Furthur!
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, December 29, 2012

It was a gift from God. The whole thing from start to finish. Even walking to the Civic Center from the BART with that magnificent red and green building in front of us (the capitol?) on the wide walkway with manicured trees was wonderful; reminded me of Paris. I spotted the seats in the first balcony to the right of the stage and that was where I knew we were to sit. We toyed with the floor, but I felt certain those seats were a gift from God. And glory be! It turned out to be the loge – really the finest section in the house, any house. We moved ourselves into two of what we thought were empty seats, only to be escorted down to the very front row of the loge, view totally unobstructed and even a space to put our purses and water and put our feet up on when taking a rest.

Oh, how we had fun! Maureen was the perfect person to go with. She really gets it - -enjoys it like I do. We were treated like queens in the loge section. I love how safe I feel, there is not weird sexual energy, it's just a bunch of us misfits rocking and connecting through the music. The music and the vibe were magnified – amplified – it was truly a magical night. We felt so totally safe in our spot, a sweet little safe haven with all the other misfit Grateful Dead people around us – all of us knowing the music, loving the music – connecting through the music. I was truly transported to a wild, lovely place. What a great way to close out the year.

They opened with Not Fade Away and I truly thought I was in heaven from the get go. It was just one great song after another; Estimated Prophet, (California, preachin’ on the burning shore), Cassidy, Cumberland Blues (my favorite from Workingman’s Dead; Make good money five dollars a day), I Know You Rider – gonna miss me when I’m gone . .

The music was so tight and so good – there were even several I didn’t quite know but the vocals and the rhythms were so marvelous – I danced like there was no tomorrow. The change in rhythms within a song were truly masterful as only the Dead can do. They had hired some very good what I think are probably studio musicians; two Latin vocalists with superb voices. I always knew when they moved up to the microphone it was going to be great. They sang big anthem type choruses with the crowd singing along – let me tell you, The Dead are definitely back on their game.

My years of reading so much about music and watching documentaries really made it just that much more enjoyable for me. It’s fun watching how they signal each other – understanding how they’re boosting their sound, hiring first rate, young studio musicians. The keyboards tried too hard but that was my only complaint. The guitar players along with Bob Weir, Jeff Chimenti or John Kadlick? I think his name is, had the added bonus of a good voice. I'm telling you, the vocals were really excellent. The Dead has been sloppy and messy for awhile and I was happy to hear it.

And then leaving with Not Fade Away (My love is bigger than a Cadillac) again (interesting touch) and leaving us to sing them back to the stage with “you know my love won't fade away.” was just the perfect hail from the communal spirit.