Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 27, 1985
Saratoga, NY US
Set List:
Midnight HourBertha
Little Red Rooster
Stagger Lee
El Paso
Crazy Fingers
Supplication
High Time
Hell in a Bucket
Don't Ease Me In
Feel Like a Stranger
Eyes of the World
Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad
Man Smart/Woman Smarter
drums
Truckin'
Spoonful
Black Peter
Turn on Your Love Light
Johnny B. Goode
Baby Blue
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Hershey Park Stadium - June 28, 1985 »Attendees of this show
All you guys hit it on the head. I cant imagine any other place getting as crazy. The sound system was crackling. I taped it but still had to dose. I almost needed help breaking it down after the show. I wonder if that place was built on Indian burial grounds. The power was never matched at any other show I was at. Walking out, I saw a midget standing on a stump wearing a wrestlers outfit. I could'nt help it, I laughed right at him. Man he got mad. I was in Denver later that summer and people at a table next to me were talking about this show. They were going on about this show like it was yesterday. I am sooooooo glad I made it.
The Grateful Dead set a record that night foe attendance that stands today along with a grate show. When we heard M.D open the first set you know your into the good stuff.
The rest is history. First of 120+ shows. Woo Hoo!!
What a great venue. It was my first time in Saratoga and loved the scenery. My only complaint was too many people. I think the most people I ever attended a "Dead" only show. The stadium shows were bigger but there was alwyas another band playing with them. The only thing keeping this from a 5-star show was that Jerry didn't sing the last verse of Bertha. I did love the twilight Zone space..
...on the hill not far from the shed. Remember some of the moments like the rafter guy. The boys spanked the SPAC that night. Midnight Hour started and I swear to God I saw 10,000 roses fall from somewhere just in front of the stage.
I was on tour with t-shirts and couldn't find the guy's car I put my pack in. It eventually reached the Dead community in RI, but not among people I knew -- until years later.
This wasn't a Days Between, this was a day to go with the flow.
I'd forgotten about the marshmallows...
This was the first show in the two that I was allowed to go too from my Parents,due due the fac that I was only 16 !!!..and I was still finishing my Sophomore Year,That being said My buddies watched over me once again,and Iam EVER grateful for that..
The Shear amount of people at this show was utterly Crazy, the rush at the start of the show caught us off guard,it was a bit overwhelming ...
But right in the middle of the first set I watched a guy FALL from the 2nd Level !!!..as the crowd down bellow with us let out a resounding uhhhhhhh...You can hear it if you have a clear enough tape...I only prey that dude was ok?.
But that being said,everything about that summer night and the next in Hershey Park were EPIC !!!
Loved the Spoonful and Midnight Hour
and sleeping in a tent waking up in a massive Puddle when the rain came...lol..Made the trip..
My buddy Kenny and I drove from Bridgewater, NJ to this show.I was 17 years old. I can remember being on the NY thruway and seeing a giant steal your face painted on a large rock cropping along the side of the highway. What an awesome sight! We were totally psyched! We got to the show and whammo- Midnight Hour opener-- Hot damn!
I remember the dude hanging from the balcony and getting yelled at over the PA system. Hahaha.great memory!
I also vaguely remember having a 45-min conversation about football with a large red and green parrot. Again-great memories......
That was a truly incredible show and I am so thankful to have attended. Wish we could all go back to that moment again and realize how kick ass it really was.
And some really nice looking naked chick ran by me in the parking lot mumbling to herself. Weird vibrations that day.
Location
During the '85 show, I got separated from the folks I travelled with, and was getting a bit concerned. For some reason, I got it into my head that the upper level of the SPAC was actually a licensed beverage area, and I thought it would be nice to have a pint and relax. So I started walking up the ramp holding my ID aloft, showing that I was legal drinking age. Guys are getting stopped and turned back all around me, because they had lawn tickets, just like I did. Up the ramp I continue, not even getting so much as a look from the ticket-checkers, who I mistakenly thought were bouncers turning underage folks away. Some guy at the top sees my progress and gives a bit of encouragement "C'mon man, you've almost made it!" And I hold my ID up and say, "Naw, no problem, I'm 19." Finally get to the top and realize, "Woah, this isn't a beer garden, I just walked into the pavilion balcony!" There were plenty of empty seats. I remember particularly liking the Stagger Lee and the Lovelight.