Grateful Dead

Hi Susan - I've sent a PM which will help you hook up with other UK heads. I guess you saw Ratdog in 2002 or 2003 or both?? I caught them in 2002 in London. There is a summer of love festival.party at the end of July - a great place to be with other UK Deadheads.

I scored 7/4 on the lot (cart path, I guess......by the marina), so me and Mrs. P saw Saturday and Sunday. Well done, men. Thank you Bob, Billy, Mickey, Bruce, Jeff, Trey and Phil. You played and sounded great. Wife had never seen the Grateful Dead. Her favorite of the weekend: Days Between. I got on the bus in '83, first shows 11/7/85 and 11/8/85. Last show Father's Day 1995 in Giants-no comment needed there. My favorite of the weekend: Althea, I think. What a wonderful four days we spent in Chicago. It is easy to see why Shapiro et al picked this venue. Pretty good mass transit. Limited parking meant limited on site hassles for the band and promoter. As we recall, 93, 94, and 95 Shakedowns spiraled further into Lord of the Flies territory with each passing show. This weekend the vibe was laid back, a little tame even, but all the shopping and goods we needed and wanted were available. It appears to me that Mickey may have found some magic elixir or the Fountain of Youth; he looked as energetic and impishly deranged as ever. As Bob Seger sang, I saw "some old friends, good for the soul" from my touring days. What a trip that was. I never slept so comfortably after a show as this weekend. A four star hotel? Unheard of in the summers of the 80's ! I think I saw Dave Lemieux at a noodle bar just north of the river on Saturday afternoon, but I guess archivists and other fifty-ish Deadheads all look alike. We really did invade and swarm the city. That was pretty cool. More reflections later..... I have to mentally prepare myself to rejoin the work-a-day world tomorrow.

It hit me hard today at work, the withdrawal pain! The only positive thing about a show ending was that there always would be another one sometime. So used to waiting for the next show. I'm so glad I got on the bus and it's never going to be parked as far as I'm concerned. Thank you boys for more than just the music, thank you GDTS for my tickets (even though they were nosebleeds), thank you for all the great people I met over the years that made great memories for me (even those whose names I never caught), gonna miss the lots! I guess I just wanted to say I'm grateful and THANK YOU ALL. You will be missed.