TFTL Ep4 Doing Questionable Things in Questionable Places - 10.9.89 - Hampton Coliseum

Summary

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Tales From The Lot: Ep4 – Doing Questionable Things in Questionable Places (10.9.89, Hampton Coliseum)

Podcast: Tales From The Lot – Grateful Dead Show Experiences
Host: Will
Guest: Keith Eaton
Episode Date: September 28, 2021

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the legendary 10/9/89 Grateful Dead "Warlocks" show at Hampton Coliseum, a turning-point performance in Dead history. Host Will sits down with longtime Deadhead Keith Eaton to explore not just the music but the emotions, camaraderie, and cultural changes that surrounded the event. Their conversation is a vivid journey through the late '80s Dead scene, touching on punk crossover, show rituals, the psychedelic resurgence, and the unforgettable power of a well-timed encore.

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Key Discussion Points

1. Keith's Grateful Dead Background & Musical Roots

• Family & Musical Upbringing
  • Keith’s New England roots and a house filled with classic rock, Stones, Allman Brothers, and exposure to emerging punk scenes (03:36–04:44).
• First Dead Show & The Concert Experience
  • September 17, 1982 at Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine (06:26).
• Total Show Count
  • Roughly 101 Dead shows, approx. 120 Jerry Garcia concerts, mostly between 1985-1990 (06:42).

2. The Punk/Deadhead Intersection

• Influence of punk rock on Keith’s worldview and concert experiences.
• The Dead show "scene" was as compelling as the music itself: the travelers, conversations, and culture (05:19–05:49).
• “The scene was more interesting than the show. The characters you meet, the people who have stuff to say about music and life in America— that was interesting.” – Keith (05:37)

3. Getting to the 10/9/89 Show

• Ticket Saga:
  • Keith lost his original ticket to a party thief, causing near-panic. Eventually hooked up by friends at the venue in classic Deadhead serendipity (10:10–11:34).
• Atmosphere at Hampton:
  • The “Warlocks” alias was used to keep the shows low-key and crowd manageable.
  • Tickets were sold locally to avoid being overwhelmed post-Touch of Gray surge (12:02–13:24).
  • “The Grateful Dead had outgrown the venue but loved playing there…they tried to curb the enthusiasm by announcing the shows only a week or so in advance.” – Keith (12:15)

4. The Impact of “Touch of Gray”

• Discussing the mainstreaming of the Dead and crowd surges in the late ‘80s.
• Keith: “It’s an anthemic song about the whole community…despite the boot heel on your throat, we will survive.” (13:50)
• Not about the song itself, but the wave of publicity and acceptability it brought to the scene (14:48).

5. Show Details & Setlist Highlights

• First Set Reflections:
  • Relentless high energy, some tension among both crowd and band, early MIDI experimentation, standout “Memphis Blues.”
  • “[Bob] Weir’s delivery on ‘Memphis Blues’—I wrote the most notes about that.” – Will (24:01)
• Keith’s Note: “What’s hard to describe is the tension. There’s just this mad rush of energy focused on those musicians…they communicated to us: ‘No, just slow down.’” (20:08–21:49)
• Key Standout Songs:
  • Opener: "Feel Like a Stranger"
  • Unexpected treats: “Playing in the Band” and “Jack-A-Roe” delivered with confident ease (25:02–25:12)

6. Dark Star & The Psychedelic Resurgence

• Dark Star Returns:
  • Context: Not played regularly in the ‘80s—seeing it live felt like a rite of passage.
  • “When that Dark Star hit, it wasn’t like surprise, it was like thank you…this is who you are.” – Keith (33:47)
  • Both verses performed; powerful and significant for longtime fans.
• Sonic Adventures:
  • Heavy use of MIDI and noise experimentation in the pre-drum/space jam.
  • “They’re pushing my tolerance of sonic dissonance and volume…I had never seen the Grateful Dead banging on their instruments before.” – Keith (38:34)

7. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” and Emotional Catharsis

• The depth and heaviness of the delivery, Jerry’s guitar solo, and the collective transportive experience (41:08–41:56).
• Will: “That was just heavy. The lyric delivery from everybody…wow.” (41:49)

8. Addicts of My Life Encore – Showstopper

• The unexpected encore; a moment of collective release and deep emotion.
• Keith: “At that point, I just started sobbing…I saw this guy, the coolest of the cool, and he was just sobbing…what an emotional catharsis.” (42:38–44:51)
• Attics as the ultimate “We’re all in this together” moment—cemented loyalty and re-ignited Keith’s Deadhead passion.

9. The Everlasting Appeal & Scene Reflections

• The contrasting rise of grunge/punk and the Dead’s ongoing rejuvenation in 1989.
• The unique blend of generations and unifying community spirit at shows.
• “There’s always mischief,” Keith admits, recalling sneaking into shows and the creative ways Deadheads made things work (29:45–30:58).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the energy at the Warlocks show:
  “I don’t know that I’ve ever been anywhere where there’s that much anxiety in one room…this mad rush of energy focused on these musicians.” – Keith (20:08)
• On being a Deadhead:
  “Someone’s got to be a fan.” – Keith (08:00)
• On the band’s evolution:
  “I almost wanted to toast Jerry…just like, say, this is who I am. It’s not going to really change because we are what we are.” – Keith (33:53)
• On the encore’s impact:
  “If we already have you in the boat, we’re now gonna club you.” – Keith (44:19)
• On why he picked this show for the podcast:
  “I was gonna basically quit. I’d done my ‘80s Grateful Dead time…And the Dead just sucked me right back in after the Warlocks. Spring, summer, and fall tour—1990 was just Grateful Dead time.” – Keith (48:30)

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Important Timestamps

• Keith’s musical upbringing & first Dead show – 03:36–06:26
• Punk/Deadhead crossover & show culture – 05:19–05:49
• Ticket drama & arriving at Hampton – 10:10–11:34
• Touch of Gray & Dead’s mainstream moment – 13:29–15:30
• First set’s unique energy & high points – 20:08–25:19
• Dark Star breakout, its emotion, and sonic experimentation – 31:00–39:14
• Death Don’t Have No Mercy: gravity and intensity – 41:08–41:56
• Addicts of My Life and the emotional release of encore – 42:36–44:51
• Why this show? The moment that kept Keith in the fold – 48:30–49:23

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Summary & Takeaways

This episode paints a vivid picture of the transformative power the Grateful Dead held over their community—even Deadheads considering “retirement.” Through stories of lost tickets, setlist surprises, and impromptu catharses, Will and Keith capture the ephemeral magic of a Dead show: where emotional tension, musical adventure, and communal love reach a rolling boil. The 10/9/89 Warlocks show is immortalized as not just a musical milestone but a profound moment of rebirth for at least one lifelong fan—and the spirit of the scene itself.

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For Further Listening/Viewing

• Check out the Grateful Dead’s 10/9/89 show (“Warlocks”) on Archive.org for the full sonic experience.
• Follow Tales From The Lot on Facebook and YouTube for more Deadhead stories and full video episodes.

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Transcript

[Will]

This episode of Tales from the Lot is sponsored by Shakedown T shirts.com with unique lot style T shirts, license plate frames, coffee mugs and all sorts of things for Grateful Dead, Fish Zappa, Panic and more. ShakeDownT shirts.com where all US orders over $35 ship free. And just for Tales from the Lot, listeners use the code Lot20 for 20% off of any order. That's Lot 2 0. Tales from the Lot, episode four, doing

questionable things in Questionable places.

My guest is Keith Eaton, here to

talk about 109 8, formerly the Warlocks at Hampton Coliseum. You know, it's going to get stranger, so let's get on with the show. Hi, welcome to Tales from the Lot. I'm Will. My guest today is Keith Eaton. We're here to talk about 109 89, one of the Warlocks shows. Welcome, Keith.

[Keith Eaton]

Thank you.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah. Did you make it to both nights by the way of the Warlocks?

[Keith Eaton]

No, I did not. I actually. Funny, funny story. My mother was visiting where I was living in Washington, D.C. and I think that was Columbus Day weekend thereabouts. And she sort of had this tradition of like coming down to D.C. to visit me from Maine. So, you know, first night was like, you know, sacrifice to like, I'm with my mom.

[Will]

Right. Yeah, you can't complain too much. So. And then. Okay, so you're in the Northeast now you're in Maine, is that right?

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah. Cool.

[Will]

And where did you grow up? Have you always been in Maine?

[Keith Eaton]

Our family moved around a lot, but my family is really rootston, Maine and Massachusetts.

[Will]

Right. What kind of music was hip as you were growing up back in the.

[Keith Eaton]

Well, you know, I'm the youngest of four and who's the youngest of. You know, like, my dad was the youngest of four, so I have like cousins, older brothers and sisters. So I mean, there was the whole overalls, 1970s Allman Brothers thing. And you know, dad records were always part of our record collection and stuff and the Stones were paramount, you know, so that, you know, that was like my childhood music and then like punk rock really like kind of changed my life. Started quote d. Boom. But, you know.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, I was, I was sort of there with the punk rock for a while as well. Right. Yeah, like, yeah, like Dead Kennedy's sort of mid late 80s era in there

[Keith Eaton]

and hardcore was awesome. Yeah. And I think what it, what I loved about it was that for our age group, you know, it was like the, you know, I'd always heard the stories about the 70s and. Oh, you should have been there for this, or you should have been there for that. And, you know, it felt very now and alive. And everyone who was doing it was, like, under the age of 24. It's kind of wild.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

When my sister and I. One of my sisters and I were little, we used to listen to the Casey Kasem Top 40 Countdown, you know, like an AM transistor radio, like, you know, 1975. Like, that was a big deal.

[Will]

Yeah, I listened to a bit of that. I was. I was more the Rick D's era in the. In like, the late 80s.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah. I noticed that one of your questions was, what's the first album?

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

I had to really think about that for a while. I was like, damn. Like, one of. One of the first ones I remember buying was a gift for my brother, and it must have been like Christmas 76 or 77. And I got him a copy of the Stones album. I think it's black and blue. And he was like, oh, the Stones are. They're so. Like, they're so done, you know, it's like, that's so past, you know. You know, did we know.

[Will]

Little did we know.

[Keith Eaton]

Hating on it and stuff. So, like, as a kid, you know, I'm like, damn, he really hates this shit. So, like, I love that record. Hot Stuff.

[Will]

Yeah. Yeah. It sounds like you came from a pretty. A good musical home there. Like, you know, with the references you've said so far, I was kind of the same way. It's nice to have a nice musical background that's diverse and cool. So. And so you had some Dead records. You've always known about the Dead. And did you have friends that were going or how did you end up going to see them or even getting into that sort of thing?

[Keith Eaton]

You know, I mean, it's sort of in the water, right, in that era. And I think aside from the fact that we'd skipped school and had to hide from people and, you know, do all these crazy things to be liberated that day that we went, you know, it's just more, I think, because, like, yeah, the Dead are playing. It wasn't like I was Deadhead or. Or obsessed with the Grateful Dead. It was like, this is gonna be fun, and it's November.

[Will]

You knew it was an experience.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah. You know, and that's kind of what it was for a while. For me, it's like a thing. And, you know, like I said, I was in punk rock and stuff. And, like, the. The scene was more interesting than. Than the show. You know what I mean?

[Will]

Like, yeah, definitely.

[Keith Eaton]

The characters you meet,

[Will]

the people who

[Keith Eaton]

are traveling, the people who have, like, stuff to say about like, you know, music and life in America and stuff like. That was interesting.

[Will]

The food. It's better,

[Keith Eaton]

I think. At age 15, I was more into the Warren Budweiser, but.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, that too. Yeah. I remember I always said I was. I was at Deer Creek and it was summer solstice, 93, I think. And I remember a guy was. I don't think it was Budweiser, but he was selling some beer and he's like, it's, it's. It's the first day of summer. You've got more time to drink today than any other day of the year. Let's go. And that's what, you know, like just one of those things that sticks with you a bit.

[Keith Eaton]

Right.

[Will]

You know, from those times. But okay, so what was the first Dead show you went to?

[Keith Eaton]

It was September 17th in 1982 in Cumberland County Civic center in Portland, Maine.

[Will]

Okay, nice. And then how many did you, you know, get to overall when Jerry was still with us?

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, I see. I saw Jerry played about 120 times. A bunch of those Jerry shows, I think I saw about like 101 Grateful Dead shows, you know, most of them between like 1985 and 1990. Pretty much.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

Kind of tapered off sort of.

[Will]

Yeah, there were some good years and then some good years in there.

[Keith Eaton]

Right, right, right. And, you know, it depends who you talk to and your. Depends your experience and. Yeah, all that.

[Will]

Is that kind of your favorite ear to go back to when you're listening to them these days?

[Keith Eaton]

You know, I think I'm like a lot of people. I. I go back to the one drummer, I'm like, I gotta listen to 73. I mean, if I have a four hour stretch of like uninterrupted time, you know, there's Nothing like a 1973 show, man.

[Will]

For sure. Yeah. You get like a weather report or something.

[Keith Eaton]

Well, and then it goes into some jazzy like, I mean, in fish parlance, like a type 2, like formless jam and, you know, finds the other one somewhere and maybe dissolves into something else. That's, you know, to me, that's the goods.

[Will]

Yeah, what's that? Are you a musician?

[Keith Eaton]

No, no, I'm just. Someone's got to be a fan.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah. Well, you mentioned the one drummer thing, so I was like, ah, maybe he's a drummer, since he's honing in on that.

[Keith Eaton]

I just love the way it's tight, you know, there's it. It. It's also. It's tight, but it also leaves more room to listen.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

Not as busy.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, I can see that. I'm a big Mickey fan. I kind of like the two drummer era, but, you know.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, yeah. You've heard the shoe in the laundry metaphor. I'm sure.

[Will]

I. I'm not sure. I don't think so. What is it?

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, really? Well, when someone was asking to describe the like benefits of the one drummer or the two drummer thing, someone asked Jerry, I think, or maybe it was Phil when he's talking about like, what are the drawbacks of the two drummer thing? And he goes, sometimes it sounds like there's a shoe in the dryer.

[Will]

That's awesome. And I kind of feel that way too. I feel like there are times maybe they could pull it back a little bit.

[Keith Eaton]

Like, right.

[Will]

You know, like they get a little over anxious, but. Are you seeing Dead and Company these days?

[Keith Eaton]

I would if I had the chance. The closest chance I had was this Labor Day weekend and it being a Thursday, Friday and it being like a seven hour drive from where I live, you know, it was like on the holiday near Cape Cod. You know, you start mounting these things on. It's like, no way. I couldn't pull that off. I would if they played in Maine.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They don't seem to get up there.

[Keith Eaton]

I saw them at Fenway a couple times. Went down to Hampton in 2019.

[Will]

Nice.

[Keith Eaton]

That was awesome.

[Will]

Yeah, revisit that. Are you. Are you a mayor?

[Keith Eaton]

Hampton.

[Will]

Oh, nice. Yeah, I noticed the shirt. I was kind of fixated on that, actually. Cool. And okay, so you were visiting with family and did you have your brothers go with you who with you to see this warlock show?

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, yeah. So that morning would have been 10, 9, 8 and 9. Woke up to tear my room apart because I realized that my ticket was gone. The ticket that I. My magic Willy Wonka ticket, you know, the beautiful gold lettered whole warlocks thing was, was gone. And I tore my room apart trying to find it. And clearly enough it was someone had nabbed at a party we'd had, you know, the week before. I lived in a big like punk rock house and we had crazy parties and stuff. And so someone clearly, you know, help themselves to more than just my drugs. Right?

[Will]

Yes. Yeah. Yes. I've lived in one of those houses back in the day, so I know how that goes. Luckily nobody ever stuck my tickets, but definitely other things.

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, yeah. You know, and so I went down very anxious. It all worked out saw some people from Maine. They're like, don't worry about it, dude. You know, like one of the classic things where you're. You're so sweating it and so anxious and like, my life is gonna end. What am I doing here?

[Will]

You know?

[Keith Eaton]

And then. Then some guy, like, walks up to you like, hey, bro, how's it going? Like, do you need to take it? Like, yeah, fantastic.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. And was there. So it was a surprise show from, you know, the little bit of reset. I listened to this tape a bunch, but, you know, through the years. But I never really did research on it too much.

[Keith Eaton]

Right.

[Will]

We were going to talk about it, it seems. So it was sort of a surprise thing. And tickets were sold sort of in a unique way, I guess, that, like, they weren't through Ticketmaster or something. But was it sold out? I mean, was there. Was there a ton of people there? What. What was the. What was it like when you got there?

[Keith Eaton]

So the thing is, I mean, like, the reason why they did all that stuff is that, like, the. The Grateful Dead had sort of outgrown the Hampton Coliseum. But the Grateful Dead loved playing the Hampton Coliseum.

[Will]

Clearly.

[Keith Eaton]

Like, the audio is incredible. The energy is incredible. You know, it's always the kickoff to spring tour, whatever, you know, for years in the 80s. And I think they were really trying to curb the enthusiasm. Right. I mean, sorry, Larry David, but, you know, trying to. Trying to like, quell the. The crowd rush by announcing a couple of shows a week. I think it was like a week, maybe 10 days before the shows when they were announced on the radio locally and tickets went on sale at the Coliseum itself. And friends of mine drove down from D.C. and they were able to hook me up with the. Whatever it was. 10, nine ticket. And it was pretty mellow that way, you know, wasn't like, over. Overwhelmingly crowded, like, shows later in that tour would become, because word got out. Right, right.

[Will]

And they were seeing that huge surge that year that was.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, that was part of the whole Tetra surge.

[Will]

Yeah. Yeah. I still find it hard to believe that it was that song. I mean, like. Like, I was sort of part of that surge, I guess. Like, I jumped on in 91. But it wasn't because I liked Touch of Gray.

[Keith Eaton]

Right, right.

[Will]

So, yeah, the song.

[Keith Eaton]

It's not the song. Right. You know, because it's great song. I mean.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not a bad. It's.

[Keith Eaton]

I love it. Like, the. My first show was the second version they ever played, and I love. I listen to that A lot. I'm like, yeah. You know.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

And it's. But it's anthemic, right? It's like. It's about the whole community. Yeah. That the whole community will survive. Despite this Nancy Reagan, whatever 1980s drug war we have against you, despite the boot heel on your throat, we will survive. You know, and there is kind of. And there is sort of like. Like, you know, control for Smilers can't be bought. Right. Like, there's this kind of, you know, you can try to put this down, but it's gonna stick around. You know, you're stuck with it kind of thing. So to me, it's not the song in so much that the scene became acceptable, became like, okay, do that.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

And Whereas previously it wasn't definitely.

[Will]

Yeah. And there's just the publicity in general from, you know, whether you like the song, even heard the song or not. There was just a lot of publicity and sort of push behind that record from. From whoever. And so, you know, they were. They were showing up on, like, CNN or wherever, and just everybody was definitely hearing about him at that time.

[Keith Eaton]

No, there I was living in Burlington, Vermont, that summer, and it was summer 87, and we were, like, looking at. You know, I'd never even seen MTV before, really, but my roommates had cable and stuff, and I was like, wow. We were all watching the, like, the video and stuff. Like, wow, they're playing it a lot. Like, this is weird.

[Will]

They did play that video a lot. It's weird to see him mashed in there with, like, Michael Jackson and whatever else was going on that day, you know, But.

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, like, really? But the worst of 80s Eric Clapton, like, oh, yeah.

[Will]

Oh, yeah. Some Bonnie Ray.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, that was good.

[Will]

Yeah. That was sort of the highlight of that, probably.

[Keith Eaton]

Let's give him something to talk about, right?

[Will]

Yeah, yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

You know, Jerry, like, played, like, played with her. She opened up for Jerry at the Greek that summer, you know, Jake on her on that song. I think, you know, people would agree.

[Will]

I was supposed to see her a few years ago here in Denver, opened up for James Taylor, and she had some sort of medical issue to cancel a leg of the tour. And so I was kind of disappointed in that. I was looking forward to it. But JT came out and played two sets, played a couple of her songs, and so it was. It was still cool, but I sure would have liked to see buying, you know, but maybe next time.

[Keith Eaton]

And James is amazing, isn't he?

[Will]

Like, yeah, yeah. How old are you?

[Keith Eaton]

And, like, his voice sounds so good.

[Will]

Just like the record, man. Still, like, it's amazing. It's amazing. I. I saw Crosby, Stills, and Nash. They. I mean, it's probably five years, so, you know, from what I've seen lately, David Crosby may not be doing as well, but five years ago, they were still sounding like the record. I went and saw them and. Blown away how? Well, they were still just doing the thing. Stephen Stills, not so much, but the other two.

[Keith Eaton]

No, right before the Pandemic hit, we actually went and saw Graham Nash at the Criterion Theater in Bar harbor, and he was amazing. And then, like, six weeks later, David Crosby was supposed to play, and, I mean, it was six months later, I don't know. And. And he canceled because he was. He was sick. And I was like, damn it. And then he's never rescheduled, but that's a bummer. Those guys still bring it. You know, they try. They try.

[Will]

They do.

[Keith Eaton]

They bring whatever they have.

[Will]

Yeah. And they're just such great songs.

[Keith Eaton]

I mean, the other morning I was just laughing before work, like, looking at some article about Bobby on Tick Tock, you know, like, showing out his, like, muscular workout every morning. I'm Right. Yeah. Like, you're Bob Weir, man. Go for it, man.

[Will]

Yeah. You know, I mean, who would have thought it would have been nice? Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. He. He's been on the bike and. And hiking and running for, you know, as long as I've known him. So that's.

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, yeah, he's just.

[Will]

That's awesome. Keep it up, dude. Evidently, it's something good, because he's still kicking it, like, towards solid as.

[Keith Eaton]

As Bill Graham once said, a very, very ebullient but very dirty softball player.

[Will]

Mr. Bob Weir, dirty softball player. Doesn't surprise me. Doesn't surprise me. All the. All the. All the rock stars are right. So, okay, so who. Who ended up going to the show with you and. And, you know, do you have good seats when you. What was the ga.

Probably right?

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah. I mean, so, like, going to a show with someone, I mean, in those days, I would just show up to a show. You know, it's like, I. I did happen to drive a couple of very cool people who were freshmen at American University. I was a super senior, I think they're called. And, you know, they were. Just needed a ride down and we rode down together, and they were. They were really, like, helped me calm down and realize it was gonna be okay, even though I had a ticket stolen and blah, blah, blah, and, you know, they're just kind of cruising along for their first experience. And I'm like, in my mind I'm like, I missed like Helsa Franklin's last night. You know, Like I knew already what the set list was from the night

[Will]

before the full on fomo.

[Keith Eaton]

Oh man. Yeah, they called him from the pay phone. Like, can you hear help?

[Will]

That's awful.

[Keith Eaton]

I know.

[Will]

That's awful.

[Keith Eaton]

I'm like, I'm with my mom.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

I mean, you know, so one thing I would just say, it's really, really hard. And I listened again too. I listened to not the entire show, but everything up through drums. And I was listening to the first set intently because to me like when I listened back over the years, it might be like, eh, the first set, throw away whatever. But what, you know, what's hard to, to describe is the tension. And so like at a Dead show like that, where it's not a Dead show, it's formerly the Warlocks, and people are so keyed up, they're so excited for something big to happen that I don't know that I've ever been anywhere where there's like that much anxiety in one room, like collective, I guess that you would, in. In modern day terms you'd call it anxiety, like just like frenzy, you know. So that for them to like open with playing and then the second set and then like we're gonna hang back and play it slow is like

[Will]

it

[Keith Eaton]

loses something on tape because what you're feeling in person is this, this like mad rush of energy that's like focused on these musicians and the stage and everything else. And what they're communicating to is like. No, just slow down.

[Will]

Yeah, I thought it was a, a beautiful choice. I mean like, it is something. Yeah, it's something that they know. I mean, there's no, there's no chance they're gonna mess this one up. So let's just play it and then have that nice open section to where we can just explore and see what happens. That that's, that's what it felt like, you know, like.

[Keith Eaton]

Right. But if you were, you know, if you were on tour in 85, 86, 87, 88, you know, it's like playing could be like a six minute, seven minute, like slam through all these different psychedelic choices at a really high rate of speed. And this is like, we're gonna slow it down a little bit, we're gonna downshift. And I think that's the palpable feeling. Like that's the gravitas that comes through when you're experiencing that. Right. Is We're. We're going to slow it down and we're going to go back to, like, maybe having some dead moments, moments that don't work, but we're gonna try something new, which they hadn't done for years.

[Will]

Yeah. You know, especially I think, after the first set. The first set, I felt was a little. A little quick. You know, there's a lot of fast songs and the music never stopped. Was. It was cool. And there was some really cool sounds that. This is sort of new MIDI tech.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah. Built. The last was the second song. It's like. Yeah, that's like a total MIDI solo, right?

[Will]

Yeah. There had some new toys they were busting out there. And so, like, I feel like that first set was. It was definitely solid and had some. Some good moments. But. But I also. The tension was sort of there with the band, too. I felt like they were anxious and not really. It was good, but it wasn't over the edge yet. But, like. Yeah, playing gave him room to breathe.

[Keith Eaton]

I think that if you really want to feel that, you have to listen to the Memphis blues and really crank up the twisted Bobby of like, you know, when he would scream and do his little, like, anxious moments. Like, you know, I actually wrote the

[Will]

most notes about that. About that Memphis blues. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like, I'm a sucker for Dylan. That might be my favorite Dylan song that they play just because of Bobby's delivery. I mean, I like Desolation Row. I like. I like all of them, But. But just the imagery and. And as Hornsby said one time, the silliness of Dylan and the imagery that comes through in that particular song is just, for me, that, like, it just. I don't know, it hits me.

[Keith Eaton]

They smoked my eyelids and punched my cigarettes yeah.

[Will]

You know, that one was Texas Medicine. The other was Red Eye Jen and Like a Fool. I mixed them, you know, like.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, just.

[Will]

Just the imagery of all of that is just so.

[Keith Eaton]

And if you're there on the floor at a Warlock show and you did one, two, you know, whatever, you know,

[Will]

then you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, that's a. Yeah. And I feel like a stranger.

The opener.

That's the one from Without a Net. So. Yeah, just the sound.

[Keith Eaton]

Jackaro is the real sleeper of that set.

[Will]

Yeah. Yeah. I actually went back and listened to that because I didn't really. I couldn't remember it. And it was like, okay, it's just. It's Jackaro, and that's what it is. And.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, but to have that just be, like, tossed off like, yeah, just what we do. Yeah, it's pretty good.

[Will]

Yeah, it's definitely solid. Interesting. On Jackaro, it got me remembering again in 93. Or maybe it's 94. At Deer Creek. They played Jackaro the first night and the third night. And I was like, do I remember that correctly? And then so I had to go back and look and yeah, I do remember it correctly. That was a, Just sort of a weird.

[Keith Eaton]

Gary had a memory problem then, clearly.

[Will]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

Was that the show they also did that weird, like, backwards dark star out of space and Terrapin?

[Will]

No, I don't, I don't think.

[Keith Eaton]

Is that dirt creek 94?

[Will]

I don't think. I don't remember Deer Creek getting a dark star. But I, I, that's why I do this show, because my, my memory is

[Keith Eaton]

a little 93 or 94. There's a really cool. Maybe it's like in a train wreck show so far. And then they, they play Terrapin. It's like one of those late years when Terry just, Jerry just locks into Terrapin. And then they do this long jam out of Terrapin, Drumspace, Darkstar. It's like, what.

[Will]

I was definitely there. If it happened anytime between 91 and 95. But like I said, what I remember being there is a different story.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, so I actually went to 89 Deer Creek and then 1990. That's another story. But the, like, whole momentum going into the Warlock shows was like, you know, I went to, like, the summer tour and that the ending of like, not the ending, but, like, Alpine, like, 7, 17, 89. Holy shit. Like, they broke out, like, we bid you good night. And like, there's just this feeling at that moment of like, maybe it was nostalgia for the 60s and yet it was living memory. Yeah, it was living. Right. It was still there. And so sort of like both feelings happening simultaneously. Right into the Warlocks thing, man. And there had just been a Jerry tour on the East Coast. Right. I mean, I've just seen Jerry Band, like Merryweather and Philly. They ended their tour, like the old Orchard beach, like, softball field, you know, Like, Jerry Band had done his, they'd done his work in September.

[Will]

Yeah. So I love Jerry and Jerry Band. Like, I mean, I like the Dead, but I feel like Jerry just kicks a little more ass in JGV for me. He's all like, he's screaming his lyrics and he's. His, his solos are a little, you know, a little bit more. And, you know, people could say that maybe he didn't like to be the front man, but he seemed like he liked it when he was in jgb.

[Keith Eaton]

Well, and that tour was magical because for a lot of us, and my older sister, most, more than me, than me, was that it was a reminder of what shows were like pre Touch of Gray era because, you know, no one was paying attention to JGB in 1989. And, like, not even the Police. They're like, oh, I don't know, it's a concert, right? Well, obviously these dreadheads show up with like, you know, vials and kind. And you're like. And it was awesome. And it was such a clean scene, you know, really nice and caring and quiet. And it reminded you of, like, the good stuff on Dead tour that we were starting to lose a little bit on the East Coast.

[Will]

Yeah, it was definitely, by the time I was on, it was like a full on, you know, shakedown. Street was literally like a city and commerce was happening and. But, you know, but at the same time, once you got inside and you sat down, you know, you're sitting next to people who are my age. You know, I was 17 when I first went, and people who had been there since 70 or, you know, whenever. And, you know, is this your first show? And, you know, everybody was just really cool and, you know, it didn't really matter, you know, the age difference. You know, everybody was really helpful and wanted to, you know, just talk about the dead

[Keith Eaton]

and there's always mischief, you know, I mean. I mean, I'll be honest. Like, the. The show that really kind of, you know, rang my bell and changed my world was 11185 in Richmond. I didn't have a ticket, and I was like, you know, I was a total punk rocker. People weren't gonna sell me a ticket. Except there's some old hippie guy who's like, come with me, you know, And I don't know, I was like, okay, he's a cool guy. I've been hanging out with him earlier in the day, followed him and his girlfriend, walked out of the crowd at a perfectly synchronized time and popped the door for us and we walked out.

[Will]

Nice job. And no cell phone. Just. Just knew what time to be.

[Keith Eaton]

They had a time and they knew where to go and the whole thing. And, you know, it's like, very nice, but, you know, that's. Is that gay crashing? Like,

[Will]

at least you didn't destroy anything. So I. I think, you know, maybe

[Keith Eaton]

you slipped, followed us, did well, because a lot of people saw what happened and then.

[Will]

Oh, that's a good idea.

[Keith Eaton]

Right?

[Will]

Right.

[Keith Eaton]

I was Just an idiot. Like, okay, sure, I'll follow you, dude.

[Will]

Yeah, yeah, we're all, we're all young once, right? Doing questionable things in questionable places. But yeah. So, all right, so this, this Warlock show, what did you think about that Dark Star? Was it. Had you. Had you. Okay, so you had been around before they had stopped playing Dark Star. Was it. Was it the. Was it the one for you?

[Keith Eaton]

I really like my, you know, probably my 50th show or something like that. And like, I don't even know. Like, I, you know, I thought of that era so I listened to the one from the Greek in 84 a lot because I really loved the way that it was sort of a bubbly 80s sound. I still think that one is a really unique standalone Dark Star from. What is that, 7, 13, 84 or something. There was like that, you know, it was like there was a comet and then, you know, I don't know, an eclipse or, you know, it's a typical Grateful Dead stuff in Berkeley. Right, Nice. So that one made sense. And then there was the 81 New Year's one, which made sense because that was New Year's Eve. But prior to that, like, it wasn't really a part of the 80s repertoire. And I was always someone who, like, I think a lot of younger Deadheads Maybe in the 80s were really hungry for that older psychedelic Grateful Dead. And you know, to be fair, any self respecting taper or Deadhead would know that like by the, know the 80s, they had a pattern, right. It's like China Reader, estimated eyes, you know, other one work how to Fade away about. You know what I mean? Like, be like, oh yeah, I got the set list.

[Will]

People be like, yeah, the first sets were definitely more creative set list wise. You know, the, you know, you still had your country slot and your Dylan slot and your sort of jam song slot.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah.

[Will]

And then, you know, and then. But. But the song choices were a little bit more random, I felt.

[Keith Eaton]

And they, and they mixed it up in 85 with the song choices and there was a little bit more raunchy blues and that celebratory 20 year thing. But what I really noticed coming back in the summer of 89 and then in the fall was psychedelia, you know. And so when that Dark Star hit, it wasn't like surprise, it was like thank you. You know, like finally like, yeah, like

[Will]

this is who you are verses. Yeah, you got both verses too, which doesn't always happen.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, cool. You know, and it's like, I almost wanted to toast Jerry, like You know, good for you to, like, just, like, say, like, this is who I am. And it. It's not going to really change because we are what we are. That could be a hard thing, you know, when pop culture and all the media and all the forces of the world are against you. Because everyone was like, you know, all the forces of the media universe, except for their acute Touch of Gray thing. We're like, oh, old hippies. We need to throw them in jail.

[Will]

Yeah, totally. I mean. Yeah. From following them around San Francisco to, you know, whatever. Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

It was really kind of, like, galvanizing. I don't know. To me,

[Will]

what's. What's the tipping moment? What was the moment? I mean, Touch of Gray came out. But was that. Was it the video? I mean, what was it? Was it. Was it Al Gore and Tipper Core going to a show or, like, what. What was the tipping moment? You know?

[Keith Eaton]

I don't think so. I think, like, you know, from, you know, the summer of 1987, there was a lot of nostalgia about the 60s. And MTV was, like, doing this whole thing about, like, the Summer of love and, like, 20 years since Lake Kate Ashbury. And they would, you know, play all these segments that I think people had never seen before. You know, footage of, like, you know, Monterey and, you know, people playing in the park and different festivals and stuff. And I think that people who at that point would have been in their 40s and maybe had kids who are starting to get older, like, graduating high school and stuff, start getting nostalgic for their youth. Right. And I think they drove a real resurgence in interest.

[Will]

True.

Yeah.

And by then, so many people, at some point, I. Their life had. Had gone to see the Dead, you know, that we just, like, had this sort of Grateful Dead herd immunity or something, you know, so, you know, so,

[Keith Eaton]

like, 89 was a really interesting time because I was seeing, like, Soundgarden and I. I had a. A friend who was trying to get me to go see this band Nirvana, who I never saw, but, you know, like, saw a ton of Sonic Youth and Yola Tango and, like, all these other bands that, like, to me, like, really shaped the next 20, 25 years of rock, which is dwindling art, right?

[Will]

Which is the Foo Fighters now. That's. I'm with you. Whatever means that's where I'm at. You know, it's kind of a wall. It's just, you know, it's all the same volume. It seems like there's no dynamics to it.

[Keith Eaton]

Right?

[Will]

But.

[Keith Eaton]

But that's just me you know, in 1989, Fugazi was an interesting thing. Like, what's this, you know, like, Ian Makai is doing something. And there was a. There was a sense that I felt of mixing and. And I, in my vision and my dreams, you know, never came to pass because I thought that the punk and the Dead worlds were gonna merge and come into this new, you know, gonna put like, you know, unified anarchist future that. Yeah, well, you know.

[Will]

Yeah, that's what they thought in the 60s too.

[Keith Eaton]

But, yeah, people factionalized and started arguing about their fashions. And I was like, oh, yeah, never mind.

[Will]

Perhaps, you know, they say, you know, that everything's kind of a circle, so maybe it'll roll around again. But I think, yeah, we have some things to take care of right now that are on different levels. Maybe.

[Keith Eaton]

You know. I'll tell you one thing, though, what I was really glad about on that 10980 show. 10 on 89. Sorry. Was. I was glad to be challenged.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

If you listen to the sort of the outro of the Dark Star, like, the first part of the Dark Star is like pandemonium, right? And then Jerry's like, okay, I guess I gotta sing because otherwise they're not gonna shut up, right? And, you know, I. I don't know who said. I think it was John Scott or someone said. I think Jerry likes the lyrics to Dark Star. Like, he. He likes talking to his oncologist or something.

[Will]

Like, interesting metaphor. It's.

[Keith Eaton]

They're always a little bit like, ah, yeah, okay. And then after the second verse, there. There's a part where they start to push the. The pre drum space thing where they're. They're pushing. I'm a. I'm like a punk rock guy. My Sonic Youth guy at this moment. They're pushing my tolerance of, like, sonic, you know, dissonance, dissonance and volume and everything where I'm like, what? Like, I have never seen the Grateful Dead banging on their instruments before.

[Will]

I. That's what I was. You know. Know, I made a note here that the interesting. I mean, there was some MIDI going on, so somebody was playing some drums. It sounded like Jerry was playing some drums at some point. And he got into the oboe sound, and then there was lots of clanging going on. And. And it was definitely dissonant and interesting and. And, you know, I think that some of that MIDI stuff. Do you know how long they've been using that? From.

From my.

From what I've seen had been like a month or two. They had really started using experimenting in.

[Keith Eaton]

In 1988.

[Will]

Okay. So not back that far.

[Keith Eaton]

And. And mostly, I think in west coast shows because they're close to their home and their studio and other toys. Right. And I think they really brought out on the Road in the summer of 89 in space.

[Will]

Yeah. It definitely sounded like new stuff that they were. They were having fun with. Like.

[Keith Eaton]

Yes.

[Will]

Just. Just trying. And there. There are a few points, like, in the space section, once. Once. Mickey, Billy, Go away. Where you get the feeling everybody's just kind of like, pressing pedal buttons, going through whatever to see what the sound makes and what this sound.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, yeah.

[Will]

And more so than making something creative and just kind of checking some out and seeing what happens. But, you know, they. They get it together and it all gels. But it's of kind. Kind of a funny segment there where you just get, like, the oboe and the clanging and weird drum sounds coming from either Brent or Jerry. I'm not really sure who that was.

[Keith Eaton]

Well, and the volume level was getting up. It was getting to that frenzied pitch where, you know, someone who was coming for their pleasant, like, Sugar Magnolia experience is definitely going to be pushed to their. Like, why are they doing this to me? You know, which is where I'm like, yeah, this is where I want to be.

[Will]

Yeah. And then. And then they take all that into Death don't have no Mercy, which. Well, that.

[Keith Eaton]

So that blew my mind. And I knew.

[Will]

Just heavy.

[Keith Eaton]

I didn't.

[Will]

Heavy.

[Keith Eaton]

I guess I had known abstractly that they had played that at Shoreline, but, like, when I heard them play that, I mean, I was at that moment, no offense or whatever, but I was. I thought I was actually being transported back in time.

[Will]

I've been. I've had those moments.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah.

[Will]

But. But, yeah, that was just. That was heavy. The. The lyric delivery from everybody through that whole song is just heavy.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah.

[Will]

And. And. And the guitar solo, the Jerry rips and just the whole thing. Wow.

[Keith Eaton]

Well, it kept escalating. And, you know, for me, that's why the, like, the sequence of songs that might be like. I don't know what follows, like, Throwing Stones and Good Loving or something like that.

[Will]

Dear Mr. Fantasy in between.

[Keith Eaton]

Right, right, right. You know, to me, like, at that point, it's like, it's already been like, I'm just sort of going on fumes here. Like, this is so amazing. The part that actually took me off guard the most and really disarmed me was when they started playing Addicts in my life.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

And at that point, I just started sobbing

[Will]

too.

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, my God. What is. What's going on here?

[Will]

Such a great song. And listening to it, I noticed that, you know, the. The guitar line starts and. And. And everyone's kind of like, wait, what is this? And then. And then they. The lyrics hit and it just erupts. Like everybody's like, oh, it is that. You know, you could just tell, like, there was just like that tentative, like a couple of woos. And then as soon as they hit the lyrics and everybody's in there and. And you just hear the place erupt, like they knew.

[Keith Eaton]

You know how things are when you're. When you're young, you know, you're a kid, you're, like, on the scene or whatever, and it's like you. There's factions of people or this, that, and the other thing that, you know, that when you realize when you're older, like, that none of it matters. And, you know, I saw this guy who I would have thought was like the. The coolest of the cool, you know, kind of people, and he was just sobbing, and he. And this guy just gave me this huge hug, and we were both like, sobbing, and I was like, yeah, man, like, what? You know, wow, what an emotional catharsis. You know, nothing could have punctuated the energy of that night more than, I think that encore. Because that was like. That was like, if we. If we already have you in the boat, we're now gonna club you, right? I was gonna. I was sort of done. I'm like. I've done my, like, summer tours, like, you know, saw a lot of Dead shows. I'm a Gen X guy. I gotta go to see, like, I go more Luna shows or something, or the chills, you know, whatever it was I was into and went to that Warlock show, and it was like, whatever else I was interested in. I'm sorry, it just took a back seat for a while.

[Will]

Yeah.

[Keith Eaton]

Yeah, I was just back on tour. Like, wow.

[Will]

Can't help but not to. But, you know, I've said it before, The. The Grateful Dead, they'll let you know when you've been at a good show by. By the encore. So you're going to get something like addicts or bid you good night or something.

[Keith Eaton]

I'm not sure that I know many encores that are quite as stunning as that.

[Will]

Yeah, that was. Yeah, it was awesome. I. I was lucky to get an Attics in Riverport.

[Keith Eaton]

Wow.

[Will]

St. Louis one year, just, you know, one of those songs that I always said, you know, tonight's the night, Tonight's the night. And it actually was the night, so it was a good night.

[Keith Eaton]

Well, that was part of the other thing, was that in 89, there was a great resurgence of vocal harmonies, right? Because there had been so many years of 1980s Jerry sounding like he'd just been, you know, smoking a retread on a tire all night before and singing for you now, and suddenly they had, like, sort of barbershop, you know, harmonies. And the thrill that addicts out there was like, what?

[Will]

Totally. That's. You know, those vocals. That's what kind of. I had a buddy who. Who got me into the Dead originally, and it was just. It was never really on my radar. But, you know, driving around his car, he'd.

He.

He'd be playing shows, and I'd be like, damn, dude, turn this off. Like, that voice is just. Just, you know, he'd be playing 80s shows, and. Because that's what he had at the time, and he's like, no, no, no, you gotta go, you gotta go. It's. It's.

[Keith Eaton]

It's.

[Will]

It's just. You gotta go. So he bought my ticket to the first show, and I went. And, you know, I did agree with him. So, you know, it was definitely acquired taste, and I acquired it very quickly that night. And before that, I was just like, you know, this is.

[Keith Eaton]

That wasn't a great court in Indianapolis, was it?

[Will]

What's that?

[Keith Eaton]

That wasn't that tennis court in Indianapolis, was it, in 1984?

[Will]

No, no, no. I'm not sure what he was listening to, but it wasn't great.

[Keith Eaton]

No, I meant your first show.

[Will]

Oh, no, no, no. First one I saw was 6791 at Deer Creek.

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, nice.

[Will]

Yeah, it was a good one. There was a.

[Keith Eaton]

Have you heard that 84:1 from the. The tennis court?

[Will]

No. Again, I'm gonna make another note.

[Keith Eaton]

Oh, my gosh. That is like. It's one of my favorite Grateful Dead stories, too, because it's like right before they went to Alpine Summer 84, and people went nuts, and Indianapolis was like, sure, we can host these people at a tennis court.

[Will]

Weird. I. I had a tape of them playing at, like, Market Square, maybe from. It was like 85 or something.

But. Yeah.

No, I didn't know about the tennis court. I'd have to check that out.

[Keith Eaton]

That's awesome.

[Will]

Yeah, I'm sure it's on archive.

[Keith Eaton]

And, you know, and I love the mid-80s because it was just culture, you know, it wasn't about the radio hits or anything else. There was no Internet sharing of ideas. It was. It was Culture, like, it was all word of mouth, and you met people who knew people who said something, and, you know, and it's like you just discovered this whole world by having to show up.

[Will]

So, okay, so typically, you know, at the end, I ask, you know, what was it about this show that made you pick this particular one to talk about? But it's pretty obvious. I mean, that's a killer show.

[Keith Eaton]

Well, no, I don't think it's obvious at all. I think the story is that I was gonna basically quit. I was done. Yeah, I was Gen Xer, man. I was like, I did my 80s Grateful Dead time, you know, Like, I'm off to greener pastures with, like, you know, Soundgarden and, you know, Fugazi. And, like, I was really into Sonic Youth and seeing Yellow Tango at the time and, like, smaller butthole surfers, you know, like, smaller groups like this are gonna break through and create this, like, whole new thing. And the Dead just sucked me right back in after. After the Warlocks Spring, summer, and fall tour. Yeah, 1990 was, like, just grateful that time.

[Will]

Nice. Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Well, Keith, thank you for. For joining me today and talking about this. I appreciate having you. Having you on.

[Keith Eaton]

It was good talking, man, for sure.

[Will]

All right, take care.

[Keith Eaton]

All right.

[Will]

Hey, thanks so much for tuning in. If you enjoyed what you heard today, please consider hitting the subscribe button and leaving a comment. Your feedback and engagement really goes a long way to supporting and growing the show. And. And really, this is your show with your stories. So if you have a story or even a few of them from seeing Grateful Dead shows or experiences of how the band has impacted your life in some way, I'd love to hear from you and have you on. My email is willails from the lot.org reach out. Or you could use the new text me feature that's in the show notes. You can easily reach out and connect with me directly that way. And don't forget to follow on Facebook for updates and exclusive content. And for those who prefer watching, full videos of every episode are available on my YouTube channel channel. So thanks again and please be kind to yourself and others.