feoNotes

memorable

any especially memorable ones

a close friend, after reading a simple post of mine in honor of the passing of bobby weir, asked, any especially memorable ones? he is referring to shows i had seen by the Grateful Dead. the short answer is yes, but there is a long answer.

the very first time I saw the Grateful Dead, was april 2, 1987 at the worcester centrum. i wrote about it here. i got on the bus that night. i even got on the bus sober that night, and saw every show that way.

i had the honor of seeing the last time the boys play at the fabled greek theater in berkley.

i got to see the last time they played the henry j kaiser theater (the site where some of the touch of grey video was filmed). that show was one of the couple of times i saw a mardi gras show. several shows, mardi gras, chinese new years and new years had extra special events during them. I got to see several chineses new years and mardi gras, but never got tickets for a new years show. at any rate the last kaiser show is here.

as for songs, i got to see some rare songs, and those are pretty special. i got to see We Bid You Good Night, twice. They only played it 76 times ever, and i got to see it twice. once on in oakland just after Not Fade Away, which is special. and once in sacramento as a double encore from a smoking Johnny B. Goode.

rarer still i got to see the boys play the who’s Baba O’Reilly at calexpo. it was the first time they played it, so, very special; also i was a massive who fan (albeit quadraphenia is my favorite) in high school. they played this a total of 12 times.

i got to see the van morrison classic Gloria, which they played only 16 times (maybe more, maybe less, records seem unclear on this one). i saw it in oakland. It was a chinese new years and carlos santana joined them.

rounding the horn of british / emerald isle covers, i saw them play the beatle’s Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds - twice. they played this only 19 times. i saw it late in 1994 in oakland - that night i was with cath - and again in oakland. this one was my second to last show. the bus ride would end of this version of the band the following night, and end with a wonderful bookend of Not Fade Away/Box of Rain.

two others of note, were even rarer. i saw them in providence play the richie valens classic La Bamba. I got to see jerry sing in spanish and it was stunning. they only played this song 5 times ever.

the rarest, though, is i was there that night in rochester ny for them strumming that r&b instrumental, Green Onions. this show is the one and only time they ever played Green Onions. WOW, it was indeed memorable.

you asked, any especially memorable ones? the answer emphatically yes. any/every show. those brief moments after the band took the stage while the crowd anticipated what they would open with, that is especially memorable. i wish i could hold on to that anticipation for ever. the rare songs i got to witness, yes memorable. the people i danced with thinking that we were all playing in the band; memorable. every time i caught that riff coming out of The Other One, and they slowed way up in like a single note to subtly begin my all time favorite Wharf Rat; memorable (I would physically melt for this). seeing the rarest of the rare; la bamba, and green onions; memorable. i would even include tapes. i commuted to another state for high school, and we could make it there in one scarlet/fire; memorable.

would bobby pick up the pink guitar? would jerry come out in the red t-shirt? would micky throw his leg up on his crazy string thing during drums? would phil’s amp spin extra fast during jack straw? all of it. all of it crazy memorable. getting on the bus has given me life; hope and love. i so miss it every day. what i resolve though, is that music exalts and i got to live at the same time to see them play. i know that feeling will not fade away; not fade away.