From: rangok@wpi.WPI.EDU (Rangaswamy Keshavan)
Newsgroups: rec.music.gdead
Subject: MSG 90
Date: 16 Dec 1992 03:15:45 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: wpi.wpi.edu

Sitting in front of a computer, trudging through another day of work.  All of a
sudden the secratrary comes to find me.  An emergency!  What could the emergency
be?  Hope child and wife are okay at home.  No, it is from a friend named Steve.
Call Steve.  Do I want to go to Madison Sq. Garden last show of 1990 to see the
Dead play, free tickets, and backstage passes from a friend who is in tight with
the band?  Yes, indeed, let's do it.  Go to boss's office and tell him I need to
take the afternoon off.  No problem.  Call spouse, she says go, have a ball.  Go
home and get into proper clothes.  Steve comes over.  We get into my car and 
start the drive.  Visions of deja vu race through our heads as we have done 
this before many times together, only life has proceeded to change for us and 
now we aren't so free to do this always.  Get onto Mass Pike.  Onto Rte 84 and
down through the wastelands of Connecticut.  Car (new at the time) backfires. 
Must be an omen, it's getting too excited as well.  Get into NYC.  Find a place
to park about 4 blocks from MSG.  Not bad.  A bit early, indeed.  Walk around 
the city, into the village, into some of Steve's old hangouts when he lived 
amidst the glass and cement jungle for a few months.  Into a Sci Fi bookstore,
and then grab a sandwich.  Back to MSG to pick up the ticket at the Will Call
window.  Meet a man selling ancient gold on the streets.  Amazing, in the middle
of the city, look what wealth one can find.  And now he is a poor man amidst the
insanity.  In Babylon he would have been a king.  Go into the bowels of MSG.  
Get wierded out by the craziness of the station.  Never really liked big cities,
anyways.  Find the Will Call window.  Stand in line.  Is this for real?  Get to
the window.  Steve says his name, they give us two tickets, and two backstage
passes.  Pinch me, I must be dreaming.  Get to seats.  On the side, but the band
is clearly visable, and the sound is not bad.  First set is good, nothing to
write about.  During break go backstage.  Don't have the right kind of passes to
meet the band, so we get a coke, and then leave back to the seats.  China Cat
Rider is awesome.  Can't remember rest of pre-drum stuff.  The drums are real
nice, and then the SPACE starts.  It is really special.  The sounds go round the
auditorium, and reverberates through the soul.  What are they going to do????  
Bruce is playing well with the band, really seems to fit in.  Vince is doing 
some interesting things as well.  Jerry is spacing with his guitar.  And what
does Phil do, he plays the opening notes to DARK STAR!  The crowd perks up.  
Phil looks embarrassed and looks to Jerry.  Jerry looks to Phil, and then it
starts.  Dark Star gets going and it is a deep dark one, the space out of it is
enough to take anyones mind which is in an altered state apart, as the Dead do
so well.  It goes on for an eternity, and I am awestruck by the beauty of it 
all.  The show then winds down, can't remember the next part of it, either.  So,
it ends.  Get out into the cold fall air.  Get to the car.  Eat some chocolate
covered coffee beans, and get on the highway.  They taste so good, eat some 
more.  Get so wired that it is no problem driving back through the wastelands of
Connecticut back to home, and marvel at the wonders that a day of life can 
bring.

Now with that story done, I am sorry to do this, but I would greatly appreciate
it if someone happened to have a low generation high quality tape of that show,
though I don't know that date, it was the last MSG show in 90.  While I'm at it,
does anyone have low gen high qual tapes of the last show of Oxford Speedway,
Maine 1988 and the last two Boston Garden shows of 91?  I have many high qual
tapes to trade, especially masters of many 82-84 California shows.  (10*10*82!,
Ventura 82, Greeks 83, US Festival 82, several Marin shows 84, San Diego 82...).