Go West Young Man, Why Dead Heads Flocked to SF

In http://jgmf.blogspot.com/2016/02/quite-little-cash-cow-jgb-early-1980.html, the famous Corry342 (see below) makes the observation that "It is my thesis that while the Grateful Dead's music moved (in effect) from West to East, Deadheads tended to move from East to West."

 I agree. So I have decide to show graphically why this may be true.  I am using as an example traveling to my first 11 Grateful Dead concerts in 1976 and 1977 and comparing this to my first 11 concerts in the Bay Area in 1980 and 1981 after moving there in late December 1980.  I have using all the shows I went to in 1976 and 1977 (look to the right if you want to know the exact shows) and the first 11 I show in Oakland and Berkeley starting in December 1980 through December 29,1981 (that's 11 also).  Note I am not counting the Acoustic Show way over in San Francisco or the killer commute to San Mateo for the surprise show, so maybe you can add 30 miles to my totals. :))

Here's what it takes to be 17 and 18 years old without a car and without a driver's license and basically dead broke while attending high school and college to see 11 Dead shows in northeast in 1976 and 1977.

Accounting for trips back home to Lewiston, ME and schools in Andover, MA and Brunswick, ME, google maps says my travels are:

Compare that to the mellow hippie boy moving first to Alcatraz Ave and then 2816 Fulton Street in Berkeley.  here's my path to 11 shows of pretty amazing GD in 1980 and 1981.

These 11 roundtrips took about:

With no car needed, alot on foot up Bancroft to the Greek for 3 of these shows or a few stops on BART over to Lake Merritt Station for the other 8.  I think they should rename that place Terrapin Station, it always looked a little trippy to me (like this)

here how it looked to most deadheads back in the 1980s

Near Nirvana: The Nine Times China>Rider and Scarlet>Fire Were Played In The Same Show

I like lists at Christmas, so today I present the nine times that China Cat Sunflower flowed into I Know You Rider and Scarlet Begonias streamed into Fire On The Mountain in the same show!

Luckily I saw two of these, at the New Year's Eve show 1980 in Oakland and the next summer at the Saturday show at the Greek 9-12-1981.  You can listen to any or all of these below.
All the China Riders were in the first set (first electric set in 1980) followed by a second set Scar Fire.

So of the more than 300 times the Dead played Scarlet Fire starting in 1977 to the end in 1995 only 9 were played in the same show as China Rider. You had to be lucky to see one of these babies

Note that three shows in a row in 1980 and 1981 also had a Lost Sailor>Saint of Circumstance in them for a trifecta evening.

These were special nights when you got the double dose. I hope you were there too.  Merry Christmas to everyone and thanks for reading my cryptic notes on my life and yours with the Dead


1. 2-3-79 Indianapolis

2. 11-8-79 Cap Center, a rare later era mid first set China here


3. 10-22-80 Radio City
4. 12-31-80 (I was there) Oakland. Here's the fine Wagner Miller NAK aud.
5. 7-8-81 St Louis Kiel
 6. 9-12-81 (I was there)  The Greek
 7. 12-9-81 For the third 1981 double dose, the Dead move from 9-12 in UC Berkeley to 12-9 at U Colorado. Poetic for the Band
8. 9-4-83 Park West Mountain High
9. 3-28-85
Also see  http://gratefulseconds.blogspot.com/2016/04/scarlet-less-fires-and-fire-less.html  and http://gratefulseconds.blogspot.com/2016/01/china-less-riders-and-rider-less-china.html for more Dead rarities involving these four master classes among Dead tunes.

My First New Year's Eve 1980: Acoustic Set Plus

35 years ago tonight on December 31, 1980 was my first of six consecutive New Year's Eve Grateful Dead Concert. Also my:

first 3 set show

first acoustic set
first mid-first electric set China/Rider
first Bird Song
first Matt Kelly guest
second John Cippolina guest
first Sug Mag sandwich

first 5th night of 5 night stand

only Ripple and remarkably well documented in audio/visual delights.  My brother Ralph hitched from Colorado (Debbe too?) and I went with Harriet and maybe Johnny M.

I edit this on August 26, 1980 to add a whole new collection from the SF Examiner.

Of course, there is a music vault virtually complete youtube video (mising a few tunes)

And there is also an amazing fan shot video that truly gives the feel of being at and outside the show
Wow. This was a fun night. This exists a Dinosaur opening set, which was the only other time I saw Nicky Hopkins after 1975. This was not the best of my six New Year's, that would occur the next year in 1981, but it was great. I went with my brother Ralph.  Still, it's so incredible that we can watch this show or listen in so many ways. The Bird Song>Ripple is from this show 12-31-80.