D & C @ The Gorge - 7/7 & 7/8/23

We are still looking for tix too.  Have a CoT alert set and have put in at least a dozen requests, but each time lost out.  Some of the offerings were for $82 tix.  Although I was fast on the draw, the sellers can pick through the offers and I need to come up with some message that pulls on the heart strings like how me and my partner met at a D&C show (true story).

Just hang in there and there will be plenty of affordable tix come show time,   We are staying at Wildhorse campground, where we stay at almost any show at the Gorge.  Green grass, generously sized camp sites, running water, clean porto johns, and a party bus that takes you right to the gate.  No slog from the main lot to the venue and sure beats the dusty Mad Max land up there.

Good luck and hope to see you at the Gorge!  Best large outdoor venue in the country (sorry Red Rocks).  

I haven't been to the Gorge since 97 but since Ken wrote: " sure beats the dusty Mad Max land up there", I'll chime in.   

That's exactly my experience.  It's a little like Buckeye lake but with much better scenery.   I wasn't really impressed with my experience there but might have had something to do with the people I was with.   

Haven't been to the Gorge, but if it beats Red Rocks as a venue I'd be impressed.  Probably an apples and oranges comparison.  So Glad Joni got to rock that place last night. 

Can't believe it's been 23 years since my last visit.  Saw Phish 97-99 and the Phil, Dylan, SCI in 99 or 00?

I'm also in the Gorge>RR group but splitting hairs/YMMV.  Back in the day, the camping was ROUGH.  We used to stay in the town of George at a motel with a small pool.  It can get hot AF out there. I've heard it's all changed with VIP stuff now.  My take is always to avoid sleeping in the lot and if you do, pay up for VIP parking.  Better chance of fewer tanks and cleaner restrooms. Either way, hydrate!

p.s. love Joni

I have lived 30 minutes from The Gorge for 45 years. Was at the very first show in 1984. A buddy was the controller of the tickets for years.  Probably have seen 100 shows there. 

Wild Horse is much better camping then at the venue. Better yet is on the Columbia River so you can take a dip etc. There are a couple official public camping places up and down the river that are nice. There are off the radar spots where you can have peace and quiet in dramatic settings. Even better yet and totally off the charts for setting is Dusty Lake with the trailhead just a few minutes away... BUT... It's a .58 mile hike down a fairly steep incline, which insures privacy. Obviously you have to be keen on backpack camping, have a headlamp for the after the show return and be of sound mind & body. This is a beyond spectacular place formed by the Great Missoula Floods. If you are into geology a short day hike along the north side rim looking down is the easy way. This was created in essentially a flash. 

Photos can not do it justice... not even close. 

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/dusty-lake-trail/photos

I'll take the Gorge over Red Rocks but RR is cool for sure. 

FYI - Wildhorse campsites are highly coveted and the whole campground usually sells out in minutes.  I saw someone offering to sell their Wildhorse campsite on the Bigfoot County FB group page recently and sometimes you see them on Craigslist, but I would definitely hang on to your existing camping pass until you have secured something else.   I know people have been selling camping passes for the main lot on CoT but haven't really been paying attention to those posts because we already have camping down.   You might want to check to see how they are selling.

I'm going to counter the group.  I think Red Rocks is way better - or was back in the day before the tarp mafia and reserved seating.  

Just another opinion. 

camping costs $140!???

how much for a wrist band to get into shakedown st.?

From CNN.com....

2 people killed in mass shooting near Washington’s Gorge Amphitheater during Beyond Wonderland music festival.  Three people were wounded, including the shooter, who was taken into custody, authorities said.  The report of the shooting came in at about 8:25 p.m. at the campgrounds near the town of George, the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.  The suspected shooter walked away from the shooting scene before officers tracked him down, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kyle Foreman. The suspect shot “randomly” into the crowd as he fled and was eventually taken into custody, Foreman said.

The Gorge Amphitheatre was hosting a two-day music festival called Beyond Wonderland at the time, and the campgrounds were located several hundred yards from the venue, Foreman said.  On Sunday morning, the festival announced the cancellation of the day’s performances.

That's terrible.  They do a good job of screening everyone entering the venue and only allow clear backpacks, so I felt pretty safe inside the Joni Jam there last Saturday.  Outside the venue, there isn't much that can be done, except to try to stay alert, and if you see something alarming, say something to security.  
 

So tired of the explosion of gun violence.  People's right to bear arms is impacting my right to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

"Army Ranger accused of mass shooting at Washington music festival"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/army-ranger-accused-mass-shooting-143844020.html

not a Ranger

merely assigned to a Ranger battallion

just for clarification; not to minimize this tragedy

UhOh. That guy had to have a very loose screw to begin with...and returned for more after a previously 'bad reaction'?!? I stand by my opinion that psychedelics are not (good) for everyone.

"Soulmates' Killed At Music Fest Were Allegedly The Victims of A Man High On Mushrooms"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/couple-described-soulmates-allegedly-killed-0...

Hey Easy Wind!  How is it going with your Gorge situation?

Still not finding "cheap" ($150 or less) tix.  Plenty of $87 lawn tickets showing up on CoT, but there must a lot of other people looking.  I have submitted 18 offers so far, but got beat out each time.   And that doesn't include the many times where I wasn't fast enough to submit an offer before they sold.

As it turned out, my buddy from Philly for whom I was saving a Wildhorse camp site for can't make it.  If you have an extra for the show, I would be happy to trade the extra campsite for it.  Offer good for any zoner.

Zoinks!  Just saw the forecast.  103 degrees of Friday.  At least it will be a dry heat and Saturday is supposed to go down to a cool 95 degrees.

Finally broke down and bought a single $400 two day lawn pass ($340 + $60 in fees), but am hedging our bets and will continue looking for cheaper tickets into next week.

I'm surprised they arrived to the Gorge this many days early!

OK, big doh!  That shot must be from Boulder area.

I haven't been following this tour, obviously.

DJ EW,

My view is that there are always tickets at the gate, from sellers or from the box office.

It has been decades since I have been totally shut out of a show, and with D&C it's been 'never'.

With this demographic, at least a couple of dozen ticket holders have died since purchasing. Morbid, but true. You'll find one at face right before showtime, I'd bet on it.

Thanks for your cool show.

Good luck!

Well, bit the bullet on some expensive lawn tickets (most expensive single band tickets I have paid for in my show going career).  But at least I can stop checking my phone every couple minutes looking for CoT alerts.

And thankfully the weather forecast has improved.

How's the ticket hunt going Easy Wind?   Hope you have an easy flight and smooth drive out to the Gorge.  

Decided not to go to the Country Fair, can't afford Dead $ Co, so the compromise is should I blow $ on the stream(s)...    hmmmmm

So who all is going?  Leaving PDX right now and hopefully will make Wildhorse by early afternoon.

Ez Wind:  We are over in Wildhorse and on the lawn tonight.  Will text you later and maybe we can meet up at set break.

Hot as blazes but got the easy-up and tapestries set up and a makeshift swamp cooler with fan going.

I decided to pay for the stream, so be glad to do updates here, unless a new thread is preferred

Total shit show with people trying to get in.  15 minutes to official show time and traffic trying to get in is backed up for miles.  Fucking miles.

A friend left town here at 3:45 (40min drive) who just shot me a text and said he is still in line to get in. 

Here's the set 1 sneak peek...  hopefully they start late, can't remember if that place has a curfew. (good luck mobile zoners)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXlEd6rtCbA

July 7, 2013 (Day 1)

Set 1
The Traffic Never Stops

Apparently, this is what folks were looking at this time last night.

And according to Reddit, the person below is law enforcement. He was witnessed busting some folks for shrooms.

https://www.reddit.com/r/deadandcompany/comments/14teplj/watch_out_at_th...

Set 1
The Traffic Never Stops
Washington Getaway 
Paint my Slowrelease

Got in about 15 minutes before start around 7:28.  We are up at the cocktail bar at the top of the hill.  Can't believe we got a table and everything.  Come on up Zoners.  Sound is not bad and sweeping views of the Gorge.

Good work, Ken. Enjoy the show.

Nice!

Set 1
The Music Never Stops
Alabama Getaway 
Paint my Masterpiece
Mr Charley
Tennessee Jed
Dire Wolf

Some serious vistas in that country!  

Set 1
The Music Never Stopped
Alabama Getaway 
Paint my Masterpiece
Mr Charley
Tennessee Jed
Dire Wolf
Bird Song
Big RR Blues

Set 2
Sugaree 

Sneak peek II and interview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipOLHCX6hs4

Set 2
Sugaree
Estimate
Scarlet >
Viola Lee Blues

A pic a friend posted on FB

Set 2
Sugaree
Estimated
Scarlet >
Viola Lee Blues >
Dark Star (VI) >
Drums / Space >
Cumberland Blues >
Black Peter

Day 1 at the Gorge (July 7, 2023)

Set 1
The Music Never Stopped
Alabama Getaway 
Paint my Masterpiece
Mr Charley
Tennessee Jed
Dire Wolf
Bird Song
Big RR Blues

Set 2
Sugaree
Estimated >
Scarlet >
Viola Lee Blues >
Dark Star (VI) >
Drums / Space >
Cumberland Blues >
Black Peter >
Casey Jones

Black Muddy River

setlist looks like a very typical 80s-90s first set, and then the whole second setlist is pure post jerry. would be kinda cool if tomorrow night got an off the wall setlist for first set and then a super typical 80s-90s setlisty for second set

At this point I really don't think there are "typical" setlists anymore.

It's just songs.

And really, if we're going to compare eras, these setlists are WAY better than what we used to get in the "good ol' days".

What's interesting is that for many, THESE are the good ol' days.

Because ultimately it's all relative, and at the end of the day that's pretty far out.

For better and worse, the music is still playing the band.

Carry on.

So great people are keeping the GD Vibe alive and having a fantastic time seeing this band. But musically, this band will never even come close to getting the music to "10". It's more like a bring your kids to a pseudo GD show to try and show them what the GD was like. But hey anytime people are spreading that GD-like vibe, I'm all for it!

>>But musically, this band will never even come close to getting the music to "10

That's not really fair. You can't compare. It isn't the GD and there's no Jerry. It could never be what the GD was. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands are going to the shows and enjoying the living hell out of the music. They aren't going to see a nostalgia act and a last grasp of a scene that "once was." They are going to enjoy the music, and they are getting what they went for.

For all the flack DeadCo takes, they can rock the fuck out and put big grins on faces. 

Think of it like Van Halen led by Gary Cherone

or maybe Kiss when they had Eric Carr and Bruce Kulick

Or sabbath with dio...

they still played all the hits, maann 

i heard 10 seconds of the other one they recently did. zzzz that was all i could take. 

bobstar you crazy ol bastard

There was a mobile IV hydration clinic in an ambulance driving around the campground today treating hung over and dehydrated party goers.  I guess it's a thing.

^
My brother, the soon to be retired Doc, has been known to put his own IV in his arm and load up with ringers lactate, lol...   

I really enjoyed watching last nights show.  I liked how there was a gospel theme in the jams (Bird Song, Scarlet, Viola Lee, Cumberland), Oteil seemed to enjoy it, and John / Jeff were riffing hard while smiling.  Earlier Scarlet was taken down the latin path, Bird song has always had a nice jam, the other 2 blues songs, so I very much enjoyed last nights interpretations.  But relistening this morning, and this band is very tight, with some great improv, but with these fine gentlemens interpretations (this isn't Jerry's Dead, but nor should it be!).

Really looking forward to tonight!

I'm always a little shocked when I come across the D&C obsession on Reddit, since I don't have any IRL people who are obsessively into it, but same as it ever was. I had plenty of old heads telling me in the early 80's that this wasn't the real dead and I'm sure people told them it wasn't real because they didn't see Pig Pen. 

That said I can't help but feeling bad for them and I absolutely cringe at any mention of where is Shakedown going to be as I always saw that as blight on the whole scene, but that's my shit. I mean Dead & Co have their own subreddit now and they are as obsessed about set lists as I was in the 80's and comparing what the best version of different songs were. Most of all they are really sad it's ending, and yes I will have a hard time keeping it together if they play Stella Blue on Friday night. Whatever you think of D&C it's another door closing in the journey that not in my wildest dreams did I think would still be going strong in 2023. Glad I'm somehow still around to see it happen. 

7-8-23 - Saturday at the Gorge

Set 1
Mississippi 1/2 Step

Sneak Peek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53bkm6j7kcg

good guy with 2 ar15s *couch picks* kenny 

roll in

help heads

"good guy with a gun" winks at a turtle 

def not a "weapon of war" winks at hoover 

bigger than all the dead

guns are the problem

no guns, less problem 

coming house to house to take your weapons 

pussy want a fight 

7-8-23 - Saturday at the Gorge

Set 1
Mississippi 1/2 Step
Here Comes Sunshine
Next Time You See Me
Loose Lucy
Friend of the Devil
They Love Each Other, and their guns

* mushrooms kill (jam)

> not guns

! knot (jam)

https://matthew-treat.mixlr.com/

7-8-23 - Saturday at the Gorge

Set 1
Mississippi 1/2 Step
Here Comes Sunshine
Next Time You See Me
Loose Lucy
Friend of the Devil
They Love Each Other
Lost Sailor >
Saint of Circumstance

7-8-23 - Saturday at the Gorge

Set 1
Mississippi 1/2 Step
Here Comes Sunshine
Next Time You See Me
Loose Lucy
Friend of the Devil
They Love Each Other
Lost Sailor >
Saint of Circumstance

Set 2
Playin >
The Wheel >
St Stephen (with WT)>
The Eleven >
Drums / Space >
Dark Star VII >
Althea
Stella Blue >
One More Sat Night
 

Caught the second set.  Thanks for the above link.  That St. Stephen>Eleven>St.Stephen>Eleven was fantastic. Wheel was great as was Althea.  Drums was totally grooving.  Loved seeing Oteil join the drummers.  All good stuff. Got a treat with a free video stream for the second half of the second set.  Video quality these days is crazy good.   Great show tonight sure. Feel lucky to have caught the streams. 

Noodler;  thanks for posting the link to this!   I caught the entire second set.   Sounded good from my bed!

The second set last night was really good.  St. Stephen>11 was the highlight of the Gorge shows.  I was genuinely impressed.

^Agreed! That was what I thought via the streams and Bobby's recovery on 11 after his mic failure was golden too. 

I'm glad some people are making the effort to see a show or 2. I've dismissed these guys all along despite having seen a couple shows in the beginning, but I have zero regrets about the 3 shows I saw this summer, Cornell and Spac. I actually enjoyed the buzz of excitement and interest in this band. They really did deliver for those who wanted to take the ride. Many old timers but also lotsa kids who weren't even alive during Jerry's lifetime. Wheel is turning...

I got a text during Friday's second set letting me me know I would be picked up at 2pm Saturday with dinner, drinks and ticket covered. While I was very indifferent going into the tour and couldn't even recall the last time I went to a GD related show the offer made it clear as was supposed to be there. We drove right to the venue parking lot unimpeded. Probably spent 15 minutes in line to get into the venue. First set seemed paced but it was hot so it made sense so be measured. I concur the St Stephen sequence was better than one might reasonably hope for if not more than you would have possible at this point. A fine example of why it's hard to quit the mob. Personally it felt like an appropriate way to wrap up the Long Stage Tour Trip. 

Sounds just exactly perfect, Astro.

Oh wow I had a great time. I was only at the first night, however I convinced my 20 year old and her boyfriend to join us and camp in the lot. Missed second night, but we caught enough of the magic to make us happy. Nothing better than having your 20 year old "get it" and tell you how much FUN she had. Loved our camping neighbors, that dude was younger than me and caught over 60 shows with his mom and dad before he graduated from high school, before Jerry passed. It's great to make new friends at Dead shows. The overbearing heat sucked, but the experience was GRATE!

I made it by the skin of my chinny chin chin.  
 

While driving down the mountain grade on the east side of the Cascades on I-90 just west of Cle Elum, my driver's side rear tire blew out.  It was a section of the highway under construction with two lanes of traffic each way with lots of semi-trucks.  There was no shoulder to pull off on, so I kept driving about half a mile with my tire shredding, as I looked for a spot to get off the road.  I was going about 35-40 mph with big trucks coming down the mountain right behind me.  It was hairy.  I was worried I'd roll the car.  Finally, I saw a small sliver of shoulder, and got my car off the road and parked.  My driver's side door was 2 feet from the white line on the side of the highway.  With traffic rushing right by, I had to crawl out the passenger's side.  My tire was toast, but I hadn't messed up the rim somehow.  When I went to get the spare, my tire iron and jack were missing.  Someone had broken into my car a couple of weeks earlier.  At the time I'd only noticed my jumper cables and owner's manual missing.  At least they hadn't taken the temporary spare.  

I called AAA and fortunately had my exact coordinates on my iPhone maps, so they could find me.  While waiting for the AAA service to show, I could see that my car was too close to the highway to change the tire.  There was very little room to work with, as the shoulder dropped off steeply very quickly, and I had to make sure I didn't slide off the side of the embankment.  I was able to get it a couple more feet off the road without sliding down the bank.

After a 15 minute wait, Dean from Dean's Towing pulled up.  I thought of Dean Moriarty, Neal Cassidy's alter-ego from Jack Kerouac's On The Road.  Dean was great.  He eyed up the oncoming semis. rolled out his jack and power lug nut wrench (he had much better tools than the one's I'd had stolen), and got the spare on.  Amazed at how fast they'd gotten to me, I was soon back on the road.  My man, Dean!

After worrying I could have crashed, or had to have been towed out of a ditch, I now had a good chance to make it to the show.  I risked driving on the temporary spare the rest of the way (I got a new tire put on Saturday in Quincy).  Even coming in the back way and avoiding the Silica road entrance, I still ran into a deep line of traffic.  I only had to make it to the Wild Horse, but that took about an hour.  My buddy was putting on the bands playing at the campground, and has hooked me up with camping passes and tickets to the shows.  There wasn't time to set up my camp, so I parked the car in an overflow lot, and had just enough time to catch the shuttle bus to the show with our crew.  
 

After all that, the shows were a little anticlimactic, but still really good and fun.  Oteil's bass was louder in the mix, which was nice, as it's been hard to hear him the other times I've seen D&C.  I was a little disappointed that we got the slower arrangement of They Love Each Other, after they had twice previously played the original faster arrangement.  The lack of an encore on night 2 for what may have been this band's final performance at The Gorge and in the PNW seemed weird.  The clock hit 11 p.m. on the nose as OMSN ended, so they must have had a hard curfew.  I don't think the heat was the issue, as the second sets, after the sun had gone down, were pleasant temps.

The Wild Horse was better than I'd expected.  A clean, secure, private campground, with good showers, free coffee in the morning, and a decent restaurant putting out breakfast, lunch, dinner and post-show grub.  The denizens all seemed like more experienced tour heads.  The shuttle to and from the show was great.  I'd do this again in a heartbeat.  Sorry I missed any Zoner meet-ups, but dealing with my car issues sucked up a lot of my free time.  Hope everyone who went had a good trip!

Thanks again to my buddy for inviting me along.  This guy was my first employee when I opened my shop 18 years ago, and he wanted to pay me back for helping him out through the years.  The boy made good!  Our seats both nights were in the pavilion boxes to the left of the soundboard.  We had a great view of both the stage and the vistas of the Gorge from there, and our own attendant to bring us food and drinks, lots of space to boogie, and comfortable sofas to lounge on.  All in all, a great set-up and nice way to settle in after a tragedy narrowly averted.

Glad you had AAA and made it to the show Dave!!

 Bottom of Page Permalink 

Briank

 Briank on Saturday, July 8, 2023 – 09:06 am

>>But musically, this band will never even come close to getting the music to "10

That's not really fair. You can't compare. It isn't the GD and there's no Jerry. It could never be what the GD was. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands are going to the shows and enjoying the living hell out of the music. They aren't going to see a nostalgia act and a last grasp of a scene that "once was." They are going to enjoy the music, and they are getting what they went for.

For all the flack DeadCo takes, they can rock the fuck out and put big grins on faces. 

Great post Brian! I have been going to shows for over 40 years and , yes this is not The Grateful Dead or The Q or whatever but I love the vibe and the music is good and sometimes Grate! I feel like most of the "haters and critics" have not seen this band live so who are they to criticize? 

Furthermore some of those critics who say only if I get in free or at a huge discount end up going end up liking the show from the posts I have seen in the 8 years they have been playing. 

Someone tell Mike W he was right! 

Damn Dave.  Glad you made it in one piece.   

Sorry I didn't see you at Wildhorse.   The campground bands this year there were pretty good, especially the one that had the pedal steel player on Friday afternoon, but mostly listened from our campsite because, well, it was pretty fucking hot and all we could do was cower in the shade in front of the fan and not move around much.  And yeah, the party bus shuttle rocks.  I have been staying there exclusively for the last 10 years and no going back to the main lot.

Do you know the name of the band with the pedal steel player?   I thought they said they were from Portland and was something like "Blaze and the Texas Burners."   Would like to check them out again sometime.     

We hit Rattlesnake Cove on Saturday and it was full on hippie beach party.  Water was cold, but felt good.

AAA ftw

don't leave home without it

This wharf rat agrees 100%

Grateful Dean?

I was going about 35-40 mph with big trucks coming down the mountain right behind me.  It was hairy    

RAD n Gnarly 

So glad y'all's made it, particularly Dave in that yet another epic Tale from the Golden Road!

Wow, Dave, so glad you made it. Sounds like a great time after you connected with Dean.

Soft landing with your friend and the views and music... nice.

Nice shots and good meeting you EZ.

Cop math and all the rest aside it did sound like there was a concerted crack-down effort probably due to the horrific attack/shootings a couple weeks prior. For those in attendance, did it seem any different or 'business as usual' for this venue?

"Authorities seize $200,000 worth of drugs at Gorge concert event"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/authorities-seize-200-000-worth-194920266.html

Security was way tighter causing massive delays (at least until right before show time on Friday when they said "fuck it" and let everyone through without any real check).

I suspect a lot of those confiscated items were from the campground, not necessarily from the concert venue. We did get waved into the show pretty quickly on Friday, as Ken notes above. They had a sign that said they were using some new technology that was supposed to make the entry experience faster... there weren't the usual metal detectors where you have to take phone/keys other metal out of pockets. So concert entry seemed simple.  I will note that my camping neighbors had weed confiscated at the bag check, she had a mason jar right inside her bag that was apparently pretty obvious. Anyway, the sherrif's office can brag about the busts, but it was 13 total people arrested out of 25k plus. They certainly didn't mess with all the NO2 tanks going all night. 

Thought weed was legal in WA?

Venue can forbid items, but the cure for violating is usually confiscation/denial of entry/86ing. Why are the cops getting involved?

^^^I have the same question.  Seems weird they were confiscating herb. 

This is what they have posted on the Live Nation site:

>>>>>>>>

https://www.livenation.com/venue/KovZpZAEkk1A/gorge-amphitheatre-events#...

Marijuana is not allowed to be brought into The Gorge. Many people now assume they are free to use marijuana following the recent changes in the law. But it is unlawful to open a package containing marijuana, or consume marijuana in view of the general public. A person who violates this law is guilty of a class 3 civil infraction – the use or display of Marijuana at the Gorge is prohibited. Unsure on the law - GO HERE for a FAQ sheet.

The Gorge Amphitheatre and Campgrounds have a zero-tolerance policy for any and all illegal drugs, and uniformed and nonuniformed officers patrol the grounds.

<<<<<<<<<

Is it even legal for The Gorge to confiscate your cannabis if you aren't using it openly?

The 2nd night the young woman at security took my weed after saying my glass pipe was okay.  She told me I could go back to my car (not a possibility) or surrender it.  As I use weed for pain management, this is like confiscating people's medicine.  Why is The Gorge able to confiscate legal drugs?

Marijuana is not allowed to be brought into The Gorge.....What about tapers?  No Archive recordings?

i saw tool there a few years back and was surprised when the dude took my pill bottle with 4 fatties. He opened it, looked, and then went to throw it in the trash can...there was a collective loud groan amongst the other patrons. I said if you are going to throw it away, I'll just take it back to my car...I ended up putting it under my baseball cap and re-entered. Was fine.

Using weed in public is not allowed by state law and Grant County chooses to enforce the law. From the venues perspective I get why they don't want to be perceived as drug friendly. 

https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=69.50.445#:~:text=(1)%20It%20is%20unlawful%20to,or%20in%20a%20public%20place

As far as taping goes my experience has been they allow it when bands approve. That policy may have changed and I'm sure one could contact Live Nation to see where they currently stand on that? I really only recall seeing stands regularly at DMB shows. I was always able to get my gear in and record FOB in stealth mode. Generally 18th row center was the spot but you could get great results right in front of a stack with some bands.  Type of microphones plays into where to be for sure.

I went in via the Express Line was not search in any manner, including visually. Always been an hit or miss factor imo. They once caught my taping gear going into a Dylan show and I just went in no problem by shifting to another line.

Is it even legal for The Gorge to confiscate your cannabis if you aren't using it openly?

afaik its not legal for them to confiscate under any circumstances unless you consent to it, they can only deny entry if you refuse to give it up. i had an issue with this at hardly strictly bluegrass 5ish years ago, got approached by security and accused of selling weed while i was openly packing a bowl from my jar and talking with a friend. dude demanded i hand it over, i refused, he called more security to pressure me, i refused, they threatened to call the cops, i told them to do it, cops came over and tried to threaten me with arrest if i didnt give it up, i refused, they called a sargent and a bunch of other officers over, i refused to give it up, handed over my med paperwork and yelled at the original security guard for being a thug who just wants to take and smoke my herb. a few of the cops and the original security guard went off to pow wow in the corner, they came back and told me to leave the concert. obviously i just walked around the perimeter and went back in to catch the JRAD set. 

of course the situation with the cops also involved CA prop 215, but regardless, security cant just take your legal belongings without your consent. they can deny entry if you are in possession of cannabis, or for any legal reason, since they are a private business. handing over your stash is one way to deal with it, but that only happens with your consent. as long as you have the option to leave with your belongings there is nothing illegal going on on the part of the venue.

>>>From the venues perspective I get why they don't want to be perceived as drug friendly. 

Weed isn't a drug. I've never been to the Gorge, but i'm assuming you can drink at the Gorge until you choke on your vomit, but no weed? 

Those eastern-ish counties in both WA & OR are basically wannabe "Greater Idaho" annex candidates as it is....and you can pretty much bet that they hate legal weed too.

>Weed isn't a drug.

Ok, a controlled, regulated substance then. 

7/7   https://archive.org/details/dc2023-07-07.busman.flac16/dc2023-07-07.busm...

It's so great that you got to go to the Gorge. Western experiences...

Thanks, Bob (and Ken).

A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed.[

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug

 drug, any chemical substance that affects the functioning of living things and the organisms (such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses) that infect them.

 https://www.britannica.com/science/drug-chemical-agent

weed is a drug. THC is a chemical. enough with the hippie dippie BS. something does not cease to be a drug because its a plant. plants contain chemicals and these chemicals can be drugs. the term "drug" does not infer that something is dangerous, addictive, or even psychoactive at all, and the term "drug" is NOT relegated only to synthetically produced drugs.

this whole "weed is not a drug" thing is simply due to a total inability to understand the english language and science. go back to your astrology charts and stop commenting on pharmacology, chemistry and botany pls.

Thank you doctor for the clarification ;)

love me some good druggs