I was fortunate to have won the right to purchase tickets. The local BASS ticket outlets gave out stubs with a number on them, and if they drew your number, you got to purchase tickets. My future wife Marianne had a winning ticket so we went down and bought our tickets. Marianne was lucky that way; years later we were at a 49ers-Eagles game in Philadelphia and she had her seat number drawn and won a new jacket!
I remember seeing Bill Graham out on the corner giving directions to people who worked for him.
I had been to three Winterland shows the previous October when the Dead returned from Egypt. I went up to Bill, introduced myself and thanked him for doing what he had done for the music and the artists. I complimented him on how well his crew interacted with the fans and how smoothly his shows seemed to run.
Being a veteran of over 100 shows at that time, mostly on the east coast, I had something to compare him to. He stopped what he was doing and said “Thank you, John, I appreciate the positive feedback; thanks for taking the time to tell me that.” I thanked him for taking the time from an obviously very busy day to speak with me.
~ John Barker