Grateful Dead - Box of Rain (1986-03-24) PHIL-ly Spectrum

[sateliteoflove202]

one after new--hoon lawn gago

[y33llowsubmarin]

This song brings tears to my eyes, it's a beautiful song and I love Phil and his off key voice! That is what makes it unique and awesome =) AMAZING and makes me smile and cry at the same time!!!!!!

[PatDog949]

Phil Lesh, Bass Great!

[dancingbearwithsiles]

yeah phil is the man, he has inspired so many people to keep on truckin :)

[obliviousdude]

Let Phil Sing!

[ANNA15702]

I miss Jerry ^*^

[coyote023]

there is nobody that plays the bass like phil does anywhere on the planet. It is a drag that no one has come up with an 8 string bass so phil can get a little more funky.It was always a cool feeling back in the day when phil would be thumping so loud it would shake all the gizzards inside of you. I would love to see phil get back with his friends like larry campbell,jackie greene, molo etc. because this furthur stuff is for the birds.

[Lorensr1]

This was the second time they played this song in 12 years. the crowd suspected it was coming and went nuts!

[Jesikalikesducks]

wow 

[moogamoogamooga]

The song is just moving. It was moving to me the first time I heard and now even more so because I know the meaning behind it. I will play this song for my pops when he crosses.

[dhowarth908]

Phil is the man!! <3 this song

[srbird]

damn right!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[catcheez]

good bye Spectrum

[paspal34]

@catcheez hey we was the one who got ridda JFK remember????????????

[kukster75]

wot asong!

[fuckutubelogmein]

sometimes i forget

[aznmetalmunkey]

officer barbrady, "move along people, nothing to see here" jk, dead 4eva

[hcashew]

Man, Phil and the rest of the guys sure gave their fashion sense a big break in the 80s. During their Haight Ashbury years AND their cocaine cowboy era, they dressed so cool.

[tgoodin1102]

Phil speaks from the soul - about his dead father. His voice is not great, but it is true.

[mase5701]

@tgoodin1102 You, my friend, understand music as it should be!

[tgoodin1102]

Phil speaks from the soul - about his dead father. His voice is not great, but it is true.

[rdety]

I was there and it was a great time in music and ...life...

[LAWMANSIONPENRYN]

 I never really needed to be born because this song says it all and there is nothing left to add : complete freedom to shed the fetters of control to glimpse at reality................

[mkirby111]

I was at the show...what a great memory. Thank you for posting!

[Dunkleosteus9]

Phil did a great job on the studio version but it must take practice to be a professional singer.

[emptynet1]

:-)

[jgray110]

The Bill Gates of rock

[mumbles215]

Phil is in Heaven..I mean the Spectrum. It must be something in our PHIL-ly water that got him singing that night! Love it! Watched it 2x

[TheElissaS]

moss824, I agree. After 1985 and before Jerry crossed over the veil---that was some or most of the finest playing of his life. Listen to Death Don't Have No Mercy 1989, Stella Blue . His playing is t he most beautiful. No-one stays the same every dayof their life and everything changes with it. Jerry's playing only got better. Why did he die? They worked him to death.

[MrAprilsmay]

Ya Bruce!

[chadricka]

yeah scimanuk, right on. i understand ya

[chadricka]

Thats the story with alot of bands. They rather have great cds and great live performances. Or great cds and mediocre performances. Either way if you love the band, youll listen to them no matter what.

[chadricka]

the dead HAd great vocals man.

However youd just have to understand, performing in front of a life audience is so different. You cant say,"lets do it over again", and you have nothing to back your voice up except your mates.

[Sunflower0122Z]

(((((WE WANT PHIL!!!)))))

[Beatnikzombie]

The Dead didn't have great vocals, but when they sang, you felt it.  That's what really mattered.

[jdodd82]

@Beatnikzombie wrong. phil was lacking in the vocal department but jerry, bob, and brent definitely were not!!

[cattailsushi]

The lyrics move me... Phil's voice is familiar and kind... thank you...

[RandyCaballo]

CANTA BARBARO PUNTO

[strangeones4]

There is a reason "Box of Rain" wasn't played for years, it's because Phil Lesh can't sing live. Compared to the Phil Lesh, and Friends shows, this is as good as it's going to be. In 1986, my GD friend at the age of the 15, was convinced Phil Lesh didn't sing "Box of Rain" for years because "L.S.D." ruined his singing voice. When he caught wind that Phil Lesh sang "Box of Rain" in Philly he was so happy. It's sad that the real reason was Phil Lesh was a horrible singer.

[strangeones4]

If I get negative thumbs down or comments for the previous post you're in pure denial. Phil Lesh is a brilliant musician, he can't sing.

[moephishron1]

@strangeones4 phil lesh very well can sing, and hes great at it

[strangeones4]

@moephishron1 I've heard opera singers, jazz singers such as Billie Holliday, and Ella Fitzgerald. I've heard folk singers such as Joan Baez, and the Clancy Brothers. I've heard Otis Spann, Eddie Boyd, Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and Howlin' Wolf as blues singers. I've heard rock singers such as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Steve Marriot, and Chis Robinson. Phil Lesh plays the bass guitar. Phil Lesh cannot sing!

[moephishron1]

if he cant sing, then listen to unbroken chain. then tell me he cant sing

[moss824]

@strangeones4 He wrote this song...It meant a lot too him (watching his father slowly pass away)...Thats why he sang it...It doesn't matter that he doesnt have an incredible voice...it means nothing to this song...It is an amazing and touching song you asshole! All those people you mentioned above have nothing on the dead!

[strangeones4]

@moss824 "All those people you mentioned above have nothing on the dead!" Who's the asshole here? According to the book of moss824, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and Billie Holliday are inferior to The Grateful Dead. Thanks for playing!

[moss824]

@strangeones4 Exactly...they are inferior...send me your address and i'll be sure to send you a copy of the book of moss824...more truth in it than the bible :)

[strangeones4]

@moss824 no thanks, I trust my ears. :-) Don't get we wrong, I love the Grateful Dead. I just get a little miffed at the sycophants who claim great shows, or periods of the band that were obviously inferior. This is one of them, only three/four months before Jerry's diabetic coma. Compared to the years of 1969-1974, this is pure crap. Compared to 1977- early '78, the same.

[strangeones4]

@strangeones4 When Jerry cleaned up his act by 1989, that was a golden renaissance. The best live "Deal" is 7/4/89. It lasted until Brent killed himself. Jerry ran off the rails after Brent's death, albeit slowly. Then those poor souls who saw shows without Bruce Hornsby, or Brandon Marsalis during that period. Vince Welnick doing "Baba O'Reily", and "It's All Too Much"?

[Lono9265]

@strangeones4 So, they were better musicians in '74 than they were 12 years later in '86? Twelve years worth of playing/touring/practicing together made them worse as a band? You PREFER the '69-'74 shows (you're a Pigpen fan, right?), and that's fine. But your opinion doesn't make other shows "obviously inferior."

[strangeones4]

@Lono9265 It's all about Jerry's health. Twelve more years of playing together as a band doesn't mean squat if the leader is not with "it" going back at least four years??

All I know is before the 10/74 hiatus, Jerry was in good health, and interested, Bill Kreutzmann was a better drummer by himself without Mickey Hart, and Phil Lesh was really experimenting with bass lines. Bob Weir finally had that "rhythm" thing down, and Keith Godchaux wasn't strung out...yet.

[strangeones4]

@Lono9265 To answer your question, yes I'm a Pigpen fan. Here is my analogy; Listen to Fleetwood Mac live with Peter Green, and Danny Kirwan in late '69/early 1970 (they played with GD a few times). Then listen to Fleetwood Mac live with Lindsay Buckingham, and Stevie Nicks in late 1975. Yes, it's that different. I will never equate Ron McKernan to Peter Green, but both bands lost their soul when the two of them left their respective bands.

[MrSharkey11]

@moss824 ,Strangeones4 is extremely opinonated, and a legend in his own mind!

[Brocksongs]

he actually had polyps on his throat dude...hes not a great singer, okay, but just read anything by the dead...he oversang in the early days and had an operation on his throat...you may not have known that.

[strangeones4]

I may need to re-read my Dennis McNally book. :-) I loved the Rock Scully sensational interpretation of the Grateful Dead from his book. It was more interesting.

[Madtrapper100]

Holy Shit!! scimanuk you're so right I had to stop watching too!

[ctjazzking]

you cheat while we r playing mario kart because you are a whore

[scimanuk]

Oh my goodness. What a massacre of this great song. I can't watch!

[briandrum1]

@scimanuk Ummm....where did you hear any kind of massacre? Do you even know what song you're listening to? Weird....

[ctjazzking]

yeah bro ucall urself a dead head? if u do show some respect for phill. this is song

[scimanuk]

i don't call myself anything brother

[ctjazzking]

ha bro u comment got removed

[scimanuk]

Deadhead?... dickhead more like...

[ctjazzking]

ur just mad ur comment got removed call be anything u cant intimidate me

[scimanuk]

I removed my own comment because I accidentally posted a duplicate. That's what 'removed by author' means; the 'author' in this case being me. I am not mad about that. Let's be friends. I'm sorry if I was unkind. I was just making the point that being a fan of the grateful dead does not exclude me from making a negative comment about one of their perfomances. We are humans, not sheep. We have been blessed with the capacity for free thinking and I celebrate this, as would the grateful dead. Peace

[ctjazzking]

yeah bro ikinda overeacted sorry. ijust get defensive when people diss the dead. theri arnt many dead heads where i am from

[alligayda]

nice thanks for posting this. " Such along long time to be gone and a short time to be there"!

[Gumby0009]

Thanks for posting this. This was the 2nd time that they played box of rain in 4 days. Prior to that is was 777 days!!!

[phishphreak77]

@Gumby0009 no... not 777 days. 777 SHOWS.

[alligayda]

aaaa, same thing

[srbird]

there is a GOD

[metanoiauniverse]

That's so amazing when he comes in singing.

Feel your way, like the day before.

[AntiRedSon]

you know..Phil may not have the best voice, but i wouldn't have it any other way.

[liamsdad33]

@AntiRedSon no doubt!

[mkonjhg1]

@AntiRedSon Phil Made This Song :)

[johnnylaw100]

Excellent. Thanks.

[MrGratefulDean]

I was there

[boscomorgan]

nice job ethan best copy of this show i have seen in a while.this night the crowd almost blew the roof of the spectrum they were so loud when they counted off box.classic bro,just classic.

[alligayda]

does anyone post whole shows? would love to go back through my stubbs and find video of all the shows I attended, as a ticket holder,anyway. Dates are a little fuzzy without the ticket stubb.

[ulfthegoon]

This is one of my favorite shows of all time and I still have this on cassette. It is absolutely wonderful to get to see this. Phil is da man!!

[deadheaded71]

phil is def. havin fun

[TheBlackWelshman]

The Dead... most quintessential American band of all times

[chmc2457]

great show iam going to miss the spectrum.saw many shows there and jfk both history. any one from neshaminy high

[cwmclaughlin67]

Phil Un"Lesh"ed

[deathvalleyqueen22]

haha this is so eighties, i love it!! i saw phil lesh and friends at summerfest on fourth of july last year...FRONT ROW CENTER it was seriously life changing. phil smiled at me and my buds it was truly one of the best days of my life :)

[jeffntab420]

just saw BOTH shows at the spectrum 5/1 and 5/2/09 a dream come true loved it!

[geoson4582]

So so many wonderful Spectrum shows... any chance you were at the 9/22-23/87 gigs... Spencer Davis joins in on Gimme Some Lovin!

[geoson4582]

I am really gonna miss the Spectrum... thanks for posting

[Sunflower0122Z]

Multiple cameras...umm this most be from the vault. I saw the one in Portland later in the week,what a moment!

DH heaven smile..bliss...

[kevinrocks1]

me too....both nights in portland 86 were just magic! this started the maine vermont shows every year!

[FrenchConcrete]

That was great; nice vid- great post!

[natenate12343]

no thats so wrong I love his voice

[cbarrett34]

It's painfully hard to watch Phil Lesh sing a song, his voice is so terrible, sorry, but that's true

[metalman4839]

that is so wrong...phil has an awesome voice..before you say stupid stuff like that really listen to the version on American Beauty

[tabber87]

That was done in a studio.

Not the same thing.

Phil has a terrible live voice. That's indubitable.

[jerzydawg333]

i remember this ...this was a good show..waited a long time to see phil sing..and hear...long live the dead

[DrVonNostrand]

LET PHIL SING!!!

[JoeWeeksey]

I smile when I think back and know I was part of that screaming crowd I have seen better rain but this still clears the clouds from my eyes

[pigpen7852]

bass great lesh philling

[johnagnew]

Hahah, how could you think that was Weir? Surely you noticed he was playing a bass guitar. I'm 15 years old and I've only been a deadhead for like 2 years and I knew that.

[zappadead13]

let phil sing!!!

[kwconch7]

sweeet!!!!!!  check out my old bands covers of dead tunes and others on youtube...keyword ..kwconch7

[therealyou1]

guys - i am a huge dead fan unfortunatly

born years too late to experience this.

my quetion to you true fans - is that i feel

like Bob's vocals were really OFF - now was

this normal, due to the fact that the dead

was always about the MUSIC not the vocals -

or was Bob just never an amazing vocalist?

thanks! again, i'm a huge dead fan, no disrespect, just curiosity.

[catcheez]

Hey now...that was Phil singing box of rain. I was at this show it was only the second time he had sung this song or any other song in over 700 shows. Fans use to put up signs that read let Phill sing. hes the base player.

[phishallman89]

Thats not Bob singing thats Phil Lesh. Yeah I bet you're a huge dead fan with your vast knowledge.

[babathespider515]

You don't have to be rude. TRY1 may like the music a lot but it doesn't mean he/she is into the history. I'm sure when you became a deadhead you didn't know everything about the group either.

[pigpen7852]

hey now, you said it all when i fist became a fan i thought they only sang truckin and all the other radio tunes tog ripple etc...

[pigpen7852]

hey man dont be upset with all the bs they give you bout not knowin this was phil, when i became a head i didnt know shit about the band either keep on keepin on brother, and remember the day you die if you forever get to hear jerry play be forever grateful your dead

[briva]

Wow - nice vid - thanks for posting! They're talking about tearing down the Spectrum to build a hotel... so many memories there like this

[Zeppelinfan25]

I love the Dead. Phil, Bobby, and Jerry just know how to jam.

[kingsteak99]

Seeing Phil do Box back in the day in the wristbands was such a blessed treat.

[jonjonesgr8ful]

GREAT JOB PHIL! He quit singing for a while because he could no longer hit the high notes because of his "aging vocal chords"( I just heard an interview yesterday), but I think he did great. It's always good to hear Phil.You know what I miss? When you would hear Bob say "we'll be right back after a short break"...when U heard it U knew you were at a show(SMILE)