Ackkkk.. ALMOST 2 am and just back from a great Dark Start Orchestra show at Higher Ground. DSO is a… no make that the est Grateful Dead tribute band that has ever exited Honestly They sound more like the Dead than the Dead did, I;ve been attending their shows for nearly as long as I went to Dead shows.. .. and that;s saying something. As I was dancing tonight I realized my first GD show was 36 years ago. Something to think about !   I was there with my buddies Gary Forrest, Paul and Andrew.. and ran into many other friends in the audience.. there were many 20 somethings.. and many about my age….

The band generally plays a complete Dead show from a particular date and place.. so the song list is fixed. I cheated and looked up the songs they played and realized that this was a show from Charlotte NC in June 12th of 1991..   The first set was splendid… some of my favorite songs.. (Peggy-o, Althea, hell in a bucket ).. the second set started with ‘Touch of Gray’ .. a tribute to being older  .. That song has special meaning to me as I used to put on that song and swing all three kids around in the air as we danced to it. Sam loved it most.. he called it ‘swing around music’.. I remembered being at Higher Ground listening to DSO not long after Sam died.. and they played that say song. Touch Of Gray;.. as I did then.. I broke down and cried and danced at the same time.. felt very good and sad at the same time..

Live music clears my head and opens my heart.. I hope you all have live music in your lives.,,

nite all, nite sam

-me