By March of 1987, the Grateful Dead were riding a remarkable second wave of popularity that had been building steadily through the mid-eighties. Brent Mydland, now eight years into his tenure as keyboardist, had fully grown into the role — his Hammond organ and synth work adding a muscular, sometimes gospel-tinged density to the band's sound that distinguished this era from the more spacious Keith Godchaux years. Garcia's voice, while showing the wear of the decades, still carried real conviction, and the band was performing at an arena-level confidence that came from years of relentless touring. The In the Dark album was still a few months away from release, meaning the Dead were in that interesting pre-commercial-breakthrough window — playing for their devoted cult following before "Touch of Grey" would bring an entirely new wave of fans through the door later that summer. The Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland was practically a home court for the Dead during this period. Sitting on the east shore of Lake Merritt, Kaiser was a beloved Bay Area room — intimate enough relative to the arenas they'd been filling elsewhere, yet large enough to hold a proper Dead crowd. Playing Oakland meant playing for people who had grown up with this band, and there's a special looseness and familiarity that tends to come through in Dead performances close to home. The band knew these rooms, knew these audiences, and that comfort often translated into adventurous playing.
The fragment we have documented from this show includes C.C. Rider and China Cat Sunflower, and both are telling in their own way. C.C. Rider, the old Leadbelly-adjacent blues number, was a reliable first-set opener during this era — a warm-up vehicle that let the band stretch their legs before the real work began, and Garcia always seemed to relish the easy shuffle of it. China Cat Sunflower, of course, is one of the band's true signature pieces, nearly always paired with "I Know You Rider" in one of rock's most satisfying musical marriages. The China>Rider transition — that moment when Garcia's guitar coils and springs into the "Rider" riff — never got old, and a strong 1987 version with Brent's keyboards pushing the energy forward is always worth your time. The recording quality for Kaiser shows from this period varies, but the room itself recorded well, and many circulating copies benefit from good soundboard sources or strong audience tapes taken close to the mix. Pull this one up and let the China Cat take you where it wants to go.