3/25/86 philadelphia: weir debuts DESOLATION ROW, with the dead’s 1-is-where-it-thinks-it-is groove meeting where-weir-thinks-it-is phrasing. gets most of the words, though. a metronomic but very satisfying alternative to slow blues or C&W. 2nd set opens with final 13-minute SCARLET BEGONIAS > TOUCH OF GREY with pregnant lyric slip, “strangers stopping strangers, just to break their hands.” sweet transition, though, weir’s co-leads covering a smooth crossfade. [2/5]

kinda paltry 31-minute GOIN’ DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD > DRUMZ > SPACE > JUST LIKE TOM THUMB’S BLUES. garcia bails immediately after the BID YOU GOODNIGHT section & weir tries/fails to get something going. SPACE hovers in garcialogue zone before 1st not-very-together JUST LIKE TOM THUMB’S BLUES of the year, lesh’s vocals crossing from the good-ridiculous of earlier versions (& great BOX OF RAIN previous night) to bad-ridiculous. econo-absurdist 4-minute TURN ON YOUR LOVELIGHT. [3/5]