Greg from Chestertown

I must say, I have those emotions now, reading these posts. Yup, DSO gives us Pride of Cucamonga. Caught Phil doing it in Camden circa ‘97. 3/23/86 was the date of Phil singing the first lines of the show for me. Yea, Thanks Phil, we’re so glad you made it.

it dawned on me today that all of the write ups that I read about Phil when he passed, they all talk about box of Rain , unbroken chain , St. Stephen, but nobody mentioned Pride of Cucamonga. Never played live, so …..that’s interesting.

My daughter’s Eagles just humiliated your Bengals, so, yea, my Raiders will be your Aiders this week.

I’m thinking, just like back in the day, when the Saints were known as the Ain’ts, we should all get together and start calling my Raiders the Aiders, since all they’re doing is helping everybody else win.

I am without speech. So many thoughts, though. He opened one Spectrum show with the line “ SO GLAD YOU MADE IT ! “, the stage went from black to that. They let Phil sing. Showstopper moment right out of the gate. Waited seven years for Box of Rain. Worth it. I had a cassette of, I think, spring tour ‘87, Spectrum, (there it is again) at the end of every song, while the crowd was screaming, Phil would play the lick from the next song. I don’t subscribe to the thought that the Phil Zone Is the spot in front of his speakers. I think the Phil zone is in the air. It’s everywhere. Especially now. Thanks for the memories.

His passing was easy to take because I had just caught my first Dark Star 23 days earlier. His keyboard work set Phil up to bring in the bass and get that tune going. I joined the band right after he did.

He had the toughest job in the world, keeping Deadheads musically entertained between Jerry tunes. He pulled it off, though. I’ll say it again, 3/31/87, Desolation Row. As good as any Jerry ballad I’ve seen.

Saw that man take a hack saw to a stretch of chain during drums at the Electric Factory many moons ago. That’s when I knew Dark Star was for real. Talk about recreating the Grateful Dead experience, spot on.

Sending vibes up into the sky for you on my birthday. Should land on you and your lived ones by tomorrow which is your birthday!

I remember when he went to the Phillies. It was a big deal. He was a difference maker. I was at the game when they won the pennant in ‘80. Their manager, Dallas Green was on the same high school basketball team as my Dad. Yes, the tickets were miracled.

We lost a good one. My favorite lyric of his, “ I’ll trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday…” Powerful stuff there.

…and if you did play Seastones, was that the first time played?!

I will never forget sitting slightly behind stage at one of my spectrum shows, Mickey is barely hanging on to his seat with his ass checks while all four limbs are keeping rhythm, in your basic spread eagle pose. Four drummers, one body.

I talked with my buddy who’s seen the Dead since ‘72, yea, Pat and Stan were there, had to push a green VW bug for the last two miles because the traffic was so bad. (?)

I was listening to Englishtown this morning. Funny how at the end of the first set, they tell everyone that they’re taking a little break, “don’t go anywhere.” I do believe that security was a ring of train cars in a circle, making it a venue. Growing up, we always heard advertisements on the radio for the drag strip there. Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Raceway Park, !

Caught one of those up at the Ambler Inn? Up in Pa. It was impressive but I was a spectator, not familiar with those tunes.

Half of a hit for the airplane. I have heard it on the radio before.

I loved the harmonizing in the debut. We are Star… We are gold… of course, the bar is set pretty high, we’re talking Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

How was that version of Woodstock? I checked the dates, debut was playing in Lower, Slower, Delaware on the anniversary of original Woodstock concert. Planned?

Looks like I am headed back to the old Electric Factory in Philly. …got to callin’ it home.

So, my brother who’s two years older and I go for a walk one summer night in Ocean City New Jersey. There’s a girl who must have been babysitting her little brother, sitting on the stoop on the side of this house while some six year old plays with a toy truck on the sidewalk. We stop and start talking to this girl. My brother being two years older, was flirting with her while I was just kinda sitting there, listening. I’m like thirteen. We talked with her for about an hour. Beautiful brunette with long brown hair wearing a sundress, Definite hippie chick, probably my first encounter with a real one. Somewhere towards the beginning of the conversation, she said “ when you hear the song Woodstock, and they say, I came upon a child of God, that’s what we are. I am a child of God.” I did Mapquest satellite and that stoop is still there, on the southeast corner of 46th and West, in Ocean City. I must have driven past that spot a thousand times since, always remembering that stoop as where I met a child of God, circa 1975. Yea, that debut struck a chord with me. ….Lately, it occurs to me, ….

Yea, without Donna, we don’t get Lisa.

Volunteer parking lot attendant told us that they’re going to rebuild that place. (Might as well, now that there’s a crater) they’re going to grade it into a bowl, or , I don’t know, a crater? Turn it so the stage is facing the entrance to the venue, the parking lot. He said they’re going to have a thousand seats under roof, permanent bathrooms.

Skip sung the other verses. The energy was unbelievable. There is a crater, smoldering, in Selbeyville, where they busted that tune out. I was front and center for the night. My knee cap is screaming at me this morning from stomping my foot to the beat, on that row of tiles they have running back to the mixing board. Apparently, I really needed a show. Just a really great, easy day that left me not dancing but just standing, watching it all unfold. This band is just so enjoyable. Their playing is mesmerizing. Jeff on Comes a Time was swimming deep. Never better. I lost control of my limbs while dancing to the jam in Dancin’ with some hippie chick I remember from a few years back. Afterwords, another girl standing there said, “you have some energy”. I said “I just worked a lot of shit out”. “I am cleansed!”. The sign of a successful show for me, I shake out the angst and recharge the batteries. Mission accomplished last night. Brought to tears twice, Comes a Time and Brokedown. Fitting lyrics for me. To end the show with “gotta get back to the garden” Christ, I’m a gardener. Woke up to rain on the roof, drove through rain to get there but things let off and the skies cleared for the show. Ran into a rainstorm on the ride home too. I went early and swung by the Nanticoke Indian museum in Millsboro on the way. They have a nice collection of artifacts to check out. Nice appetizer before the show. Perfect break from the daily grind, so appreciative for the entire band and everyone behind the scene. These people are dedicating their lives to us. Fortunately, they’re having just as much fun, getting just as much out of it. Thank You.

Wow