The Grateful Dead in 1995

A question for older Grateful Dead fans than I - people who were say, 16 or over in 1994/1995 -
Did anyone "know" or have a sense that the end was nigh for the Dead in '95? While heartbreaking, for people watching the band closely, was Jerry's death that big of a shock - or was there something in the air for lack of better phrasing that seemed to say The Dead with Jerry didn't have much longer? I ask cause I've read vague things from older fans who said the entire atmosphere of the fan scene began to take a radically different and much darker turn after In The Dark was a mainstream success - that there were a lot of ugly vibes in the air, especially during the 1990s tours.

 

Yes.

 

Yes. I happened to be at one of the absolute train wreck shows of '95 (Giants Stadium) and Jerry was clearly in bad shape. I can't say that I thought he would die, but I decided after the second night that I would skip the fall tour until they got it together again.

 

I attended one of the last shows (Knickerbocker Arena, Albany NY) and ended up walking out during what ended up being the last "Morning Dew", it was just too sad. Jerry was set up with a teleprompter since he was in such bad shape and couldn`t remember any lyrics. It did not help at all, it just seemed to confuse him more. It really did (to me) seem like the end. Just a real down atmosphere permeated the whole show.
Jerry`s death was not a shock, especially after seeing this.

 

I saw the Dead in September 1994 at Shoreline. Jerry couldn't play or sing, it was a train wreck. I left after about 60% of the show was over. It was sad. But still people were twirling, topless, tweaking. Oblivious to reality trying to recapture a dream.

Started seeing the Dead in 1981, boy what a complete meltdown from those days. He died at my age now, scary thought. Glad I never became an addict of any kind except healthy living.

 

Why was he having such a hard time remembering the lyrics? Drugs? I ask cause I have on DVD the last interview with Jerry - an hour long interview from 4/28/1995 - and he seems fine. Heavy, but not someone you'd think had less than six months to live, and he doesn't show any forgetfulness or signs of cognitive impairment.

Here's a clip from it:

 

I went to the first night at RFK in June and skipped the second night. Jerry dying wasn't what I was concerned about. The scene outside was unpleasant, to say the least, and the performance was uninspired at best. I don't think I had any expectations that they would quit entirely, but thought a long break might serve them well.

 

Jerry could be fun and articulate talking even when he was a mess trying to play music onstage.

 

My question, too, is...Jerry forgetting the lyrics and stuff, was it perhaps more that he was just disinterested in the Grateful Dead at that point, not so much that he was "****ed up"? Because every interview I've watched from 1994-1995, he doesn't seem like an unhealthy man, but he seems way more interested in everything but The Grateful Dead. A book I read - about the aborted Fall 1994 sessions for a new album - suggest that his lack of enthusiasm or interest was the main impediment, not so much his health. These stories about him forgetting lyrics and whatnot make it sound like he had Alzheimer's or something...But he died of a heart attack?

 

As a little project brought on by curiosity (since I pretty much always avoided listening to '95 shows), I listened to every single '95 concert and available soundcheck last summer. There are plenty of shows where Jerry's performances are adequate (only a few moments could be called "inspired"). The first show of the year in Salt Lake City is awful, but two shows later they bounced back with the show picked for "30 Trips". Many of the spring shows aren't so bad, but in June Jerry really took a serious dip (Highgate and Giants Stadium are particular low points).

 

I don't think it was any degenerative condition, the confusion was related to his drug use. Phil claims that Jerry fell asleep standing during one of the '95 shows. In some of the shows he seems adrift during the first set, charged up (relatively speaking) for the start of the second set until "Drums", then particularly lost after "Space".

 

Jerry seemed to show up for Visions Of Johanna, So Many Roads and a few other slow songs that year.

 

Nice timing as I randomly picked the 30 Trips ’95 show which is a good one. Had I realized they were capable of that I might have gone to Portland in ’95, but I only went to one of the ’94 Autzen shows (despite being able to walk to the stadium) and refused to go. It all just seemed like a mess by then, and I was hoping they’d break up or shut it down for awhile and let Jerry do his thing with Grisman. It seemed like he had fun doing that and I sure enjoyed the results.

He crammed a lot into his lifetime and being some sort of exercise hound who ate right, didn’t smoke and stayed sober wasn’t for him, and that’s the way it goes. His guitar tone probably wouldn’t have been so sweet if he ate a lot of kale & weighed 130 lbs less. So his death was not a surprise at all to me. As the cliche goes, he left behind a buttload of music yet still left fans wanting more.

 

I only got into the Dead a couple of years, if that, before Jerry died and at the time I was in Spain and then the UK, so never saw the Dead and never (then) really knew much about the scene, but I do remember reading about his death on teletext and not being surprised.

I just can't remember why, with such limited exposure to the whole scene, it wasn't a surprise.

 

i saw the dead on a very regular basis from the fall of 1970 through the spring of 1981. after that until 1995 i only saw a few more shows. at those final giants stadium shows dylan was the opener. his bass player is a friend and got us passes. just before the dead came on i was standing on the rear of the stage when garcia came down a short flight of stairs on his way to the main part of the stage. i was less than 20 feet from him and he wasn't looking healthy at all. you could see his time was limited on this earth. i can't say too much about how the scene changed since i wasn't around for much of it those last few years.

 

This was in response to a question about Vince, but it pretty much covers what I felt about the last few years, and after re-reading it, I still stand by it. http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...ening-to-part-7.430862/page-109#post-12632458

 

Garcia's death has never been adequately explained for me. Heroin addicts die of accidents, of overdoses, of infections related to active use, from chronic liver failure from hepatitis or from complications of HIV. They generally don't die of withdrawal.
He was in a rehab center when he died. I suspect that he had an acute medical problem, possibly related to his diabetes being out of control or heart disease and the non-medical staff at the rehab center missed the signs and attributed them to detoxing.

 

Well said. As far as the scene outside, I mostly blame the wholesale trade in nitrous... what stupidity. The first dead body I witnessed in my life was due to that crap.

 

Yes. Saw them in Eugene in 1994 and they were adequate. Went to a Seattle 1995 show and it was a train wreck. At one point they stopped playing and seemed pretty lost. Garcia's appearance was considerably different than the previous year . His hair went very white. A sad time in a great legacy of music.

 

I think much of what you say was likely the case; remember he was not your average addict. It seems to me quite plausible that his heart gave out while trying to get honest to goodness right, or maybe that is just what I choose to believe.

 

Yes. It hung in the air like a black cloud. It was not fun.

 

It has been some time since I have seen that interview; but as it relates to your quite reasonable question, I am charging everyone here in the know to provide links to earlier Jerry interviews... they will crackle by comparison to that.

I think I read somewhere that he would nick out of the later interviews to "look for his car keys" to do what it was that got himself right for the next few moments; I have to believe he was both cagey and capable enough to keep alive quite the charade, besides how could the average person doubt or not love him in any of his states.

I don't know what of any of this is is true but it seems to fit the circumstances. http://www.salon.com/2015/07/04/i_w...ry_garcia_and_the_grateful_deads_final_shows/

 

I'm really surprised nobody has mentioned what I always thought was obvious! The reason Jerry could be coherent in interviews and then being in poor shape for shows was related to his diabetes. His blood sugar may have been controlled at certain times, but when it's high (or even too low) it can cause forgetfulness and lethargy. I have a feeling this is what was going on during some really bad shows in the early 90's

 

edit: sorry--Posnera did mention diabetes.

 

As I understand it, carpal tunnel and diabetes also made it hard for him to play the guitar at the end.