Raceway Park - September 3, 1977

"Take a Step Back" before "Half Step" - the Dead left the stage for a few minutes after Samson - last "Truckin": 09-28-75 [77] - FM broadcast WNEW-New York - also: Marshall Tucker; NRPS

setlist

Promised Land
They Love Each Other
Me and My Uncle
Mississippi Half-Step
Looks Like Rain
Peggy-O
New Minglewood Blues
Friend of the Devil
Music Never Stopped

Bertha
Good Lovin'
Loser
Estimated Prophet
Eyes of the World
Samson and Delilah
He's Gone
Not Fade Away
Truckin'

Terrapin Station

show date

Fri, 09/02/1977 - 17:00

Venue

Raceway Park

dead comment

This was my first Dead show

This was my first Dead show ! It probably was for many other's as well! I had seen Jerry and Kingfish a couple of times but this was my first show w/ the whole band Rogue

My first as well>>>the start

My first as well>>>the start of something very special was about to brgin....Peace, Zott

I learned what not to do......on a 100 degree day

Should not have taken that acid the nite before.... had no supplies water ,food ,etc 6am or so standing outside in a field of freaks,kept hearing the band playing w/o us WTF. Turned out they would'nt hit the stage until about 12 hrs. later NRPS,Tucker all fine and dandy, by the time the Dead started I could'nt tell you my own name.Decided to catch the 2nd set a top the polish railroad .Had to finally call it a nite at the NFA just had nothing left. LESSON LEARNED !

englishtown

Will Englishtown ever recover? It took me awhile! What a show, what a way to get on the bus.

...this is how it all began.

This wasn't my first show, but this was how it all began for me... I didn't really know who the Dead were in Sept 1977, but a few months after this show I got my first tapes from a deadhead friend of mine - Englishtown! Being my first tapes they got a lot of play time...and i GOT IT one night while listening to eyes... As my tape collect increased, the Englishtown tapes always remained a favorite of mine and when I spent a year backpacking around the world, my Englishtown tapes came with me (long before the days of iPod or even CD's). The significance of this show for me doesn't end there, in fact it grows. In 1992 on rec.music.gdead, a fellow deadhead was requesting a copy of her first show (9-3-77, this was before there were any Dick's Picks)...and it was as result of this tape trade that I met my future wife!!! ...so, as far as I'm concerned there is no better show than this one...and Eyes of the World is out of this world.

Rogue

Third Eye Opened

I was there to see Marshall Tucker Band. The bus came by and I got on. Went away to college the next week and hooked up with some heads, and the rest is history.

Uh... We're going to go get some salt tablets. Or something...

A magical show. The Mississippi Half-Step alone makes me cry almost every time I hear it. Two small fun moments missing from the Dick's Picks of this show: o In the first set Bobby saying something to the crowd along the lines of, "We just got word that some people are trying to tear down our speaker towers, and, uh, you can't be doing that." o As noted, in the second set after Sampson Bobby said something such as, "Uh... we're going to go get some salt tablets. Or something," and the band left the stage for a bit! Yay! Total meltdown! Twitchy note -- I've heard the audience tapes and the Dick's Pick of this show, and while the clarity on the DP is superior, the MIX on the tape is MUCH better. I have clear memories of Jerry being VERY loud during the spectacular Good Lovin', and in the DP everyone is mixed "evenly". Remember kids: tapes lie! BTW, take a moment to read the great liner notes from the DP of this show -- written by the kids of the local newspaper editor -- they had never been to a Dead show, and the parts that they seemed to like best were Truckin' (since they recognized THAT one) and some guys they met who let them have a sip of their beer! Glen

HOT time @ Raceway Park!!!

I remember hanging out in an ice truck during the day. This is my favorite show to listen to. What a Grateful Day. NRPS were good, the MTB were awful, and the Dead were electric! But boy it was F---ing HOT!

9/3/77

My first show...HOT as balls that day...Remember it taking a long to find the car after the show..... Great Eyes of the World.... Ansd so the long trip begins.....

Yup, I was there

It sure was hot. They had closed the roads. Me and my sister hitchhiked to a store. Two motorcycles picked us up since there were no cars moving. The only thing to drink on the shelves were some sort of sugar juice. The only thing in the local package store was vodka...so we drank sugar water and vodka all weekend. A lady behind us had a baby that day...(a boy). I haven't been the same since. Ciao

First show as well

I had heard a few tunes on the radio, anyone remeber WLIR, but was totally unprepared for the change that was going to take place in my life. Parked what seemed like miles away and played frisbee until time to get in. At some point they turned on the hoses and I think that saved alot of people.

Hottest Day of the year & my 1st show

Tripped the day before, I had a healthy supply of these monster green blotters months later they were cut in half & re-named 1/2 moons lol. I defeinitely didn't want to trip again so I scored some dexadrine's from a local we barterwed and aprox 45 mins after I consumed three of them I concluded I got beat so I took 2 hits of the mean green & low & behold not 5 minutes passed before I felt the ups. Hold on I told myself you're in for one helluva ride. I had to leave between the The Riders & Tucker. I was so sunburnt that this old couple called me into their home, let me shower , gave me a clean tee-shirt and put aloe from an a plant on their widow sill all over my face and shoulders. Back to the show, it did cool off quite a bit by the time the Dead appeared on stage but I'll never forget my 1st show thats for dam sure.

ahhh

My seventeenth summer..and my first Dead show....great to read all the reminiscing....i remember the heat...i remember the hoses and the hoses causing a mudbog in front of the portapotties...the music was stellar..... and grooving half naked was peaceful.......this is my first time here....does someone REALLY have the music from THIS concert??? i would LOVE to get that tape/cd/whatever.........peace~K

Great Time Had By All

I had friends working the gates that let us bring in our coolers filled with beer. Thanks again Billy, one of the Glassboro State good old boys. The security had been working long hours through the night without much rest and food. Once they started to let people in I found my buddy's gate, all the security guys wanted was food and water for themselves, they were starving. They were very happy that we shared our food with them and they let us bring in two big coolers filled with beer! I remember the Marshall Tucker Band being very good and loud. Some of my friends who had never seen the Dead were doubtful that the Dead could out do the Tuckers. Well the boys TURNED UP THE VOLUME once they came on, it made the Tuckers sound like a bar band. Great show, lots of fun but basically no sleep for 2 days in the blistering heat, with the Dead playin what else could you ask for! Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile :-))

1rst show

I've been to great concerts since this one, but have NEVER had a concert experience like Englishtown. the sound was spectacular, especially once the sun went down. It was really hot, and the people at the (limited) concession stands were REAL slow, which wasn't great, but I remember the good stuff more. And wading through the sea of bottles on the way out..... BTW, I agree about the comment from gleng1 about the tape mix. I recorded the show a year later on WMMR (Philly), and I like that mix better than DP's. DP's is still VERY nice to have, but I was a bit disappointed with the mix. Lost a little bit of the overall feel of the show.

Ditto

This also marked the time when I got on the bus. I remember driving past hordes of people walking up the road from miles away to get to the railroad car lined venue. We stopped at a little store about a mile out and bought a case of Heineken ( at about 6 a.m.) and driving right up to the venue and parking. We purchased some blond going in and the three of us settled into a small spot about 40 yards out from Jerry's side of the stage. Watching the helicopter witht he steal your face logo coming in was very cool. The first set was really hot right from the start...probably never a better Half Step and when Phil slapped that funky base line to open the second set with Music Never Stopped we all new we were in for a great ride. For a time jerry really loved that Travis Bean he was playing. I remember trucking all the way around the venue to find our car during Trucking and catching the Terripin ourside so we could beat the traffic. What better way to enjoy a hot, sunny late summer afternoon when one was a teenager from Maryland. What exit was that again? Rossboy777

My First Show

And one of my favorites.

First Show

First show and first trip..... What a time..... Stayed up all night just watching people come in......Good times... good beer... good wine... GOOD GOD.... I WAS HOOKED FOR LIFE!!!!!

I built the stage and the 12 delay sound towers with Dan Healy

We worked for John Scher/MONARCH ENTETAINMENT back in the day.We got there two weeks before the show to begin the construction of the immense stage and sound delay towers. We were right on schedule. Chip (the stage crew chief) got busted for tripping the day of the show. Maybe somebody dosed him. Par for the course. Frank Stedlter took over and did a great job. What a great group of guys working with us. We never had so much fun, and what a show. The New Riders of the Purple Sage, Marshall Tucker Band, and the Grateful Dead.. If anyone wants to share memories Sept 3rd, 1977 shoot me and email. Don Gaess at this address: LimousineOne@aol.com. That gig got me a job touring with the Dead. Jerry Garcia was a true gentleman, friend, and in my opinion...a musical genius. Bob, Billy, Mickey, Keith and Donna were amazing to be around back in the day. The music couldn't have been better. (We ain't never had too much fun). Many thanks to all the tour support people that made these shows happen, and to the fans. Special thanks to Ramrod and to his family (condolences) and to Steve Parrish. Hello to Dan Healy wherever you are! High five Dan ;-) Thanks for everything ;-) Visit www.archive.org to hear all the shows.

Great show but too damm hot

I found myself at one point way up front just getting crushed! Had to get away, finally found a shady spot couldn't see anything, but the sounds were some of the best.What a day!

My Englishtown experience

We started out 4 Oclock in the morning, 2 bus loads and about 6-8 car loads of friends. My girlfriend at the time, and I each ate about 3-4 hits of tee to start out. When we arrived, we paid some homeowner $10.00 to park on his front lawn. The whole track was encircled by tractor trailers and the Hell's Angels were on top of the tractor trailers and at the gate as the security for the show. During the day, it was about 100 Degrees, and the only way to get water, was to walk thru knee deep mud.We parked ourselves right in front of the stage. You couldn't get on the stage because there was chain-linked fence to hold the fans back. When the New Riders came on, we had just ate some qualudes and started the party off the right way. And we had about a quarter-pound of Gold for the day. The day when great. Then, we see fans walking around with this makeshift cross, with a cows skull on top, with a sign that read, "We Need LSD". Out of nowhere, this guy walks up to us dressed as the Keep on Truckin" man, with and old man's mask on. He was selling Red Dragonfly acid. Well, when the dead came on, that's when everything got interesting, and crazy.!!! What a party! The Marijunna laws were suspended in New Jersey for the day, and the Jersey Turnpike was stopped from all the traffic that had backed up on it. The Dead played the very best outdoor show I have ever attended. I will never ever forget that show. The one scary thing though, my girlfriend at the time, that did all those drugs with us, is now a Brain Surgeon. How scary is that???? And, myself, along with a few other close friends, all went on to have successful careers, and are now retired. But, if the Dead ever decided to get together again, I will be attending, no matter how old I get.

Raceway Park,Englishtown, NJ 9/3/77

Five of us drove down from Waterbury, CT , three drove back. When we arrived at about 3am the road was jammed and we abandened my car in the road. Scooter and Kurt went ahead to the gates -- that's the last we saw of them for a couple of days. We found our spot, 20 yards or so from the stage, "dead" center, and relaxed on a blanket and Igloo cooler. As the morning progressed,an announcement told all those people who left their cars in the road to move them before they are towed, so Kurt an I left Dan to protect the space while we moved the car. My '70 Nova sat all alone in the road by the time we got there, and some kind soul let me park on his lawn for ten bucks or so. When we returned to the blanket there was a sea of people behind us. An amazing day. Scooter and Kurt hitched home, we shared our stories. There's nothing like a Grateful Dead concert. Peace

addendum to Raceway Park,Englishtown,NJ 9/3/77

It was Karl who accompanied me to get the car while Dan patiently waited for us to return. N.R.P.S. hit the stage as we returned. Marshall Tucker cooked also, and The Dead were magical. "What a long strange trip it's been."

9-3-77

An amazing first show! In tune with the Movie, people were selling bumper stickers that said "There is nothing like a Grateful Dead Concert". By the end of the nite, I understood. It was nice what Jerry said at break-time- "Don't anybody go anywhere, we'll be right back". I don't think many of the 125,000 went anywhere.

My 64 impala overheated and

My 64 impala overheated and had to park 5 miles away. It was f-ing hot and I was 100,000 people away from the stage. The sound sucked during the New Rider and Marshall Tucker. It was actually affected by the wind as the sound came from the relay towers. The sun started to go down and the Dead came on. Suddenly all was good. The wind stopped blowing and the Sound was GREAT! I thought the dead put on Mediocre shows at the Tower the year before and I was a little jaded. This show blew me away! Jerry was on fired and the jams were awesome. My best friend and I ran into someone we new who had a lot of weed :) Remember laying back on a blanket - looking at the stars and listening to the most amazing Eyes of the World...a night I will never forget.

Our first show together!

I had seen them out West, and my new wife Donna, had been to Woodstock, but this was our first show together. Everyone had to discard their booze at the gates and each one had a collection of totally soused die-hards determined to drink it all. There was the usual naked guy who ran screaming through the crowd, and some character who would throw people's Frisbees over the stage, and out of sight forever. John Shear, the promoter, opened by snorting something about crooked ass-hole politicians who had tried to stop him. Marshall Tucker was great, and the NRPS played their song and a few others, but in the evening, the Dead's magic made it all worthwhile. Oh yeah, Donna and I are still together after 30+ years, four kids, and countless shows. If only the boys still were!

This show was also the first

This show was also the first of a succession of GD outdoor Labor Day extravaganzas. In 78 was Giants Stadium, in 79 was Rochester, and in 80 was Lewiston Fairgrounds.Nothing in 81, but in early September 82 was the US Festival.

Mississippi Halfstep = Perfection

Although I was still a glimmer in the eyes of my parents in 1977, I feel like I was there everytime I hear this beautiful version of Mississippi Halfstep. Not only is is one of the EPIC versions the band played of any song....it displays the uncanny ability of the band to reinvent songs that youve heard hundreds of times. It only takes 1 note of inspiration for the song to take off on a whole new, fascinating direction, and thus is one of the most played songs in my collection.

Girls taking their tops off, oh my my

I remember standing in line the whole time Marshall Tucker was on stage to get a pack of cigs. Guys in front of me and my friends passed a joint around that tasted funny. After a few hits I asked what the stuff was. They said it was angle dust. The stage was melting the rest of the show. I had done just about every drug under the sun, but never dust. Do remember the heat and girls taking off their tops. One of my many great shows

Mother of All Firsts!

First show; first dose. The Dead have been following me around ever since!I grew up in Freehold, so it was like a field trip home for me to go to Englishtown, as I used to frequent the flea market there on Saturday mornings. If I remember correctly, they sold 40,000 tix and 150,000 showed up. I still remember when the people came over the trailers that surrounded the "stadium" - it looked like water flowing into a bowl. We had our blanket spread out, lounging comfortably with our various picnic baskets of goodies spread out... and then in a matter of seconds there was nary enough room for us to sit down. Marshall Tucker sounded just like on the record, to the extent that they even faded their songs out. NRPS were just awesome. And of course my first Dead show ever was just that - the first of many! I do remember that they confiscated all glass bottles on the way in, and on the way out (a lifetime later!) we all had to walk over crunching glass on the way out. We carried two of our friends who had lost their shoes. I can still attest that the finding of our car after the show was a complete miracle! "The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer." - Ken Kesey

grate venue!

yes this also was my first of many dead shows and this column brings back many flashbacks! all true and an all night, all day, all night weekend. there was a child born at the show and was wondering if anyone knows this person? glad to have found this site. thank you

Long Strange Miracle Trip

My buddy and I hitchhiked our way down to this show from Kutztown State College, w/o any tickets and hoping to meet our friend who had our tickets. Also attending the show from K-Town was a good party friend of ours - some guy named Keith Haring - who had made a slew of t-shirts featuring what was to become his trademark curlicues inside a "steal your face" type skeleton. He took a different journey than us, but lo and behold, not only did we find the guy who had our tickets on the road to the raceway among the mass of humanity, but we also found Keith and helped him to sell his shirts. I still have one of them - which he unfortunately did not sign (whe knew what he was to become as he was only a Kutztown High School kid at the time). I fortunately did get a little drawing he had done titled "Cosmic Charlie" which he did sign. I only found it recently and hope to get it appraised some day.It was a stupendous show w/ NRPS (Charlie Daniels not so much) and the Dead putting on a great show as detailed above. Definitely a trip to remember all my days!

First Concert

I had ever seen in my young life, an unforgettable experience...arriving before dawn & taking a party ride on an open flatbed truck into the dark unknown. Following along with the singing crowd to our campsite, waking up with the surise & the sight massive speaker towers. Alone & lost after a walk to the ladies room...many thanks to the kind water truck driver who let me sit on the cab roof above the crowds to watch & wait to be found. Reuniting with friends, enjoying true freedom that a first concert experience can only bring...... I am so grateful it was the Dead that turned me onto it.

First of many shows!

I pulled into the parking lot the night before with many cases of beer and alot of ice. Whoops...forgot the cooler. No problem put the beer in the trunk and poored ice on top. Stayed cold until we finished the last one early in the morning. Entered the show and wow there were a lot of people. I remember smoking a bowl during Tucker and the wooden bowl burst into flames from too many hours of burning. Later turned aroung to find that close to us was my buddy's (who was with me) cousin sitting only 4 people away. Unbelievable because there were soo many people there. The Dead rocked the night away! At some point I remember a pregnant lady going into labor and being lifted by helicopter. The band stopped playing and told everyone to take one step back....and another....and another. The crowd was pushing the fence in front of the stage and people were getting crushed. It seemed like tens of thousands of people moved back at once. That is the way I remember it.......or maybe it was the acid? Who knows but the show was AWSOME. Left the show and drove to Sandy Hook were we found some sand to sleep on. I was so happy to find the show on Dick's Picks. The first show of more than 30!

this was my first show and

this was my first show and I'll never forget the wild and crazy time we had. Had to walk for miles as RTE. 9 and Texas RD. was shut down. Left home friday and didn't get home till sunday. beautiful trip for life. THANKS MARK for turning me on to the dead.

I remember

the event. I grew up in Jersey but I was 14 when this happened and my parents said, "No." I didn't get to my first show until two years later, but many of my friends went and the utter chaos of the event made the news...

To eyes 88...

Thanks for sharing that. Beautiful story. God bless you and your wife!

The Show of a lifetime!

Although I was there to see the Grateful Dead most of all, I was set adrift in a parallel universe by the entire show. In all this time, few shows have had the effect this event had. It will surely be one of those things that flashes before eyes as I go to meet my Maker.

My first show also

The hippie scene just smoked me...then i believe they were playing The Music never stopped and all 400k in attendance got up and started dancing....(I seem to recall it being Dancing in the streets) LOL,.....

englishtown 1977

The most memorable thing about the show was the piles of garbage on the way out. It was like climbing a MT. EVEREST OF BEER CANS AND PINT BOTTLES. The show was a blur and the heat was immense. I think the band was amazed a the amount of people that made it their and I was more amazed we made it out of New Jersey without getting arrested. A great day of fun and wish I could turn back the hands of time and do it once again.

raceway park 77 englishtown nj

I was there. It kicked ass. I lived in Lakewood. I was 17. We partied in Bricktown. all night and then ate breakfast at Trotters and Pacers Diner on Rte 9 in Freehold at about 6 AM before heading to the track. People were sitting on the hood of Zebras white Newport as we slowly crept towards the parking area. Home owners were selling bottled water and parking spaces in their yards. The concert area was completely over run and almost filled to capacity before the ticket people even got there. Somebody died that day and a woman gave birth and was airlifted out. It was like Woodstock. Even though there werent nearly that many tickets sold, it was estimated by local media at the time that over 300,000 people converged on the area. How come this web site only mentions 2 other bands New Riders and Marshall Tucker? J Geils was there also. In fact , they were late getting there and circled overhead in the chopper waving at the crowd when they finally arrived. What a show. What an experience. Masybe because of my still youthful age, but an experience of a lifetime that Ill never forget. I have the concert on hard disc and still love to listen to it. Im so glad I got to see Jerry before his untimely death. I think about this show when ever I hear Patchwork Quilt by Govt Mule which Warren Haynes wrote while on tour with the Allman Bros many years ago immediately upon heaqring of Garcias death. It was personal and he never intended to record it but ended up contributing it to Phil Lesh and Friends when he was still playing lead guitar for that band prior to Jimmy Herring. This Englishtown concert was one of the highlights of my youth.

J. Giles?

I don't recall J. Giles being a part of the show. Peace

J. Giles

No J Giles at this show. But there was more weird shit than at anything I've attended before or since.

T shirts....???

Anybody remember the "Marshall Dead" t-shirts??? Wish I still had mine..

My Favorite Show Became A Bittersweet Memory

Yes, as I've often posted on other forums - this was my favorite show of all the Dead concerts I attended. Musically, was it the best? I couldn't tell you. But I had the best time I'd ever had at a Dead concert that day! My friend Rob and I drove out to Englishtown from Manhattan together that morning, armed with a massive cooler of beer and an assortment of other recreational toys. We hooked up with a trio of nice ladies who were similarly equipped and the five of us laughed and danced our asses off all day and well into the night. I did a lot of fun things with Rob over the years, but that day was just special. Robbie died in the spring of 1982, in a terrible car accident. He managed to save the life of his passenger, but he couldn't save himself. He was my friend and I miss him terribly. I want to go back to that perfect day in '77, to enjoy just hanging out with him one more time and to tell him how much I love him. I was a 20 year old kid, having the time of my life with my best friend and about a hundred thousand new pals. It's tough to top that. "When it comes to humility, I'm the greatest!" - Bullwinkle Moose

theres band out on the highway

Went not knowing what to expect. Left knowing to expect I would never be the same.

this was a show in my

this was a show in my backyard, and the 8 of us were there the night before and were one of the first ones in. A lot of my friends (including my closest friend from HS) from my hometown were there for Tucker (some took PCP and fried in that sun. It was 95* out by the time the Riders came on at around 11am). We finally rescued them, how we came across them in that crowd was pure luck, but they provided us with laughs the whole day. The Magnificent 8 were in fine form. Enjoyed MTB (I was digging their music at the time, and they were a nice warmup to the Dead along with the Riders) but we were there for the heavyweight main event - the Dead were going to play not more than 5 miles from my house. Dropped mid afternoon, and just grooved with my friends. We did the big green blotter which was nice and a walk in the park (unlike the Sunshine barrels). Just a nice stoned groove, where we danced and laughed. Sun went down probably around the set break and what a night was to follow. I'll always remember the 1/2 Step, the Eyes was just unbelievable and we rocked with the band to NFA>GDTRFB. Just an amazing Labor Day weekend.

home- town security

Hitch-hiked from Tennessee to this show because we had no gas money. HAD to make it- it was right where I grew up and watched cars go fast when I was little. The D.A. and cops were stirring up shit in the days before, trying to cancel the show and saying they couldn't guarantee anyone's safety, Hell's Angels would be there, etc. Fuck em, the show went on; but the promoters were so nervous that they hired a bunch of people off the street as "security"! We got hired a couple days before the show as we were driving out in front of the place. We stood by the front gate until we heard the music start, then we deserted our post for the gig. Two weeks later I got a check in Tennessee for $75. Thanks, John Scher Productions!

On Stage Pass

I just found from this date: GD, Marshall Tucker Band, NRPS so it says.....think I took it off the refrigerator @ Winterland (the building was going to be closed), since I didn't go to this one......:)))

Show Archive

Raceway Park - September 3, 1977
"Take a Step Back" before "Half Step" - the Dead left the stage for a few minutes after Samson - last "Truckin": 09-28-75 [77] - FM broadcast WNEW-New York - also: Marshall Tucker; NRPS

setlist

Promised Land
They Love Each Other
Me and My Uncle
Mississippi Half-Step
Looks Like Rain
Peggy-O
New Minglewood Blues
Friend of the Devil
Music Never Stopped

Bertha
Good Lovin'
Loser
Estimated Prophet
Eyes of the World
Samson and Delilah
He's Gone
Not Fade Away
Truckin'

Terrapin Station

Official Photos

Ticket Stubs

Looking high, looking low. We'll try to find what you're looking for but in the meantime why not check out these sections of Dead.net?

Concert Photos

https://www.dead.net/archives/1977/photos/grateful-dead-2

Grateful Dead

Sep 03

1977

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Sep 03

1977

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Bigcatz1

5 years 9 months ago

First Show Ever
Eigth grade had just started and my friend Ed who was going into his senior year brought me. Lied to my parents. Now look at the state I am in........
dedhed1959

6 years ago

Englishtown, NJ
My 18th Birthday! My 2nd show.
srdill

7 years 2 months ago

Worked A Concession Stand
A friend from 2d grade and frat brother walks into the Lehigh U. Beta Theta Pi dining room on Thursday and yells, "Anyone want to work a concession stand at a Dead concert this weekend?" I was up in a flash; so began a mythical voyage. We both lived in New Jersey near Englishtown, so we packed the car with two other frat brothers that night and headed home. After some sleep, we took off with my younger brother and one of his buddies in tow, getting to the "stadium" parking in the late afternoon. None of us had gone to drag races there, but we knew this wall of long-haul trailers was not the drag track. We passed through an overlap and stopped in awe at the size of the open field before us. The relay towers were massive structures and the distance from the stage to the back wall looked like a mile. We checked in and were told our stand was the closest to the stage, on the right facing the stage. We spent all evening setting up, stopping for dinner in front of the stage to watch the bands run their sound checks. The Dead were last and they kept practicing Truckin' forever to get something right. We didn't understand the significance of them rehearsing that song. About midnight I stretched out in the back of a bread truck to grab some sleep, the gates were supposed to open at 9 AM.

At four in the morning, I was awakened and told that the gates had been opened and the truck needed to be moved. As I stood on the back bumper I looked toward the entry and already a sea of people had begun walking across toward the stage, only their heads and shoulders visible above the slight rise in the middle of the field.

It took an hour or more before anyone found us and much longer before anyone ordered anything. The heat started to pick up well before noon. When the New Riders came on we were thankful that we had a trailer full of ice behind us with the doors opening toward the stage. Each of us in the stand took turns on ice duty, standing in the open trailer chipping blocks of ice and watching the show in air-conditioned comfort.

As the day went on everyone who brought their own drinks ran out and we were getting mobbed with people needing hydration and refreshment. The hoses were nearby were the only source of water (this was well before the age of bottled water – we were only selling soda), making the area out in front of us a muddy field. The heat did not abate, the mass of people standing in front of us waiting got larger, people began throwing $20 bills at us and we were tossing 6-packs of cold soda out into the general area where the crumpled bill came from. Everyone on the ground in front of us was cool, but the pace was manic and those of us at the window kept looking at each other as we collected garbage bags full of paper money.

Then the Dead came on. We had been oblivious to how long they took after MTB wrapped their set, the constant press of the crowd had been going for almost 6 hours now. But the second we heard Scher introduce the Dead the energy of everyone in that space changed. With the first notes of "Promised Land" everyone was smiling and moving toward the stage as if being pulled by magnets. My recall of the next three hours is sketchy at best. We eventually ran out of anything liquid, the pressure to serve the next body at the window was relieved, and I was toast. I do remember that I had heard the Terrapin album for the first time just weeks before and hearing the first chords of it I immediately took a break and stood up high in the ice trailer to watch them close out the show in a magical way.

After the concert, we had to clean up, run the remaining huge bags of money to the Winnebago that was the office for the concessionaire, and make our way back across the bomb zone that was the now-empty field to find our cars. It took hours to get on the highway and we got home as the sun was coming up. What a long, strange trip *THAT* was!