Grateful Dead

I had a friend who recorded a bootleg 8/7/78 onto a cassette for me back in the 90s. As I remember it, this was one of the better bootlegs I heard in terms of sound quality. Another reasonable one was 5/8/77...and 10/29/77, come to think of it. I never heard, bought or was given a bootleg by The Dead that stopped me from buying the official release when/if it came out.
Same with other bands. But bootlegs always had an under the counter appeal for me The lure of the illicit, perhaps.

One of my best friends just passed unexpectedly at 57. I'm not looking for sympathy or for anyone to say they're sorry. Life happens to us all. But, in his honor I am going to share a story here with some who I think will understand with a nod and a wink. ;-p

After loading our gear into my then-new Dodge Hemi Ram pickup we hurriedly scarfed some Taco Bell on Colorado Boulevard (right before Guitar Center) before getting into the drugs. Rule #1, always eat first. We cranked up the Santana and merged into rush hour traffic heading south on I-25 out of Denver, getting our swerve on as the sun began to set.

Soon, it was time to chow down on a responsible amount of stems and caps... let it come on slowly through the food. As the sun bled out and our warm glow came on, a little snort of Peru's finest here and there felt right every 30 minutes or so with a couple of Oskar Blues Old Chub's chilling in the console.

The iPod continued to broadcast in spades: Doors, Rolling Stones, Dead, Aerosmith as we barreled on into the night. Anyone who has ever driven from Denver to New Mexico knows about cruising across that tranquil valley with nothing but the stars above, the peaks all around and a beautiful midnight blue moonlight bathing the road in it's heavenly glow.

Taking a left turn, inching closer to Taos, a surreal scene: there's a redneck/biker bar on the corner, surely cop-infested as there ain't shit else around for miles... in our beautifully building sublime state I glance over and shudder at the sight of pickup trucks and rednecks outside smoking cigarettes and what would feel like a most unwelcome, dark scene had we decided to enter that bar.

We sure as shit didn't - and the moment that thought floated across my consciousness, we were both startled by the sight of some freak in a woman's blouse trying to flag us down.

I shit you not - a late fiftysomething man in a floral blouse with big, pouffy Phil Spector hair trying to flag us down, waving his arms and standing on the shoulder. I punched that fucker (the Ram, not Phil) for all it was worth, gamely explaining to Jim, "It isn't our time to help!"

Normally, we would have - but we weren't just normal at the moment - and we were holding, big time - and the last thing we needed was to be tied into freak drama on the outskirts of redneck hell in some unincorporated county. This dude was avoiding that bar - or maybe his trouble started there - for the same reasons we were. Sorry, brother, another time.

We finally made it to the Taos Inn. Jim went over and checked us in, and madness ensued for days skiing both Taos and Monarch. This was just one trip of many. I miss you, brother.

God bless everyone.

\m/

At least you’ve got some memories and they will always be with you. He’s gone too soon and I’m sorry for you loss, but man stories like that just remind me of how many crazy nights on tour getting from venue to venue maybe a day off, but usually just a longer distance. Those crazy nights of what you need to stay awake makes the ride that much better!

***I hit reply to LEDDED, but it apparently decided to post alone. Tried to fix it, but kept doing the same thing. Maybe IT should check that out?***

at how this show was viewed at the time by my Deadhead mentor Tim and myself as a newbie. The veteran from CA hadn't seen them since the hiatus I think. His impressions were of how high the band seemed and the reckless abandon with which they played. He had that look on his face as he was talking about it right after the show of "how did they pull that off". I could tell it was historical in his experience even then, and it certainly was in mine. Legendary!
Cheers

Was there ever talk of a vinyl release for this?