Grateful Dead

Er...there's a great one on 4/8/71, Boston Music Hall....Truckin', Bertha, China Cat, Second That Emotion, Dark Star, St. Stephen, Cumberland, Greatest Story. Sugar Mags. Bobby high in mix, kinda cool on Dark Star....PM me if you need it. Saw them at the Knick 11th to last show.Saw last Help /Slip/Franklin. It was a great time. I was unaware of any problems. I suppose if I'd known the music better at the time I may have picked up on things. Anyway, French Roast awaits me.

but there's a Diga Rhythm Band session from 5-30-1975 in Golden Gate Park on MidnightCafe that is fantastic.Jerry sits in with 'em on Happiness Is Drumming.(sounds like some kinda Fire patch in there for a little bit...) Get some :o)

I was lucky enough to see final show at Soldier Field. I saw a bunch of shows the last few years, and mostly enjoyed them all. Had a big group of friends together for the final run at Soldier, the first night was pretty terrible with the exception of Visions of Johanna which was exquisite. After the fireworks ended on 7/9, I said to myself "Well, see you boys in the fall". I did have a strange bittersweet feeling about the whole thing though. I mail ordered for Chula Vista later on in July and everything seemed alright. Anyway, I sat down to listen to the final show for the first time in a very, very long time tonight. As a fan of "late era Dead" I have listened to quite a bit of music from 1994 and 1995, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised when revisiting this show tonight. I enjoyed the Charlie Miller SBD. In hindsight, it's obvious that Jerry is not well, but that did not diminish the overall vibe of this particular show. It has an almost mystical feel to it. The Masterpiece, Childhood's End and Cumberland Blues are all fun and well played in my opinion. Jerry is present thoughout the set, although there are some flubs, including Weir botching Promised Land. As I sat down to listen to the second set, I was very pleasantly surprised. The Shakewdown has a very nice vocal jam in the middle, and there is an interesting little jam after it. Samson was a typical version for the time. So Many Roads needs no explanation and catapults this show into "all timer" status. What really surprised me was the band's playing on "Corinna". This was a song that was really getting it's sea legs in 1995, and Jerry and Weir do some pretty amazing stuff throughout the jam at the end. Drumz/Space was very fun. Now this might trigger some people, but I think this is the absolute best version of Unbroken Chain the original band ever played. Jerry's is taking breaks throughout, and they hit it in all the right places. As the band is coming out of Unbroken Chain, Jerry clearly wants to do Morning Dew. He does the lead in to it, but Weir cuts him off with Sugar Mags, I can only imagine how powerful that Dew would have been with it being the final show. The Sugar Mags is serviceable, and Jerry does some fun little "nana nana boo boo" licks towards the end of the song. The Prankster in him never died. The Black Muddy River is perfect and of course the Box of Rain is another "all timer". I encourage open minded heads to really listen to this show, listen to the musicianship, and Phil, Bobby, Mickey and Billy lifting Jerry up as they were about to embark on the second half of their own careers. It's really quite a magical little show. Check the tears, don't scrutinize every little flaw, but just listen and absorb and you might have your own revelations about the bands final years.

Gotta love Blackmores' solo after Gillians' howling, esp version from Made in Japan.

Gotta love Blackmores' solo after Gillians' howling, esp version from Made in Japan.

Gotta love Blackmores' solo after Gillians' howling, esp version from Made in Japan.

It was pure serendipity that we were at those shows....was going back to collage in my thirties, starting to move on, new beginnings, all that. Had mostly given up on going to shows. Would go if convenient I.e., went to Pittsburgh only that tour. (Decent show!) Had been doing merch through my cousin who was in the bizz. Had been doing Ziggy shows and the 90s version of the Band. So my cousin calls up and says “hey, the Band is opening up, why don’t you guys come and we’ll get you in with your Band lammies. So we did, and not only got in, but full access, including hanging onstage during the Bands sets. It was so cool, everyone from the Dead (crept Jer) at one point was up there watching them play. At one point Bob was literally standing right behind us. Of course once the Band was done they removed us. They weren’t that into folks onstage so much by then. So we scattered for a bit and decided to meet stage left (right) side tunnel at show time. Well time comes, WTF? No one shows. So I think, maybe I have the sides mixed up....so quickest way is back through the tunnel, through back stage hall and out around the other side, so I haul ass and again, no one there? WTF?? Of course most still didn’t have cell phones yet. So I figure like the good Boy Scout I used to be, I should wait where we decided. So I start hauling ass again, back through the tunnel and start to turn into it and head for this single door gate that is the only way through this huge chain link wall at the end of the hall to the dressing rooms etc, and this giant local security guard starts to get up since I’m hauling ass, and of course we’re a, somewhat in the zone shall we say, so don’t notice until last second, just barely enough time to swerve/leep to the side, (ahhh, to still be young and agile), and just miss taking out Garcia! I swear on my dead Mommas grave!!! Jer had his head down and was chugging along cause the band was already out there. His personal guy, the big dude, shit can’t remeber his name, had sorta short black hair, wore a lot of white dress shirts, sans tie, big portly dude. Anyway, he’s behind Jer, but he sees me coming too, and his eyes get big etc,they don’t know who I’m am or WTF, remember he got death threats that tour! But the timing of the whole fiasco was why I ever got that close. Jerry was passing through that gate at just the right moment, so his guy was blocked, and the local guy was a, let’s say didn’t appear to take the job as serious.....so yeah, I came a split second away from taking him out......I often wonder what might of happened if I had plowed him over??? I’m pretty big, and at the rate I was moving, I certainly could theoretically of put him in the hospital........ I’m sure I probably would of suffered a savage beating and been banned, but just think what if he had gone in a hospital?? Those shows were really tough to watch. Like always, there were moments, but they were more and more, few and far between......nice finish though, amazing fireworks with Jimmy accompaniment! As bad as it was though, we never thought that those would be it........ Only saw a hundred something over 17 years, but I truly was blessed with incredible luck when picking shows etc. From Dark Star and TOO at 1st show, right up until going to these final shows completely unplanned, out of left field. The gods were very good to us. Say many historic and/or “firsts” etc, and only got shut out once, 3/26/88, and that was partially cause scalpers are scum and none of us was going to pay THAT much.... Sorry to ramble on, all y’all just woke up those old feelings, brought back the memories. Hopefully it was at least a decent story, actually have a few even better? Not as good as my bazzarro Jerry brother, from another realm mother, Oroboros! In fact I believe he promised us another dandy a few weeks ago? Where you be Brother?

....for me, it's hard to pass an unbiased opinion of it, so I won't. Still hard to listen to. Old habits die hard.....to the guy conekid referred to. That was me at a '94 Desert Sky Pavilion show. (I think it's called Best Foods Mayonnaise Field now). We had a plane to catch. They played Liberty. Again. My buddy and I bolted. Looking back, we should've sparked a J. Missed flight? Ptth. Book another one.... Help On The Way-> Slipknot!-> Franklin's Tower, Spoonful, Jack A Roe, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Brown Eyed Women, Let It Grow. Set II. Easy Answers, Lazy River Road, Playin' In The Band-> Eyes Of The World-> Drums-> Space-> The Wheel-> The Last Time-> Attics Of My Life-> Good Lovin', E: Liberty Hmmm. Not bad.... https://archive.org/details/gd94-03-06.sbd.kidder.8332.sbeok.shnf

4-6-892nd was 7-17-89 Downhill From Here.