acchiapanza wrote:

"During Althea, the clouds dramatically started to part right after Garcia says "this space is getting hot" right in the middle of the song. You can hear the crowd react. Then he says "You know this space is getting hot" and the sky completely clears."

I confirm this miraculous moment. It started off as a very unexpected kind of cool grey overcast day, not real bad but a bit of a downer. We were all getting warmed up and were resigned to the cool weather and suddenly it seemed as if Jerry said to himself, "fuck this fog, man, bring on some sunshine". The crowd went bananas and the skies stayed clear for the rest of the day.

I don't see an upgrade of this particular tape, Utopian, but that's fine with me. It sounds pretty good. Perhaps even better than the Miller/Kirschner AUD. The sound is more rounded and less harsh here.

peace

This was a great venue and show. I remember I was in Wilmington,NC and hearing about these shows,I tried to find someone to go but couldn't find any Eastcoasters willing to make the trek so I took that Greyhound. 83 hrs on a friggin' bus. That was cool because from Atlanta all the way to the Bay area there was a core group of eclectic people that were going the entire way, By the time we got to the end, though in normal life we would never have related as a group, we were like family. I hopped off in Mountainview and took a city bus (ahhh not another bus) over to Palo Alto. I remember the trees. Were they eucalyptus trees? They lined the street leading up to the venue. A very unique looking place. Well the bus ride was well worth the trip because these shows were great. Just that special hometown elite vibe. I was recording with a D-5 and I had a friend who's roomate worked for BGP so we got to go in before they opened the gates to set up. That was perfect (this was before the bainful taper section was uh created). We tried a blend box and used 421's with 441's. The tapes sound awesome. I did this whole tour with my buddy from Camarillo, Mike A. unfortunately I googled his name last september and found his obit. in Hilo from Sept. 2000 (we had lost touch)here is to you buddy. We went on this entire tour in his karman Ghia and then he came East and went in my ride. Those were the days.

Oh this brings back memories. My first Stanford Dead show in the town I grew up in. Fabulous day... not a scorcher like it often is. The glory of green trees all around us, a skull and roses over the stage, and Hoover tower in the background.

During Althea, the clouds dramatically started to part right after Garcia says "this space is getting hot" right in the middle of the song. You can hear the crowd react. Then he says "You know this space is getting hot" and the sky completely clears. On the tape I have, you can hear the crowd go completely nuts, but your mikes were far enough above the crowd to minimize this. Still a very spiritual moment.