jackson@curium.DEC (Seth Jackson) (06/25/85)
Just got back from Alpine Valley. Thought I'd share my experiences with all of you. Alpine Valley was a pretty strange place. It's out in the middle of nowhere, in East Troy, Wisconsin. We drove down from Madison where I was staying, on a 2-lane highway through the farmland. We saw a sign saying "Entering East Troy", but no signs for Alpine Valley. We pulled into a gas station to ask directions, and found several other carloads of Deadheads in the same situation. A few said they "thought they knew" how to get there, so I decided to go into the station and ask. To my surprise, taped to the counter was a sign that said "Directions to Alpine Valley -- $.25" !! I said the hell with this, and we got directions from the Deadheads which got us lost, but eventually we found it. The only sign we saw until we were at the theatre was a small, hand-painted sign about a half-mile from Alpine Valley. There was only one entrance, which also served as the only exit. Needless to say, it took a long time to get in, and even longer to get out. The parking lot was a golf course. Once inside, it was a fairly typical Dead show, with people partying, cooking out, playing frisbee, etc. The crowd was a fairly typical Dead crowd, with lots of blue-jeans, tie-dies, and Dead T-shirts. One thing that certainly caught my (and my friends') attention was that never before in my life have I seen so many beautiful young women in one place. Must be that clean Wisconsin air or something. The theatre itself was great! The stage was at the bottom of a hill, so that even at the very rear, you could still see and hear the band perfectly. There was a pavillion covering about 50 rows of seats, which seemed to have been shaped in such a way as to provide maximum projection of sound out onto the lawn. The first night, it was raining, with a weather forecast of "chance of thunderstorms with hail and high winds." We were spared, however, and the show went on. There were no major surprises, except for a first set "Stagger Lee" and a second-set opening of "Man Smart/Women Smarter" into "Goin' Down the Road Feelin' Bad". The rest of the show was standard, with the second set featuring the ultimate in standard Dead jams. The playing, as usual, was hot, and the space jam after the drums was wonderful. The second day, the weather was beatiful, the show was sold out, the playing was as good or better than the first night, and the band was a bit more imaginative in their song selection. Song lists appear below. I left both shows feeling good, but I am disturbed by the continuing trend towards shorter shows. Both shows were 3 hours including the break. That's still getting your money's worth compared to most bands, but I don't fly to Wisconsin to see most bands. They are still doing the same number of songs, so what has been sacrificed is most of the exploratory jamming. I find this to be unfortunate, because, although I like nearly everything the band does, it's always been the jams that separated the Dead from everbody else, musically. The long, winding jams also contribute greatly to the sense of timelessness I experience at Dead shows. What does everybody else think? Here are the song lists: 6/21: Cold Rain and Snow -> Ain't Superstitious Stagger Lee Mama Tried -> Mexicali Blues Bird Song -> Looks Like Rain -> Day Job -- Man Smart/Woman Smarter -> Goin' Down the Road Estimated Prophet -> Eyes of the World -> drums -> space -> Truckin' -> Black Peter -> Around & Around -> Sugar Magnolia -- It's All Over Now, Baby Blue 6/22: Hell in a Bucket -> Sugaree Walkin' Blues Candyman It's All Over Now Althea Cassidy Brown-Eyed Women One More Saturday Night -- Keep on Growin' -> Mississippi 1/2-Step Lost Sailor -> Saint pf Circumstance -> drums -> space -> Dear Mr. Fantasy -> I Need a Miracle -> Stella Blue -> Throwin' Stones -> Not Fade Away -- Brokedown Palace
bobh@greg.UUCP (Bob Heuman) (06/30/85)
Thanks for your songlists! I enjoy knowing what they're up to in concert, and especially enjoy being reminded of the one's I've been to. Does anyone have the playlist from the Sunday Greek show? Could you mail me a copy? -- | | | | Bob Heuman @ Benetics Corporation (415) 940-6334 \___/ {cdp,greipa,idi,sun,tolerant,hplabs!oliveb}!bene!greg!bobh | | "Life is too short to drink bad wine" ---