Grateful Dead

Kind of a cold October night. A couple of friends and I hustled to the show after high school football practice. We were way up behind the stage looking down on the rest of the crowd. My first Looks Like Rain - which is still a Favorite.

I decided to buy a last minute ticket at the old Ticketron box office in Penn Station, and rent a car and get out to the Meadowlands. My last show previous to this night was the opening show at Radio City in 1980. Drive out to Jersey, and I am so excited to be seeing The Dead... For a last minute ticket... I have a great seat, Jerry's side...about half-way up in the stands... Smoking hash... lights go down...and out walks the boys... Jerry is in Red, and I was stunned by his weight and skin color... and stage demeanor. His voice changed... That was the first time I even considered that the day would come that there would no longer be Dead shows... Thinking back, I think that after attending this show, I subsequently always appreciated each show I attended over the next few years...

My first show, Neil, and I had the same reaction. I had been listening to the Dead for a while and seen pics, but from my seat (roughly same as yours, maybe a few rows further back) I was shocked. Still a great show.

yup this was it I think I remember the Iko Iko opening wow

Though I caught The Jerry Garcia Band a couple of months earlier on August 11 at the Caldwell College (for girls i believe) in NJ, this was my first true dead show. Having been introduced to them a few years earlier, I was familiar with the music and culture, but experiencing it in person was eye opening.

Home base for us. First time I heard slipknot. Smoking weed with a dude named Jay. Holy shit. Jay what was that? Anyway. I remember playing bongo durms in the parking lot, but never played them before. Each show is getting more strange. I love it. I still miss that Sugar Maginola chick from Hampton early this year. Im still looking for ya. God damn Jay that weed kept me busy for 2 days. Lesson learend never smoke weed with Jay. Great show boys.

And to be honest, it wasn't very good. Jerry was in very poor health. But I was 16 and they was I saw it was, A Grateful Dead with a one foot in the grave Jerry Garcia was still more interesting than any of the crap MTV was trying to shove down my throat