Grateful Dead

....just spun the pair from Colgate. Yea. It has chops....

So I offer this retelling to clear the air on this forum (the stench of political flatulence?). Can't we blame the dog, like we can at home? “March winds will rumble all my troubles away.. wish I was headlight, on a northbound train.. I wish I was a head light on a northbound train… I’d shine my light through cool Colorado range..” So I will start at the real beginning of the story..Back in December of 1977… my girlfriend (now wife), myself, and two buddies decided to road-trip from Lincoln Nebraska to the Winterland for the New Year's Eve run of shows in San Francisco. I toted along with us a clay sculpture 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 unbefuckinliveable 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 pulls me into the doorway. This doorway is immediately filled with a gigantic black man in a red Winterland t-shirt. He 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 holds the Oroboros 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. Vanished. So, I happily gain entrance to the show and needless to say, it was something, 'freak volleyball' followed by the movies, Graham's copy of Bradbury's 'Illustrated Man' followed by a 16 mm Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour". 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 "Good things come to those who wait, surprise at midnight" with steal your face logo. When you entered Winterland, you could go into the big 'hall' surrounded on all sides by an elevated balcony, (with theater seats). Or you could also go into a bar off the hallway, where they were played some black and white videos on one of the original 'big screen' projection TVs of the pro shots from the Winterland stage when Hendrix or Airplane or etc played. Very entertaining on many levels. Hey, the New Riders of the Purple Sage are starting to play, I got to get in there, the sound is loud and they are rocking 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 begin and coax this old hall to dance with us all. This is such a delight, I know the vista cruiser is engaging. And then I notice when the house lights went down, and the stage lights went dark in between songs, then I saw 'it'. Right on top of a monitor, in between 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 by 'the beast'. 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, a 'new years' gal and a guy dressed in diapers dancing at the each edge of the stage. I was 'sittin' on top of the world (Dead reference intended). What a night!! AND if you pull up 'YouTube', NYE show 1977- Fire on the Mountain video, right at the end of Fire on the Mountain, you see camera zoom in on the 'Oroboros' for a couple of seconds. RDevil (from here on Deadnet) found that 'view' and he clued me into it. And from that moment on my 3 sons knew I wasn't bullshittin' them because I showed it to them as proof! Anyway, 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). Those who question 1978 check out DP 18 as well as the new 1978 box set. I loved my 1977 sons and I still treasure those 78 shows I was lucky enough to attend. Back to the story........ 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 explode in the kiln?" and I explained how I had cut it in half and hollowed it out and then 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 quipped "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 as I didn’t want to impose (and their breakfast had arrived) so I drove on 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. What a run! 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. But THEN,that summer of 1978, when the Dead did actually did circle back to Nebraska......... And they played the Omaha Civic Auditorium, where the Dead played once before in 1973.. We got there and the venue was half full (about 4,000) but everyone was chomping at the bit in anticipation to hear them live. I took my Nak 550 into the venue and there was no hassle getting the deck in this time, but remember these were the days before ‘tapers sections’. And each venue or even staff may present a different challenge. But not here, thank goodness. Out in the hallway, the Hell’s Angels wandered about sporting full colors and big grins. They may have been transporting ‘party favors’ and decided to take in a show. Or maybe the Angels were just road tripping with the band (although I didn't see them at the next few shows). My buddy even brought his 68 year old mother to the show. She sat up in the stands “It is just too loud down there!” Anyway, I headed down to the floor with my Nak 550 to set up in front of the soundboard. When I started to get my gear set up and saw this guy beside me with a great rig. Luckily this kind stranger (I have since discovered he was famous taper Bob Wagner) then let me patch out of the back of his deck, which was wonderful as he had a great 8 ft. tall mike stand set-up. He had a Sony deck and mics, but with that high stand his mic’s were well above the crowd noise. We were about 15 to 20 feet in FOB. So Garcia treated us to a blistering Sugaree opener, the kind that drove the crowd wild. His leads mounted into a wave that crests, recedes, regroups, and comes back rolling in with such power and delight that adds a synergistic effect to our frenzied response as his rolling/soaring guitar work lift and subside with the band. Then Beat In on Down the Line, TLEO and now it was Bob’s turn in the spotlight with a Look’s like Rain. About halfway through the song, I suddenly noticed something shimmering in the air between the band and me. I thought “what a fantastic light show! Or have I have shifted into fifth gear just a little early that I scheduled?” I staggered towards that disturbance in front of me to investigate. People were dancing wildly in the middle of the floor as a waterfall played over them. It was about 25 feet in circumference. I put my hand in, water…hand out, no rain..I am standing in front of an indoor waterfall. what to do? I jumped into pouring rain that was INSIDE the middle of the auditorium! Then I stepped back and was out of it. I shook my head and then lunged back into the deluge and danced through Looks Like Rain & then during Direwolf as well and a delightful All Over now. (Complete with Donna in perfect pitch!) Then Candyman and Lazy>Supplication before Bobby informed us “We’re going to take a short break”. I staggered back to reload a new tape and then I did look for some validation of my experience. And I asked my friends if I was not in fact ‘soaking wet’ as I patted my soaked shirt. They grinned knowingly and affirmed that, yes, in fact I was “all wet”. And then this unique show continued, (nice indoor water-feature, boys !) with a killer second set complete with a transportive Estimated> Eyes> drums> Wharf Rat> Truckin> Iko Iko> Around. And then after a lengthy absence from the stage the boys returned to play us ‘Promised Land” as an encore. As I left the auditorium I noticed the water standing on the ground outside, a summer storm? Was this a case of a leaky roof or didn't the Dead just conjure up the forces of nature as they were so prone to do? But back to the important stuff, what were the Dead going to do next? Would Phil rev up his reverse gravity machine and pummel us with Phil-bombs at the next show? Would they levitate the crowd, and have us all dance while floating in the 'cool Colorado range'? I HAD to follow them to those Red Rocks shows in 1978. So a road-trip to Colorado it was. This was the Dead’s first Red Rocks jaunt (and my first as well, although my girlfriend (now wife) had seen Joni Mitchell there previously and raved about the venue) so my anticipation was so ‘high’. (In many ways.) So I packed my taping and camping gear and off we went. When we walked up to the Rocks entrance, the Feyline security crew (or were they the John Scher guys?) were stopping people and inspecting any 'carry in' bags. A security behemoth that I will call “BigBoy’ stopped me at the entrance to look through my Boy Scout backpack. He hefted my NAK 550 out of the pack and held it aloft with one beefy paw, exclaiming “Hey, you can’t take this in!” I gave him my best perplexed look and said “What? It’s just a tape player.” (first lie) Then the giant BigBoy instructs me to “take that back to your car”. I retorted “I can’t, I hitchhiked to the show” (second lie). Beefy Bruiser BigBoy points to my ticket and says “the ticket says no recorders on it, you can't take it in” and I tell him “look, I don’t have any microphones” (third lie) and hold up my arms to be searched (of course my comrades had the mics with them). Then I sighed loudly and popped open the back of the Nak deck and let eight D cell batteries drop onto the ground. “Look, I dumped out the batteries, it can't record”. (lie number four) BigBoy stood there with his arms crossed in front of me, but I could see a small crack in his resolve. So I pulled that thread “Look, I hitchhiked all the way here from Nebraska to see this show, would you hold onto this deck for me? It cost me $600 (which in ’78 was a lot of dough) but if you just hold it for me, and then I will find you after the show. You look like an honest guy.” (fifth lie, this guy didn't look trustworthy). I push the Nak towards him, and this deck is huge and weighs a ton, (a goddamn boat anchor). I really played my trump card here and was trying to hold my ‘gameface’, Suddenly all the heads waiting in line behind (and all my friends) erupt with yells at the BigBoy to 'hurry up' and started chanting “let us in”. BigBoy gives his mullet a shake and then he points into the venue and looks at me and exclaims “Go on, get out of here” and I dive headlong into my first Red Rocks show with a grin a mile wide(high)! Followed by Mary with my mics and my buddies with my fresh batteries (re: lie number four) and my blank tapes. The batteries that I dumped out for BigBoy were already ‘dead’ (pun intended). I again ran into that ‘kind stranger’ (Dr. Bob Wagner, FOB right side)) to plug out of his Sony again. Those two shows were stupefying, and the band obviously enjoyed playing there. Bobby's deer joke, and I remember Phil leading the boys through “Cold Rain & Snow” with his bass punching that tune into a triumphant ‘strut’ that evening.I recall Jerry broke a string during the Scarlet>Fire, which really didn't slow the pace of that perfect evening. On into Dancin' >NFA > Black Peter > Around & Around and then a dual encore of US Blues & Johnny B Goode. The next night was much the same. Each night we would watch the clouds chase each other in the sky as the band serenaded us. Until it became dark and then we looked out ‘over’ the Dead to see the distant lights of Denver sparking in the background. Second night second half, we were treated to a tremendous Estimated > Other One> Eyes of the World > drums> Wharf Rat > Franklin's Tower > Sugar Mag. The crowd was especially raucous as Wharf Rat wound to that tender quiet point and Phil (or was it Bobby) gave a "shhhhh" to quiet us in preparation for the wonderful 'launching' platform/crescendo that night. Those evenings the Dead's aural wonders were matched with the Red Rocks astounding visuals as we were perched in between those massive stony slabs jutting into the sky (and the Dead had a good view as well looking back at us from the stage). As the Dead those two evenings took us all on an astounding journey of Americana, myth, rock and roll, country, space, jam, fable, fun, roller coaster, and turn on a dime delights, it all 'rolled into one'. And then as the Dead finished us all off with “Werewolves of London” we were all crooning back to the dead with our own howl of “Aoooooo”. And Garcia was grinning ear to ear as he bid us all a “good night”. So now some of these wonderful runs are available for us in their deluxe sonic glory. Good daze for deadheads! And yes, I do repeat myself. Over and over. Maybe I can retell about the June 4, 1977 Forum show? Or the June 77 Winterland run after that bombshell? Or Red Rocks 79 run (and the exploding cabin in Evergreen)? Then again who knows? "Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself." Zen saying "It ain't what I don't know that gets me into trouble, it is what I know for sure, that ain't so". Mark Twain

Maybe I should do some comparisons this weekend.But I seem to like them from every year, even liked the one from 7-3-15. Always liked the Bertha>Good Lovin' combo.

Post hiatus only :D I'm just kind of saying, you know, Bertha had a lttle bit more umph in the one-drummer configuration of the pre-hiatus days. And those Berthas are among my all time favorite tunes - I always open my 71 / 72 mixes with Bertha or Promised Land.

Man, thanks for a great story and lightening the mood. Anyone in Colorado the new Westword has an awesome Dead inner/outer "souvenir" type cover. Check it out and can't wait to see them in Boulder!

KJohn, check out this link. Describes and catalogs all the feeling groovy and tighten up jams on the dark stars. 10-31-71 is the tighten up jam I believe. http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2010/01/deads-early-thematic-jams.html

The sweet jam in the 10/31/71 Darkstar sounds to me like an almost exact cover of the song Soulful Strut by Young-Holt Unlimited (1968). Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Thank you. The stories and the experiences of the folks on this board are what it's all about. Smiling ear to ear thinking about your adventure. Ps-last time you posted that story I looked on YouTube and found it!

I'm looking for some examples of Dark Stars that contain the melodic jam that was made famous in the 2/13/71 Port Chester show. (Thanks, Doc!)I think that some call it the "feelin' groovy jam". Anyway, some of my favorite Dark Stars have this awesome element. The ones that come to mind are 10/31/71 and 9/21/72. Any others out there?

Keithfan how could you? Clearly you don't know what you are talking about because of your political views....:)