The Super-Cool Deadhead Thread

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ok, where are you guys? I know there are several Dopers out there who are professed, tie-dyed-in-the-wool Deadheads, as evidenced by your screen names (I’m talkin’ to you, Dire Wolf, gratefuldavidson, and August West, to name three off the top of my head).

I bet it’s been a little while since a thread for this was done, since I monitor SDMB about 10000000 times a day and haven’t noticed it since I got here. But I could be hopelessly myopic and merely overlooked it. Sorry if I did.

If you’re a Deadhead:

  1. How many shows did you see? Any favorites?

  2. Do you collect the tapes? How many do you have?

  3. Any favorite songs?

  4. Any show memories?

I went to all of nine shows from 1989-1995, most of which were at the old Philadelphia Spectrum. I do collect tapes, and I have over 30 at the moment (some of full shows, some hetergeneous mixes). Favorite songs? Ooh, I shouldn’t have asked; it’s a toughie, isn’t it? St. Stephen, Standing on the Moon, Box of Rain, Ripple, Morning Dew, Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad…

And for years I rode around in a canary yellow VW microbus. And it was so not cool to do so!

Anyone else?

2

I used to live in SF, right next to Golden Gate Park, and I saw deadheads every day. I assure you, you couldn’t possibly be a true deadhead because you haven’t asked for spare change yet.

3

Alright, if I must …

I actually only made it to one show before Jerry died, and to be perfectly honest, those brownies made my recollections a little hazy. My friends tell me I had a lot of fun, though. :slight_smile:
I really got into the scene when I lived in Tampa, and there was a really good cover band called The Estimated Band that played every week. I think I was more into it for the environment than the music, although the Dead are without a doubt a great band. I made a lot of friends on those Thursday nights, and a lot of memories that I cherish.
BUT … since leaving Tampa I’ve drifted away from it. I still like to listen to the Dead, but I’m not into the scene as much any more.
I never really liked listening to tapes much, because of the often poor quality of the recordings. If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s mushy, warbly music. I do like their studio albums a lot, though, particularly Workingman’s Dead and Shakedown Street. As far as individual songs go, I like the dancy, sometimes country stuff like “Me and My Uncle” and “Goin’ Down the Road.” I didn’t really get into the more spacey stuff like “Dark Star” (I wanna Dance!)

… and I would love to have a canary yellow VW microbus.

4

Uh, duuuuuude, like did somebody call my name?

“Closet” deadhead here. No screen name to show it.

Went to lots of shows (too many to count/remember). Favorite? Fall 89 (?) at Cap center in DC. Kick ass Scarlet Begonias after D&S. (some of that 3 night series was used for live CD) Some good stuff at RFK too.
Also saw JGB a couple of times.

I don’t “collect” tapes, but I have a few. No fav’s.

Favorite songs? Depends on the show/tape. However, I’ve yet to hear a bad “Franklin’s Tower”. Lots of ‘Europe’ is good. I’m probably the only Dead Head who liked the ‘Go to Heaven’ album.

Favorite show memories… I think I only have about 7 memories ;). One is watching a guy near me go through an entire LSD trip during the show. He went from “normal” to frenetic to mellow and watching the smooth transitions was fun. Also, at a Cap Center show (inside) they turned on the upper level seating lights during intermission and left the floor lights off. A stoned comment was made, “Looks like a bowl of people half filled with dark.”

I’m big on the older “folky” sounding stuff.

5

I should also note that last year I had the opportunity not only to see Ratdog play but also to :: GASP :: MEET Bob Weir after the show. See, I knew someone whose husband worked with the company organizing the event, so we waited outside his trailer for him to return after the show. Took a couple of pics and posed with the lot of us (6 or 7 all together, I think). I said, “Great show tonight, Bob!” and he smiled and said thanks. I have been touched by greatness!

Plus, that show he played “Terrapin”; first time I’d ever heard it live, and it sounded odd but absolutely wonderful coming from him.

As I said, I have plenty of tapes, and none sound garbled or icky. I suspect they were originally taped near the soundboard itself. If anyone’s interested in trading, please email me. (Note to moderators: this is not illegal; the band has encouraged this for zillions of years.)

To me, the best part of a show is guessing what song they’re playing next… :smiley:

6

Being a Deadhead is cool? When did this happen? Being a Deadhead has not been officially cool since approximately 1971.

1) How many shows did you see? Any favorites?

Around forty, if you count the Garcia Band, between 1978 and 1994. Prolly tilts 30+ Dead and a half-dozen or more Garcia. Things are a little hazy.

Best one was Binghamton, NY, Spring of 1980…my ONLY “China Cat/Rider” second set opener. And some tasty homemade White Barrel acid, courtesy of the Cornell University Chemistry Department.

2) Do you collect the tapes? How many do you have?

Sure. About fifty. Several complete shows, but I have many from a buddy in Berkeley who likes to “edit,” and doesn’t do a bad job of it. I haven’t bothered adding to the collection for several years, since the Dick’s Picks CD series began coming out regularly.

3) Any favorite songs?

Of the newer stuff (hah, 1980), “Althea” never fails to please. I also like Garcia/Hunter’s rewritten folk tune “Stagger Lee.” “Eyes of the World” is pure bliss. I loved “Row Jimmy” back in the mid-1980s when they threw in that Reggae-Boogie stop-shuffle during the closeout jam. Of the old classics, “Cold Rain and Snow”…which was nice for me, because it was their most-played tune over the years.

4) Any show memories?

My last show was in mid-October 1994, Madison Square Garden, ten months before Jerry’s passing. A very good one, too.

A Garcia Band show in December 1980, a couple weeks after John Lennon’s murder. His first tribute performance of “Dear Prudence.”

Going to the wrong damn show at Nassau Coliseum in the early 1990s…missing Branford Marsalis by one night. “There was this guy here last night with a clarinet or somethin’, man…” I hate Branford, but it would have been nice to hear 'em once with a horn in the mix.

Being “Stella Blooed” over and over. I’ve always dislike “Stella Blue,” and seemed to get it as a matter of course during the second set Jerry Ballad Time…so I turned it into a verb. (Also heard WAY too many “Playing in the Bands” as second set openers.)

Lessee…there was an earlier Garden show, late 1980s, I think, when I yelled “MIGHTY QUINN” just before the encore (I NEVER used to yell song titles, but I did this time for some reason) and by golly they swung right into “Quinn the Eskimo.” The guys ahead of me were QUITE impressed.

7

What a long strange trip it’s been. :slight_smile:

I’ve been to somewhere around 150-160 shows, and I actually remember most of them. I didn’t grow up in SF, but as a DeadHead, NYC was the next best thing, since I got to see a whole bunch of East Coast shows. I have so many stories that I’d have to make them multiple posts, but I’ll see what I can fit in here.

I went to all of the Radio City shows in 1980 - seeing acoustic and electric sets was phenomenal. If anyone has the Reckoning CD, during “On The Road Again” you can hear some chick yell, “Go, Bobby, go!” She was right behind me in the 11th row, and yelled the entire night. Bobby was in prime jokester form that night - at one point, maybe during Estimated Prophet??? he was showboating and one of his shoes flew out into the audience. He said “Ah, what the hell” and took off the other one and tossed it out too.

During one of the Dylan and the Dead shows, I was sitting up with the pigeons in Giants Stadium. That show featured the loudest, most bone-shaking Phil Bomb I have ever witnessed. I was also entertained by an extremely fucked up guy who just stood in the aisle next to me. He was wearing shorts and untied hiking boots, and that’s all. At one point, he started to wobble, and then promptly pissed in his pants. He just stood there while it ran down his leg, filled up one boot, and overflowed onto the steps. I shit you not. Oh yeah, it was a great show.

I went to the infamous Adam Katz show at the Byrne Arena, and was looking for less crowded entrance to get in. I wound up seeing overzealous security guards beat him to death.

Saw Brent Mydland’s last show before he died…Foxboro, IIRC. The encore was “The Weight”, and the last words he ever sung were “I got to go, but my friends can stick around.” Very Vaguely Creepy.

One of the hottest shows I saw was the Nassau Coliseum/Branford Marsalis one…a truly killer show.

Even managed to get out to Oakland in '89 and '90 to see their last NYE shows.

8

This last part reminds me of a story, which may very well be apocryphal. I heard that during a show in 1969, there was a lull while the band noodled and futzed around, as they were wont to do. Suddenly, a meteor zoomed across the sky, and seconds later, the band went into “Dark Star”.

BTW, Ike, you’re right, it’s not all THAT cool. But it’s cool to those who are into it. I mean, if you’re a 'Head, I’d have to think you think you are the very epitome of coolness. Like, how cool is that?

9

You’ve heard the one about how they happened to be playing “Fire on the Mountain” somewhere in the Pacific Northwest when Mount St. Helens erupted, right? I think that one is actually true.

Hey now, if I like something, it’s cool by definition. <grin>

10

Hadn’t heard that, but did hear that “Fire on the Mountain” itself was composed while Hunter et al. were in Mickey Hart’s mountain cabin with a forest ablaze around them… :slight_smile:

11

It used to never be cool to be a Head…

HOLY SHIT!

I have an “Air Garcia” sticker on my monitor, attached with a little piece of Fun Tak. You know, the black outline of Jerry jumping in the air with guitar, like the Air Jordan insignia? Anyway, as soon as I finished typing “It used to never be cool to be a Head…” the sticker fell off!

(OK, so I found it freaky.)

As I was saying, it wasn’t cool for a while, and you could always get to see a show. After “Touch Of Grey”, their was a sort of “Dead Chic” thing going on, and the scene started to take a downward turn. That’s when all the crowd problems started, tickets were hard to get, and the band had to start pleading with people to chill out.

12

I figure that the people who are gonna click this thread are gonna be the Deadheads anyway, so rather than start a new thread, I thought I’d just add on to this one!

And I also figured that while I have the somewhat-rapt attention of my fellow 'Heads, let’s try a little game. Nothing mind-numbing. If you’re a true Deadhead, you should know most of this.

Here’s how it’ll work. I’ll give the first line only of a song, and you name the song. Simple, right? Except they did hundreds and hundreds of them, including covers. And some are damn obscure. Oh well, it’ll keep me off the mean streets for a while! [And btw, I am cheating. This is NOT off the top of my head. I have Robert Hunter’s A Box of Rain. :smiley:

  1. All the years combine…
  2. Julie catch a rabbit by his hair…
  3. Since it cost a lot to win…
  4. Right outside this lazy summer home…
  5. In the timbers of Fennario…

And of course, if you get one (I know you’ll get some of them!), please feel free to offer your own first lines. And of course, should you do so, you might not wanna use first lines that contain the names of the songs… :smiley:

13

Look to the left…

**

Only one, many years ago, in the Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin. Recollections are fairly hazy, what with the passage of time and the effects of various substances that may or may not have been in use at the time of the event… (Madison is a great town)

**

Too many to list here. In particular, I enjoy the way that the band would experiment with a song, and drastically change the way it was played, yet you would end up liking all of the varieties.

14

Yup, I’m a Head, and proud of it!

Only saw a few shows (10 maybe?), and not all of them were great… but like Jerry said once: “When you’re diving for oysters, you don’t always bring up a pearl!”

The best show, by far, was my first. Lewiston, Maine in 1985 or 1986… I was peaking on acid when they started playing “Terrapin Station” and my head almost exploded!:wink:

I guess that answers the “favorite song” question…

Here’s a story I recently told in another thread, but bears repeating in this thread for DeadHead memories: On the day on my mother’s funeral, as we were getting dressed to go, my uncle and I had the radio on. The DJ came on and said “Jerry Garcia is dead…” Bad time to hear that! Most uncool…:frowning:

15

Lessee here…

13 shows.

About that many tapes.

My last show (was it Spring '95? Fall '94?) when I sat on the front row about 11 feet from Jerry.

Yes, I have some favorite songs.

16

*Originally posted by dantheman *
1. All the years combine…
Stella Blue

2. Julie catch a rabbit by his hair…
Row Jimmy

3. Since it cost a lot to win…
Deal

4. Right outside this lazy summer home…
Eyes Of The World

5. In the timbers of Fennario…
Lessee, It’s on the tip of my tongue…it’s, um…

Me, of course. :slight_smile:
OK, here goes:

  1. I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream

  2. Gone are the days when the ox fall down

  3. Please don’t dominate the rap, Jack

  4. You tell me this town ain’t got no heart

  5. Come all you pretty women with your hair hanging down

17

  1. I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream
    Cassidy

  2. Gone are the days when the ox fall down
    Brown-eyed women

  3. Please don’t dominate the rap, Jack
    New speedway boogie

  4. You tell me this town ain’t got no heart
    Shakedown Street

  5. Come all you pretty women with your hair hanging down
    Hmm, not sure…

I didn’t use the book to guess at these, either (else I’d have gotten #5!)…

18

BTW, hiya Frankd6, Astroboy14 and, of course, A Friend of the Devil! :slight_smile:

19

Hello, my name is plnnr, and I’m a Deadhead (or at least “was.” I’ve since gone into retirement).

  1. Saw about 60 or 70 shows between 1982 and 1993 (including Bob Weir at the National Theater on my 18th birthday and a meeting with Jerry at the Richmond Coliseum in 1993). My favorite show is still my first - Merriwether Post Pavillion 6/20/83.
  2. Have about 350 hours on tape.
  3. Help/Slip/Frank is my favorite. Only got to see a few of them, but seemed to get a Row Jimmy damn near every show. That was always my cue to hit the bathroom.
  4. Memories? My, my, my. Tons and tons. Wonderful times, wonderful friends, wonderful music. “Did you ever know that you had such capacity for joy?” “We’re gonna’ take a short break, so everybody hang loose.” “Wayne! Wayne! Come back, Wayne!” “Turn down the radio, we’re at an intersection.” “Hey there, Jazzbo, you mind passing me one of those stogies up here?” “I’ve got my ticket! I’ve got my ticket! Do you have YOUR ticket?” “Hey, Jerry, I’d like to get a picture with you.” “Citizens of Boise - Surrender, for you are a conqured people.” “Fuck me, man! That’s DARK STAR!”

“I’ve seen him look worse.”
-Bob Weir, eulogizing Jerry Garcia

These aren’t the first lines, but you get the idea -

  1. Life may be sweeter for this, I don’t know. We’ll see how if feels in the end.

  2. Go on home, your mama’s calling you.

  3. Annie Benaux, from St. Angel, say the weather down here is so fine.

  4. What is a man, deep down inside, but a raging beast, with nothin’ to hide?

  5. I left St. Louis, the city of blues, in the midst of a storm I’d rather forget.

  6. Hail on my back like a shotgun blast.

  7. The wife of Lot got turned to salt, because she looked behind her.

  8. So instead I’ve got a bottle, and a girl of just 14.

  9. Its a shame them boys can’t be more coppasetic.

  10. Do the all fall down, do the all go under.

20
  1. So instead I’ve got a bottle, and a girl of just 14.
    Mexicali Blues!

That’s all I know from there… dang! Although the “mama” one I remember from one of the From the Vault discs, and Bobby follows the last line of the song by saying something like “Now what we’re gonna do is find out what would happen if the music never starts…” and launches into “The Music Never Stopped”. (Ok, memory bad…)