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    marye
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    Okay, it wasn't ALL roses... One of the subjects that came up behind the scenes the other day was how just about everybody had a particular song (usually found in the second set) that they regarded as the perfect opportunity to beat the restroom crowds, purchase another overpriced water bottle, or decide whether they just had to have that T-shirt. The perfect opportunity, in short, to be anywhere but in the hall listening to the tune. In classic Deadhead fashion, it also came out that the same tune that sent one person running for the exits was the show's high point for another. So it goes. What's your experience?

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  • marye
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    rotten, you sorta inspired a new thread here...
    Tales of Shakedown: http://www.dead.net/forum/tales-shakedown
  • marye
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    great tales
    if you were vending, that kinda changed a lot of timing...
  • Rottenclam
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    None (but maybeeee drums and/or space)
    In my opinion, with the actual Grateful Dead playing, there was absolutely no song that could be voluntarily missed, ever. That has since changed with the post-Grateful Dead incarnations. If you have to use the restroom during any song by The Dead, The Other Ones, Phil and Friends, Furthur, Dead & Company, etc - then that is ok. The post-GD incarnations are not to be considered with the level of reverence that the original Grateful Dead had. Of course, if you had a crazy explosive bathroom urge of any variety back when the Grateful Dead were playing, then by all means, rush to the bathroom during a Dark Star. We have all had those moments in life, but hopefully they never struck many of us while the actual Grateful Dead were playing. I will admit that during some of the last songs from what I consider the weakest songbook era, I would not be thrilled (long way to go home, if the shoe fits, childhood's end, wave to the wind, and maybe one or two others), but I would never excuse myself from the immediately vicinity of where the Grateful Dead were performing. Never. Not one time. I either went to the bathroom before the show started, waited until intermission, or did it during drums and/or space. When I was on tour and selling shirts, I would stand near the exit listening to the encore. When the last notes of the encore were played, I would sprint to the car in order to grab my shirts, tarp, lanterns, etc. This was only done to make sure to that I would be ready to sell to the exiting crowd. I realize there was great risk in doing this. There was potential to miss a 2nd encore. With the double-encore at the last show ever played, I was already sold out of stuff, so I stuck around (besides, it was the end of the tour, so I was going to say goodbye to some of my other friend on tour until I saw them again when the Grateful Dead resumed in the Fall....which sadly, never happened). Because of that I did not miss the Box of Rain they played to end their career.
  • vibes
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    Brent tunes
    I must have seen a different Dead than you. Brent and Jerry rocked the house, with no slack and even encouragement from Bobby. I will take you home is one of my Favorites! Goes to show, you just never know. Carina would be my exit song. My friends say "find your shoes" but I love me some US BLUES Shoes can wait!
  • Roczilla
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    What better time to pee,then during Sugeree?
    I mean come on you could,shit,shower and shave during that song!
  • arlauckas1
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    Wuuuuuuuuuuttttttt !?!?!?!?
    Miss a moment of the Grateful God damned Dead to take a pee break ?!?!? Unheard of !!! That's what the set break was for. However, if this is a thinly veiled poll to determine personal Dead duds I'd have to confess to being less excited with any Beatles cover. In my ears those tunes just couldn't be Deadified.
  • mkav
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    wow
    you make excellent points. while i stand by my comments...maybe it was more like too much space/drumz, not that they DID space/drumz. 100% agree their drum solos/duets are the best I've heard, but 5 or 10 minutes would be fine. FTW drums was/were AWESOME, I'll agree and commented on originally. My favorite part of most Dead shows was the jamming and improv, and wondering where they were going to go next.
  • 8-13-75
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    wow...
    Can't agree. Billy and Mickey often gave us the best part of the show. Remember the Beast? The Beam? Their awesome communication, like two brains in one head? Those may have been the best drum solos in rock history. Mickey is really a world class percussionist, and Billy may be the most underrated rock drummer ever. They played together so often that they practically read each other's mind. I remember those intense primal jungle rhythms swooping around the stadiums... just blasting our minds to pieces. You hated space? Ok. That was the Dead at their freest and most creative... the part of the shows that harkened back to their Acid Test roots. Far out music was what made the Dead unique... not C&W rave up covers. I don't mean to be rude, but I think you really missed out on what the band considered its most exploratory work. But you weren't alone. A lot of people just liked to hear them play tunes, and not push the limits... not testing the definitions of music.
  • 8-13-75
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    Some basic GD whiz-dom
    Before I rant, let me note that I love the GD and nearly all of the material not bashed below But, here goes... It is appropriate to take a piss break, cringe, plug your ears, roll your eyes, laugh or vomit when any songs of the following types are played: Anything Brent wrote (i.e., not Hey Pocky Way). Brent was a great keyboardist and could provide some fine scratchy vocals (though, at times, he did sound like the lost Doobie Brother). He was probably their best keyboardist, though I love Keith's early contributions. But Brent's own songs were cheesy as hell. Maybe some fans never bothered to listen to the lyrics. Tons of Steel?!? Terrible analogy to build a song on. Far from Me, Easy to Love You, We Can Run... pure Velveeta. I could just about tolerate Just a Little Light and Blow Away, because they played well in arenas... but you'd think Barlow could've given him some better lyrics! The nadir of Brent's material, though, was I Will Take You Home. It's sweet that he wrote a lullaby was for his daughter, but he should've played it for her birthday party... not in front of stadiums of rock fans, C&W listeners, and tripped-out hippies! The band was too egalitarian about members' contributions, at times... and this is a perfect example of where they ought to have said "no." Any song where Phil sings. I love Box of Rain and Unbroken Chain as compositions, and Phil's a great bassist, but let's get honest... the guy's voice would only be appropriate for a bad karaoke night where everyone is getting bombed and is laughing. The ONLY song Phil could've possibly sung to positive effect was Pride of Cucamonga, and he never performed it with the GD. I never cared for Tom Thumb's Blues, or anything else that brought him to the mic. He provided horrid harmonies on Brown-Eyed Women back in the early 70s. Laughable! Sounded like he was deaf. Phil must be surrounded by "yes men" who would clap at his farts. Phil wrote New Potato Caboose but Bobby sang lead vox. It never really worked well live, but it could've with more practice. Point being... DON'T "Let Phil Sing!" Almost everything written in the 80s and 90s. I liked songs like Touch of Grey, Hell in a Bucket, My Brother Esau and Black Muddy River... but they were nothing to write home about. I didn't eagerly wait for them to appear... ever. West L.A. was legit. Throwing Stones seemed legit back in the day. Listen to the lyrics today. It's not only dated, but it's a pretty boring rant on the insidious forces tearing the world apart. These thought pieces that Bobby and Barlow started writing (e.g., Victim or the Crime) are pretty terrible, lyrically. They just don't fit the GD's apolitical origin, which was one of the things that made them special. [Note: Contrast Uncle John's with the contemporaneous Edwin Starr song, War, if you don't know what I mean.] Goopy songs like Standing on the Moon and Days Between make me shed a tear NOW, but they were a real drag back then. I like Picasso Moon and Victim or the Crime... MUSICALLY. VotC has some truly challenging "out" stuff in the solos, and the use of the tritones is nice. Foolish Heart was met with tons of excitement... The great new hope for a classic! It was mediocre, at best. That lick Brent used to play was hella annoying... all 1980s zippy and cheesy. They never took it to any real heights. Same deal with Built to Last. They played that annoying 7-4-1 progression over and over. A real pill. It brought down the energy of the first set of the final night of Fare Thee Welll, in fact. I barely remember that boring-ass material from the 90s. Easy Answers, Liberty, So Many Roads, Samba in the Rain, Way To Go, Corrina. Lazy River Road was a'ight, I guess. As for other bad material, Loose Lucy, Money Money, Day Job... it wasn't the Dead at their best. Lazy Lightning... stinky (though Supplication was pretty good). Looks Like Rain... a real stinker, unless you and your significant other were there together and liked goopy sad songs about lost love. Barf. I like Blues for Allah. It didn't perform up too good, though. I'm sure there are plenty of others I can't think of. Good rule of thumb: -Jerry... thumbs up (especially old material) -Pigpen... thumbs up -Bobby... thumbs mostly up (especially covers and old material) -Brent and Vince... thumbs up for harmonies, thumbs down for their own songs -Phil... thumbs always down Winner of Best Piss Break Ever Award: I Will Take You Home (aka, I Will Take a Whiz)
  • mkav
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    This one is easy-peezie....so to speak
    Space...drums. although FTW had amazing drumz.May Bob be in fine voice May Jerry find all the right notes May your trip of choice be treating you right And may you be in the bathroom 10 minutes before anyone else realizes the band is playing sapce/drums
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Okay, it wasn't ALL roses... One of the subjects that came up behind the scenes the other day was how just about everybody had a particular song (usually found in the second set) that they regarded as the perfect opportunity to beat the restroom crowds, purchase another overpriced water bottle, or decide whether they just had to have that T-shirt. The perfect opportunity, in short, to be anywhere but in the hall listening to the tune. In classic Deadhead fashion, it also came out that the same tune that sent one person running for the exits was the show's high point for another. So it goes. What's your experience?
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'What ever happened to his precious self-control?' I was thinking about that one just the other day. Patience ran out on the junkie pretty fast at my house.
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"Victim" is obviously getting no love at all in this discussion. This being said/written, I'd escape to relieve myself during this song as well. Unfortunately most of the new songs were good reasons for bathroom breaks (minus Garcia's new tunes). Am I being too critical?
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I know I sound like a snob, and I am sorry, but after reading this topic, I am relieved that I stopped going to live shows around 1983. I am glad that I never experienced a show where I wanted to escape the music. Believe me, I was occasionally disappointed (especially by an ill-timed Bobby song), but never wanted to miss a note or a beat. Even my least favorite Dead shows rank among the best times I had at any concert. Again, I ask the question: did the music deteriorate so badly?
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Chris It wasn't really my bathroom song but the song that made me roll my eyes after about the first 10 times was "Miracle". Seems like out of 81 shows I must have heard "Miracle" 25-30 times. It got to the point that all of my friends would turn to me for a reaction as soon as the first few cords began. Particularly brutal when coming out of drums-space..........
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i believe the natural biological order of centered deadheads(specially from the south bay) and the need to transandentalize a normal reaction to to much liquid refreshment-was over whelmed by the moment in the "soup"(ok "playin in the band" had a subliminal call to nature for me)-i'm a vetran of MANY shows and y'all ain't never gonna find the perfect "pee" song
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if the shoe fitswave to the wind long way to go home samba in the rain i fought the law minglewood and I know I'll get sh*t for this, but Let it Grow. _________ this space for rent
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Eternity or Days Between, I listen to them now on tape, but back then at show when you want to dance, they were definately downers and a good to bolt to the john.
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My least favorite Dead song has always been "Turn On Your Lovelight". Sent me to the bathroom every time! That's the only one I can really say that about.
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i was emailing my friend pat adams the other day and i brought up this particular subject. it always seemed that the boys would be wailing away and blowing up the show and then they would play stella and i would deflate like a balloon. from a great high and groove to scratching my head and saying please take this song away. i have disliked this song for ages and i always will
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Pat Adams is my best friend. She was telling me about that conversation she had with you, which is what prompted me to mention to MaryE that we needed a pee song topic in here.... small world! and Welcome. pomo1, I can't manage to convince you that it wasn't about escaping the music, but about having to pee and trying to time it to suit one's tastes!
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I got so tired of "throwin' ...." that I would just wander...beer garden...piss run....find another friend in the crowd...or just space out.....leave my mind and body behind...the opposite of Drumz->space, when I absolutely, had to be, must be there (the more liquid, the better)!!! After all, reality is for those that can't handle drugs. That was some direct and personal advice that Dr. Tim gave me (twice - Kaiser and L.A. Forum). "Must have been the Doses, or the robins, robins in her long brown hair." of course Victim was a slider, what was Barlow thinking...reminded me of Bobby excuses for his slips, like...after Otis died (but I do understand the despair after losing your best friend, while everyone is telling you, "It was just a dog.")...or after Jerry's coma and bobby got too fucked up to play guitar at the Ranch Rock 86 Pyramid Festival * (I started a diatribe about this show, but will save that for another topic line). Picasso Moon was another that quickly became an escape clause...the "bigger than a drive-in movie, oo-wee" was just a little lame....time to pay the rental from the beer garden, before the boys broke into something that was more existential. I did have one friend that would just let loose in his pants during an outdoor show at times, starting at the front wall of Ventura '82...didn't surprise me, his wet suit had the same matching stains as his 501's. If you ever get back online....HI MIKE!!!! I started exercises in maximizing my bladder capacity since high school and learned to power pee. I could sometimes charge to the heard at Jerry's last lick and be nearly back to my spot before the first lyric of the next song. I appreciated that the boys were generally indecisive about their next selection and took the extra time to tune up at every break between song combos. * Pyramid Festival note: Mickey made up for Bobby's lackluster performance that day by letting loose on "Fire on the Mountain." This was the first time that I heard Mickey do vocals and his chanting / singing / rap rendition was awesome.
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I rarely took a pee break during the first set. But if I did, it was ususally during Ramble on Rose. Good song, but I was hearing it so many times, it just ended up being my first set pee song. On the other hand, 2nd set usually called for a pee break. Either: Victim Corrina Drumz Wave to the Wind
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I rarely left a show once it started, but there were a few songs where I found myself looking at my watch hoping that this one would only be the 12 minute version. The only Jerry song that was like that was China Doll (I know, sacrilege!)--but the song was sooooooo sloooowwww, even for a Jerry ballad. I would rejoice at the chorus at the end, just because I knew it was almost over. A couple Bobby song's I wasn't crazy about---Lost Sailor, Saint of Circumstance come to mind. Picasso Moon, not my fave, either. Besides that, pretty much all good.
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but writing Victim was not one of them. I knew him at the time, and let's just say he was less than thrilled having the thing attributed to him. The actual lyricist is a dude named Gerrit Graham.
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But Let it Grow. I know it was a fan favorite, I could always tell by the fan screams. But I just always went running especially since it tended to lead into Drums>Space and I didn't want to miss that. and if they had played "tons of Steel" I would have run screaming from the venue.
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easy, Stella Snooze is a lovely song to take that break by, same goes for Wharf Rat, They Love Each Other, Day Job always signaled an early exit. Would never miss Help on the Way/Slipkont!/Franklin's Tower, Jack-a-Roe, Estimated Prophet or Scarlet/Fire to name a few! That being said, once they rolled from a powerful The Other One into Stella and it was a let down, then Jerry tore it up on Stella after all. With the Dead you just never know!
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definitely the weir "dylan" slot - masterpiece was a reason to go pee! i would never leave the 2nd set - would wait for the end of the show. thank god i never saw a show after '91! take care- chris ps - i feel bad i had to sit through a "picasso moon" once.
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I've read alot of these posts, but how could we forget Queen Jane. I gotta go pee now just thinking about it....
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This weeks "Tapers" Dear Mr. Fantasy playing. Woops...........didn't make it. Old age, ya know
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Hey Izzie, did you have a sudden urge to pee about halfway through listening to this week's Taper's section? Just kidding.
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For me it was It Must Have Been The Roses. Too slooow. Made Shawn Phillips sound hyper. And I like Shawn Phillips. When I heard this one I had the urge to listen to punk music right now. Real Fast. Where are the Clash? It may have been that listening to Steal Your Face destroyed this one for me. Everyone was smiling and swaying while Jerry was singing and I was going huh? I am part of this big happy family? Help! I like roses, I like the lyrics, I like the melody. I love the iconagraphy of the roses in the world of the Dead. But like watermelon which I attempt to take a bite of every year to see if maybe sometime I will like it, I listen to It Must Have Been The Roses over and over and it just rarely clicks. OK take away my Robert Hunter merit badge... No hey, I like the way Hunter does it... But some of you left when it was Dark Star? And I thought I was weird and out there I guess some of us Deadheads are Outsider Deadheads. It takes all kinds to turn the wheel. Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Walt Whitman-Song of Myself
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Usually drums for me... t'was just always right about "that time". Sometimes Rooster in set one. Knockin' had me packing everything up and heading for the exits to beat the crowd. All you Victim hatas is crazy-- that one was a high point for me in the last couple years, but I like weird feedback over bell-tone piano schmooze, so to each her own. Of course, my *first* bathroom break came between sets at my first show after waltzing with the celestial balls while on my back eyes closed for the whole first set. Lemme tell you, *that* was a friggin' trip and a half!! Woof...
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Black Peter is a great tune because it has meaning to me- I was that sick dude at a time in my life that Black Peter came through a veil late one night... However, Bobby's slide on little red roosster ALWAYS made me cringe. First set duck out for me... Sugaree63
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But the only time I ever wanted to leave a show was the debut of I Fought The Law in Richfield Spring '93. After all the hassles we went through and the cancelled show I felt like the Dead were proverbrially flipping us all off with this breakout.
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"One More Saturday Night", and to a lesser degree, "Casey Jones", and any other boring, repetitious song, were the preferred ones for me to duck-out on; but really, I usually took my breaks when the band took theirs.
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They had bathrooms there? What a concept - a HEAD going to the head. Come to think of it... I do remember going to the "Get High Room" and seeing a lot of porcelain and hearing water running...Constantly. You don't think?..........naaah.
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not liking black peter really stings...althea would be cause sometimes, though i've come around to liking the song...crazy fingers...always tried to go before the show started anyway and never drank inside...they usually sold draft beer in plastic go cups and draft gives me a crushing headache....
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I always thought that was a good song to cover, however,it should have been used as a double encore. Not a stand alone. Alas, no one from the band ever asked my opinion on that topic. “The Omnipotent Grateful Dead!”
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Well, sorry gang but I elect "One more Saturday night", "El Paso" and "Little Red Rooster" as a time to dash for the john. I did however meet some very interesting people standing in line while waiting at the normal break times, so going was OK then to, but I hate to wait in line. Would usually start "moooooing" and it would break into a full blown cattle cryout. Funny as hell though ( -; We, are the eyes of the world!!
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but did anyone else use 'touch of grey' as the perfect pee break? it was so bouncy sounding i just felt like i had to go. i also didn't care much for little red rooster - such a plodding downer - it was a good time to walk around and check things out
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ITS GOOD TO BE A BIG GUY WITH A BIG BLADDER AND BIG SWEAT GLANDS----THERE ARE NO PEE SONGS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED! THE WORST SHOW I EVER SAW WAS WONDERFUL.
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1st Set: Walkin Blues, Little Red Rooster, Picasso Moon, 2nd Set: Drums,Space, I Will Take You Home (aka I Will Take a Wizz) , Victim ot the Song
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Undoubtedly it's 'Looks like rain.' 'Desolation Row' is a close second.
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RODGER ALLINSON well for some reason those same cheesy bobby tunes that were my sure sign to head off to go were the same ones that every one else left for picaso moon and corina being the two most popular to go during im hard core jerry thru and thru so bobby tunes were my exit break
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So now what we know what people would break for, what would they never leave for, the very favorite? Your bladder is about ready to burst and you are going to explode but you have to see and hear this one, no matter what. How about that for the inverse to this topic? Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Walt Whitman-Song of Myself
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Oh, that's easy! Stella Blue! and of course, any Brent tune.
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BLACK PETER!!!
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Eyes, Help>slip>Frank, agree with the Stella Blue, Bertha, Samba in the Rain, Standing on the Moon, Lazy River Road, China>Rider, West L.A. Fadeaway, Throwin' Stones, Sugar Mag.....that list is easy. No song is really worth missing but when you gotta go, you gotta pick something..... We........are the eyes of the world!!
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Haven't seen some of my pee break/roam around list anywhere else, so will go for it and post it.1.) Drums/Space (sometimes) 2.) Terrapin 3.) and always, alway, always The Other One First time I heard it was in another state of mind,and couldn't deal with the non-rhythmic disharmony. Nor could I ever afterwards. Always made me nerveous!!
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usually a 1st set closer when i'd hear the first notes i'd head out to try to beat the crowds . also victim or the crime. both songs off the same album and IMHO the 2 worst bobby songs
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I'd have to agree with a few of you that you never wanted to miss a single song but "Borinna" was my chance to grab a brew and visit the little boys room.
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i just have this thing about 'rooster.' i do not really care for that cover and just gotta block against it. deer creek - indpls. peace, shack
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I'm with you on Rooster! What a bore. Bobby on the slide is not my idea of a good time. "The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean."
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Walkin Bathroom Blues I swear I knew a ton of people who called it that too, funny. "The bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began.."
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SOTM, which I regret now . . . did someone really put Minglewood here? say it ain't so . . .
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For the few shows that I saw it seemed like Jed was always in the first set. Not that I despise the song, but it was more like "not again" and provided a good time for a break.
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So interesting to read so many different opinions. As the years went by, many songs became less interesting, or less likely to be launching pads or the sort of collective exploration that got me on the bus in the early '70s. I have a story izzie will find annoying/amusing: Last month my niece, a talented bassist, sat in with me and the Zen Tricksters on a boat cruise around Manhattan. We played "Watching the Detectives" (Caitlin is a major Elvis Costello fan) and "Season of the Witch." After the set was over, she said she really liked the song we played immediately after she left the stage. Friends, that song was "Black Peter." Which has never been a bathroom song for me, no matter how vehemently some of my friends oppose it.
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that's up there with Black Peter, you know. I think you should tell the Black Peter/GDH Marathon story next, to keep things even.