Set 1:
01. Intro
02. Let’s Get Down to Business
03. One Arm Steve >
04. Pigeons
05. Rebirtha >
06. Wondering >
07. The Waker
08. Disco >
09. Diner >
10. Climb to Safety
Set 2:
01. Party at Your Mama’s House >
02. Space Wrangler >
03. Greta >
04. Love Tractor
05. Papa’s Home >
06. Drums >
07. Papa’s Home >
08. Pilgrims
09. Porch Song
Notes: Skip between One Arm Steve (d1t03) and Pigeons (d1t04); several second dropout in Pigeons (d1t04) edited in WaveLab; small bursts of diginoise in Climb to Safety (d1t10); all known flaws checked against and are present on the master DAT
Source: AKG 481 > Oade m248 > SBM-1 Taped by Deepesh Misra. Transferred by BobbyHurley
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1999 / AMSTERDAM > HAMBURG — Today was Eclipse Day and in the throes of solar fever Goodwin and I managed to cross our wires completely. He wound up stranding me in Amsterdam, while he gaily went to pick up the rental car and drove off to Hamburg alone. Well, he is from Indiana and a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
This did not deter me from having as much fun as I could during my remaining hours in Sin City. I went to the Internet café, read my email and posted to my page.
Then I stepped out to watch the eclipse with the special glasses Marti and I had acquired at the last minute in Paris on Saturday. Abandoned by my tour buddy and the rest of the krew, I gave away the ten extra pair of eclipse shades to grateful strangers nearby on Shakedown Street. Random acts of blindness . . . prevention.
The eclipse, partial though it was from this northern vantage point, was pretty damn cool. We had been forewarned that it would be cloudy and rainy, but the sun shone in Amsterdam, to my great joy.
Next I wheeled my luggage over to Central station, boarded the 1:34 p.m. iron horse. Off to Hamburg on three hours’ sleep. I visited with the many Spreadheads who were rolling on down the line on the same train. Around 6 p.m. I had supper in the dining car.
Arrived shortly after seven, cabbed to the Reeperbahn, Hamburg’s legendary Red Light District. Rolled past the former site of the Star Club, where the Beatles played eight sets a night in the early ’60s. Just beyond was Panic’s venue, the Grunspan, a small club with excellent sightlines.
Ran into Widespread Panic manager Sam Linear and Capricorn rep Mike Bone immediately. Someone pointed to a corner in a back room where I could stash my bags.
Panic was soundchecking with “Blue Indian” from the new CD.
In the house were Arne and Annaliese Heinen, two heavy-duty Deadheads from Hamburg: Arne hosts a monthly Dead show on public access radio and Anneliese sings in her own band. These two freaks had worked hard to bring out the local Hamburg heads and it showed. This was the first European show I’ve seen in three tours where the number of natives was nearly equal to that of the American tourheads. This fact was not lost on the band, who afterward expressed their pleasure at having received such a strong grassroots welcome.
1: Let’s Get Down To Business / One Arm Steve / Pigeons / Rebirtha > Wondering > The Waker / Disco > Diner > Climb To Safety
2: Party At Your Mama’s House > Space Wrangler > Greta > Love Tractor > Papa’s Home > Drums > Papa’s Home > Pilgrims / Porch Song
E: Bear’s Gone Fishin’ > Junco Partner
A very hot show, played hard and sweaty, without the murky, snarling overtones of the previous night’s epic at the Paradiso.
Following a brief aftershow meet’n’greet in the hall, a number of Spreadheads cabbed over to the Mayday, a late-night bar where Arne works. I found Todd downstairs at the Grunspan and he was up for partying. JoJo had to make some calls to the States from his hotel room. (A recently-engaged man.)
We picked up Mikey on the way out and our krew took three cabs over to the Mayday.
Arne and Annaliese had decorated the place with Panic posters and a huge Stealie, creating a hip ambience for this laid-back post-show hang. Arne was spinning great music on the house system.
The scene there was very chill. Amsterdam coffeeshops revisited.
The fans generally left Mikey and Todd alone to schmooze with folks at their own pace.
We all drank and smoked and joked until 4 a.m., when we poured Mikey and Todd into a cab.
Then Pat, Hartmut and I walked over to Arne and Annaliese’s home for a long-overdue crash.
