Phil and Phrends Road Report

A few weeks ago, I changed tactics on the sound deadening / interior refresh so Hapy would be ready for a trip to see Phil and Friends play in Eugene. Today's post covers that trip. For my US readers, Hapy belated Independence Day.

Unrelated: Northwest String Summit is having their final festival this year. While this may not arrive as news to some, it may be to others. I failed to get tickets, and have given up looking for myself but I am hoping you might have a line on a pair for my friend and his caregiver. My old dear follow-the-Dead friend was diagnosed with MS a few years ago, and he is now mostly confined to a wheelchair. I don't know how many festivals he has left in him, so I'm using my 'Miracle ticket mojo' to help him get to one more. If you know someone who was going to go onto CashOrTrade, Craiglist or something to offload a pair of tickets and a parking pass, please consider routing him/her/them to me so I can connect them with Mayhem, the merry fester.

Terrapin

rest area

The last time Boo or I saw Phil Lesh play live was 2013. Now, nearly 9 years later, we had the opportunity to see him play with his son, Graham. Over the years, Boo and I visited Phil's now-closed venue, Terrapin Crossroads (TerrapinCrossroads.net is gone now too), but we had not been able to align a trip with a time he was on-stage. When we heard he was coming to the Pacific Northwest, I jumped on tickets, with a hope that we could catch 2 shows, knowing that he may not pass this way again. The closer venue, the Cuthbert Ampitheater in Eugene, offers reserved seats for those willing to pay a premium. Again, I figured our chances to see Phil are decreasing with each year, so I got us a pair of seats maybe 20 feet from the stage, in the center of the house. Arguably, this was the closest I've been to the stage occupied by a member of the Dead since my touring days, and it was really special to see the facial expressions and the non-verbal communication between the players.

On the Road Again

Before we could take our seats, of course, we needed to get there. Boo worked the day before, so I assembled the usual gear without her. This has become virtually automatic, since we have it fairly well organized: 3 milk crates of stuff plus the canopy, bedding stuff, a large water cooler and emergency stuff. Since I had emptied my overflowing toolbox into that new tool cabinet, I needed to assemble a smaller tool set for the road. Rather than carry everything, like I used to, I grabbed my 10mm and 13mm ratcheting spanners, a small set of sockets, a pair of stubby screw drivers and a pair of longer handled screw drivers, a couple pairs of pliers (one needle-nose, one regular) and a couple pairs of scissors (one fine, one larger shears). Last, I tossed in my multi-meter, some wire connectors and a roll of electrical tape. I figured that if something broke beyond those tools, we would flatbed home.

Boo and Hapy, pre-func

On travel day, we assembled a couple of days of clothes, a small cooler of drinks and snacks and hit the road, stopping for some B20 at the corner filling station. Reflecting the new reality, our corner station was charging more than double what we paid in 2019 ($6.05/gal versus $2.99/gal). The price has continued to climb since then, like everywhere else, it seems. The freeway leading to the interstate was very busy, and crawled slow, but it allowed Hapy time to get up to temperature and settle down. Most of the squeaks and moans that used to plague our trips were gone, leaving the low drone of the engine and a wind-whistle near my left ear, coming from the door seal.

By the time we hit I-5 South, his engine temp was steady at 185*. South of the I-205 interchange, traffic spread out a little bit, and we could just cruise. We had all day to get to the Cuthbert, so we didn't push Hapy too hard. We knew that the speedometer reads slow, believing that when it reads 60mph we are closer to 65mph. For fun, we tried to calculate exactly how fast we were actually going by taking stop-watch times between mile markers while I tried to hold speed at 60mph. Of course, holding a steady speed on uneven ground in traffic is not exact. Nor is clicking a stopwatch as you pass a mile marker. Still, we determined that when the speedometer reads around 60mph, we are actually going closer to 62mph. I guess, it's not as far off as I thought.

Wheel

Stu, Phil and Graham

Just the fact that we were talking about speed and speedometer accuracy describes the drive... by what we were NOT talking about: temperature, struggling to keep pace, electrical gremlins, thrown codes, etc. From start to finish, the engine temp peaked at 190*F and that was on the uphill south of Salem where I have seen Hapy's temp climb upwards of 200* in years part. We were able to take the hill in 4th gear, holding steady at 60mph on the speedo. So far, so good. The drive south was dry until around the Corvallis exit, when the rain started. The road remained clear, and traffic good all the way to the venue, but it was a harbinger of things to come.

Of course, we did discover or encounter or develop some things along the way. For example, when I installed the stereo head unit into the glove box, I did not include the metal cage that would have locked it into the box. Why? I wanted to easily remove the head for the inevitable installation of an amplifier. Well, without that cage, pushing buttons with more than the lightest pressure caused the head unit to slide backwards into the holder. Yep, that happened. Repeatedly. So, I will be putting in the cage, and will figure out how to manage an amplifier install which includes a removing the head unit from that cage later.

We discovered that one of the tail lights has a dim brake light. It is not out, it is just dim. Also, that weird issue where I cannot turn off the engine without my foot on the brake pedal re-appeared even after I cut off the entire diagnosis plug. Clearly, I will have to cut off that diagnosis wire from the driver side taillights. If that doesn't work, I may replace the wires from the brake switch to the taillights so any weird grounding from 50+ year old wiring goes away. This may also address the dim bulb.

Speaking of brakes, on the way home, Hapy lost his vacuum/boost brake assist. This could be something as simple as the hose nearest the booster got some brake fluid on it and compromised it to the point where it failed. Or, this could be as big a deal as the booster unit itself has failed. Since Hapy is over 50 years old, and the brake booster is original (and has a healthy coating of rust), I will be assembling parts expecting the worst.

Truckin'

Unbroken Chain

With these downsides, it would be easy to dwell in the negative. Those issues were the only ones we encountered. We used and greatly appreciated the 2-way dome light by the slider. The single position was really handy when we first got back to the bus after the show. Otherwise in the dark, we could find the camping chairs, some snacks and bev's without reaching for a light, shining a flashlight or even setting muddy-foot inside the bus. The floating speakers and the headbanger speakers were very useful for the pre-func after someone parked right next to us, preventing us from hanging out next to the slider. So, we moved to the rear of the bus, popped the rear hatch, and moved the speakers. Boom, we're wrapped in sound, comfy as can be.

 

Regarding Hapy functioning, the rear anti-sway bar had Hapy holding the road like never before. There is considerable open farmland south of Salem where there are fairly consistent, strong gusting winds. The winds are especially strong when a storm is approaching, as it was on this drive. In past years, encountering those winds has been a white-knuckling event, buffeting the bus, pushing us into either the next lane to the left or into the shoulder. Not this year. I drove in a relaxed body position, with gentle arms and shoulders, the entire drive. I felt the wind, but it didn't move us. The topper of it all, though, has to be the new front seats. Unlike prior drives, where I felt like someone had driven over me by the time we got to our destination, these Sprinter seats were so comfortable, my body felt like we had driven across town, not 2+ hours. I believe the relaxed posture and happy body were a result of the anti-sway bar, the stiffer shocks and the new seats combined.

Cold Rain and Snow

After the show, we waited for the crowd to thin before leaving the parking lot. As we started to leave, the staff pro's had assembled in a line with their flashlights to start shepherding stragglers, so our timing was spot-on. The exit routes fairly easily onto I-105 and then on to I-5 North, so we started our way north. By the time we left the lot, it was almost midnight and as the miles ticked by the show afterglow started to fade. Hapy was driving so well, though, neither he nor I wanted to stop. He definitely didn't want to. His temperature was holding at 185* no matter how fast we went. There was a point when our speedometer hit 75mph (the rpm counter near 3500) when we passed a truck and Hapy just cruised without a bump in his temperature. Eventually, I couldn't combat the fatigue. So, we hit the rest area just north of Albany to grab a nap, vagabond-style.

Once we had things set up, we intended to use the USB chargers in the headbanger. They work great, super-fast charging, but they cast a blue light that is super annoying at night. So, I will be covering the LED's with black electrical tape to dull them.

I mentioned the rain on the way South. We had intermittent sprinkles through the evening, but it was mostly clear during the show. It remained clear for our drive as far as the rest area heading north, but when we awoke the next morning, the rain had set in. It appeared to have been raining steadily overnight. It was constant, but varying in intensity from moderate to heavy. And, it was colder, like mid 40F's.

 

rare picture of me

We packed up the vagabond, returning Hapy to a drive-able state and headed back onto the interstate. It was at this point that a lack of a defroster became apparent. Of course, Hapy has never had a working defroster, like most type2 busses, but still, after driving more modern cars, it is becoming a glaring gap in the wet/misty Pacific Northwest. We wiped down the windscreen and front windows with a towel, and pressed into the rain.

I Will Take You Home

Driving Hapy has become such a pleasure, but in interstate traffic, when you can't see terribly well, in rain so heavy that the ruts are becoming hydroplaning ponds, the joy fades. Of course, the brake booster was no longer functional, so I had the need for extra stopping distance playing with my mind as well. By the time we got to Salem, we needed some breakfast to consider our options. The weather system which had settled over the northwest was still just moving in from the southwest, moving northeast, covering our entire trajectory with heavy rain. This was projected to continue all the way to Seattle, our intended next show. As much as I love Phil, and as much as I really wanted to be there, I feared I would be a mess by the time we got there. Then there would be standing/dancing in pouring rain followed by camping in pouring rain, packing up in the pouring rain, and then driving 5 hours back home in... you guessed it... pouring rain. Our best guess was that we were looking at 8-10 hours of driving. I just couldn't do it. So, for the first time since I bought Hapy 20 years ago, the humans gave up before the machine did.

After breakfast, we hit the highway and went home instead of continuing on to Seattle. In the end, this was probably the better choice for Hapy, and for us. We stopped wanting more, but perhaps more importantly, we stopped before Hapy really gave out. I have brakes to fix, a stereo to mount, a pair of USB chargers to dim and a defroster to figure out, in that order of importance.

Thank You For a Real Good Time

I didn't really mention the show, and I won't be posting independently about it. It was a lot of fun, and they played well. We hope we get to see Phil again, but if we didn't, our last time spent with him was far from Plain Jane. Quite the opposite: the jams were tasty, the arrangements purposeful and the execution spot-on. If I had any disappointment it would be the keyboardist (Steve Molitz) not being loud enough in the mix during his solos. He was rippin, but we had to strain to hear his leads over the rest of the band. Arguably, he was putting the most energy into the performance, almost like he was playing with Joe Russo.

This was a highly successful trip. While I will have some work to do before the next one, it is always easier when you are building on success rather than trying to resolve after a failure. Fair warning: the blog may go quiet for a while as I re-enter the work for Zed.

Thanks, as always, for following along-

Phil and Friends setlist:

Set 1: Ripple - Brown Eyed Women - Cosmic Charlie - Loose Lucy - Scarlet Begonias - Sugaree

Set 2: Help on the Way > Slipknot > jam > Dark Star > long jam > Unbroken Chain > another jam > a "Jessica" jam (very Allman Bro's sounding) > Slipknot reprised > Franklin's Tower - Not Fade Away

enc: Phil's Donor Rap - One More Saturday Night

JRAD - Eugene Show Report

The second half of the usual postings when we take Hapy somewhere interesting. My last post covered the travel part. In summary, it was great, but there were some things that shook out that need to get fixed before the next trip. For context, I had never seen this band before, but I had heard some concert footage, so I had an inkling of what we might expect. On to the show!

Pre-Funk
We arrived around 5. Since the gates opened at 530, we figured there would be some happenings to witness or partake in. We were routed to the parking lot near the Science Center, which I found odd, and we found ourselves in a small lot with a collection of Vanagons. We parked along the VW bus row, put up the pop-top, set out the colorful rug, the camping chairs and table and set to pre-funk. Our neighbor Vanagon had a big barbecue they had just fired up and while the scene was small, we had a tailgate vibe happening. Seeing how we were in the shadow of Autzen Stadium, that vibe was all the more appropriate. We were met by Boo's sister E and her husband H and, after a spirited beverage, we walked the short trail over the stream to the venue.

The Cuthbert

The Cuthbert Amphitheater max's out at 5000 people, but it wasn't completely full for Joe Russo's Almost Dead (JRAD). The very far corners of the upper lawn could fit a few people, but otherwise, the place was effectively full. It's a nice place, where everything is easy to get to, the lines are short and the view of the stage is really good. Even the pitched lawn isn't as steep as the lawn at, say, Shoreline in the Bay Area. I have only seen shows from the upper lawn, but I have heard that the seated area is really nice: flat ground for dancing would be especially welcome. We didn't arrive terribly early, but we were able to get s spot close to the separation between the upper and lower lawns, fairly close to the center,  but still over to Phil's side (stage right / house left) a little bit. Unlike when we went to Further here, there were a lot of teenagers this time. There were enough there for Boo to comment that the hippie cycle must be starting up again. Based on what we know of the EDM scene through T, "love" is moving in and "hate" is moving on. Very nice.

JRAD
The band was supposed to go on at 730, and they were fairly punctual. I hadn't been checking my watch, so they must have been within 20 minutes of their scheduled time. They started up with a smoking Althea that highlighted solo's from both guitarists and the keyboardist before rolling into a Truckin' that rocked. Crescendo after crescendo between the verses. They were riding another crescendo as they were concluding Truckin' and jump-stepped into Cassidy. One bar they were playing Truckin', the next Cassidy. Seamless. So good, and after a Tennessee Jed they closed the first set. "4 songs," you ask. Yes, 4 songs in an hour and they never stopped playing the entire time. The second set was a mind-blower, opening up with a Blues for Allah (King's Solomon's Marbles) and Here Comes Sunshine. The Help on the Way into Slipknot was super tight, but they raised the bar further with a drop into Feel Like a Stranger before continuing Slipknot into Franklin's Tower. The Franklin's closed with a classic Slipknot reprise. Again, they never stopped playing the crowd didn't stop dancing, and the back and forth energy was amazing. The set closed with a Good Lovin' and Mighty Quinn encore, but it was the Help-Slip-Stranger-Slip-Franklins that had my head shaking afterwards.

For anyone who wished they could have seen the Dead in their energy hay-day (1970's), when they would play marathon shows with super high-energy, you should check JRAD out. They have that youthful energy you can hear on those old Dead bootlegs, that Dead and Co can't get anywhere near. My opinions on Dead and Co are well documented (See Why Does Dead and Company Suck?). Seeing the Dead songbook get lit up like I'd never seen before just further underscores the mediocrity of Dead and Co. So, if you want to reminisce, play remember-when, cram into a huge crowd and see something mediocre-bordering-on-bad for upwards of three-digits US$, by all means go to Dead and Co. You've been warned; if you already have tickets, I'd suggest you do the lot scene and scalp them to someone less informed. If you want to hear what those songs are supposed to sound like, witness some amazing solos, vocals that are on-key and energized, and get your back broken by some jams that will dance you into traction, go see JRAD. It will cost you less, the venue will be smaller, and it will blow your mind how good these songs can sound when they're played by skilled, young, inspired musicians.

Post-Funk
With Quinn echoing in our ears, Boo and I sat with E and H. We all glistened with sweat from dancing, though the warm day had long turned to cool evening. The crowd started to make their way to the exits, each looking a little dumbfounded. Or maybe it was the drinking and smoking that created those vacant stares. No matter. We joined the throng working their way to the exit, and could overhear conversations, elated over certain aspects of the show.

The lot scene outside, though, was nothing like the "old stadium days", at least not the little lot we were in. The crowd disappeared rather quickly. So, while Boo and I scarfed down a salad, our neighbors would wave and drive off. Maybe the Shakedown Street was on the other side. Maybe there wasn't one. It didn't matter, really. No one hassled us out of the lot, so we enjoyed our cool down, and rolled away when the mood was right. In retrospect, for all I know the lot scene in the 70's was more like that.

I can't say enough about how good JRAD was. We loved Further, but their energy was different too. Further was more of a revival-meets-reunion kind of energy. Just love, and happy to be here while we play our favorite tunes in a nice-to-hear way. Great vocals and JohnK's guitar work was amazing. JRAD is such higher energy, raging guitar solos like the way Warren Haynes shredded when he toured with "The Dead" 10 years ago. Now, add a guitarist who can add bits like an Allman brothers musical interlude like JRAD has. That's special.

Thanks, as always, for following along. More Summer music fun ahead.

Why Does Dead and Company Suck?

Today is a complete rant about nothing car or bus related. Enjoy or ignore. Either way, I'm sure this will upset someone. To keep things calm, I will turn off the ability to add comments to this post.

Who the Hell Do I Think I Am?

Before Jerry Garcia died, self-identifying as a DeadHead was similar to self-identifying with a national (US) political party. People knew where you were coming from. You're not a metalhead, not a jazz aficionado and not a generic "fossil-rock" or classic rock fan. Being a DeadHead was specific. Nowadays, similar to identification with a political party, self-identifying as a DeadHead is not so simple. Like the many versions of political thought within a single party, there are many versions of "Dead fan" under the DeadHead banner. I know 'heads who feel that once Jerry died, it all changed and they'd never go to see a fragment of the Dead. There are those who will reflect on earlier days believing that things were better when (insert non-Jerry former member name here) was with them. There are some who will twirl to the sound of a child banging pans together. For others, all you need is a shuffle beat and it's worthy of praise, whether its a Dead fragment or a couple folks hammering on guitars in the parking lot. For the most part, all sides tend to agree that being off key or having some difficulty instrumenting doesn't matter. It's all good if you're groovy. Do whatever you're doing, but be genuine, push your limits and keep improving.

I'm somewhere in the middle of all that. I guess, if pressed, I'm sort of in that second group of  'they were better when'. Let me explain. I started following the Grateful Dead in the 80's, and my last tour with Jerry was in 1992. Except for my first few shows, I went to every show completely sober and danced my ass off. I missed the mid-90's through the early 2000's, picking back up with The Dead in 2009 and catching about a dozen Furthur shows before they stopped. I was at the JGB show in Milwaukee, WI that was just released on CD, drove overnight from Las Vegas to SF for the Golden Gate Park memorial when Bill Graham died and spent my honeymoon in 2012 (thx, Boo) witnessing the final New Years Eve run any Dead fragment performed.

So, who the hell am I? I'm someone who listened. I completely enjoyed every nuance of what greatness came from the stage and endured every plain-Jane set list, missed vocal note, and missed lyric, knowing more greatness would follow, and danced on. For that reason, I've waited 2 years for Dead and Company to follow the mess they create nightly with some greatness. It hasn't happened yet, and I don't think it will. Today's searing post details why I think that. Honestly, if this assemblage of players toured under a name that didn't have the word "Dead" in it, they would be playing bars, not stadiums. Agree or don't, but I have to get this out of my head.

Phil

Let's start with what's missing: Phil Lesh. He's the soul, the last remaining member truly believing that when the music leaves the speakers its everyone's. He embodies the freedom that the Grateful Dead packaged and delivered. As a player, Phil approaches the bass like it was a lead jazz instrument unlike just about everyone else who plays bass as part of a group. He is able to lead a group of musicians from song to song with little more than an encouraging smile (see photo) and a few little teases on the strings. He doesn't seem to approach the same chord change the same way twice, each time coming at the shift from a different angle, keeping the underpinnings of a song fresh and interesting. Sometimes, these experiments don't go as planned, but the experienced players he surrounds himself with are able to adjust and move with it. This was true with the Grateful Dead, the fragments of the Dead he worked with as well as his most current projects. While his voice hasn't been a benefit to any group of musicians he's played with for a long time, it was actually better during the Furthur days than it was for many years before or since.

Bob

Moving on to what's wrong, listen to a bootleg from just 10 years ago. Bob used to sing. Black-Throated Wind, Cassidy, Sugar Magnolia were some of the nicest vocal lines in the Dead songbook with his name on them. Check this video or this video from '78, for examples. Such sweet and powerful vocals. Sure, that was 40 years ago, and he was a much younger man, but now, he does a blend of barking, yelling and talking. He doesn't even try to make it sound like how the songs go, or to even sound like singing for that matter. So, while Phil's singing may not exactly be in tune, at least he's singing and trying to stay true to the melodies as best his voice can.

Bob's guitar work, however, remains just as interesting as it was in the 70's, only ripened with age. He voices chords and plays poly-rhythms in an extremely unusual way and he attracts players like bees to fresh flowers because of his innovative approach to the guitar. His bark-yelling the words to songs that used to have beautiful melodies, on the other hand, is just atrocious.

Drumming
In their hay-day, Billy and Mickey were able to set a groove. Sometimes the songs moved their beat and other times their beat moved the songs. The early half of "Drums" was one of my favorite and arguably most consistent spots for a show. It was highly rhythmic, encouraging dance like a tribal beat does. If a show was exceptionally plain-Jane, it was often this part of the show that turned it around. You could feel a hum-drum show turn. Something great would flow out of Space, completing the show with a strong handful of songs all thanks to Drums pulling the concert out of the bin.

After not playing together for a few years (since Rhythm Devils split in '08 and The Dead stopped in 2010), I figured it would take a while before Billy and Mickey hit their stride. Unfortunately, they still haven't and it's been long enough for them to get it together. There are definitely two drummers, not two instrumentalists making one rhythm. Perhaps they can't decide or agree on what they're doing. As a listener, it doesn't matter; they are less of a cooperative unit and more like two guys banging on things in the back. There are points when it sounds like there is a team of carpenters erecting a shed or drum-riser on stage rather than a cohesive percussive rhythm driving and complimenting the music.

John Mayer

One thing that sets Jerry Garcia's sound apart from everyone else, especially in the psychedelic space, is the most simple thing that John Mayer doesn't ever do: use the Mixolydian mode of the scale. Jerry didn't use it exclusively, but John never uses it. Ever. Even on the songs that cry out for it (The Other One or Terrapin, are examples, but there are plenty). He insists on only playing blues-style solos. That's great on Bobby's cowboy tunes or some older blues songs, but to only play that way against the Grateful Dead songbook feels like you're petting the fur the wrong way most of the time. When Warren Haynes toured with the Dead, he was able to bridge the gap from classic rock / blues to shred on some of the more psychedelic numbers. So, it can be done; John Mayer hasn't shown that he can, but then he's no Warren Haynes either. Of all the things that are wrong, John's approach to solos is the back-breaker for me. It just doesn't work in so many songs, I just can't take it.

John can sing (yeah, that's hardly news given his Grammy's). It's on key and pure. It just sounds a little old-style crooner which makes Dead tunes sound contrived, and the lyrics less powerful. Just as Aerosmith has to be sung with a little edge in the voice, the Dead can't be sung by Mel Torme. To me, it needs an edge; it needs a little sorrow. One cover song here or there is one thing. Singing half of a show without that soul just doesn't work.

Oteil

Oteil has a great voice. I hadn't heard him sing before last Summer and it is just beautiful. He sang a "China Doll" that was just amazing. When contrasted by Bob barker, I can't help but wonder why Oteil doesn't sing more and Bob sing less. It would probably make his main job (playing bass) much harder.

That bass work is just not the same as with Phil. Unlike Phil, Oteil plays like bass is a complimentary instrument that doesn't have much freedom. It's almost as if he had spent the last 20 years playing in a classic rock band. Oh yeah, he did. With the Allman Brothers. Yes, there are fills and runs here and there reflective of his years with the Aquarium Rescue Unit, but nothing like an old "Phil and Ned" or even some of the tasty lines Phil would drop into more straight-forward numbers like Scarlet or Music Never Stopped. But, Oteil has it in him to get out of the box. The guy can totally groove; I don't know how much freedom he has to do so in this group for two reasons. First, he is in a rhythm section comprised of him and the carpenters I described above. To keep the song together, he really can't move too far from dead-center or the shed construction could completely unravel a song while he is pushing the creative envelope. Second, Bob will need to let Oteil loose. Having watched video of Bob working with other players, I know he runs a tight ship. But having so much of the responsibility for keeping the song together may be the true barrier to Oteil really blowing some minds.

Jeff
I haven't mentioned Jeff Chimenti, and I really should. He's fantastic. Really fantastic. Really really fantastic. He's been playing with members of the Dead for 20 years, and he totally gets it. I first caught him with The Dead and have enjoyed every show I've seen him play since. In my mind, he's reached, and maybe surpassed "Brent status" in terms of his keyboard. On those occasions when I gave Dead and Company a try, it was Jeff's keyboard work that kept me listening well beyond my patience would allow had he not been crushing it so hard. He is simply inspired. I hope to see the Golden Gate Wingmen one of these days to see how he and JohnK play together in their new group. And maybe hear what some of his original material is like? That would be so great. Okay, I've run out of descriptors. Let's just summarize with: he's awesome.

That's my rant for today. I'll get back to my usual car or bus work and road trips next time. Thanks for bearing with me, and if there's a jam band that you like (that's not Dead and Company), I'd love to hear them. I'll be trying on String Cheese this summer, and really want to hear whatever else is going on in the jam-band space. Have bus, will travel-

---

2023-August days-between update... now that Dead & Co's final tour has ended, I am hopeful for the next incarnation. I had not been following the news items about them, so I missed the part where they parted ways with Billy, leaving only Bob and Mickey as original members. Arguably, Mickey was a later addition, but lets not split hairs. I heard some of the final tour, and the new drummer was great. Awesome energy and ticking like a flippin clock. It seems like the "creative differences" between Dead & Co and Billy may have been Billy's contribution to the drum riser construction I mentioned above, seeing how it was not going on anymore. Also, Oteil was WAY more active and present, implying that my theory that he was under-playing just to hold things together may have been somewhat on-target. Anyway, RIP Dead & Co, and may a greater phoenix rise from these ashes, preferably without John Mayer. Musing... maybe just swap out JohnM for JohnK and drop the word "Dead" from the name so they aren't playing stadiums full of 50k persons chasing their personal pasts. Instead, they can return to more intimate venues like Further played, and return to the experimentation we got to witness in doing so. One can dream.

The Other One

I watched the Netflix original documentary "The Other One" over the weekend, today's post is mostly about that. I'm sure there will be some bus / travel content mixed in somewhere. The documentary is a somewhat autobiographical look at the life and times of guitarist Bob Weir.

First, an Apology

the man, the legend

After watching the documentary, I think I understand now why Bob stopped touring. In my blast of the Fare Thee Well shows (see: Fare Thee Okay), I kicked up a rumor that maybe Bob is sick. Maybe he is, how the hell would I know? In the documentary, you can see small glimpses into his daily life with his family. I hadn't really thought much about what an endless life on the road must be like. Personally, I'd hit the road, catch a few shows and be back in my normal routine after being gone for maybe a week. Bob spent most of his life from 1970 through 2013 on the road. I feel the heel for actually getting upset that he was going to stop. I have teenage kids, so I can absolutely relate to his unspoken motivation: I've spent too many years away from them, and I only have a few more years before they leave me to start their own lives. It totally makes sense.

Jerry

Trixie

Maybe I'm in an apologetic mood. Watching Jerry's daughter Trixie describe the burden Jerry felt really got me. Similar to my guilt over wanting Bob to tour more, I feel awful knowing that my friends and I who simply wanted "more" were part of the dynamic that led to Jerry's demise. Of course, Jerry owned his decisions, and after the diabetic coma in 1986 he chose to re-introduce heroin, but how great must the pressure have been? 20+ years under the radar to have In the Dark and Touch of Gray to launch them into stadiums. I was just a teenage kid, not knowing any better when the change happened, so I'm not sure what to do with this feeling. I'll go with "I'm sorry Trixie. No other guitarist could make me smile the way your dad could. It was magical and better than any other stimulus available at a Dead show."

Phil

Where's Phil?

As present as Bob's relationship with Jerry was in the documentary, his relationship with Phil was absent. As a bass player, I was expecting a great deal about how he and Phil worked together. Consider too, how many years the 2 of them toured together as Furthur. I think Bob looked at these later years as more therapeutic than anything else, working through his mourning for Jerry, the man best described as an older brother figure. Bob and Phil spent so many of those late years together, I'm surprised and a little disappointed that Phil wasn't involved in the documentary project at all. As I think back, I don't think he was even mentioned by name, which is a little weird. Phil was effectively lumped in with Keith, Donna and John Constanten.

Bob

John Barlow

Some of the best parts of the documentary, to me, didn't last long enough: the parts that focused on Bob's approach to the instrument. Maybe the producers and director thought that the average audience wouldn't be as interested. Personally, that's what I really wanted to hear: how did he construct songs with Barlow, where did Barlow go (why did he and Bob stop working together), what are Bob's triggers for changing his voicings on songs, etc. Still, getting a long-overdue reminder of his humanity and personal limits was welcomed. It was a good watch, and I'll watch it again. Knowing Bob's current life situation, I think it's time we went to him rather than continue to wait for him to come to us.

Ok, some bus stuff
I spent some time working on scraping the chrome off those 15" rims. I used a Dremel to soften up the skin and then used a putty knife to get under the edge and peel away some chrome-skin. Overall, 2 rims are almost completely cleared of chrome. As time presents itself this week, I'll hopefully get after the other 2. I am not up for driving too far on those old tires. They are over 10 years old, and spent far too much of their life sitting in one place. After the tire fail in Wheeler (see:Santa Clara by way of Wheeler) I'd rather drive contemporary transportation until the rims are cleared, painted and new rubber slapped on. Net-net, the bus may not be operational again this dry season. Oh well.

As always, thanks for following along. I'll be keeping my eyes and ears out for a Bob Weir show announcement. Maybe he'll be ready to hit stage about when Hapy the wonderbus is ready to hit the road. It would be really great to have the two in the same location one more time.

Fare Thee Okay

Independence Day was observed here in the States a little over a week ago. For Dead-heads, it was the celebration of the Grateful Dead turning 50, so there was a little extra celebrating. Today's post hits that. Beware: limited bus content.

Not Exactly Chicago

Mayhem's Further 2012 shirt

Similar to the pair of shows performed in Santa Clara, 70k people who could come up with the scratch to fly, hotel and see the "Core Four" (Phil, Bobby, Billy and Mickey) in Chicago jammed the city for the 3 day weekend. Like the weekend before, I connected with my friends Mayhem and GratefulEd for a camp-in viewing of the simulcast. Rather than haul out to Wheeler, this time we were in the swanky confines of Lake Oswego: a much shorter drive. GratefulEd, however, had set up The Wall of Sound - the home edition on his back deck. We had a projector beaming the visuals and a much larger crowd than had been in Wheeler tuning in. There were no arrests, no staff pro's or GDP uncover agents. Instead, we had meat snax, liquor and no-wait restrooms. Kidding aside, GratefulEd and his family were wonderful hosts.

Similar to the Wheeler shows, I arrived early, set up Hapy for the lot scene / camping and cracked a beer. After all the festivals and events, I've gotten it down to less than 30 minutes from pull-in to fully set up, complete with awning, middle row pulled out as a lot-couch, bed set up with curtains, etc. Mayhem joined me for some classic lot-style pre-func'ing and then we headed around back for the main event. Boo arrived late, missing part of the first set.

... but Not Exactly the Grateful Dead either

lot ready, 2-bus style

Once we got everything set up, it was up to the Core-Four-plus to provide the evening entertainment. Like the Wheeler review (see: Santa Clara by way of Wheeler), I won't bore you with set lists or a review. The fine folks at JamBase have a more than sufficient rose-colored-glasses review to read. All three shows were better than Santa Clara, but that's really not saying much. None of the three shows were on-balance better than the Furthur shows I'd seen. The last show was probably their best, giving reason to believe that if they kept at it, they could probably sound pretty good. Trey just wasn't as connected as he should have been, and the band wasn't as cohesive.

I trolled around JamBase between the Santa Clara shows and Chicago. I noticed that only Phil from the Core Four had tour dates. Billy and Mickey haven't been playing much in a while so, to me, this just further supports my belief that Bobby has a health issue that he hasn't disclosed, and that's why Futhur stopped touring. JohnK and Jeff are touring under the Golden Gate Wingmen, additionally supporting that Bobby isn't playing anymore (Jeff was his long-time keyboardist). That's really too bad. Love you Bob.

Chong

left-side rear-window blind

No Grateful Dead related music venture is complete without some side adventure. With a venue like Lake Oswego, I didn't expect much in this arena. I actually brought a book so I wouldn't get too bored. Luck smiled on me, though. For those not in Oregon nor a part of any marijuana legalization effort, you may not know that pot became legal for individual use on July 1st. Since we were celebrating "the 4th", weed had been officially legal for 3 days. 3 days, man. 3 days. As I turned Hapy off the freeway on my way into town, I saw a sign announcing a visit from Tommy Chong at the functional glassware shop just outside Lake Oswego. And just like that, we found our adventure: let's meet Tommy Chong.

Mr. Chong has been on tour himself, in a way, doing personal appearances at head shops in support of some personal-use products with his name on them. Neat. On the 5th, he was scheduled to appear at Mary Jane's House of Glass, and he did. The scene was, in a word: weird. The parking lot was roped off for pedestrian traffic, so many people were parking at the Taco Bell next door. In the center of the lot was a circus tent where beverages could be purchased and consumed, and a band was tuning up to play. Between the tent and the front door of Mary Jane's, there was a queue forming for pictures with Tommy Chong. Curious, we passed the queue and entered Mary Jane's. If you've never been in a functional glassware shop, it's hard to explain. Picture a 50' by 50' square commerce-space with glass cases pointing in various directions, all filled with glass pipes. No objects d'art, no brass, no wood, nothing else. Just pipes. Oh, and some incense in the corner. In the corner along the front wall, but opposite from the front door was a table behind which sat Tommy Chong. "$40 a picture," a young woman exclaimed as we entered. Yeah, I'm not paying $40 for a picture with Tommy Chong. No offense, Mr. Chong. We just stopped by to say "hi", so we did.

Mayhem took it one step further. Concluding that Mr. Chong probably didn't have a place to watch the final show featuring the "core four", Mayhem tried to engage is a simple conversation with Mr. Chong. Apparently, that was outside of what the Mary Jane's folks knew how to handle: so, you don't want a picture with him, so you must need to be in the autograph line. No, we don't want an autograph. "Would you take a picture with him if it was free?" Sure, so long as we get to ask him a question. Well, that proved quite difficult, but Mayhem got Mr. Chong invited to our streaming picnic thing.. and found himself in a rather awkward picture with Mr. Chong. Neither of them looked like they wanted to be in a picture. Afterwards, I noticed the look on Tommy Chong's face was the same in every picture. He was a perfect look of "really? this is where I ended up? how did this happen, man? can you help me outta here?". Sorry, Mr. Chong. We tried to spring you for a few hours.

Bid You Goodnight
The final show was just that. For those who were there, I'm sure it felt like closure. For those of us watching from home, we got an extra special post-show interview with Bobby. In answer to the question of will we never hear you guys again, he responded without hesitation that we'll see it again, or something very similar some time real soon. Thanks for stringing us along, Bob. We hope you're serious and we'll see you and Phil on stage together again. We'll have the bus ready to go whenever you declare the next Furthur show... please make it on the west coast :)

Bus Content: I adjusted the windshield washers with a push-pin in the tiny washer nozzle. Now, it streams into the upper half of the windshield dead-center of the wiper path. Perfect.

That's all for today. Thanks, as always, for following along.

Santa Clara by way of Wheeler

While so many folks around the San Francisco area were celebrating the Supreme Court decision to allow same-gender marriages, deadheads looked to the southern end of the SF Bay to the final pair of concerts to be performed by the guys who used to be called "Grateful Dead" on the West Coast. The well-heeled or well-connected got tickets at exorbitant prices while the rest of us watched with wonder... through $100 worth of simulcast access. Today's post is about how I saw the Santa Clara shows with some family and friends, complete with a bus repair adventure!

Getting Out
I've mentioned the MT3. Up until late Friday evening, our plan was to take a car and a bus (8 people) to my friend Mayhem's place in Wheeler to camp in the bus for the Santa Clara shows. As the evening got late, though, it was clear that Boo needed to stay home to get some work done and the MT3 wouldn't be going. So, rather than 8, only the older 3 boys (T, C and K2) got to go. My boy's mom got herself tickets, travel and hotel (once the support check clears, no one really knows where the money goes, do they?) to get down to the show in person, so T and C knew a little bit about the shows' significance. Saturday morning, I got up like it was a workday. I hit the grocery store for supplies, and loaded the bus. We were loaded with fuel and ice and ready-ish to go when Grateful Ed arrived with Belle.
MPG note: 35 MPG since the last fill. That's high, but should we factor in the top-off?

To Wheeler

With 2 boys in the middle row and T as my co-pilot, we set off following Belle to US26. As always seems the case, we were met with smiles and waves as we passed. Or, more often, when we were passed. Hapy ran great again, through troubled traffic between the US26/OR6 interchange through the US26/OR47 interchange. It's pretty farmland out there, but someone did something they weren't supposed to and for a stretch that should taken about 10 minutes, we slogged for over almost an hour and a half. In intense sun. Where no AC means hot driver. Still, the traffic let up just past the Dairy Queen in Manning, and we got back to normal pace: 55 downhill, 35 uphill. We proceeded like that through the Coast Range to the US101 interchange and down the 101. Just before Hug Point, Belle pulled into a view area with a deep lot. Driver Ed was hungry, so we parked with sliders facing each other, popped the tops and broke out the hoagies.

Summer Sights

No sooner did we shut off engines than the folks who had been taking pictures of the ocean were now taking pictures of the 2 buses. Of course, I should have too, but I was hungry... and then the small crowd formed, and there were questions to answer, and such. There's s great line in The Bus Movie about a menu of things you can ask, and how much you get to pay for the driver to listen to the question and maybe answer. Very funny, but I love talking to folks about the bus. You have to, if you're going to drive one. After the last visitor left, we fired up the buses and completed the few miles to Wheeler. I'd never been on the stretch of US101 just south of Manzanita before; it is very pretty and seems less touched by the micro-mansions that have appeared along other areas of Oregon coastline. As you pass through, do remember: the stop sign in Nehalem is right turn permitted without stopping. It creates quite the stir among the locals when someone stops and confuses everyone :)

Casa Mayhem
We arrived to two little Mayhem's watching the Octonauts with Grampa Mayhem. Some times, arriving at someone's house can be like arriving home, and Mayhem's felt that way. The boys settled into the easy conversations between familiars, and before long we were trading stories and laughing. Grateful Ed broke out the flags that usually adorned Belle and presented them off the front deck while I readied Hapy for "camping". The boys decided to sleep on the front deck with a view of the bay to wake to. Great choice. Once our sleep arrangements were set, we grilled up our traditional post-Jerry music food: meat snax. There's nothing quite like grilled steak in small bite-sized chunks, only improved by chilling after cooking and then service cold. Yummy.

Santa Clara, Day One

With food in hand, we fired up the simulcast of the Dead show going on in Santa Clara. The fine folks at Jambase (see here) have a much deeper set list and opinion piece about the performance than I could possibly create. I don't agree with their glowing report, though. I thought most of the performance was mediocre, the vocals thin, and the timing was off. There were a few missing pieces: first, none of them would assertively lead. Bob would try to get Trey's attention after he disappeared into his guitar solo (staring at his feet), only to become frustrated and give up on the segue. They almost gave up on the Eleven entirely. I would agree that the show-ending Morning Dew was pretty good. Bob found his vocal strength in time to nail that number. The encore Casey Jones (lead-vocal by Bruce Hornsby) should have reminded everyone that he has a great voice, and that was what singing in front of 80k people was supposed to sound like. The vocals was another missing piece. Furthur used to travel with backing vocalists to help make the sound fuller. Without them, the vocals were thin and pitchy. The last missing piece was the ability to either segue or stomp and ending. Most of the songs just petered out, especially in the second set. Lots of miscues and bumbling endings. Overall, those at Casa Mayhem reflected with memories of plain-Jane shows of years past, or some of the performances during Jerry's last year with us. Not good, but always hope for another day. Like the next day...

Santa Clara, Day Two

Sometimes, the Dead was a Jekyll and Hyde routine. One night coming out flat and disinterested and the next night firing on all cylinders. With a train-wreck in the rear view mirror, we hoped for Dr. Jekyll on Sunday. We got something close to it. The JamBase folks liked it too (see here), but I think they again oversold how good it was. To their credit, the band tried much easier songs the second night, increasing confidence in the singers that Trey wasn't going to screw it up. Also, Trey pulled his head out of his ass and looked at the other members of the band for cues. There were still plenty of awkward endings and missed transitions, but the meat of the songs went well. Unlike the first night, when it felt like any song could fall apart at any second, the songs held together well the second night. The first set had many more songs sung by Bruce Hornsby and fewer sung by Phil, also good. The Death Don't Have No Mercy was probably my highlight of the 2-night run.

Like the night before, we wished John Kadlecik had gotten the gig, but after Kreutzmann's comments in late 2010, it comes as no surprise John didn't get the spot. Well, Billy, your chickens have come to roost. Warren Haynes is great, but John had the right vibe for the spot. If the band intended to do more than 5 shows, do a tour or two, for example, I could see the point in working with Trey. Eventually, he could be pretty good with this group. I don't think there's enough time for the band to fully gel before the final note in Chicago, much less before the first. I'll be watching anyway, because with Phil and Bob, you just never know. They've pulled some magic before.

Pair of Jacks to Open

Between the two shows, Grateful Ed noticed that the right rear tire on Hapy looked awfully low. He was right and it seemed like a simply fix, what with the full-sized spare sitting on the nose. While everyone else lounged about, I pulled out the BusDepot jack and started raising the bus. Within a few minutes, the jack got much harder to raise, but we couldn't tell why. Soon thereafter, the handle of the jack broke off. Drat. Good thing Belle is here with her original (40 year old) jack. Before we started this time, though, we pulled the sleeping bags and tent out of the back of the bus. Not much weight, but we figured it was better safe than sorry. The jack went in, the bus started to rise, and then the part that slips into the jack-point split in two. One flat tire, 2 broken jacks. So, we dug into the trunk of Mayhem's modern Lexus SUV for a third option before resorting to AAA. Since it didn't fit into the jack-point, we tried something entirely different: putting the scissor jack under the rear hub where the shock absorber is bolted. the wheel left the ground, and I was able to get the rim off the hub, but I couldn't get the tire and wheel out from between the hub and the rear wheel arch.

Now, we're really getting that Dead parking lot feel: solve with people. We arranged everyone around the rear corner of the bus, grabbing rear bumper or the underside of the body and lifter together while I quick pulled the tire out. The new tire, with much more air, couldn't fit in the same way and the hub was too low even if it could fit. We needed to raise the bus more, so we team lifted while Ed turned the screws on the jack. After a few attempts, we had it high enough to slip onto the studs. I threaded the nuts on while Ed lowered the jack. The boys quickly disappeared on their skateboards.

Homeward
We left shortly after the second show ended. In fact, the show ended a minute or two after 11 and we were on Hwy101 before 11:30. We arrived home a few minutes after 1:AM this morning. Hapy drove like a dream. With a low purr, he took the hills well, carved the fog and never broke 192*. I had the opportunity to try the new windshield washer, and it works great, mechanically. I need to adjust the spray pattern: it currently shoots straight up, so if I'm driving fast enough, it ends up on the windscreen... sort of.

That's it for today. Next weekend, the Dead invade Chicago, and I'll be there by way of Grateful Ed's back yard broadcast, camping music festival style under the trees. As always, thanks for following along-

HNY

Happy New Year.  It has been a whirlwind month since I last wrote.  I'll hit the highlights.  There will be NO BUS CONTENT.

Snowblind

SkiBowl Waming Hut

I've mentioned "Boo" over the last year and a half when I flap about personal / non-bus stuff.  We got married in the snow on Mount Hood in late December.  Members of both of our families made the trek to SkiBowl, and stood with us in the snow for a brief ceremony among the trees and flurries.  Boo and I took a run down Mid- and Lower Reynolds with T shooting with a Go-Pro camera.  Then we met the rest of the family for drinks at Beer Stube.  The rest of the day was a mix of playing in the snow and visiting family.  We rented a cabin for the days on either side of "vow day", so while our parents, etc, headed back to the valley, we were 10 minutes from "home".

Saturday Night's Alright for Partying
Yeah, I know the song is a little different.  We threw a reception on the last Saturday of December to celebrate the vows we spoke 2 days earlier.  We were joined by around 85 friends and family, ate Chinese drank Stella and wine, etc.  Good times.  It seems that most of our friends who have kids have little ones, and the party broke up by 11.  Just as well, though, as Boo and I had a morning flight to SF the next day.

If You're Going to San Francisco

Lers Ros

After a night of celebrating, rising before dawn was not exactly easy.  Neither Boo nor I had really unpacked from the mountain, and we had little interest in really dedicating to packing for a few days in SF.  A creaky rise followed by a frigid drive, had us waiting for the long-term parking shuttle as pre-dawn turned to dawn.  We breezed through security, grabbed coffees at the old Coffee People inside the terminal and hit the gate with 15 minutes to spare.  Ahh... The flight was uneventful, and we found the folks at Oakland International to be very friendly and helpful.  We took the shuttle to Oakland Coliseum, and picked up BART....  12 hours after our party ended, we were checked into our hotel.  Things turned interesting at this point.

The hotel (Hotel Renoir) is over 100 years old and sits right on Market Street between the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the Warfield Theater in Tenderloin.  The hotel had recently undergone a renovation, but it appeared to exclude the heat system.  For the 4 days we were in the hotel, we were on our own for heat...in late December / early January... during a unusually cold snap.  Hotel management did comp us free breakfasts for the 1st and 2nd, though.  We napped, checked the view from the roof and then walked to Walgreen's and bought a space heater :)  Problem solved.  We grabbed dinner at a fantastic Thai place (Lers Ros) and walked a bit of Tenderloin to get some bearings, including a walk-past of the Civic Auditorium to see what the lines and crowd were like to anticipate NewYears.  It was not impressive.  Lots of drug scene, and not much in terms of quality wares being sold.  The line was ridiculously long too.  Hmm...

New Years Day

Renoir Hotel

The first morning in SF was again clear and cold.  We set out on a day-long walk that took us from Market to Japantown, the Painted Ladies, Haight-Ashbury and back again.  We grabbed some quick eats and hit the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for Furthur.  We thought the doors opened at 7:30, but that was wen the band was supposed to start.  Clueless, we simply walked up and through the doors into the venue (no line), and headed for the mezzanine.  We set up in a standing-only spot in the walkway, dead center, behind the handicapped zone.  No sooner had we chosen our spot, the lights dimmed, Bob, Phil and friends it the stage and the show started.  The sound was perfect, dancing roomy and the neighbors welcoming.  We celebrated both our new marriage and NewYears with 10+k friends.  The band played until nearly 2, and we didn't get back to the hotel 2 blocks away until after 3.
We spent the better part of NewYears Day sleeping and watching football.  That evening, we had been given a gift of cocktails at "Top of the Mark" (TotM).  Not thinking about the effect of SF hills on legs that spent the prior night dancing for 5 hours, we set off on foot up Russian Hill (I think).  Nearly sweating upon arrival at TotM, the view and the treatment were amazing.  We sat, sipping champagne, watching the shadows stretch from the setting sun across the Bay.  Again, we set off on foot, through the Financial District to the Esplanade, and then along the warfs to Pier 39 for dinner.

Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

I don't know how much we walked in SF, but I'm sure it was multiple miles.  Our last morning was a flash of checking out, BART'ing and bus'ing back to Oakland International.  We absolutely loved SF, and decided right then that we'd adopt the 49ers.  We also discovered we can travel together... we roll and press on the same things.  That's it for now.

Football, Friends and Further

It feel like Summer was just in full swing and suddenly school is starting, the rain is falling, and football is on the tv.  Wow.  Insta-Autumn.  In typical Pacific Northwest style, we couldn't start the school year without the first week being one of the nicest of the Summer.  Sorry kids, the parents get to enjoy this one solo.  I'll flap today about some more personal goings-on, and touch on a trip planned for the weekend.

Football
In my new digs, I'm rediscovering how much I enjoy American Football.  College ball, NFL, its all good, and if I'm not careful, it will consume all of my weekend time.  Contrasting this new interest are parental responsibilities with both boys playing soccer (or should I say "Football"?).  Basically, helicopter-parenting season has opened, and this past weekend was quite an opening weekend.  C played his second game, pulling in a few assists from his mid-fielder position, and his brother T played a spirited game (also at mid-fielder), though I couldn't tell if he got any assists.  It was really fun to see both of them play with such passion.  As much as they say lacrosse is their favorite sport, they play soccer with a true love of the game.

Family
After the games, I hosted the "family" birthday celebration for C.  I tried to go a little further than usual in setting up the party, blowing up balloons and stringing streamers (okay, actually my new friend Boo did most of that, but I'll get to that later).  It was a mid-afternoon affair, to fit around little-niece and nephew naps with an abundance of finger foods.  Beer was flowing, and conversations light.  Overall, it was a great time, and C felt the love from everyone.  After the cousins and grandparents left, we ordered pizza and watched a movie: his choice - I am Number 4.  Great b-day celebration for sure.

Friends
Well, with the divorce finalized for a few months, and life somewhat settled down, my finding new, uh.. friends... was inevitable.  Dating has been a surreal experience for me, but fun for sure.  I've recently started seeing someone exclusively, though.  Out of privacy respect, her name will be omitted from posts like my boys' names and I'll just call her "Boo".

Further
Further (the remaining members of the Grateful Dead) is performing 3 nights at a tiny outdoor ampitheater in Eugene, Oregon.  Its been 2 years since "The Dead" played the Bay Area and the Gorge.  It was on that trip in Ed's bus (Belle) that really re-focused me on getting my bus project completed.  *see the "WALSTIB" posts for details on that trip* This time, I'll be driving my bus, cara-bus style, with Ed & Belle down to Eugene.  Sure, its only a couple hundred miles, but its the longest drive I've taken in him since the engine transplant.  We'll be camping a few miles from the venue to boot, so as Summer turns to Fall officially, we'll be squeezing one last camping weekend in.

Tonight, I need to get a short in the dash resolved and get the fuel tank level signal working so I can make the trip safely.  You don't want to run a diesel engine empty.... or drive out of a "Dead" show at night without tail lights.  That's a cop's dream, and a DeadHead nightmare.

More next time, and thanks again for following along.