Grateful Dead

We were so excited as college students in New Orleans when we heard they were finally coming back after 10 years. The Saenger was a great venue and the first two sets were fantastic. My friends and I thought that they lost their energy from "stranger" to the end of the 2nd set. Didn't have the "it" that was there at other shows. Still, a great time and wet our appetite for the 2nd night.

In between recording Reckoning in SF and NY, the Dead did the Mississippi River Half-step to the Big Easy. It was so cool to finally see them play acoustic.I remember walking in on a crutch so a friend of a friend could use it to hold up his mikes. I remember the Saeger as being a more ornate version of the Fox, with lots of wierd scuptures...perfect for Deadheads. I remember walking back to my hotel in the Quarter, hearing a street sax player playing "o Danny Boy" at 4am. I remember letting a taper crash in my room, except he never crashed...he kept up up all night making dubs. One of my best Dead trips ever...right up there with the Rainbow over Santa Fe and the Winterland nights where they filmed the Grateful Dead Movie.

I stood outside without a ticket for hours with a sign that read, "I Need a Miracle!" I remember at one point some of the more devout folks of the city slowed their car in front of me and told me that, "You'll get one, brother. You'll get one." I am not sure if it was the one they were talking about, but 30 minutes before the show, someone approaching me and said that there was a ticket at the box office for a guy in a wheel chair who would not be coming. They gave me the name, so I went and told them that I was their man. I ended up with a ticket and even in the front row. I had been at Keesler Air Force Base on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi and had a brand new military buzz cut. I seem to remember Jerry looking at me during the acoustic set with a puzzled expression. But maybe my memory or my nostalgia is failing me here. I also remember a dear elderly, black usher, a dear, sweet man, who seemed to be a Christian of some sorts, and he was appalled by the Dead Heads. I actually think the whole neighborhood thought that aliens with a far away look in their eyes had landed in their part of the Big Easy. During one of the breaks, I remember talking to some friendly blokes who thought I had gone AWOL for the show, and they were very kind and fun. I also called my brother who was living in Vacaville at the time. What a show...