‘GarciaLive Volume 23’ to Preserve Jerry Garcia Band’s Final Shoreline Amphitheatre Concert

Garcia Family Provisions will release GarciaLive Volume 23: August 14th, 1993 Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 30. The archival recording preserves the Jerry Garcia Band’s last concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California, a show that took place on August 14, 1993.

The band that night consisted of Jerry Garcia alongside keyboardist Melvin Seals, bassist John Kahn, drummer David Kemper, and backing singers Gloria Jones and Jacklyn LaBranch. Apart from the Garcia original “Run for the Roses,” the entire performance leaned on cover material, drawing from artists including Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Louis Armstrong, Eric Clapton and Chuck Berry.

• Release date: October 30, via Garcia Family Provisions
• Recording date: August 14, 1993, at Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA
• Liner notes contributor: journalist and former Grateful Dead publicist Dennis McNally
• Shoreline Amphitheatre capacity: 22,500, venue opened in 1986

What Songs Are on the GarciaLive Volume 23 Setlist?

The first set moved through “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You),” “Forever Young,” “Struggling Man,” “Run for the Roses,” “Money Honey,” “Like a Road Leading Home” and “My Sisters and Brothers,” before closing on “Lay Down Sally.” The second set opened with a “Shining Star” that ran past the twenty-minute mark, followed by “You Never Can Tell (C’est La Vie),” “Ain’t No Bread in the Breadbox,” “Wonderful World,” “The Maker,” “Don’t Let Go” and “That Lucky Old Sun,” ending the night with “Midnight Moonlight,” a tune penned by Peter Rowan.

Set One

1. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)
2. Forever Young
3. Struggling Man
4. Run for the Roses
5. Money Honey
6. Like a Road Leading Home
7. My Sisters and Brothers
8. Lay Down Sally

Set Two

1. Shining Star
2. You Never Can Tell (C’est La Vie)
3. Ain’t No Bread in the Breadbox
4. Wonderful World
5. The Maker
6. Don’t Let Go
7. That Lucky Old Sun
8. Midnight Moonlight

What Does Dennis McNally Say in the Liner Notes?

Dennis McNally, a journalist who served as the Grateful Dead’s longtime publicist, wrote the liner notes accompanying GarciaLive Volume 23. In them, he describes Garcia at this stage of his career as “at his peak, playing both thunder and lightning, and singing beautifully.”

How Shoreline Amphitheatre Is Tied to the Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia

Shoreline Amphitheatre was designed by concert promoter Bill Graham to take the shape of the Grateful Dead’s “Steal Your Face” skull emblem when seen from overhead. The Grateful Dead were originally booked to headline the venue’s opening show in 1986, but Jerry Garcia’s health problems forced a cancellation, and comedian Roseanne Barr ended up as the first act to play Shoreline, opening for Julio Iglesias that June.

A similar situation arose in September 1990, when the Grateful Dead had to pull out of a scheduled Shoreline date following the death of keyboardist Brent Mydland. The Jerry Garcia Band stepped in for that show instead, marking its own debut at the venue, a performance later released as the “Live At Shoreline” DVD.

The Jerry Garcia Band returned to Shoreline in 1991 and 1992 before playing its final show there on August 14, 1993. The Grateful Dead continued to book the amphitheater on subsequent tours, including their last tour in the summer of 1995. Across his career, Garcia performed at Shoreline 39 times with the Grateful Dead and three times with the Jerry Garcia Band.

More Info

• Jerry Garcia Band’s Final Shoreline Gig Captured On ‘Garcia Live Volume 23’ | liveforlivemusic.com
• Jerry Garcia’s Final Shoreline Gig Featured on ‘Garcia Live Volume 23’ | jambands.com
• Jerry Garcia Band’s Final Shoreline Show Unearthed For ‘Garcia Live Volume 23’ | JamBase