favorite favorite favorite favorite

In the winter of 1988, I was in Europe studying language and film history. Good thing I had a pocketful of Owsley to keep those gray February and March nights interesting. That summer, I hitched and trained around the continent on a tour that was once a right of passage. I saw the Boss in Copenhagen, that summer, but for the first 8 months of the year, I was in a veritable musical drought.



Much to my delight, upon my return to American U for my senior year, I learned that the Dead would be playing four shows at the Cap Center before playing four more at the Filthy Rectum. Oh boy! What was to be an experience of smoothing the transition home actually knocked me back on my tuchus.



The Dead grew, tremendously, in both popularity and chops from NYE 1987 (my previous show) to September 1988. They were slipping a bit of Midi into the mix (see Bobby’s rhythmic work on TLEO), and Jerry’s chops were fully back from the diabetic coma.



Oddly, I was able to travel to the box office for a ticket “re re” just one week before, coyly asking if I could buy Philly tix, too. “Sure, no problem,” the lady said! Huh? I walked away from that window with a stack of EIGHT tickets to Landover and Philly!



Anywho, I can’t think of a better show in the run than this opener. I somehow mushed my way down low (security always had us calling this place the Crap Center). The first set contained several of my faves—TLEO, Dire Wolf, Althea, Let it Grow—and the second set was packed to the gills.



OK, Fall 89 blows this away. However, for me, this was the “end of an era”: camping in the “tour head lot” in Landover, camping for a week in a park in Philly, the last times I would do something similar would be Alpine 89 and Autzen 1994. Of course, in 1994, the music was a pale shadow of its former self.



Put on a Hawaiian shirt, and crank it up!

- September 2, 2020I’m back, baby!