OT: Dead & Company 6/13 roll call....

[August_West]

I remember when they said they were playing their last show over 4th of July weekend at Soldier Field, it seems like they play every week now.

It was.

Phil Lesh hasnt played with them since.

 

[Huskybass]

I hear you, and I'm glad a younger generation is getting a chance to experience some semblance of the music and scene, however far removed.

I agree about Mayer's talent and I liked the trio too (although I think he's got the worst guitar face in history). Bobby was always my least favorite, especially musically, and there is simply too much of him in this band for me.

I'm currently about two hours away from finishing Dennis McNally's unabridged, 30-hour audiobook, Long Strange Trip, which has been pretty amazing. I started seeing them in the early 80s and saw over 100 shows between the Dead and JGB, but the book has driven home just how much I missed out on all the goodness that came before I started going to shows.

I hear what you are saying about Bobby. I really do. He was never all star caliber, even in his prime. Mayer and the bass player Oteil really tear it up, and Bobby slows things down. But having said all that, he still is Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead and the performances are still real enjoyable overall. Summer 2016 was really good and I was like 25' from Mayer in November, as a stranger really did have my miracle, so to speak.

Mayer adds consistency and energy, and in my estimation fills in very admirably for Jerry, and those have to be enormous shoes to fill. Mayer has totally earned my respect and I am thrilled that he will be carrying the torch with Oteil.

 

[August_West]

Lewiston. Grabbed a poster for the Lewiston show in 1980

that Lewiston show is easily in the top 10, and probably top 5 shows ever played. I wasnt there. I had seen my first a few months before but still too young to travel.

You are a lucky man.

 

[Huskybass]

I still have my bootleg tapes...hundreds...

Guessing I was also at those New Haven shows.

Good chance we were at the same spring 84 show. My first GD concert. My second was at the Cal Expo Amphitheatre, and my final one was at MSG. Cal Expo was KILLER.

 

[superjohn]

It was.

Phil Lesh hasnt played with them since.

Garcia hasn't played with them in over 20 years.

 

[August_West]

Garcia hasn't played with them in over 20 years.

23

and they havent been called The Grateful Dead, not once, since.

 

[dvegas]

$20 on the lawn is acceptable for a snooze fest (tempo-wise), but at least Mayer cuts down on the sausage fest . . .

 

[WhiteDressWes]

$20 on the lawn is acceptable for a snooze fest (tempo-wise), but at least Mayer cuts down on the sausage fest . . .

I know the original dead. The only John Mayer I know is here with one of my favorite Jazz guys.

 

[Yardigan]

that Lewiston show is easily in the top 10, and probably top 5 shows ever played. I wasnt there. I had seen my first a few months before but still too young to travel.

You are a lucky man.

Grew up in Falmouth, ME, about a half hour south...old enough to travel, but sadly, not old enough to appreciate the opening act...Roy Buchanan, The Cate Brothers & Levon Helm

 

[uconnphil2016]

hot take warning: this is just an opinion.

the problem with Dead and Co for me isnt Mayer. Hes doing fine. Really well actually.

Its Bobby and the Drummers. But mostly Bobby. They have dragged tempos down to dirge level. Everything they are touching is so damn slow. It almost seems like a parody. I LOVE ballads. But ballads are ballads for a reason and a great change of pace in a rock and roll show. the juxtaposition from working up a sweat into a cool down ballad was a wonderful, unrivaled part of the GD experience for me. But there is no juxtaposition anymore when you are taking bangers like Shakedown Street or China Cat Sunflower and playing them pretty much at ballad tempo. For you oldsters its like playing a 45 record on the 33 1/3 rpm setting. It really sounds like that to me.

and I listen more than most. Even now. I have seen parts of every show this tour on live stream. I never ever make it through a full show before throwing the TV back on.

It leaves me flat. It's always been about the music for me (at every one of the 350 plus GD shows I saw with Jerry) . Never the scene which can be wonderful too, but not my reason for being there. There is nothing compelling enough to make me inclined to attend. I go once in a while but the stars have to align to get me off my chair.

Now that being said. That is just me and my personal journey with this music and being (kinda not) compelled by it. I do not even one iota begrudge these guys for wanting to be out there and doing it in any manner that moves them. Oteil, Mayer and Chimenti are all monsters, but they are chained up by Bobby. He's certainly earned that right to call the shots. And I wish them always nothing but success and great times. And that goes for the scores of people still attending and having a great time. Nothing makes me happier than to have the spirit of this thing still living and breathing with such vigor even 25 years after I wrote off the band with Jerry still (barely) around. It's simply incredible. And I want it that way. In some ways Im very jealous of the people who can really get off on it now. I think that is great. Just not really for me anymore.

I obviously haven’t listened enough to know, as I’ve never been to a Dead show with or without Jerry, but I’m sure you’re right. My girlfriend’s dad is coming with us, who was also a huge dead head, and I’m worried his reaction will be similar to yours. I’m hoping he enjoys it, but I’m sure it feels a little off for most hardcore dead fans

 

[husky8273]

Anyone headed to the Meadows (or whatever they are calling it these days) Wednesday?? Have been a fan since '81...but only saw the original band once, back in '84. But went to Fenway and XL shows last year. Good times.

If you get confused just listen to the music play...

Wed. and again on Sat. at Citifield. First show Springfield, Oct. '79. Also saw them in Radio City, Red Rocks, JGB on Broadway, Paris, London, all over the Northeast and Fare Thee Well. Never bad!

 

[alexd]

Grew up in Falmouth, ME, about a half hour south...old enough to travel, but sadly, not old enough to appreciate the opening act...Roy Buchanan, The Cate Brothers & Levon Helm

Levon Helm and the Cate Brothers opened for the CDB at the Htfd CC in 1980. I was in the same boat. Too young to realize just what I was seeing in that opening act.

 

[August_West]

Grew up in Falmouth, ME, about a half hour south...old enough to travel, but sadly, not old enough to appreciate the opening act...Roy Buchanan, The Cate Brothers & Levon Helm

Grateful Dead Listening Guide: 1980 September 6 - Lewiston, ME

 

[Yardigan]

Grateful Dead Listening Guide: 1980 September 6 - Lewiston, ME

That poster after the set list is what I was referencing earlier. Spent a decent chunk of the day listening to the show....

 

[Marbles90]

I can’t do it. Except for a few Phil & Friends shows, every post-Jerry iteration has only made his absence more glaring for me. I’m sure it’s a great time to see all the felllow heads again but the music does not do it for me. Wayyyy too slow. Listened to a bit on the SiriusXM broadcast the other night and it didn’t hold my interest.

This is pretty much me exactly except I’ve managed to stay away from all the post Jerry iterations. For me, it was always about the music, not the scene. At first, I stayed away based on principle, but as I continued to listen to the different combinations, I kept thinking I was just listening to a good Dead cover band. In my opinion it’s just not the same without Jerry. And frankly I stopped going even before he died and sadly, the last show I attended was by far the worse one I had ever been to. I listen to SiriusXM all the time and if anything post 1993 comes on, I turn the channel. It just doesn’t do it for me.

I happen to love John Mayer and wouldn’t hesitate seeing him solo. I think he at least brings something different to the table and doesn’t just try to sound like Jerry. But the only version of the post Jerry era I would have liked to have seen is the Fare Thee Well shows with Trey Anastasio.

 

[boba]

Good chance we were at the same spring 84 show. My first GD concert. My second was at the Cal Expo Amphitheatre, and my final one was at MSG. Cal Expo was KILLER.

Cal Expo Shows were usually good, but the venue was brutal. Hot, dusty, dry and did I mention HOT? I saw the 90-94 runs (I moved out here in 1990) and while I enjoyed the shows, one could get heat stroke there. Shoreline was always a much better place for the shows. (This year it's Jul 2 & 3)

That said: Autzen Stadium and the Welcome Dead Heads! signs in the town of Eugene. Of all the places I went out west, Eugene was the only place where Deadheads weren't considered a nuisance or a plague.

 

[8893]

Cal Expo Shows were usually good, but the venue was brutal. Hot, dusty, dry and did I mention HOT? I saw the 90-94 runs (I moved out here in 1990) and while I enjoyed the shows, one could get heat stroke there. Shoreline was always a much better place for the shows. (This year it's Jul 2 & 3)

That said: Autzen Stadium and the Welcome Dead Heads! signs in the town of Eugene. Of all the places I went out west, Eugene was the only place where Deadheads weren't considered a nuisance or a plague.

Shoreline was great. Easy peasy.

Eugene is such a great town. I remember noticing that everyone said hi and looked you in the eyes, which is different than just about every place else I’ve been.

Warfield and Greek Theater were probably my favorite venues. Never saw the Dead at either but saw JGB at both several times.

 

[gtcam]

I will be there
can't tell you how many GD, JGB, Ratdog, The Dead, Dead & Co, Phil and Friends shows I have been to
I agree with AW to a point but the way I look at it, not sure how long Bobby will tour and if he comes around I will make every effort to go

 

[Jimdish255]

I'll be there with a small group in the VIP? Lot (Grey Jeep Liberty) for some tailgating. Chose reserved for the show. Great weather expected!!! Working on the tailgate setlist. Menu will be a long strange trip. Will probably post here if possible. Look for the Hot Tuna shirt of course! Oh Jaaaack!!!!

 

[Jimdish255]

I can’t do it. Except for a few Phil & Friends shows, every post-Jerry iteration has only made his absence more glaring for me. I’m sure it’s a great time to see all the felllow heads again but the music does not do it for me. Wayyyy too slow. Listened to a bit on the SiriusXM broadcast the other night and it didn’t hold my interest.

I’d far prefer to see JRAD.

Phil and Friends did a really nice set at Lockn 17 but they had a few special guests that night. Check it out on you tube I think Aug 25 show. Dont expect this to be near that but can still enjoy the show. Since I can't go back gotta keep moving forward.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

And I wish them always nothing but success and great times. And that goes for the scores of people still attending and having a great time. Nothing makes me happier than to have the spirit of this thing still living and breathing with such vigor even 25 years after I wrote off the band with Jerry still (barely) around. It's simply incredible. And I want it that way.

Basically this.

While I can claim to have first seen them in '71, maybe during Pigpen' s hiatus and with NRPS opening, and then another few shows, most memorably Colt Park '76 (anyone else here?) in years following, it was rolling through the Finger Lakes countryside in my friend' s giant Chrysler listening to cassettes that meant the most to me until the band's final years when my Saturday night ritual was lap-swimming & steam room in the North Hempstead town pool, Eddie's Pizza in New Hyde Park, and the back home for WBAI's "Morning Dew" Dead concert replays through the ages during which time I'd have great fun in bed with a partner who no longer worried about pregnancy and whose children were at summer camp or with their father.

Do I wish I'd spent a year of my life following the band? For sure, but my hundreds of shows stand as a pretty magical time in their own right.

Currently, I really like the Dead Shows Roku app interface for easily accessing decades of concerts that play through a Marantz receiver of the same vintage that once played cassettes and "Aoxomoxoa" through "Mars Hotel" LPs.

 

[Northbound]

I just can't do it.

I saw the real deal many many times. I've just never looked or wanted a replacement - probably one of the multitude of reasons that I never went in on Phish.

For those that never saw the real deal, I get it.

 

[Goat]

I obviously haven’t listened enough to know, as I’ve never been to a Dead show with or without Jerry, but I’m sure you’re right. My girlfriend’s dad is coming with us, who was also a huge dead head, and I’m worried his reaction will be similar to yours. I’m hoping he enjoys it, but I’m sure it feels a little off for most hardcore dead fans

My first show was 1976 Colt Park. That said, I'm stoked and your gf's dad may really like it. This group has great artists who love the source material and have earned some synchronicity. No two shows were or will be the same, but they are sure feeling it on this tour. I get the pace comments, but they improvise well off each other and the new guys defer less and less to Bobby. I will be pretty happy to see them live once or twice a year, while I can, along with the odd Phil show in Portchester. Enjoy!

 

[Deadrody]

I hear you, and I'm glad a younger generation is getting a chance to experience some semblance of the music and scene, however far removed.

I agree about Mayer's talent and I liked the trio too (although I think he's got the worst guitar face in history). Bobby was always my least favorite, especially musically, and there is simply too much of him in this band for me.

I'm currently about two hours away from finishing Dennis McNally's unabridged, 30-hour audiobook, Long Strange Trip, which has been pretty amazing. I started seeing them in the early 80s and saw over 100 shows between the Dead and JGB, but the book has driven home just how much I missed out on all the goodness that came before I started going to shows.

That's really the key. I only got to see them 13 times before Jerry passed. Simply not enough. I can absolutely see why someone that had seen them 100 times wouldn't have that same draw to D&C. For me it's awesome. I do agree with you on Bobby. You kinda have to hope for a good setlist. His need to "sing" some of Jerry's songs is too much. Saw them at XL last fall and Loose Lucy and Black Peter were ruined, in my opinion. You could barely tell what song they were playing. Not a huge fan of him singing other stuff like Morning Dew or Ramble on Rose, but I've made my peace with some of them.

Love Mayer. He is the engine that drives this band. And when it's a Mayer song, you can tell this is really HIS band. To me it's a personal thing because I did not get enough of the real thing. This is - BY FAR - the closest to the real thing in the last 23 years. Mayer actually takes up the space left by Jerry in a way nobody has come close to.

Alas, I won't be in Hartford, but I will be in Buffalo and Ohio next week. Cannot wait.

 

[Deadrody]

Mayer is good, but Jerry could take a solo up and up and up until the crowd was cheering while he was still playing and my bud sitting next to meet shouts out "Yeehaw!!".

Mayer can do that as well. There were numerous times in Mexico in February where that exact thing happened. Was just listening to a show the other night and heard it again.