By the spring of 1991, the Grateful Dead were well into their final chapter — still a formidable live act, still capable of transcendent nights, but carrying the weight of two and a half decades of road under their belts. Brent Mydland had died the previous summer, and the band had moved forward with two keyboardists: Vince Welnick holding down the primary spot and Bruce Hornsby lending his piano work to shows when his own touring schedule allowed. It was an unusual, transitional configuration that gave 1991 a distinctive sonic texture — warmer and more rootsy on some nights, more expansive on others depending on whether Hornsby was in the house. The Without a Net album had just come out the previous fall, and the band was actively touring behind that document of their late-'80s sound even as the lineup had already shifted beneath them. Greensboro Coliseum, a mid-sized arena in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, was a reliable stop on the Dead's sweep through the Southeast. Not legendary in the way that, say, a Spectrum or Madison Square Garden run might be, but a solid room with a devoted regional fanbase who knew how to welcome the circus. The Carolinas had always had a warm and vocal Dead following, and a late-March show here would have drawn fans from across the region ready to shake off winter. The songs we have from this show offer a tantalizing glimpse into what was an interesting night.
Cassidy opening things up is a lovely choice — it's a song that rewards a band playing with feeling, and its rhythmic urgency pairs well with the right crowd energy. The real treasure in this partial setlist is the Eyes of the World segment, appearing sandwiched within a wheel-and-back sequence that suggests some genuine second-set adventurousness. Eyes is one of the most beloved Garcia vehicles in the entire catalog — a song built for exploration, with those gorgeous Garcia lines weaving through Lesh's bass and the keyboards floating beneath. When it locks in, it's transcendent. Samson and Delilah closing things out brings the hammer down with the kind of gospel-rooted muscle the band had honed over years of setlist placement. Listeners should pay close attention to how Welnick comps behind Garcia during the Eyes stretch — 1991 is worth revisiting precisely because his playing was still fresh and earnest in ways that genuinely lift the material. Pull this one up and let it remind you just how deep this band could still go.