SHARING THE SHOWS
So now that the temperatures have dropped, motivation to go out has decreased. And I was thinking about not going to this one, but I forced myself into it, and in Maggie’s words, “They only come once a year.” Ultimately, I got the ticket, and for the first time, I used the AXS app to show my ticket. I’m nostalgic for printed stubs, but it’s nice not to have to carry them around.
After some awesome Greek food and a near-scare with my gas tank (don’t you hate when it’s almost on “E” and there doesn’t seem to be a gas station in sight?), Maggie, Gary, Mark, Drew, and I, our party posse of five, made it to the show. Literally when they started. But first, that picture up top cracks me up every time. Doesn’t it sound as if illicit drug use is allowed if you’re of age? And what is the age to use illegal drugs? That’s the English teacher in me. They opened up with “Black Throated Wind,” one of my favs. Mark, our Deadhead scholar of the group, immediately thought the show was from 1972. When they followed with a slow “Friend of the Devil,” I agreed, definitely 1970s. “On the Road Again” was groovy (the characters in my screenplay sing it as they hit the road from New Jersey to Big Cypress, that Phishy Y2K extravaganza). I like the Dead’s faster songs more than the slower ones, so a first-set highlight for me was the “It’s All Over Now” that followed “Ramble on Rose.” When they broke out Robbie Robertson’s “Broken Arrow,” which the Dead started playing in 1993, Mark instinctually said, “Elective.” They concluded the first set with “Day Job,” loathed by a lot of Deadheads, but loved by me. I’ve considered it a theme song (one of the characters in my screenplay sings it as she has to go to a class in her high school). Set 2 opened with a classic Helpontheway-Slipknot-Franklins Tower trifecta. I’m in the minority on “Corrina” (Mark started playing with this phone during the song), but I sang and danced. Then “Dark Star” came (a classic tune, but I’m more into the newer Dead; generational thing, I suppose). Then there was a Drums-Space jam, during which they teased Traffic’s “Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” (I was pissed when they didn’t actually play it), “China Doll,” “Terrapin Station,” and “Blow Away.” They then went into The Beatles’s “Hey Jude” to bring us back to reality. JGB’s “I’ll Take a Melody” followed (thank you, Mark, for the tidbit), and “Goin’ Down the Road” closed the second set. They encored with Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” which fed my head pretty nicely. Mark had a good thought about the shows being a kind of meditation. And it’s apt. The music gets me in touch with my spirituality; it’s a cool way to “introvert” while in a public place and with friends and still not feel like a freak, like certain elementary school teachers might label you as (thinks: hmmmm, personal issues?). Anyway, writing about the shows has been an awesome outlet and helps me observe and introvert simultaneously. Side notes:
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April 2024
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