Return to tape listRFK Stadium, Washington DC, 6/25/95
The weather for the show itself was dry, but there was one serious mid-afternoon downpour that, we learned later, was associated with a lightning strike that hit three fans in the lot.
We had timed our trip in well, leaving the Metro just as things were starting to dry out. The Bob Dylan soundcheck was clearly audible from the George Preston Marshall Monument, and at some point they played a merry prank on the Deadheads in the lot by jamming a couple minutes of St. Stephen.
The Dylan set was longer than the day before, clocking in at about 100 minutes. It followed much the same format with some songs repeated and others swapped out. I thought it was a bit more uneven than Saturday's set, but I really enjoyed Simple Twist of Fate. Jerry Garcia sat in for the encores, ITALTLITATTC followed by Rainy Day Women. The latter was clearly what many of the assembled Deadheads were hoping for; there was enough dancing and jumping that from a distance the temporary seats on Phil's side looked like a trampoline. You could see a couple inches' movement in the front of the stands!
The Dead opened with a Shakedown that flipped quite a few people inside out, but I'm sorry to say had no such effect on me. It was followed by a Wang Dang doodle that sounded unusual, primarily because they played it in the key of A rather than their usual G. Then back to basics with a decent Jack A Roe and an excellent Mama Tried, with Bob again donning the acoustic.
Bob finished his cowboy couplet with a Mexicali Blues that didn't reach the heights the song has exhibited in recent years. A slower-than-normal Loose Lucy recovered some of the momentum before a distorted Picasso Moon completed the set. Bob drove himself into a frenzy until at the very end he was half screaming, half sucking for air.
Seven songs in the first set. As it turned out, seven songs in the second set before it was time for Drumz. A two hour set meant school wasn't out till nearly midnight. It all started with Box of Rain. Phil's singing was magnificent, crystal clear at my location. The band stuck to that theme immediately following with Lennon/McCartney's Rain. Had it not been Sunday, Bob would no doubt have stepped up with Looks Like Rain, but he adhered to tradition and retold the story of Samson and Delilah. While they jammed this, Vince (I believe) pulled an airy flute out of his MIDI. Now I know how this song would sound if played by Ian Anderson!
Next was a strong Ship of Fools, as the wind whipped up Jerry's hair and he looked very much the part of the old sea captain. Next a so-so Truckin' leading into a separate jam that became the Dead's second attempt at Rollin' and Tumblin'. It seems to have promise. Still no sign of drums. Vince got into the weather reporting with a psychedelic (!) Samba in the Rain. Is it Drumz yet? Ok, now it is.
Space was much shorter than Saturday's, and the keyboard and string instrumentation early on was quite reminiscent of Europe 72's Prelude jam. Was Keith's ghost visiting in one of the keyboardist's bodies? Wharf Rat and Not Fade Away were unspectacular, but didn't fall flat on their faces either. The encore was one of the nicest Brokedown's I've had the pleasure of listening to. Enough to get me out of there with a smile on my face.
Of course I did not realize that that would be the last time I would see Jerry Garcia in concert. At the time, I found it to be a fairly typical Dead show in terms of quality, but the tape of the second set has really grown on me. Those first few songs are truly something special.
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