A friend and I went to see the Baltimore Symphony perform "A Symphonic Tribute to the Grateful Dead" at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore this evening. While I'm not the biggest deadhead in the world, I can certainly appreciate the musicality of Mr. Garcia and his gang. I figured that spending the night listening to a symphonic version of their ditties wouldn't be so bad. And one of my favorite orchestral works of all time, Berstein's Overture to Candide was on the program. 

It seems that when you combine the refinement and class of a normal major symphony audience with the summer of free love embracing hippies that constitute a large majority of grateful dead fans, you end up with a unique audience for a symphony orchestra. I'd like to present you with a "List of Firsts" I witnessed this evening:

1. First time I've ever seen people were tye dye to the symphony. Some "dressed up" their tye dye t-shirts a bit by wearing a suit jacket on top of them. That was a nice touch with the jeans.
2. First time I've seen people (lots of them) wear baseball caps to the symphony. There were probably 100 people in baseball caps, cowboy hats, and other non-traditional head coverings.
3. First time I've seen security guards at a symphony. They were checking bags as people entered, and also stationed around the concert hall.
4. First time I've seen security guards attempt to throw a person out WHILE the orchestra played. The guard did it in hushed voices and hand gestures, but it was still wildly distracting. The man he was trying to throw out was in the middle of one of the center orchestra rows. He refused to leave. After several minutes of stern looks and angry gestures, the guard gave up.
5. First time I've seen the guy in the row directly in front of me light up a joint and start smoking it WHILE the orchestra played. This was not the guy the security guard was attempting to kick out. And I've got pictures of him sneaking a drag.