flashback

I don't care what the naysayers go on about. I agree that this is certainly not the best show the Dead have ever played. I will say that after having listened to & read reviews of the Highgate show, I do remember my brother & I talking afterwards about how unhealthy Jerry looked & how, sadly, the end was near.

Listening to this PGH show brought back a lot of painful memories. It was a memorable summer -and not in a good way. Imagine me going to a show -band I love- surrounded by all that wonderful hippy vibe. My then-husband on a mission to buy his "not a girlfriend" friend a toe ring. It's a long story, but let's suffice it to say everyone knew better. So it was a mixed feelings kind of night. Missed most of Rusted Root; should have left his ass out in the lot while I went in to the show.

But there was the usual "energy" in the air. Undeniable. Magical. The Dead came on & all was well in my world for a couple hours. Yay :) This song in particular was especially wonderful in that it started downpouring just as the the band started in. Yeah, so they went through the obligatory rain songs after that. So what. It was perfect. Almost as perfect as the Deer Creek show the year b4 with the upside down rainbow (and NO I wasn't on anything) and it was raining & the band played, of course, some rain songs and then perfect timing Here Comes Sunshine simultaneous to the rain stopping. Sweet, sweet memory.

Those '94 Deer Creek shows I went to with our sitter (NOT the "not a girlfriend" friend sitter) & some of her friends. It was an adventure in that I had rented a full size van to fit everyone & they were all about 10 years younger than me. So I was the "mom". But it was fun. Oh & no one but me had tix for the shows. I traded the first night ticket for a 3rd night so that Melissa could get in w/ me. She was such a neat girl. And Nikki was like her parents' 2nd daughter -considering she'd been sitting Nikki since she was 12 & Nikki was 6 mos. and at this point Nikki was almost 6. Anywho. I ended up camping beside this very cool guy & girl from CA. I only remember the girl's name was Juliette. It was an interesting 4 days. We were camped on a farm that rented out sites. I'm sure it was quite profitable considering how many folks followed the Dead. Found out my tent was fully water proof. The next week I went to the Buckeye Lake show with some friends. They got weirded out at the beginning of the show because of some lightning & split to hang out in the lot so I was alone. Wandering in the dark through the crowd, who do I run into? Juliette. No kidding. A needle in a haystack. I love how the Dead always had a way of being right on.