Grateful Seconds: The OOPs Concert: Amsterdam, the Ones That Got Away, October 15-16, 1981

Saturday, July 6, 2019

The OOPs Concert: Amsterdam, the Ones That Got Away, October 15-16, 1981

Thanks again Voodoonola Here's the music

From September 30 to October 19, the Grateful Dead spend three weeks in Europe for their second trip that year, having played 5 shows in the UK and Germany at the end of March. These were the band first trip to Europe since 1974, although they had cancelled a couple of London gig during the Egypt shows in September 1978. They wouldn't come back until 1990.

In the Netherlands, the Dead had played on both May 10 and 11, 1972, playing Amsterdam and then Rotterdam. These 1981 shows are the last shows the Grateful Dead ever played in the Netherlands.
Apparently 1974 shows in Amsterdam were cancelled according to Steve Brown in David Gans and Blair Jackson Dream book.

So as legend has it, the Dead had some time off between gigs and on October 11, Bobby and Jerry decided to play a few acoustic tunes at the Melkweg and then came back for two nearly full Dead shows on October 15 and 16. Most of these shows are mana from Heaven, especially the last night on Bobby's 34th borthday where they played a bunch of tunes like Lovelight, Gloria and their only Hully Gully. We can both listen and see this show.

Famed Dead photographer Bob Minkin took many of the pictures on this page and even wrote the fab review in the Taping Compendium Vol. 2. If I were you, I'd buy Live Dead, Bob's great book of photos with tremendous coverage not only of these Melkweg shows but the entire October 1981 European tour.

Since only May 6, May 19, and December 9 have full show official release, maybe its time for October 16, 1981 to be released. So this is my latest guess for a show getting the CD treatment.

Here's Garcia on the cover of the local rock rag in 1972.