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Grateful Dead Reads
The Silver Snarling Trumpet: The Birth of the Grateful Dead – The Lost Manuscript by Robert Hunter
A posthumously published manuscript offering insights into the early days of the Grateful Dead.Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead by Phil Lesh
The legendary bassist's personal account of his journey with the Grateful Dead.Harrington Street by Jerry Garcia
An anecdotal personal history featuring illustrations and recollections by Jerry Garcia.Mother American Night: My Life in Crazy Times by John Perry Barlow and Robert Greenfield
A memoir detailing Barlow's eclectic life, from songwriting to digital rights activism.The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
A classic account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' psychedelic adventures.No Simple Highway: A Cultural History of the Grateful Dead by Peter Richardson
An exploration of the Grateful Dead's impact on American culture and music.Living with the Dead: Twenty Years on the Bus with Garcia and the Grateful Dead by Rock Scully with David Dalton
An insider's perspective on life with the Grateful Dead from their longtime road manager.Skeleton Key: A Dictionary for Deadheads by David Shenk and Steve Silberman
A comprehensive guide to the language and culture of Grateful Dead fans.This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead by Blair Jackson and David Gans
An extensive oral history capturing the voices and stories of the Grateful Dead community.Live Dead: The Grateful Dead, Live Recordings, and the Ideology of Liveness by John Brackett
An academic analysis of the significance of live recordings in the Grateful Dead's legacy.One More Saturday Night by Liz Pennington, local author, Heber, Utah.
Loud and Clear: The Grateful Dead’s Wall of Sound and the Quest for Audio Perfection by Brian Anderson
It’s a whole history on the wall, an absolutely brilliant read.
The Giants Stadium Rain Show
Grateful Dead — July 10, 1989
Venue: Giants Stadium — East Rutherford, NJ
Our Spot: I was among the TAPERS, right in front of Jerry Garcia.
The Weather: The sky turned black during the first set, bringing a torrential downpour followed by an epic second-set lightning storm.
While the Grateful Dead played Giants Stadium in 1987, 1989, and 1991, the massive rain event most fans remember from that era actually took place on July 10, 1989. It’s often cited as one of the most intense weather experiences on the East Coast. During the first set, the sky turned black, and as the band played "Tennessee Jed," Jerry Garcia famously sang the line, "You know you're bound to wind up wet," just as the skies opened. The second set featured a literal "rain set" while lightning flashed over the stadium.
The Setlist:
Set 1: Feel Like A Stranger -> Franklin's Tower, Walkin' Blues, Jack-A-Roe, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Tennessee Jed (The skies opened exactly on the line: "You know you're bound to wind up wet"), The Music Never Stopped -> Don't Ease Me In
Set 2: Foolish Heart -> Just A Little Light, Playing In The Band -> Uncle John's Band -> Drums -> Space -> Iko Iko, All Along The Watchtower, Morning Dew, Sugar Magnolia
Encore: Knockin' On Heaven's Door
The Folsom Field Rain Show
Dead & Company — July 13, 2018 (Night 1 of 2)
Venue: Folsom Field — Boulder, CO
Our Spot: Our community was 10 "rows" back, right in front of John Mayer.
The Weather: Severe thunderstorm with nickel-sized hail. The field was evacuated mid-show, resulting in a single massive, continuous set once the band returned.
This show is famous for a severe storm that included heavy rain and nickel-sized hail. The band actually had to stop the show and evacuate the field and uncovered stands. After about an hour delay, they returned and played one massive, continuous, extended set to make up for lost time. They leaned into the theme by opening their return with the chorus of "Cold Rain and Snow."
Fun Fact: While everyone was huddled under the concrete concourses waiting for the hail to stop, some local vendors apparently started handing out free pizza to the fans who were waiting it out!
The Setlist:
Set 1 (Pre-Evacuation): Iko Iko, Cold Rain and Snow, Black-Throated Wind, Bertha -> Greatest Story Ever Told, Comes a Time, Lost Sailor -> Saint of Circumstance, Deal
(Show halted for a 1-hour storm/hail delay. Venue floor evacuated.)
Set 2 (The Rainy Return): The Weight, Lady with a Fan -> Terrapin Station, St. Stephen -> William Tell Bridge -> The Eleven -> Drums -> Space -> All Along the Watchtower, Black Peter, Throwing Stones
Encore: Liberty -> U.S. Blues
The Only Storm That Ever Drove Me Away
We’ve all weathered some legendary storms on tour. For me, dancing on the floor at a Grateful Dead or Dead & Company show usually means bracing against the elements. And as someone who wears hearing aids, a sudden downpour isn't just an inconvenience—it’s a high-stakes mission to keep my tech dry. Over 35 years, the beautiful souls around me on the floor have always helped me with that task.
But during a multi-day run at Folsom Field, I encountered a completely different kind of storm.
I was down on the floor, surrounded by the music, sharing the magic with my teenage children. We were dancing, completely locked into the second set vibe, when the unthinkable happened. Out of nowhere, a full 16-ounce can of beer sailed through the air like a missile, striking me directly in the head with enough velocity to send me crashing forward.
When I reached up, my left hand immediately filled with blood.
In an instant, the night shifted from pure joy to survival mode. I had to pull myself off the floor and navigate my way up to the fieldhouse, all while trying to comfort my kids. They were in absolute shock—watching their mom go from dancing and laughing to bleeding from a two-inch laceration on her head in the blink of an eye.
The headache that followed was blinding. While the physical pain of that night has mostly faded from my memory, the emotional sting remains. It marks the only time in 35 years of following this music that I walked out of a venue's gates early.
To this day, I still ask myself: Who on earth throws a full can of beer into a crowd? Aside from the sheer danger of it... those things were like $22 each!
It takes a lot to break the spirit of a Deadhead, and while that flying can cut my night short, it couldn't cut my love for this community. But it definitely taught me that sometimes, the wildest storms aren't the ones coming from the sky.
Your dedicated deadhead sister,
Wendy Getz
I shared this with my daughter, who believes she has photos from that event. She also volunteered that I have another amazing story, from a Dead show in Red Rocks. Have you ever been to Red Rocks?
Leave a comment above: What was the show that changed everything for you?
