Grateful Dead

I used the usual IMG tags and the preview just showed the text. Help on the way?

I'm a somewhat new deadhead. I bought my first Grateful Dead album back in 2003 and have been hooked ever since. Now they are pretty much all I listen too. I love listening to their live recordings, especially when they keep playing for 10+ minutes. Jerry has some amazing solos and I love how they incorporate the piano into their music. Anyway, since I have become a deadhead they have really influenced me, especially reading about Jerry Garcia. He was so full of life and never stopped creating. While I noodle with the guitar every now and then, I mostly write. BTW, my wife surprised me with tickets to see The Dead on May 4 in Chicago! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Been a member of this site since a long time, I'd realy digged it since Happy New Weir day.Hooked since I listened to the first album from my cousin collection (frankly, I think he never listened it) in1968. I was 14 at that time. Pretty alone in the club, I had the chance to meet Louis Racine, a hometown guy who saw the band at Fillmore in 1969. He introduce me to all the story around the band and the SF sound. We shared almost everything culturally. He put Kerouac, Asimov, Kesey and all in my life. I saw my 2 shows with him. Sorrowly, he died at 39 from C in 1992. Six months later I start my relation with Marjelaine who became my wife in 1994, almost a year after the birth of twin girls named Sarah and Louloue (any hint?). and in April 24, she will see The Dead for the first time. I'm so happy to meet you sisters and brothers on this site. Finally, we are not alone in this théâtre. Share the love, meet you in Uniondale.

My first show was in '81 at Assembly Hall in Champaigne, Urbana (U of IL). Second show was at Riverport (yuk...band was good -- just don't care for Riverport or whatever Corporate name it has now) in '94 in STL, MO. Missed two-thirds of the show cause some one not associated with the concert was attempting to suicide from a building in that area. They stopped us on Hwy 70 -- I had to PISS so bad!! Got to my seat at the drum solo!!! Carry a bucket in the car, folks... More stories top go with the '81 show -- but can't stay on this computer too long now! Later! :) laura

My name is Laura and I live in STL, MO We have 2 great bands here in the Lou who play all Dead music: Jake's Leg and The Schwag See you in CHI for both nights in May! laura :)

Hi. I am new to the site but not new to the GD/JGB. I collect tapes and listen to tunes (and work a dead end job). I consider my self a 3rd gen fan because I never saw the ORIG band but I saw tOo and The Dead when they toured. I am back on the bus because I am going through some personal stuff and need the community and the "hunt" for new "old" AUDS to keep my mind occupied. Hope to meet some new folks, and start new trades amongst you. Just call me "Unklejimbo" everyone else does

http://www.dead.net/forums/dead-heads/tapers/vineyard Check out the new vines topic for instructions http://www.dead.net/forum/new-vines-2009

i figure i would intoduce my self seeing that i have been posting my opion on some topics here..my name is Aaron i jumped on the bus in the mid eightys..the first time i head the grateful dead happened to be the first time i smoked.. i am in a mixed marriage i am a deadhead amd my wife Julia is into phish.he..he..he we have a 17 month old son Levi and another on the way (home birth is the shit)..we live in upstate new hampshire but are thinking of moving to asheville nc...well not much else to say love and hugs to all

Hey Laura, I had the chance to be on tour with a dance company call "les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal" and went to SL 3 times. We played at the Fabulous FOX Theater. The technician crew there is one of the best I met. One of them left me at a bar and told me to enjoy. That was the only time I saw Jake' leg. What a GREAT TIME I had! At the encore they played "Mister Charly". Dance my soul thru the end. Met the band. Awsome. Share the Love.

I always thought DNC was hard on the eyes, after a few years on tooboard got shutout, was off line a few years, then was hanging around ratdog.org for last year or so and now its look slike closed up so i decided to give the fairly new and markedly improved DNC a go, and here I am...!

Let me do this in a question and answer format. It helps my multiple personalities feel good about themselves. Where do you live? - In-the-Middle-of-the-Friggin'-Woods, Vermont What do you do for a living? - About four years ago, I started a property management company and so now I'm a full-time landlord. I also write for a blog called thestreamsideguide.com and for a magazine called On the Water. Married? Single? Gay? Have children? - Married 25 years this coming December. Hard-core heterosexual. One daughter. What do yo do for fun? - Fish and fish and fish and fish! What are your interests - Fishing, politics, music, cooking, writing, fishing, and fishing. What’s your philosophy of life? - Eat, drink and go fishing. If you could shake the hand or hug one person, from the world of politics, entertainment, or sports, who would it be? - Keith Richards When did you first go to a Dead concert? - August 4, 1976 Are you going to any of the shows on the current tour? - Yup, Albany on April 17th! Anything else you’d like to add? - I'm going to get a beer out of the 'fridge. Anyone else need one? "When it comes to humility, I'm the greatest!" - Bullwinkle Moose

O.K. Here we go!!! I am a sedation nurse in Minnesota, I get patients "High" while the Doc does his thing to make their lives better. I LOVE MY JOB!! When not at work I enjoy time with my family; son,20 and My husband and soulmate. I also have an English Bulldog named (Loose) Lucy! She is my baby!! In the summer I enjoy going to rock festivals, Moondance Jam in Walker, MN to be exact. I drive a bright yellow Subaru Baja (the revised Brat), and wear Birkenstocks. I am Hippie to the core and very proud of it. My only regret is that I wasn't born in time to party at The Haight with Jerry and Janis and if I had a time machine I would go to Woodstock. I have a tattoo memorial to Jerry on my back. Favorite Bands: The Grateful Dead, CSN, Janis Joplin, Mamas and Papas, basically, if it's 60's and pyschadelic, then it's for me. Going to the Chicago CINCO DE MAYO show this year, hope to see some of you there.@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ May the Four Winds Blow You Safely Home... I Miss Jerry

my name is charles hardaway... my first grateful dead show was june 26, 1988 at the pittsburgh civic arena & my last was july 9, 1995... have seen ratdog several times & phil lesh & friends & mickey hart band once each... i really am grateful that this sight is working again... i had alot of trouble signing on as my usual user id - charliechanman, so i created a "new" one... if anyone is a veteran of the ratdog.org forums, i'm the one & the same charliechanman... i really miss the grateful dead... just can't capture that magic with these individual post gd incarnations... unfortunately, due to reality (work, wife, kids & $$$) i'm not goin' to see any shows on the upcoming tour.. what a bummer... hopin' for a miracle, but more than likely some positive vibes & a summer or fall tour to come by pittsburgh... love & peace, charlie

Well I just want to take a second to say hello. My name is Tim, My first show was 9/2/78and my life has never been the same since. I don't post much but I do read alot of posts. My lady and me are going to worcster,nassau and hartford later on the Vibes. Always open to meet new friends on line or in person so... drop a line if you want.

Whats up? Hello everyone! Not a whole lot going on here,just cant wait to get out and hit some shows. What did happend to the forum at Ratdog.org? Just wondering, always liked going on there to see what everyone is doing.

Heyy whats up i just joined this site. I have gotten introduced to the world of dead music my first year out of high school in 2004 and have been hooked since. Im from nj and going to the izod shows possibly alone. would love to chill with kind folk.

Hi everyone, I'm a very new Dead fan; for a variety of reasons, it took me a couple decades of adulthood to "get" the music. I majored in jazz piano in school (lo, those many years ago), and I think I was just too caught up in other musical interests to give the Dead a serious listen. In any event, after migrating through Dylan, early blues, and "Exile"-era Stones, I gave the Dead a whirl and got hooked. I've been taking the plunge by downloading audience recordings from archive.org and generally boning up on all things Dead. What a rich world! I never saw the band and am not certain I can get to one of the upcoming '09 shows, so the recordings may have to be my only experience. But fortunately there are plenty of recordings! I've hopped onto a few of the vines and am looking forward to plugging in more on the forums. So far, the post-Pigpen, pre-hiatus stuff seems to be my favorite flavor, along with some '77 stuff, but the journey continues . . .

Hi, I'm a new author and trying to find people who might be interested in my book. The title is Freaked and the publisher is HarperCollins. It is the story of a teenaged Deadhead set in the nineties just before Jerry Garcia's death. I would love to talk about all things Dead. I'm new to cyberworlds and just getting the hang of how to exist here. I love listening to reading the stories of other Deadheads and did a lot of tale swapping as part my research for the book. In fact, I'm a little sad that the thing is in print, because I enjoyed the assembly process. Anyway--hello again--and I'll check out some of the other discussions and see if I have anything interesting to add. Jen (JT Dutton)

Hello my fellow deadheads from a cheesehead living in Northcentral Wisconsin. Besides the Dead one of my other favorite musical interests is the String Cheese Incident. Since the loss of my soul mate in 2006 I have spent all of my time throwing myself into work to ease my pain. It is now time to rejoin life, reconnect with my tour friends and family, and think about jumping back on the bus and start living again. The best way to get myself back into a good place is to hit the road and see a show(s). In my previous life I worked as a RN until I developed serious burnout, the love and support of my partner encouraged me to return to college. I finished school in 2007 with a degree in social work and have been working 2 jobs plus volunteering at our local food pantry. Throwing myself into work kept me from feeling lonely, but it is time to slow down, get some balance back into my life and allow myself to start living again. I work with cognitively disabled clients, elderly clients with dementia, and victims of domestic violence and sexual assualt. My roles at the local food pantry include working as the statistician, serving on the Executive Steering Committee and Volunteer Coordinator. My life is very full but has been lacking the balance of relaxation and fun. I am now ready to give myself permission to start meeting new people with like interests (touring #1) and enjoy the goodness of being part of something so much bigger than myself. Peace and Love: Jill.

Welcome! I think you have a wonderful heart volunteering your time and giving to people in such need. It's no easy job at all. I admire that! You will find some real loving people that actually care about things....of course there is always the riff raff, but most of all this site will open doors to your relaxation that you never thought possible! ~peace~ _____________________________________________ Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!

I really enjoyed reading your post. I guess you like to fish ;-) and well that's pretty easy in Vermont. The Q & A is just the kind of wit that is always abounding in this place! ~peace~ _____________________________________________ Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!

Hello there! I am a new traveller and xperiencer of the Dead sort! Thanx to a beautiful and wonderful woman who turned me on the GD and also to XM/Serius,I am now hooked on these guys.I LOVE Terrapin Station! Man,what a msterful exhibition of musicianship and utter inspiration.I only have a few albums,American Beauty,Terrapin Station,Workinman's Dead,Buit to LAst,Anthem of the Sun,In the Dark,Shakedown Street,and AoxomoxoA. I am looking for some live stuff.Where can I get some good recording and what do you all recommend? Anyway....happy to be here! Thanx! Juan http://juanrleon.tripod.com www.myspace.com/juanrleonmusic http://ollineflutes.tripod.com

My name is Christopher Doyon. I followed for almost ten years straddling the 80's and 90's. Now I own an Internet Radio Station, and I am really excited to be going back on the road with the Band and the Family this Spring. I am going to do LIVE 24/7 coverage via a reality webcast on my Station so check it out if you like. http://doyonenterprises.hypermart.net/radio/tour/dead09/index.html Dead Head Chris ---------------------------- Unbroken Chain Internet Radio www.UnbrokenChain.net

I live to serve, Canyon Critter. Glad you dig! "When it comes to humility, I'm the greatest!" - Bullwinkle Moose

you should check out the vine forum for live shows... read new vines 09 first for an explanation on how the system works..

Thank you for welcoming me to the site. It is GRATE to be back in the fold and back into life. Your hospitality has warmed me and reminded me why all fellow deadheads are family. Peaceful trails and happy touring Canyon Critter. MrCharlies1----Jill

why , thank you! how nice of you to ask! without any further ado...my story....because as Alfred Hitchcock says "One should always make your audience suffer as much as possible" I never got to see a gig before ,i sort of missed the whole dead thing when i was growing up but over the last seven years ive learned to love them! from my lovely english hippie type friends who live in london... and im really excited to meet some lovely people who love the dead in this country as well! All the deadheads in the uk speak very highly of you! and from this website i can see why... I'm just your typical mild mannered american housewife from Md, where I spend most of my time buried in my computer screen working on various writing and web projects or enjoying the spirited high jinks of a house full of wretched and ungrateful offspring. My "children" , if you can still call them that, at 21, 20 , and 16 years old are an endless source of delight and despair , and my autistic eight year old son is the light of my life, and they keep me quite busy and entertained 24 hours a day. I am the proud author of two children's books, and have been working on a third, and have a degree in early childhood education. For twenty years I owned and operated a private preschool in my home, but retired about ten years ago to pursue being shiftless on a full time basis, which I have been remarkably successful at so far. The last seven years I've been dividing my time in between here and the UK, as I have many friends in the London area who allow me to visit regularly , crash on their couches, eat and drink them out of house and home and who entertain me with great gusto at pubs, clubs, gigs, raves and restaurants and at huge outdoor music festivals , such as the Glastonbury festival . Why, they do it , I'll never know, i certainly dont deserve it, or them , but God bless their little limey hearts anyway. thats where i got turned on to the Dead! Hanging about the flat, off my head! As you do! in between trips i just stay home (and recover) and and write like the devil , work on my website and go to school part time, just in order to keep out of trouble and prevent completly wrecking my quiet tidy little life here in America! I stay in school at UMUC every semester, studying various forms of the arts and humanities, and work constantly on increasing my education ,and life experience to help provide structure and sanity to a very hectic life, and to provide me with the tools I need to become a better writer, parent and human being (hopefully). AND th..th..th ... THATS ALL FOLKS..... thanks for listening.. and hope to see you at a show! Remember,You can only be young once, but you can be immature FOREVER!

hello fellow deadheads! i saw shows late 80s-90s on the east coast. never really traveled with the band though. i've just been loving the GD channel on XM and they mention this site on the sunday show so i thought i'd pop in and say hi. any deadheads in cincy, louisville, southern, IN? radha

Hi... I'm Chuck... And I am a DeadHead... Here is how it started for me... Back in college... At the Univeristy of Buffalo... Spring of 1975... Living in College B... The solution to the hazing problems from the fraternities... Residential colleges were created at UB... College B was the college of the creative arts... An interesting place for a pre-med with eclectic tastes in music and theater to live... Well, back in the dorm... In a drunken haze, two freshmen were talking during a sleepless night... The artist brags... He can paint anything, on anything... His room mate pulls out his favorite Dead album... Skull and Roses... Paint this... On that... He points to their circa 40's ridged refrigerator.... And the challenge was on... For three weeks... All this 18 year old did was work on making this amazing painting of a skeleton covered in roses on an old fridge... And when it was complete it was a masterpiece... How do I fit in with all of this... Well... I lived a few doors down, and I had gotten a summer job at school... So I was staying in the dorms for the summer... I was asked to watch their prized possesion, the amazing fridge, till they returned in the fall... Only problem... They spent so much time working on the fridge, they would both end up flunking out... With noone to return the fridge too, it was mine... And... I would end up being a Deadhead... Traveling to shows all over the east coast... I met other Deadheads at school... One of them... Became a room mate, and eventually introduced me to his fiance's best friend... We would be married for 25 years and she would be the mother of my kids... That fridge changed my life... Funny thing... The day I graduated from college... The electric chord disintegrated... I took it as a message from the spirits that this fridge was meant to remain in Buffalo... And so, I left the thing there... Not sure what ever happened to it... But... I thank those two drunk freshmen from the Spring of '75 for forever changing my life. Their crazy dare led to me learning to love the music... And thankfully, The Music never stopped... I will be in Charlottesville, in a couple of weeks, with my son... To see the Spring '09 tour... 34 years later... Still twirling to the sound of the Dead, and living for the magic of that feeling of belonging! Some times... we get shown the light... In the strangest of places.. If we look at it right...

Hi everyone; I'll keep it sort of short. My first show was Nassau Coliseum, November 2, 1979. My last, 89 shows later, was Giants Stadium, June 19, 1995. In between, I had kissed the sky, tasted the mud, swallowed the rain, and felt the joy of 10,000 hugs, 100,000 kisses, and 1,000,000 smiles that constituted a Grateful Dead concert. You all know why I'm here; I know why I'm here. But does everyone else? They should... My favorite place to visit here is going to be the 'Shows & Lyrics' section; I am going to comment on each and every show I attended and connect with those that were there with me. My heavens, I really miss the energy of walking in to a venue and feeling that anticipatory rush - is this going to be the night? Will they break out 'X'? Of course, there have been many, many times since then that I have felt that rush, but none like the way it was back then. but enough of the past; I'll see you all at the Garden on April 15th! Love to you all; let your lovelight shine! Gim

Yeah, like the subject line says, I meant April 25th at the Garden. Long live MSG! Gim

Hey Now~ So glad to be here!!!! And can't wait to get there!!! Greensboro April 12th. My last shows were RFK and I have missed the boys soooo much. I have cought a few Rat Dogs and Phil & Friends..and JGB's since Jerry passed but I miss it all the same! Being a part of such a wonderful community has made me the kind person that I am today and has paved a road for me to be a good mom, wife and friend! Man I had some crazy times....wow! Wouldn't change a thing! Thanks Jerry, I miss you! See you in the lots on Sunday!!!!! Peace~ Sweet Leaf ~

Hi, I'm Redtony23 in San Diego,CA. back in 1987 a few friends of mine told me about 'Dead shows but I was otherwise chemically occupied for another 14 years. I'm over that now, and only recently started to seek more serenity through 'real-life' means as opposed to foreign substances. I was amazed once I listened to the 'Dead channel on XM at how much more at peace I felt. I have a ticket for the Dead show in L.A. on May 9th and am wondering how to find any 'wharf-rats that might be there. Thank You and Hello!! Retony23

I just wanted to say HOWDY!! (most of my info is already on my profile- so I'll be brief! here!)I grew up n the deep South-Eastern US- and followed fragments of most of the tours through that area as of '87/'88- but, it wasn't until '88 that I actually WOKE UP and realized what a GREAT group of folks that I was associated with. (so forgive me for being a space nut for the first 2 years of my family-life.) I got better- - - but THEN it took me another 2 years to realize WHAT WAS GOING ON!!! ((it's possible that I'm a 'slow learner'- - -((the first days are the hardest ones-eh?)) - - -I was into the visuals and the Feeling of the magic going on- but, didn't believe that I could actually be a part of it. I was a tour-guy, but only as a tourist. (I used to make my own shirts to pay my way- which seemed fine until they started cracking down in the parking lots-- and I got the label 'BOOTLEGGER'--- (which sounds kinda cool- but, put me in jeopardy of actually 'GOING TO JAIL' <-- Now-- this is serious,-- I was using my own artwork but, by using the words 'Grateful Dead'- I was breaking their copyright- - - ----Long story short- the authorities sat me down and one brother leaned in and said the words that would change my life. He said, "Quite stealing from the band and work FOR the band". . . . Say Whuh??? The Grateful Dead wouldn't need 'MEEEE' -- they've already got hundreds of artists working for them- - - riiight? With the help of a magic phone number- anything is possible, and I ended up doing 5 venue shirts and the Fall Tour '94 design (BANJO) - before it all came to a screeching halt in '95. Turns out that wasn't he "END" (so to speak)- - - and Spring ''09 is giving us a brand new tour ---so it just goes to show that you can NEVER TELL- - -just gotta poke around.-- and keep livin' the life you love. So yeah-- I just wanted to say "HOWDY". Cheers Family!! ArtguyChuck (we are everywhere!!!)

Hi there! I am a 39-year-old male attorney and a nice guy who loves the Dead. I live in San Diego, CA. I have 2 VIP tickets to the May 9th show in LA, but none of my friends can go with me. Anyone want to join me (obviously we should meet at least once first). Please contact me if you are interested. I've never been to a Dead concert before and my drug days are long behind me, but I expect to have a fabulous time.

Howdy fellow fans, Very intersting to read the intros! Most of the most fun I have ever had in my life has been at Dead shows. I especially appreciate bonding with fellow starry eyed buddys when the Band hits those high and mighty strides. I read somewhere that a good Dead show is, by far, the happiest place on the planet at that moment. I don't doubt it a bit. The scene has influenced my life since the late 70's, for good or ill. I say "good or ill" because I've become pretty disgusted with the dark side of the whole Dead scene. Toward the end there were junkies passed out on the sidewalk, junkies convulsing on the sidewalk, junkies begging money and cigarretts and hits off my balloon. Ah, recall the summer reek of urine on a huge hot black asphalt parking lot? At my last Riverport show, while walking in the dark area between the stage and bathrooms, I almost fell flat smack on a friggin little baby that was laying on the grass while mom twirled 10 feet away. That's the show where I saw the stunted, impish, pointed eared and grinning creatures crawling on the scaffolding above the stage. Looked like dwarf Grinches. If you could see them, they knew it and would stop crawling and look you right in the eye and smile the smile of a fat, full leach. Um, hang on a second. Ok, I'm back. Well, I would like to meet some Dead fans here in southwest Michigan. Throw a frisbee or maybe I'll take you fishing? Stay the course.

Howdy fellow fans, Very intersting to read the intros! Most of the most fun I have ever had in my life has been at Dead shows. I especially appreciate bonding with fellow starry eyed buddys when the Band hits those high and mighty strides. I read somewhere that a good Dead show is, by far, the happiest place on the planet at that moment. I don't doubt it a bit. The scene has influenced my life since the late 70's, for good or ill. I say "good or ill" because I've become pretty disgusted with the dark side of the whole Dead scene. Toward the end there were junkies passed out on the sidewalk, junkies convulsing on the sidewalk, junkies begging money and cigarretts and hits off my balloon. Ah, recall the summer reek of urine on a huge hot black asphalt parking lot? At my last Riverport show, while walking in the dark area between the stage and bathrooms, I almost fell flat smack on a friggin little baby that was laying on the grass while mom twirled 10 feet away. That's the show where I saw the stunted, impish, pointed eared and grinning creatures crawling on the scaffolding above the stage. Looked like dwarf Grinches. If you could see them, they knew it and would stop crawling and look you right in the eye and smile the smile of a fat, full leach. Um, hang on a second. Ok, I'm back. Well, I would like to meet some Dead fans here in southwest Michigan. Throw a frisbee or maybe I'll take you fishing? Stay the course.

I don't know exactly what to write... I'm a pretty simple woman, so here is the story of how I just became a deadhead. I seem to have found out in 2009 that I am a deadhead. I suppose this could have happened long ago - people have long told me I would have made a great hippie and that I would love San Francisco, etc. But truth be told I didn't actually like the first Grateful Dead song I heard. Touch of Grey just had the vibe of the times sucking the spirit out of something cool - something I felt when I heard Kokomo by the Beach Boys as well. Enter then-boyfriend, jackass Tim, budding guitarist. One afternoon he played a Grateful Dead song for me. I didn't really listen to the words he softly sung that day, as I just wanted to make stuff up to the music. I think that ticked him off, but whatever. So... Tim skipped town, and left me alone and brokenhearted. Now I know I'm a moron for feeling this after the way he screwed me over, done me wrong (pick your bad cliche!), but a few weeks back I was missing him something fierce. And I thought of the song he played, only I hadn't paid attention and didn't know the name, so I cried a fair share because that tune was as lost to me as he was. Obsessive and clingy as I can be, I remembered another afternoon in his truck when he had to finish out the CD because the last song was Truckin' and he was a truck driver. So, I picked up American Beauty because that song was on there and would remind me of him. I played the disc through, and to my surprise Tim's song was Ripple, right smack in the middle of the album, and not lost to me after all. In a way it feels as if Tim left me in better hands than his. I was reading the liner notes and saw a picture of Pigpen and thought he looked kinda hot and definitely interesting. And in the course of reading more I learned about his story and well, that gives me pause when I get start to get a little too wallowy in self-pity. So I've been playing a bit of Pigpen's blues when I am blue (youtube is so wonderful), and listen to Jerry Garcia's sweet guitar when I'm feeling hopeful. But when I'm blue I can now see that maybe I can do something with it. See, I never even liked the blues until I had the blues. I discovered this when I was alone in Memphis on Valentine's Day after my fiance Randy died and I heard it blaring from the jukebox. It was only after I could relate that I could appreciate that sometimes you just have to let stuff out. So where does this leave me? I suppose a lot of Deadheads think back to some magical moment when they caught on. Me - a jackass threw me under the Deadhead bus as it were. But I found my way on all the same, and I surprise myself that the music has awoke in me again. In the past few weeks, I've picked up my guitar for the first time since before Randy died, and every time I come over to the new place I start singing Ripple (I'm in the process of moving... ugh - can't wait to be done!). As a teenager I always wanted to go to a Grateful Dead show for the people-watching even though I knew nothing about the music. But I put it off because I thought I would have time in college and then Jerry died. So I'm super thrilled that now that I actually get the music I'll be going to my first show in Chicago on May 5. I even bought an extra ticket so that I can either make a new friend or just make somebody's day in the parking lot. Well... that's enough for today. Boy I can be wordy sometimes. Love, Steph

My name is Ken, I've been jumpin' around the site for a while and figured this would be a good time to introduce myself. I live in Boston now, but when I was still a teen I hung out with a guy that always spoke about the dead, the only thing I knew about them was my older sister had what I know now as "long strange trip" before 8 tracks were extinct. I knew a bit about music like santana, airplane, allmans, hendrix ect, and heard very little of them on the radio. I didnt quite know what to make of them, then when he played st.stephen from a live show he had, I pushed my way on the bus. My first show was 10/9/84 in Worcester, Mass. when we got there I felt right at home. I was really amazed, this wasnt a concert this was an event. I wanted more. I had been a long time fan of the beatles and when the encore was revolution my mind was blown. My last Jerry show was highgate 95, With many great memories and shows in between,The scene of course had changed alot since my first show, and even in boston it seems there are less heads than back 20 years ago. I went to Penn state to see the boys back in oct. where for part of the show I was in the uppers, then behind the rythym devils for the rest. Billy was a riot, pretending like he was scared to jump off the stage and all. I look forward to the 2 shows in Worcester this year making it almost just about 25 years ago at the same venue when this beautiful journey began. Look forward to seeing Y'all soon."peace is ONLY idealistic to those who believe it to be so" Peace, Love and Hugs,

Hey All, Tammy from Philly, PA here, 78 days sober, my 1st sober show will be in Philly Sat May 2nd and i'm nervous, looking for wharfrats to help me stay sober and dance the night away. Please contact me so i don't have to sell my ticket out of fear, i had to give up all of my ppl, places and things. Jazzkittenpoet@yahoo.com

Hey all, Dustin from Wilkes-Barre, PA here......It's been along time 87-92 since I have been around the scene or the music.....Couldn't pass up the chance not to see the dead in my own back yard....There has been alot bad buzz about this venue and why they picked it, but I assure you it will be a cool time for all....The town is great and has alot of following. If anyone needs help getting around or help in general let me know.....This is going to really bring back some memories from a long time ago.....

My sweetie Greg and I will be going to our first Dead concert on May 9th at the Forum in Inglewood [LA]. I told him that I wanted to give him a new experience in sobriety for his birthday this year, and the experience was going to be our first Wharf Rats meeting ;-). [Him-sober 7 years and counting; me-sober 6 years and counting.] I don't really know what to expect, of course, and will venture over to the Wharf Rats section to get suitably educated, but wanted to wave hello here. *waves hello* My mom died a little over a year ago and for about 5 months I worked on an assemblage piece based on Box of Rain that got me through the bulk of my grief. For that song alone I will be forever grateful to Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter. Cheers, Nancy "Today we're going to teach poodles to fly."-Raul Hernandez, UHF

Howdy gang. Just got in from the DC show and my short and to the point review of that is: "I went in with an open mind and low expectations and I walked out with a big smile on my face and pep in my step..." I'm male, 42, I am a live music addict and a recovering Phish head (joke). I started to see the Dead in the 1980's and lost a bit of my love soon after Brent passed, and really fell out of touch after Jerry passed. I have worked in the music industry and had the great pleasure of working with some the Dead's crew and staff on the 1997 Further Festival with the band moe. I have no idea how many shows I have seen, never cared to count. Seen shows all over the country and thought I'd poke my head in here and say hello. Tonight's show in DC was a whole lot of fun for me, some great playing all around mixed in with some mistakes and a lot of new ways to look at old songs. I have to admit that the players that stood out to me tonight were the back line, the drummers, man did they smoke tonight, I was also really impressed with Warren and Jeff as well. Not to take anything away form Bobby or Phil, but Jeff and Warren really fit in nicely with the other guys. It was nice to see Wavy Gravy up on stage for set 2, he was dancing in his chair and had a big smile on his face. Tipper Gore on drums! Anyway, Hello everyone! Thanks for this little piece of heaven in our mixed up world. Peace! Brendan