I have one distinct memory of this show, which took place in the fall semester of my sophomore year. On the way into the arena, I looked up, and there, selling merchandise, were two people I knew from growing up. One was a really good friend of one of my siblings. She had started touring with the Dead in high school or college and got completely sucked into this strange, cult-like group. If I’m not mistaken, this group followed the band around – and Jerry’s solo projects too, I guess – and supported themselves selling Guatemalan-type clothing (“I mean, is that a Mexican poncho, or is that a Sears poncho? Hmmm. No foolin’.”)

Then, and I don’t know what the story is here, her younger sister got sucked into the cult as well. Both of them were outside the gig, with their wares spread out on the ground. We exchanged a bit of small talk.

I haven’t seen either of them since, but I’m pretty sure they both extricated themselves from the cult. Again, not entirely sure of my facts, but I think there was some sort of breakdown where the cult’s leader was exposed as a total fraud or bamboozler or whatever. I suppose that’s how these situations often end.

Anyway, as for the music of the show, I remember just about nothing. Thanks to The Jerry Site, however, we’ve got a set list – and video!

- Set 1 -
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
He Ain’t Give You None
That’s What Love Will Make You Do
And It Stoned Me
Dear Prudence
Run For The Roses
Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
Deal

- Set 2 -
Lay Down Sally
Shining Star
Waiting For A Miracle
Ain’t No Bread In The Breadbox
Tore Up Over You
Don’t Let Go
That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)
Midnight Moonlight

I don’t remember anything about the music played at this show, and I can’t find a setlist out there.

Reflecting on this, it’s testament to the power of the Grateful Dead at that point in time that these two could headline a gig at Great Woods. That’s a pretty big venue for a show like this, two dudes going acoustic. Here’s a YouTube of a Weir/Wasserman performance from 1990.

One faint memory I have of this show is that I think a friend of mine was having some fun up on the lawn, sliding or rolling down the hill somehow. Problem is, she slid or rolled, by accident, right into a nachos and cheese platter that someone had left on the ground. It completely bummed her out. I think she was in some sort of mind-altered state, so the sliding part was fun; the “I’m covered in cheese product” feeling was not.

I also remember stopping to pick up snacks on the drive back from the show. Someone either bought or talked about Sunny Delight, a beverage. I remember not knowing what Sunny Delight was.

Wow. Those are some serious dregs for memories, but that’s all I’ve got.

Finally, I looked on Hot Tuna’s website, hoping to find some archived set lists or something. No luck. I did notice this on their tour dates page:

Promoter / venue will stop audio / video taping, flash photographers as well as people walking up to the front of the stage and take photos with their phone.

Yikes. Seems a little harsh, no?

Not too many memories peek through the fog for this show, which took place at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY.

• This was fall semester of freshman year. I went to the gig with a couple of college friends, one of whom would die the following summer in a car accident.

• This was the first time I saw Phish. I may be imagining this, but I do believe I was astounded at the show by the band’s ability to crescendo, particularly on a tune like Possum.

• Exiting the gig, I bumped into someone I went to summer camp with back in the day. I think he was sober. I certainly was not.

• I might be imagining this too, but I’m pretty sure that when Trey got up on stage with Blues Traveler, I felt bad for Chan Kinchla, Blues Traveler’s guitar player. There was a substantial talent gap between the two guitarists. Who knows, though. Maybe Kinchla didn’t care. His band was headlining, after all.

It’s a shame I don’t recall much from this show; the set lists are nice.

PHISH
The Landlady
The Squirming Coil
Dinner and a Movie
Bouncing Around the Room
Foam
You Enjoy Myself
The Oh Kee Pa Ceremony > Suzy Greenberg
Esther
Possum
Hold Your Head Up > If I Only Had a Brain > HYHU
David Bowie
Carolina
Encore: Don’t Get Me Wrong (with John Popper)

BLUES TRAVELER
Trust In Trust>
Sweet Talking Hippie
Weird Chick>
Mulling It Over
Gina
Gotta Get Mean>
Gloria> (Trey Anastasio on guitar and vocals)
Gotta Get Mean
Crystal Flame
But Anyway
Mountain Cry
Dropping Some NYC>
Mother Funker

Among other things, this blog is a chronicle, a daily update on how music enters and affects the lives of its contributors.

It’s also about turning back the clock now and then.

I bring this up, because the other day, rummaging, I found a stack of ticket stubs in a closet bureau. I think I walked around with these stubs in my wallet for years before they finally made it into the closet. Yes, I’ve got a bit of pack rat in me. Not terrible, but it’s there.

Anyway, last night I thought I might post a list of these shows, just for the record. I created the list in Excel, with columns for date, artist, venue, and a quick note. Then I spent about 15 minutes trying to work the table into WordPress. Finally, I gave up and posted the image of one of the tickets, a bit out of desperation.

But then it occurred to me that perhaps that format might be a good one to blog around, using the relic – the stub – as a point of reference.

So this is the first in a series. Turning the clock back to March, 28, 1990, here are some of the memories that the stub, pictured above, conjures for me.

In 1990, I was a senior in high school. One day, as I was running to class, my roommate yelled out to me, asking if I had some money (I can’t remember the exact amount he asked for). I think I told him to buzz off or something, at which point, he replied that in that case, fine, no Grateful Dead ticket for me. Ha ha. I gave him the cash and got the ticket.

Memory shifts from there to the parking lot out at Nassau Coliseum. I have a distinct recollection of buying hot dogs off a vendor. At one point, I had two of them in my hand. A sort-of good looking young woman asked me if she could have one. I gave it to her. That was it. No conversation, no followup, just sure, you can have my hot dog. See you later.

Inside the gig, I remember not much, except that we were behind the stage. The seats actually weren’t terrible, if you didn’t mind the band having their backs to you for most of the gig.

After the show, we had a nasty surprise when we got back to our car (the Jeep of my roommate’s girlfriend): the tires had been slashed. I don’t recall the sequence of events, but fortunately someone had a credit card or something, and we spent the night in a hotel nearby.

And that’s all I remember about the gig.

Now, I’ve just looked at the set list for this show, courtesy of Dead.net.

It’s killer.

• Cold Rain and Snow
• New Minglewood Blues
• Easy to Love You
• High Time
• Queen Jane Approximately
• Loose Lucy
• Cassidy
• Deal

SET TWO

• Foolish Heart
• Looks Like Rain
• Cumberland Blues
• The Weight
• Hey Pocky Way
• drums
• The Other One
• Wharf Rat
• Good Lovin’

ENCORE

• Revolution

Apparently, according to the notes at Dead.net, the “Looks Like Rain” is the one that appears on the live record “Without A Net.” Holey smokes. I’ve listened to that recording dozens of time since, without realizing that I was at the show. I knew that “Without a Net” was recorded from that tour, but I didn’t put it together.

Looking at the set list, I’m sort of conjuring memories of the show itself now, but I’m not sure if those are real or imagined.