The Quest for Fire | Grateful Dead Β· The Spectrum Β· March 25, 1986 | S2E06 - Grateful Shows

Episode 6

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Published on:

30th Sep 2026

The Quest for Fire | Grateful Dead Β· The Spectrum Β· March 25, 1986 | S2E06

🎸 MARCH 1986 EAST COAST · GRATEFUL DEAD · 1986

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⭐ Production Note: This episode has been remastered for better audio quality and a more concise flow. We’ve combined the previous two-set format into this single episode, featuring expanded commentary and a more curated selection of excerpts. To keep our feed clean, the original unedited versions have been removed. Enjoy this new, streamlined version of the show!⭐

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πŸ“ YOU ARE HERE: Show β€” The Quest for Fire | Grateful Dead Β· The Spectrum Β· March 25, 1986 | S2E06 Β·


Grateful Dead Β· The Spectrum, PhiladelphiaΒ· March 25, 1986 Β·

β¬… Previous: The Spectrum 3-24-86

➑ Next: March 1986 tour recap

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πŸ—Ί NAVIGATE THIS TOUR

🎯 New to the show? Start at the very beginning!

S1E01 β†’ Baltimore May 4, 1980

πŸ“‹ Tourbook 1 Index (all 6 shows in order):

Tour Playlist

Grateful Shows covers Grateful Dead touring history - on tour at a time.

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🎸 OFFICIAL SETLIST:

Grateful Dead - The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA, March 25, 1986

Set 1

Feel Like A Stranger

Tennessee Jed

C.C. Rider

Tons Of Steel

It Must Have Been The Roses

Desolation Row >

Don't Ease Me In

Set 2

Scarlet Begonias >

Touch Of Grey >

Looks Like Rain >

Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad >

Drums >

Space >

Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues >

Black Peter >

Throwing Stones >

Turn On Your Lovelight

🎡 Encore:

Brokedown Palace

β•β•β•πŸŽ™ CONCERT ANALYSIS

Last night of the tour and both the band and ourselves are starting to feel fatigued. The first set does little to alleviate this feeling, but is notable for the first ever Desolation Row which clocks in at over ten minutes and sung virtually flawlessly. The great East Coast Scarlet>Fire drought continues with a spirited Scarlet>Touch that takes us not into to the promised land but to a Looks Like Rain. Yes it was a solid last night of the tour, but not getting the Fire sticks far longer than necessary.

from the podcast:

"We are showered in Blissful Mist, a great name for some kind of product. Alcoholic drink, aftershave, room deodorizer. Whatever it is, we’ll buy it. Few can dish it out like Bobby when it comes to post-heartbreak brooding. And kudos to Dan Healy for ramping up the vocal effects: the delay, the knob-twiddling, and Bobby’s screams, all quantifiers that life does indeed rain on your parade."

Check it out.

πŸ“š LINKS & RESOURCES

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πŸ”— Navigate The Series

πŸ—Ί NAVIGATE THIS TOUR

🎯 New to the show? Start at the very beginning!

S1E01 β†’ Baltimore May 4, 1980

πŸ“‹ Tourbook 1 Index (all 6 shows in order):

Tour Playlist

Grateful Shows covers Grateful Dead touring history - on tour at a time.

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πŸ—Ί EXPLORE OTHER TOURS

Shall we go - to other tours? Why not. So far here's what we've got:

🎸 Grateful Dead May 1980 East Coast Tourβ€” Complete Playlist:

GRATEFUL DEAD MAY 1980 EAST COAST

Gritty, underrated Grateful Dead. From Baltimore to Maine, heady times in a downtrodden America's election year.

── WATCH THIS SPACE FOR MORE ──────────────

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About the Podcast

Grateful Shows
Poetic Meditations on the Grateful Dead...and Life
Grateful Shows is a tour-by-tour deep dive meditative analysis on selected Grateful Dead live concerts.

Each season covers one tour in depth-six shows, fully experienced, with setlist analysis, historical facts, philosophical and fictional rumblings. Companion ebooks go even deeper.

Season 2: March 1986 -The Grateful Dead welcome spring with six shows at two of the East Coast’s most renowned venues: the Hampton Coliseum and the Philadelphia Spectrum. Packed with energy and featuring a number of bust-outs, the tour was unforgettable, including the legendary β€œBox of Rain” in Hampton. However, a closer look suggests this might not have been either the highlight or the best show of the tour. Make sure to check out all six shows!

🎸 Grateful Dead live history · concert documentation · music history podcast
πŸ—Ί One tour at a time Β· six shows per season Β· VW bus not included

About your host

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J.Y. Pod

J.Y. Pod is the author and narrator of Grateful Shows. Let him guide you into a dreamland blending fact, fiction, and the distilled memories of countless deadheads into the world known as Grateful Shows.