Grateful Dead

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A great excuse to revisit the ol' college town. Man, those guys were still keeping up the party tradition. Nothin' left to do...

We were coming out after the show and it was like a war zone. There was a big parking deck next to the indoor arena and some guys had some serious fireworks and they were shooting them at the crowd as everybody was coming out of the show. I thought it was dangerous but intense at the same time. The show was somewhat of a letdown after the previous shows and that we were expecting more from a 4th of July show. Great fun still. Dougles

Dougles, I too remember well those fireworks, just as you described it. Those guys were throwing fire down on top of cars as well and two cops on foot were like oh crap we can´t let this go on but were seriously intimidated by the numbers of heads. Too bad really cause this must have contributed to the Dead´s never going back to CR.

This shows how different people see shows from different perspectives. This is one of my all-time favorite shows. I thought that they made up for the weak show from the previous night. First of all it was in a small venue, we were in the first row of the balcony with great seats. It reminded me of the good old days at the Uptown Theatre except you didn't have the fear that the balcony was going to collapse. The start of the second set Help, Slipknot, Franklin's was mind-blowing. How could you not get into that Estimated into He's Gone? By the way the He's Gone was dedicated to someone (Paul) that was killed on the road from KC during that torrential rain. This wasn't just an individual opinion. I was with 3 friends and each will tell you that it was a perfect night. Coming out of the show with the fireworks war between the two parking lots even seemed natural as well. I remember having a rocket bomb landing at my feet and thinking, well, this is interesting, but I didn't have any fear. Neither did the cops, they just stood and smiled, even when it stopped a train and forced it to back up.

I don't remember the "Fireworks War" outside. I recall taking an elevator from inside the show, up to my room in the hotelabove the Center. There was however a fire alarm in same hotel at some point after midnight. How did you like Brent "Singing His Solo" on the Friend of The Devil?

It was a pretty small place, and we were there all day, saw the people passing the petition over and over again....That was a he's Gone for the ages, melancholy and philosophical.....Great show, but those fireworks were crazy. It looked like a war zone....cept more colorful. ~I was concealed Now I am stirring And I will lay my love around you...~

I was about 4 rows from the stage and they were right there.Excellent show all the way! From the Drummers Choice to the very end! The war zone was one of the craziest scenes. Cedar Rapids had no idea what was explode on their front lawn. The Dead on the 4th of July... What were they thinking???

I brought my wife to this concert. SHe was well initiated with teh music since I then owned ALL their albums and played them when ever I had a spare moment. We were right by the taping section and it was the sweetest spot to be. The sound was better than I'd hoped for at "Five Smells" and there was some serious stuff going around because I was sailing on a major contact high and the band sounded great. This night's Franklin's Tower was so fine! That is one of my favorite tunes and it was really nice to share it with my wife, now in our 25th year together.

We ended up hitchhiking to this show from Chicago. I had forgotten about all of the fireworks afterwards. We were wandering around and found ourselves near the stage door right when the band was coming out and getting into their cars. The small group of us just applauded and I will always remember the appreciative look on the bands' faces. Search Engine Optimization Online Casino

For this tour I was so freaked out by paranoia, mechanical and governmental, that we decided to put the bus in an RV storage lot near the intersection of I-5 and I-80 after Cal Expo and hitch rides all summer. When we pulled into Iowa bad memories of previous Alpine Valley experiences convinced us to just hitch back to Sacto since we were right on I-80, get the bus, and head back to The Cruz . The end certainly was near for us as this was my ninth to last show. As for "Rainbow Paul" I'll say that he seems to be missed most by those who knew him least. That he was the only death in such a horrific crash lends anecdotal support for the concept of karma. just sayin'

keep your character, enjoy living, share your fortune,OXOX Merple Reddin

I totally remember the fireworks. I thought it was a war also. What a night.

I passed out Mikel stickers at this show. I too remember the fireworks war after the show. You'd never have guessed you couldn't buy 'em in Iowa. Everyone must have stocked up in Eagleville on the way up the interstate from KC. According to the Des Moines newspaper, among those rousted out of the hotel by the fire alarm was one of Iowa's senators. This guy was later tossed out of office when he was caught patronizing a "massage parlor."

I never knew Paul. I remember driving up to Iowa after the K.C. show after dark and passing what looked like a van or bus that had gone into a ditch on the left side of the road. There were police cars everywhere and we had no idea what had happened at the time.It wasn't until the next morning when we heard people talking about it. Then that night they dedicated He's Gone (I think Phil said it) to Paul and the Rainbow Bus. In my humble opinion, this was one of the most solid/well played shows of that tour. The first set has flawless versions of every song. This remains the best Cumberland I ever saw.

I still have the McDonald/Mikel sticker from this show. It's white with dark blue skeleton and of course red roses. I think I have most of the stickers from that tour still in my songbook.

it was after the pine knob show that paul passed away. And he had asked me if there was room for him in your truck dave. I am the one who told him to go ask the busses. I dont feel guilt I just feel as if fate took over. We were just leaving the parking lot when he approached me to see if there was any room. You probably never knew he even asked dave. that summer was one of those tours were You did give me a ride to almost every show along with vinny and mark steve. i remember getting pulled over on the way to the cedar rapids show and we had to follow the police officer to a psot office box to pay our ticket,either that or wait till after the 4th and see the judge he told us we opted for payment on the spot.

Paul was just like all of us. Getting by how we all did. From show to show with each others help. I knew him for maybe a year or so up to his untimely passing. Its fate and could of happened to any of us. He was traveling in a bus that had a accident on the way to the Starlight theater, he was crushed by all the baggage in the bus and it just happens that they crashed in one of those drain ditches along every highway. Not a big pond not big river a drainage ditch. When people say one can drown in an inch or so of water if the circumstances are rite its true. Paul was a good soul a peaceful brother to so many of us. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had asked us for a ride but the truck I was in already had 4 or 5 people in the back of it.

I truly treasure any and all reflections on this show and those years that my brother, Paul, traveled with the band. As a 9 year old little sister at the time, my memories are only of him at home listening to music and playing his guitar, waiting for the next time he could go out on tour. Please continue to share any stories or thoughts you have….its one of my few connections to him---even after 30 years (today), I listen to this show when I want to think of him. Saw Phil in Central Park last month and always hold him to a different level because of the dedication of He's Gone from this night….Thank you. Steph

I knew your brother pretty well. He sure was a character, On the spring east coast tour we hung a bit drank a lot of beer together and smoked an awful lot of Bud. He seemed to be at every show I was at in the years 83 and 84.