Grateful Dead

I can't remember if we went to Oct 14 or 15th, but it was me and my best friends first show. We got invited by a gal at my work. We were supposed to split up some acid, but it got eaten before we could get to it. Cool thing was, we were so entranced by the dead's playing, that we didn't need the A. I remember thinking "I've never seen anything like this" ...!! Well, Iv'e been hooked ever since, and all said and done..."There is nothing like a grateful dead concert" Russ

15Oct76 - I'm at work at the department store. It's 4:00PM, I have to work until closing, I get a call from a friend who says "My sister and her friend were going to The Grateful Dead concert in LA, now they're not going. Do you want 4 tickets?"Only time in my life I've done this, folks, because of the kind of boss I had I knew I could get away with it, "Bob, I have to go to a concert. I'm leaving in 30 minutes, see ya." And I got away with it without being fired. Told Ya. Got the 4 tickets at my friend's house (mansion) next to the country club. Dropped off 2 tickets at someone's house, told him to give me the $$$ for the tickets at the show, cover price, of course (we ALL know the Unwritten Rule). Hauled ass from Ventura to Shakey Town (L.A. Uptight City In The Smog), got to the Shrine.... ....And saw LA Police ALL OVER THE F**K'n PLACE. And 9X11 bills posted saying "THIS IS NOT A HAVEN FOR POT SMOKING". And saw cops busting people as they were going back to thier cars AFTER reading the warnings. VERY SCARY. Inside the vibe was Nervous City. You could cut the tension with a cavalry sword. But the Dead made up for the ugliness outside. First set was very good, I remember there was a heavy-duty version of Loser followed by a great Minglewood. Keith woke up at his piano to start a version of Bertha with other band members doing a double-take at him! lol Then a Lazy Lightning>Supplication that KICKED ASS. But the second set was when this newbe GOT IT and became A DeadHeadForever. Eyes Of The World>Music Never Stopped, they cooled down the crowd a little bit with Roses then broke out Samson, OMG Samson was Tearin' This 'Ol Building Down, then He's Gone, Drums>The Other One, I don't remember the Comes A Time but I DO remember Franklin's Tower into Sugar Mag. Then the house lights came on. "What? No encore? What's goin' on, Man?" Other deadheads had to explain. "Dude, They gave everything they could give, man. It's cool." OK. I get it. And it was during that second set on 15 October 1976 that this here Country Cowfreak became a DeadHeadForever. :-)

I did not have a ticket and went to the box office a few hours before the show to buy tickets. I asked if there were any good seats and a little old lady in the ticket booth said "I have some in the front row, but you wont want them, they are right by those big old speakers". It turned out that they were right in front of jerrys side! When Jerry finally strolled out and started to warm up his fingers I yelled (he was maybe 20 feet away) MIGHT AS WELL, and just like magic he started into that ripping Might as Well. This is one of my fondest and early memories of Jerry.Mustang Row