Yes folks, it's time for another review! This time, as should be obvious if you read the title, it's a review of a show I wasn't actually at, if you can believe it. No, the author of 21st Century Dead is not quite old enough to have been at this (legendary?) show, but boy does he wish he was! This show from Vallejo, CA (across the San Pablo Bay from San Rafael) is from the period of time that gave us Live/Dead, the early months of 1969. This era marks, to my ears at least, the high point (no pun intended...ok maybe a little bit) of the Dead's early, primal, crazy-far-out-psychedelic years. Everyone knows and loves the transition that occurred from mid '69-'70 into country and acoustic sounds that produced Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, but this is really the climax of the Acid Test atmosphere. They obviously never lost that psychedelic edge in their music, but this period of time is sort of the high-water mark.
Set 1: Dupree's Diamond Blues, Mountains of the Moon > Dark Star > That's It For The Other One > Death Don't Have No Mercy
Set 2 : Doin' That Rag > St. Stephen > The Eleven > Turn On Your Lovelight
So this show does actually start off with a couple of acoustic numbers from Aoxomoxoa, the Dead's '69 studio album that had not yet come out by the time of this show. Dupree's later was revived as a funky, electric song in the late 70's and early 80's, but here it is a kind of silly robber tale for the acoustic guitar. The recording comes in a little ways into the song, but not that much is missed. The real heart of the show starts with Mountains of the Moon working as a kind of prelude for the treats to come. This folky ballad has always been one of my favorites, and this is version is a classic version; Jerry's voice is turned all the way to "folk," with that soft angelic quality really shining through. After the lyrics they really start the ascent into space, with Jerry jamming flawlessly on his acoustic guitar, and changing almost seamlessly to his electric. From here he and Phil waste no time transitioning (in signature '69 style) into Dark Star.
This Dark Star has been put up on many a pedestal, and rightly so. Many claim that this is interchangeable with the legendary Live/Dead version of Dark Star, but to me that one is untouchable. While it might not be the "best" version of this song as it was played over the years, it is unquestionably the iconic version; a perfect portrait of this point in time for the Dead. The Dream Bowl Dark Star, however, is absolutely of the same stellar quality, with obvious connections between it and the Live/Dead version (which was performed just 5 days later). While the whole show is epic by any standards, this Dark Star has always been my favorite part of the show (ok maybe sometimes I prefer the Eleven [18 minutes!!]). It perhaps was not chosen for Live/Dead because it's not technically perfect: Jerry slips up on the first lyrics ("transitive diamonds of dia-mumble...") This Dark Star also features some interesting snippets of stage banter, including one point where the stage apparently caught fire! This is not too surprising for a band with a history of technical difficulties, but the real question is: are they playing for their lives because the stage caught fire, or did the stage catch fire because they were playing for their lives??
Either way, they eventually make their way out of Dark Star and land, somewhat surprisingly, not on St. Stephen but on the entirety of the That's It For The Other One suite. Now I may make this claim a few times throughout this post, but this is a version of the song that could have made it onto Live/Dead had they changed their track selection. While this had been released semi-live on Anthem of the Sun just the year before, by this point in '69 all 3 parts of the song had really matured. The first bit of Cryptical Envelopment is not as rushed and seems a lot more in control than '68 versions. '69 also marked the beginning of what is now a signature part of the Other One: Phil's intro. The year before they would launch straight into the Other One either from Cryptical itself, or eventually from the short drum break, but from '69 most Dead Heads mark the beginning of the song with Phil's 4 bar run into the explosive, band-wide entrance. They didn't do this for all versions of this song, but it happens consistently from '69-'95, and continues even today. The Other One itself was becoming a more long-lived song at this point, resembling Dark Star, not in its sound, but in its adventurous, searching spirit. When they return from Bobby's wild, hectic tale of busts, Spanish ladies (and presumably their busts), and the Bus, they settle into the 3rd key part of the suite, the Cryptical Reprise. While this was definitely a strong point in earlier versions, in '69 it continued to grow and mature into a song that swelled and receded into different themed jams. The version found in this show absolutely nails all of these parts, and is full of energy.
From here the band melts into the Rev. Gary Davis tune Death Don't Have No Mercy, a standard switch from either this or the Eleven. Like many recordings of this song from this era, there is an unfortunate tape cut in the middle. I don't know why this is such a common problem with this period of time, but it's the only complaint I have about this show; what is preserved is still an excellent recording of an excellent performance. After this a noticeably shaken Jerry steps to the mike and says they're going to take a short break and they drink some Coke (and presumably come down a bit...or maybe there was a bit more...something in those Coke cans).
Either way, the band comes back for a second set, and the recording joins them a couple bars into Doin' That Rag. This song was woefully short-lived in the Dead's repertoire, which has always puzzled me. I know Jerry is on record as saying that many of those Aoxomoxoa songs are overly-elaborate for their musical pay-off, but this song is a classic example of Hunter's psychedelic/folk writing. I think that post-hiatus this song really could have taken off, but to be fair they thought that about Cosmic Charley, and that didn't quite work out. Furthur, however, has certainly been able to get this song working out just fine, so I think it's a lack of effort on the part of the Dead (they had so many other songs to play anyway), not a lack of a good song Either way, this is a great version of the song, with the closing jam hitting some really high points.
With barely a pause Jerry goes from Doin' That Rag into those two, chill inducing chords that signaled the beginning of St. Stephen (St. Stephen!!!!). Another possible candidate for Live/Dead version 2, this version is perhaps even more technically on point that the Live/Dead one, but that's not the point. The point is, this song rocks right along taking no prisoners. The middle jam here is as great as any subsequent performance, but in the end it's almost forgotten in the fray that immediately follows.
The band goes into their (at the time) standard transition tune, the William Tell Bridge (official name? not too sure). This is an almost Celtic feeling little jaunt that was performed after St. Stephen that almost always went into the Eleven (there's at least one instance of them going into Lovelight instead). Now I would say that this Eleven belongs on Live/Dead because of two factors, it's excellence and its transition into Lovelight just like on Live/Dead; but I can't because both of them are too long! The Eleven > Lovelight on Live/Dead took up one side of an LP, but this Eleven alone would take up the entire side! This version is absolutely top-notch, and should be sent into space on the next available satellite so we can convince the aliens that we really are an intelligent species. Its polyrhythmic, psychedelic frenzy is totally incredible to behold, and it goes on forever! And just when you think it can't get any better...
It goes into a rockin' Lovelight! While also too long to make it onto an LP back in the day, this shares a lot of similarities with the one found on Live/Dead, including a small (but excellent) drum segment. The song swells and recedes as Pig Pen brings the band up and down, and if you weren't dancing then Pig had a thing or two to say to you! Lovelight let the band rocket into outer space at a moment's notice, only to settle immediately back into a groove for Pig to rap over. They could play good old rock, slam into feedback, march across the clouds, or get down and dirty in the mud - and sometimes all within a minute! This version of the song is no different, and it closes up this terrific show on the best note possible.
So that's that. Might do another review, might do something different, I don't know. Let me know if any of you have any requests.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
11/11/11, I Wonder What They'll Play!
Due to many raucous requests, I will be reviewing Furthur's show in Syracuse, NY on November 11th, 2011 (11/11/11). My next post will most likely be another review, and though I have an idea already as to which show it will feature, requests are always welcome.
So here's a bit of prelude to this show that may or may not help in reading about it. This was my friend's and my third Furthur show, and the second in an upstate NY sports arena. The night before, Furthur played Madison Square Garden in NYC, with special guests Larry Campbell and Theresa Williams, two excellent folk/rockers. That setlist included a bunch of songs we had wanted to get at our show (The Other One, Shakedown, Uncle John's, Eyes of the World), so we were a little disappointed; but not for long! One last word about the MSG show is that they also did Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning, a song I had only heard Hot Tuna do previously, and they knocked it out of the park! Campbell and Williams had actually just been doing work with Hot Tuna on their latest album, so they could have picked it up there. But anyway, back to the 11th.
I'll put up the Syracuse setlist as a frame of reference, and here's the soundboard for those of you who want to listen along http://archive.org/details/furthur2011-11-11.sbd.official.117330.flac16
Set 1: Alligator > The Last Time, Reuben & Cherise > Jam > High On a Mountain > Loser > Brown-Eyed Women > Jack Straw, Revolution
Set 2: Weather Report Suite > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Playing in the Band > I Want You (She's So Heavy) > Dark Star > We Love You > Drums > King Solomon's Marbles, Sugaree, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
Encore : Donor Rap, The Eleven > U.S. Blues
So I'll start by getting my one complaint out of the way: the Oncenter (previously Onondaga Community War Memorial) sucks! The security was staffed by incompetent hasslers with nothing better to do than boss people around and make an otherwise simple procedure (getting into the venue) a pain in the ass. They had one line for women that no one knew about until they got to the front of the mob, and they treated everyone as a potential drug lord. They even threw out an attachment I had on my key chain for no reason! But once we got in and the lights went down, all of that dissolved into the band's almost orchestral tuning.
But like I said, that's the one complaint of one of the best nights of my life. My friend and I had gotten different seating than the friends we went with, but once the lights went down we all found ourselves in the same place, about half-way back from the stage. As the sounds of the band tuning up ricocheted about us, things took on a decidedly electric glow (what was in that coffee?!) and the pre-show chills settled in: what will they play? Will it be great? What if they do Day Job and We Can Run?!! Suddenly, the crowd and the band all knew that it was time to stop testing the air and start the show. The drums came in, and beside Bobby's false start (not his only mistake of the evening, but no complaints!), they slammed into Alligator like it was 1968.
Alligator crawled along like it was supposed to with John Kadlecik singing a great rendition of Pig Pen's typically gnarly lyrics. Kadlecik's a bit too much of a baby-faced angel to sing some of Pig's lyrics with the original spirit, but he seems to know that and does his own version of these songs instead of a bad Pig Pen clone (imagine the horror!). They jammed out of Alligator nicely with Phil booming around and Kadlecik throwing in a bit of Mountain Jam just like Jerry used to from time-to-time (check out the Anthem version), and before they fully emerged into it, I knew they were segueing into The Last Time.
Now some may dispute this, but at the time it seemed like Bobby was a young man again, not the gray-bearded senile man singing about the voices in his head (Furthur Estimated Prophets always get a chuckle out of me). They rocked through this song with Kadlecik and Jeff Chimenti shining in the solos. Chimenti switched from organ to piano in the song, and his hammering on the keys in the song's outro definitely warped a few minds. Sunshine Becker and Jeff Pehrson both added wonderfully to the vocal mix on this song, and pretty much everything else throughout the show.
Up next is definitely one of the huge highlights of this show for me, the transition of the JGB song Reuben & Cherise > High On a Mountain. I hadn't heard either of them before this, so I was a little apprehensive for the first...oh I don't know, two seconds of the first song. Kadlecik delivered Hunter's lyrics beautifully with only a minor stumble, and the band was soaring high on the song's outro, and then...a jam. They had been following the typical jam out of the song, but then something so spontaneous and beautiful emerged that swept off my feet, and still does every time I listen to the show. The soundboard unfortunately doesn't recognize the jam, and in fact cuts it in half in the way it divides the tracks! I really can't stress enough how amazing this jam is; it's one of those purely Dead moments that makes me want to call Furthur the Dead. When it finally landed in a song we still had no idea what was going on because no one knew what the song was! High On a Mountain, without too much reference back to its history, is an old folk song re-envisioned by Phil's son Brian. Furthur absolutely kills it, with Bobby and Phil trading lead vocals and the whole ensemble chiming in for the chorus and key lyrics ("oh I wonder where in Heaven you may be, and if love has preserved your memory").
From there we go back into familiar territory with Bobby singing Loser, and I don't know who's idea that was. Still not complaining, but this is the only time I know of where Bobby sings this song, and it must have had Hunter wincing in his sleep. He just absolutely blows a whole section of the lyrics like no one but Bob Weir can, but the song doesn't suffer at all. In fact, it soars back into the stratosphere! The jam in the middle of it is dominate by Kadlecik winding around the rest of the band, with everyone playing in mini-duets and trios that are ever shifting; another classic example of these musicians finishing each other's musical thoughts. From here, just to expedite getting through the first set, I'll summarize the rest. Loser went into a rockin'(!) Brown-Eyed Women (Phil sang the Old Man lyrics to much applause), which then went into a just as rockin', if not more so, Jack Straw, a song that Furthur has absolutely been killing. This was our first encounter with this new breed of Jack Straw, and it absolutely blew us away. To finish the set they did a good cover of the Beatles' Revolution (we thought it was Cosmic Charley since that one snuck up on us earlier in the year).
Woo! A "normal" intermission followed, with the typical assortment of half-conversations with the weird people around us. We managed to get up to the furthest-far-forward row we could get without hopping over a barrier and attracting unwanted attention (what if they see our eyes??), and ended up right in the legendary Phil Zone for the upcoming set, which as I've said before, is when they bring out the dragons!
Little tuning now, the lights went down and Bobby launched right into, could it be? Weather Report Suite, it is! We had gotten a Let It Grow before, and it was pretty good, but the whole suite was a real treat (ha, it rhymes). Bobby's either tweaked the lyrics a bit or was falling victim to his typical lyric dilemma, but the song still took off, and they made room in the middle of the Weather Report Part 1 jam section for Chimenti to squeeze some beautiful sounds out of that organ of his. Let It Grow rocked on as expected, and segues nicely into our first Dear Mr. Fantasy, another one that Kadlecik has taken over since Brent's unfortunate departure. These two opening numbers were both excellent, as is the entire show as I keep saying, but the real meat of it is what follows.
"3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10!" counts Bobby, and they launch into Playing in the Band with a gusto. The lyrics section rocks out, the band clicks, and they slowly drift off into space with the Playin' theme fading into the darkness. There's another moment when the band telepathically shifts directions, and they are coming into...no, it can't be...
* a quick interlude*: My friend and I had earlier been discussing how everyone's image of the Beatles is that of 4 playful pseudo-hippies from jolly old England. But that image fades (or rather melts and burns) away when you listen to I Want You (She's So Heavy) off of Abbey Road. This song means serious psychedelic business, and my friend an I on the day of the 10th had been discussing how cool it would be for Furthur to do THAT Beatles song (we had already gotten Something and Golden Slumbers > Carry That Weight). The very next day...
Furthur cruised right into I Want You, and my spine is still tingling when I think about it. Bobby still has a lot of sexual energy, and it was almost overwhelming for my poor best friend (he's gay, if that wasn't apparent). That whole song just had our minds dripping out of our ears and falling down to the ceiling. Just when it seemed like it couldn't get any weirder in that arena they started jamming on a definitely new theme that sounded vaguely familiar...do I know this song they're going into? We do, what is it?? Then a guy near us whispered to his friend the two words you hear (possibly) the most at a Dead show: Dark Star.
And it sure as hell was, as Kadlecik immediately shot off a lick so unique yet so Dark Star that (as I keep claiming) I still get chills from it today. No signature Dark Star intro for us, just thrown immediately into the fray; and how! Thought the whole band was participating whole-heartedly, Joe and Phil suddenly decided to go absolutely fucking nuts! Now Phil had been very pronounced the whole show, and the whole second set leading up to this had been wild in the Phil Zone, but this...this was something else. With no idea what else to do we were dancing like the craziest bears you've ever seen dance as the whole arena collapsed and exploded and imploded around us. And just when it seemed it couldn't get any crazier or furthur out there, right as I was looking at his fingers, Phil dropped the signature Dark Star line right on top of us! It was all too much (and still is!)!! Upon many other listenings he had definitely been hinting at it leading up to that moment, but at the time it was as sudden as a flash flood...of acid! They traded lyrics from Phil to John to Bobby, with everyone on chiming in for "Shall we go?" etc., and the rest of the song jammed out into space and back for the second lyrics. The second half was for sure as good as the first, but I was personally so shell shocked it didn't phase me as much as it might have.
From here we had a surprise transition into the obscure Rolling Stones song We Love You, which was a nice, mellow weirdness after the roiling, boiling, pants-soiling Dark Star we just survived. But coming out of there we got what I think is the longest drum break Furthur's let Joe Russo go on (which is why I label it as Drums, although it's nowhere near the length of the drum breaks from '78-'95. From here we go into a song I never thought o hope for, but can only be Grateful that I got in such good quality: the Blues For Allah gem of King Solomon's Marbles. This is one of those songs that it's almost like it was meant for Furthur to do, and they absolutely knocked it out of the park. All I can say about it is that the band seemed to be playing from another world of musical perfection.
They take their first break of the set for a quick breather, and go into what at the time was my friend and my guaranteed song to get, Sugaree. Everyone seems to have that one song that no matte when or where they see the Dead, they play that one song; for my dad it was Cassidy. We were for once relieved; we can breath and relax, right? Wrong! We forgot how bat-shit crazy these guys can get during Sugaree, and this was by far the best and craziest one we got! Between Kadlecik and Chimenti, we were dancing and rocking out whether we wanted to or not. They closed the set right after with a spirited Goin' Down the Road. Bobby made up a line about eating pork and beans, and then screwed everyone else up a little by going back into one of the standard lines, but we didn't mind!
The set ended and people started bickering about the encore. It's Veteran's Day, they have to play U.S. Blues! No, it's 11/11/11, they have to play the Eleven! Well guess what? After Phil invited us to give him all of our organs (or something like that) the rocketed from 0-11 in what I think is the only instance of a Dead band doing the Eleven without transitioning into it. They nailed everything about it, and then did a bit of a Whipping Post tease (another popular rock song with an 11/4 section), and then were suddenly in the middle of U.S. Blues! The lights came on during this song and we realized that they ended everything at 11:11, on 11/11/11! You can't make this stuff up, people. The P.A. played a canned version of the national anthem to get us moving, and many of us (obviously) sang along with the invisible orchestra.
So that's that. Obviously a bit of rambling and hyperbole, but it's all true. My next review will definitely be less so, because it will (most likely) be of a show I wasn't actually at, so I won't have that perspective to deal with.
So here's a bit of prelude to this show that may or may not help in reading about it. This was my friend's and my third Furthur show, and the second in an upstate NY sports arena. The night before, Furthur played Madison Square Garden in NYC, with special guests Larry Campbell and Theresa Williams, two excellent folk/rockers. That setlist included a bunch of songs we had wanted to get at our show (The Other One, Shakedown, Uncle John's, Eyes of the World), so we were a little disappointed; but not for long! One last word about the MSG show is that they also did Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning, a song I had only heard Hot Tuna do previously, and they knocked it out of the park! Campbell and Williams had actually just been doing work with Hot Tuna on their latest album, so they could have picked it up there. But anyway, back to the 11th.
I'll put up the Syracuse setlist as a frame of reference, and here's the soundboard for those of you who want to listen along http://archive.org/details/furthur2011-11-11.sbd.official.117330.flac16
Set 1: Alligator > The Last Time, Reuben & Cherise > Jam > High On a Mountain > Loser > Brown-Eyed Women > Jack Straw, Revolution
Set 2: Weather Report Suite > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Playing in the Band > I Want You (She's So Heavy) > Dark Star > We Love You > Drums > King Solomon's Marbles, Sugaree, Going Down the Road Feeling Bad
Encore : Donor Rap, The Eleven > U.S. Blues
So I'll start by getting my one complaint out of the way: the Oncenter (previously Onondaga Community War Memorial) sucks! The security was staffed by incompetent hasslers with nothing better to do than boss people around and make an otherwise simple procedure (getting into the venue) a pain in the ass. They had one line for women that no one knew about until they got to the front of the mob, and they treated everyone as a potential drug lord. They even threw out an attachment I had on my key chain for no reason! But once we got in and the lights went down, all of that dissolved into the band's almost orchestral tuning.
But like I said, that's the one complaint of one of the best nights of my life. My friend and I had gotten different seating than the friends we went with, but once the lights went down we all found ourselves in the same place, about half-way back from the stage. As the sounds of the band tuning up ricocheted about us, things took on a decidedly electric glow (what was in that coffee?!) and the pre-show chills settled in: what will they play? Will it be great? What if they do Day Job and We Can Run?!! Suddenly, the crowd and the band all knew that it was time to stop testing the air and start the show. The drums came in, and beside Bobby's false start (not his only mistake of the evening, but no complaints!), they slammed into Alligator like it was 1968.
Alligator crawled along like it was supposed to with John Kadlecik singing a great rendition of Pig Pen's typically gnarly lyrics. Kadlecik's a bit too much of a baby-faced angel to sing some of Pig's lyrics with the original spirit, but he seems to know that and does his own version of these songs instead of a bad Pig Pen clone (imagine the horror!). They jammed out of Alligator nicely with Phil booming around and Kadlecik throwing in a bit of Mountain Jam just like Jerry used to from time-to-time (check out the Anthem version), and before they fully emerged into it, I knew they were segueing into The Last Time.
Now some may dispute this, but at the time it seemed like Bobby was a young man again, not the gray-bearded senile man singing about the voices in his head (Furthur Estimated Prophets always get a chuckle out of me). They rocked through this song with Kadlecik and Jeff Chimenti shining in the solos. Chimenti switched from organ to piano in the song, and his hammering on the keys in the song's outro definitely warped a few minds. Sunshine Becker and Jeff Pehrson both added wonderfully to the vocal mix on this song, and pretty much everything else throughout the show.
Up next is definitely one of the huge highlights of this show for me, the transition of the JGB song Reuben & Cherise > High On a Mountain. I hadn't heard either of them before this, so I was a little apprehensive for the first...oh I don't know, two seconds of the first song. Kadlecik delivered Hunter's lyrics beautifully with only a minor stumble, and the band was soaring high on the song's outro, and then...a jam. They had been following the typical jam out of the song, but then something so spontaneous and beautiful emerged that swept off my feet, and still does every time I listen to the show. The soundboard unfortunately doesn't recognize the jam, and in fact cuts it in half in the way it divides the tracks! I really can't stress enough how amazing this jam is; it's one of those purely Dead moments that makes me want to call Furthur the Dead. When it finally landed in a song we still had no idea what was going on because no one knew what the song was! High On a Mountain, without too much reference back to its history, is an old folk song re-envisioned by Phil's son Brian. Furthur absolutely kills it, with Bobby and Phil trading lead vocals and the whole ensemble chiming in for the chorus and key lyrics ("oh I wonder where in Heaven you may be, and if love has preserved your memory").
From there we go back into familiar territory with Bobby singing Loser, and I don't know who's idea that was. Still not complaining, but this is the only time I know of where Bobby sings this song, and it must have had Hunter wincing in his sleep. He just absolutely blows a whole section of the lyrics like no one but Bob Weir can, but the song doesn't suffer at all. In fact, it soars back into the stratosphere! The jam in the middle of it is dominate by Kadlecik winding around the rest of the band, with everyone playing in mini-duets and trios that are ever shifting; another classic example of these musicians finishing each other's musical thoughts. From here, just to expedite getting through the first set, I'll summarize the rest. Loser went into a rockin'(!) Brown-Eyed Women (Phil sang the Old Man lyrics to much applause), which then went into a just as rockin', if not more so, Jack Straw, a song that Furthur has absolutely been killing. This was our first encounter with this new breed of Jack Straw, and it absolutely blew us away. To finish the set they did a good cover of the Beatles' Revolution (we thought it was Cosmic Charley since that one snuck up on us earlier in the year).
Woo! A "normal" intermission followed, with the typical assortment of half-conversations with the weird people around us. We managed to get up to the furthest-far-forward row we could get without hopping over a barrier and attracting unwanted attention (what if they see our eyes??), and ended up right in the legendary Phil Zone for the upcoming set, which as I've said before, is when they bring out the dragons!
Little tuning now, the lights went down and Bobby launched right into, could it be? Weather Report Suite, it is! We had gotten a Let It Grow before, and it was pretty good, but the whole suite was a real treat (ha, it rhymes). Bobby's either tweaked the lyrics a bit or was falling victim to his typical lyric dilemma, but the song still took off, and they made room in the middle of the Weather Report Part 1 jam section for Chimenti to squeeze some beautiful sounds out of that organ of his. Let It Grow rocked on as expected, and segues nicely into our first Dear Mr. Fantasy, another one that Kadlecik has taken over since Brent's unfortunate departure. These two opening numbers were both excellent, as is the entire show as I keep saying, but the real meat of it is what follows.
"3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10!" counts Bobby, and they launch into Playing in the Band with a gusto. The lyrics section rocks out, the band clicks, and they slowly drift off into space with the Playin' theme fading into the darkness. There's another moment when the band telepathically shifts directions, and they are coming into...no, it can't be...
* a quick interlude*: My friend and I had earlier been discussing how everyone's image of the Beatles is that of 4 playful pseudo-hippies from jolly old England. But that image fades (or rather melts and burns) away when you listen to I Want You (She's So Heavy) off of Abbey Road. This song means serious psychedelic business, and my friend an I on the day of the 10th had been discussing how cool it would be for Furthur to do THAT Beatles song (we had already gotten Something and Golden Slumbers > Carry That Weight). The very next day...
Furthur cruised right into I Want You, and my spine is still tingling when I think about it. Bobby still has a lot of sexual energy, and it was almost overwhelming for my poor best friend (he's gay, if that wasn't apparent). That whole song just had our minds dripping out of our ears and falling down to the ceiling. Just when it seemed like it couldn't get any weirder in that arena they started jamming on a definitely new theme that sounded vaguely familiar...do I know this song they're going into? We do, what is it?? Then a guy near us whispered to his friend the two words you hear (possibly) the most at a Dead show: Dark Star.
And it sure as hell was, as Kadlecik immediately shot off a lick so unique yet so Dark Star that (as I keep claiming) I still get chills from it today. No signature Dark Star intro for us, just thrown immediately into the fray; and how! Thought the whole band was participating whole-heartedly, Joe and Phil suddenly decided to go absolutely fucking nuts! Now Phil had been very pronounced the whole show, and the whole second set leading up to this had been wild in the Phil Zone, but this...this was something else. With no idea what else to do we were dancing like the craziest bears you've ever seen dance as the whole arena collapsed and exploded and imploded around us. And just when it seemed it couldn't get any crazier or furthur out there, right as I was looking at his fingers, Phil dropped the signature Dark Star line right on top of us! It was all too much (and still is!)!! Upon many other listenings he had definitely been hinting at it leading up to that moment, but at the time it was as sudden as a flash flood...of acid! They traded lyrics from Phil to John to Bobby, with everyone on chiming in for "Shall we go?" etc., and the rest of the song jammed out into space and back for the second lyrics. The second half was for sure as good as the first, but I was personally so shell shocked it didn't phase me as much as it might have.
From here we had a surprise transition into the obscure Rolling Stones song We Love You, which was a nice, mellow weirdness after the roiling, boiling, pants-soiling Dark Star we just survived. But coming out of there we got what I think is the longest drum break Furthur's let Joe Russo go on (which is why I label it as Drums, although it's nowhere near the length of the drum breaks from '78-'95. From here we go into a song I never thought o hope for, but can only be Grateful that I got in such good quality: the Blues For Allah gem of King Solomon's Marbles. This is one of those songs that it's almost like it was meant for Furthur to do, and they absolutely knocked it out of the park. All I can say about it is that the band seemed to be playing from another world of musical perfection.
They take their first break of the set for a quick breather, and go into what at the time was my friend and my guaranteed song to get, Sugaree. Everyone seems to have that one song that no matte when or where they see the Dead, they play that one song; for my dad it was Cassidy. We were for once relieved; we can breath and relax, right? Wrong! We forgot how bat-shit crazy these guys can get during Sugaree, and this was by far the best and craziest one we got! Between Kadlecik and Chimenti, we were dancing and rocking out whether we wanted to or not. They closed the set right after with a spirited Goin' Down the Road. Bobby made up a line about eating pork and beans, and then screwed everyone else up a little by going back into one of the standard lines, but we didn't mind!
The set ended and people started bickering about the encore. It's Veteran's Day, they have to play U.S. Blues! No, it's 11/11/11, they have to play the Eleven! Well guess what? After Phil invited us to give him all of our organs (or something like that) the rocketed from 0-11 in what I think is the only instance of a Dead band doing the Eleven without transitioning into it. They nailed everything about it, and then did a bit of a Whipping Post tease (another popular rock song with an 11/4 section), and then were suddenly in the middle of U.S. Blues! The lights came on during this song and we realized that they ended everything at 11:11, on 11/11/11! You can't make this stuff up, people. The P.A. played a canned version of the national anthem to get us moving, and many of us (obviously) sang along with the invisible orchestra.
So that's that. Obviously a bit of rambling and hyperbole, but it's all true. My next review will definitely be less so, because it will (most likely) be of a show I wasn't actually at, so I won't have that perspective to deal with.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Reviews
So the next few posts I'm going to make will most likely be reviews of shows I've either recently downloaded, gone to, or have always loved. Not sure when they'll be coming out, but it should be relatively soon. If any of you (are you out there?) have suggestions or requests, I'll take them into consideration.
Friday, October 4, 2013
All Hail the Archive!
Many Dead Heads out there are familiar with the wonders of the Internet Archive (archive.org), specifically their vast collection of Grateful Dead recordings. They have everything from studio rehearsals to rare recordings, to famous runs at Madison Square Garden or Red Rocks, and many of them are soundboard quality. While the archive doesn't have everything that the Dead played, they have shows that (supposedly) are missing from the Dead's vaults that will probably never be released officially. This makes the archive an invaluable tool for Heads who want access to just about any conceivable show.
What I'm really trying to get at, though, is the difference between this and the days of tape trading. I've listened to a fair amount of my dad's old tapes and bootlegs, and some of them are definitely good quality and worth listening to and digitizing; some have even been released officially, and are therefore no longer an option on the archive. Others...well we're all familiar with the sound of bad recordings; a hiss like a rattlesnake, coming from the far end of the world' largest trash can, filled with mud and drunk people. The difference in quality is something that still lingers on the archive, even with some so-called "soundboards." However, there's a reason my dad (a huge dead Head in his time) only has a dozen tapes from his trading days, and I have folders on folders on folders of shows on my computer: it's so much easier now!
Most of what I know about tape-trading is second-hand, overheard knowledge; mailing copies of tapes you own to a friend of a friend of a friend with a good tape connection/collection in return for ones that you don't own. There was no guarantee of quality, timeliness of arrivals, or even of getting a tape you didn't already have. There was also the risk of taping over some premium shows and getting a Madonna song from the radio in the middle of the second set, or having your set lists and songs mislabeled ("Don't Murder Me," "High On Cocaine," "Roll Away").
Nowadays though, everything I need is just a click away. Everyday I click the "Shows on this Day in History" link on the Dead's archive page (archive.org/details/GratefulDead), and get suggestions from history. Sometimes I'll put in random dates in the URL that comes up after that link, or cruise an entire month or year; sometimes I'm looking for something in particular like the longest "Dark Star," and other times I'll just be looking for a solid '73 show. No matter what I'm doing, it's more than easy enough to get what I want, which makes it even easier to be picky. Things are just so easy! You can find tracks where the separate the crowd noise and tuning from the other tracks so you know you're not in for 15 minutes of "Bird Song," you're in for 12 minutes of awesome music, and then 3 minutes of tuning and people yelling "Saint Stephen!!!" You can also find up-loaders who will put transitions in one track, so your annoying MP3 player won't pause between "Scarlet" and "Fire," or "China" and "Rider."
So if you haven't already, head on over to the Archive and see what there is to see! No matter what you think you know about the Dead and their songs, there's always something new to learn. Some shows will never be released officially, so it's up to us to find the gems that will never see the light of day otherwise.
What I'm really trying to get at, though, is the difference between this and the days of tape trading. I've listened to a fair amount of my dad's old tapes and bootlegs, and some of them are definitely good quality and worth listening to and digitizing; some have even been released officially, and are therefore no longer an option on the archive. Others...well we're all familiar with the sound of bad recordings; a hiss like a rattlesnake, coming from the far end of the world' largest trash can, filled with mud and drunk people. The difference in quality is something that still lingers on the archive, even with some so-called "soundboards." However, there's a reason my dad (a huge dead Head in his time) only has a dozen tapes from his trading days, and I have folders on folders on folders of shows on my computer: it's so much easier now!
Most of what I know about tape-trading is second-hand, overheard knowledge; mailing copies of tapes you own to a friend of a friend of a friend with a good tape connection/collection in return for ones that you don't own. There was no guarantee of quality, timeliness of arrivals, or even of getting a tape you didn't already have. There was also the risk of taping over some premium shows and getting a Madonna song from the radio in the middle of the second set, or having your set lists and songs mislabeled ("Don't Murder Me," "High On Cocaine," "Roll Away").
Nowadays though, everything I need is just a click away. Everyday I click the "Shows on this Day in History" link on the Dead's archive page (archive.org/details/GratefulDead), and get suggestions from history. Sometimes I'll put in random dates in the URL that comes up after that link, or cruise an entire month or year; sometimes I'm looking for something in particular like the longest "Dark Star," and other times I'll just be looking for a solid '73 show. No matter what I'm doing, it's more than easy enough to get what I want, which makes it even easier to be picky. Things are just so easy! You can find tracks where the separate the crowd noise and tuning from the other tracks so you know you're not in for 15 minutes of "Bird Song," you're in for 12 minutes of awesome music, and then 3 minutes of tuning and people yelling "Saint Stephen!!!" You can also find up-loaders who will put transitions in one track, so your annoying MP3 player won't pause between "Scarlet" and "Fire," or "China" and "Rider."
So if you haven't already, head on over to the Archive and see what there is to see! No matter what you think you know about the Dead and their songs, there's always something new to learn. Some shows will never be released officially, so it's up to us to find the gems that will never see the light of day otherwise.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Got to Try to See a Little Furthur
So as some of you are no doubt aware, Furthur is going to be taking a touring hiatus after their jaunt down to Mexico in January. This, while sounding ominous for a band with a history of hiatuses (hiati?) , should be good for the band for a number of reasons. I think that they will come back relatively soon and with a renewed vigor. While they're touring schedules have been less that strenuous lately, generally focusing on extended runs at a single venue at a time and not lasting more than a month sometimes, Bobby and Phil must still get tired. However, sometimes I think I'm getting a little tired of their strategy for these tours, and that a larger break might shake them of the parts I find questionable.
My biggest beef with the current strategy is their seeming indifference to the evil Ticketmaster. While I might be looking at the past through rose-colored glasses, it seems like back in the day you could see a run of three Dead shows without dropping more than thirty bucks. Nowadays, however, it's generally impossible to find a ticket for less than sixty dollars, unless it's at an outdoor venue that has lawn tickets available. I get that dues have to be paid to band members, crew, and venue staff, but that pricing really makes it difficult for broke college-age Heads to see our favorite music! And when other class acts like Rubblebucket or DSO charge less than half as much for their shows, it really makes even less sense to me! So hopefully Furthur will take this hiatus as a chance to figure out how to get out form under the boot of Ticketmaster and get tickets to their fans who would love nothing more than to catch some of the magic.
This is also something that comes up when encountering Dead Heads who see the Dead as a kind of competition. The question of how many shows one has seen is a definite factor in how much of a Dead Head one is to many people; but here is an area where my generation of Heads is at a severe disadvantage. Not only does Furthur not tour as many months out of the year as the Dead used to, the tours are, as I mentioned before, not as wide-ranging as they used to be. Combine those two factors with the price issue, and we're lucky if we see Furthur once during a tour! I probably won't see them live at all in 2013 because I couldn't get my work schedule to coincide with their stop at Canandaigua (nearest show to Ithaca) this summer, and even if I had that show got thundered out in the middle of "Caution!" Don't worry about me now, I'll see Phil & Friends in Port Chester with my folks, but the point still stands that I would knock over any number of old ladies to get to see Furthur.
One thing that I hope stays the same is Furthur's recent affinity for theaters instead of arenas. While maybe a part of the price problem, I would gladly pay (a little) more to see them in a great space than to be crammed like another sardine into a hockey rink. To be fair, two of the best Furthur shows I've seen were in arenas (03/29/11 in Binghampton & 11/11/11 in Syracuse) where the band really knew how to utilize the sonic space of the arena. Binghampton wasn't even that crowded or hellish, but getting into and out of the Syracuse show was definitely somewhere between having your teeth pulled and paying taxes as far as enjoyability is concerned. People mooing is only funny as far as the event staff distinguish you from cattle, and after that point you're just not sure if that was a moo for help or a moo as an attempted joke. Theaters, however, are generally classy, low on hassles, and guarantee you'll have something beautiful and interesting to stare at when "Dark Star" is peaking around you.
So I'm probably being too optimistic, but I really think that when Furthur comes back to us they will be a more accessible band as far as us fans are concerned. They will have worked out better ticketing strategies, rested enough to increase their touring range and time, and will be a fresher band in general. Anyone who has seen or heard any of their latest shows will agree that this band is only getting better as time goes on, and is really hitting their stride and finding new places to shine in songs. "Jack Straw" has been stretched into a new, mind-eating song that not only rocks the way the Dead always got it to, but goes also goes into those furthur-out spaces. "St. Stephen" has also never been so well formulated or carried out with such consistency as Furthur does it, let alone all the other songs that the Dead stopped doing ("King Solomon's," "The Eleven," "Doin' That Rag," etc.). And hopefully there will be a continuation of the webcasts that have become more popular recently. The entire Interlocken Festival was available for streaming with video for a minimal cost, Sirius XM routinely broadcasts shows live online (please let there be a New Year's Run!), and of course TRI Studios, Bob's play-pen, is a perfect place for broadcasts. So here's to the end of Furthur's first cycle of tours, and to what they have in store for us when they return!
My biggest beef with the current strategy is their seeming indifference to the evil Ticketmaster. While I might be looking at the past through rose-colored glasses, it seems like back in the day you could see a run of three Dead shows without dropping more than thirty bucks. Nowadays, however, it's generally impossible to find a ticket for less than sixty dollars, unless it's at an outdoor venue that has lawn tickets available. I get that dues have to be paid to band members, crew, and venue staff, but that pricing really makes it difficult for broke college-age Heads to see our favorite music! And when other class acts like Rubblebucket or DSO charge less than half as much for their shows, it really makes even less sense to me! So hopefully Furthur will take this hiatus as a chance to figure out how to get out form under the boot of Ticketmaster and get tickets to their fans who would love nothing more than to catch some of the magic.
This is also something that comes up when encountering Dead Heads who see the Dead as a kind of competition. The question of how many shows one has seen is a definite factor in how much of a Dead Head one is to many people; but here is an area where my generation of Heads is at a severe disadvantage. Not only does Furthur not tour as many months out of the year as the Dead used to, the tours are, as I mentioned before, not as wide-ranging as they used to be. Combine those two factors with the price issue, and we're lucky if we see Furthur once during a tour! I probably won't see them live at all in 2013 because I couldn't get my work schedule to coincide with their stop at Canandaigua (nearest show to Ithaca) this summer, and even if I had that show got thundered out in the middle of "Caution!" Don't worry about me now, I'll see Phil & Friends in Port Chester with my folks, but the point still stands that I would knock over any number of old ladies to get to see Furthur.
One thing that I hope stays the same is Furthur's recent affinity for theaters instead of arenas. While maybe a part of the price problem, I would gladly pay (a little) more to see them in a great space than to be crammed like another sardine into a hockey rink. To be fair, two of the best Furthur shows I've seen were in arenas (03/29/11 in Binghampton & 11/11/11 in Syracuse) where the band really knew how to utilize the sonic space of the arena. Binghampton wasn't even that crowded or hellish, but getting into and out of the Syracuse show was definitely somewhere between having your teeth pulled and paying taxes as far as enjoyability is concerned. People mooing is only funny as far as the event staff distinguish you from cattle, and after that point you're just not sure if that was a moo for help or a moo as an attempted joke. Theaters, however, are generally classy, low on hassles, and guarantee you'll have something beautiful and interesting to stare at when "Dark Star" is peaking around you.
So I'm probably being too optimistic, but I really think that when Furthur comes back to us they will be a more accessible band as far as us fans are concerned. They will have worked out better ticketing strategies, rested enough to increase their touring range and time, and will be a fresher band in general. Anyone who has seen or heard any of their latest shows will agree that this band is only getting better as time goes on, and is really hitting their stride and finding new places to shine in songs. "Jack Straw" has been stretched into a new, mind-eating song that not only rocks the way the Dead always got it to, but goes also goes into those furthur-out spaces. "St. Stephen" has also never been so well formulated or carried out with such consistency as Furthur does it, let alone all the other songs that the Dead stopped doing ("King Solomon's," "The Eleven," "Doin' That Rag," etc.). And hopefully there will be a continuation of the webcasts that have become more popular recently. The entire Interlocken Festival was available for streaming with video for a minimal cost, Sirius XM routinely broadcasts shows live online (please let there be a New Year's Run!), and of course TRI Studios, Bob's play-pen, is a perfect place for broadcasts. So here's to the end of Furthur's first cycle of tours, and to what they have in store for us when they return!
Monday, September 16, 2013
Oh, You Never Saw the Dead?
So I went into a local pita joint here in Ithaca the other day that I had noticed had a sign with a dancing bear that said "Dead Head Parking Only." I have a similar sign (but with a Stealie), and appreciate any business that openly admits their roots, so was excited to try it out. When I walked in I jokingly asked if they had a discounts for other Dead Heads, which they did - but with one caveat. You had to have seen the Grateful Dead, not a post-Jerry manifestation of them. While I obviously didn't hold it against them and enjoyed the food anyway, that attitude is surely one of the main hurdles that my generation of Dead Heads has to deal with.
Trust me, if I had any say in the matter, I would go back to the sixties and catch all the great artists between then and now, especially the Dead. However, my last test of a time machine didn't go too well, and I'm not anticipating another test anytime soon, so I'm stuck going forward in time with the rest of you. Not that there isn't any great music nowadays, within and outside of the Dead world; bands like Rubblebucket Orchestra, Furthur, Dark Star Orchestra, and the Big Mean Sound Machine (a local "sweat funk" band) have all given me the best musical experiences of my life. However, and most Dead Heads will agree with this, the Grateful Dead have that certain magic to them that no other band seems to master. As my friend and I often say, "they play with the old powers."
Furthur, more than any other Dead-related band I've seen or heard (or any other music for that matter), can certainly capture that magic for me. Whether it's at an outdoor show like the Gathering of the Vibes, in a hockey rink in central New York, or a theater in Boston, Furthur can grab the music from the air, walls, and people in attendance to transport/transform everyone. While DSO usually puts on a great show, whether they're doing a cover of a particular concert or one of their original sets, they don't seem to have access to that same magic. The Dead, and Furthur, when they're having a good night have something metaphysical to their sound, as if what you're experiencing in their music are the same forces and patterns that are at work behind the laws of physics throughout the cosmos. The same forces that create supernovas and black holes are the same forces propelling "Dark Star" and "The Other One," and even "Big River" or "Ramble on Rose," to a certain extent!
But I'm getting off topic. What I'm really trying to get at is the answer to the question, "who are the Dead (and why don't they follow me everywhere I go)?" When I first started seeing Furthur I drove my dad crazy by insisting that I had seen the Dead, but I think that statement is still true, or at the very least close enough. Phil and Bobby both saw the progression of the Dead from the beginning to Jerry's death (not the end!), and have obviously been crucial in the evolution of the music. I think having them in the same band is a huge factor in Furthur's ability to play that magical music, and having the other incredible members of the band give it a unique sound. While they don't sound like the Grateful Dead most of the time, the Dead of the 80's or 90's sounded nothing like the Dead of the 60's; it isn't about sounding the same, it's about playing with the same spirit. So does that make other iterations of Dead bands 'The Dead?"
I can't really answer that for The Other Ones, The Dead (from the 2000's), or the Rhythm Devils, because I have unfortunately not seen any of them. I've heard some recordings, but not enough to really make that call. I think that any band with any member of the GD will certainly have at least some of that magic, but there's no guarantee that they can achieve lift-off. I think Phil & Friends can capture it pretty consistently, but different line-ups alter the chemistry in obviously different ways, so there's still no guarantee that you will get a glimpse of the Grateful Dead monster at work behind the players. Furthur, however, is pretty consistent, partly, again, because they have those two old guys, but the whole band also seems to be very much in the spirit of the Dead. As a result, I feel more than comfortable calling these guys the Dead, and I think that much of what I experience at a show is a legitimate off-shoot of a GD concert.
So what do you think? Am I talking myself into believing a fairy tale? Is the Mickey Hart Band the real Dead?
Trust me, if I had any say in the matter, I would go back to the sixties and catch all the great artists between then and now, especially the Dead. However, my last test of a time machine didn't go too well, and I'm not anticipating another test anytime soon, so I'm stuck going forward in time with the rest of you. Not that there isn't any great music nowadays, within and outside of the Dead world; bands like Rubblebucket Orchestra, Furthur, Dark Star Orchestra, and the Big Mean Sound Machine (a local "sweat funk" band) have all given me the best musical experiences of my life. However, and most Dead Heads will agree with this, the Grateful Dead have that certain magic to them that no other band seems to master. As my friend and I often say, "they play with the old powers."
Furthur, more than any other Dead-related band I've seen or heard (or any other music for that matter), can certainly capture that magic for me. Whether it's at an outdoor show like the Gathering of the Vibes, in a hockey rink in central New York, or a theater in Boston, Furthur can grab the music from the air, walls, and people in attendance to transport/transform everyone. While DSO usually puts on a great show, whether they're doing a cover of a particular concert or one of their original sets, they don't seem to have access to that same magic. The Dead, and Furthur, when they're having a good night have something metaphysical to their sound, as if what you're experiencing in their music are the same forces and patterns that are at work behind the laws of physics throughout the cosmos. The same forces that create supernovas and black holes are the same forces propelling "Dark Star" and "The Other One," and even "Big River" or "Ramble on Rose," to a certain extent!
But I'm getting off topic. What I'm really trying to get at is the answer to the question, "who are the Dead (and why don't they follow me everywhere I go)?" When I first started seeing Furthur I drove my dad crazy by insisting that I had seen the Dead, but I think that statement is still true, or at the very least close enough. Phil and Bobby both saw the progression of the Dead from the beginning to Jerry's death (not the end!), and have obviously been crucial in the evolution of the music. I think having them in the same band is a huge factor in Furthur's ability to play that magical music, and having the other incredible members of the band give it a unique sound. While they don't sound like the Grateful Dead most of the time, the Dead of the 80's or 90's sounded nothing like the Dead of the 60's; it isn't about sounding the same, it's about playing with the same spirit. So does that make other iterations of Dead bands 'The Dead?"
I can't really answer that for The Other Ones, The Dead (from the 2000's), or the Rhythm Devils, because I have unfortunately not seen any of them. I've heard some recordings, but not enough to really make that call. I think that any band with any member of the GD will certainly have at least some of that magic, but there's no guarantee that they can achieve lift-off. I think Phil & Friends can capture it pretty consistently, but different line-ups alter the chemistry in obviously different ways, so there's still no guarantee that you will get a glimpse of the Grateful Dead monster at work behind the players. Furthur, however, is pretty consistent, partly, again, because they have those two old guys, but the whole band also seems to be very much in the spirit of the Dead. As a result, I feel more than comfortable calling these guys the Dead, and I think that much of what I experience at a show is a legitimate off-shoot of a GD concert.
So what do you think? Am I talking myself into believing a fairy tale? Is the Mickey Hart Band the real Dead?
Friday, September 13, 2013
I'm Sorry, I Had My Headphones In.....
I know that headphones, Walkmans, and CD players long out-date my own existence, let alone my time as a Dead Head, but there is an undeniable difference between the listening habits of now and back in the day. Today's technology allows me to go virtually anywhere with a mind-blowing assortment of music in my tiny black San-Disc device. On any given day I can be seen walking around sunny (or not so sunny) Ithaca with my ear buds in, my head in the clouds, singing anything from "Born Cross-Eyed" to "Foolish Heart." While there seems to be nothing wrong with this (there isn't, I swear!), I end up asking myself some questions about it from time to time.
While I've had to concede to my dad that nothing beats a good set of speakers playing LOUDLY, I truly appreciate the perspective on music that headphones provide. Forgetting for a moment the obvious advantage in mobility that headphones have, they do have some perks that a speakers lack. They create a unique and enclosed sonic space in which you are the center. They are also fairly impermeable, so outside noises don't intrude on a soft "Dark Star" or the more delicate ballads. While sometimes that means you might get run over by the occasional truck or school bus, more importantly it gives a really intimate feeling to the music: these guys are playing straight out of '73, and only I can hear them! Which can be pretty weird when you're sitting on the bus listening to, say, the jam out of "The Other One" on Dick's Picks 1, and the guy on your left doesn't even know the world is dissolving around you! Just as weird, but perhaps easier on the brain, is just laying in bed, sitting in the library, or chilling on the couch with your favorite show surrounding you. You really can hear every nuance they play and every bad joke that Bobby makes without worrying that anything else will drown it out.
While I've had to concede to my dad that nothing beats a good set of speakers playing LOUDLY, I truly appreciate the perspective on music that headphones provide. Forgetting for a moment the obvious advantage in mobility that headphones have, they do have some perks that a speakers lack. They create a unique and enclosed sonic space in which you are the center. They are also fairly impermeable, so outside noises don't intrude on a soft "Dark Star" or the more delicate ballads. While sometimes that means you might get run over by the occasional truck or school bus, more importantly it gives a really intimate feeling to the music: these guys are playing straight out of '73, and only I can hear them! Which can be pretty weird when you're sitting on the bus listening to, say, the jam out of "The Other One" on Dick's Picks 1, and the guy on your left doesn't even know the world is dissolving around you! Just as weird, but perhaps easier on the brain, is just laying in bed, sitting in the library, or chilling on the couch with your favorite show surrounding you. You really can hear every nuance they play and every bad joke that Bobby makes without worrying that anything else will drown it out.
However, while doing exactly that, I've found myself asking
if this is really the way to be
listening to these shows. Can you just
load up a psychedelic payload of Dead shows from the archive and bring the band
and the entire show anywhere? In
reality, whatever show you're listening to was performed REALLY LOUDLY, for
thousands of people, in a very specific time and place. While the Dead's songs
may be timeless, individual performances of them are very rooted in the
"here-and-now"...of the "then-and-there." So in some ways, they can lose a lot of their
power when you just take them anywhere.
I'm sure I've missed many of the most inspired jams in a show just
because I was trying to cross the street safely (what a loser) or get on the
bus. In fact, there have been times
where an entire set would go by, and I'd only half hear it because I was busy
doing things like studying or working!
The horror!!
But really, there are times where I feel that I'm almost
doing the show an injustice, because even though I can hear Phil clear as day,
I know that those bass bombs are meant to be flying free and wide. Jerry's solos are meant to rocket into the
night sky, or to careen wildly off the walls of Winterland, not just the walls
of my skull. So sometimes I will have to
postpone a show, or even a particular song, until I get home and can crank it
on the stereo. My stereo and living room
may not be the Wall of Sound and Winterland, but at least I can feel Phil there, not
just hear him.
Another benefit to speakers, even car stereos, is that you
have a sort of ritual space where you can control the other variables of life,
and just focus on the music. Sure the
maintenance guy might decide to mow the lawn right outside your window right
when Phil and Billy are trying to musically tear down your house, but then I
guess you can switch to your headphones.
The speakers make better use of that ritual space, but headphones allow
you some privacy in it. Having a
designated space to freak freely, jam out, or whatever other euphemism you
prefer for the listening to the Dead, keeps your mind on the music, and not
whatever daydreams you may otherwise entertain.
So does that mean I'm going to stop listening to the Dead everywhere I go? Hell no! It's just a matter of finding the right time and place to really listen to them. While it's more acceptable to zone out during yet another "Jack Straw," or my thousandth "Sugaree" (nothing against either of those songs, of course), there are few things worse than realizing you just missed the entire fist half of a '73 "Eyes of the World" because you were walking around, lost in your thoughts. Do any of you go through similar experiences? Know the real flaw with headphones? Leave it in the comments!
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