Grateful Dead

Sorry for the brief blah comment last night. I should have passed. Live and learn.. hope there's no hard feelings.

....I had the same psychedelic breakthrough clovett, but it wasn't The Joshua Tree. It was Huey Lewis & The News Sports. I know what you all are thinking. But LSD is a helluva drug....

Had to comment as I have a very specific intersection of these two bands. Back in 1987 my brother, a friend and I were driving the NJ turnpike on our way to MSG to see the Dead when someone had the bright idea of taking our consumables. Well needless to say we entered NYC in a very altered state which made directions and anything requiring logical thought impossible. Completely missed the show, had about a dozen near death experiences as we drove in circles around Manhattan for hours. U2's Joshua Tree played in my friends cassette player on a loop. At first it was probably because changing the tape was too difficult, but after awhile it was because it was sooo damn good. By the end of that night I absolutely loved that album and I and still do. I don't think I ever had such an intense indoctrination into any album before or since.

Yes, that was definitely one innovation too far, when Jerry started digitally changing the sound of his guitar to sound like other instruments. I think one of the synthetic sounds produced was supposed to be a bassoon. The sounds produced weren't as good as the ones made by the authentic instrument. It was a strange idea anyway, when he had one of the best guitar tones in history, to change it so that it sounded like a wind instrument. I thought it had a certain novelty value at the time , but I like it a lot less as time has passed. And when were the Dead ever about novelty? Its worthy to experiment-but by its very nature, not all experiments work. And some experiments seem okay at the time-but lose their appeal as time passes. I guess a lot of people liked it! Yes, we are waaay overdue for this box announcement. I favour 1969, at the moment. We have been anticipating for so long, my mind has changed as to what I would like several times already.

Sure could use an announcement soon. The natives are getting restless.

Courtenay's trip continues with Episode 2: A Long Strange Golden Road:https://mailchi.mp/a7c29d9644ee/episode-2-a-long-strange-golden-road?e=…

No doubt that bands since the beginning of time have used technology to improve their sound. My is issue with the use of technology to alter the sound. When Dylan went electric, he was still playing the guitar. Sure it angered the traditionalists, but it is still the guitar. When Garcia started using MIDI and his guitar sounded like a trumpet, I hated it and still do. If I hear a trumpet, I want to see a trumpet on stage. Yeah, I know the lines are blurred and I am splitting hairs. Just my preference. If I recall correctly, Branford Marsalis once commented in an interview that he felt the MIDI interferred with Garcia's sound and that it was unnecessary. In fairness, he then acknowledged that if he were playing the same instrument for 40 years, he would probably want to try something different. I am a bit surprised that my comments brought out the U2 haters. I had a chance to go see them back in 82 when they were still raw, but passed. Still kinda regret it. I do like them, just not my favorite. Saw D&C once. Really good show. Great sound. Mayer seems to be the best fit of all the iterations. But, I likely will never go again. Streaming isn't for me either. These bands need to be seen live.

Looks like a great setting, and a very short commute to your real job, running the river. Does your vehicle have a bumper sticker saying My Other Car is a Kayak?

Really? Bad!? Seriously? So the only redeeming quality about the Grateful Dead and its music was Jerry Garcia? Sounds like a cult of personality to me, and that positioning that came about by the larger crowds in the 80's making him into some sort of pseudo-religious figure, is the type of shit that Jerry said freaked him out. Dead and Co. is carrying on the music in new and inventive ways, to see so many big smiles on stage it's pretty nuts to start saying this shouldn't be happening. If the band is happy, the crowd is into it and the music is doing interesting things, good things come out of it. Though I will agree the ticket prices are too high. Good thing I can watch them on my flashy tv and bose surround sound. Now I don't have to wade through piss to get to the urinal, deal with hairy k-snorting wooks invading dancing space to throw their sweat all over everyone and then run away, plus the family can freely imbibe whatever we like during the show. I was skeptical about the webcasts but these last two shows have started making me a convert. I am under the impression that the band thought the music is the most important and it happened to be their good fortune that the muse chose them to play through. I guess for me it's about the music not the men though I have pretty favorable opinions of them as people, at least they've been nice every time I've met them. The musicians are but merely vessels for the cosmic muse of inspiration, stop trying to compare apples to oranges, one makes great pies and the other is like eating the Sun, different but...yes,please. If the ethos and spirit of the Dead's music died completely with Jerry Garcia then the way the band believed it existed is made a lie by it's own fans. I don't remember hearing from my parents and their '60s acid-head friends that LSD and Dead music was about constants, repetition, singular individuals. It seemed like they were more about embracing new things and seeing where it takes you, into the both the inner and outer universe, then navigating from there using dead reckoning.

when I saw Terrapin Moon's post, you are not alone moonie, I too just can't listen to them. Reminds me of a time way back when I compared another band to the GOGD, my deadhead buddy said "don't be sacrilegious". I know this is not the place to discuss cover bands, and I love Bobby, Mickey and Billy almost as much as I loved good old Garcia, but when the best thing about this band is the drum solos, you just got to wonder what they are thinking. Thank you TPTB for releasing all these great Grateful Dead shows, at least we still have these sonic journals of the greatest band ever to take us back to those good old days. I have posted on Mickey's site about this band and I think this might be the beginning of the end for this latest concoction. Mickey, bring back the Mickey Hart band, Bobby, bring back Ratdog or Furthur or the Other Ones. I also agree that they just want way too much cash for tickets. I did call the shakedown opener for their first show, anybody else call it?