Grateful Dead: 9/19/1987

This was the last show of our Dead tour. The band would play another night at the Garden after this, but I would be heading back to Miami with my friends Julie and Miriam. My brother, who graciously provided us a place to stay while in New York, was planning to go with us to this show. He did not have a ticket, and the show was sold out way in advance, but he went into the city with us hoping to find a ticket.

Scalping was illegal in New York at this time, but there were still people outside trying to hawk tickets. One of them came up to us and asked if we were looking for tickets. My brother inquired as to how much, and he replied $100. Now my bro fully expected to pay more for the ticket, but $100 for a ticket that cost $18.50 was insane, so he declined. But immediately, this tall, skinny hippie came up and addressed the guy selling the tickets.

“Hey man. You got a ticket for sale?”

“Yeah. $100.”

“A HUNDRED DOLLARS! YOU’RE CHARGING A HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A TICKET?!”

The skinny hippie dude was broadcasting this to the world. Obviously, the scalper got a little nervous.

“Shhhhhhh. Be quiet.”

“NO! I WANT EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT YOU’RE CHARGING A HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A TICKET!”

At this point, a mass of tie-dyed freaks surrounded the scalper and began chanting: “Scalpers are Scum! Scalpers are Scum.” The scalper slunk away like a rat, crawling back to the sewers.

Anyway, my brother eventually scored a ticket (I think he paid $50, which he was happy about), and we went in to see the show.

This particular show was simulcast on TV as part of Farm Aid III, which I thought was pretty cool. Bob Weir made a point of mentioning the plight of farmers and making a plug for Farm Aid as they were segueing into “Maggie’s Farm.”

After more than a week of travelling around with the intrepid Dead community, I was feeling pretty frazzled. During the intermission, I had left my seat to get a refreshment, and as I was walking back up to our seats in the upper decks, I felt everything begin to spin. The next thing I knew, I saw what appeared to be the Hand of God reaching out of the clouds to help me up. As things came into focus, I realized it was Miriam’s hand. I had passed out and had a near disaster. Falling backwards down the stairs at Madison Square Garden would have been a most unfortunate way to end the tour, but thankfully someone was behind me and caught me as I fell. Miriam would later recount how my eyes rolled back into my skull as I began the fall backwards. To this day, I am grateful to whoever it was that saved me.

Overall, the show was great, but I confess being a little disappointed with “Black Muddy River” as an encore, especially since they had played it already as an encore the second night at MSG. But I quickly got over it.

We had a roll of 69¢ stickers, so on the way back to Jersey City, we strategically pasted stickers around the Port Authority. My brother told me that for about a year afterwards, he kept seeing those stickers and would chuckle inwardly, remembering the good times we had at the show.

Anyway, here is the setlist, and that concludes this run of Dead shows. “What a long, strange trip it’s been.”

Set 1:

• Mississippi Half-Step
• It’s All Over Now
• High Time
• Mexicali Blues
• Big River
• When Push Comes to Shove
• Box of Rain
• Don’t Ease Me In

Set 2:

• Crazy Fingers
• Uncle John’s Band
• Playin’ in the Band
• Drums > Space
• I Need a Miracle
• Maggie’s Farm
• Black Peter
• Around and Around
• Turn on Your Love Light

Encore:

• Black Muddy River

Grateful Dead: 9/18/1987

This was one of the best Grateful Dead concerts I have ever seen. But before I get into the details of this show, I want to share what happened the day before.

The band was taking a night off after the second Madison Square Garden show, so Julie, Miriam and I decided to cruise around the city for a bit and see the sights. While we were on the subway, I noticed a crazy person get on at one of the stops. He was looking around for someone to mess with, so I avoided eye contact, but kept him in my sights. Well, some poor schmuck seated near the doors must have made eye contact with this nutbag, because he laid into him.

“What the fuck are you looking at? You want my fuckin’ shirt? Huh? You want my shirt? I’ll kick your fuckin’ ass!”

The poor dude was obviously taken aback and calmly offered his seat to the crazy guy. This only escalated the situation.

“I don’t want your fuckin’ seat! You want my fuckin’ shirt? I’ll kick your fuckin’ ass!”

The train pulled to a stop at the next station, and the poor victim got up and made a quick exit, but not quick enough. Crazy dude followed him off the train.

“Hey! Come back here! I’ll kick your ass! Want my fuckin’ shirt…”

And the abuse trailed off as the doors closed and the train pulled away. I felt sorry for the guy who was being harassed, but was very grateful that we avoided the wrath of Crazy Shirt Dude.

Anyway, the next day, we were back to seeing the Dead. For this night, we had seats to the left of the stage, affectionately known as the Phil Zone. While we were hanging out, we noticed a person near us frequently checking his watch and marking down notes in a notebook. The first set started, and we danced and had a great time, but we kept noticing this guy with his watch and notebook. Now, I’m used to people writing down setlists, but this seemed a little extra.

After a somewhat short first set, the lights came up and the guy was busy again checking his watch and making notes. We asked if he was keeping the setlist, and he explained that he was timing everything. He then went on to explain in painful detail all the timing of the first set: what time the lights went down, what time the band came on stage, how long they tuned, how long each song was, the amount of time between songs. It was mind-boggling the amount of data this guy gathered. After showing us all the info, he deduced that the second set would be phenomenal, based upon all the time data he recorded during the first set. The dude was right!

I don’t think the setlist, or my words, can adequately convey the energy that was generated in this second set. Not only did they play what may be my three favorite Dead songs in the same set: “Shakedown Street,” “Terrapin Station,” and “Morning Dew,” but everything about this set was awesome beyond description. While I considered myself a Deadhead already, it was during this set that I was transported to a level of Deadication that I had not felt before. If you are a Dead fan, go and listen to the show on Archive.org. You’ll see what I mean.

Here is the full setlist.

Set 1:

• Hell in a Bucket
• Sugaree
• Walkin’ Blues
• Candyman
• Masterpiece
• Bird Song

Set 2:

• Shakedown Street
• Man Smart/Woman Smarter
• Terrapin Station
• Drums > Space
• Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad
• All Along the Watchtower
• Morning Dew
• Good Lovin’ >
• La Bamba >
• Good Lovin’

Encore:

• Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

Grateful Dead and New York City Percussion Ensemble: 9/16/1987

For the second night at Madison Square Garden, we had seats straight back in the lower level. When we got in and took our seats, I noticed something different about the stage—there were chairs set up along the front of the stage. My heart began to race! I immediately assumed that this meant the Dead were going to play an acoustic set. I had never seen the Dead play acoustic, but had heard recordings and was psyched at the prospect. Alas, they did not do an acoustic set, but we were treated to a nice surprise.

The New York City Percussion Ensemble opened the show, unannounced. They were awesome, and had some incredible African dancers accompanying the drummers. One of the people sitting near us said that Babatunde Olatunji was one of the percussionists. I have not been able to confirm this, but I am going with the belief that he was there and that I got to see the legendary drummer perform.

After the drummers, the Dead came out and played two solid sets, so it ended up being quite a long night of music. High points for me were Brent singing “Devil With a Blue Dress > Good Golly Miss Molly,” and a roaring version of “Truckin’” coming out of drums and space.

A side note about this show that is pretty amazing. There were a couple of guys sitting in front of us, and we chatted a bit between sets. Well, after the tour was over and we were all back in South Florida, my friends Julie and Miriam (same friends I was at these shows with) went with me to a Grateful Dead night at a club in Fort Lauderdale. While we were there, these two guys came up to us and said “Hey! Weren’t you at the Dead shows at Madison Square Garden, toward the back, on the second night?” They were the same dudes who were sitting in front of us! We exchanged phone numbers and became close friends. In fact, one of them, Armando, is still one of my closest friends today. It was kind of like some strange twist of fate.

Anyway, here is the full setlist from the show. “New York’s got the ways and means; but just won’t let you be, oh no.”

Set 1:

• Touch of Grey
• Scarlet Begonias
• Little Red Rooster
• Dire Wolf
• My Brother Esau
• High Time
• Let it Grow
• Don’t Ease Me In

Set 2:

• Bertha
• Greatest Story Ever Told
• Devil With a Blue Dress
• Good Golly Miss Molly
• Devil With a Blue Dress
• He’s Gone
• Drums > Space
• Truckin’
• Wharf Rat
• Throwin’ Stones
• Not Fade Away

Encore:

• Black Muddy River

Grateful Dead: 9/15/1987

The day after the third Dead show at the Capitol Centre was a travel day. So me and my friends, Julie and Miriam, packed up our stuff and boarded a train from D.C. to New York City, ready to see another four shows at Madison Square Garden. The band was playing five nights, but we were heading back to Miami after the fourth night. We had lives we needed to get back to.

We passed the time on the train ride creatively, making woven bracelets to sell outside the Garden. Cash was already running low, so we had to generate a little income, if possible.

We arrived in NYC and were supposed to meet my brother who was living in Jersey City at the time. He was working, so we had some time to kill. The three of us sat on the sidewalk and leaned against a tall building, feeling somewhat frazzled. We must have looked even worse than we felt, because some older gentleman who was walking past reached into his pocket and tossed us a small stack of bills, then kept walking. We were taken aback, to say the least, but grateful for the extra cash. We added it to the communal funds.

Later, we met my brother and took the bus from the Port Authority to Jersey City. He and his wife had a nice townhouse there, so we basked in the comfort.

The next day, rested and refreshed, we got instructions from my brother how to get into the city and how to get back home afterwards, then headed out for the first of the Garden shows. When we got to MSG, we were greeted by swarms of tie-dyed freaks crowding the sidewalks as business people in charcoal suits zig-zagged through the sea of color. Looming over the entrance to the Garden was a giant inflatable King Kong, sporting a tie-dye shirt. It was quite the spectacle.

Upon entering the Garden, I got somewhat annoyed that the ticket taker gave me such a crappy ticket stub. I even asked if he could give me the part with the band’s name on it, but he rudely refused. Not much I could do about it.

We got inside and found our seats. The Garden is massive, but after the uncomfortable experiences at the Cap Centre, it felt safe and pleasant. A much better vibe, right off the bat.

The show was solid, and Brent got things rockin’ right off the bat with a great version of “Hey Pocky Way.” Second set was really fun, and “Gimme Some Lovin’” echoed how I was feeling—so glad I made it! “Baby Blue” encore was a sweet way to end the night.

Catching the bus back to Jersey was uneventful, although there was no shortage of strange folk lurking around the Port Authority. But we caught our bus, made it to my brother’s, and wound down the evening.

Here’s the full setlist.

Set 1:

• Hey Pocky Way
• New Minglewood Blues
• When Push Comes to Shove
• Me and My Uncle
• Mexicali Blues
• Row Jimmy
• Queen Jane Approximately
• Tennessee Jed
• Music Never Stopped

Set 2:

• China Cat Sunflower
• I Know You Rider
• Estimated Prophet
• Eyes of the World
• Drums > Space
• The Wheel
• Gimme Some Lovin’
• Black Peter
• Sugar Magnolia

Encore:

• It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

Grateful Dead: 9/13/1987

This was the last of the three-night series of Dead shows at the Capital Centre in Maryland, and frankly, I was glad it was. While on the previous day the Prince George’s County police had engaged in Gestapo-style tactics, today proved to be more of the same. I witnessed a phalanx of officers advance aggressively through the parking lot, actively assaulting and intimidating concert-goers. The worst incident that I saw was a cop walking up to someone who was holding a bottle of beer, taking his nightstick, and smashing the bottle in the person’s hand without any warning. It was so sickening that I felt like throwing up. Thankfully, I was savvy enough to avoid any confrontation.

My brother Mike and our friend Jon, who were with us for the first two nights, had left to head back to Florida. It was just Julie, Miriam, and me. We made it safely into the venue for what turned out to be a great show, in spite of all the violence and tension outside. The parts that really stood out for me were “Fever” in the first set and “Throwing Stones” in the second set. I would learn later on that this was the Dead’s only performance of “Fever,” which Bob Weir sang. As far as “Throwing Stones” goes, the crowd sang along with such fervor and anger directed to the authorities outside and the politicians in nearby DC, that the anti-authoritarian sentiment was palpable in the air.

The next day, the three of us would catch a train to New York City for four more shows at Madison Square Garden, but that part of the long strange trip is for another day and another stub. For now, here is the full setlist from the last night at the Cap Centre.

Set 1:

• Iko Iko
• Little Red Rooster
• Brown Eyed Women
• Fever
• Stagger Lee
• When I Paint My Masterpiece
• Bird Song
• Promised Land

Set 2:

• Scarlet Begonias
• Fire on the Mountain
• Playin’ in the Band
• Drums  > Space
• The Other One
• Stella Blue
• Throwin’ Stones
• Good Lovin’
• La Bamba
• Good Lovin’

Encore:

• Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door