Grateful Dead

I had seen the Dead numerous times in the Bay Area starting in 1967. I was a big fan and wanted my friends in the East to enjoy them, too. I thought their set at Woodstock sucked and my East Coast friends could not figure out why I liked them so much. Years later Phil Lesh wrote in his book about that performance and admitted they sucked that day. I'll defer to Phil Lesh on the rating for that performance.

I had tickets and took the greyhound bus up with a friend, about two miles from the site the bus couldn't go 'Furthur', so we got off and walked. It looked like some sort of mad tribal festival, thousands of hippies all 'headed' in the same direction. By the time we got to the site they had just taken the fences down and announced the event would be free. We headed to the Prankster stage where I had some Hog Farmer friends. I wore some white overalls with an American flag painted on them and a cowboy hat. I didn't sleep for three days, keeping going on adrenaline and a lot of good weed/hash and taking shelter from the rain in one of the buses. Did not eat the brown acid. Made the pilgrimage through the muddy forest (the Groovy Way) to the main stage to see the Dead, it was raining and maybe lightening, I was way far away but it was amazing, all these heads. Saw Janis (she was astounding!) Joe Cocker, Alvin Lee, Jefferson Airplane, Santana... though I was pretty busy serving granola to the masses at a Hog Farm food stand. I met a lot of really groovy people, scene at the Prankster stage was crazy and primal with tripping people acting out their visions and people drumming and playing instruments. It was more peaceful and lots of little kids and commune families on our side of the woods, yoga, teepees etc. Got a lift back to NYC with some new friends that were putting on shows with lights/sound/environment, they had just driven from New Mexico where they participated in the Great Bus Race. I was 17 and my parents had been pretty worried, the NY papers were saying it was a disaster but when I got home I was so exhausted I slept for a couple of days. It was a life changing event, seeing all these people together made me realize that the alternative lifestyle was a real possibility. Got on the bus and never looked back.

I remember sitting under an overhang at a local warehouse in my home town 10 years to the day of this GREAT event. There were about 5 to 7 of us on any givin night and day. they were replaying the entire show on the radio. Or it seemed that way to me. So we all sat under this over hang hidden from the workers and the world it seemed. We listened to and got high as we could in tribute to the woodstock 3 day event. I do know that i slept out there those nights and had one of heck of a time 10 years to the moment so the radio said. We would send out pairs of us to the local store for our needs at the time and the rest of us would just sit and listen. Having already been to one great show in 79 I was hooked due to other heads in the area with bootlegs and this weekend of flash back. Now its what 40 years later and I am still hooked. Although in a better state of mind now sober many years I can hear all of it for what its worth. ps I like the one guy above who tells the truth about not getting there due to his ride not making it. thats honesty. after all many would still claim to be somewhere they werre not out of deadication to the band we all love.