The Dead were closing their second set Tuesday night at Verizon Center with the rousing “Sugar Magnolia,” when a blonde woman came out to join percussionist Mickey Hart on his drum kit.
From our perch in Section 419, Yeas & Nays couldn’t quite make out who the mystery woman with the rockin’ sense of rhythm was. But after they wrapped up, frontman Bob Weir gave a hearty Dead thank you to … Tipper Gore!! She later came out again to take a bow with the band after their encore.
Turns out Mrs. Gore has some history not only with the Dead, but with beating the skins. In 1993, she hosted the band for tea at the White House. In 1999, she drummed alongside Weir, Hart and the Flying Other Brothers during a fundraiser for her husband (see the concert poster below).
And in a 1992 Entertainment Weekly story, Tipper told how as a D.C.-area high school student, she played drums in a band called the Wildcats. ”I wanted to play drums, and I got a set when I was 14 and just started to play in the house, to the stereo,” she said.
Also spotted on stage: Woodstock icon Wavy Gravy, who we told you hung out with the band (and his pet rubber fish) at Equinox restaurant on Monday.
Among those who couldn’t make it: Congress’s top Deadhead, Sen. Patrick Leahy. Being that Congress is on break this week, the Vermont Democrat wasn’t in Washington for the show, said his spokesman.
Ditto Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents The Dead’s old stomping grounds in San Francisco. Both Dead fans were back home for the congressional recess.
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