Start to finish, it was wonderful. Mountain Girl's reflections on gender and the early scene was definitely the highlight for me. She recalled having to shop and cook for the band, playing house mother. Having earlier commented on Janis Joplin's being regularly at the house, someone asked what her job was -- the response..."Janis' job was to drink with Pig Pen."

Perhaps the thing that most got me, though, was the return of the full ritual. It's great being able to see Ratdog, Phil & Friends, or DSO when they come around, but what I miss is the full routine -- the hours on the road anticipating, the communing in the campground/parking lot with people you haven't seen in who knows how long and meeting new friends you didn't know you had, rolling into the show with your tribe, hours of dancing, and then spending the rest of the night bubbling from the show laughing, analyzing, and reliving it. With long drive to Amherst, the American Beauty Project and the DSO shows, and the conference sessions during the day acting like a less muddy parking lot, and hanging out with the other folks at the conference, I got back the complete ritual. It really was magical.