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Colorado/alaska


Guest L~Cat

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Guest Lisacat

Was fortunate enough to attend the shows in 2 of the most beautiful states in the country and was surrounded by dear friends and family. I'm not always a huge fan of outdoor shows as there are so many elements that can get in the way of dancing- ground surface, weather, people smoking cigarettes amongst dancers, but I have to say the Mish and Statebridge were heavenly. The CO crowd is also one of the grooviest crowds to be in. Love those mountain hippies. Statebridge goes down as my favorite show of the run I think. The second set was one of the best I heard this band play. The TN show was also a special treat. I felt sorry for the band that so many people were bitching, but that's what you get for having expectations. I don't think people really understood what TN meant. I'll take those "shitty covers" anytime.

Alaska was breathtakingly beautiful. Got to see glaciers and grizzly bears and big freakin' begonias. I've never ever seen flowers that grew that huge in my life. The anchorage show was my favorite of that run despite the heat inside. Lots of pigpen and a beautiful attics. I could see the band doing a 2 or 3 night run there next time....the crowed LOVED DSO. Healy was a great little outdoor venue with a very convenient RV/Tent campground, restaurant with great beer, and general store. The weather held out too. The crowd was definitely thin at first but as the night went on it seemed to get more crowded. Either that or people just moved closer to the stage. There didn't seem to be as many deadheads there as there were in anchorage. It was more of a crowd of people there to hang out but there were some folks blissfully dancing down front. Somehow made up at 7:30 am for a shuttle trip through Denali. That trip got mixed reviews for sure. I LOVED it but not everyone was a happy camper that day. I was so happy to see Grizzlies and the gorgeous mountains. If I go to Alaska again, I will definitely try to camp in denali and do some hiking. The fairbanks show was the most difficult show as far as venue/crowd goes. It was a small room inside a bar type venue out in the middle of nowhere. Not sure if it was sold out, but it was packed. Some of us ended up dancing outside the side door for a little while. The crowd was pretty obnoxious too. I think there might have been some Jersey transplants or something. My friend made a comment- Alaska, where the men are men and women are too. We managed to make some dancing space right in the front for the end of the first set for the very yummy WRS>let it grow. That was fun.

I was really happy that we had a nice group of folks from the lower 48 there- probably 16 of us or so from all over the country, even a good representation from the 418. I'm hoping the band gets to go back next summer so more folks can get a chance to do it. It was worth it and having an RV was definitely the way to go.

After the long strange trip the last week and 6 years have been, I've decided it is time for me to take this journey elsewhere. Moving forward. I hope to see you all down the road at some point. You have all been an inspiration to me. Its been fun. Keep your lovelights on.

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Guest Lisacat

Here are some pictures from Denali NP and a few other random shots. Will work on getting the rest up later- ended up using three different cameras. Mercury retrograde sure was making itself known between the breaking cameras, tripping and falling out of RVs, and communication breakdowns and now the east coast earthquake. 3 more days til that f*cker turns around.

https://picasaweb.go...CMXY246U7LvAvgE

These are from Kenai Fjords NP- Exit Glacier and some from the Healy show.

https://picasaweb.google.com/chinacats111/AlaskaAugust2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCPOkp5Paovy2igE

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from what i remember standing out, at this point, just waking up at home this afternoon........

1st nite......ELECTRIC deep elem {may be ONLY one of 1970}, black peter {but who can the weather command?}, hurts me too {lisa rippin' the harp}, GOOD LOVIN' {got me a sweet black mare...etc...LOL}, midnight hour {yes, 2 pigpen's in a row!!!}, sweet attics, lovelight {yet another pigpen}....AND THE FILLER, WOWOWOW cryptical>o1>cryptical {smokin' psychadelic-ness}.......yeah, the crowd VERY into DSO !!!!!! kewl poster, too.....

2nd nite......gr8 bertha to open, el paso, wrs>grow {wow!!! even lisa gettin' down BIG time on stage....and this is the SPLAT into the parked bus moment...LOL}....playin>ujb>DEW!!!>ujb>playin.....rippin' big river....stella AND wharf rat ???!!!???? {c'mon now}....scarlet filler !!!!!.....great little venue....good beer....good food.....

3rd nite.....{my fave of the bunch}....granted twas SUPER packed with beer drinkin' standers...and HOT HOT HOT {1st nite was too, btw}.....promised>bertha>greatest {i personally LOVE lisa's vocals at the end of greatest.....too, wasn't too many 1st set openers of this....bunches of them in 2nd set in this era}....BT Wind VERY well played....Bobby McGee....me & my uncle {i grabbed a bottle, cracked him in the jaw.....wasn't too far from the truth in this venue}....WRS>LET IT GROW {lemme just say, the PRESENCE displayed in this, with the great dance space right in front of the stage {{there were these folks seemingly enjoying chatting & laughing at us couple dancers there....tho stopped abruptly {{{hmmm, wonder how that went down??}}} once they were "inspired" to give a little respect & room (kudos, to you 3 others)}}, was OFF THE HOOK !!!....AND this PRESENCE {i dunno if best word} continued 2nd set Half Step>Big River>DARK STAR {ongoing Caution-esque hints of jam}>MLB JAM!!!!>EYES {my favorite of the entire run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!}......

so, again, tis what i recall at present....i'm sure there was much more that escapes my tired self....if i remember more, will repost, but y'all get the idea....can't wait for {fingers crossed} another Alaska run {preferrably with a bit more sunshine....}....

5+ HOURS IN CHENA HOT SPRINGS THE NEXT DAY WAS THE PERFECT COMPLIMENT AND RECOVERY....ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS 110+ DEGREE RELAXATION ZONE !!!!!!!! {after chattin' with a few locals, would love see & be here in the winter, tho F#%K -40 degrees, so i doubt i will be takin' that plunge}

oh yeah, Bixby, you were friggen HILARIOUS !!!!!!!!....

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Guest Lisacat

uploading a couple videos from healy. My memory ran out after 8 seconds on the 2nd video so thats all I could get. I wanted to capture the dancers since Gary always gets the band.

By the way, that bus is the bus from Into the Wild.

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Guest Lisacat

also can't forget to mention the disco dancing party inside the venue after the Fairbanks show. Even Ms Mackey was getting down. Those alaska folks sure like to party.....there was quite a rager in Healy after the show too.

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also can't forget to mention the disco dancing party inside the venue after the Fairbanks show. Even Ms Mackey was getting down. Those alaska folks sure like to party.....there was quite a rager in Healy after the show too.

oh yeah....disco DISCO !!! {not to mention the complimentary beers}

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:) :)

So GOOD to hear all having a BALL !!

I must mention some of my finest DEAD memories included DISCO dancing afterwards . Jer and the boys just primed ME silly and then to walk into a F U N dance party :)

Like taking CANDY from a baby. So good all.

A

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Guest tundrareef

glad to see everyone that came north had a good time.

i didn't have time to make the trek to anchorage, but we did head south for the healy show and then caught the loon show.

healy was fun and i think the highlight for me was the wrs. someone mentioned that it seemed that less deadheads were present and i would agree. from my experience seeing music in the park (or near it:), the crowd seems to show late 'cause they are all the seasonal workers and don't get off until the restaurants/hotels close. i wasn't impressed with the sound at healy, although, grandma watching our three year old in the campground said it sounded loud! the band was tight, but i didn't find myself being ultra impressed (it was my first time seeing dso). the scarlet was a nice touch at the end.

the loon was packed. i don't think i've seen the inside that packed before. when keller williams/hot tuna/clinton fearon plays there, a third of that crowd shows up. the loon has really started catering to the meat-market crowd (army and airforce base in town) and i'm sure hell's bells packs the house. it seemed to me to be more deadheads than the average music lover. classes hadn't started yet, so the college crowd wasn't in town.

the fairbanks show was packed full of energy! sound was loud and good. lots of drunks in this town, which do take a little away from the scene, but some of us have learned to ignore them and do our own thing (at least they don't allow smoking indoors anymore; used to be disgusting). the highlights were the promised>bertha>gset, china>rider (that was the highlight for me; ok dark star was played in the second set:), wrs was better than the healy version, to lay me down, uncle, and loose lucy. second set was smokin' from beginning to end (1/2 step, big river, darkstar, eyes, china doll, sugarmag, uncle johns, bid you good night) with a nice ripple to close their alaskan visit.

i went with a friend who told me that those shows (11-10-73 and 11-11-73) were some of the first shows that he ever saw back in the '70's! as a senior in college in the bay area and parents that were against any form of dancing, i think it is safe to say that he probably had more fun this time around:(he told me that he first danced at a show 5-6 years ago at the dead news years shows;), though bear might have had more of an influence on him the first time around.

i sure do hope they come back. as for the weather, this has been a particularly rainy summer. may was hotter than hell and sunny, but rain as soon as june hit. we're hoping for an indian summer, or at least the same amount of precipitation in the form of snow would be alright. if they come back earlier in the summer, maybe the loon will have them on the outdoor stage.

there is another place in fairbanks that could host a dso show that would be cool. fox has a brewery called silver gulch and has a big tent with outdoor stage. a little bit more in the middle of nowhere, but good beer. there is an rv park right down the road, too. heck, bernie out at the hotsprings might even be into doing a couple night run with camping! i mean, if you are going to come all this way, might as well do more than one show? right? three night run in anchorage, healy, fairbanks, and don't forget homer, girdwood, and salmon stock at the kenai fairgrounds. we having a saying up here; the first visit is to figure out what you want to do on your next visit.

personally, i think dso is coming back to fairbanks for new years! rob, it doesn't get to forty below. who ever told you that doesn't like the cold and is jealous you are coming back for new years. watching the aurora from the hot springs in the winter is something that you can't describe in words. besides, it's a dry cold:)

anyhow, thanks a bunch for a real good time and do come back sooner than later!

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Guest Lisacat

and don't forget homer, girdwood, and salmon stock at the kenai fairgrounds. we having a saying up here; the first visit is to figure out what you want to do on your next visit.

we stayed in Girdwood the first night out. Loved the little town- and stayed at the Dancing Bears Inn! I could definitely see a show there....seemed like a hip place with a bunch of ski bums. I thought I saw that the Alyeska does shows. Oh and had the yummiest breakfast at the Bake Shop. Those flowers out in front of that place were magical.

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