By the summer of 1987, the Grateful Dead were operating in a fascinating and somewhat paradoxical space. The band had just released *In the Dark* — their first studio album in seven years — and "Touch of Grey" was weeks away from becoming their unlikely MTV hit and introducing millions of new fans to the circus. But on June 14th at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, none of that had quite landed yet. This was still the working band, the one that had spent the better part of two decades grinding through outdoor sheds and fairgrounds up and down the California coast. Brent Mydland was firmly settled in as the keyboardist, his gospel-inflected Hammond giving the band a harder edge than the Godchauxs' era, and the rhythm section of Garcia, Weir, Lesh, Hart, and Kreutzmann was locked in with the easy authority of a group that had been playing together for decades. The Ventura County Fairgrounds sits in a stretch of Southern California coastline between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara — close enough to the ocean that you can feel it in the air, and the kind of mid-size outdoor setting where the Dead always seemed to find a certain loose, breezy energy. These fairground shows were communal events as much as concerts, with room to roam and a crowd that mixed longtime devotees with curious newcomers.
The songs we have confirmed from this show tell a warm, rootsy story. "Sugaree" remains one of Garcia's great vehicles — a slow-burning showcase where his guitar work tends to open up in long, searching phrases that reward patient listeners. When the band was locked in on it, the song could stretch into something quietly devastating. "Ramble On Rose" is classic first-set Old West Garcia, deceptively cheerful and lyrically rich, the kind of tune that lands like a postcard from somewhere beautiful. And "Might As Well" — a somewhat underrated Weir gem from the *Terrapin Station* era — offers a freewheeling, road-worn feel that fits the fairgrounds setting almost too perfectly. What you're listening for here is the relaxed confidence of a band that knew exactly who it was, playing to a crowd that knew exactly why they were there, in the weeks just before everything changed. Whether you're coming to this one through a soundboard source or a warm audience tape, let the first notes of "Sugaree" draw you in and see where the evening takes you.