On this day in 1989, the Grateful Dead kicked off a memorable four-night New Year’s run at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The band was in fine form, capturing that end-of-the-year magic and delivering night after night of incredible performances. The first show saw renowned saxophonist Clarence Clemons sit in throughout the second set, coming in for a powerful “Iko Iko” and lending his talents on cuts of “Playing In The Band”, “The Wheel”, and “I Need A Miracle”.
This would mark the E Street Band saxophonist’s fifth and final sit-in with the Grateful Dead in just under a year. After hitting it off with the band on New Year’s Eve 1988, Clemons—newly unemployed following Bruce Springsteen‘s temporary dismissal of The E Street Band and living in Marin—gigged with the Dead around the Bay Area throughout 1989. In fact, Clemons apparently became so close to the band that he, Jerry Garcia, and Bob Weir (all single at the time) considered living together. Those plans never panned out, which was probably for the best as Weir admitted in 2011, “It would’ve been a lot of fun, but I don’t think anyone would have survived.”
There was still lots of fun to be had at Clemons’ last gig with the Dead. As David Browne recounted in his book So Many Roads,
At Oakland Coliseum a bag of mushrooms was passed around backstage. Seeing the container on a table, Clemons exclaimed, ‘I wanna get high with the Grateful Dead!’ Handing him the bowl, Garcia cracked, ‘Well, here you go!’ Big and gregarious, Clemons dropped to his knees between Weir and Garcia, reached into the batch of mushrooms with his large hands, grabbed a handful, and tossed them down. Clemons seemed fine—until he sat in with the band and, halfway into the set a large, confused smile overtook his face.
Check out a video and audio of the full show below:
Grateful Dead — Oakland Coliseum Arena — Oakland, CA — 12/27/89 — Full Video
[Video: Kevin Tobin]
Grateful Dead — Oakland Coliseum Arena — Oakland, CA — 12/27/89 — Full Video
[Audio: Grateful Dead]
Related: Grateful Dead ‘All The Years Live’ Video Series: “Iko Iko” From Philadelphia 1989 [Watch]
Setlist: Grateful Dead | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | Oakland, CA | 12/27/89
Set One: Cold Rain & Snow, Greatest Story Ever Told, Good Times Blues, Althea, Me & My Uncle-> Big River, Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, Bird Song, Promised Land
Set Two: Iko Iko*, Playing In The Band*-> Crazy Fingers-> Uncle John’s Band-> Drums-> Jam-> The Wheel*-> I Need A Miracle*-> Morning Dew
Encore: Johnny B. Goode, Black Muddy River
Notes:
* w/Clarence Clemons
[Originally published 12/27/16]
The post Watch The Grateful Dead Jam With Clarence Clemons On This Day In 1989 [Video/Audio] appeared first on L4LM.