From: "Robert K. Toutkoushian" <TOUTKOUS@vx.acs.umn.edu>
Subject: An anniversary of sorts
Reply-To: TOUTKOUS@vx.acs.umn.edu
Organization: The Internet
Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1992 19:48:22 GMT

Hey Now!

	Thought I would share this with you:

	Well, after watching my alma mater (Indiana) lose to Duke on
Saturday, I was in dire need of a pick-me-up. Glancing at the calendar
for inspiration, the date "April 5" reminded me of something: it was ten
years ago to the day since my first Dead concert!!

	It is probably more appropriate to say that I tripped on the bus
that evening (take that as you may ;-0) rather than jumped on it. At 
the time, I was playing in a band and was absolutely convinced that I knew 
everything I needed to know about music to get me through life. The Dead? 
They were a strange abberation on the music scene. Why did they need TWO 
drummers when other bands could do the same thing with only one 
drummer...clearly these guys couldn't play. Hell, my band could make a lot 
of music as well if we pulled the King Family on stage with us. Looking 
back, we might have sounded better if we had tried that! And what's with 
these long drum duets and drawn-out songs? Must be due to a lack of 
original material...Elvis Costello could fit 30+ songs on an LP, after all.

	Some friends convinced me to make the road trip to Philly for the 
show on April 5th, 1982. Not wanting to be a complete novice at the show, I
acquainted myself with some of the band's music by listening to several 
studio albums. In retrospect, this was equivalent to preparing for 
fatherhood by babysitting your nephew for one hour...neither one could 
prepare you for what was about to come. By the time we arrived at the 
'Rectum, we were feeling no pain...or terra firma, for that matter...and we 
made the (Star) trek through the parking lot.

	We finally got to our seats partway through the first set. All I 
remember was making my way through what seemed to be an endless parade of 
roses, skeletons, and other assorted things. For some time, I sat behind 
the stage, trying to take it all in, but it wasn't working too well. I 
actually recognized several songs from set II that evening, and was 
particularly impressed by Playing. They did a series such as Playing -> 
Drums -> Space -> and then eventually back into Playing, at which point I 
concluded that 1) this was the looonnnggeessssttt song I had ever heard, 2) 
I must have hallucinated the whole episode, or 1) and 2) combined. It was 
wild to watch the crowd from behind the stage moving with the music. The 
people looked like blades of grass being blown by the wind from the stage. 
I know, kind of sappy, but that's what it looked like to me :-)

	Anyway, while I was far from being an expert Deadhead after that 
show (and am still far from that elusive, Utopian goal), my interest was 
piqued enough to find some live tapes and listen to the music play. I had 
to admit to my bruised ego that the world wasn't quite the shape I once 
thought it was, that maybe, just maybe, there were things I didn't yet 
understand. Maybe music shouldn't simply be measured by the speed at which 
it's played, or the complexity of chord progressions. I felt a bit like the 
Grinch when he discovered the meaning of Christmas...and who says I wasted 
all of that $$$ on tuition??

	And here I am today, ten years later, loving the Dead and their 
music more than ever. I thought that I would grow out of it at some point, 
but that hasn't happened yet (hopefully never!). I actually find myself 
thinking about rather obscure things, such as the difference in the way the 
boyz play GSET today as compared to when it was debuted back in '71, or 
what songs they will break out on summer tour...if any...and does Wave To 
the Wind *really* sound like the theme to the Love Boat.

	Feeling nostalgic, I plopped set II from April 5, 1982 into the
tape deck and sat back. I would have listened to the whole show, but I 
don't have set I (read: grovel, grovel). Thanks for listening. I know to 
some, maybe most, of you out there ten years of being a Deadhead is just a 
(Hell In A) drop in a bucket, but nonetheless is something to me. I tried 
to relate the significance of this day to my wife, but I guess this seems 
trivial compared to the mountains of diapers piling up in our kid's rooms.

	I wish that I could say that I feel better about Indiana losing the 
basketball game after listening to set II...but I don't. At least it gave 
me something good to think about for 90 minutes, and in 
life-after-the-NCAA-tournament, that's all you can ask for. Keep your day jobs!

Rob Toutkoushian
University of Minnesota
INTERNET: toutkous@vx.acs.umn.edu 
Newsgroups: rec.music.gdead