Tag Archives: Jerry Garcia

TBT: Oakland 91 With A Gift For Your Upcoming Travel!!!

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I stepped off of the plane after the cross country flight filled with anticipation, excitement and this tremendous sense of wonder about what new adventures and revelations the week ahead was holding for me. Being much younger and abundantly more of an outlaw and renegade back then, I got to my rent a car and began peeling off the Elbow of vacuum packed, kind organic magic broccoli squares off of my body. One of those moments when you feel like Mission #1 is complete. I got here without getting arrested! As we pulled away in the car, broccoli blazin, we turned on the radio to immediately hear the news that Bill Graham was killed in a helicopter accident. The bright colors of upcoming expectations left us immediately as the grey heaviness of the moment smacked us squarely in the heart. We cried… We pretty much were just starting to feel a little better after Brent’s untimely passing. There’s something about recognizing the impending infinite absence of someone that leaves unexpectedly that just seems to hurt more than those you saw coming… With no way to escape from the sunken feeling we all began to wonder if the Halloween Run would be cancelled. It’s overwhelming how fast unbridled joy can turn into something exactly its opposite.

We went to walk the streets of San Francisco to go through Uncle Bobo’s scrapbook as best we could. The loss was taking the invisible fuel from our emotional capacities much quicker than anything could fill it. News came before long that the Grateful Dead would perform as scheduled and at the simple mention of the shows going on, the world became just a touch more illuminated than it had been only seconds before… The steps down Haight became a little bit lighter… The shifts in the emotional landscape were so extreme yet confined to only the first couple of hours of our day. It was a lot like the experience we’ve lived for at Dead Shows having our emotions move unpredictably through every color of the emotional and spiritual spectrum all within minutes of each other… This was much different though… Regardless of the swings in mood, nothing was gonna patch this one up…

On October 27, 1991 the entire weight of the West Coast Music World sat directly on the shoulders of the band that changed musical history and delivery forever, with the help of Bill Graham. It was almost as if he scheduled the band that would perform at his funeral. The mood was hushed and the sorrow that filled the air was thicker than tar. We didn’t know if we should play volleyball or sit quietly as if at a wake. In hopes of behaving properly and to be certain that conduct would be appropriate given the moment, we tried hard to act in a way we weren’t accustomed to acting… Refrained… Reserved… Pensive… On that night, it seemed as though it took a year and a half from when we entered the Coliseum until the lights finally went down. What would happen next… How was everybody gonna pull this off???

What unfolded from there there were quite possibly the best consecutive 4 nights The Dead had played in a long, long time as well as the best consecutive 4 nights they would play ever again… When faced with incredible loss and the trials and tribulations associated with life, regardless of your position on the social or economic ladder, we either crumble or get get recreated… The Grateful Dead reached deep and lifted the entire situation to unspeakable highs and the most wounded of lows. The emotions that fueled those 4 nights were the medium by which absolute transformation takes place. The music was crisp and uncolored. There was a quality about the sound that seemed to lay down the technology and recreate the same magic with a return to the purity of simple and clear amplification without the gadgets or filters that were prevalent at the time. We were all completely transcended throughout that run with some of the best music available in this lifetime. The special and unforgettable moments between Sugar Mags that opened the run and Werewolves of London that closed it were far too numerous to count. Perhaps the finest example of Garcia’s command of the pace that he and he alone was known for can be heard at the end of I Know You Rider when the entire band is too far ahead of where Garcia wants it to be and he absolutely commands the entire procession to his pace. Listen and check it out for yourself. During Peggy-O when Garcia comes to the verse singing, “Sweet William he is dead” the entire coliseum got so quiet you could hear a mouse pissing on a cotton ball. It was eerily beautiful. The Terrapin is outstanding as is just about everything that was played. Nobody will ever forget the intensity of the jam that brewed while Ken Kesey came out for Bill’s eulogy to us. We were all so full of chills we could feel the root of every single follicle of hair on our bodies. The Werewolves ending with Garcia Howling as he sings “Werewolves in Oakland Again!!”

I wrote about this because it was such a deeply embedded memory and I know many of us will be doing a lot of travelling in the next couple of weeks. I wanted to give everybody a gift, that doesn’t already have it in digital format. A great way to spend several hours of listening time without having to hear a single repeat. Here y’all go!! 4 Nights of downloadable gems for your trip!! Travel Safely!!! Can’t wait to see you on the Road of Life!!!

We’re ALL Getting In!!!!!!!! EVERY Night!!!!!!!!

10/27/91

10/28/91

10/30/91

10/31/91

Dead To The Core,

Dean Sottile (pronounced So Tilly)

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We were reminded this week of the absolute power the Grateful Dead have always possessed while making it appear as though they’re completely unaware. Even the athletic world was forced to bow down to the supremacy and power inherent in The Dead as major sport championships placed their coveted trophies in the same locations The Dead started and finished. On the 50th Anniversary of the creation of the most powerful group of musicians in the history of the universe, the unassuming group of hippies, along with Phil, displayed their collective power in shifting everything on earth by influencing World Championships in the same locations as the Fare Thee Well Shows. Chicago had a nice pregame show as Soldier Field played host to celebrating the World Champion Blackhawks winning Lord Stanley’s Cup followed by the Bay Area’s Golden State Warriors winning the NBA Title. Almost unbelievable…

While some people may be crazy enough to call it a coincidence, we all know better. We’ve sat in stadiums over the years and watched the music move weather systems, create as well as stop rain, wind and other forces of nature. This is just another example of The Dead’s ability to completely influence things happening in the world by just showing up on the scene. Their hive mind is able to orchestrate events seemingly beyond human control with the greatest of ease while their individual abilities can barely sell out The Cap. The collective consciousness of the whole is always much greater than the individual thoughts and personalities that represent the pieces contributing to making that whole, whole. I just wanted to see if I could create a coherent sentence that used the word “whole”, twice in a row…

I won’t be surprised if California gets a few feet of rain in the months following the shows. Unless of course, the band can’t get along in which case the groundhog always sees its shadow. A portion of the fan base believes Shapiro is responsible for the drought and secretly hates Californians. His relationship with Snoop Dog may be a conspiracy to cover that one up too. Regardless, we all know there’s a far greater force at work in Grateful Dead Land that trumps the power of any one man or woman. We’ve lived it. We experienced the power generated when these guys all point their souls in the same direction. We’ve felt the power that was created when all of us had our energies moving in the same direction. If only recordings could convey what that felt like… “Maybe living on a feelin…”

Tickets for Santa Clara have become difficult to give away for free as prices on StubHub are falling faster than Weir during Unbroken Chain. This brings up a terribly misplaced and unrelated question. Why did the Other One documentary chronicle Garcia’s drug problem and make Bob out to be some kind of Yoga instructor? Garcia maybe fell asleep on stage a few times but he never fell down. It really just opened up the door for people named Garcia to completely, once again, be the highlight of the entire experience. Carolyn and Trixie’s segments were, without a doubt, my favorite parts of the movie. Carolyn’s words, much like Jerry’s, always seem to have this palpable weight to them. There’s an undeniable authority and sense of faithfulness and truth when she speaks. Trixie’s emotion during her segments brought tears to my eyes as she talked about her father. Its become fairly obvious who the keepers of the flame always were and still are. Why not chronicle the problem that Weir obviously battled with and has apparently overcome since Garcia’s passing? The movie was about him wasn’t it? Regardless of whose movie or book it is, clearly the one thing we all want to hear more about is Garcia… I’m incredibly happy to see Weir looking healthy and vibrant and appearing to be somewhat clean himself now. I Love ya, Bob! Sorry about that diversion… What do you expect from a hack?

I don’t know about anyone else, but the anticipation is unofficially at an all time high. If we look at all the events, starting with the announcement and leading up to the main event that’s right in front of us, It’s been one crazy ride. I haven’t felt this way since my last kid was born. This is like “Mama’s water just broke” kind of excitement. It’s hard to not put exclamation points after everything I write!!!! This is like the moments long ago when the spotlight guys would climb up their rope ladders creating the initial blast of incredible anticipation. I Loved that moment. All of a sudden the absolute need to dance kicked in as we focused on the prerecorded house music that Healy as spinning. The days to come are all like the small moments that continued to cause the massive release of adrenaline into our systems. A look to the soundboard and Healy’s arms are crossed high across his chest and his headphones are on… Candace is perched behind her Board facing Dead Ahead… Harry emerges from the side of the stage to where his monitor mix will be handled… Parish polishes Garcia’s guitar for the last time before it’s picked up by the Master and it sits on its stand. Garcia’s guitar alone commanding more energy and presence than most performers ever could… The potential energy of his instrument alone, like a steaming volcano… Prayerful postures and unconventional stretching is widespread as we all seek some relief from intensity of the moment expanding inside of us… We chew on gum if we have it, on air if we don’t… Our stomachs feel like we ate a bag of fish hooks… The internal mantra begging for the lights to go it begins… Balloons are being batted around the venue and are beginning to leave trails as they travel… The purple lights that illuminate the empty stage begin to sweat from the intensity of the moment.. The moment is right there… Massive potential energy just waiting to be harnessed and released… I can feel it all week… It’s building rapidly… Can you???

Dead To The Core,

Dean Sottile (pronounced So Tilly)