Grateful Dead

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Woo Hoo Sirius. Will be on couch tour until Alpine. Boys sound great, cant wait.

So Mayer and Sons started at 7:11 pm est, took break at 8:20 pm, far away eyes 8:21 pm - 8:58 pm, boys on stage 8:59 pm all est. Adam says, what I want is an extended Dark Star, I'm like, forget it...never gonna happen. Tuning jam begins....Bobby stops it, talks to Lil John, Oteil, Jeff, and the drummers...jam emerges into Dark Star complete, 20 plus minutes of bliss, I am speechless, Adam is in heaven, Hikey is movin' and groovin' and the narc, well, he's sporting the Kodachrome....gives the night bright colors, but I digress. Next, I have no idea...wtf is this...then that blue eyed theme continues...but now it's a blue eyed son, and a darling young one...the virtual rain fell hard and fast....expressive, emotional and draining.....seemed to go on for ever....lost hikey and the narc, squirrels hid their nuts in zippers...back to earth at last, until Adam passed the Dutchy right hand side....puff puff pass....and the song that I buried my old man to in 2013 emerged...you know better but I know him....shit is getting real for me now, no foggy haze gonna prevent me from living in this moment....face stolen off my head, and boy oh boy, did I smile, Smile, SMILE....amazing space that I was in, then some noodling, Truckin' had to be....nope sorry I dominated the rap Jack...things went down you don't understand but guess in time you will....Speedway played to perfection...ok now drums...Bobby swaps out guitars...and all of a sudden we were in a country garden in the wind and the rain....but we never complained....flashback to the miracle from the lot....one man reaps what another man sows....hit me right between the eyes...and that lyric stole my face right off my head for the second time in the set...wingman Devil's friend by my side, high fiving the joker with the vape to my right....this night didn't suck...but I digress...This progressed into an amazing percussion display, the rafters vibrated as Billy, Mickey and Otiel displayed their prowess on the skins...a spooky space followed, with Mayer doing his best Hendrix and Chimenti adding vocal chants...mark my words, I wouldn't be surprised if this morphs into a new tune, the song would fit perfectly on Electric Ladyland. Bobby slows it down, and I get sentimental yet again...ironic, the day was perfect, high 80's, sunny and nary a cloud in the sky, but it sure did Look Like Rain, sure enough, here come the rain, this progressed to n uptempo reading of Goin' Down the Road capped off with a verse sung by Oteil, Mayer is in fine voice and the harmonies thoughout the evening were consistent with the American Beauty days. The encore an unexpected Black Muddy River delivered by John made me cry. After 20 minutes of soaking up what we had experienced, Miami, Adam, the narc and I hopped a golf cart to the front of the lot and caught a shuttle loaded with sorority girls going to Moe's bar. We hit the Cambria and were joined shortly thereafter by geo and Kurt...those who do not know Kurt are missing out. He is cordial, funny, engaging, has an infectious smile and is an all around great Head. Thanks my man for making this the BEST road trip I've taken since 1993....There may be better shows to come but I promise, I will never have a better time...I am proud to be one of the stellar six pack...think we need to make t shirts... To all who hit shows may they stay safe and may the spirit of Jerry possess your soul...and squirrels of many colors blow your mind. Peace from my pipe...

First off - huge thanks to Mr. MD for sharing his score of the most amazing seats you could ever hope for. Hanging with Rich at the show was a highlight. Kurt hosts a killer bbq, makes a great burger and in a striking coincidence grew up a few miles from where I live, and it was fun to discover that as we talked. Geo graciously shared his luxury suite and has a bottomless pit of riveting stories from his life on the road. Holly's loving the music as much as anyone. And Matt's gotta have calluses on his trigger finger from hours of rapid fire non-stop picture taking. The minute to minute documentation is all here and I'm not piling on to that....except for that 2nd set Dark Star opener. Holy sh!t. It was one of those nights with magic in the air that could either get you on the bus, or back on the bus, or keep you on the bus. The band is white hot. The crowd was full of love and the vibe, weather, partying and camaraderie among the Sunshine Daydreamers could not have been better. Alpine up next. It'll be great. But it won't be Deer Creek.

I missed the FTW picnic by a day and lost the opportunity to meet my fellow Daydreamers. So glad to have met and been 1/6 of the Indy crew. Really enjoying the stories being told and tidbits I missed because of some overindulgence of one kind or another on my part. What a Show! What a Band! Strap yourselves in folks because the fuse is lit and they're about to explode! Thanks so much to Geo, Rich, Holly, Matt, and Adam! So great to meet you and put the faces to the names. What a great bunch of people! Cheers and Happy Summer Tour 2016!

Where was I? Oh yeah, right here as always. So there are these technicolor varmints exclusive to me and me alone, Ramble On Rose begins....soft spot in my heart for that one, my middle kid's middle name is Rose and Scotty's boo is Rosalie, so we rambled on....and on and on....we broke our chains and counted our change, and tried to walk the line, but by this point that was a futile goal, the clown to the right passed a vape pen with an unknown substance, being a trusting soul, how could I refuse? My wingman did refuse though, Adam...thanks for that. You are a righteous mofo.... Althea begins, I text Geeky who responds immediately...she is an Althea geek and a solid human being, love you DeadGeek...then Mickey dons a Popeye hat and we float into a sublime Sailor, by now I was sailing out at sea after patching my sails and shining my rails......then a Saint that sure didnt know what it was going for, but Bobby went for it for sure! I let go of my chair and took a break....here comes the narc and the girl with Far Away Eyes, you know what kind of eyes she has...blue as the sky, but fixed in my memory...and so it goes...but where it's going no one knows....time to let Sarge out.... I'll be back....

already in Progress" and the Grilled Cheese Incident: Yes, there is a clan, a family, and yes, it is alive and well, and yes, you can get a grilled cheese sandwich for two bucks on the lot. Yes, there are deadheads with little kitties, yes, said kitties are cute, and so are the ladies twirling here and there and everywhere… Kurt009 and I decide the shuttle bus can wait, we got a few folded bills that were not captured inside for some reason, so head out with a sea of humanity, through the gates…but wait! Right there in the midst of it all we spied a little red hat on a real tall guy. And he is standing magically right beside me in the queue. It’s Tom Hanlon and Carol, all spiffy and happily purring along with all of us…We say hi, good to see you, are you doing any other shows, and he rattles off 6 or 7 in rapid fire response. This couple rocks! They aren’t slowing down for any mid life crisis, they are full steam ahead…good to see you guys! The very very first voice we heard after getting to the official lot was that beautiful melody, “Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, get the Kind, for 2 bucks apiece, get your grilled cheese here, 2 bucks”…I knew then that the spirit was alive and well, and it was obvious that someone else felt the same way…the line stretched on for a bit…so we let the grilled cheese incident physically, but will keep the spirit and siren song alive in our hearts and minds. My mission now is simple…find that perfect bauble for my sweetheart back home who graciously said 30 hours, why yes you can go….we wandered through the booths all professionally set up, looked hither and yon, saw much amazement and spectacle, couldn’t believe how nice main Shakedown Street looked, and sure enough, found the perfect little gift for my honey and all was right with the world. After our 009 agent and I had our fill of the scene, we wandered waaay back to the promised hookup point for the shuttle, kicked back and waited. Soon, a very unlikely vehicle cruised up, certainly not a representative shuttle from Cambria Suites…this one had those psychedelic lights in a darkened bus, with long benches on both sides, no seats at all. Da Dus Briver looked over and said ‘Going to Moe’s, Going to Cambria,” hop on…we did, and slid way over to the end, on this otherwise empty bus. Thinking this didn’t look right, we wondered, and the wondered some more…all of a sudden a whole shitload of folks got on…and everyone knew each other…it was instantly a party of 22 or so, no strangers, all friends…so bolstered by this new found confidence that we could ride and slide, we said Take it Away and he did…you dus ribers would be proud of this guy…he knew how to brive!...all the way home to Castle Cambria, our friends and the rest of the 2/3 of our Six Pack. I’ll leave others to document the way all those multicolored green, blue, yellow orange and green strobe laser lights bounced off our darkened walls and lit up faces…it was a magic carpet ride for sure…and the Golf Cart? That’ll cost you a nickle, and the other 2/3 of our six pack can tell that one, as they found one, got on, and had their magic carpet ride in style… There are two sides to every story, friends, your side and The Other One. Both are correct, just like the squirrels, nod and say yes, for we are all in this together. Our little happy clan met back at Smokehouse 420, decompressed, laughed, shared memories, bonded a bit more, and then as the hour of two or so rolled along, we all said Good Night Chet, and Good Night David, and Good night and what a fine fine show that was!!! To wrap up this missive, next day we met, sans Kurt as he had righteous Dad duties, hung out and shared silly smiles and song…and then as the hours ticked off we were down to two…and me and Richie on our way to the airport…and it was just right, our planes were at adjacent gates…we once again had time to spend together… The right side of the bookend firmly in place, we slung last insults and jokes at each other, had on last manly hug, and closed a chapter on 30 hours of Bliss, Indy style. Thanks, Richie, Kurt, Adam, Matt and Likey to hikey for a real great time…thank you for doing that rag, thank you for dancing that dance, thank you for singing that song…all for one and one for all, Daydreamers of the Finest Kind… With that, it’s a wrap, let’s dance one together real soon….till then, I’d match you guys with any, and even with jokers wild…we’d win...and share the pot... That's my story of our little mission with our little six-pack. We rocked Indy, we rocked our souls, we bonded and cemented that bond forever...that's my story, daydreamers, and I'm mainly stickin to it...One last thing, Be Kind. Peace from your friend geoitaintovereverreallyoveryouknowmeister

No Ralph, I don't see any squirrels, but I don't mind if I do...and so the saga continues as does this three dot journalist's essay on truth, justice and the second set at Deer Creek, the All American Way... Yes Dark Star opened the second set, our imagination and surfing squirrels not withstanding. That amazed the half of us who understood that it had been a few weeks at least since we had heard that song played live....and never ever without some sort of preamble, and certainly not at the beginning of the second set...a very nice rendition, running about 15 minutes. For the purists, DS was played 219 times during the Dead's touring days, is recognized by Rolling Stones as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll, and is ranked 57 on the list of 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. Run to your internet connection and listen to the version celebrated with us, as fast as you can. But the next song was the one that brought tears to the eyes of this seasoned space shifter: A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall, by Don't call me Bob Dylan... It was a masterpiece and Bobby's spoken vocals were perfect as that message was presented to all of us...the jam was tickled by Jeff's keyboard prowess...nothing like those ivories being played by a master, and he swapped off with John as the melodic muse took over the band once again...we lapped it up and then had real reason to weep, for He's Gone was next...tears of joy, tears of what was, and tears because well, just because...flowed freely and often as Bobby shared the vocals with John.... We knew the best was right there, and D & Co weren't holding back...New Speedway Boogie, and St Stephens followed rapidly into drums and space. Was that Oteil moonlighting on the drums?? And which song did John play off the feedback of his guitar, Where and when did he switch guitars in mid song, why did Mickey change hats, who is Bobby's hairstylist, and Good God, what is that encore? It didnt look like rain, those were tears...but they sang it anyway, we were feeling fine, but they insisted on GDTRFB, and then, that mighty encore...the last song Jerry sang, the first one the GD sang at FTW, and the first time D & Co played it at all...Black Muddy River... If we weren't a mess before, we sure were at the end...what a fine fine show...when all the squirells had finally nested, the last notes echoed off the back wall of Da Creek...and the band took its final bow...we knew it had been magic, we knew it had been real, we knew we were damn lucky to be there, and it was so very obvious, the music is forever... All that's left to do is spill the beans about Shakedown, find someone to ride a golf cart in a sea of deadheads, and share a few stories of da bus, da daydreamer sixpack final reunion...and smile smile smile...

Ok so Devil's Friend and I hit our seats after a brief pregame show, people watching, daydreaming and shit shooting, show starts EARLY, usually 7:30pm start up despite 7pm ticket time, something possessed us to put our asses in our seats at 7:05 pm with our already warm 24 ounce 32 dollar beers, WTF, whoever thought of marketing suds for summer shows in 24 oz cans must be on drugs...guess it takes one to know one...At 7:11pm here come the boys, amphitheatre and lawn less than half full. Ozark the narc and Miami to the left of us ready to shake it on down, clowns to the right...here I am stuck in the middle with Adam.... A nice feisty Minglewood sets the tone for a raw show, into a Cumberland that just lingers on, then holy rodents Batman. whilst swaying I spot squirrels a lot of them, orange, purple and green where the stage lights used to be, climbing, flying, dancing twirling and twerking...was quite a sight...so I sit down, I been to many a dead show, this was my first with squirrels. I tap Adam and say, squirrels, he looks at me puzzled and nods shakes his head, and says ok? So I figure I'm in good hands with Allstate, hence he is my trusted wingman, with him as my anchor...and holding on to my seat with both hands for dear life...we begin Ramble On Rose....to be continued....

just ordered 4 TB USB HDD to facilitate rrrgggrrrr's transfers, will give me much needed workspace

The fires will blaze thru the night straight to 'Toga, pavilion seats, number doesn't matter I will know my spot when I see it. Road tales to follow......