Dead Night 2/15/09 Thunderbird Cafe plus DSO 2/24/09 report

Hiya, hiya, hiya kids! Gather 'round the monitor, grab a cold beverage
(or whatever floats yer boat) and settle in for another weekly roundup
of ruminations and recap of the Dead scene here in the home of the,
ahem, world champion Steelers. The weather has been downright frosty
but with less than a month until the vernal equinox, help's on the
way. We celebrated Mardi Gras last night with a fine performance of
Dark Star Orchestra at the Carnegie Library in Munhall PA. Rather than
replay a previous GD concert, DSO opted for an original setlist
because, as Eaton put it, "it's the end of the tour and we're gonna
play whatever we
feel like." They started out with When The Saints Come Marching In
(which I don't think the GD ever actually performed) into a nifty Iko-
Iko. They kept the Fat Tuesday vibe going with a smokily sensuous Wang
Dang Doodle. I neglected to bring pen and paper so marshalling what's
left of my short-term memory, I recall the following set highlights: a
fantastic Pride Of Cucamonga > King Bee > Pride reprise, a sweet
Mission In The Rain and a Lazy River Road, a snappy electric Silver
Threads & Golden Needles and the set ended with a raging Tangled Up In
Blue. The second set began with a Saint Stephen > Two Souls In
Communion > Not Fade Away > Saint Stephen sandwich, into the "William
Tell" bridge into, inevitably, the Eleven into New Potato Caboose
which wound down to drums. It was a cool drumspace into what for me
was the concert highlight, a killer sweet Comes A Time. The rest of
the show was anticlimax: Throwing Stones > Touch Of Grey > NFA reprise
and crowd chant. The encore was a little-played Keith tune off Wake Of
The Flood, Let Me Sing Your Blues Away. My beautiful wife Karen liked
the first set overall because of the higher energy but on the whole,
she was disappointed in the song choices - there were too many
obscurities and none of her favorites. The crowd which trended
younger, although there were quite a few grizzled vets, seemed to
enjoy all of the music regardless of familiarity, so that's a good
thing, and with spring tour on the event horizon, I'm hoping for a
resurgence of synergy. The most recent Dead Night would seem to
reflect that energy - there were lots of folks and they were
a'partying indeed. Perhaps the President's Day holiday helped matters
but regardless of why, it was a good time to be a Deadhead. Let's go
to the playlist and see how that manifested and, as always Janet, *=
played by request.

Garcia & Saunders 7/5/73 Lion's Share, San Anselmo CA
My Funny Valentine (funny, I thought this would be appropriate for the
day after Valentine's Day and as another nod to the late Merl, but
evidently not as both dear Karen and de facto alpha barkeep Jen rained
on my parade, stating that it was too jazzy and unfamiliar. Well, dog
my cats. Meanwhile, I play a Rocky & Bullwinkle video for eye candy,
the one with the Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam)

3/27/88 Hampton VA (video)
* U.S. Blues (first request of the night for was for Here Comes
Sunshine, hmm, don't seem to have it, got a backup request? Nothing on
the CDs - aha, on a video I planned for later! Pause the video tape
for the DVD)

Ratdog 8/19/07 Darien Lakes PAC, Darien Lakes NY
jam > *Here Comes Sunshine, * At A Siding > Terrapin Flyer (some
detective I'd make - just after starting the Hampton video, there's
HCS on the Ratdog disc, oh well, enjoy. Back to finish the Bullwinkle
video)

2/27/90 Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA (video)
Good Times, Feel Like A Stranger, Sugaree, Victim Or The Crime,
Mississippi Half-Step, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Bird Song (nice
video - two different audience cameras synched with the soundboard
audio, looks and sounds great. I'll be playing the second set next
week but for now, on to another first set)

3/27/88 Hampton Coliseum, Hampton VA (video)
Little Red Rooster, Stagger Lee, Ballad Of A Thin Man, Cumberland
Blues > Me & My Uncle, To Lay Me Down > Let It Grow (the set-opener
Iko didn't make it to the video, but everything else in it is great,
it's a one camera on a tripod, shot from Phil's side of the stage with
the soundboard matrixed in. I paused between sets for a request for
some GD with Keith, 'cause that's the swell guy that I am)

11/17/72 Wichita KS
bass solo > * The Other One reprise > Brokedown Palace, Uncle John's
Band (I hesitated to play the full Truckin' > Other One that preceded
the bass, just too intense but an object lesson for the kids on what
"drums and bass" really meant. The Brokedown is very powerful,
brimming with the energy from the big jam as shown in the "doot doot
doos" that end the song, and the sweet UJB just cried out to be
played, ok?)

3/27/88 Hampton VA (video, continued)
So What > Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Estimated Prophet >
Eyes Of The World > drums (I was at this run of shows and it was
amazing. This was one of the last general admission venues on the
tour, and it was cool to be able to sit with your friends. I just
found out last night that my buddy with who I went to a lot of shows
with recently passed away, so fare thee well Mike Epstein. He moved
from Pittsburgh to SF just so he could live on that fabled corner of
Haight and Asbury and wrap himself in the vibe, alas. While the drums
play on, time for another request)

4/3/85 Providence RI
* Ramble On Rose (the crowd is getting boisterous, singing and dancing
up in the performance area with the projection TV and having a
rollicking good time. This is ideal for the continuance of Dead Night,
and I'm very glad to see it. I stood at the doorway of the venue last
night as folks lined up to get into the show and distributed Dead
Night flyers and "random kindness" CDs - I should have printed up a
bunch more, folks just hadn't heard of the move to the T-bird or had
seen the cafe's listing in the City Paper but hadn't made it there
yet, so hopefully my spread the-word campaign will result in greater
awareness and attendance)

3/27/88 Hampton VA (video, continued)
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad > I Need A Miracle > Dear Mr. Fantasy
Sunshine Daydream (good stuff, just wish TPTB would release more
video even though the Egypt video was recently received and
appreciated. How about the Calebration broadcast?)

6/14/91 RFK Stadium, Washington DC (VFTV video)
Cold Rain & Snow, Wang Dang Doodle, Ballad Of Jack O'Roses, Big River
Maggie's Farm, Row Jimmy, Black-Throated Wind, Tennessee Jed, The
Music Never Stopped (a good way to wrap up the evening, I'll play the
predrums of this show next week as well. Folks are still whooping it
up, so I fast forward to the drums for the eye-candiness and play a
last request or two, thanks for coming and while we're at it, can
EVERY Monday please be a holiday?)

2/19/71 Capital Theatre, Port Chester NY
It Hurts Me Too, *Dark Hollow (great Caesar's ghost, I almost forgot
the obligatory Pigpen! Squeaking it in just under the wire, and
combining with a last minute left-field request, now we're good to go)

There was no Dead Night last Sunday 2/22, by the way. The promoter had
booked three bands for that night and by the time the last one would
have ended, I doubt any but the most diehard Deadhead (that's me, I
guess) would have been there. My sweetie of a wife and I watched the
Oscars and were domestic, but now energized by the DSO show we will
venture forth again and rock the house. Until then, stay cool, fly the
freak flag and have a positive day. Peace and love, TD and Karen

The other day I got out my can opener and was
opening a can of worms when I thought,
"What am I doing?!" -- Jack Handey

my space http://www.myspace.com/deadheadpittsburgh
my blog: http://blog.myspace.com/deadheadpittsburgh
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