Grateful Dead

dead.net the official site

William Clarke - This was an excellent show. Sound system was very basic compared to "Wall of Sound" era. I was blown away by Mickey and Billy on drums as they were like 1 mind.

There seems to be confusion about this show here and in any database I have seen to date. First and foremost the show was on March 9th and not the 7th. I know for a fact not only because I was there and it was my 1st show, but because it was the birthday of my friend who turned me on to the tickets.It was his mother's birthday as well and there was a whole big scene. We dosed on the way to the show but forgot the tickets at his house and as we were starting to feel the effects of the blotter, his dad confronted him about missing his Mother's party that night. A scuffle broke out much to my dismay and his as well. We arrived at the show with some bad vibes from that and had to sit through the end of the 1st act which was "Cold Blood." They probably weren't as bad as we thought at the time. It is interesting the songs listed for the Dead were not all that they played that night. They are the songs that are on the only tape I have found to date. No Dead vault material exists I take it? If I recall Santa Monica Civic used Union sound men so they probably had a problem with The Dead recording off the sound board? They opened with of all things; "Too hard to handle" which by all accounts is the only time they opened with that song. We were 12th row center, but seeing all these freaks streaming down the isles made me think I was missing something. So my friend said I mumbled something like "the music must sound better down front." I was right the closer we got the better it sounded and I must say I had never heard anything like that before. Through a series of serendipitous circumstances we soon found ourselves leaning against the stage in front of Jerry. The crowd was going crazy and pushing us against the stage so I sat on the edge of the stage next to Jerry's monitor to keep from being pushed. My friend motioned for me to move over so he could sit on the stage as well, so I swung my legs on the stage and sat "lotus" style on the stage and he joined me.Steve Parish(at least I think it was him, all I know he looked awful big from a sitting position) then appeared from the side curtins to, I quess, toss us back into the crowd, when Jerry stopped picking but continued playing the frets with his left hand and put up his right hand in a stop motion as to say " leave them alone they seem harmless." And we were. We sat there until the end of that song and maybe another with Jerry making faces and goofing on us. But when they started China Cat we were pulled to our feet by the music and spent the rest of the show dancing around the stage with the "Boys" playing with our heads the whole time. I have looked for that entire show on tape for the last 37 years and have only found a partial show. Needless to say I became a Deadhead right then and there. We moved to Berkeley that year and spent the rest of our lives "On the Bus." If anybody was actually there at that show(Then you know how stellar it was, the tape doesn't do it justice) let me know if you remember two crazy freaks dancing around the stage and maybe someone has the whole show on tape. Let me know! Love and Light, Saint Michael