Grateful Dead

I think it was this one. I was 15 and had to go w/ my uncle who was wearing a plaid jacket and corduroy and looked like he stepped out of a cocktail party in fox hunting country. I was from Virginia and had never seen hippies before. I was embarrassed because my uncle looked completely out of place. Pigpen wore a full robe and a headband. The place was small the band took up almost the full width, so most people were on the sides. There were even tables to sit at. They were intense - playing hard - and seemed to play very fast. I remember Viola Lee Blues. The climax was awesome - much better than the record (had it just come out?).

I thought Pigpen was the leader.Cafe Au Go Go was a folk singer jazz venue in a cellar The Dead were very intense in such a small space.

I was at one of these shows too, It was my first Dead show and remember being with friends smiling and giggling so much that Jerry kept looking at us and nodding andsmiling too. I remember Viola Lee blues and Anthem stuff - Jerry played a lot of high notes and when the first set was over we walked down a long corridor to exit and walked with Jerry and I think Phil? We could hardly speak due to our condition! But, still kept smiling! When we got to the end of the hallway... Jerry, Phil and Bob went into the dressing room, we left the venue. I heard later that Janis and Jimmy Hendrix showed up after the second set around 5AM. Wish I caught the second set! Too bad there wasn't more setlists or recordings for this run! Mic R

I know someone, no fan of the Dead, who was at this gig. He told me in 1988 that a) at a very late hour, the doors were locked, b) gobs of joints were tossed to customers from brown paper bags once the doors were secured, and c) Hendrix did sit in briefly (Weir can neither confirm nor deny, according to a friend of BW)

I was at this show. I had never heard of the band, I was and remain a great fan of Bob Dylan, but some friends from Stuyvesant HS and CCNY who played guitars and banjos invited me. We sat an arm’s length from the band, I don’t remember what they played but I enjoyed. After the show we went around the corner to the Hip Bagel and the whole band walked in for a bite. We all stood up and gave them a standing ovation.
Four years later I had a VW bus and headed out to San Francisco to study painting at the Art Institute. I spent the seventies as an art student in SF returning to NYC in 1980.
The Dead are still one of my favorites on XM in the car and at a cover band concert right now in Sparkill. Eyes of the World.