Grateful Dead

Drove up with my dearest friend in her Turtle Truck, had our Miracle signs made up and on the windows, got lost in White Plains (oooh freaky scary shit!), found our way after paying some crazy $4 toll in quarters only stoned out of our minds on sweet Chocolate Thai. Didn't have $, but we had the Thai to trade. Got to the show, it was sooo windy and fucking freezing cold out. The lot was sweet- but I remember everyone running from car to car (or bus to bus as it was) cause that wind was so wicked. Sold some of our bud to a sweet brother, then got our miracle tx-the old hockey-tickets-work-like-concert-tickets type, then got a slice of pizza from some nice Heads parked next to us. Hung out, smoked more, and went into the show. It was a special night for both of us. I remember just weeping during Attics- missing my love who was locked down.

I generally love Help Slip, but this version seemed very off to me,and the rest of the show didn't really improve. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it just sounded sloppy and muddy. Eternal Consciousness Enjoyin the Ride, Haybrown

Now friends, if there's anyone reading this who saw the show, AND you thought it was greatest show of your life, I want you to promise to stop reading right now. We love you. No; really! are they gone? OK, the truth is that tonight's show had its problems. Here we go; but, as Bette Davis (?) said, "Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a BUMPY flight!" Help on the Way>Slipknot>Franklin's Tower to open the show. A great strong opener, and intelligently played, but the sound system, which seems OK for now, just wasn't dialed in for me yet (just in front of the soundboard -- maybe better in other sections?) Yes, Healy is gone, but in his place there was a full-size cardboard cut-out of Marilyn Monroe tonight. (Honest!) Bruce Hornsby played the entire show tonight on accordion. I think he's great, and loved the shows he played with the Dead on the big grand piano, but I had to wonder where the accordion was going to fit in on Help on the Way, etc. Wang Dang Doodle was fine but uneventful. Althea, followed by Black-Throated Wind, with Bobby playing the acoustic. (As he picked up the acoustic from its stand there was a brief loud feedback/banging/electronic noise. Those with sharp ears heard Jerry quip, "Was that MUSIC Bob?") The Black-Throated Wind was tremendous. They've already played it on this tour, so others might believe they've seen a better version, but this song has eluded me for 18 years in concert, so it was a high moment for me. Ramble on Rose was good. Eternity -- the song everyone loves to hate -- is still lackluster, but the jam at the end was fine. Don't Ease Me In was, well, Don't Ease Me In. So far? If you saw this band for $3 at your local bar, you'd be having a fantastic time; you might even stagger to the pay phone and call your friends to come down and hear the new band in town. But it was a long way from transcendent, which is, regrettably, what we (me) have come to expect (demand?) from the Dead. Oh me, oh my. Now I have a friend whose dad is a really big San Francisco 49ers football fan. He's pretty high strung, and gets too excited over the football games. Now he tapes the games with his VCR and ONLY watches the tape if he's already heard that his team won. The family is afraid that if he saw them lose a game, he'd have a heart attack. SO... if you're still with me, and you're thinking "Ah... they'll save the show in the second set," well you better stop reading right here, Jack! Still tuned in? You say you have courage and fortitude? Let us press on. Mississippi Half-Step to open the second set. A wonderful song, well played, with Bruce Hornsby's accordion delightful on the "Across the Rio Grand-e-o" portion of the song. It was well played and beautiful, but not challenging or unusual in any way. We used to crack that Dead Set was a recording of the Grateful Dead on an "OK night"; not a great night, not a bad night, just an...OK night. Well... that's where Mississippi -- and the rest of the show -- was at tonight. Besides, with the first sets getting scarily short, it feels like "first-set material" such as Mississippi, is being carried over to the second set. The first set is getting dominated by fatter tunes, which is good, but when will they fit in lesser, but wonderful songs such as Jackaroe or even Beat it On Down. (Yea, I know they just played it, but you get my point...) After Mississippi was Picasso Moon -- the first time all night where I thought the band really rocked out. I must confess this ain't exactly my favorite tune, but they played hard and it was loud, i.e. good. Lazy River Road was barely there at all. Painful to trudge through for us and them. Corina is a tough call; perhaps Deadheads can be divided roughly (VERY roughly) into tapers and dancers (but THAT is an entire different essay) and I happen to be a dancer. I still love Corina's hook, and it was played well. The drums/space were better than Wednesday night. As the guitarists left the stage, Bruce Hornsby hid behind the stage and jammed with Mickey and Billy for awhile in Cajun inspired rhythms. Then the drummers gave us a delightful full-color guided tour of pre-historic outer space (it was different back a million years ago, ya know...). Coming out of the space, several of the folks sitting near me heard two notes of St. Stephen. I'm sure they were the only ones who heard it, and, no, I don't think it even qualifies as a tease, but it was fun to hear them moan! The guitarist's space was better tonight, but not particularly inspiring. By the time we rolled into The Last Time, we all knew that time was running out for us this night, and the lyrics were poignant: It doesn't take that much to please me With what you know it should be easy Attics of My Life was the other truly sweet spot of the show (along with the aforementioned Black-Throated Wind). A great song sung beautifully. Around and Around, which we used to think was played every night back in the late '70s and early '80s was somewhat of a surprise. After a couple verses, we thought maybe Bobby might try a verse the way he used to sing with Donna -- that is, barely whispering, "Well they never stopped rockin', rockin', rockin'; goin' round and round " We don't know WHAT happened tonight, but the song collapsed. Goin' Down the Road? No. Another solo by Jerry? Uh... no. Hmmm. Jerry did slowly put it back together again, but it was definitely time to go. A lot of folks headed for the exits, figuring they were due for either Liberty or I Fought the Law, but anyone who left early missed a great version of The Weight, with Hornsby playing the accordion, and even getting to sing a verse. Great to hear Phil sing a verse alone too. A wonderful end to a troubled show. Now before I start getting hate e-mail, I can assure you that given a choice of ways to spend a Friday night, I'd rather be at a Dead show than most places, and I'd like to think that if we start to think that EVERYTHING is wonderful, we lose our ability to tell "good" from "bad", SO... I will sleep well tonight, and relax tomorrow on the day off. I'm blowing off the Trios show at the Beacon and, while I hope I'm wrong, I bet Jerry skips it too, and look forward to Sunday's show. Peace Glen (written immediately after this show, and now reposted here)