Grateful Dean

Sunday night at MSG was a night filled with observations. My seats were outstanding(Thanks Bob!) in Section 107. I was in the same section on the opposite side for Halloween. My first observation was that it must be a little strange backstage. In both sections I was seated for these 2 shows, I was surrounded by people with laminates. It appears as though the J. Crew and Brooks Brothers Mafia is running things for Dead & Company. I’ve never seen a more unlikely bunch of folks wearing the Sacred Plastic Necklaces in Grateful Dead Land. The row in front of me looked like the cast from MTV’s Jersey Shore. I was wondering if they had spray tanning booths backstage… You know, just to freshen up a little. I’m fairly confident they didn’t score their lammies from Kreutzmann but ya never know.

The next observation was wondering if Weir has to have his britches hemmed or if they come that way. You get the impression that his biggest fashion influences are Huck Finn and Buckwheat. I guess it’s better than the Hooters waitress shorts of the 80s. Weir likes his shorts too short, his pants too short… If he likes writers that are too short maybe I can help him with the Biography. I understand as men get older our waists mystically disappear. Maybe his pants are actually the perfect length but nowadays he has to pull the waist up to just below his nipples to keep em on. A lot of older folks do that. I wish I would’ve gotten one of Bear’s Belt buckles back in the day when they were considerably less expensive. Back then I didn’t really get the whole belt buckle thing because I never wore a belt. What do you do with a buckle if you don’t do a belt? Now the second I go to tie my shoe laces my pants immediately descend slightly putting on a display of Levi cleavage if I’m not careful. Where the hell did my waist go? Now I realize that back then, Bear and the crew were pretty close to the age I’m at now and I completely understand the need for a belt. I think I drifted a little there, back to Weir. Bob can do whatever he wants now because he’s a famous legend. He might have never made it if he started his career in capris and sandals. The last man that was able to break through and make the big time all while wearing sandals was Jesus. There hasn’t been a man since that’s been able to do it. Seeing him wearing the Garcia shirt brought me all kinds of happiness. I can’t explain how I smiled inside every time the screens showed the close ups. I would have absolutely LOVED to see Garcia’s reaction if he did that when Jerry was alive! That would’ve made for some hilarious moments.

Dead Heads have long been familiar with the “Never miss a Sunday Show” mantra and the tradition has carried on with Dead & Company. I’m not gonna break the whole thing down song by song but everybody knows you’re getting Samson on Sunday and that was a raging way to get the party started. If you can’t jam out to Samson, then you just can’t jam out at all. That tune just gives everybody a chance to shine. It’s obvious how happy all of US are to hear Jeff Chimenti’s new prominent position in the mix. Jeff being turned up has completely changed the entire dynamic of the band. His Hammond was inflating the Garden with massive amounts of Joy Energy all night long. For me, Jeff makes an ENORMOUS difference in the combined vibration of this group. He is a driving force in the directions and colors of the experience. The next notable number for me was Sugaree. From the first notes, you knew that if there was a song that was right in John’s wheelhouse, this was the one. It really lends itself to his natural inclinations as a guitarist and I was certain it would get the complete treatment. About half way through it, John started nailing the shit out of that solo like it was “A” List celebrity poontang. The Garden erupted and the remnants of last night’s hangover were knocked off of the entire crowd in an instant. It was one of those jams that seems to make its way in a circular motion around the arena then hits you from behind like a tidal wave of furious sound. Absolutely blew the place away! That was truly a high water moment for me, along with Bob’s pants! The next moment of note from my experience was Uncle John’s. For the second time in as many nights, the band broke out into this reggae groove seemingly out of nowhere. They did that the night before during Cassidy as well. It fell perfectly back into Uncle J’s and on both occasions was a great addition the the tunes in which it occurred.

Uncle John’s was followed by the awkward moment of the night when only half the band thought the first set was over. The house lights went on and Bob, Mickey and Jeff left the stage. John used the moment to just change guitars, Oteil didn’t budge and Bill was still on his kit. I instantly thought that an incredible new power trio was gonna play intermission music. You know something special is taking place when you’re that consumed and spaced out in the moment. Maybe John was just thinking he’d get started on the second set on his own. Why stop now when you’re absolutely KILLIN IT!? Jeff and Mickey came to drag him away and we all had a great moment together as a community. One of the most endearing you can do in front of fans like US is be completely and totally human. We’ll love ya extra for it. There’s been more ovations for words that were forgotten than those that were remembered!

Being that this is the time in the piece when we get to intermission, Here’s what Trey was doing this weekend…

If only we could all be Rock Stars… That’s all I’m gonna say about that… Photo by the one and only Jay Blakesberg…

This brings me to the second set. Any time you catch the first few notes of Scarlet, the entire evening is considered a total win! The jam was great but if I’m being honest, it was like a gorgeous woman missing one of her eye teeth. She’s still gorgeous but at certain times you can tell something’s missing. I can’t figure out what it is in this case. Scarlet jams were always so full and so wide and so deep. It used to almost be overwhelming how much sound your mind had to process simultaneously. There were some holes in a couple of songs were music used to be. Perhaps it’s Oteil’s approach to playing or Mickey’s more muted current sound or just a different sound from a different group of players altogether. It definitely sounded like there were a few gaps in the music where none existed previously. It didn’t take away from the raging Scarlet-> Fire at all, it’s just an observation. As Fire developed from Scarlet, I could see Jeff trying to get John to play the PsychedeliFunk Wah-wah chord jam at the beginning. You know the one. the one that Bruce accidentally cut Trey off on in Chicago. Jeff was looking directly at John’s as if to say, “Drop those funky chords with the wah-wah bro!” as he played the chords himself on the organ. John was pretty absorbed inwardly at the moment and didn’t notice or catch on. I think it’s little things like that over time that will materialize and make this group sound better and better.

One thing I’m happy about is having somebody up there dancing a little while they play. John is no Bruno Mars but it’s good to see him and Oteil boogying up there. It’s interesting that The Dead have always had the most dancingest(total made up word) fans in music and it was rare for them to even budge. Bob was always good for some hot doggin’ but they never did much moving. Jerry would bend his knees a few inches and we’d all cheer like an entire dance team just did splits simultaneously. I hope one day during the tour John goes apeshit crazy and does the full blown rock star routine. Runs all over the stage and starts throwing guitar picks at the crowd, the whole 9 yards! You can tell he’s trying like hell to pump the brakes on his own instincts as a performer. Get down Oteil and John! I Love it!

Shakedown was in the running for “Most Kickass Song of the Night” as well. Jams were explosive and funky and psychedelic. It’s hard not be happy when you get segments like Scarlet->Fire Shakedown Dark Star! While I’m at it, if there’s a Garcia song that Bob really sounds outstanding on, it’s Dark Star. Undoubtedly my favorite Weir take on a Garcia tune. The liberties Bob takes with his spin on it ALL Payoff and payoff BIG! John’s jams, while not as confusing or melted down as we’ve been accustomed, brought new steam to an old number and I thought the changes were of tremendous benefit. I appreciated the Dark Star as much as anything both vocally and musically. GDTRFB to close the show absolutely kicked ass! Add a Ripple encore and I’d have to say it was a couple of days in NYC that once again exceeded any and all prior expectations.

It was a fantastic weekend for Dead & Company as well as all of US! If you’ve been on the fence about going to see them, get the hell off of the fence and get to a show. There will definitely be a bunch of superb shows on this tour. This is the strongest blend of Dead music I’ve heard in a long time. If you can’t have a blast at these shows, the problem definitely isn’t the music, the problem is more likely in the mirror. If you can separate yourself from comparing it to the strongest years the band had with Garcia and instead enjoy your favorite songs with 3 of your favorite musicians and a few others that ROCK, it will be hard not to love this band. It’s difficult to base an opinion on a taper’s audience stream that you listened to. Looking at an image of the Grand Canyon and looking at the Grand Canyon are 2 very different experiences. I suggest you get there. I’m checking out until after MSG next week unless something crazy happens between now and then. If you have any good seats for the MSG show on the 7th, I need 2. Love You Long Time! See ya next week!

Dead To The Core,

Dean Sottile (pronounced So Tilly)
@gd50th on Twitter