1989/90 New Year's Eve rehearsal & backstage video
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Lance minimum goad Newberry
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This is am amateurishly shot home video of the events leading up to midnight 1990 at the Oakland Coliseum, made by one of Bill Graham's top people, Peter Barsotti, who had full access to everything because he was always in charge of all the NYE events. He is using a new video camera that he clearly didn't really know how to use.
This was very cool for me to watch because I know many of the people shown and I spent a lot of time with many of them in similar events, but the video is really long and much of it will be boring to most as a lot of it is people standing around talking, but I think in general it's a pretty interesting trip back in time to see how one of Bill Graham's NYE events got put together, and there are some really cool bits with Bonny Raitt & New Grass Revival.
If nothing else I liked it because there's lots of great footage of the old Oakland Coliseum, where so many of us had so many great times.
http://www.concertvault.com/bill-graham/video/new-years-eve-rehearsal-an...
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Looking back I realize the
Looking back I realize the thread title and my blurb are misleading. The video isn't the Grateful Dead rehearsing, it's following the BGP people who are preparing for the New Years moment and who used to put on those shows.
There is virtually no GD music in the video.
Sorry about that.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Painted Mandolin
Had a literal blast at this
Had a literal blast at this NYE show.
Went with a couple of pals - one of whom is a well known Brewer and the Owner of West Marin's most popular Brew Pubs.
That same individual cleverly concealed a half-dozen champagne splits inside hollowed out baguettes and then wrapped them in foil and carried them into the Coliseum as our dinner in a plastic bag!
As the special chemical's imprinted on paper took over our minds I fired up one of the many "party favors" that I had cultivated in my penthouse apartment on Lake Merit....
The very moment when Uncle Bobo appeared as a Voodoo Witch Doctor from the ceiling of Oakland Coliseum, blew our collective minds - but the actual counted down, stroke of midnight - (always in-accurately invoked in this context) was a serious synapse-snapping moment... As the crowd and Bill Walton as Father Time counted down 3, 2, 1, the very unexpected and powerful indoor detonation of some sort of explosive, percussive charge could be felt in the chest!
I'm guessing at least 1/3 of the assemblage (including us) had millions of neurons self-destruct in that eternal moment.....
It wasn't the best NYE I witnessed but that moment was incredibly potent - and washed in a blender of pot smoke, lysergified chemistry and dry champagne!
Thanks for triggering these memories Lance!
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Def. High
So it wasn't the champagne
So it wasn't the champagne exploding inside your shirt?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Painted Mandolin
nope
nope
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lance minimum goad Newberry
Always a pleasure to invoke
Always a pleasure to invoke memories Treble, but the video I posted follows the preparation for the year before, when Bill was dressed as a chicken and was lowered from the ceiling down onto a giant egg in the back of the room, then the egg float was pushed to the front of the stage.
That chicken costume was ill-advised, but the show was really good.
The show you're invoking Treble was 90/91 and sadly was Bill's final NYE performance, and I was around & involved in that one, as I was for many similar events during those times, with many of those same people.
That video brought those times back for me last night. I sat up watching the whole damn thing, unable to turn it off.
Many old friends and an amazingly fun era of my life, long gone for me now but never forgotten.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: .............
never made it west for any
never made it west for any those nyeve shows, but, thanks for memories....so many... back east...party all night...make sure tapes ready to roll
...celebrate midnight here...roll tape...celebrate again at 3:00....pass out at some point, usually on a couch , listening to drums/space...wake up, start coffe for 20 crazies on floors, beds, couches throughout house....play back to see what ya missed....then play whole show over...
start making copies to mail to friends all over country...;)
and wait for spring tour!!!
memories....;)
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Joe Buck is Back
The Uncle Bobo witch doctor
The Uncle Bobo witch doctor was 90/91. 89/90 was the Uncle Bobo chicken and the egg.
Thanks for posting this. Really enjoyed the whole thing. I was there for this run on the floor at midnight. Total life changing event for me. Cool to see how many people are involved in putting something like this on. Cool to see Bobby in his blackened windows lair preying on the unsuspecting groupies lol.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
https://archive.org/details
https://archive.org/details/2001-12-31.paf.neumann.boden.6820.sbefail.flacf
About the one and only BayArean NYE Dead-ish show I saw live; the Crusader Rabbit at the Kaiser Soza, with both RatDog and PLQ .
The other one(s) would have been Chinese New Years ca. 1993 at Oakland Coliseum with a Carlos Santana appearance. But that was actual Grateful Dead, and not USA NYE. Those were 1/24, 1/25, 1/26 / 1993...
Holy Toledo, where did the Time Go ??
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Druba
Watched a few of those videos
Watched a few of those videos, pretty cool history there! I only got to see one NYE show, 85/86, good times for sure! Here's an old pic of 3 of us in the Parking Lot, where we had a nice armada of Oregonians from the Corvallis / Summit area.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
The fellow with the Bud can
The fellow with the Bud can looks familiar, but I can not recall a name. My guess is a Willamette Valley musician type.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Druba
That's me, and guilty as
That's me, and guilty as charged (Grateful Dave on the Left, forgetting the guy in the centers name)
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: treat island
I've just started watching
I've just started watching and hope to watch more tomorrow. Thank you for posting the link and your thoughts, Lance.
I was at this show (and the years before and the year after) - these were astounding feats of engineering and dedication.
Lance, you might remember (or not) that I was friends with Peter and 3 other Barsotti brothers from 1968 on... I mentioned it after he died. I went to Pete's wedding to Bettike, and whenever I ran into him he was his strong, sure, sweet self. The last time was at Shoreline, 1990 maybe... he was one special man.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Painted Mandolin
I was at the Chicken and Egg
I was at the Chicken and Egg show too - whoopsie for the cornfusion....
The Chicken and Egg show was a major bummer for those of us on the floor.
I think my coat wound up about 40 feet from where I'd been standing before the midnight spectacle and everyone got horribly smashed in the corralling of heads to accommodate the oversized Egg Float. What a shit show....
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Bluelight
I helped build the Mushroom
I helped build the Mushroom float for Bill on the 1982 NYE & was backstage for the entire run. It was all about the holiday spirit with that man.
December 1982 Oakland Aud Camp Ground
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9z0JOXQqHM
12 28 82 Oakland Aud on line
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWa3fYKOZtI
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Bluelight
That's a great photograph
That's a great photograph Druba.