh GOD NO! Get me out of here!" Blair's book talks about how Jerry was superstitious about having another B-3 organ onstage after Brent died, and the band definitely wanted to try out some different sounds, but I think they were limited technically; comparing synths of today with the synths of the early '90s is like comparing the 1990 iMac with today's MacBook Pro. I happen to like the B-3 sample that Vince used during these tours, but sometimes I wish he would have just stuck with that and a few of the Brent-sounding tones and fired Bralove back to the drummers (he worked with Billy and Mickey during space).

Vince's tone mellowed out over time. During 1993, he used a lot of standard piano. Vince was no Brent, but he added some great keys and vocals to the music. RIP Vince.

Unfortunately, Bruce and Vince never gelled together well. I can always spot a '91 show because there is this noisy blast coming out of my speakers. Mixed and muddled grand piano and calliope. Bruce should have left the accordion at home too. Sometimes they worked well together, sometimes they didn't. Oh well. I would take '91 Grateful Dead over no Grateful Dead at all.

If you find yourself not liking the early '90s, check out the spring and summer '93 tours for some great music from this lineup of the band.

Good show, good SBD.

The 90's was mostly depressing. I know Vince has his apologists but he was mostly awful. Samba in the Rain? Ugh. The Hornsby shows though .. they were kind of interesting. Sometimes Hornsby's voice clashed a little with Jerry's, but you could not say the same thing about his piano work which was very, very strong.

seriously, some one pleeeeease fix the pitch on this show, it's hard to listen to...

I love this version of Mexicali Blues. If I may quote the the first reviewer, Greg Peters, "It sound like an absurd carnival ride". Great simile, Greg...or is that a Haiku. Hmmmmm.

great show for the 90s actually easily top 3 great song selection and very well played wasnt much of a fan of Vinces but his cheesiness doesnt stick out at this show as it does in others of his era ive seen every show at the Omni since 85 and thinking back on it i cant recall them having a bad show guess its just one of those venues they tear it up at like Shoreline Cal Expo Boston Gardens Deer Creek etc... enjoy and thanks for the good no great times Jerry and the boys

this show is fabulous, and i just wish i'd made it to shows 20 months earlier so i coulda been there. people like to talk a lotta stuff about Vince, but i'm listeing to 1970 right this minute and ya know what? Pig made just as much dumb carnival keyboard noise as Vince ever did.
i'm not comparin Vince to Pigpen; i'm juss SAYIN

Solid, well-played and deliciously well-recorded.

I love Atlanta, GA!

Impeccable ensemble here forthtold:
GARCIA LESH WEIR KREUTZMANN HART WELNICK HORNSBY.

This was my first deadshow. It is still to this day one of my favorite nights of my life! Highlights are the Shakedown, Deal, Terrapin>Stir It Up jam, Other One>Wharf Rat. The bus came by and I got on and it changed my life forever. God Bless The Grateful Dead!!!

Smokin show from a smokin tour!

Don't hate on Vince's sound. Read the following:

DI: Bruce Hornsby was there as a “buffer” for a while.

VW: That was the deal. The job description was “Bruce will play the piano until we work in the new guy. You will play synthesizer -- not the Hammond organ, but synthesizer.” I wish it would have been the Hammond, too. It was either space, or they wanted to phase out that sound and replace it with other stuff.

DI: So when you and Bruce played together, you had split responsibilities?

VW: I had the bogus Hammond, the one that sounded not like a Hammond. [laughs] Whenever I went to the organ, that’s what I played, and the synthesizer. I learned all those songs on the piano at home. Now I get to the stage, and, with the exception of a very few rehearsals, we were up and running on the fall tour. “I must not be a piano player,” that’s what’s going through my head. “Be anything but a piano player now.” It was challenging.

DI: When Bruce went on his way, were you able to bring those other sounds in?

VW: Oh, yeah, and Bob Bralove was supplying my midi sounds, like he did with Brent. He fires them in from afar. He sends in, not the songs, but the sounds.

DI: A lot of electronics were utilized within the whole framework of the Dead?

VW: There was a "wall" of sound effects. Bob Bralove would keep adding more effects. I have pedals to bring them up. If I had all the pedals on full, you could be hearing up to six different sounds blended together.

Look, you can't be mad at Vince for how loud he may or may not be in the mix. Remember there's whole slew of people in production who control this, namely Dan Heeley.

Great show...dig the stir it up jam and NFA especially. 5 stars for making it all possible...

Hey Now, I was in Atlanta for this run at the Omni, Listening to it tonight almost 17 years later WOW! This is a real good one.
Fine sound and great playing, Bruce's accordian makes Friend of the Devil sound new. If you need a lift chech out this show!

I truly had a blast at all of the omni shows and remember this one being pretty damn smokin. I do wish someone would upload the soundboards though.

...however, as with all the post-Brent shows, I can't tell really, cuz as usual Vince is stomping all over what everyone else is doing and just making added noise. Really bums me out -- listen to Aiko or Deal; it's not just the cheezy tones from that casio-thing he played but the fact that he's not listening to and gelling with anyone else...just banging that noise out. You can tell that Bruce was frustrated...had to sit back a lot and then pound his stuff out when he could get a chance...listen to the nice stuff he plays in the Deal solo when he finally gets in there; seems he has to stomp on the keys with his feet to be heard. Sorry to be such a downer, but Vince completely ruins these shows for me. He was nowhere near the level of musician the others were, as evidenced by his listening (or lack thereof) as much as or moreso than his playing..
anyone else feel that way?

Greatest thing was that I unknowingly bought a counterfeit ticket and still got it! Bunk ticket or not I was taken care of at my first show...what a experience...no concert like it these days.

Magic happens. Life transforms.

This too was my first show. Yes I do remember the drum circle. Sure do miss the shows...

I too was there. My buddy and I camped in my pickup truck at Stone Mountain. At the show we sat in the first row of the second level with two guys from Hawaii on break from their cruise ship jobs. My fondest recollection was the back-and-forth play between Jerry and Bruce. It was fabulous. I saw the Dead a few days later in Orlando and then a few times up until Jerry's death. This show was the best of all!

I hate to admit it, but this was my very first show. I had been listening to the guys way before then, but never made a show. I was on the front row right in front of Bruce and Jerry and must say it was a mind-blowing and life-changing experience. I don't know how that can be topped for a fist show. I thought Bruce was great, given we had just lost Brent.

I was there! I can't believe I found the show that I was there for. Not mention, it was my frist show. Wow does this bring back some thoughts and visuals. Does anybody remember all the people playing drums down the hill in front of the Omni, that just blew me away. The lot was great, griled cheese all weekend long. GD 4 ever. peace, c

I don't know enough techhie stuph to know if it is possible but it does seem to be a little too fast. The music sounds cool though.

Sorry if this sounds off to some, this was the first show I seeded long ago. It's an alledged DAT>CDR straight rip, but since I couldnt confirm I just put "?". I was at all these shows 10th row center, and this one did have a different sound than the rest. Sounds like I recall, but, ummm, I also recall being amazed I survived it. An epic journey...

It is not Vince who drives the the keys it is Bruce who fired up Jerry for almost all of 1991. Check out Bonner Springs with the epic Scarlet/Fire and the Comes A Time breakout coincinding with Jerry's summer tour relapse and the real beginning of the end. Best years of The Dead? 1991, 1973, 1969, 1977 in that order!

or maybe even early 90s. This show is pure high energy. The flow is amazing, the performance is breathtaking. Vince is the maestro behind the keys and does a spectacular job. so does the rest of the band. there are almost no highlights, every song is an highlight.

the monsterous space section even have the train horn!!

New Minglewood Blues, Deal, shakedown (eventually) are all jsut amazing.

just download this and listen to this. It can even reach the 1969 performances....

A fantastic show

I am wondering if this show is not sped up a little bit. Sure sounds like it may be, which would explain why one reviewer here has said that Jerry's vocals on the two previous nights sound very differently. And why another has said he thought the show was pitch-shifted. Dunno, just a thought.

BrotherLuck: Check out the 6-22-91 Shakedown, IMHO, it rips even harder than this one.

This is a good one, for sure, in a year full of fine shows. The band is both solid and playful, which makes for some really pleasing jams. The terrapin > stir it up feels great and the other one pushes the band to a frenzy.

This recording is pitch shifted and sounds alright for the most part, but there are some parts that really don't agree with the change in sound.

Wow! Bobby's guitar sounds for shakedown are out of this world. Sorta creepy sounding, its NOT out of tune, its just the effects.

My crew and I hit the Greensboro's and the Atlanta run back to back. By the time drums/space rolled around at this show I was completely satisfied - and completely exhausted (and I was much younger then!!!). I know that Other One>Wharf Rat>Throwin Stones>NFA was somewhat standard for the day, but the boys just nailed this quartet of songs to close up a fantastic run of 5 shows for us. I just remember being amazed that after so many nights of playing, they could put together such a powerful conclusion to the show and the run.

Get this one.

This show ranks in the top five of the 1990's, hands down. Just listen and you'll hear why. Phil's bass lines at the end of Terrapin are surreal, and the Wharf Rat is damn near perfect. Amazing. The one thing I'm wondering about is whether there are vocal overdubs of some sort here on Jerry?? I love Jerry's pitch throughout this show; I just can't square it with the way he sounds the previous night or the next!

Definitely one of the best live shows I've ever seen. The entire show is exceedingly tight, with the exception of Bob being out of tune at the start of Shakedown. It's actually very funny because his guitar is well out front and he attacks the song with tons of energy, but he's so obviously out of tune. The band covers well, and does it justice when Bob finally comes back in (around 3:30). Something I remember most about this show though, is during the just amazingly insane Other One, Candace's lights were just going crazy. I remember specifically thinking "I'll probably never experience anything this psychedelic again..." They were spinning, flying back and forth, strobing, just going completely nuts until the nice peak that Jer. set up and took the band to. I've seen my share of Dead shows and other jam band-y/psychedelic bands, but that has remained the sweetest, most intense display of lights I've seen, and probably will ever see. I just wish I had it on video. Maybe it'll come out of the vault sometime...
Get this one!

This show smokes from top to bottom. So tight and insane. Just get it.

Also at this show. Shakedown is thundering and the ENTIRE 2nd set simply smokes! Needless to say the Terrapin>StirItUp is the hilite, but the post-drumz plus quinn encore is blistering.

I was at this show in ATL up close. They were on fire and it is 1 of my all time favorite shows, out of the 40 I attended. Shakedown and Deal are insane. Iko and then I was yelling to Bobby to play Saint and we got it. Stir it up and a stellar Wharf and Quinn.

I caught most of the Omni shows '89-'94. '90 was a great year, but I'm beginning to think '91 was better. Hornsby was fully integrated into the band at this point, and the interplay was fluid and nuanced. 4-5-91, IMHO, is the best of the run. Mexicali sounds like an absurd carnival ride. The Terrapin>Stir It Up Jam is sublime. Really, the whole show rocks. After 13 years, I am so grateful to finally get a SBD of this show!