Okay I’ve asked before, but who is going to the show in Denver on May 7th? And, does anyone know if they are having onsite camping or a particular hotel that would be good to book in for the after-show party? My friend from HI is coming, but I have no idea where we are going to stay since she didn’t book a hotel for that week. I’ve never been to a show at Pepsi Center, so I also don’t know what I can get in with, or what they sell inside. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.
I’m sorry, folks, but as a 26-year Deadhead, I have been saying four words since August 9, 1995: NOT DEAD WITHOUT JERRY!
I listened to a stream of the 4/15 Charlottesville show, and it
was decent for a nostalgia act, but much of the time, I heard plodding tempos,
shaky ensemble playing and sluggish instrumental jams. Warren Haynes
sounded fine, as did Jeff Chimenti, but as for the Core Four…it was like
listening to a Phil Lesh & Friends show where most of the players had
the flu.
For the record, I skipped “the Dead” 2004 Red Rocks run in favor of
Telluride with zero regrets. At this time, I do not have a ticket for
the Denver show because for what I’ve heard thus far, the ticket
prices are far too high, IMHO. Three-digits to see a nostalgia act
just does not thrill me. YMWV, because I am a jaded and picky
music lover, but what I’ve heard so far feels like the equivalent of
an aged professional athlete who keeps trying, but whose physical
skills have deteriorated to the point that athlete cannot do it anymore.
I sure hope I’m wrong, but what I’ve heard has been depressing to these ears.
[url=Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Books, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine]The Dead 2009 on LMA
— snapshot of The Dead tour thus far in 2009 - thanks Boys! —
Thanks to all Tapers - and everyone helping out w/ tracking the sets and getting the transfers in.
JJ - this is not a personal attack here, but, The Dead sound way, way better than you are giving them credit for. And I, for one, do not appreciate your baseless bitterness over the greatest story ever told. Did you try breaking out your stash yesterday, and lighting up, and then lightening up?
Geeeezzzzzzzz, yes, The Boys are 348 y/o:
Phil, 69
Mickey, 65
Bill, 63
Bob, 61
Warren, 49
Jeff, 41
I never saw John Hartford, Norman Blake, Vassar Clements, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Ricky Scaggs and JD Crowe getting together and touring at this point in their careers. Their playing and singing would have been similarly affected by their ages, I honestly believe. I was at Rudyard Kipling on Dec 14, 2008. The Bluegrass Hotel can’t even tie their own friggin’ shoes without getting in a food fight, and having a childish tizzy! Let alone, they can’t agree on setlists, taping shows, filming stuff, releasing archival footage, or respecting the financial reality that all of us fans are facing these days.
What I can tell you is, the Grateful Dead were the kings of the counter-culture movement in the USA. The Grateful Dead’s career spans 30 years, 1965 - 1995. They invented Audience Taping Sections for taping shows in 1985. I was taping them in 1973. The wall of sound was perfected in 1974. I also taped the Bluegrass Hotel boys in 1974. GD played about 2500 shows, and about 2250 of them were taped.
thank you Betty Cantor for the best tapes
http://barncard.com/GD73WB/large/FurmanBobBetty.jpg
The Dead are not as good as The Grateful Dead 1968 - 1973, or 1977. Please stop taking cheap shots at my favorite human beings. Cindy Lou and her friend have the right idea.
St Stephen - Roseland Ballroom NYC, March 30
Jack Straw - Greensboro, April 12
Big Railroad Blues - Wash DC, April 14
Bertha - Charlottesville, April 15
Big Boss Man - Charlottesville, April 15
Cold Rain and Snow - Albany, April 17
Sugaree - Albany, April 17
Cumberland Blues - Albany, April 17
GDTRFB - Worcester, April 18
Bird Song pt 1 - Worcester, April 18
China Cat - Worcester, April 18
Rider - Worcester, April 18
Bird Song pt 2 - Worcester, April 18
Deal - Worcester, April 19
Uncle John’s Band - Worcester, April 19
I think The Boys are talented and sound pretty damn good. Not to mention they’re very generous. Funny as hell - Warren’s licks - playing his solo deep into Cumberland - I could swear the dude is doing mandolin-styled licks. The way he’s picking makes me think that. And he does the Waaahhhhh-Waaahhhhh in GDTRFB and China Cat. And plenty of good slide work. They’re good! Very entertaining just listening. Lot’s of sing-alongs - undoubtedly it’s very emotional for the performers and the audience. I don’t have a problem with that, setlists, or prompters.
happy 4/20 day
http://www.dead.net/sites/deadbeta.rhino.com/files/images/19750928_1896.jpg
for me it’s 24-7-365
Joel Selvin: The LSD use was a fundamental building block in a new way of thinking in a new community.
Why do we have war? What is the power of love? Who is God and why is he here and what has he done for me lately anyway? I mean, these were questions that were being debated by young people who were just growing into their bodies and their minds and their selves.
You were going through a door, and you wanted to be in the rooms on the other side of that door. You wanted to know what was there and you wanted to take that knowledge back with you.
Hey, you know, we’re trying to learn to live better, to think better, to be better human beings and be a better race, be a better civilization and to make this whole thing work.
Jerry Garcia: What we’re thinking about is a peaceful planet, we’re not thinking of anything else. We’re not thinking about any kind of power. We’re not thinking about any of those kinds of struggles. We’re not thinking about revolution or war or any of that. We would all like to be able to live an uncluttered life, a simple life, a good life and think about moving the whole human race ahead a step.
I can envisage a new world in which society has a way for there to be music, whose function is to get you high, that’s the sort of thing we’re hammering at. To get really high is to forget yourself and to forget yourself is to see everything else; and to see everything else is to become an understanding molecule in evolution, a conscious tool of the universe. That’s why I think it’s important to get high.
Joel Selvin: The music changed just immediately. I cannot explain to you what it’s like to be in a crowd of 5,000 people on LSD with the Grateful Dead, also on LSD, leading the crowd through a series of improvisations. Before that, rock and roll songs were three minutes, period, paragraph, we’re out of here.
I go as much, if not more, for the party in the parking lot and the vibes there as I do for the music. And every time they play a Jerry song, I will probably cry like a baby, because I do miss him so much. (If I close my eyes, I can still see him up there and then I smile and remember what he looked and sounded like and it isn’t so devastating.) :pickin But the feeling that I get from being there and seeing Bobby and Phil and Billy and Mickey brings back SO many good memories, and I know they miss Jerry too, and they don’t want to quit bringing joy to those of us who still care. I still need those good feelings in my life, and I for one am really looking forward to being there again with that family. It’s hard to imagine TBF without Sam, but I know the day will come and I will still want to go to the festival too, but it too, will never be the same afterwards.
Gosh Cindy Lou there is a thought I really do not want to contimplate… You will have a blast at the Pepsi Center I have only been a few times (too big fer me) so I can’t really give you any good details…I think they had lots of vendors and a few full bars set up however. :flower
Holy shit! Phil is 69??? no way
:wave I caught Wanda Jackson last Saturday night in Petaluma… WOW! 71 years old and putting on a show like that :huh :huh :huh
It ain’t that we’re getting older darhlin, we’re aging like fine wine. We know how to make it all happen in a lean, mean, efficient, and loving way.
Now I am starting to get stoked for Shoreline on 5/10… :hop
:peace
[center]Jer & Mtn Girl - my fav girl
http://ia351406.us.archive.org/0/items/uploaded/dead-head_Monte-196706xx_0188.jpg
http://ia351406.us.archive.org/0/items/uploaded/William_Tell-MG_Bus.jpg
my other fav girl
http://ia351406.us.archive.org/0/items/uploaded/staggerleib-Donna_Jerry.jpg
http://ia351406.us.archive.org/0/items/uploaded/robthewordsmith-donna.jpg
my other, other fav girl
I, too, had my doubts about this Dead tour, thought the price was high, so I passed on the first show at Shoreline. When a good friend offered me a ticket to the 2nd show on the 14th of May at Shoreline, I said yes. I’ve never seen Warren play and Ratdog kicked it in pretty good on 12/30 in San Francisco. Thanks, 420 Sugaree, for the posts and downloads of songs from the tour-I am looking forward to the show. Most of the cuts sound great and hearing the sing-a-longs, it will be great to hang, check the parking lot, visit with old friends, etc. Saw Springsteen on the opening of his latest tour, 59 years young, and he’s still doing it(singing along to his old classic songs is still a highlight that lingers for days). Have a postive attitude, it’s all good.
CindyLou - Hippie Jerry and I run the bbq at a little hippie festival in Northern California every August. If you miss Jerry Garcia, the Dead scene, and the “vibe” then you should consider attending Dead On The Creek. It’s the only place I know of where The Grateful Dead lives on…
Kaptain Karlos :dance
Can I hear an AMEN ?
:peace
Kaptain/Jerry,
Any chance you’ve seen Cubensis either in SoCal or perhaps when they’ve played up north?
When I lived in Santa Monica Cubensis brought the vibe every Sunday night at 14 Below. Ah, those were some days.
BB
:thumbsup AMEN! :thumbsup
Uh…420Sugaree…no offense, but I think somebody needs to
take a serious chill pill and a reality check. I have been on The Bus
for more than a quarter century and have well over 2000+ concert
experiences in over 30 years! I freely admit to being picky, especially
when it comes to the GD. If it were not the mp3 links, your response
would have been 100% redundant to me.
Plus, tell me where I took any “cheap shots.” If you are referring to the
“nostalgia act” part, there is a big difference between stating
an honest opinion and spreading negativity, which I detected
plenty in your response to me. Sorry, guy, but as that saying goes,
sometime “the truth hurts!” What I have heard so far is sheer nostalgia to me,
and I expect far better from a band that contains great musicians
like Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann; the latter whom over a month ago,
along with Scott Murawski and Oteil Burbridge, RIPPED it up in
Denver and Boulder!
I will probably attend the Denver show, but it will be
for sheer nostalgia; unless recordings have shown the band to pick
things up. Again, what I’ve heard has simply been depressing,
and seeing the remaining members just for the sake of seeing
them at $100 is difficult for me to justify when I know
there are many other musical options that will give far more
bang for my buck.
Oh yes…I’m not the only one critical. One of my good friends from
upstate NY attended the Buffalo show. He wrote on my facebook
page this description: " “Kinda like going back to Gotham and having Robin
and Alfred try to carry the entertainment load for an absentee Batman.”
I sincerely kid you not. I know others back on the East coast who have
emailed me similar opinions; but I have to be fair because one friend
of mine who attended the show in DC loved it.
Oh yes…I saw Springsteen in Denver 1.5 weeks ago, and I can tell
you it was a Grade-A quality show all the way! 26 songs played
in a 2:48 time span, many of the performance loaded with
energy, passion, conviction and heart! From great takes of “Youngstown” and
“Johnny 99” to an incendiary “Racing In The Streets” featuring
a gorgeous piano solo by Roy Bittan…right down to the cool new
“Outlaw Pete”, The Boss and the E-Street Band still have their
fastball and slider working very well. Heck, even warhorses like
the show-closing “Glory Days” just plain rocked!
Hello my UR brother,
I went to the DC show and, how do I put this nicely, yes, I would file the show in the “nostalgia” category. I’m glad I went but man it was expensive ($98 per ticket without the ticketbastard fee) - if I go in the future I will have better expectations based on this most recent experience.
Peace,
Bill
420sug
Love the pics/links!
Debating Dead music past/present is similar to Duke/Cryolina basketball discussions. You can’t win for trying sometimes, bc it is an emotional topic for many. The only thing I’ll say about it is I’ve been “on the bus” since freshman year, '86, and I saw nearly 100 GD shows, 20 some JGB ones and comparing present lineup with Jerry era lineup is analagous to apple/orange argument. I would think that anybody who is expecting the same sound, "tightness,"and spiritual journey as 15 + years ago will be disappointed. So I hear u JJpicker64 and your concerns, however, IMO, however, after having listened to the recently
broadcast Surius Worcester show, there were many fantastic
musical moments! That having been said, I have to turn down
my high expectations sonar of what the Dead should sound
…like. Personally, I can’t wait to see them in Denver! I agree about the cost being outrageous, but, once a Deadhead, always a Deadhead! Now here is what I hope to see…
Set 1
LTGTR
Stranger
Sugar Mag
Scarlet
Fire
Estimated
High Time
Dark Star
Birdsong
Set 2
Cryptical
Other One
Wharf Rat
Watchtower
Dew
D/S
Lost Sailor
Rider
Cumberland
Comes a Time
Terrapin
Encore
Ripple
Uncle Johns Band
Cryolina? The Cryolina that beat every NCAA tournament opponent it faced by at least 10+ points (only 3 other teams have accomplished this I believe).
Now it’s one thing to root for NC State and anyone playing UNC but it’s another thing to write Duke and Cryolina in the same sentence since that UNC team didn’t get smoked by at least 20 by Villanova. :bash
I went to UCLA for grad school and we also got smoked by Nova so I’m just calling it like I see it. If you went to Duke then I guess that is fair (but whiny all the same ;)). :lol
No one I know is going to technically disagree w/ JJ. He’s right. What’s the point, is the point. I personally take exception to baseless attacks on The Boys. They’ve always sucked as a band - taking huge risks improvising, horrible vocals, Donna howling - the boys forgetting lyrics, making countless mistakes - and that’s why they’re the best live band there ever was. Why make posts about this just like Trolls would make?
Truth be told, Springsteen is a bastard for selling CDs exclusively at, and getting behind Wal-Mart. He recently got caught w/ his pants down, admitted as much, but didn’t even apologize. The Dead hugely insulted me with that “Deadheads for Obama” crap. Jer is undoubtedly rolling in his grave.
Change? No doubt Obama is giving Bush & Cheney a free pass on torture, illegal spying, illegal wars, and crimes against humanity. Seems to me Obama is behind this stuff 100 percent. Obama is also getting behind a perpetual Ponzi-scheme. How will we ever achieve Sustainable Living on our planet?
There’s very little for me to be proud of these days. I have some grateful memories and some good tapes. I am mindful that very little hallowed ground remains on Planet Earth. Planet Bluegrass is one of them.
last night’s Buffalo setlist
Promised Land
They Love Each Other
Mama Tried
Loser
Smokestack Lightning
Stella Blue
It’s All Over Now
Big River
Playing In The Band
Me and Bobby McGee
Loose Lucy
Ramble On Rose
Drums
Space
Maggie’s Farm
Eyes of the World
Playing In The Band
(Encore)
Truckin’