Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-07-07
Tuesday Dead Drops return with two Grateful Dead shows from very different eras. One delivers a totally unique sound, while the other caps one of the great tours of the late Brent-era Dead.
The first release marks the debut 1974 show in the Dead Drops series, taking listeners to the Roanoke Civic Center on July 27, 1974. For this entire show, Keith Godchaux plays a Fender Rhodes electric piano through a Leslie speaker, a setup used only twice by the band. The result is a swirling, liquid sound that’s totally unique. “Bertha,” “Row Jimmy,” and “It Must Have Been the Roses” are standouts, and a monster 26-minute “Playing in the Band” ends the first set. Set two brings an intense “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider,” a “Promised Land” > “Brokedown Palace” mid-set before “Not Fade Away” > “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” > “Johnny B. Goode.”
The second release closes the book on Spring ’89 in Minneapolis. The band finds another gear with “Crazy Fingers” > “Estimated Prophet” > “Eyes of the World” serving as one of the defining sequences of the entire run. Out of “Drums” > “Space” — which marks Jerry Garcia’s first time playing a MIDI guitar — “The Wheel” > “Gimme Some Lovin’” > “Wharf Rat” > “Not Fade Away” ends the set before Garcia gently closes the curtain with “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
Curated by David Lemieux and mastered by David Glasser from the original DATs, both shows are now available to stream in Hi-Res through the Vault.
Setlists
Grateful Dead - Roanoke 7/27/74
July 27, 1974
Roanoke Civic Center
Set I
Bertha, Mexicali Blues, Row Jimmy, Jack Straw, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo, It Must Have Been the Roses, Me and Bobby McGee, Tennessee Jed, Playing in the Band
Set II
China Cat Sunflower > I Know You Rider, Me and My Uncle, Ramble on Rose, Big River, U.S. Blues, Promised Land, Brokedown Palace, Not Fade Away > Going Down the Road Feeling Bad, Johnny B. Goode
Grateful Dead - Minneapolis 4/17/89
April 17, 1989
Met Center
Set I
Iko Iko, New Minglewood Blues, Row Jimmy, Far From Me, Built to Last, Victim or the Crime, Bertha
Set II
Cold Rain and Snow, Samson and Delilah > Crazy Fingers > Estimated Prophet > Eyes of the World > Drums > Space > The Wheel > Gimme Some Lovin’, Wharf Rat, Not Fade Away
Encore
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
