Spinning & Popping

After more icing of the shin... and then even more icing of the shin plus taking some pain relievers, I felt not too bad and that I could get out for a short hike. Even if it was only 90 minutes of that type of low impact exercise, I had to get it done. To sit around, for the most part, for a whole day, well, that ain't right. NEED EXERCISE!! But even with the pain not at a high level, would it be okay to go for a short hike down the trail a ways and back? No running, just a hike. Or would I be completely hindering the healing that's needed to get this stoopid leg of mine back to normal?!? Hindering? Helping? Wish I knew... but then again would it matter? Probably not... I had to go.

Very Short Hike:
1 hour & 39 minutes

music...

Spin Doctors 4-27-91
(w/special guest John Popper)
Skelly Field, Cook Campus, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Ag Field Day

Shinbone Alley, Jimmy Olsen's Blues,
At This Hour, About a Train -» Gunsmith's Waltz,
What Time Is It -» Bags of Dirt,
Refrigerator Car, Big Fat Funky Booty -»
Lady Kerosene, Two Princes -» Off My Line,
Sweet Widow (w/Roger Fox)
Encore: The Frustration Bush #2, House

An instant favorite. I've never listened to live Spin Doctors before. Saw them live once (in a park right next to Montclair State College in the rain one Saturday or Sunday afternoon for free) but other than that this is the first show I've ever heard. What a great one it is, at least great when you combine the show with the setting. What's so special about the setting? Rutgers, man! Three close friends went to Rutgers and a whole bunch of people I know were at Ag Field Day in '91 and they saw this show. The school year calendar for the University of Utah once upon a time had four quarters versus the usual three semesters at so many colleges. Having a Fall Quarter not starting until around September 23rd or so, it gave me time to visit many of my friends at their schools before I had to take off and go 2,200 miles to my school. Rutgers was so close by, relatively speaking. Twas just a hop, skip, and a 90 minute drive down the NJ Turnpike. So many great nights there!!!

Anyway, even though I wasn't there that Spring day in 1991, this show still has some weird personal feeling for me. I'm guessing that's because I semi-sort of secretly and oddly long to be back in New Jersey. In fact, I'm recalling right now that I was in Vega$ about that time seeing the Dead's first Vega$ shows in like 8 or 10 years, something like that, at the Sam Boyd Silver Bowl. Hmmm. Seeing the Dead in the Desert or Ag Field Day back at Rutgers? Definitely Da Dead! That was a great time, my first in Vegas, and a whole 'nother trip down Memory Lane for another day.

Anyway anyway... this was kind of an interesting time for the Spin Doctors. They had only put out one live album but no studio album yet -- Pocketful of Kryptonite was still months away from being released. If only they had known how successful that album would be, then maybe they'd have played the more popular songs last... but nope, they must not have looked into their crystal ball to see that. Still, the show was very good and John Popper (of Blues Traveler) sitting in from start to finish just made everything like 10 times better! Being from New York they had a decent fanbase and their rise to stardom was underway. Lookin' forward, I am, to dloading more Spin Doctors in the future. Don't know how I can personally top this show but we'll see.

Later, in 1993, they made the really Big Time: