I had just turned 16, and wasn't a Dead fan. Although I always had been a huge music fan, I was a bigger fan of getting high, the reason for going in all honesty.
To this day I'am not sure if it was the vitamins, the vibe, or what exactly. But I never missed a local show after.
I was hooked, and I miss the scene immensely. There is nothing like the feeling of grooving with 30,000 like minded family to the same tune. And there is no way to explain it to one who hasn't had the pleasure.
The Akron Beacon Journal reported the following day: that there was an estimated 100,000 people 'there', and the stadium only holds 30,000.
So as far as I am concerned, I give it 5 1/2 stars for being more than just a show to me. It was a life changing experience!

I drove up from FL alone and stayed in the cheesiest motel ever made, right in Akron. It was ugly. The guest spot with Dylan (LRR thru Baby Blue) is godawful. Don't listen to it! Can't believe Dylan still wanted to play with these guys after that. His own set with Petty was fantastic. Met GD luminary Gordon Sharpless in the crowd. I think we traded tapes and/or he sold me a book of set lists, pre-Dead Base.

The two defining moments of the show are Dylan dropping by to do a rough and ready couple of tunes in the first set and Jerry, who would lapse into a diabetic coma a week later, walking off during Desolation Row. The Dylan part, though not musically brilliant, was fun, Jerry's health problems were not.