On February 23rd, Round Records will release GarciaLive Volume Ten: May 20th, 1990 Hilo Civic Auditorium, recorded in Hilo, Hawaii. The recording captures the only performance by Jerry Garcia on the Hawaiian Islands, outside of the Grateful Dead’s appearance in 1970. GarciaLive Volume Ten is the first 2018 archival release in the continuing year-long celebration of Jerry Garcia’s 75th Birthday. The album will be available as a two-disc set, digital download and at streaming services. The collection features an extensive essay by longtime Grateful Dead publicist and author Dennis McNally. Pre-order for GarciaLive Volume Ten: May 20th, 1990 Hilo Civic Auditorium can be found at Garcia Family Provisions.
Following a 1986 diabetic coma and an extensive recovery and rehabilitation (including learning to play guitar again), Garcia had gone to Hawaii to continue his recuperation. While there, he developed a newfound love for the island paradise and the rehabilitative sanctuary of its undersea world (a diver’s paradise introduced to him by Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann). Like so many, Garcia found peace under the crystal waters and a place where the only attention he received was from some curious fish.
The medicinal benefits, both physical and mental, of his time there were never lost on Garcia. He returned in 1990 with the mighty Jerry Garcia Band - Melvin Seals (keyboards), John Kahn (bass), David Kemper (drums), Gloria Jones (backing vox) and Jacklyn LaBranch (backing vox) – to perform a concert benefitting the Ocean Recreation Council of Hawaii. Hilo, the largest city on the big island, had a population below 40,000 at the time of the concert. It had none of the high-rise hotels and cosmopolitan flair of Maui or Waikiki Beach, but it did possess a warm, rural-like community with a relaxed vibe.
That warmth permeates both sets, starting with the joyous opener “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” followed by the Garcia/Hunter penned “They Love Each Other”. Right out of the gate, there was clearly a special happiness radiating from that stage that night as the band played a diverse spectrum of music uniting multiple genres under one umbrella. The group firmly stamped their signature on reggae standards by Jimmy Cliff (“The Harder They Come”) and Peter Tosh (“Stop That Train”), contemporary songs of the day by Los Lobos (“Evangeline”) and Bruce Cockburn (“Waiting For A Miracle”) and R&B/gospel classics by Don Nix/Dan Penn (“Like A Road Leading Home”), Haven Gillespie/Beasley Smith (“That Lucky Old Son”) and Charles Johnson “My Sisters and Brothers). The Jerry Garcia Band performed a range of Bob Dylan classics that evening that featured inspired versions of “Tough Mama,” “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” “Forever Young,” “Tears Of Rage” (co-written with Richard Manuel) and a fiery “Tangled Up In Blue” with Garcia in peak form ripping up the guitar to close the show.
As with many Jerry Garcia Band performances of that era, there are songs that became staples in their set lists, with each given its own unique treatment each time. However, there was clearly something in the air on that gorgeous night in Hawaii, and it breathes prominently throughout GarciaLive Volume Ten: May 20th, 1990 Hilo Civic Auditorium.
GarciaLive Volume Ten – Track Listing
DISC ONE / SET ONE
1. HOW SWEET IT IS (TO BE LOVED BY YOU)
(Lamont Dozier/Brian Holland/Eddie Holland)
2. THEY LOVE EACH OTHER
(Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
3. TOUGH MAMA
(Bob Dylan)
4. LIKE A ROAD LEADING HOME
(Don Nix/Dan Penn)
5. RUN FOR THE ROSES
(Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
6. THE WAY YOU DO THE THINGS YOU DO
(William Robinson Jr/Robert Rogers)
7. MY SISTERS AND BROTHERS
(Charles Johnson)
8. KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR
(Bob Dylan)
9. DEAL
(Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter)
DISC TWO / SET TWO
1. THE HARDER THEY COME
(Jimmy Cliff)
2. FOREVER YOUNG
(Bob Dylan)
3. STOP THAT TRAIN
(Peter Tosh)
4. TORE UP OVER YOU
(Hank Ballard)
5. TEARS OF RAGE
(Bob Dylan/Richard Manuel)
6. EVANGELINE
(David Hidalgo/Louie Perez)
7. WAITING FOR A MIRACLE
(Bruce Cockburn)
8. THAT LUCKY OLD SUN
(Haven Gillespie/Beasley Smith)
9. TANGLED UP IN BLUE
(Bob Dylan)
