For those who may have read my rambling rant on the Alpine show in 87 -jeez, sorry - I wasn't thinking straight. It was '88, when I went to my 1st Dead show- in Minneapolis, then, afterwards, met up w/my, like 2nd cousin, once removed (or something like that), who when we finally found him, amongst the hustle & bustle of the after-show crowds, we (my "then-friend" and I hopped in their van, we made a stop over at another distant cousin's house -a dude who I'd barely knew, just heard about, etc, and whoa-he turned out to be pretty cool: we stopped in, smoked a bowl w/him, had a beer or 2, etc then had to split)-my "friend" & I were both tripping out of our heads -had dropped just B4 the Mpls show, so we were up all night for the long road trip to East Troy, WI. Anyway, we got into town in the early AM, ate breakfast at this cute little diner in the town square, then, basically had all day to do stuff-and boy, I remember it was REALLY HOT during that period!! I think the mercury got up to 102 or something in that neck of the woods! Actually, come to think of it, we not only arrived early, but a DAY early: so, actually, and, we could only stay long enough to see 1 Dead show (out of 4, I think, that year), cuz cousin had 2B back at work ASAP. But that 1st night, Bob Dylan was playing there. I was hanging out more, that day, w/my friend, from Mpls and we were all tuckered out from the wild night previous, and bored too- sitting on this hill outside of the theater, then something made us decide to go walk around the fenced off areas-meaning the amphitheater, itself -soon we found there were a bunch of others w/the same idea and suddenly, one of them ran into this gate, built into the wooden fence-I think someone on the inside opened it for us, then we all just rushed inside. At 1st this one, lone security guard was there, trying to hold us all back and, seeing as there were too many of us, gave up & said "what the hell..." and so we got in scott-free! -at the time I didn't realize this (I was only 17 at the time)-but the spot where we got in was smack dab in the middle of the beer garden and what you had to do was show an ID to get in there, but once you were in there, hell...I could've bought all the beer I wanted too! But, I never tried cuz I figured that we would've gotten ID'd. Anyway, so -we got a 2-fer on that occasion: a free Bob Dylan show, then the next night the opening of the string of Dead Shows. Fabulous shows. (once the sun went down, at least it wasn't so friggin' hot!!). It's just too bad that dude had to go home & get back to work. I would've loved to stay for more shows. Luckily, the next year, I and a few more friends, drove back there and that time we had gotten tix for a 3 or 4 shows! It was a great, great time!!

Ya know for the most part all 4 shows were pretty freaking good, yeah it was hot iff you call 101 degrees hot but the man upstairs gave us water so we overcame that bump in the road. The whole summer was pretty much filled with good shows ya know as i sit here trusting my burnt memory. We missed about 8 shows this whole year and i gotta say there were not many let downs. But there is a dude that gave a review of this show that got a full sheet of gooneys for just about dirt cheap and then proceeds to say he was gettin 5 bucks a hit. I think that guy is missing the point Figure 50 bucks maybe a little bit more 4 the sheet. Do the math 100 hits times 5 per dose is 500 dollars. So it works out to be a 50 dollar investment and you get back your original 50 and then a 450 profit. Greed kills man. A small profit is to be expected ya know for your time but you are a fucking thief. Karma is real so be ready for it. Yes i know it was a while ago but there is no statute of limitations on Karma.

Just a quick memory:

I bought a Gooney Bird t-shirt before the show to celebrate the little tabs that I had been ingesting. But I then had to find some lame explanations for my parents (and grandparents) who kept asking me about the shirt when I'd wear it around the house:

"What is a Gooney Bird?"

To this day I don't know whether they believed a word out of my mouth.

Thanks, again, to the Archive, for keeping our collective memories alive, even as our individual memories fade away.

-Eruby

I agree. I love great AUDs. And I shake my head at the knee-jerk reaction to a rough AUD like this: "where's the SBD?" The problem with this is not that it's and AUD, it's simply that it's not a good AUD. There are plenty of lousy SBDs out there as well.

Overall: Great show with, of course, the first ever Foolish Heart. A less than great audience recording. I love AUDs b/c they capture the feeling of the show, but this one is not great (sound quality B) - but if the alternative is not to have any recording of this show, I'll take it and thank you very much for uploading it for us all. But at least you do get a feel for the enthusiasm of the Alpine crowd.

The scene: the first voyage of the VW camper!!! Until now, I'd travelled to shows via my old Oldsmobile. About a month prior to this show, I got the trusty dark green '77 camper for just $2000 from a family in Brighton who only used it for a few family vacations. That vehicle would usher us in style and comfort in the years to come. Although I haven't had it now for more than 15 years, I still have dreams on a regular basis that I'm back in it, or that I found it and bought it again, etc. That bus is forever deeply engrained in my psychie. Frank P and I were the only ones of our little family to make it to these shows. They, unfortunately, fell on the same week as our senior year high school finals. I rearranged a few finals to take early and the rest i had good enough grades so I wouldn't fail even when I skipped the finals. Unfortunately, on the same morning that we left, our good friend Nick died in a car crash. We didn't hear about it until the day after the second show. I'll tell more on that in reviewing the 6/23 show. Anyway, this was the year of the dust bowl. Very very very hot and dry. I got some wicked sunburn. But these were my first Alpine shows and I was really excited after having listened to all the fabled Alpine tapes for a few years. This was also the kickoff to the first of our full-tours. The only east coast shows I missed this summer were Minnesota and Ohio, and I also made it out west for the Greek shows. And this show began it all. Frank and I ate some (perhaps a little too much) organic fungi before the show. I was unable to even speak for most of the show. We sat on the lawn and would just exchange these looks without any words - each knowing exactly what the other was thinking each time. I think I was finally able to talk at some point in the second set, when I asked him "what the hell was that second set opener??" Of course, he didn't know either. I wasn't sure if it was some obscure cover or if I was just a little too high, or what. Of course, it turned out to be the first time they played Foolish Heart. Good times.

The music: Set I: Lots of great energy on this set. Mississippi and Stranger both signal that the boys are going to continue the tradition of smokin Alpine shows. Compared to many 86-87 shows, you can tell they're letting jams breathe a little more. Brent shows that he's come to rock your socks off with Never Trust. Ramble is one of those songs that I think can be a bit overrated sometimes, but Jerry really puts some umph into this one. Bird Song goes outside the typical boundaries with some nice off-scale jamming and a great building climax, highlighting the band's direction toward better jamming in this time period. Promised Land indeed. It rocks and it had special meaning for me and many others making their first trip to the famous Alpine Valley.

Set II: Foolish Heart sounds fantastic. I'd forgotten that they did it with a pretty nice little jam. In some of the subsequent versions this summer, I think they scaled back on the jam a bit, and then evenutally expanded it again later. In any event, for a first time live, this is already an excellent version. The Playin' is very good, but not amazing. UJB has some great high points in its jam which extends nicely into drums. GDTRFB>Miracle>Fantasy>Throwin>NFA is really strong. It definintely felt like they were headed toward Hey Jude, before Jerry settled it down and they went into Throwin. Not Fade has serious energy, which is nice, as this is often a let down of a song at the end of an evening. There's not a tremendous amount of variety to Knockin (as in, I've never thought "wow that was the best Knockin I've ever heard," etc), but this one is really pretty good.

------ I might sound like a silly "Jimmy Carter era" dead head, but I loved this song from the first time I heard it [?] --- I am doing my self a favour; cassette streaming as many as I can find.

The first of four in southern Wisconsin; about 75 minutes away from metropolitan Chicago.

1st Set: After 48 seconds of tuning we're given a tour of "Mississippi." This recording, btw, isn't all that much better than the previous show. It's still quite cloudy. Anyways, this "Mississippi" isn't great but it flows just fine. The segue into "Stranger" is smooth. This performance is deep in the moderately tempoed funk. Credit the rhythm section for providing the meat that Jerry could grizzle in. We've got two minutes of silence..."professionalism, folks" who knows what that was in reference to? "Never Trust" will become more pronounced when Brent's confidence escalates. Hopefully, "Ramble" and "Rooster" were performed in the evening as their full-bodied evocative entries feel night worthy, especially the latter. "Bird" continues the seemingly slow-pacings, but there's meat, meat... Although it isn't beatifically brilliant, there's an intent to probe which satisfies. "Promised" is the fair closer after noticing what debuts after the set break. Jerry and especially Bobby turn up the heat in the last minute. "We're going to go backstage to think it over." someone's having a good time...

2nd Set: Seemingly fitting, the crowd is attentive and behaved before its unveiling. Two crazy-eyed fanatics unquestionably assert 'Scarlet.' Most think, even as it starts chortling that it's going to be... but upon Jerry's singing..everyone's stunned and looking at each other with bemusement and wonder. The first "Foolish Heart" A bit of a maligned start but the band's collective energy allowed it a sufficient exhaust of collective energy. "Playin" was the right choice, eagerly accepted and brisk til the murky jam. They enter a comfort zone which translates nicely into "UJB." Undeniably, a good-natured knee-slapper. Jerry rips a potent potable at 6:25. At 8:02 the "Playin" chords are re-introduced. A dark, Disnefied "Drums" Feel the reverberation during the latter 8's..."Space" goes by pretty eventlessly but the "GDTRFB" that emerges is a beast! "Miracle" ain't too shabby as well as the energy these men have is groundswelling."Fantasy" continues the mighty virile string of tunes. Instead of a ballad we're treated with a grounded though capable machine "Throwing." There is a wall of sound providing "NFA" its punch. Bobby gets in a few good licks 2:30's. Nice capper to a delicious 2nd.

Some more bop-bop's from band to crowd. Although I think "Knockin" is too heavy for this evening, it's very touching save for Bobby 'Tommy Lee Jonesih' overdoing his cries. It's beautifully drawn out.

3 2/3rd stars

Lots of Energy - good memories-Take me back

Recording -Lacking in Quality - anyone with Sound boards out there ?

Particularly strange - anyone remember a nitrous tank in the bathroom stall stage left ? Slowwwwww ssssssss... Maybe just a figment of my fevered brain.

What is said during space #13- 1:25? Sounds like YES(the band) I remember this during the show - can't make it out here but it was intensely meaningful that night...
Before the show
We parked on the Highway shoulder three cars wide and walked through fields to make it in as the first song broke...Things got to looking strange about Ramble on Rose...
Vividly remember highstepping on the walkway before reserved sec. during GDTR...

Unleashed after the show -
Going back to the car in the dark there were helicopters above the field...Chaos - lights searching - Highway patrol flashing - ticketing cars...fractals and patterns inthe dark.

Still the sound of this rates a 1.5 star

If I remember correctly, this was the year of the midwest draught. It was hot and dusty, we had a large army tent and smoked so much opium in that thing. I also remember waking up to guys walking round passing out tequilla shots. What a good week that was. 4 shows with a wednesday break. Nothing ever will compare to that week, it shaped my life.

Does anybody remember the Black Pyramid Blotter going around on Shakedown?... We bought the doses 3 for 5 and sucked 'em hard. The last thing I remember was seeing lighting in the trees.

I should have seen that show, but I ended up dancing in the parking lot for the next 24 hours... Someone told me later they were 1000 mikes each. I bought the Bird's for 60 a sheet later on that summer at Laguna Seca, CA and sold back home in Lawrence, KS for 5 each. Talk about a nasty prophet! ;-?

Oh, I met God that night, too.

This was my first 3 day shakedown st. fest. We ate so many Gooney Birds that I can't believe I ever came down. Solid run. These were the good ole days!

That was the first thing I heard in the lot at my first show 6.25 oHio.Of course they found there way in me,gooney bird at 14.
First Foolish Heart

Can't forget the rippin' Radiowaves that were also going around !!!!

Yep, sure do. Those things were on the whole tour. We bought several sheets and were taking them well into winter ;)

Nice run of shows. But, boy was it hot and dry. Does anybody remember Gooney Birds?