By the summer of 1990, the Grateful Dead were deep into what would prove to be one of their final chapters. Brent Mydland, whose soulful voice and Hammond B-3 had defined the band's sound through the previous decade, was just weeks away from his death on July 26th — a loss that would shatter the band and leave a void that proved nearly impossible to fill. Listening to shows from this period carries a particular bittersweet weight, knowing what's coming. The band was gigging hard through the summer, playing arenas and outdoor sheds to the massive touring audience they'd cultivated through the late '80s Dead-mania boom, and the energy on stage, while sometimes uneven, could still crystallize into something transcendent. Cal Expo — the California State Exposition grounds in Sacramento — was a regular stop on the Dead's summer circuit during this era, the kind of sprawling outdoor venue that could hold the full traveling circus of Deadheads that followed the band from city to city. It wasn't a legendary room in the way Cornell or Winterland were, but Sacramento shows have a loose, regional warmth to them, and the crowd at Cal Expo could be raucously enthusiastic. There's something fitting about the Dead playing just a couple hours from the Bay Area on a warm June evening with their home crowd energy well within reach.
The songs we have from this show tell an interesting story. "Me and My Uncle" rolling into "Turn On Your Lovelight" suggests a charged first set or set opener with classic cowboy swagger giving way to Brent's showstopper vehicle — and "Lovelight" in 1990 was still a genuine event, Brent pouring everything into a song that originally belonged to Pigpen's bluesman soul. The pairing of "Terrapin Station" into "Stella Blue" is striking: two of the band's most emotionally expansive compositions back to back, Hunter's mythic coastline giving way to one of Garcia's most achingly personal ballads. A well-played "Stella Blue" in this era, with Garcia's voice weathered and searching, can stop you cold. "Loose Lucy" offers a lighter moment of good-natured fun in the mix. The recording quality for Cal Expo shows from this run varies — audience tapes exist in decent circulating form, and some matrix sources have surfaced over the years, so it's worth checking the source notes before you dive in. But whatever you're working with here, cue up that "Terrapin" into "Stella Blue" sequence and let the summer of 1990 speak for itself.