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Bob Weir Hung-Up at Border

Canadian border authorities at the Thousand Islands crossing in upstate New York delayed Bob Weir Tuesday (7/6), subjecting the Furthur guitarist to further questioning after computer records alerted them to arrests when he was a member of the Grateful Dead.  Had he been refused entry, the band's set the following night at a festival in Ottawa might have been scuttled - making it the second lost show in a week.  A Burlington, VT concert scheduled for Monday (7/5) was hastily replaced by a Pennsylvania concert after the museum hosting the Vermont show on its grounds canceled the sold-out concert over security concerns (story)Weir was allowed to go to a nearby Holiday Inn while the authorities reviewed matters relating to the long-ago and far away busts.  The one they seemed most interested in was a July 2 1980 arrest in San Diego, when Weir and drummer Mickey Hart were jailed on charges of resisting arrest.
Relix.com points out that several songs during the band's set Wednesday at the Cisco Ottawa Blues Fest may have been inspired by the snafu. In addition to set staple Truckin', with its verse that refers to a New Years Eve 1970 arrest on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, the band busted out several other tunes with law breaking lyrics, among them Mama Tried, Don't Ease Me In, Wharf Rat and the 1965 Bobby Fuller Four rave-up hit that Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers sometimes do live, I Fought The Law.
OttawaCitizen.com   Relix.com

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