jackson@curium.DEC (Seth Jackson) (07/07/85)
Well, the summer East Coast tour is over, and I am exhausted, happy, and hungry for more Dead shows! I'm really going to have to restrain myself from doing something foolish like flying to Ventura on July 13! What follows is a mixture of concert reviews, song lists, and my personal experiences on tour. Rented a car and drove to Saratoga with a friend. We had planned on getting there by about 3, finding a campsite, driving to the show, having a few beers while barbecuing some burgers and dogs, but the best laid plans... Due to mixups with the car, and last minute shopping to fill the cooler, we didn't get there till almost show time! The first set was among the all-time hottest first sets I've ever seen. They opened with Midnight Hour. They told a joke on stage for the first time in about 6 years. They surprised us all by doing a first-set "Crazy Fingers", which was just superb, and which led into a hot, hot "Supplication" jam. During this jam, they did two intro's to Lazy Lightning, but it was only a tease! That jam led into "High Time". The set closed with "Executive" versions of "Hell in a Bucket" -> "Don't Ease Me In". The second set, athough it started off hot, lost energy when it "Black Petered" out. The encore of Johnny B Goode, although hot, was quite disappointing, until they tacked on a cosmically soulful version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue". That made the show. Saratoga Song List: Midnight Hour -> Bertha-> Little Red Rooster <bad joke> Stagger Lee El Paso Crazy Fingers-> Supplication -> High Time Hell in a Bucket -> Don't Ease Me In -- Feel Like a Stranger -> Eyes of the World -> Goin' Down the Road -> Women are Smarter -> drums/space -> Truckin' -> Black Peter -> Lovelight -- Johnny B Goode -> Baby Blue After the show, we set up a tent on the grass next to the parking lot, where I was kept up all night by some partyers playing Edgar Winter tapes! We got rolling around 8 a.m. the next day, because Hershey was a good 7 hour drive. Unfortunately, we discovered that every highway in Pennsylvania is under construction, so a 7 hour drive became an 11 hour drive. By the time we got there, all hotels were booked, and it was raining. However, we put garbage bags over our bodies and went for it! The opener was "Cold Rain and Snow" which we missed because we were standing outside on the usual one-gate-open line to get in! Hershey Park was a great place for a Dead show! It was a fairly big stadium, with a large open field, and although the tickets has seat numbers printed on them, this concert was completely general admission. Also, since they only sold tickets for seats, the place was incredibly uncrowded inside, because all those people were spread out over the seats and the field. The unfortunate part is that a lot of people couldn't get in, as all the tickets were sold out. The other great thing about this place was that behing the stage was a gently slping hill, with a large building that looked like a palace on top. It was such a great backdrop for the Dead! The show was pretty good, but it paled in comparison to the ones that followed. The first set was kind of lacking in energy, and was cut short, maybe due to the rain. However, they ended the set with a very unusual Bird Song -> Comes a Time -> Deal. They went into Comes a Time right out the jam, never going back to finish Bird Song. The second set opened with a rather good Music Never Stopped, followed by Phil singing a great version of Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues. He was also hitting some powerful notes with his bass. The rest of the set was real predictable, with Jerry giving us a Morning Dew for standing out in the rain all night. Hershey Song List: Cold Rain and Snow -> Promised Land Ramble on Rose Ain't Superstitious Bird Song -> Comes a Time -> Deal -- Music Never Stopped -> Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues Estimated Prophet -> Terrapin -> drums/space -> I Need a Miracle -> Morning Dew -> Throwing Stones -> Not Fade Away -- Day Job After the show, we went looking for a hotel, only to find that everything was booked within 20 miles! We started driving towards Baltimore, and found a Howard Johnsons in York, PA for $39 a night. When we went to breakfast the next morning, we observed that the place was overrun with Deadheads! We met another friend in Baltimore, and drove to our hotel in Columbia, MD, about 8 miles from Merriweather Post. The only problem was that one of my friends didn't have a ticket for the first night. From the looks of things, there were several thousand other people in the same predicament. As we drove up to the parking lot Sunday morning, there was a sign that read "Grateful Dead sold out both nights - no additional tickets to be sold." However, there were rumors that the box office would open later that day and sell some, and there were people lined up from the night before. My friend decided to wait on line, and I cruised the parking lot. I quickly noticed that every other car had a sign on it saying "Need Tickets", and that everyone I spoke to needed a ticket! It looked real grim. I went back to the line and told my friend that I would go back to the hotel and get her some beer. At the hotel, I noticed a Deadhead sitting on his porch listening to tapes, so I went over to him and asked him if he had an extra ticket. He smiled. He sold it to me at cost! I went back to the line with a beer and a ticket. Talk about making someone's day! The hug she gave me certainly made it worth it! So, we went in. Merriweather Post is a great place. They sell beer and wine. I'll say no more. As for the show...there are no words to describe how good this show was. It was one of those shows that only someone who has seen the Dead at their best can understand how cosmic it was. My friend Ned has a system for rating Dead shows. He uses the "drool scale". We both came out of this show drooling all over the place! Here's the song list: Merriweather Post (Sunday) Song List Mississippi 1/2 Step -> CC Rider Brown-Eyed Women Mama Tried -> Mexicali Blues Keep on Growin' Big Railroad Blues Looks Like Rain Don't Ease Me In -- Shakedown Street -> Samson and Delilah Gimme Some Lovin' He's Gone -> jam -> !!!! THAT'S IT FOR THE OTHER ONE !!!!! (drool!) -> Stella Blue -> Round & Round -> Sugar Magnolia -- US Blues The jam after He's Gone was a high-energy tease on Spoonful, which instead led into the ultimately cosmic That's It for the Other One. The drums and space in this "song" were just amazing. Monday night's show was no letdown. Merriweather Post (Monday) Song List Dancin' in the Streets Dupree's Diamond Blues Walkin' Blues Jackeroe Brother Esau Stagger Lee Let It Grow -> Day Job -- Scarlet Begonias -> Fire on the Mountain Playing in the Band -> Uncle John's Band -> drums/space -> Dear Mr. Fantasy -> Goin' Down the Road -> Good Lovin' -- Satisfaction -> Baby Blue Pittsburgh. Last show of the tour. The scene was really mellow. Definitely more Midwest than East Coast. They served beer again. The show was rather good. Pittsburgh Song List Jack Straw -> Must've Been the Roses Minglewood Friend of the Devil Cassidy Big Railroad Blues Promised Land -- Women are Smarter -> Crazy Fingers -> Lost Sailor -> Saint of Circumstance -> Terrapin -> drums/space -> Wharf Rat -> Throwin' Stones -> Lovelight -- Revolution -> Brokedown Palace At the beginning of Brokedown Palace, Jerry forgot to sing "Fare you well..." and starting singing "Gonna leave this brokedown palace..." The band sort of looked at each other in confusion and diddled around for a few seconds. Finally Jerry said something like "Sounds good, doesn't it?" and they started again from the beginning. It seems as though I heard this exact same screw-up once before! The 10-hour drive back from Pittsburgh was long, and was made longer by the fact that our rental car broke down, and the rental company made no attempt to help us. Fortunately, a local mechanic made a temporary fix that allowed us to drive home as long as we didn't shut the engine off! What was worse is that the rental company is trying to stick us with a $250 mileage charge, even though they had told us that it would be unlimited free mileage. So, buyer beware next time you think about renting from Dollar Rent-a-Car. Oh, well, the tour is history, we had fun, now it's back to work. Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile!