Grateful Dead

I had just barely missed working on the '89 New Year's show due to a snowstorm in New Mexico during our move out to northern California from Alabama to work for a special effects company pretty close to Bill Graham from the early days. I spent the earlier part of the day setting up pyro for the Red Hot Chili Peppers over at the Cow Palace, for their New Year's show, and then finagled my way into working the Dead show by the afternoon. I had actually had a dream while dozing in Ohio around the summer of '86 that I was somehow high above Bob Weir, and looking directly down at him from an impossible audience angle, but it was very clear and could not have been anything else. This day, I was high up in the support structure of the Oakland Coliseum, stringing flash powder airbursts for the midnight pyro shots of the concert. I had been working on a tugboat out on San Francisco Bay with two fireworks barges for the Columbus Day fireworks in San Francisco, when I learned of Bill Graham's spectacular helicopter crash on a little grainy pictured rabbit ears tv in the crew room, and this was to be the last New Year's Eve show because the band only did it for Bill - they preferred to be home with their families on New Year's Eve. I ended up in the security pit right in front of the stage on Phil's side all the time until midnight. Airto was performing and I was astonished when Mountain Girl walked up and was waiting for a moment before going up on the stage, and started to light a cigarette. I stopped her and said, (or yelled) "There's pyro here and if you light that we are both likely to be blown to the next county!" She laughed and patted me on the back, and then climbed the steps to the stage and went over to Jerry's side. It was an incredible experience with the sheer energy of the crowd behind me, and the band roaring away at full throttle just a few feet away. Does anyone remember the wall of big red flames across the stage, and the boom of the silver sparkles way up high above? I sure do. But, as soon as the pyro was shot off at midnight, I turned into a pumpkin and had to go 80 feet above the stage and start pulling wire and striking the gear from the rigging. At one point I was looking directly down over Bobby's head, and then I remembered the dream. What a long, strange trip it had been! They sounded like the worst garage band in the world up there, but when I left that night, someone had written "I Love You" in the dew on the side of my old Ford van, in those spooky sort of disappearing style letters. I had a 100 mile drive home, but it was magic of the first order that I will never forget.

My miracle ticket!

I had the luck of timing on my side that year and caught the whole new year's and Halloween runs, and sat 5th row at POLO Grounds for the memorial. While my favorite show will always be 06-08-1990, just for the sheer dominance of Garcia's playing that night, I will never argue that as entire show's go, this one takes the cake. The Dark Star and Other One->WR are legendary. Everything was in sych with the guys, even Vince was possesed. this.beginning really when they played He's Gone 3 nights before (greatest emotionally driven solo I ever saw him play, and I was at Death Don't Have when they busted it in Sept, which is a very close second.) This tape is my Catcher in the Rye for music, and Halloween is my Abbey Road, whatever that means to you :) What a Time!