Grateful Dead

tj crowley wasn't there a gig at winterland where mickey returned.. believe the rowan bros were on bill?

The last night of the October 1974 run at Winterland was his return after the 3 year or so absence.

Yes It was a Sunday night show at Winterland; always a good night esp if ya didn't have to work the next day. Mushrooms and Chateau de Qyem ( -5 spelling).

Yo this night it all came together just ask Rob B. He was there and for all intensive purposes he still is.Signed, The Cooker

I was there that night...just a 19 year old kid standing in the 2nd row. I'll never forget that night. I took several pictures on Sat and Sunday night with my kodak slr camera. I'm greyer now and will be at Shoreline to see the boys.

Am I just worrying to much or will there be more tics avail for shorline at a later date. I got shut out this morn :( Which date cause the dead site said gen public tics go on sale on 1-23. The shoreline site says the 25th. Anybody clear this up wit me?

My first show at 15 (Winterland 1968)… We really had no idea who the Dead were other than a name. The Vanilla Fudge were at the Fillmore and we were unable to get tickets. We had an extra ticket for the Dead as one of our partners caught the flu. As we circled Winterland to park we saw the line was well around the hall. My buddy and I were about to head home rather than wait in the massive line. I said park it I got an idea. So he did and I kept the idea to myself, as to avoid his disruption of its execution. We stood near the corner entrance and I began to look around. Finding a man panhandling I asked in a rather load voice are you trying to get enough for a ticket. The man responded in equal pitch no man for food I need money to eat. I responded I can’t help you with that but if you need a ticket I have a free one for you. He said FREE! I said yes and you can sit where you want enjoy. He left the area telling many what had just happened. I turned and asked the people in line if we could cut in. They confirmed we gave the man a free ticket and with that allowed us to cut in just around the corner from the door. This was my first concert of any kind, what a great show… Need two tickets now, wonder if Karma really works... Hate to spend those prices for seats far from the action. Have Fun, Heyzmoe

As I recall, Hot Tuna opened and played from 10-12 that night. They were Great!. Didn't think I could get them out of my mind. 30 minutes after they were done, I had little remembrance of HT, once The Dead began to take off. They played til 5am. No real breaks...just some tunings. Feel incredibly fortunate to have been part of it.

Sorry, I was talking about NYEve 70-71.

I was 19 years old and hitchhiked from Berkeley to San Fran and got a ticket outside each nite for these shows. :)

complete set of concert dates.

New Years Eve, 1977, as an old deadhead, I tend to repeat my stories,..so here goes one many have heard before, but here he (I) goes again..... Back in 1977, my girlfriend (now wife), myself, and two buddies decided to roadtrip from Nebraska to the old Winterland for the New Year's Eve run of shows in SanFranciso. I toted along with us a clay scupture that I had made the prior year. It was a one and 1/2 foot (in circumference) dragon that was biting/consuming it's own tail. I had 'scraffitto' (carved designs) into the entire beast's 'hide' and then it was fired and stained. It was the biggest piece of clay sculpture that I have ever made. And I thought it would be fun to give it to the band on New Years. So away we go, get to the venue and secured tickets for the run (12/27-29-30-31-77). The shows were unbe*censored*inliveable and Winterland was such a great hall. But on the 31st, we were sitting on the sidewalk waiting for the doors to open, talking and watching the circus, ready to hurry and get in for the 'activities' ie. freak volleyball and Bill Graham was going to show us movies (Ray Bradbury's Illustrated Man and the original Beatles Magical Mystery tour) before that evening's show. I thought "I better try to unload the dragon aka 'oroboros' now, it's heavy and I don't want to try to talk my way though the front gate with it." I spied a door that said 'Backstage' and began knocking on the door. No answer. The line of people on the side walk started getting up and moving toward the entrance. Banged even harder thinking "I've got to get this dragon in there so I can go in the front and join in before the show", and as I pounded harder, the door yanks open so hard that it yanks me into the doorway. This doorway is immediately filled with a gigantic black man in a red event t-shirt, who puts his hand on my chest and leans forward and bellows "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Startled, I held out the dragon with both hands and stuttered "to give this to the band". The giant took it in his immense hand and his face curls into a grin as he held it closer to inspect it and I watched my dragon shrink to the size of a key chain. He exclaimed "Wow, what is this, I'd like one" and I explained "it's an oroboros and that is the only one there is." He grinned and said "Cool, who do you want me to give it to?" and I said "to Garcia, give it to Jerry Garcia." The giant disappeared as quickly as he appeared and the door slammed shut like the the first time Dorothy tried to get into the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz. So, I happily gain entrance to the show and needless to say, it was something, volleyball followed by the movies, the colorful/wonderful crowd, 'rainbow' Rose with an eyedropper of liquid party favor "just one dollar per drop. On your tongue or for the adventurous, a drop in your eye". Oh, and when each person walked through the entrance the staff handed us a piece of paper that had a message about a "surprise at midnight" (sent that into LL and it was posted a couple years ago :thumbsup. The New Riders of the Purple Sage started the show and rocked the house. Anticipation was high and the Dead came out for the first set. Our party favors are now starting to engage..., things began to sparkle, and the old Winterland venue takes notice, and her walls start to sweat and, then to sway with the strains of familiar music as the Dead coax this old hall to dance with us all. This is such a delight, I know the vista cruiser is engaged and then I notice when the house lights went down, and the stage lights went dark inbetween songs, I saw it. On top of a monitor, inbetween Billy and Mickey, there was a flame, it was a white candle sitting in front of a dragon consuming it's tail. It was oroboros, ON STAGE WITH THE DEAD! I watched as Jerry walked over and lit a cigarette off the candle. They took a break and the surprise for the second half was Uncle BoBo (as Bobby liked to call Graham) dressed up as Uncle Sam on a motorcycle sliding down on a cable suspended high from the back of the hall to the stage. They put spotlights on him as he approached the stage and it was hilarious. Because as Graham came to the stage, the weight of the bike and BoBo was too much and the stage hands had to rush out and drag him onstage and then to the explosion of Sugar Mag, complete with dropping balloons and babies girl and boy New Years dancing at the each edge of the stage. I was 'sittin' on top of the world (Dead reference intended). What a night!! If you pull up look the Fire on the Mountain 1977 video from that NYE show, right at the end of Fire on the Mountain, the camera does focus in on the 'oroboros' for a couple of seconds. What a treat that run in 1977 was. At many levels, the return of China Cat-Rider, my being able to 'gift' our band, who poured out so much to us. But unknown to me, the best would be yet to come. We walked out into the cool San Francisco early morning and drove through the fog back to Nebraska. This is not the end of the tale. Fast forward to another road trip to Madison, Wisc. on 2-3-78. The Dead were on a roll and it was really a killer show. That Cold Rain and snow to start and the tremendous second half with Estimated>Eyes>Wheel (if I recall correctly). The next morning before I left the hotel, I got a wild hair and called the front desk and asked "Could I have Jerry Garcia's room please?" and the phone rang and Jerry answered! I said "Hey, I'm the guy that brought the dragon to the New Year's show" and Garcia said "Meet you in the coffee shop in 20 minutes". I couldn't believe what was happening but stumbled into the coffee shop at the appointed time and looked around and saw Jerry Garcia seated at a table with a ravishingly beautiful raven-haired gypsy woman. I walked over and introduced myself, and 'shook the hand, that shook the hand, of PT Barnum and Charlie Chan'. Jerry beamed that smile and gestured and said "sit down, man". He asked me "How did you fire that dragon so that it didn't expode in the kiln?" and I explained how I had cut it in half and hollowed it and joined it back together. I told him how I had used a guitar string to 'halve it" and we locked eyes at that moment and he burst into laughter and I said "Ironic, huh?" and Jerry quiped "No, man that makes perfect sense." And then we laughed some more. Then the gypsy/beauty said "where are you from?" and I replied Nebraska. And she shot Garcia a glance and stated "he came all the way up here from Nebraska to see the band!" To which Jerry shrugged his shoulders and retorted "we didn't ask him to come" and looked at me and we both howled with laughter again. No deadhead was she. We talked more about art and the dragon and I didn't know at that time of Garcia's interest and practice in art (this kind anyway). He was completely engaged in the topic of art, but quick witted with 'turn on a dime' twists, turns, and little commentaries on a variety of topics. Jerry was also focused on listening, not acting like he was the important one, giving me time and locked in on our discussion and talking about our shared interests. The gypsy woman frowned in disbelief as she asked me "You went out to San Francisco for New Years and then came to Wisconsin" and I said 'yes' and then I turned to Garcia and asked him "Why don't you bring the circus back to Lincoln, Nebraska?" He quickly replied "You mean to Perishing Auditorium?" And I corrected him "No, it is Pershing Auditorium, after the army general" and he quickly retorted "No man, it was perishing, really!" And we both burst out laughing again. At that Lincoln, Ne. Dead show on 2-26-73, there were a bunch of drunk frat boys yelling 'boogie, boogie" at the top of their lungs.., but that show is top-notch! Anyway, I asked Garcia "could you bring the Dead back to Nebraska" and Jerry grinned that Cheshire cat grin and said "who knows?" I took my leave (their breakfast arrived) and drove home. Then that summer the Dead came back to Omaha, Ne. on 7-5-78, and I taped them with my NAK 550 in FOB, and followed them to their/my first Red Rocks shows. So that is my story, Jerry Garcia was totally gracious, engaging, enthusiastic, and kind to a deadhead who approached him at one moment in time. I know, I repeat myself, such is my lot in life at this juncture, but there is another story rolling around in my head.....

I never tire of reading that story...

It's one of my favorites.

Come on. Greatest story. Way beyond a "niche". Great tale. Makes me want to read it over and over. Ya!