from Bradman-
bradman - 04:41pm Aug 1, 2004 PDT (#5482 of 5482)
Bob Weir - "If every Deadhead in the state of Florida voted, it would be a different world today"

Just back from 2 nights in Boston - weekend started by running into Barlow in Penn Station in NYC and chatting with him for about 10 minutes. Nice guy. The shows were outstanding - much better than I expected and among the finer nights of music I've seen in the last 5 years. Friday was like a greatest hits night with Bobby the dominant force - every time I thought it couldn't get better, another incredible song came up. Scarlet was immense.

Saturday's first set song selection was a little weak for me but still well-played especially the book-ends of the set - Jack Straw & Cassidy. The 2nd set started in the most perfect way for me - LL Rain. I saw the acoustic but figured a Me and My Uncle or Blackbird was upcoming. Sure enough, I got my wish and a rousing LL Rain was followed by a just as nice Lost Sailor-->Saint. Bobby's take on SOTM was the other set highlight for me.

Before the encore Bobby said something like "If every Deadhead in the state of FLorida voted, it would be a very different world. Now is the time to register to vote but I am not going to tell you who to vote for. But don't vote for Nader - I know him and he's an asshole" - great stuff.

A fun, fun weekend. THe one thing I noticed is, even with better-than-average seats, Bobby seems like a larger-than-life rock star with this band whereas he feels more like a guy I know personally when I see Ratdog. These shows definately changed my thoughts on The Dead - the music was just perfect!