ReportWire

Tag: News 9 Exclusive

  • Looking back on Bob Weir’s performance the night Jerry Garcia died

    [ad_1]

    As the music world reflects on the legacy of Grateful Dead frontman Bob Weir, it highlights his connection to New Hampshire on the day a fellow rock legend passed away. Weir was scheduled to perform the night of Aug. 9, 1995, at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, one of a long list of performances by legendary music artists at the venue in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was also booked the night after Weir’s Grateful Dead co-founder, Jerry Garcia, passed away.After the news broke, Ballroom director Andrew Herrick says the venue suddenly had to rush to find solutions to accommodate a growing crowd outside as much as the one inside.”Our box office basically hit the panic button,” he said. “We sold this show out in five seconds, and then another few thousand people showed up.”Herrick said that the night was peaceful, despite the crowd size. He said that Weir even played through a scheduled live TV appearance, as part of his memorial for his former bandmate.”No one could have handled it better than Bob Weir,” he said. “The way that he dealt with the night and what he gave his fans was just super special.”The show was a major chapter in a partnership with the Ballroom that lasted for years. Herrick said RatDog performed at the venue twice a year for at least a decade, with every show sold out.”We had so many great nights with them, from having to take a grand piano down our front steps, to having to find their tour manager’s leather chair in our rafters,” Herrick said. “We’ve had a lot of great stories with RatDog and Bob Weir.”Herrick said Weir’s death marks a significant loss not only for Deadheads, but for the art of live music as a whole.”It’s a sad day. It’s a big loss for music. But, you know, everyone should just go see their favorite band and live through that spirit again,” he said.

    MANCHESTER, N.H. —

    As the music world reflects on the legacy of Grateful Dead frontman Bob Weir, it highlights his connection to New Hampshire on the day a fellow rock legend passed away.

    Weir was scheduled to perform the night of Aug. 9, 1995, at the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, one of a long list of performances by legendary music artists at the venue in Manchester, New Hampshire. It was also booked the night after Weir’s Grateful Dead co-founder, Jerry Garcia, passed away.

    After the news broke, Ballroom director Andrew Herrick says the venue suddenly had to rush to find solutions to accommodate a growing crowd outside as much as the one inside.

    “Our box office basically hit the panic button,” he said. “We sold this show out in five seconds, and then another few thousand people showed up.”

    Herrick said that the night was peaceful, despite the crowd size. He said that Weir even played through a scheduled live TV appearance, as part of his memorial for his former bandmate.

    “No one could have handled it better than Bob Weir,” he said. “The way that he dealt with the night and what he gave his fans was just super special.”

    The show was a major chapter in a partnership with the Ballroom that lasted for years. Herrick said RatDog performed at the venue twice a year for at least a decade, with every show sold out.

    “We had so many great nights with them, from having to take a grand piano down our front steps, to having to find their tour manager’s leather chair in our rafters,” Herrick said. “We’ve had a lot of great stories with RatDog and Bob Weir.”

    Herrick said Weir’s death marks a significant loss not only for Deadheads, but for the art of live music as a whole.

    “It’s a sad day. It’s a big loss for music. But, you know, everyone should just go see their favorite band and live through that spirit again,” he said.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • ‘Definitely rattling’: Fishermen encounter humpback whales up close

    [ad_1]

    Two humpback whales came dangerously close to a boat off the coast of New Hampshire on Tuesday.An exclusive video sent to News 9 shows the whales breaching before one surfaced for air and swam directly under the vessel. Captain Dale Sprague and his first mate, Matt Hamilton, said they were haddock fishing about six or seven miles past the Isles of Shoals when they spotted the whales.”Just really kind of bottom fishing, so sitting around, and whales were all over the place, and then they started to get a little bit closer, it seemed,” Hamilton said.Both said they have seen whales before, but being this close was rattling.”Pretty good-sized whale jumping to the right of us. And then as that one landed, another one kind of to the left, very close to the boat. And then as we looked behind, we could see one kind of coming at us. And that’s when I got a little freaked out,” Hamilton said. The fishermen’s boat was a fraction of the whale’s size. “That whale seemed to be about probably three times the size of what we had,” Sprague said. The team quickly pulled in their lines and moved farther away. “It definitely will rattle you, to go get some life jackets and think about what can actually happen,” Sprague said. Experts said seeing humpbacks breach is rare.”You’re considered lucky if you see it,” said Ashley Stokes, director of Marine Mammal Conservation. “They’ll sometimes do it as a method of play and then on top of that, they may also be doing it to rid themselves of parasites or skin irritants.”While breaching is not a sign of aggression, Stokes advises anyone out on the water to stay aware of whales in the area.Despite the close encounter, Sprague and Hamilton said it won’t keep them off the water.Last July, a humpback whale crashed into a boat in Portsmouth Harbor. Both of the fishermen on board had to be rescued by people nearby. They were uninjured.

    Two humpback whales came dangerously close to a boat off the coast of New Hampshire on Tuesday.

    An exclusive video sent to News 9 shows the whales breaching before one surfaced for air and swam directly under the vessel.

    Captain Dale Sprague and his first mate, Matt Hamilton, said they were haddock fishing about six or seven miles past the Isles of Shoals when they spotted the whales.

    “Just really kind of bottom fishing, so sitting around, and whales were all over the place, and then they started to get a little bit closer, it seemed,” Hamilton said.

    Both said they have seen whales before, but being this close was rattling.

    “Pretty good-sized whale jumping to the right of us. And then as that one landed, another one kind of to the left, very close to the boat. And then as we looked behind, we could see one kind of coming at us. And that’s when I got a little freaked out,” Hamilton said.

    The fishermen’s boat was a fraction of the whale’s size.

    “That whale seemed to be about probably three times the size of what we had,” Sprague said.

    The team quickly pulled in their lines and moved farther away.

    “It definitely will rattle you, to go get some life jackets and think about what can actually happen,” Sprague said.

    Experts said seeing humpbacks breach is rare.

    “You’re considered lucky if you see it,” said Ashley Stokes, director of Marine Mammal Conservation. “They’ll sometimes do it as a method of play and then on top of that, they may also be doing it to rid themselves of parasites or skin irritants.”

    While breaching is not a sign of aggression, Stokes advises anyone out on the water to stay aware of whales in the area.

    Despite the close encounter, Sprague and Hamilton said it won’t keep them off the water.

    Last July, a humpback whale crashed into a boat in Portsmouth Harbor.

    Both of the fishermen on board had to be rescued by people nearby. They were uninjured.

    [ad_2]

    Source link