Hey there.  Summers' almost gone Winters' comin' on...       Think that's a line from some oldtimey tune I think.  Can't quite put my finger on it, but it'll come to me.  The Equinox isn't here yet but my Summer is technicaly over for me.  I had  great August!  Best August in recent memory.  Gathering of the Vibes was magic!  Literally.  Something special happened in bridgeport that weekend, and I'm not the only one who felt it.   Dark Star put on one hell of a show on Thursday (original setlist).  Funky Friday and then...  Saturday!  The Highlight of the whole weekend for me was Ratdog.  First set was great, Bob Dylan's "She Belongs To Me" was a special treat.  I've always been partial to that song.  I first heard Jerry, Bobby, and Phil do an acoustic version of it on the video, "Backstage Pass".  In fact it was this video, along with set II from the Igloo in Pittsburgh 4/2/89 and a PBS broadcast of the film "Dead Ahead", wich served to turn me on to the Dead.  Also, I seem to have misplaced my copy.  So, if your reading this and this video has somehow made it into your possesion, I would love to have it back [no questions asked : ) ].  It's probably somewhere under the couch I'm sitting on right now.  Anywho, "Money for Gasoline" is a great song and one wich I was not familiar with prior to the show, Awesome!  Second set,  "Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"  aboslutely mindblowing, earth shattering!  I heard Allen Ginsburgh say that when he first heard this song he realized that the tourch had been passed from the beats on to the next generation.  No Fucking Shit!  Darkstar -> St. Stephen->The Eleven, upon a second listening a little sloppy, but it didn't matter being there.  What a way to close the set, powerful.  Sat. Night->Ripple encore!  It wouldn't be fair not to mention that I had the good fortune of camping with three of my best friends who also happen to be three of the prettiest girls you've ever seen. 

Ended the Summer Laborday weekend with my traditional trip to the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival in Woodstown, NJ.  Great fun as usual.

See you all at Doc McGrogan's Sat. night, September 29.  Splintered Sunlight!  Also my friend Luaren's Birthday, she'll be 26.  Rock on.

-Hunter