didn't appreciate use of the word "pedestrian" in the previous review, but having listened to the whole show while binging the Spring '89 tour, I can't really argue. Not a lot of momentum here, so it is kind of like walking compared to the train or star ship ride some shows turn out to be. If you like a particular song, you probably won't be disappointed with the version here, but not much synergy. I never felt that LLR belonged in the second set - could they ever jam out of it? Not fair, previous reviewer, to flame Brent's vocals. The problem with these early '89 versions of Blow Away - and I saw the first one in February at the Kaiser - is that there are no background vocals. Brent is out there on a limb crying the blues and with no one offers to join him, he keeps going. It's either that or jump. Get to the Fall - and go right to the Spectrum 10.18 - fantastic show - and the Boys are backing him up, which makes for an easier landing. It's like when Pig threw himself off the mountain top in "Two Souls in Communion" singing, "I'm a man, I'm a man...I'm not made out of stone." and Jerry, Phil and Bob are there to catch him with their sweet harmony. You have to be there for your buddy when he's hurting. And Brent sure was hurting. After all, when get further on up the road, some one's gonna treat you just like you treated him.

good first set.
the Blow Away is not as good as the 88 Alpine Valley. plus, the whole "real love" bit goes on WAY to long. it's cool once in a while , but Brent over does it and kills the whole song. just like the ever boring Mr. Fantasy > Hey Jude bit. I love Brent , but he ruins a lot of good songs.
second set is pedestrian.

Did the Forum, Omni and Greensboro shows before this Cincy show. And this was the weirdest lot scene ever.

Got into the show on a $5 Amy grant ticket that the seller told me would work at the gate. It did.

Great show!

But the best shows of 89 were yet to come.

Freezing cold day. Spent the early morning hours under some overpasses in a cold snow/rain. By the time the show got underway everyone was really cold, but there was enough energy here to warm up the crowd, even if no history was made. The crowd earned this one.

I have seen around 100 GD Shows, and this one sticks out in my mind as one of the best. It was cold and raining that day but we all hung out in a multi level parking lot that served the heads well. I could rave about the music like the other folks, but I am here to point out that the LL Rain was probably the best one that I experienced in all my years. It was just epic. thanks for a good copy of this show.

amazing I was left front bottom eye right on Phil wow what a show, and the terminal the night before...incredible

Incredibly underrated show from an incredibly underrated era. The band was playing very well at this time, and this show exemplifies it. The vibrations are nothing but positive, as Bobby and Jerry go back and forth with some of the best versions of their songs. Brent puts a little extra into the Blow Away, and the crowd is into it big time. Bobby and Brent are at their peak singing form, and even Phil gets into the act with the Box of Rain! Jerry, as always, leads the bands to incredible heights, and his playing is very, very strong in this show. I had excellent mail order floor seats, around 22nd row on the outside aisle on Phil's side, and the sound was awesome. Saturday night always had the most potential of any night, and that potential was actualized in Cincinnati on this early April evening. I have seen well over 200 Grateful Dead shows, many of which were in California and in the SF Bay Area, and this show is easily in my top 20. It was so fine to finally hear a great copy, thanks to this archive. Thanks, again.

I was just behind brent, in the section where the lady was signing for the deaf and I during the Blow Away this dude jumped from my down below me onto the stage and over in front of bobby when steve parish comes out and i am not shittin you, picked him up by the neck, his feet about a foot off the ground, and out the back by Billy's side. The next night I was in the hallway in Louisville and as I was telling this story to a long-face lanky dude..he replied in a slow-drawn manner.."It was meeeee" Man, some crazy stuff, especially where I was at that point..Best heart-filled Blow Away, especially if you know where Brent was at at that time with custody of daughter, and band rumours.

Bleep twang pow! Help me Spock! Just heard this and I'm amped, too much pomegranite and Finlandia. I love the Dead and Archive. This Cinci show is equal to Alpine. Cultist with tears of joy.

Overall: good show, but nothing particularly amazing. Unless you want to listen for nostalgia’s sake, it shouldn’t be too high on the listening list for this tour.

The scene: this is the only show of this tour that I have absolutely no memory of, and listening now, I can see why – it was good (everything on this tour was good) but nothing stands out too much. The only thing I remember is the next day, we were just about the only vehicle left in the parking lot by the time we got up and got going. The clean-up vehicles were clearing the parking lot (what an enormous freakin mess), and we felt like we had overslept or something (why’d everyone else leave overnight?).

The music: a good, but fairly uneventful show all the way through. Jer’s voice is struggling a bit, but like the rest of this tour, Brent steps up pretty nicely.

Great show, the sound is not as crisp as some but it is great to hear the crowd on the SBD.

You know its good when Bobby starts cat screeching at the end of "Let The Good Times Roll"

nice.

the part of this show that has stood out to me, but is hard to hear on this recording (but not on the aud tape) was the crowd responses during know you rider. the house lights came on at the weir/garcia sungonnashine/headlight moments. spinejinglin screamin good time. I had a blast despite the cops and cold. mindfuel was everywhere. thanks for everything, for I have not forgotten.

This was a typical Saturday night show for them boys back in 89. I remeber it being cold that day, we didn't get there untill a few hours before the show, so I missed a lot of the scene. It was rainy and cold so I probably did not miss much.Good Times started off nice, the energy in the building was high that night. This was the first of four shows on this tour for me. I remember Brent was really coming out on this tour. The whole band was really in a zone in 89 - 90. The first set was a party set it got everyone rollicking. They played a lot of sing a long songs, it was like being at one big bar beer was flowing everywhere. Brent sure did raise the energy with Blow Away, I never cared too much for that song but it always picked up crowd. Loser was a welcome treat I always enjoyed it when Jerry played it. China cat -> Rider kept the Saturday night vibe goin'. The rest of the second set was good, Eyes was played fast and furious drums and space were normal. Dear Mr Fantasy woke every one up and rocked them right through Saturday Night. Box of Rain was a sweet encore to say goodnight.

Pretty decent show, there are some tasty morsels in there. Love the "Let the Good Times Roll" opener. Musically nothing special, just a fun little ditty.
Some great Brent moments, he had the crazt wired intense look thing fully going on. I was behind the stage for the first set and looking down on him during this was awesome and frightening. God Bless you Brent, you were a hoot.

The scene at Riverfront was pretty awful. They had the camping out at Union Terminal and they offered a bus service down to the show, not a luxury bus but buses that looked like prisoner transports which was ominous. Saw a ton of busts on our way to catch the bus and I had that surreal flash as though they were herding us to someplace other than the show. Also of note was the Reds game, which was scheduled for the afternoon was vs. the San Francisco Giants; so it was a double dose of West Coast fun in the Midwest. The game was cancelled due to rain and flurries; absoultely a crappy day. I was lucky enough to have seen the Boys at Riverbend in 85, which was a great laid back day by the river (and a great show too). The scene at this show was pretty bad, but the boys did put on a pretty fair show.

There is an out of tune note/notes hit together collectivly by the boys during the end of the China Cat Sunflower. It's perfect! It only lasts about a second or two. Thats what sticks out about this show. Also a nice space-aged Eyes of the world. Blow-away is kind too.The Cassidy jam is elegant and runs like water down a stream then Jerry's guitar volume has problems and Phil fills in.An airy romantic Looks like rain falls down balanced by strong and precise vocals by Bob at the end. The second set is more organized.This 'Eyes' is amazing! Drums start out assertivly then there are these horn like sounds that iv'e heard during 89 that remind me of Eddy Van Halen in the very beginning of Running with the devil.Mickey must have his gear plugged into a similiar effects unit.Spring tour of 89 was the last year Jerry didnt begin playing around with the MIDI stuff.This kind of 'Spaces' is so much more thought provoking and entertaining.a buzzing sound enters the wheel 1:10 minutes into the song? An excellent 'Miracle' now I still here the buzz in the beginning of Black Peter.Maybe it can be corrected.A slow witty rumbling Saturday night finishes the show like a 10 cent cherry ice cream soda. Sound quality 4. Performance 3 for the lst set 5 for the second. Some of the Grateful Deads most complex playing during the 2nd set.

Good show overall for spring 89. I know that this section is meant for reviews only, but it is always nice to gain a little imagery of the scene. Some of the previous reviewers paint some nice pictures for those of us who weren't there along with a little Cinci history. First set sounds pretty relaxed, with the obvious exception of Blow Away, where Brent goes off pretty hard. There ain't nothing quite like the dynamics of seeing a seering Blow Away next to the most peaceful version of Dylan's Queen Jane. Only these guys could pull that off. Overall a 4- performance, 4 star sound.

Loser Rips!! The highs and lows are awesome! The China>Rider is pretty darn sweet as well!!

I have seen a handful or reviewers say that this is the best Blow Away. My opinoins tend toward the 3-26-90 Knickerbocker version that unfortunately is no longer available here b/c it is an official Dead release. Dig out your old tapes, and give it a listen. That one is by far my fav!

He sounds like southern baptist on dear Mr. Fantasy & Hey Jude.
I like these small arena shows like Meca in Milwaukee (1-hour from my house) this Ohio show, Freedom hall and Pitsburg especially during this time period when Jerry was smokin' these smaller places out.

This guy is superb - so talented and a stellar voice - The sound quality is great and this show f'ing rocks

Lots of energy at this show ... comparable to the 4/2/89 P'Burgh from earlier in the tour. During Blow Away, a fan ran onstage and was jamming out w/ Brent, before security scooped her up and carted her off.

Nice quality SBD of this show ... good stuff!

HOW COM NO ONE HAS COMMENTED ON THESE SONGS. THERE BOTH FULL OF ENERGY AND SOUL, JERRY IS FINE QUAILTY THIS NIGHT!! WHAT IS IT ABOUT ALL THE OHIO SHOWS, THEY SEEM TO HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE BEST SHOWS BY THE BOYS! THE LAST RUEBEN AND CHERISE,IF I HD THE WORLD TO GIVE WHERE PLAYED HERE AND WOW ARE THEY AMAZING! MAYBE I'M BIAS BECAUSE I'M FROM CLEVELAND THE HEART OF IT ALL AND THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME BUT YOU HAVE TO LOVE THESES OHIO SHOWS!!!! PEACE!!!

Too bad the sound wasn't better..Go with the AUD.

This was a great show. The boys were cooking during China and lost some steam, but overall a great show. This was not the first time they played Riverfront Arena. You can go back to 1976. Cincinnati did not want the heads in town. Jerry's tour in 1989 was also cancelled due to a city counsel meeting. Overall good sound quality and good show. Worth the Download.

This was the only time the Dead played this venue. There was a huge parking problem due to the baseball game, I remember alot of folks parking at the union terminal (old train station), and being bussed to the venue. This train station later became the theme in the Terrapin Station poster done years later. After this show, the Dead never even came back to Riverbend in Cincinnati, the city had enough of the Dead i think, shame on them, great show!!!!
Anyways, this show is awesome. I am glad I can finally upgrade from my AUD/2 cassette. I agree w/ the previous poster, best "Blow Away", Brent was fired up. The "Miracle" is my favorite part, as the crowd is really into it, i hope the sbd doesnt take away from this. If so I might rather have the aud. All in all, download this show no matter whci source you get. Oh sweet '89, it could have lasted forever.

wka / the darkest star of all

This is a pretty rockin show. Remember that brief period when, during the last chorus of the Wheel (after the 'bound to cover' line) there was a big spinning light in front of Bob? God, that was cheesy. Luckily they stopped doing that. Thanks Candace. They did it this night. Great Wang Dang, Fantasy though.

My second show.The Cincy Reds also had a game that day right next door,the market place was set up under a roof in the parking lot. I remember the drums circles being so damn loud and all these parents walking through Shakedown with their kids to get to the Ballgame,what a sight.The show was great for a 2nd show,hearing my first versions of some classics.Inside the venue you could go wherever because the guys in yellow jackets were all senior citizens.During West LA this guy jumps on stage and hangs out by Jerry,I had got split up with my brother and after the show he told me that he was sure that it was me on stage.Best Blow Away ever.Brent was all jacked up.
7 songs after space!!!
2nd show,15 new songs.They played the One more Sat nite that I was supposed to hear at my first show on a sat nite[6.25.88]but Bob broke the Deadbase rule at my first show.The Saturday night rule that is.

thank you . i have been waiting for the sbd version for a while . this show rocks and the tightness of playing matched with the crispyness of this board makes for a very enjoyable listening experience