Grateful Dead

Hiya everybody! If you both still need help with bit torrents I can walk you through it. It's easy when you get the knack of it! Don't private message me since I don't seem to have that function right now. If you need help post here and I'll share an email address. Cheers....and last night was so much fun!

Wow! From the opening notes of "Truckin" you could tell this was gonna be one hot show. The guys were in fine form, and played a particularly rocking set Monday night. If you happened to be lucky enough to be there, you know from whence I speak. Did I just say "from whence I speak"? Anyway - highlights included a powerful ""Dark Star > St. Stephen" into Phil singing a great "Unbroken Chain," (my personal favorite - yay!) and, well... the rest of the show, to tell ya the truth! My big complaints, as if I deserve any: I really feel that Warren, whom I love and respect dearly, is in one too many bands playing in THIS band; I just feel he makes The Dead sound too much like Gov't Mule and The Allmans, and long for another, more unique guitarist in his stead. Jimmy Herring maybe? His tour with The Dead was great. And bluntly, I hate Jeff Chimenti's obsessively dissonant riffing. I don't even play keyboards, but think I could manage to bang on them fairly similarly at times! Where are the sweet keyboards of Keith, or Brent, Or Vince, or Rob Barraca? Who would, and has, made an oh so much better keyboard player for the band; and if the guys do tour again, I WISH they'd bring Rob back for it. Even when The Dead had both of them, the show's were infinitely better for it. Come on guys, get him back into the fold! Okay - enough bitching. "Help > Slipknot" was tight and exciting, and "Throwin' Stones," always a sure crowd pleaser, was as powerful as could be. "Playing" was, as always, rocking and fun, and "U.S. Blues" was certainly an appropriate choice for the night, given the Obama benefit factor. Overall - A great show and, hopefully, a taste of things to come. I've definitely got my fingers crossed. The guys were truly ON Monday evening - like a frying pan with the chicken sizzlin' in it; as hot as could be, and promising of tasty things to come! Oh yeah, The Allmans kicked ass! Derek Trucks is THE BEST guitarist in the world today, no doubt in my mind! Gregg seemed healthy and sang up a deep fried Southern storm, as he is wont to do; and Warren, in his element HERE, blew us all away. The percussionists, as usual, backed the whole shindig up tightly and efficiently. Finger Lickin' Good Times For All! Yee-ha!

Posted on October 14, 2008 4:59 AM Jam session gets political Bob Weir, reunited with other members of the Grateful Dead, plays Monday night at a political concert for presidential candidate Barack Obama. By Mandy Hofmockel and Danielle Vickery Collegian Staff Writers The "Change Rocks" concert at the Bryce Jordan Center, which drew 15,000 attendees, including one costumed as a green Jerry Garcia bear and another sporting a cape with a blue and red donkey, let loose Monday night. Members of the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead joined Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign to encourage people to volunteer and vote. At the concert many people rose and swayed, dancing in their seats and some twirled about on the floor. There was a smattering of tie-dyed T-shirts and glow sticks at the venue. Balloons that read "stoned again" with a marijuana leaf drifted to the floor and so did a few people who climbed from their seats above. The people were promptly escorted away. Between performances, the campaign took the opportunity to inform those present about Obama and the importance of civic engagement. Nittany Lion cornerback Lydell Sargeant and other Penn State football players joined quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno on stage to address the crowd. Sargeant, who said he plays the drums and that Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart is an inspiration, encouraged people to get involved and to vote. He also asked people to bring the same pride they have for the now No. 3 college football team to volunteer to make Obama the next president. Thirty years from now, when Paterno's five young children ask what he did to save the country, he said, he could tell them he helped to get Obama elected president. Charles Dumas, a theatre professor at Penn State who also spoke at the event, said he has supported Obama since the candidate was a community organizer. He encouraged people to volunteer at the local campaign office. Dumas brought up an old saying: Vote early and vote often. "I'm not suggesting that you vote often," Dumas said. But, he added, asking other people like neighbors, roommates and housemates to vote increases an individual's power to influence the election. Casey Miller, youth vote director for Penn State Students for Barack Obama, also addressed the crowd. She said she hoped half or more of those present in the BJC would get involved with the campaign. Obama appeared on a screen above the stage to specifically address the BJC crowd, yet his voice could barely be heard over the cheering. "No matter which candidate you favor, take part in this election," Obama said. He also thanked the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead, who he called legendary musicians. The Grateful Dead got a standing ovation before they had even emerged on the stage. During their first song, hundreds of glow sticks erupted from one side of the crowd on the floor of the venue.