Grateful Dead as “The Warlocks” – 10/9/89 – Hampton Coliseum – Full Second Set on Cassette
genx-adulting-podcast · 10/9/2026 · 93 min
📼 October 9, 1989. Hampton Coliseum. The Grateful Dead were THE WARLOCKS. No streaming. No digital playlists. Just a Sony dual-cassette deck, a TDK tape, and one legendary night in Grateful Dead history. We're going back to October 9, 1989, when the Grateful Dead performed under their original name, The Warlocks, at Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. In this video, I'm playing an analog cassette recording of the entire second set, complete with a real, old-school tape flip between Drums and Death Don't Have No Mercy. No remastering. No digital shortcuts. Just the experience of listening to a live concert on cassette, the way so many Deadheads experienced these shows through the tape-trading community. And what a night it was! The October 9 show featured the return of Dark Star (5 year gap), Death Don't Have No Mercy (second time after 19 year gap) and Attics Of My Life (17 year gap). Moments that helped make these Hampton performances legendary. For Gen X Deadheads, those handwritten cassette labels, the sound of the Play button clicking, and the sight of reels spinning bring back a whole era. 🎸 Were you at the Hampton Warlocks shows in 1989? 📼 Did you trade Grateful Dead concert tapes? ⚡ Do you still have your old collection? Share your memories in the comments! The tapes may be getting older, but the music never stops. 🌹💀⚡ I'd settle in for the full set and can't recommend skipping ahead, but the chapters below will let you.