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Even though this is not a perfect recording ~ not by any stretch ~ it is a wonderful representation of the Grateful Dead before they became a whoreshold word.Me and two friends stole away from the safe and warm confines of our parent's suburban homes and went tripping into the city after syphoning a full tank of gas out of the neighbor's cars. Well, that 53 Cadillac of ours used a lot of gas!So, in the middle of the night we crossed the Bay Bridge and went driving around the city. We wanted to drive out to the Golden Gate Bridge and walk across it, but it was very windy and cold, so we somehow ended up in the Marina District. And as we were driving around I saw the Matrix and told my buddies that I wanted to go in there.When we got to the door my friends found out that you had to be 21 to enter, but, looking authoritative, I flashed my high school press pass at the bouncer and told him that the friends with me were cool. It was very late and the bouncer didn't seem to care. He let us come in for free.What we witnessed was closely related to absolute bedlam. There were a bunch of folks in weird get-up and they all looked like they were very drunk and writhing around to the music. The place was very small and the band was positioned in an L-shaped configuration to accommodate the room. I had been to the Matrix once before to see the original Jefferson Airplane, but, for some reason, I didn't recognize the place ~ the club's owner's had made some modifications to the interior.It was all so sublime. The GD played standards that most of us recognized, only they would drag out the middle portions of the song and attack it so feverishly that when you thought you couldn't stand it any longer they would finally resolve and bring the song back to its former roots.We stood up against the wall and listened and watched. I was all of 17 going on 22.Afterward, we drove down Lombard to Van Ness and continued onto Lombard and down the "Crookedest Street in the World."The boys dropped me off at around 3:30 am. Three hours later my dad knocked on my door. It was time to get up,But I was already up.How I made it through school and wrestling practice I'll never know, but I was young and could stay up all night.That's what you had to do.Fond, fond memories.Damn, I don't know if I should be proud or totally embarrassed. I just let my life slip away into following this crap.What did the Grateful Dead ever do for me?Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh,