I watched the classic Germany v Sweden World Cup battle. A late Toni Kroos goal saved the Germans late in the match. Then it was time for Dead & Co. at Alpine Valley. The drive up was uneventful with mild temperatures and sunny skies. There was a bit of a traffic backup at the exit off I-43. Fortunately upon arrival in the yellow lot I was able to find my buddies Frank and Sand fairly easily. In a crowd of 37,000 they were parked very close to where I was. It took a long time to enter the facility where there was quite a bottleneck. We saw our friend Brandon who we went to HS with. I wasn't thrilled with our spot on the lawn but the sound wasn't bad and we had flat dancing room.
The show got going with it still being broad daylight with The Music Never Stopped. This segued into Easy Answers. Alabama Getaway brought the energy level up. We liked the Big River with the Davenport reference. Jack Straw was another highlight of the set. The guest from Bon Iver didn't really add anything during his guest appearance. We noticed his Northern Exposure shirt.
I like The Weight as a cover choice but this was bad placement. The falsetto singing was a bit cheesy as well. Shakedown Street was when the second set got started. This was a well explored version and included a "Part Time Lover" tease by Mayer/Oteil. Althea seems like one of Mayer's favorite Dead tunes. China > Rider at Alpine Valley felt right. We went for a walk to the top of the venue. It felt good to be back in this classic venue. Drums > Space > Watchtower was my highlight of the show. Mayer threw in some Jimi Hendrix licks while Weir stayed true to the Dylan original. The moon was visible above the lawn earlier in the night so Standing on the Moon wasn't entirely unexpected. Sugar Magnolia was a fun singalong to end the set. Weir had problems with his microphone. Everyone knew One More Saturday Night would be the encore. I beat some of the traffic and got on the road. This was the least engaging of the three times I've seen Dead & Co.
There was a comical looking old Deadhead on a motorcycle wearing a well worn tie dye tour shirt on I-43 who I passed on the way home. He could have been on the cover of Shakedown Street. I made an ill advised run for the border in Beloit. After I had exited I-88 at Lyndon/Prophetstown I saw four deer on the road in different spots before I reached home which was nerve racking in the foggy conditions. All told though I was home by 2:30.
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