Grateful Dead

Black Peter. Sorry Gans (who gives me shit about that) but I know I'm not alone here! There's a little giggle story about that associated with this year's KPFA GD Marathon. I think Estimated might have been a pee song sometimes, too. but never, ever out of the hall for Stella Blue, Mexicali Blues, or anything that featured Brent.

For me, since I started going to shows only in '93... it would be Easy Answers. I've been to a bunch of shows but unfortunately had to see this one too many times. I would probably have to say the same for Eternity and for Way To Go Home.

Don't get me wrong, I used to dig watching them beat the tar out of the skins, but it was an opportune time in my opinion for a piss and a beer or whatever. I would often leave for the same reasons during a first-set FOTD, CC Rider, Minglewood, Jack a Roe, Me and My Uncle, Mexicali. Only if need be, mind you. I (we'd) also leave the show early if Day Job notes were struck for the encore to beat the squeeze out to the lot.

But to each their own!!! Anyhoo to answer the question: For years, I really didnt have one, wanted to see and hear EVERYTHING. Every little note in Minglewood, Rooster, Des Row, CC Rider, Push, Walkin Blues..you name it, I would not miss it. Even Day Job~~~~ Drumz when I could hold no longer...but really it was the intro of songs like Wave to the Wind & Corrina when I decided...oh man, pee break songs. “The Omnipotent Grateful Dead!”

Boy, whenever the boys started to drift into Dark Star, I just had to duck out. IMHO, this question deserves nothing more than such a sarcastic, ridiculous response. Maybe my view is distorted because I stopped seeing shows in about 1983. Did things get so bad that "just about everybody" had at least one song they despised hearing? I recall there were some songs that I didn't love, and after hearing 40 or 50 "drums," I sometimes got a little bored, but never did me or any of my group of deadheads want to be anyplace else. Wow.

pomo1, when ya gotta go, ya gotta go! sooner or later, I'd have to hit the head, so having a pee-song was like a scheduled break. I don't like Black Peter still, never have really, and it was a good time to get out and do whatever else I had to do. I don't know anyone who stepped out for Dark Star though!

think it's a matter of despising or even disliking some tunes, just picking an opportune time to dash to the restroom if need be. Going at half-time when everybody else is doing the same thing was a drag, IMO. Dashing out during a tune was usually a lot more efficient in minimizing missing anything.

I agree that when you gotta go, you gotta go. Believe me I understand, no one makes more "rest stops" than my wife. Also, I'm sure that I missed a song or two when nature called. But that is not how I interpreted the initial post. In fact, the language "the perfect opportunity, in short, to be anywhere but in the hall listening to the tune" certainly connotes something more than just nature calling.

Maybe some folks really did duck out just to avoid a song they don't like. To each - their own. I still call Black Peter my pee song because it was pretty much a given with my friends... and when a band plays it to this day, there I go, getting in line for the head.

my friend would always wait until a somewhat new tune and then proclaim"making a move" whilst exiting to the restroom.....I wanna say childhood's end or easy answers....but I agree with other posters on not wanting to miss a single song....

maybe for the men folks life was easier at half time because the sinks were also employed... drums/space was usually nap time for me, especially when it was hardcore tour daze. I needed those zzzz so I could get behind the wheel of the bus and drive later that night. I remember hearing a tour buddy tell me; there were a bunch of sorority gals near us at one show; drumz starts out, I set down in my seat - pass right out. the sorority girls, much aghast, ask my buddy who was still grooving away, 'is he OK??!!' "sure, sure. he is OK, he's just taking a nap" I got up just as space was fading, pop right up, start dancing to the next tune. such was life on the road. ( -; peace.

So you guys could actually plan when to go, where to go, and how to go?! I'm either in awe of y'all, or supremely sorry that you were that rigid at a show. "Now, when they go into the drum solo, we'll hit the head, okay?"

I think its the songs for ships or sailing for me...something about water... opps gotta go.. Seriously...I remember hearing the notes of Ship or Sailor and I found the head...wierd to think about, but true never the less... There were a number of Drumz/Space segments I would gladly give up my floor spot for, but that was usually when everyone else had the same ideas... Eric

When the band would Row, I would go. Same with Stella Blaa.

I have to say that Space was my time to take a wander about. Not always to pee but to check the goings on in the venue and whatever other trouble there was. I'll have to also admit that Stella Blue, and very slow FOTD I couldn't hang. But everyone has to go sometime and in my group there wasn't one song I could remember them getting up for.

LMAOit happened all the time w/my car of idiots "Oh man that Long Way To Go Home ROCKED!" “The Omnipotent Grateful Dead!”

i made more pit stops during drumz than any other time in a show. but there was one, at the omni in atlanta, late 80's/early 90's where i sat in my seat through the drum portion, and when mickey and billy got up to leave, they frickin' hugged each other. the jam was just that special, and i'm glad my bladder allowed me the moment. cheers!

He's Gone was a perfect "break" song for me to regroup,recharge and refill the water jug for the upcoming next killer power chord jam. Im sure this will offend many.....get over it.

..or the crime. I couldn't STAND that song. Still can't. Someone mentioned Wave to the Wind. I had forgotten all about that tune. Only saw it once live and stayed for it. Honorable mention goes to: Corrina Way to Go Home Easy Answers And then there is I Will Take You Home, which usually came out of space. I usually planned a bathroom break during space. IWTYH just made the break a little longer. -pr "Mama, mama many worlds have come since I first left home.........

A good time to goWithout love in a dream it will never come true. . .

Sorry people, I love Bob Dylan but that song was BORING and longer than a Russian novel. Space was equally unbearable, unlike Drumz which I could always groove to (I especially loved it when Mickey started going at the beam).

a water bottle works great, then you miss nothing!

Black Peter and Desolation row are two of my favorites and I have a lot of favorites...Drums was always a good time to roll and pee for me not necessarily in that order. A couple of others would be Eternity & Corrina. If Mickey was singing rap songs back then, it would have been a good time to take care of some busy work. It would always be a contest to see how quick you could pee, get a brew and get back so you didn't miss the next song which had a 99.9% chance of being another one of my favorites. And how did you always avoid not losing your friends during the show? We would always meet on Jerrys side.

I'll agree with some others, when ya gotta go you go, but if it's close to break time Ship of Fools or anything real slow would help me find my way out before the rush. Victim or the crime & I'll vote for Black Peter too Peace!

For me it was "Death Don't have No Mercy," something about always gave me the hebbie jebbies. Even on record I just can't stand around & listen to it. Deadhead since '69

Without a doubt..........even at some of their best shows.........it was time to "go" when Johnny B Goode came on, cause it was truly a letdown.......should have called it Johhny B Bad!ShakedownStacy

As much as I loved Brent's B-3 playing, whenever it was one of his songs he sang, that was my cue to head to the head. "Listenin' for the secret, searchin' for the sound..."

"For me, since I started going to shows only in '93... it would be Easy Answers. I've been to a bunch of shows but unfortunately had to see this one too many times. I would probably have to say the same for Eternity and for Way To Go Home." Yeah, fustrated the sheit out of me...i got into the band and was listening to so many early (68-71) shows , losing my mind to 11 jams...and every other show i attended i caught a cheezy answers or a way to go vince... shoe fits, samba in the rain...walkin bluz...lots of bathroom breaks before too long...

This is becoming really interesting! I love hearing how we all dealt with necessary breaks, songs we didn't particularly like, not wanting to miss a single thing, never wanting to leave our seats.... I'm personally aghast that anyone would ever leave during a Brent tune, but I'm notoriously freaky that way.

It was Dark Star !! I only saw 2 really good Star's in my day one was in Jan 79 right b4 Keith and Donna were kicked out of the band and again in 91 @ MSG right after Brent died!! When i go see Ratdog and they start up Dark star i run out of the room !! It was bad enough for me when Jerry was Playing it!! That and Dear Mr Fantasy/Hey jude kill me!! Rogue

... always drums. maybe it was just the pounding rhythm that set the system to "go" you know? worst nightmare was standing in line in the ladies' room upon arrival to the venue, running late after an unusually difficult entry proccess and hearing the first chords to the show's opener ... "Help on the way ..." yeah, help on the way would have been a few more stalls!

In my thirty+ '85-'95 shows, I rarely ever left a show to hit the bathroom, but if I ever really needed a break, "I Will Take You Home" was an easy answer (pun intended - I actually found that one perversely enjoyable in most instances), as was "We Can Run But We Can't Hide". Lovely tunes, I supposed, but they just didn't seem to fit in with everything else going on, at least not to me. And honestly, Bobby-era "Good Lovin'" never really did it for me either. I think I saw only one or two in all my shows, so that was fortunate for me. Pondering Pig's epic versions alongside the post-Shakedown St. versions always made me scratch my head as to why they even bothered. But all that said, I loved that the Dead challenged us all musically, and had songs that not everyone of us loved every time. I can't BELIEVE how many people don't like Black Peter - that song pulled me in from the first time I heard it, and remains a favorite to this day. It's the perfect song as far as I'm concerned! Find me another song that sort of approximates a blues and then has a gorgeous undefinable bridge like that! Brilliant stuff from the deepest Hunter/Garcia depths! But then I'm sure some people will take issue with my choices, so I guess I get it. The band had a little something for everyone, and that was part of the magic. Thanks to everybody who went out on the limb and answered this one. Long live the Dead, occasional clunkers and all! Scott Scott Judd Chicago, IL http://tangleweed.org http://magnetosphere.com

He's Gone was always a snoozefest for me and just a perfect opportunity to dispense with the by-product of beers consumed at places like Cal Expo, Kaiser, Shoreline. The slower version of TLEO also qualified.

Realizing I am about to commit heresy, upon hearing the first notes of Stella Blue I always took my break. to me, the only good thing about Stella Blue was that it usually meant a Sugar Magnolia would follow. Space a close second.

I liked to take the time to experience the show and the scene en route to answering nature's call so I aimed for a long song. Also a wordy song 'cause there was less likely to be astonishing and surprising jamming, and the sung words were hard to hear in many halls. So the perfect bathroom break tune was Desolation Row. ("The riot squad is restless, they need someplace to go.." OK off we go) And no matter how many changes I went through on that seemingly long side trip I was amazed to always get back to the seat before the tune was over. Desolation would often clock in at over ten minutes.

tj crowley it seem that the bobby tunes take awhile to get appreciative of. easy answers still doesn't grab me..saturday nite wore it's love out..truckin can takes it's toll.and eternity didn't last that long for me...there's no bad song and these would not push me out the door as each moment is one to be experienced but would you find me talking during 'dew' or (soory pomo 1) a 'dark star'. found it always rude that some one would be talking during these moments 'man did you hear 'em do 'dw' last week?' 'outa site!'. despite my lack of total acceptance of previous mentioned tunes, each one takes on a new demension so walking out was rare..oh wait! drumz..yeah...10-100 (necessary break) time check out www.esu.edu/wess fried-days 6pm - midnite (e.s.t) for the sounds and vibes of the 60's/70's w/ a splash of the 50's and todays sounds...'six strings...more or Lesh' grateful dead hour (davdi gans production) 10pm (e.s.t.)

I always found Red Roosterto be a downer, so that was the perfect time for excretion.

"May the four winds blow you safely home" There were definately a few songs to choose from but one that sticks out is Victim or the Crime. As my friends and I used to say, "we are the victims, and this song is a crime!!!"

Yeah with all due respect to Bobby, it was Victim or the Crime. Did nothing for me. Even Corrina had it's moments but Victim signaled the rush for the john.

"May the four winds blow you safely home" I love Bobby but he did have some clunkers there towards the end. Seems like every time I saw them they opened with Picasso Moon, lol. As for Jerry, Days Between was as bad as it got. Liberty grew on me a little but not until late.

Bathroom away!

Yeah, I had a couple "least favorites", but topping the list was Brent's ballad that usually made me want to take myself home.

made me have to go...

During 93 and 94 I fought the Law made me run like the wind, It was usually a closer but I ran anytime it was played, What I wouldn't give to hear dear old Jerry sing it one more time. Have a Grateful Day

I make it a point to give everything a chance, but nothing makes my blatter shink like "I Know You Rider". It's a good song, but a little redundent.

It's not that I have any particular aversion to the song mind you, but it became a joke between my friend Sue and myself. Every (and I mean every) show that we went to they played that song. We just got sick of hearing it. And despite my posted shows there were more than 3, way more. Anyway, JB.G was a good excuse to dance all the wat to the loo!

Oh how I would love to have the oppurtuninty to be at a show and hold my break through any song Peace

Never had a chance to see Jerry and the Boys, however, I believe I would run for the exit if they played "Victim or the Crime". I would run or at least curl up on the floor with my blankie. It was a crime to write that song and we are all victims.