My brother, my sister Rosa, and I climbed down the shaft at Winterland that night. My sister fell at least a third of the way down and landed on my brother, who went down first. I was still on the roof, it was night, and I couldn’t see anything, but had to climb down the rope. Luckily, I made it, but my sister shattered both her knees and refused to leave.
The concert lasted until 6:30 the next morning when we drove back to Fresno, where she went into immediate surgery. Had my brother not realized what was happening, she would have hit the concrete and most likely died; he braced himself and took a lot of the impact, I believe I was 14 at the time.
I’ll never forget when the concert was over and they began opening the doors: the sun was coming up; breakfast served at dawn; And We Bid You Good Night.
If I remember correctly the Dead didn’t come on stage until midnight. We were backstage in a room right behind the staircase with the Hells Angels. She had the best seat in the house. There were kegs of Heineken backstage and my brother kept bringing her beer. I’ll never forget when the concert was over and they began opening the doors: the sun was coming up; breakfast served at dawn; And We Bid You Good Night.
~ Jesse Chapparo