Grateful Dead

my wife, myself, and about 8 or 10 others happened upon some small pieces of clear plastic when the rain started comin' down. we were on the left side of the soundboard scaffolding (left side- looking toward the stage) and we all held up the plastic above our heads and pieced the seams together enough that we could all, to some extent, stay out of the weather. the sky was so dark it was scary. the wind and rain were torrential. the peak of the storm hit during one of traffic's jammed out songs... i can't remember which song (anyone?)... but it seemed that traffic was almost taunting the storm... finally it passed, our plastic held out pretty good... and if i remember correctly, by the time the dead came out the brunt of the storm had passed.

As we were walking from the parking lot to the little valley, (you didn't camp on that hill back in those days) I could look in front of us, and see nothing but perfect sky... then I turned around to look at freaks walking behind us, I noticed something that I had only seen in a movie. "The Nothing" from the Never Ending Story was rolling across the sky.., Traffic was rocking out, and the storm was moving in... by the time we made it to the actual staging area, traffic had only one or two songs left, and the storm was moving in... The winds picked up, tossing dread locks like windsocks. The first bolt of lightning fired from the sky... The storm was here... Traffic turned it up a few notches and the crowd became insainely energized... by the time they were done the storm had really just begun. Music played in between sets, the crowd was as restless as I had ever witnessed.... A couple of notes pop from the stage and were answered immediately by three powerfull blasts of thunder. The sky had become as black as midnight, the freaks had become crazed, I had become dumbfounded.. the stage lights came on and the first words that washed over the crowd, over the thunder and the lightning, over the pounding of the pouring rain, were.........."ra - ai- ai- ai -ain, I don't mind!" and by god it did rain... It rained so hard that there were small rivers running around hippie's legs, The lightning was so intense that it was creating it's own heat. the thunder competed with the music as song after song, my spirit was lifted out of my body and scattered to the howling wind. This was my first show... and my life has never been the same. God bless the Grateful Dead!

tHE MIDWEST IS FAMOUS FOR THOSE ROGUE ELEPHANT THUNDERSHOWERS, WE WEREN'T LET DOWN THAT DAY! I THINK IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN "LIGHT UP OR LEAVE ME ALONE" THAT TRAFFIC JUICED UP A NOTCH FOR THE OCCASION! MAYBE NOT.........I MISS THAT VENUE, IT WAS ONLY 2 HOURS FROM HOME ( CINCY ) AND NOT TOO CLOSE TO CLEVELAND!DEADGERB!

I was so excited. This was to be my first show with my brother and my second show ever...the first just 2 weeks earlier in Vermont. I remember sitting in vehicles, none of us wanting to stand in the rain for Traffic, but did venture out for The Dead. It was raining and we were all huddled under a tarp with the exception of my brother who was dancing in the rain, and The Dead seemed to literally be playing to the Rain. This is truly a night I will never forget.

I drove with a buddy from Warm Springs, Virginia for this show. The minute we parked in the lot, a U-Haul truck pulled in right beside us and when they lifted the tailgate it was full of happy gas! We exchanged hello neighbors and he said neighbors get the first balloon on the house after that it was $3 bucks for you and $5 bucks for everyone else. We sat and talked and laughed and had a great afternoon. I swear it felt like 100 degrees in the shade that day. Show time, I had on shorts and a tee and was high as a kite, but we were ready for the boys. That storm was just crazy. The temp must have dropped 20 degrees and I swear I was going to get hypothermia. When the show started I looked to the sky and said Lord, take the cold away and let me enjoy this show because that wind whipping feels like ice cutting me down to the bone. After that I felt so good and it was a great show. Buckeye was a great venue, no matter what the weather conditions.

As much as I have enjoyed the Grateful Dead through the years, and sooo many other fine rock-n-roll groups now ensconoced in the history of the genre, this was only my third GD show in twenty years! I had suffered from open heart surgery in May of this year, and was quite depressed. In late July a very close and good friend, Claudia, surprised me with tickets to this show, and the anticipation and prospect of reliving my errant youth, engaging in some pretty cool (now historic) rock shows brought me back to life! Such shows included, but were not limited to: Pink Floyd, (Dark Side of the Moon tour,) Wings, Bowie, Arlo Guthrie, Melanie (Sofka), Crosby Stills & Nash, Neil Young, Bette Midler, Maria Muldair, and so many others... We sat comfortably under a tree near the concession trailers with binoculars, as I was still pretty weak from the surgery, and wanted to take it easy. Patchouli, hamburgers, good herb and other delightful scents filled the air, while I lay my head on Claudias lap, and she stroked my hair. A joint floated by-I partook- I was in heaven! Then the rain came. I found it hilarious that the Dead chose as their first number, "Rain", and subsequently, "Looks like Rain," and "Samba in the Rain." I think those "Rain" tunes were thought by the gods and goddesses as humans being a bit precocious so boy, did they let us have it! It got worse, and worse. We decided to go back to the car while Mother nature had her tantrum, and Claudia said, "I can't see...which way do we go?" Wanting to be the hero, I firmly said something like, "Oh, babe, trust me! I can get us out of ANYWHERE" while we circled the entire perimeter of the Buckeye Lake area, lost, directionless, and finally getting to the car an hour later with the show almost over. We were soaked like wet river rats in an old navy blanket I had stolen while in the service years earlier, and with Claudia not so very pleased...And THAT's how I spent my summer vacation!!!!!

What a show!!!!!! You have to love and respect how the Dead would capture their fans. To play sooo many songs with the word "RAIN" in the title was just mind-blowing.

My second show, I was 16, and actually got my MOM to take me to this show!! She really toughed it out, I have to give her credit... She was pretty freaked out by the crowd, the drug use, and the weather, but she did admit she enjoyed the music! Especially 'El Paso'. It was time to go as the band was deep into space, I guess it was more than she could take. Still, what an awesome thing for a mother to do!!I love to listen to my audience tape of this show, the bass of the thunder and the crowd reactions are priceless. Great setlist!

WHILE TRAFFIC WAS PLAYING--- THE SONG WAS "GIMME SOME LOVIN' "---DA DA DA DA DA BAM! UNFORGETABLE! THE BOYS FOLLOWED THAT UP BY SHOWING US A REAL GOOD TIME!

My recollections of shows are never very good, but there was something special about this show. After spending the day in the lot my buddy and I headed into the show and caught Traffics whole set. We kept taking turns heading up to the beer tent to get the 4 beer maximum. It must have been about 1/2 way through the Deads 1st set it was my buddys turn to make a beer run. He left and never came back. After the show I headed back to my truck where I figured I would have to probably wait around til morning to hook back up with him. But there he is in the bed of my truck sound asleep (or maybe passed out). Some kind people had appearently saw him and covered him up with their blankets and gave him a pillow.

My buddy and I took my college girl friend and her friend to their 1st show. I had been to Buckeye before and knew the experience would be unforgettable. I found some goodies in the endless fields of parking and decide to make the best of a great situation. With the state troopers over looking the fields of freaks from above, we enjoyed our selves to the fullest. I losted my gord during the rain storm and all I wanted was some bubble mix. I begged and begged and I recieved. Out of no where came a bottle of bubbles. My girl friend responded, "Wish for a tarp!" A few people around me informed me that Larwence Welk would have been proud of my bubble making. The Rain theme was supported by both the Dead and Traffic, bring a perfect day and night to an end. The traffic jam made us stay put until the buzz and traffic cleared, which was all fine by me, since the beads of rain remaining on the cars shined like a cosmic rainbow.

Best show i have ever attended. Imagine TRAFFIC, the Dead, and a THUNDERSTORM that was magical ! Music was bang'n! The gift from the heavens that day was incredible. When the rains came, Traffic was at 'one' with the universe as they transitioned with/to the Dead. Nearly unbelievable that lightening and rain limited its energy to electrifying the air and not the ground. As for the plastic 'tarps',.. i only had to take one step back to avoid them. ...i already had my shirt off so as to be ready for when the rains came...how could i miss the chance to kid-up with that rain...(i'll not forget the smile from an angel who helped me up when i slid on the mudbank). ..7.29.1994 was nearly too good to be true. ?did you get your 'Plant Trees" bumper sticker in the parking field? Please, always be mindful that Conservation Matters, and do your part to stop energy waste !

Man......remember the rain and then the wind. for some reason I had an idea just before the rain started. "Give me all of your sirts and jackets and I began to stuff them into my gunny sack. We had some little plastic sheet that we huddled under as it dumped! I think the shows start was delayed but hell ! where were going? Seems everyone just made the best of it. Then the wind and rain just blam. Shhhhhheeeeeeeit! At some time the show started, rain stopped, pulled out dry clothes and still feeling cold. I recall seeing really messed up kids drenced and frozen to the bone. I recall afterwards while leaving seeing cars stuck in mud similar to a war zone. Man! it was muddy. I think it was the last buckeye show. Love to hear how many people there was. My estimate 100 K ? One of the biggest I had ever been to and also one of the coldest!

i too held some of that piece of plastic over my head. that was the first time that i reeeaaallly got my face stolen right off my head.

Hahaa! I was at this one. Two words...Muddy Fun! teehee What a great memory that just conjured up! :) :) :)

FIRST SHOW IN THE WEATHER LIKE THAT. REMEMBER IT BEINGHOT AS F@#K THAT DAY, THEN THE RAINCAME DURING TRAFFICS SET DEAR MR. FANTASY WAS NICE, AS FAR AS I SEE IT THEM BOYS KICKED THE RAINS ASS THAT SUMMER EVE, THEN USHERED IN ONE OF MY FAV OUTSIDE SHOWS....JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE- THANX JERRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was my 3rd dead show, probably the best out of the 3 i got to see, all i can remember is the parking lot was off the hook and hippys yelling as we pulled out in the pouring down rain, "WHY GO HOME, WHERE YOU GOING?" it was probably sum of the best hallusagenics i've ever had..... FELIX THE CAT

My 3rd and last dead show. I remember being spun out of my mind and locking the keys in the car. We couldn't get in that good old plymouth reliant K car, so we traded a hit of acid to barrow the guy parked next to us is CROWBAR. SMASH........... Needles to say I bashed out the passengers backseat window to get in. And of course then it poured and poured and poured ....... How I made it home that night, ill never know, but we did.... PS. I don't like driving tripping !!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 3rd and last dead show. I remember being spun out of my mind and locking the keys in the car. We couldn't get in that good old plymouth reliant K car, so we traded a hit of acid to barrow the guy parked next to us is CROWBAR. SMASH........... Needles to say I bashed out the passengers backseat window to get in. And of course then it poured and poured and poured ....... How I made it home that night, ill never know, but we did.... PS. I don't like driving tripping !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't remember rain, maybe I didn't care cause that show was amazing. The entire trip from start to end and Buckeye was an amazing venue. The aura in the air though it is a litle foggy was peaceful. It was a time I felt entirely free. It was a fiasco the night before driving around town until someone opened up their lot. I remember so much but I do remember someone sayin Is this gonna be like Woodstock. I sad I wish but we won't be here long enough. Nothing like a little rain to wash the hair.

I remember this show as being one of my least favorite dead shows that I attended. It started out as a really nice day, went in early to see traffic. When the rain started it got really cold. It terrentially poured for hours, it was crazy. I thought it would be a great show, i even remember Jerry sort of dancin around behind traffic while they were playing. When the dead came on it was like they were asleep at the wheel or Jerry was unispired or something. I do remember liking the mighty quinn but the rest of the show was pretty much a sleeper. Maybe I should go back and listen to it again before trashing it, it was 15 years ago.

We showed up the day before the show, camped out in a nearby camp ground full of Heads. We were up all night (had no control over it, if you hear me ;). Next day was my first experience in the lot. It was awesome....just this huge grassy lot with Shakedown Street and happy people everywhere. There were some treed areas, and I remember sitting midday in one around a drum pit with a balloon in hand and simply losing myself in complete elation and happiness. It was great. The experience was great. This is what a Dead show should be! The show was awesome...the rain dampened nothing, but it did get cold. I distinctly remember holding tarpaulins and plastic overhead with participation from other audience members, and it was raining so hard a game soon evolved of pushing upwards on the tarps so that water raced toward the gaps between...whoever was unfortunately standing at the point the water dropped was SOAKED! Hey, who cared? We all were really. I remember the music being pretty tight...but of course it was my first show and probably tainted by that fact. Regardless...I feel very fortunate to have gone. It'd be the only show I'd see while Jerry was still with us. In general, it offered everything it should have.

The traffic song that brought the storm was rainmaker I'll never forget it

Hey Hackster, I remember the storm looking like it was going to go around us at that '94 Buckeye lake show. Then Traffic closed with Rainmaker and it came right at us. Pink, Yellow, blue, and green lightning all over but the miracle to my knowledge no one was hit. And hey! I hadn't even dosed yet. It was quite an experiance as The Grateful Dead ( I heard ) Went off their set list and opened with Rain. I have that first set on cassette tape and wow the lightning pops! Ra ra ra a a a ain, I don't mind. I'm there! Vincent Forever Grateful Forever Dead

raaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. i actually brought a pocho to the show....one of my better decisions. all the rain songs came out in the rain....thanks, guys. my favorite show. MIGHTY QUINN......come on. great setlist for this wet night. this wa my last show :( (this is the only time i shall make any kind of face using puctuation)

we had driven from Riverport,staight through to Buckeye.When we arrived,there was only a few hours till the lot opened.So,we gathered in parking lot of a shopping center,with a bunch of other heads.As time came to leave,I climbed in the back of the truck i was traveling in and wouldn`t you know it,i fell asleep,sure as shit....A few hours passed,and eventually i came to.By this time,it was high noon,and humid as hell itself! I was dripping through and through with sweat and only having a few hours of rest,felt like total shit!..So i threw up the campershell hatch to take a fresh breath of air and to my happiness,all the friends i was traveling with were in a tent right across the way and they called me over.When i entered,i was handed a handful of fungus and HOT Molson Golden beer,in the can to wash it down.What a combo!!...Well i guess you can imagine what the rest of my afternoon was like!I spent my time wandering the lot in a daze.Never-the-less,I was sooo ready when the time finally came for the show.A misty rain had set in and they came on stage and broke out a spectacular "Rain."Later that night Jerry took us through a wonderful "SOTM"and they brought us home with a "Mighty Quinn,"for the ages.All in all,it was a pretty sweet night.

buddy and i mail ordered. all quotes are his parking lot was fabulous. came down from cleveland; lot so hot and humid i drank 6 heinekens and went through the gate stone cold sober. little bothered to have to wait thru traffic, knowing dead seldom had openers... as it turned out i hold against them only that the storm and dark set in sooner for the dead.. set up shop, made friends. rain, rain. black sky. tarps go from seating to roof, every hand and tarp meeting another and holding it over all.. monster rain. "rain" opener-- i didn't know dead did beatles covers like that... still only song from show i can't kind of hear from my mind... jerry singing that? hmm dancing my small spot of weed never came out of my shoe... so much was passed "my first Bertha!" weir out in front "was that Deal hot or WHAT?" OMG.. i was fine with the deluge until the sun went down. then, depression set in. my only prayer was for some one to hand me a dry T shirt. didn't matter that it'd be wet too in 5 seconds. wonderful Looks Like Rain (alas no Box) Saint? later discover, *rain falling down..* deluge quits during.... I Need a Miracle and i got me some Boblight too. must've rained 3 inches, best day of my life. when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro --hunter s. thompson

This was supposed to be my first show with my older brother. He had been dying take me but mom wouldn't let him. I was 18 and just graduated from high school. But this became my 2nd show. They came to Vermont, where I lived at the time just 16 days earlier. My fabulous big brother said he so wanted to take me to my first show, but so understood that I couldn't pass up going to see them when they were only going to be 45 minutes away. I remember it was nice, then the rain started. Regardless of the rain, it was an awesome experience! I was with my big brother who taught me about The Dead. I saw a real Shakedown Street (the one in Highgate could not come close to compare to what I experienced at Buckeye Lake). It was really a great experience.......probably mostly do to my awesome big brother who treated me to this show.

I really wanted to see Traffic, so a small group of us went down from Toledo, we camped nearby the day before the show. My buddies ate paper that night and tripped very hard and long, I obstained because I wanted to enjoy the show the next day(i smoked alot of bud though). Sure enough, they were all messed up from the night before, as soon as it started raining(during Traffic) they went back to the car and slept, I was on my own. And WOW, they really missed out,Traffic was great. I had always like The Dead, but was never really into them until that day. Rain pouring down, thunder clashing, The Dead played an amazing show, Ive been a huge fan ever since, that show changed a part of me for the better. Standing there, high as a kite, getting lost in the music, what a great experience

Cloudy, cool, and wet made for a challenging day to record: I had a poncho on, but my equipment kept getting exposed to rainwater. Arrrgh!!

Wow Traffic was good & then the boys came out & I got to see how good my Marlboro rain gear was & it handled it very well. I brought ponchos & a big tarp and I got to be the Knight & shinning armor for a minute because of my tarp & ponchos. I mean it RAINED Hey I wasn't sure we would get out of the parking Lake after the show.

My memory is not that great but what I remember is a little different from the set list provided. I remember traffic broke into "Rain Maker>jam". That's when the rain came down crazy and I looked a the guy beside me and he was sitting on his tarp and asked him for shelter...he was tripping hard and I think I stole his face right off his head. So we got soaked but i dosed too so it just added to the whole experience. Now this is what I remember and please correct me if I'm wrong. The order might be different but Bobby sang Looks like rain, Vince sang Samba in the Rain and Phil did Box Of Rain. When box of rain was over, everyone's eyes were on Jerry and he chose Here comes Sunshine and that was when the rain stopped. Does anyone else agree? I remember having a conversation about it with a friend at the show and we were sure that he might do Mission in the Rain but when started the Here Comes Sunshine and the rain stopped...I knew the he was more than just human. His spirit still carry's on true and will amongst the kind at heart.

umm, yeah. jerry definitely could predict the sun...

had an awesome time at this show despite all the rain

i was 15 went with some reall good people always love the love every1 at the show ,,,showed for every1 no fightn tht i saw n just people being real good 2 other people

Sweet-talked the security to let me in carrying an out-going person's ticket stub. Saw a friend inside who had, since high school, dropped out and gone on Dead Tour. During intermission he sat in a huge circle of 30 people or so. They passed a joint. I said, "Dude, are these your friends?" He said, "They are the Twisters". Of course I didn't say "What the fuck do you mean by that?" I just let it resonate as a permanent mystery. Were they the Prankster/ Twisters? Anyone? This was my only Dead semi-tour. My friend's dad was there with drums he made. we had some wicked drum circles in those days. On to Detroit from here. The Palace at Auburn Hills. I think there is a Video of this show.

This night is one of the best nights of my life. Grate times. Ill never forget waiting on the rain to slow down so the boys the would step out on stage. They came out with Rain by the Beetles that would seem to taunt the drizzel. Mid way through the song it did just that ....it rained! And the wind blew. I remember watching as ol Jerr stepped up to the mike as the wind blew threw his hair , singing raa-ai-ain I don't mind! Man the crowd went crazy and there it was calliopes and clowns from that point on! The tan blotter or purple jesus was excellent by the way.

How the HELL could you forget THAT rain????

Was at the show with my son. Thanks to the people in front of us that shared their unrolled sleeping bag!! My son reported that mostly us old timers leaped up when Traffic came out.....What a thrill to see both Traffic and the Dead on the same stage. An awesome concert; as usual for me, a purge of the toxins in my system left by the world. Then getting up the hill with the help of those pushing from below. Wonder how many got stuck...and getting out of the lot in the car through the mud was a hoot.

To be fair the band was OK, from what little I remember. I could swear that they played 'Bird Song' along with 'Rain'. Because my buddy & I were freezing our assess off in our cargo shorts, tie-dies and sandles while standing 30(?) feet from the band, in the mud with no rain gear not even a hat. We felt like the band saw us shivering uncontrollably when they were warming up and hit us with 'Bird Song' first, then 'Rain' to put the final nail in the coffin that was Buckeye Lake '94. Maybe I'm wrong about 'Bird Song' it could have been the onset of hypothermia that caused us to hear it and it's possible they weren't mocking the 2 18yr old DeadHeads from Chicago that brought nothing but 2 tickets, good vibes, 2 girls, $500, a positive attitude and the excitement of getting to see the greatest band play in a beautiful venue.

So why was it the worst concert exp ever? What could possibly bring us from the ecstasy of arriving in the lush green rolling hills of Buckeye Lake, OH to the agony of sitting in an SUV w/o heat, soaking wet listening to the show from our 'camp site'??? THE PEOPLE!!! I'm sure those of you who've posted your experience weren't the ones that ruined our trip and made us walk out of a show early, for the first and only time. Everyone we met was from PA or NY. Decent enough ppl. If decent is defined as greedy, uncaring a-holes. Not 1 person offered a seat on their blanket, a spot under their tarp, a light for a smoke, a towel, a toke, help finding the girls that were separated from us, any form of comfort (was not a Wharf Rat yet) and we weren't shy about asking for help. We just wanted to make the best out of what had been an extremely negative experience outside of the show, inside of the show. No matter where we walked in the show everyone stuck to their group and it was awful. I really would have been happy with an honest answer, a helping hand or a hug. It was that bad. I'd never been to a show like that. At least I had sweet home Chicago and managed to score 12 tickets to see those last 2 shows the following year. 4 of those tickets became "miracles". I left those shows feeling like all was right with the world and it was for just under 1 month. But even sitting alone in my room, listening to Help On the Way>Slipknot> Franklin's Tower>Brokedown Palace & He's Gone while I cried uncontrollably the night of 8/9/95 - even then I was happier and in a better place than I was on that cold rainy day in late July at Buckeye Lake, OH surrounded by tens of thousands of "friends"

Cold rain. Very cold rain.....wow! Also, that official photo is Buckeye 93

I remember hitchhiking from Erie Pennsylvania to the show. It took me quite a bit of time to get there and I was really exhausted. Found a ticket grabbed a bite to eat.
And went into the show and yes it did rain but I didn’t mind. I thought it was absolutely beautiful magical… I will never forget the show