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Seeing Jerry


Guest L~Cat

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Ahhhh, 86 RFK - the mud bowl. It was a toasty 98 or so in DC and people were passing out left and right. They brought out fire hoses and started spraying down the people on the field and made a huge field of mud which everyone proceeded to turn into a slip-n-slide play area. Also during the national weed drought of 86 and some joker actually tried to sell me bong resin in a cellophane wrapper - "uhhhh, I'm good bro". Bought a tour shirt (Petty, Dylan, Dead) and had it laying on the back of my hatchback - a damn firework came screaming across the parking lot and (no shit) landed directly on my shirt on the back of my car, exploded and burned a large hole in the shirt before I had a chance to wear it...... :cheers:

We were on the lookout in each city from Berzerkely to DC and each town we got the same response "Didn't ya hear we're the driest town in th country" , yeah, we heard that in the last town. Didn't really get to reup until homwtown Cincinnati show, then on to the Rubberbowl with Dylan finally joining the band in the first set, DC had that crazy van with the mushroom window that was filled with narcs, they raided that lot pretty hard. Felt for those making the 48 hour trip back for the cancelled Ventura shows. Anyone have unused tickets from those shows?

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It was probably Jerry keeping John in check and once JG was gone JKahn OD. If you think it was tough for us losing Jerry, just imagine what it was like for the mighty Kahn? (and Bobby for that matter) Remember Jerry's last show before he went into the coma in 1986 @ RFK when Bobby introduces the band during Satisfaction and then Jerry goes to the mic and says "and my all time favorite person Bob Weir!"? They were on fire that night.

Ah yes, I remember it well. The "band intro" that you mentioned was classic......especially Garcia's acidic toast to Weir.

Somehow during halftime I lost my friends. Here I was in a sea of people whose faces were increasingly difficult to distinguish (due to a combination of nightfall and my lysergic haze), in a town not my own, with no car.........for a moment I began to panic. As the 2nd set was about to begin, I thought to myself, well, I could continue to freak out looking for my friends or I could get close to the front of the stage and enjoy the 2nd set and worry about my fate later.

I chose the latter, and as I made my way toward the stage I ran into a friend I knew from college. He saw the semi-terrorized state I was in and immediately told me it was cool, that worse case scenario I get a ride with him and crash at his place. As history now shows, the second set smoked RFK to the ground. And as fortune would have it, within 5 minutes of the lights going up I looked around and found my friends.

It's amazing what happens when we can let go of fear and enjoy the moment. Thanks for reminding me of this priceless memory.

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It was probably Jerry keeping John in check and once JG was gone JKahn OD. If you think it was tough for us losing Jerry, just imagine what it was like for the mighty Kahn? (and Bobby for that matter) Remember Jerry's last show before he went into the coma in 1986 @ RFK when Bobby introduces the band during Satisfaction and then Jerry goes to the mic and says "and my all time favorite person Bob Weir!"? They were on fire that night.

I don' t think they were on fire that whole night but for that encore and the Good Lovin that preceded it...I think so!

Garcia finishing Weir's rap by rhyming "Weir" with Bob's "And of couse over here got ol' Jer" and in time with the song/rap...in perfet time...as sick as he was.

Just part of his makeup I guess.

If that encore doesn't dramatically increase your heart rate...you're in trouble.

(Nothing to do with Herdy here.)

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1986-07-07.fm.miller.88176.flac16

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I don' t think they were on fire that whole night but for that encore and the Good Lovin that preceded it...I think so!

Garcia finishing Weir's rap by rhyming "Weir" with Bob's "And of couse over here got ol' Jer" and in time with the song/rap...in perfet time...as sick as he was.

Just part of his makeup I guess.

If that encore doesn't dramatically increase your heart rate...you're in trouble.

(Nothing to do with Herdy here.)

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1986-07-07.fm.miller.88176.flac16

Dave,

Thanks for posting the link to this show. It's the first time I've heard it since it happened. It was pretty sloppy at times, no doubt.......no masterpiece.

I do recall one other thing from that night that was confirmed on second listen. Something that always grated on me was Bobby barreling into Round & Round out of a tear-jerker Garcia ballad (in this case Wharf Rat). It was always hard for me to get my hanky put back into my pocket fast enough to change emotional gears for such an upbeat dance tune. :blush:

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I was lucky and got on the bus in "72. My last show with Garcia was June 14th at the Shorleine in 1995. I feel like I saw almost all of his incarnations, including the ugly ones. Some of these shows are the best of my life, others, quite frankly, sucked. I don't regret seeing any of them. Thats just the way it was. Was Jerry the "best"? Is anybody? He was my favorite. Truth be told, if I could see any guitarist tonite, dead or alive, knowing that if I chose Garcia I'd have to take my chances on him being the '73 Jerry or the "95 Jerry, I'd roll those dice. And no you didn't have to see him to be a deadhead, its bigger than that.

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You guys are more fortunate than you know to have seen Jerry live...I'm grateful I can socialize with those of you that have those experiences to share...you're the lucky ones.

Eventually there will be nobody still living that got to see Jerry live...ya dig? This is a much larger organism than I can even grasp at times. I'm grateful to be able to groove with you guys at shows, share our energy and stories, and ultimately learn and grow together. :)

Grateful%20Dead%20Big%20Jerry%20Small.jpg

deadheads.jpg

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I was lucky and got on the bus in "72. My last show with Garcia was June 14th at the Shorleine in 1995. I feel like I saw almost all of his incarnations, including the ugly ones. Some of these shows are the best of my life, others, quite frankly, sucked. I don't regret seeing any of them. Thats just the way it was. Was Jerry the "best"? Is anybody? He was my favorite. Truth be told, if I could see any guitarist tonite, dead or alive, knowing that if I chose Garcia I'd have to take my chances on him being the '73 Jerry or the "95 Jerry, I'd roll those dice. And no you didn't have to see him to be a deadhead, its bigger than that.

Best post of the thread. And I'd be rolling those same dice along with you!

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I was lucky and got on the bus in "72. My last show with Garcia was June 14th at the Shorleine in 1995. I feel like I saw almost all of his incarnations, including the ugly ones. Some of these shows are the best of my life, others, quite frankly, sucked. I don't regret seeing any of them. Thats just the way it was. Was Jerry the "best"? Is anybody? He was my favorite. Truth be told, if I could see any guitarist tonite, dead or alive, knowing that if I chose Garcia I'd have to take my chances on him being the '73 Jerry or the "95 Jerry, I'd roll those dice. And no you didn't have to see him to be a deadhead, its bigger than that.

Best post of the thread. And I'd be rolling those same dice along with you!

Definitely best post of the thread and I'd really like to roll those dice also !!!

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I was blessed to see the band since 77 and Iam very GRATEFULLY to have experence the things that come along with touring ,I have been to places that i won't have gone , i have met people all over the USA and really can't explain what the feeling was like to sit , talk, listen to the MASTER . Iam a Jersey Boy that spent alot of time at the CAPITOL in Passic , and all over the place . It was nice when i lived in HAYWARD Calf. and go to any of the STONES and Jerry would just walk right in and be one of us you go outside and Jerry gray benz would be parked right outside .ITs funny my wife always ask me if you had on wish what would it be i laugh and ALWAYS tell her my wish would be to see the GD AT THE CAPITOL JUST ONE MORE TIME OR ANYWHERE THE fat man would play. GOD BLESS THE GD AND GOD BLESS DSO. Peace To All Dave

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You guys are more fortunate than you know to have seen Jerry live...I'm grateful I can socialize with those of you that have those experiences to share...you're the lucky ones.

Eventually there will be nobody still living that got to see Jerry live...ya dig? This is a much larger organism than I can even grasp at times. I'm grateful to be able to groove with you guys at shows, share our energy and stories, and ultimately learn and grow together. :)

Grateful%20Dead%20Big%20Jerry%20Small.jpg

deadheads.jpg

The guy in the picture on the right hand side wearing the fantasa shirt & red head band is our dear friend Bill aka Captain Zap who's been w/ us the last 2 years at grateful fest .Where is that picture from Pugdog?

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It is very possible that I will one day tell someone my favorite band began 100 years ago.

I don't recall it having been mentioned so I'll state the obvious: those "unlucky enough" that are too young to have seen Garcia in his good days have something pretty indispensable in the bank. YOUTH! Being young has its distinct positives, and as my father used to say, "when you get old you don't get any younger." Indeed.

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The guy in the picture on the right hand side wearing the fantasa shirt & red head band is our dear friend Bill aka Captain Zap who's been w/ us the last 2 years at grateful fest .Where is that picture from Pugdog?

The guy on the left looks like Bix with a beard... :unsure:

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I don't recall it having been mentioned so I'll state the obvious: those "unlucky enough" that are too young to have seen Garcia in his good days have something pretty indispensable in the bank. YOUTH! Being young has its distinct positives, and as my father used to say, "when you get old you don't get any younger." Indeed.

True.... Being young is temporary, though. Not having a chance to see Jerry is permanent.

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You guys are more fortunate than you know to have seen Jerry live...I'm grateful I can socialize with those of you that have those experiences to share...you're the lucky ones.

Eventually there will be nobody still living that got to see Jerry live...ya dig? This is a much larger organism than I can even grasp at times. I'm grateful to be able to groove with you guys at shows, share our energy and stories, and ultimately learn and grow together. :)

Grateful%20Dead%20Big%20Jerry%20Small.jpg

deadheads.jpg

Pugdog, do you have anymore pictures from this batch? I'm assuming Oakland, '78 or '79 ... NYE ... would love to know if you had anymore.

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I knew I got it when I started to lose count of how many shows I had been to. I can't tell you how many Dead shows I have been to and I can't say how many DSO shows I have been to. I just know it wasn't (and isn't) enough. This really sums it up for me:

The first time I saw JGB play "How Sweet It Is" in the Roseland Ballroom I think, it just seemed he was speaking directly to me. I really feel that everyone feels the same way when Jerry played this song. That is what was so special about Jerry, you had a relationship with him that went far beyond "fanship" It was like he loved every one of us, and every one of us loved him. Thru him, we all kinda loved each other. It's that feeling of family...that I belong here, and every one is glad that I am here kinda feeling that makes this Deadhead thing so cool.

Deadheads have a thing, like the feeling you get when you are driving down the road and you see a Steel Your Face sticker on the car in front of you. You have this urge to pull along side him and flash him a peace sign.

For me, it doesn't matter if you ever saw Jerry, how many times you saw the Dead, DSO, or any of the other bands that play this wonderful music. It is the feeling of friendship, the love of your brother as much as you love yourself. The community that takes care of themselves, and every one else as much as possible.

Peace,

Joe

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I consider myself a very fortunate person in general, but I was blessed to see 101 GD shows and about 15 JGB shows between the late 80s and the end. I will never forget those shows, experiences, and the wonderful adventures and great times I had. But ya know what? I am still pretty damned blessed to get to see the magic that is DSO that does it all for me--and I still feel like a mighty fortunate person!

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Damn gentlemen! I don't know where I got those from??? What a trip! Considering the context of my post and the fact that the pic happens to be of someone active in the community goes to show you don't ever know!

Very cool! You look like you were groovin along nicely Zap! :)

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