Spent the night in Utah, in a Rest Area on I-15

Grateful Dead -- May 19, 1995
Sam Boyd Stadium
Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada

setlist & soundboard 320 kbps mp3 download

Dave Matthews Band opened: Seek Up, Dancing Nancies, Satellite,
Minarets, Typical Situation, Say Goodbye, Recently

1st Set: Picasso Moon, Friend Of The Devil, Wang Dang Doodle,
Althea, Queen Jane Approximately, Deal

Set 2: Here Comes Sunshine, Way To Go Home,
Playing In The Band-> Uncle John's Band-> Drums-> Space->
Easy Answers, Standing On The Moon-> Around And Around

Encore: Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

The final "Vegas" run begins for the Grateful Dead. I put Vegas in quotes because this venue isn't really in Las Vegas. It's only a quarter mile outside of Henderson so it's not in Henderson, either... which would actually make more sense than it being in Las Vegas! The stadium does belong to the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, though.

Anyway... I had a ticket for this show but didn't go. Couldn't go, really. Work. I tried not to let work get in the way of seeing shows. Often I'd Mailorder first, worry about work later... and that's what I did yet again for Vegas '95. When the time to go rolled around, plans were all made, riders were found and all tickets had shiny, happy, smiley owners. My weekend was free and clear for the middle and last nights of the 3-night stand but I couldn't get out of work for this first night. So bogus. I remember being in a terribly pissy mood -- I'd be driving from Salt Lake City to Vegas right after work... 450 miles... alone. Now I'd driven to Southern California alone (much furthur) and it was really no big deal. A drive like that for me, with plenty of good music and coffee, is a piece of cake. The thing is I had no idea where I'd be finding my friends who were already there. No freakin' clue. None. Nada. It's not like they'd make some hotel reservation ahead of time and I'd know exactly where to find them. I wasn't that type and it seems no one I ever really hung out with was that way, either. Not that there's anything wrong with that, we were more like: do things on the fly, just relax and roll with it. And since this was before cell phones were for everyone and their dog, I was so screwed... or so it may have seemed. Actually, not entirely screwed. I was sure I'd run into people I knew, maybe not who I had planned to go to Vegas with but lotsa people I knew from Salt Lake went to GD shows and I could easily hang with so many of them. Surely something would work out. No worries, mate!

So right after work on this Friday night the 19th o' May, I was on the road again, Vegas-bound, Sam Boyd or Bust! As Deadheads enjoyed their night, I was parked at some random rest area on I-15 where I spent the night in my car. The next morning, my southbound journey finished up as I was rolling down The Strip shortly after dawn.

The next day (the day of the 2nd show) will be saved for some future day when (if) I ever post a review for the next night of this run.

The Music...

DMB: This is the largest venue that the Dave Matthews Band had ever set up to play in up to this point in time. How cool is that? They were a constantly touring band but weren't quite a worldwide sensation yet. Dave's fairly chatty with the crowd and man, I just wonder what was goin' through his mind -- opening for the Grateful Dead, in front of all these people, in this big stadium, opening for the Grateful Dead! Not quite what they were used to, eh?

Dancing Nancies jams. Great crowd response, you know they are just loving this. And isn't this band just perfect for opening for the Dead? Only one song here -- Satellite -- is under 8 minutes. So much room to just play. Deadheads, in general, don't want short, concise songs, they want jamming and beautiful playing they can get lost in and this band is great for opening for the Dead!

I'm not a huge DMB fan but I like 'em (otherwise I'd not even bother with all this about them.) Some of these songs I'm unfamiliar with. I don't remember if I had their full-length studio debut at the time but even today in 2008, some of these I had never heard before... but I dig 'em just fine. A good set of music!

GD: No soundboard is in public hands for this show so I downloaded two sources from the Internet Archive:

• AT-835A's & Nak 300's.
• Schoeps MK-4's Front Of Board

The Schoeps FOB kicks ass!!!

Three nights in Sin City deserves a rockin' first song to launch things properly and Picasso Moon does an okay job in that capacity. The sound mix is outstanding with everyone clearly audible and very little crowd obtrusiveness. I always think it's great to keep the good time rollin' (and everyone seriously dancin') for two or three songs before backing it down but it's not always that way and FOTD brings everyone down to Earth rather quickly. Bob's rhythm guitar alongside Jerry's lead is just perfect, and Vince's contributions are simply lovely.

Wang Dang is ho hum with some more nice keys from Vince but the Althea that follows is just plain perplexing to me. It feels like they're never on the same page, none of them. Mickey & Billy don't appear to help as it feels like, for too much of the song, they're robotic automatonotans or something, banging out a rhythm that's too rigid and boring. Eventually they mix it up but the band doesn't always follow. There's just no fervor. They try, damn they do, Jerry even seems to come alive somewhat on guitar at the end, and maybe it's redeemed somewhat but... I dunno, not the best (and that's putting it nicely.)

A great Queen Jane makes things okay again and not long into the set-closing Deal, there's a whole ton of Phil, practically leading the way he is, and the band totally follows... and the crowd, too. They know this is sweet! Clocking in at under an hour, this is a short set but not bad.

I'm really liking how far Here Comes Sunshine has progressed in the 2½ years since being brought back in December of '92. Everything works here! The same is actually true with Way To Go Home. New songs are not so well loved but I think if more people gave them a chance and really listened to the music, they'd hear a lot of great playing from the band! And that's exactly what's heard in Playing In The Band. In no time they're wandering off into a near-space jamland. Off and on they're all in line with each other while at times it feels disjointed and chaotic, like a galaxy on the verge of ultimate collapse. The disturbance is just passing gas and everyone falls together into place, making this space harmonic once again.

Call me crazy but I like Easy Answers out of Space, at least this one where there's a lot of energy from the band and they're having fun. Standing On The Moon, though, makes this whole show completely absolutely positively worth it. At the beginning you can clearly hear them all get on the same page and then Jerry leads everyone through it. Slowly, Jerry reveals himself, adding a touch of emotion here, a touch there. The crowd's excitement builds, wanes, and then builds again as Jerry begins in earnest his crying out -- "Be with you, be with you. Be with you, I'd rather be with you," and on and on. Wow! It blew me away a little more the first time I heard it but it's still such a great SOTM that shouldn't be missed if you love this song.

I suppose Around and the LSD encore put a nice bow on this show but the Standing On The Moon just makes it all worth it!

Source: Audience (Front Of Board, Schoeps MK-4's)> master DAT> SHN Audio Quality:
5/19/95 Vegas @ Archive.org: a few AUDS for downloading (get the Schoeps MK-4, FOB!!!) As of 12/17/2008, there is no public SBD of this show.
Download the opening set here: DMB -- 5/19/95 Las Vegas unknown mics, sound quality is excellent, possibly Front Of Board

5-19-95 UNLV Sam Boyd Silver Bowl not Silverbowl aka 05-19-95 aka 5/19/95 aka 05/19/95 aka 95-05-19