It was 20 years ago today

[Booche]

Oh my lord. Time certainly does fly. I cant believe this. TWENTY YEARS!

First Dead show, life altering night. I'm only posting here because I know a couple of other folks on this board (well, they used to post here frequently) also experienced their first shows in Hamilton.

Killer show, top 5 Scarlet-Fire in my books. I am listening to it the moment I get home.

03/22/90 (Thu) Copps Coliseum - Hamilton, Ontario

Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger, West L.A. Fadeaway, Easy To Love You, Beat It On Down The Line, It Must Have Been The Roses, The Last Time, Picasso Moon, Don't Ease Me In

Set 2: Scarlet Begonias > Fire On The Mountain, Samson & Delilah, Believe It Or Not, Truckin' > Jam > Drums > Space > The Other One > Hey Jude* > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Hey Jude (reprise) > Sugar Magnolia,

E: It's All Over Now Baby Blue

[phishtaper]

Scarlet and Fire

Born: March 22, 1990

Copps Coliseum

Hamilton, ON.

[bouche]

geezuz. how many times did I have to listen to this fracking tape at 90 curtis cres?

[Kanada Kev]

Great shows in Hamilton that year.

Such a good vibe in the lot and did well vending of course I've got a video tape somewhere with footage of the lot that they showed on MuchMusic. That big VJ was walking around interviewing people and stuff (maybe it was '92).

Nothing like a killer Scarlet>Fire to really get you on the bus (mine was at Kingswood in '87)

[Hux]

The 1990 Grateful Dead concert at Copps Colliseum in Hamilton never really happened. I've kept my silence on the subject for 22 years ... now it's finally time to come clean on the whole subject. The whole idea began back in late 1969/early 1970. The Department of Defense, CIA and the RCMP were very disappointed by the way the Vietnam War was progressing. Not only was the US losing but, more importantly, the US public did not approve of the war and, worse yet, weren't believing everything the military said about what was happening. This was an unprecedented event. Every other recent war was viewed positively by the public ... or at least with apathy in the case of Korea. Something had to be done. They decided to take a page from the Soviets and experiment with mind control. Together with Disney and a fledgling computer company called Microsoft, they set out to prove that brainwashing could really work on the very people who opposed them: the hippies. It isn't widely known but Copps Coliseum was actually the second test of these mind control procedures. The first occurred in mid-1975 and was a dismal failure. 2 major mistakes were made. First, they picked the one time that the Dead were not touring. This created all sorts of problems with the subject audience. The more serious mistake was in not updating the criteria of the experiment. Due to typical government inefficiency, they used the 1969 version of the Dead that was playing when the program was conceived. The sudden appearance of Pigpen, who had died 2 years earlier, literally blew the minds of those in attendance. 6 months were spent erasing all traces of the "show" and carefully rebuilding as much of their minds as possible. The subjects were eventually released and most of them became evangelists, their only lingering memory of the whole experiment being an unshakeable belief that they'd witnessed a true miracle. Unfortunately, no tapes have been found from this first experiment. That's a real shame because the version of Dark Star->St Stephen->Eleven->Lovelight used was supposedly the best ever. After a few drinks, the original scientists still speak in awe about the music heard that day. By 1990, everyone was ready for the second test. This time, they learned from their mistakes. A small group of college students (including yours truly) were hired to attend shows from 1976 through 1989. Our job was to collect tapes of the Dead's performances, select which tunes to use, and to help identify subjects for the upcoming experiment. The location and date were chosen with equal care. It was a off-day during the tour and the location close enough to the real concerts to be believed. Of more importance was the late snowfall that day. That unusual and easily confirmed event provided the glue that would hold the implanted memories together. Even now 22 years later, people "remembering" that concert use almost identical words to describe leaving the show. Overall, the experiment was a great success. Of course, some people were given slightly different memories. Some, like Teddy Goodbear, "remember" taping the show and were even provided "Audience" tapes to further cement the hoax. Still others remember getting "horribly smashed" up front. None of this actually occurred. A week after the "concert" experiment, a 2nd test was done on the city of Hamilton itself. In order to perfect this hoax, the town itself must also be convinced that the concert took place. Disney had acquired owner-ship of all the local TV and radio stations through dummy corporations. Using special chips developed by Microsoft, they played subliminal messages to every man, woman and child in a 100 mile radius of Copps Coliseum. For the most part, this programming still holds today although some people did prove resistant to the message. As far as the source of the music, for the most part the list posted by "brew ziggins" is correct. The only mystery remaining is the Scarlet->Fire. That was actually performed by the Dead specifically for this experiment. Since Jerry worked for the CIA, it was easy to convince him and the rest of the band to go along. Plus he liked the idea of "pranking"a large group of people like this. The fabled 2/6/77 "take a step back" rehearsal tape is also from material taped for these experiments. The soundboard tapes in circulation were leaked by Dick Latvala who edited the original tapes. Leaking these tapes also provided the first cracks in the hoax to appear since the tapes were distributed to people who were not in the experiment and who knew that no show was performed that day. It was necessary to obtain their silence through blackmail, bribery and in extreme cases, mind control itself. That's also how this "show" came to be listed in all the popular Dead show guides like DeadBase. So what's happened to these mind control techniques used in this experiment? I got out of the program in 1992 but it's obvious that they are still being used today. Microsoft has used this power to become one of the biggest, most influential companies in history. They sure didn't become that big by providing quality products. It was used to shape public relation to the Gulf War. It's also clear that George Bush never understood the full power of these methods. After the Gulf War, the technology was leaked to a young governor who used them to be successfully elected to 2 terms as president and remain in power despite facing numerous charges that should have seen him removed from office or even thrown in prison. There are also indications that this technology might explain the otherwise unbelievable popularity of rap music. That's the whole story. I'll probably end up in jail (or worse) for revealing this but it feels good to finally get the whole thing off my chest. My buddy Scratchie, who is currently on Hiatus from rmgdead, requested that I post the real story. So here it is: In honor of the anniversary of The Greatest Show That Never Really Happened...

[phishtaper]

Now I am freaked out...I think I hear them QUICK get out!

[Velvet]

Hux is fiction.

[Booche]

Hux's idea gets an A for idea.

F for execution.

You didnt think to edit any of it to make that look more topical? The second sentence alone gets you a great big fat fail.

[Schwa.]

Hux's idea gets an A for idea.

F for execution.

You didnt think to edit any of it to make that look more topical? The second sentence alone gets you a great big fat fail.

hahah, this article will be written in 2 years.

fail.

[Booche]

God bless the interwebs. I didnt have to rummage through piles of cds. Check this version out Schwa, it starts out slamming right off the bat.

[Guest Low Roller]

I'll drive by Copps later tonight to see if there are any candlelight vigils being held outside, while someone blasts the show out loud.

I'm only partially sarcastic... I'm almost expecting it.

[localcrew]

One of my fave Easy to Love You.....great Scarlet Fire as well as has been noted.

Must Have Been the Roses became my song with my wife that night too as I was looking at her and her long brown hair just as Jerry sang that line....she was fussing over our baby daughter at the time and I was getting frustrated-Jerry brought me right back as he has done so many times over the years.

Our Broken Angel always shedding a little light in the strangest of places when you look at it right despite his battles with his own Demons.

I had to learn the hard way too brother.

Love you Jerry!

....and someone renew Hux's meds wouldya...

[localcrew]

I remember thinking at the time that the band didn't play quite as 'hot' as I had become accustomed to during the eighties. That may be true but they certainly played alot 'better' in this 89/90 time frame; much more listenable than the wilder days of the earlier eighties.

[Booche]

I hadnt listened to this first set in a long time. This matrix is pointing out stumbles I either never noticed before or completely forgot about.

You might enjoy this LocalCrew. Until relistening to this, I had actually forgot they played It Must Have Been The Roses that night. It became a favorite Jerry ballad thanks to having never heard the song before and immediately making a strong connection with it.

Nearly 20 years later, the way my IPOD worked out that day, my son was born to the same song (Reckoning version).

[localcrew]

That's the thing about the Dead magic....it connects with you even when you're not expecting it...it always seems to happen; even now. it's more than synchronicity to me.

I remember tripping years ago in the winter woods at a cottage. We had dead music playing to the stars and I thought why is Cassidy playing AGAIN???

Just then I looked down at the snow near the frozen silver lake and noticed wolf tracks. I looked up and some wolves were looking into me knowingly before vanishing into the darkened trees.

I knew I was in their dream as much as they were in mine.

I don't know maybe it was the roses.

[PassedOutGuy]

Watching it right now and can't believe it was 20 years ago today that I walked up the escalator to have my entire life flipped upsode down as I knew it... by the second set I was spinning in the halls with everyone else... seats one row from the top behind the stage didnt do much for me for sound but man what a night!

[Im going home Donny]

Thanks for making me feel so fucking old. Gesus...what a trip indeed! :rollweed: :susel:

[StoneMtn]

20 years? Impossible. I still remember the opening of Scarlet that night.

I demand a recount.

[Booche]

Yup. Sparing the gruesomely acidic details, this is my first show in a nutshell.

I looked up and some wolves were looking into me knowingly before vanishing into the darkened trees.

to have my entire life flipped upsode down as I knew it...

Sometimes I wonder how I survived that night but I got by goddammit!

[PassedOutGuy]

yup it was definitely flipped "upsode" down.

[StoneMtn]

That was your very first show? Good intro-show, for sure!

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

And another fine show, in the "this day in history" vein: The Palace, Auburn Hills, MI, 23-03-1992

Edited March 23, 2010 by Guest