By the spring of 1988, the Grateful Dead had settled into a muscular, arena-ready version of themselves that divided the faithful even as it packed venues from coast to coast. Brent Mydland, now nearly a decade into his tenure as keyboardist, had grown into one of the most emotionally raw vocalists the band ever had, and his presence gave the mid-to-late '80s Dead a particular kind of weight — louder and more deliberately powerful than the nimble improvisation of 1977, but still capable of profound moments when the pieces aligned. The band was riding the commercial momentum that would crest with "In the Dark" the previous summer, and the arena circuit had become their natural habitat. New Jersey's Meadowlands Arena, that cavernous concrete bowl just across the Hudson from Manhattan, was exactly the kind of room they were filling with ease by this point — a cold but reliable hall that the East Coast faithful would make their own through sheer number and enthusiasm. The New York metropolitan area Dead scene was one of the most devoted in the country, and Meadowlands shows tended to carry that edge of intensity that comes when a crowd has traveled far and waited long. April 1st is worth noting on the calendar — a Friday night, opening a weekend run, and April Fool's Day to boot, which occasionally prompted a wink from the band in the setlist choices or stage banter. Whether or not Garcia played any pranks, what we have from this evening includes two pieces that anchor very different emotional registers.
"Not Fade Away" by this era had become a set-closing juggernaut, a Bo Diddley shuffle that the Dead had stretched into a massive, stomping communal chant — when the crowd locked into that groove, it could feel like the whole building was breathing together. It is one of the great singalong vehicles in their catalog, and a 1988 version could carry real menace and joy in equal measure. "To Lay Me Down" is an entirely different animal — a Robert Hunter lyric of devastating tenderness, one of Garcia's most nakedly romantic vehicles. When he found it in this era, Brent's Hammond coloring the background and Garcia's voice reaching for something genuinely vulnerable, it could stop a room cold. Listeners should tune in for how these two songs balance each other as emotional statements, and for the crowd's response when the band shifts gears. Whether this source is board or audience, press play and let April Fool's night at the Meadowlands work its particular magic.