Sitting at the Dupont "Hot Hues" booth at the San Francisco Rod, Custom, and Motorcycle show this past weekend, I reflected back across time to the many hot rod shows I'd attended here when it was known as the "Grand National" and also when the good ol' Grateful Dead did their legendary "sound test" here on March 23, 1974.
Thirty-three years ago!
I was just finishing up four years at Stanford University and covering the event as an editor at the Stanford Daily. The "sound test" was meant to road-test the abilities of the Dead's multi-multi-multi-speaker "Wall of Sound" system, which would take them into the largest arenas and stadiums in the US throughout 1974.
That day way back then, I elected to sit in the very last seat in the house, in Section 36, to see if the Dead were able to "reach me."
They did.
Here's what the Cow Palace looks like from Section 36, last seat in the farthest row, against the wall. "Love That Sound," indeed.
FYI, This is the main arena only. The Rod, Custom & Motorcycle show is so huge it takes up all the side exhibition halls and several other buildings besides (more on some of the cars I discovered while walking the show, in a separate blog). In this pic, the Dupont setup is on the right, where the green and blue Mustang is displayed.
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