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Notes -
One of the most interesting gigs I ever played was at a hell's Angels clubhouse.
One of my bandmates took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and ended up in a non-public area. A biker that must have been at least 6'5" picked him up by the jacket and held him against the wall while another guy searched him to make sure he wasn't a cop or a thief. Once they cleared him, they frog-marched him to the John and told him that PRIVATE means PRIVATE.
I have absolutely no doubt that those guys would have killed the guy if anything had looked out of place.
Other than that they were great clients. The guy tending bar kept us two hours past our booked time by handing each of us a $50 bill at the top of each hour. Some of them even helped us load out.
Doesn't surprise me. After playing at Altamont in 1969 and seeing the Hell's Angels version of security, the Grateful Dead still played HA benefit shows in November 1970 and March 1972. Garcia played benefit shows for them with his solo band in 1973 and 1976. The Dead had a long history with the HA prior to Altamont (apparently Sonny Barger and Garcia got along well), but even so, they'd have to be really good clients to continue the association after Altamont.
TIL Tucker Carlson eulogized Barger.
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