Listening so far, this seems like fine material from this era for the new Dave's Picks.
For those wanting to hear a bird song that I believe is even greater than this one, check out 3-21-86 at Hampton.
Amazing, is all I'll say about it.

Never liked this song much during the time it was performed. Wished I'd given more of a chance back the. Perfect performance of it here. Anyone tell me what the band banter' is in between Row and Esau?

It's not just a little off. Bird Song sounds like it's in a completely different key. Based on the timing of that song on this copy compared to the audience sources, I'd estimate this copy runs about 7% fast, which is pretty bad. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could upload a pitch corrected copy of this first set, since I feel the aud sources for this show are inferior (Garcia is too low in the mix).

This Bird Song completely SMOKES though, one of the finest of the 80s, and perhaps even of all time.

This was the first time the Dead played Hartford after Jerrry's stroke. During "Cold, Rain and Snow" he stepped back to take a solo and gave a little kick of joy; the place went wild. Never saw Jerry so demonstrative.
I miss him every day.

!

was my last real road-trippin tour, starting at Hampton Spaceship and ending in Chicago UIC - (didn't see every show, had to check in at work a few times!) what a treat to get to relive tours here on the Archive! I remember at the time lamenting the missing extended jams like 83-84s - now listening back its true thats missing in 87 but these shows are all hot nonetheless

my first show was at hampton in 87 and i sure do wish i had gone to a few more shows that year. i talked to a guy the other day who went to eight four show and he seemed to go to many shows on the east coast in the late eighties. this is really a nice show so far. brent really jams and is rockin. the opening is fast but definetly not jer and the chipmonks. it is fast but right on. cold rain and snow is nice. the cc ryder is really nice fast blues with brent and jerry and i guess that is bobby too, i am just not sure who is on the slide...jammin right after one another. i was a freshman at hampden sydney college that spring. i went to a capitol center show in the fall and it completely changed the way i heard the dead. row jimmy at almost eleven mintues and my bro easu. when push comes to shove is really a great blues groove and the desolation row is always a great ballad, hats off to bobby for remembering everyone one those lyrics, jerrys guitar accents throughout the song are sweet; brent's piano is also really complementery. jerry comes in toward the end and sings with bobby...really nice. bird song. brent is really hitting the plastic ivory keys nicely and singing with jer. i can't wait to hear some more of 87. i will listen to some of the aud recordings i hope tonight. the dead really seems to jam these big places on the east coast in 87. i know there were a lot of college students but i was one. these shows changed my life for the positive. the bird song jam is really fine with brent really going jazzy...with some definite other one jams between jerry and phil toward the end. a very fast closer promise land but nicely executed and the sound is clear, not like the usual muddy bootleg opener of some of the old bootleg tapes we'd listen too by in the day. chuck berry...norfolk va

china cat to open the second set sounds like an aud...you can hear the crowd singing along with jer...i am not complaining, just a comment. the audio is not as crisp but there is definetely is a good vibe in hartford. the transition to i know you rider is smooth and fast. audience is really into it. LLR gives everyone a breather and slows things down nicely. he's gone>d>s>i need a miracle...mean and sweet stuff

capndoubledose, rare set2 l.l.rain?? every single time l.l.rain was played in 1987 it was pre-drumz in set2...either way it is extremely hot, as it the chinarider that precedes it. this show is absolutely sick.

Excellent show. Decent recording. To the people who argue over whether this is a soundboard or not scroll to the bottom of the page. The recording info is there. Also what the hell is wrong with some of you? Accusing people of being pedophiles. You can't be a real deadhead. I never once encountered a jerk at a Grateful Dead show. I stopped going to the shows after September '93. I was sick of meeting college kids in the parking lot looking to score acid. The scene had gotten pretty bad but among the audiences I enjoyed everyone I ever had a conversation with. Even the ones that were too wasted to be coherent.

I'm suprised no ones mentioned Jerrys arm and fist in the air at the start of Cold Rain...a mighty moment and absolutely brilliant 1st set...someone said earlieer take the 1st of this and the 2nd of the next and you have a perfect show..spot on

Senior year of High School , lived about 15 minutes away from the civic center. I saw them 2 x the year before and was a basket case waiting for these shows. I remember sleeping out for tickets at a place in Manchester for 3 days. If I could relive 2 months of my life it would be 3 & 4 of 1987.
What a show beginnig with Midnight Hour, Bobby and Brent trading "waits" to hanging out in Bushnell Park afterwards......Love The Dead
Close if not the best Black Peter ever.

Four of us had great seats about five rows up on Jerry's side courtesy of the stage manager at Hartford. Jerry's beard was thin after his hospital stay and Bobby had on this striped rugby shirt. The crowd was riding every note that night. You can't hear how loud the reception was for Jerry's first guitar solo of the night on Midnight Hour on the SBD recording. Bird Song was magical, and for the second set as I remember they started China Cat "In the Dark".

Super high energy show. Some here have speculated that this is not a pure SBD, probably because you can hear the audience. It sounds to me like the crowd is being picked up by the stage mic's. The crowd was loud this night, I mean really really, really loud. I had a great seat, first section off the floor on Phil's side, looking down at the band from the side of the stage, 20 rows up, and there were times that the crowd was as loud, if not louder than the band. Every song is spot on, the band is synchronized. The GD as a musical machine; if they were a vintage Maserati, then all cylinders were firing, and it was running like brand new after a tune-up.

This show will live in infamy with me as my first dead show. I drove up from the shoreline and was stoked for this show..I was all of 17 at the time. My bor and soem cousins and friends were stoked for this run and how would I knwo I would end up moving to california and htting tour hard for 98 more shows after this show?

What a great ride it was. This night got me hooked on the dead although I had been listening since '85.

my first show too and i never thought i'd see anything better (not true). the huge roar at "headlight" in rider was because a ginormous spot suddenly turned on the audience as if it were a real headlight. the highlight for me was cc rider when jerry rides up the neck during the solo following bobby's slide solo and the whole band comes together with a big ker-chow.

How does everybody going in different directions, end up in the same place.

not as good as the next night, but I'll take it. Just another solid show among a great run of solid shows. Also, check out I Need a miracle. If you've toured with the boys you probably got your share of this tune and know it can be a throwaway some nights. Not here. From the moment they exit space they are ripping. Love it.

Not mincing words here. This was my first show. And I would really like to get a copy.
Any help, please This is the first place I have found it.

Got in 1st set(CR&S) after a failed gate crash diverted all the security outside to one set of doors, leaving me standing in front of another set (and insecure) Suddenly, the doors I was in front of flew open and I walked inside. Nobody told me not to.
What a show and here is a great sbd of the pre midi-Brent years. Drums-I love the high end tomtom drums( and that big muther timpany bass that shakes by windows) that seemed less prevalent in later years. Spacial delights that seem like a timecapsule of Jerry. I took two.

Seems Fast and highs are recorded high, at least early on, i agree. But energy is whack this night in Hartford -- you hear it once, and know it's classy - after jer's incident, befor the totally MIDI-fied jerr bear.

More than that -- at the time this show was important, Do y'all REMEMBER??? Before Bush Sr., before we knew to fear an end, jerry was down and out -- whole last year worryin' - the band wa pretty spent -- needin time to heal.

Yes us east coast meat eaters needed our fix, BAD! tough to wait it was
...before we knew it would someday be GD Industries, Inc.

Did they come thru on this night? taste this show and think about where we were back in the scene in 19-FRIGGIN-87! Bless it all - Thank you, boyz for helpin us thru. Only reason to rank these shows anymore is to keep bring more folks on board the bus - and fours work better than 1's...well done.

Look, lest you forget. Jerry had been in a coma the previous year and for many on the East Coast this was our first taste of the band since his recovery. All you have to do is compare shows from this tour to stuff from previous year before his illness and you'll understand why this show was so smoking. Jerry was back and healthy and the band and crowd we're going OFF on the exchange of energy. Listen to each player's playing. Precise, tight, happy and rockin'. I remember the Round and Round blowing my mind.

Bird Song
China>Rider
LL Rain (rare set II)

Some of the best versions they have ever played - period. THIS IS AN AUD/BRD MIX PERIOD. Forget the sound, this show is unbelievably hot and a three just illustrates more about the reviewer than the music. THIS IS A 5 PEOPLE - especially for 1987. As an aside I could not get into this show the cops were complete dicks on horseback and there were no extras.

set 2 looks like a typical set.but not with a rockin'& uplifting china/rider> ll rain w/bobby screams and jerry's over the top lead. a poignant black peter
oh yeah and a quinn encore
nuff said just get it

Is it just me or does this recording need some pitch correcting? Also, recording levels are a bit too high in several spots. Other than recording problems, this is a very hot show. Bird Song is a barn burner and the China->Rider smokes. '87 was a huge year for the Dead and this is a prime example of a band in sync and setting off plenty of fire works.

Take the first set from 3/26, match it with the second set from 3/27, and you've got two of the best sets ever played in Hartford. Hated the Civic Center, but for some reason the boys seemed to play well there!!!

Jerry means business, love it.

stunning and amazing. swiss watch material. some of the tightest, highest energy goodness I have heard yet from archive. everyone has their mojo back. this is def an underrated tour and is the type of phat tight playing that got me hooked. nice mix sounding mix but some occasional fuz or bias. first set is sbd, second set is sbd/aud mix. would love to see a soundboard or mix from the following hartford night more of philly and especially the barnburning worchester shows that followed. currently listening to stream of Spectrum 87.03.31 and it too sounds epic.

Those looking for depth, trippiness and solemnity look elsewhere. This was an eager and bright energy of music. Hands could even righteously be held during 'Black Peter,' and clap during 'Looks Like Rain.' Hilites also include one of the finest 'When Push Comes to Shove' (enabling a first set not to drag) 'Row Jimmy' (smooth flowing) a typically cheesy 'Good Lovin,' a coherent "I Need a Miracle" and the outro 'Rideresque jam' out of "He's Gone"
Perfect encore choice...(tho Jerry's voice was scratching by then.)

Sweet, warm show.

Back in the days of tape trading only, the first set of this show was one of my favorites, the subtleties of each song growing on me more and more as time went on. Every song has highlights. It's great to get to finally hear the second set, too - Looks Like Rain is just outstanding, and during one of the second set jams, I hear echoes of the amazing Birdsong Jam. It has always felt like a soundboard to me, though a bit muddled in areas. Thanks so much for making this available.

I strongly believe the Spring, 1987 East Coast tour was the strongest since Summer, 1985 and I actually think harken back to Summer, 1982. Jerry was clearly bounced back since the coma and many shows: 3/26, 3/29, 4/4 were extremely tight with high energy. The first night of Hartford is an excellent example, so I think warrants a full 5*, for sheer tightness.

It may not be the best soundboard, but it's a soundboard....I suspect you need some more practice listening to your recordings bud. Good show! Hey titto pole smokey...why do have to get all upset...it's not my fault it's a soundboard. And what's with you and little boys...it's sounds like YOU need therapy. Don't pipe up unless you know what you're talking about. SOUNDBOARD DUMBASS!

Good venue.........GREAT China>Rider........my favorite all-time LL Rain (SMOKIN GARCIA).Shit recording.This isnt a soundboard.
hey sugarcube-i think you need to go to therapy to get your mind off small boys ya sick sexual predator

This is a strong '87 show from beginning to end - great China>Rider bridge - more-frenzied-than-usual audience response at Jerry's "headlight" verse of Rider - one of my favorite LLR's - check out Jerry's sustain and slight distoriton @ the peak of his typical 1st solo during LLR - absolute beauty in its subtlty - well worth the download even w/ less than stellar recording quality.

I was at this show and still enjoy cranking my AUD tape of it on occasion. The next night was the real gem of this run in my opinion. This one has it's moments, though, and is definitely worth checking out.

Crisp Midnight Hour/Cold Rain opening pair. Desolation Row, which was often plodding, lilts nimbly thanks to Jerry's fills, solo, and harmonies ("where lovely mermaids flow")
Bird Song sent me into another world at this show, and this recording confirms it escapes into the next realm.
Didn't remember China Rider being so well executed, but the thunderous response at the usual moment ("wish i was a headlight") seems even more climactic than usual.
This recording doesn't pick up how Jerry slowed the acappella section of He's Gone by a half beat each time he repeated "nothin gonna bring him back", creating a really cool effect, but it does remind me how they just erupted out of that slow section into a great jam.

Hott second set. China Rider, and he's gone smoken. There was an amazing energy that night, I showed up with the wrong ticket but i got in somehow???, that was one of those magical times....Peace

I give it 4 for perfomance and a 3 for sound.

I've always loved this show and had it on cassette for years. I don't know how this happened but the tracking speed during the first set is waaaay fast and almost unlistenable. Depending on how much time, skill and interest you have, it may be worth processing this set through an audio editing program to bring the pitch back to normal. The 2nd set is perfect though, good AUD/SBD mix, great playing and normal pitch. I'll give it 3 stars for a screwy first set and great 2nd set.