Grateful Dead

Supertaks: outstanding!! glad you had a real good time! peace.

Well....How to put into words. I just finished seeing both Shoreline shows and the Gorge. My last experience with any Dead members was Phil and Friends w/Bob Dylan at the Gorge in 2000, before that was West Coast 1995 ending with the last Jerry show in the Bay Area at Shoreline. I was thrilled, to say the least...every aspect went off without a hitch. The shows were fantastic, better musically then I could have dreamed. Each show had a stellar highlight, but if I had to chose a favorite, I would say the first Shoreline show. Help/Slip/F.T opener, and we knew we were in for a nice ride. Too much to relay and reflect on...so I will just say, take what Mickey said to heart...take this good feeling out into our communities...build on the dream...live your life like the planet depended on you.

I'm sure I"m not the only one, but after listening all night on Saturday and hearing Phil do his donor rap, then hearing Mickey come out and thank the crew...I just couldn't help but feel sad that this tour was done. Like the others before me - THANK YOU BOYS FOR A REAL GOOD TIME. I can't even put into words what this band and this community means to me, and I just feel extremely blessed to be a part of it. Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile!~Tam

Just have to say I loved reading your post, just loved it! I read it and re-read it twice. That's what it's all about, and I love how you only got a few hours of sleep and woke up the next morning feeling more relaxed than you had in some time. Great post!!!!~Tam

i had an event AFTER the show, that ruined it for me, i held off ofr 5 days, to get it resolved, but.... my wife got sick at shoreline, RockMed, the heros they are, got my wife to ambulance, right after the encore, i bought wristband, picked up CD in time, b4 ambulance left, well... the 3rd disc dont play, i missed the 2nd half of 2nd set 2x sofar. the CD only has dead.net listed as contact info, they tell me on phone they dont FIX venue sold items. WHO DOES?? how do i get the 1/3rd of this show i paid for, and the recording wont play? why does it take 5 days for dead.net to still not have answers for me on how to replkace this disc, other then REBUYING the download for $15 more!! this is what the opperator told me, at dead.net i didnt buy a download, i bought a concert bought, pressed CD. i spent good cash for it, all i want is what i paid for, thank you. if not, return my $25 for this half a show, and i will stop going to shows alltogether. me and my wife collectively have over 200 shows behind us, this is the ONLY bad exp i got from 20+ years of going to your shows. is it so hard to step up, and give a bit of service to those who pay your bills, lines your pocket, the fans.

Nice story Supertacks! As I sit in a hotel in Montana, 500 miles from home I am still dazed. We had so much fun and I felt like I did 20 years ago. Being stuck in the rat race I really needed this tour for many reasons and on many levels beyond just seeing a concert. Here are some of my highlights of my 10 days of craziness: * Walking into the Pepsi Center and everyone is just going nuts - hooting and hollering, we weren't even inside yet!! * The Denver acoustic set and especially Deep Elem Blues was so so good * Taking my daughter and wife to Shoreline for the 20 anniversary of my first show at ... Shoreline!! What a feeling dancing with my little girl in the same place I first danced 20 years ago * Help Slip Franklin opener ... St Stephen the 11 encore * SHOOT!! Couldn't make it to LA but from what I heard from folks in the lots it was super sick. * Now on to Shoreline May 14. This show folks was so good. The best post-Jerry show by faaaaaar. And I would say maybe one of the top 10 Grateful Dead /The Dead shows ever. Seriously I will stand here and defend that statement that it was was one of the best shows I have EVER seen. You can read my earlier review but when they were playing Fire all of Shoreline was in one wave of cosmic trippy dancing it was so beautiful and it reminded me of back in the day * Getting a 70 year old super cool lady high for her first time at Shoreline * The fire dancers doing their thing to Mickey's thunder * Seeing the Gorge *Hearing Dire Wolf and Althea and Eyes * I will say this about the Gorge though - it was like the boys finished shoreline and were like "oh shit we still have to play the gorge" * I am a new huge fan of Warren he had me in tears several times this tour. Just as one girl was shouting as she marched through the campground at the Gorge - "Warren - Motherfucking - Haynes!!! ORDER OF MY FAV SHOWS: 1.2ND SHORELINE 2. DENVER 3. 1ST SHORELINE 4. GORGE Thanks for a real good time and please come on tour again!! Can't wait for Ratdog this summer! Thank you all for your wonderful vibes!!! I felt them!! "Escaping through the lily fields, I came across an empty space. It rainbow then exploded, left a bus stop in its place. The bus come by and I got on, thats when it all began. It was Cowboy Neal at the wheel of the bus to never ever land"

Closing thoughts on the Spring Tour I am 45 now. Up until 04 I had not been to a “Dead” show or derivative of since 90 or 91. I was 27, 28’ish in 91. I caught on at age 18-19 at City Island in Harrisburg in 82 but didn’t get going until 83. Back then I was still wondering around aimlessly not even understanding that I had not found my niche in life yet. I knew I was not confident within certain groups or types of people and in certain situations but beyond that was just a punk kid. I was going to lots of different types of conerts back then and none hit me like a Grateful Dead show. The reason was that this was one place I could go where I felt I was not being judged by anyone and had no expectation to live up to. Of course I did not realize that then, but that was really the thing for me that made it a great place to go. I gre up during that period and carried on until 91. i took in 100+ plus shows in the time. Fast forward to 04. I went to see The Dead at Montage Mountain for Nostalgic purposes. They were 20 minutes from my house so it was low maintenance. It was great fun and the music was good. If I had to go further I would have said fuck it. I didn’t go there with the high expectations or expecting it to be like it used to be. I had a great time, got home to bed, and was asleep by 11:30. I listened to Jack Johnson the next day. Fast forward to 08. A good bud works at the Bryce Jordan in State College and emails me way ahead of public knowledge telling me the Dead are doing an Obama benefit. I figured fuck it I’ll go. I got tickets, then totally realized the historic significance of the show among the community, but it wasn’t that big a deal to me. I get to the show and am blown away. November 08 – The Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre is a small and beautiful theater in WB. They are my client. Bob Weir is doing a show there and my phone rings that morning. It’s the promoter, he is having computer problems and needs help. I say “Let me grab my hat and I’ll be right there” They are across the street from my office so I am onsite in 4 minutes. I casually let him know I was at the Bryce Jordan show and he smiles and says let me put two comps at Will Call for you tonight. I had no plans on going. My wife goes with me and the show is killer. Fast forward to Spring 09 The economy is in the shitter, I know of 5 or 6 people who have lost their jobs who are extremely talented. There is little good news and everyone is stressed to the max. The Tour is announced and The Dead books Wilkes-Barre. That’s my building, I do ALL the tech work there so of course I gotta go. WB has no idea what they are in for and don’t open the lot until 4. It’s a full fledge spring tour so the busses were dusted off, tuned up and the caravan is in high gear. The community sets up in the Walmart parking lot up the street. The scene is small but cool. Same ole, same ole, but has a really different feel than the 04 show. The 04 show felt like a reunion show for nostalgic purposes only. This was different. The show itself was good, not great, but good enough for me to check out some other shows online. As it turns out the WB set list was my least favorite of the tour so far. I start to get the itch to go to Philly where I didn't miss a show through the 80's Fuck me. We get in town at 2:00 and it’s just going off. I find myself saying stuff and hearing stuff that hasn’t entered even my most remote thoughts in 20 years. As soon as we pull in I looked at my bro-in-law and said “Lets pour a beer and head over to Shakedown Street for some eats” I am immediately floored because I haven’t thought about Shakedown in that wqay forever. I talked to too many people to count. Many now corporate guys with old shirts on and many hippies, some that came in community busses just like the old days. No one is talking about the economy, Iraq, school shootings, swine flu, the crime rate, the financial crisis, GM, Chrysler, housing, none of it. Everyone is smiling, speculating on the final Set List for the Spectrum. There is much talk of the first “Dew” on the tour. Much talk of the first "Samson and Delilah” on the tour. I had my Hershey 85 shirt on. No less than 20 people stopped me to talk about Terrapin in the rain. There was tie dye, crystals, falafel, burritos, balloons, curry, BO, Patchoulie, much sweet smelling smoky stuff etc. All the symbolic stuff was point on. The vibe was just incredible. If they tour again I will be there. At 45 what I got out of it was every bit as fun as it used to be. I was not there to cut loose without fear of judgment like back in the old days. My life is well defined now and I am comfortable in my skin. But it was soul cleansing and therapeutic to rinse off the stress of everything going on in my 45 year old world. There was this total sense of release from everyone there who was doing the same thing. After just one afternoon and evening . . . (Got home and 3:00 a.m., shower was mandatory) asleep at 3:30 and still woke up Sunday morning feeling more relaxed and fresh than after a week’s vacation and I still feel that today. I haven't listened to anything but the Dead since May 2nd. I DL'ed every show on this tour, stayed up way too late checking out the streams, met tons of new peeps online and have just had a blast. I think we get so caught up in our lives, families, children, responsibilities, and the expectations everyone around us sets for us, that it’s hard to do stuff like this without feeling irresponsible. I am fortunate in that I have a wife who urges me to go have some fun and blow off some steam. I pick and choose very carefully where I use these opportunities and only use the hall pass once or maybe twice a year. He'll I don't even golf. She knows this, so when I bring something up she knows it’s for real. It’s so nice to be able to do something you know, really puts your wife out for a day and she is still supportive and encouraging. There is still nothing like a Dead Show. If several circumstances did not happen that made it easy or convenient for me to get re-acquainted I never I would have. I am not sorry there are more shows on this tour I can’t go too, but truly appreciate the ones I did. I am back in the daily grind now, and the grind is rolling off me like water on a well waxed car. It is so amazing to me that this scene evolved the way it did, and survived. If you look at the era in which we live, it is one of the most unusual occurrences going and I am honored and blessed to have had the opportunity to particpate. God bless the Grateful Dead and everyone that is a part of it. You people are as much responsible for this as the music. I will miss this tour, can't wait for the news of another, and am off to have another grate day!

Poetic, heartfelt, and multiple times; as usual!!!!!!!!! Love you bro! ********************************** Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Mark Twain

Well, found myself tismorning listening to the last show on this tour.(sigh) The boys have definately outdone theirselves on this tour. I hate to see it come to an end. Im keeping my fingers crossed for a fall tour. Listening to the last show, I found some tears running down my face. (tears of joy) I just want to say thank you Mickey, Bill, Bobby, Phil, Warren, and Jeff for all the joy and happyness you guys gave us on this tour. Made alot of new friends here on dead.net and in the Philly lot. Thank you Dead.net and thank you Marye for your knowledge and trouble shooting on this site. I hope to see all of you on a fall tour:) God Bless you all and God Bless The Grateful Dead!!!! Peace- Moye

Well, found myself tismorning listening to the last show on this tour.(sigh) The boys have definately outdone theirselves on this tour. I hate to see it come to an end. Im keeping my fingers crossed for a fall tour. Listening to the last show, I found some tears running down my face. (tears of joy) I just want to say thank you Mickey, Bill, Bobby, Phil, Warren, and Jeff for all the joy and happyness you guys gave us on this tour. Made alot of new friends here on dead.net and in the Philly lot. Thank you Dead.net and thank you Marye for your knowledge and trouble shooting on this site. I hope to see all of you on a fall tour:) God Bless you all and God Bless The Grateful Dead!!!! Peace- Moye