This was not my first Dead show, but it was my FIRST Dead show. I had seen them twice before, once in a NYC park at a free afternoon show in 1968, I had no idea who these people were. Then in ’71 I went to see them at the Music Hall in Boston. Then I went to Europe to be with a lady going to school in Switzerland.

In April I left Switzerland and headed to Amsterdam. While on the train I met a US soldier who was on leave and going to see the Dead. He also had some acid. Need I say more. 21 years old, high on life, in the front and center of the stage in an ornate opera hall. An electric Saturday night. The Dead were in their glory. I spend the entire show with the small group of Americans who were standing in front. The locals sat and clapped their appreciation, another discussion is how that made the Dead have to work even harder to get them up and dancing. They had no problem like that with me. My presence at the show is documented by an official photo of Bobby at the mike with me, at his feet, leaning over the stage.

The music moved me, moved my whole body and soul, dancing in the waves of sound the likes I had never experienced before. It was a profound moment in my life. The next day I went to Rotterdam to see them again, I needed more. I learned how their music changed every night, like the wind and weather. Once again front and center I felt welcomed when I noticed Bobby and Jerry look at me then each other and chuckle. I think I made an impression the night before dancing the acid dance right in front of them I like to think that perhaps I gave them a bit of the home crowd feeling in a land where the band repeatedly, most nights, told the crowd to get up and dance. The next day I left for Luxembourg where my flight left for the USA. I heard them again on the radio program while in the city. The next day I flew home with this new drive to catch up with my friends and track down the Dead……..Pete S