It was probably 1992 or so and I was visiting friends in San Francisco. I had arranged for them to get me tickets for Garcia & Grisman at the Warfield. We went to the show and I was captivated by what I heard. It had been a couple of years since I had "lost" the Dead due to the scene being too overwhelming ,as opposed to what I remember when I first started seeing the band. The finesse and incredible range that they showed made me rediscover feelings I had grown disassociated from for quite a while.When they played "Arabia" the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Closing my eyes during that song I could easily imagine windswept dunes as far as the eye could see, camels lashed together next to a multicolored tent with a fire in front of it and several men shrouded in white robes exchanging stories of their forefathers conquests. It was like a trip only without any hallucinogenic drugs to take you there only good smoke.After the show ended, literally on the last note my friend Rich grabs my hand and tells me we must hurry if we are going to say goodnight to Jerry. I had no idea what he was talking about but was content to follow his lead. We rushed out the front doors turned right and went around the corner to the stage door just as he came out to get into his car. I looked at him, (we were about 5 feet from each other),and said, "Goodnight Jerry and thanks, I needed a trip to a desert oasis tonight.". He looked at me laughed and said, "Thanks I'd love to hang out but my camel is double parked."From that point on my love of the Garcia/Grisman combo in any form is one of my favorite pairings of musicians. Their "So What" album,posthumously released is incredible, I urge all to explore the magic that it contains.

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