Sorry no post last week but between prep for the Super Bowl and family obligations, I just didn’t have time to get anything down. So I’m gonna use this opportunity to start a new series, It Was 20 Years ago Today. This will be a tribute to all the shows I saw when I really got serious about making music my life, 1991. It was also my senior year of high school which somehow didn’t really hinder my ability to get to shows. The first shows I’ll be writing about are the Grateful Dead at the good old Cap Centre, March 18, 20, and 21st. Would just like to take a moment and crow here. While I was figuring out how to swing Dead shows on a school night, some of my friends (who would later see the light), were busy going to see the New Kids at the York Fair, the MC Hammer/ Vanilla Ice tour, and even Milli Vanilli. My friend’s logic for attending this show was all the chicks that were there. Desperate times call for desperate measures I guess.
I had one whole show under my belt but ready to embrace the lifestyle of being a Deadhead and all that came with it. The boys announced their Spring Tour and the closest shows were a 4 night run at the Cap Centre in Landover, MD, right outside of DC. It started on St. Patty’s Day and ended on the 21st with the 19th off. All the shows were on school nights but I was a well-behaved student and had good grades so for some reason my parents said I could go to the shows as long as I made it to school the next day. Wow. Tried to get tixs for all four nights through mail order but was denied the 17th. The group of people that went down had their car blow a hose on the radiator and didn’t get back until right before classes started so I’m kinda glad I missed that.
Time never moves as slowly as when you are sitting in the last period of the day waiting to get out of class so you can go to a Dead show. The last period was known as RWL, or Reading, Writing and Listening. Teachers would rotate through the classes and some treated it differently than others. It was kind of like a study hall except that one teacher, Mr. Bruce Lee (actual name, coached track but not the cool martial artist icon nor was he even Asian.) He liked to engage us on the listening part. And what would he read to us? Paul Harvey. I’m about to go to the last stand of modern American bohemian and I’ve got to listen to boring stories from one of the most uptight white Americans ever minted. Ken Kesey, please rescue me from this black and white America and throw some day glo on my brain!!
I attended the shows with different people every night. All of them are now respectable adults and have kids. For those who may have engaged in some questionable activities, I shall mask your identities. Those that didn’t, I will include your names.
First night, the 18th, myself, Andy Kindon, and Matt Bankert headed down after school, I was friends with these guys because we were all members of the Bulimic Cannibals, Hanover’s best band of 1991. It was a rather uneventful journey and lot scene, a nice way to start off a run of shows.
03-18-91 Capital Centre, Landover, Md. (Mon)
1: Touch, Minglewood, Ramble On, Me & My Uncle> Maggie's Farm, Row Jimmy, Picasso Moon, Don't Ease
2: Playin> Uncle John> Playin> Terrapin> Drumz> Miracle> Stella Blue> Lovelight
E: Baby Blue
Here’s link where you can stream or download this show.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1991-03-18.nak.cohen.107155.flac16
The highlight was the first half of the second set. Playin Uncle John’s sandwich, Hell Yes! Got back safe and sound and made it to school the next day with a night off to recharge my batteries.
For the 20th, I went down with KM, J and JF. We met at J’s house. When her mom found out JF was going, she was pissed. Evidently, JF had a reputation for being a troublemaker and an all around badass. We headed down in J’s BMW. While on I-95, someone broke out a bowl and puffing commenced. While I had chilled out a few times by this point in my life, I was worried about grades and more specifically a test I had at the end of the week. I hadn’t told my parents about the test because I knew they wouldn’t let me go to the 21st show if they knew I had a test the next day (Got a C on said test, ended up with a B for the quarter.)
So while they’re puffing, we roll by a phalanx of police cruisers, sitting on the side of the interstate, looking for Heads misbehaving. Back in the early 90’s, a lot of profiling went on if you were driving a car with a bunch of Dead stickers on it. But luckily, we were in a BMW, not a bus covered in stickers. It still freaked me out but we got to the lot. As soon as we get out of the car, this woman comes up and says she wants to write us up a ticket. I still have the adrenaline flowing through my body because of the close call, and she informs us it’s for not partying hard enough and wants a donation for the local food bank. Thus began my life long dislike of those people who seem to be at every show collecting money for some charity. I go to shows to get away from hard sells, and have also witnessed these people get a lot of money from highly intoxicated people for a cheap ass sticker.
Get inside and Wed was even better than Monday night.
03-20-91 Capital Centre, Landover, Md. (Wed)
1: Stranger, Cold Rain, Rooster, Althea, B. T. Wind, Tennessee Jed, Music> Might As Well
2: Eyes> Foolish Heart> Estimated> He's Gone> Drumz> Other One> Wharf Rat> Sugar Magnolia
E: The Weight
last "Might As Well": 04-05-88 [216]
Here’s a link where you can stream or download this show
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1991-03-20.nak.cohen.107168.flac16
I never even heard the song Might As Well, but when the Bobby ran over to Jerry at the end of Music, everyone knew something big was about to happen. The whole venue was rocking to the tribute to the Festival Express 1970 tour. Rest of the show was solid. Made it back and had one more show on the run. Let’s finish strong people!
I went down to this show with a chick I had a huge crush on. To protect her identity, I’ll just call her AD. She was supposed to go with me to my first show ever, Steve Miller with Lou Gramm from Foreigner opening. My second show was the Dead at RFK stadium on 7/12/90. Don’t worry, my street cred is safe. She had to bail because it was the same week as her swim camp. Thus, at my first show, a life long pattern of any attempts to go to a show with a woman blowing up in my face by every means available. You can read more about this when I go on Dr. Phil’s show and pour my heart out on his couch. Hmm, better make that Dr. Phil Lesh. Anyway, went to the show without a hitch. Actually turned down the opportunity to puff because of that pesky old test the next day. Overall, a pretty solid show.
03-21-91 Capital Centre, Landover, Md. (Thu)
1: Half Step, Mexicali> Big River, Candyman, Memphis Blues, Bird Song
2: Victim> Scarlet> Fire> Stir It Up Jam> Drumz> GDTRFB> Throwing Stones> NFA E: Box Of Rain
first "Stir It Up Jam"
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1991-03-21.nak550.cohen.109365.sbeok.flac16
First set was rather short, setting up a trend for the 90’s. Everyone went bonkers for the Stir It Up jam, but not being familiar with Bob Marley at the time, I didn’t know what it was. Yeah sorry I wasn’t into Brother Bob in high school but I was into the Dead in middle school so again, my street cred is safe.
So with an actual run of shows under my belt, I really felt like I had found what I wanted to do with the rest of my existence. Thanks to all those who went on that first run with me, and shall we go, you and I, while we can?
Furthur
Dave Kemp
BA in American Studies
PhD. In Rock and Roll
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