I seem to remember some dialog regarding these fire balls from a couple of years ago...
I can also testify to being present at some Fillmore West and Winterland shows during this time period and clearly recall Boots igniting these explosions. I do not recall seeing any flash paper, but I do remember him using a can of propane, the type that you would use to fill a cigarette lighter with. He would hold the value open until he had a nice column of gas and than use a lighter to ignite it. It made for a fairly large flash and depending on the right conditions would sometimes make a pretty loud noise. Personally I found it kinda cool the first couple of times, but after that it mostly just f**ked with my trip. There is film of him doing these same explosions during the 10/16-20/74 shows in the Grateful Dead Movie.
