Grateful Dead Concert 3-28-93

What Is This?
I was asked by many about my musical influences when making stamps and asked to share some of the stories behind the concerts I have seen. I have been to 1200+ live concerts (all national touring bands/singers with albums, not local club bands or tribute/cover bands, have seen plenty of those too) and have saved every ticket stub and backstage pass (when I had one) and kept notes (like a journal) on every show I have ever seen. So from time to time I will scan in the ticket stub from a show I saw (going in no order, skipping around) and talk a little about the show and my opinion. All information property of dA--stamps/dA--bogeyman (me). This is entry#28.

The Concert:
Grateful Dead
(No Opening Act)
March 28, 1993
Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, New York (USA)

Just So You Know:
This was the final trek of the Grateful Dead (ended in August 1995 with Jerry Garcia's death). The Grateful Dead's lineup was Jerry Garcia (lead guitar, vocals), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals), Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), Vince Welnick (keyboards, vocals), Bill Kreutzmann (drums) and Mickey Hart (drums).

Personal:
Ah the Grateful Dead - more then just a concert, a music 'experience' to be sure. This was the third and final time I would see and experience the Grateful Dead live in concert (the group disbanded in 1995 with the death of Jerry Garcia). My buddy Manny flew up from Florida to go to this show with me (he had seen the Grateful Dead live before also). We went to the Knickerbocker Arena five hours early so we could walk around and see all the Grateful Dead fans ("deadheads", Grateful Dead fans that would travel everywhere the band went and had their own community sub-culture) and what they were doing/selling. The Grateful Dead was doing three concerts in a row in Albany, NY and this was the second night. The usual beads, organic foods, grilled cheese sandwiches, hippie shirts and blankets, etc was being sold by the deadheads who were set up all around the concert arena area. We found a little bar and stopped in and had a few cocktails, it was then Manny revealed he had brought some "party supplies" with him from Florida to enjoy the show with (I won't say exactly what, let's just say some illegal substance the Grateful Dead is commonly associated with). What the heck, I am not a drug guy but it was the Grateful Dead and I was game this time so Manny and I 'dropped' the party supplies and had a few more drinks before making our way to the arena for the concert. Wowser was the concert ever enhanced by the party supplies Manny had brought, this is the way the Grateful Dead should have always been seen and experienced (I could go on and on just about this but these entries are really about the music so I will stop here on the drug topic).

The Live Concert (Opener):
There was no opening band for this show.

The Live Concert (Headliner):
The Grateful Dead come out to the cheers and applause of the sold out crowd and briefly tune their instruments and open the concert with "Mississippi Half Step". The crowd was on their feet dancing and singing (including us) to every second of the show - this was common at every Grateful Dead concert, the Grateful Dead had one of the most loyal and fervent fans ("deadheads" as mentioned before) in rock history. Manny and I had a few hippie girls dressed in tie-dye garb near us and occasionally one of them would dance over and dance with us for a few minutes before wandering back to their friends (they were all dancing together). We were feeling 'wonderful' and just soaking up the music and atmosphere throughout the almost three hour event (and yes the arena wreaked of marijuana). The Grateful Dead sounded fantastic on this night and watching their two drummers perform together with their large drum kits was very cool. Garcia, Lesh and Weir's vocals were very pleasing and what I really love about the Grateful Dead is that they were never in any hurry during their concert - in between their songs they may talk a little, tune their instruments again or do a little impromptu instrumental jam intro into the next song. They had no setlist from night to night (like almost every performer does) so you always got a new and fresh performance every time you saw the Grateful Dead. They did play two sets on this evening (taking a 15-20 minute break in-between sets) but I knew almost all of the songs and was very happy with the tunes played that night. After opening with "Mississippi Half Step" as I said before, the Dead went on to perform "Walkin' Blues", "So Many Roads", "Masterpiece", "High Time", "Eternity", "Deal", Scarlet Begonias", "Fire On The Mountain", "Samson And Delilah", "Ship Of Fools", "Wave To The Wind", "Truckin'", "Long Way To Go Home", "Attics Of My Life", "Lovelight" and finished the wondrous evening with "Knockin' On Heaven's Door". Manny and I had a most enjoyable and unforgettable concert experience and we talk about it all the time. Because the Grateful Dead allowed anyone and everyone to record all of their live shows, I have this exact concert on CD and DVD to watch and listen to and always enjoy. Looking back I always thought it was kinda eerie that the last song I ever saw/heard the Grateful Dead perform live was "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and Jerry Garcia would die about 2 1/2 years later ending the 30 year Grateful Dead trek through rock history.

Check out my 'Concert Memories' dA gallery for more of my concert musings da--stamps.deviantart.com/gall…