DJPoLo Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 While certainly not a hippie, I was blown away by The Dead this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn jones Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 ugh? yippie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 While never having been a GD fan, my company did the projection effects at the GD new year shows in 1984 & 85 (we used computerized equipment to simulate the old Fillmore West type light shows). When the Dead did a New Years show back then they played for 3 hours each night the two nights before NY, and then played for 4 hours plus on New Years Eve. Quite the show. They definitely gave the fans their moneys worth. Musically, while not exactly my taste, they do go to some interesting places with their extended "Jams". Live, they are impressive, it just never came across on most of their recordings. IMHO, side one of their "Blues for Allah" album was far and away their best recorded effort. Check out the songs: Help On The Way/Slip Knot - Franklin's Tower - King Solomon's Marbles - Stronger Than Dirt/Pt. 2 - Milkin' The Turkey. Great Stuff! Otherwise they have never really held my attention musically. I last heard that the remnants of the original band were touring under the name "The Others". I am assuming that solo "Twirly Dancing" and "Frisbee Tossing" are still big time crowd activities at these shows ;-) Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 hunh! hunh! HUNH! <BARF!> <ptooey!> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Ya Know, My feelings are; If ya don't have something nice to say to others, then ya don't actually have anything to say! And that's all I have to say. Have a nice day. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 As a third generation native San Franciscan (say what you will, believe what you will, it matters not) and a Marin County founding family, the Grateful Dead came along and was one of those "you had to have been there" experiences when it all began. FWIW, it was a group who was a crowd-pleaser, one who GAVE a lot, and one that gigged with tons of other professionals. They were, without getting into boring details, successful, were like no other travelling performers and were somethin' else at the Avalon Ballroom........... In the beginning there were no weird hangers-on and wannbe's... just local fans and the band. Back when The Family Dog was a family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Hi SiG Lady, Nice to meet another 3rd Gen SF'r (my great grandfather came to CA in 1854 from Sweden, my grandfather was born out near the 9th avenue area in the 1870's, and my father was born in the same house in the 19teens). Even though I live in Pacifica now (actually a great little place), I still love my city, faults and all. The Dead were (and still are I guess), one of the most successful touring acts to ever break the 25 year longevity mark. I have friends that have toured with them as technical staff, and have had the pleasure of performing professional services for them over the years. The concept of family was always the big thing within their organization. The antics, and debauchery of the principles aside, they were an admirable, and professional organization as far as doing business, and giving their fans their moneys worth. They kept a small army of professionals employed doing the highest quality technical work possible for over a quarter of a century. When they disbanded after Jerry Garcia's death (the pitiful creature he became behind substance abuse was a real shame if you had ever met him in his better years) another friend of mine bought their touring audio company to keep one of the better audio reinforcement concerns in the US from going out of business (UltraSound). He didn't realize how tight a family he had inherited until every single other touring act on their roster thanked him extensively for salvaging their preferred audio vendor and then pledged undying loyalty if he would just keep the same staff on their tours (Primus, Dave Mathews, John MacLaughlin etc.). As I said earlier, they may not have been my musical cup of tea, but as an organization they were committed to doing music for their fans to the limit of their abilities and staging technology. If you go to a Dead show, you get a lot of what you paid for, and the price for tickets has never been huge compared to acts like the Stones who play for 84 minutes and charge you a couple hunnert bucks for the disservice of lousy sound in a nosebleed seat (I bought in to their last tour at SF's PacBell park as a gesture to the dinosaur rock era, and my well misspent youth). One thing that will always stay with me from the bygone era will be the concept of "what goes around, comes around". The Dead family lifestyle was based on that type of feeling, and the good vibes from feeling that way were always the most important message the sixties ever had to offer. Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Hey, George! Are you on the WeLL by any chance? I was a mainstay there in the early 1990s. I also lived in the east bay from 1987-1991. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 George-- Amen, Amen, Amen. It was just one of those times, just one of those places. The Dead were basically in a class by themselves. They were a classic example of success and had mastered the thing about Universal Appeal. My Italian side came over in 1850 (great grandparents), set up several businesses, founded Lagunitas, bought select properties in SFO and plain flat prospered. We were Telegraph Hill and Marina District people. The 1906 Earthquake forced many San Franciscans to regroup into Marin County (where their country homes traditionally were) until The City was somewhat rebuilt but success occurred both places for us. I actually lived in Pacifica for a time much later (I still have a friend there) and enjoyed that as well. SL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 A bumper sticker seen in the months following Garcia's death... JERRY'S DEAD, MAN GET OVER IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Hey Rhino, No, never been on the Well. After abusing Compuserve and various BBS's for a few years in the early eighties, I didn't get back online till the coming of the world wide web forced me to bootstrap a web site for my company in the mid 90's. It's been all downhill since :-) Hey Erik, I get over the Dead every time I hear anything that really (I mean really!) rocks. They were an OK musical trip in their time but they never really got above a certain point when it came to really kickin it into high gear compared to say the opening guitar chords in the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again", or "Pinball Wizard", or maybe the drum/bass riff that drives "Serpentine Fire" by Earth, Wind & Fire, or for that matter "Fire" by Jimmy Hendrix (most anything by Hendrix actually). Don't even get me started on Rush etc. I'll leave this thread on one last note. The Deads main lyricist (Robert Hunter) was right on the money when he penned the line from "Truckin" that goes "What a long strange trip it's been" Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 A bumper sticker seen in the months following Garcia's death...JERRY'S DEAD, MAN GET OVER IT Heh! Whenever I hear (what are apparently deadheads) talking about "Jerry," I sometimes join in the conversation. Eventually they realize that I'm talking about THE Jerry (Jerry Lewis). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Eventually they realize that I'm talking about THE Jerry (Jerry Lewis) Speaking of the "Real" Jerry, has anyone ever figured out why he is a national hero in France? Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Interestingly, (though he was an accomplished guitarist), I wasn't hung UP on Garcia as such. Now, if we wanna talk about Bob Weir... whom I should've added to my "hunk" list in an earlier thread about "Guys We'd Like to Do". etc. Yeh, let's add him to that list. Still, it's gonna be tough to knock Adrian Paul out of first place on that list. Though time-consuming and ultimately not too productive, I'll actually watch "Tracker " re-runs just for the visual thrill. There's something terribly sexy about how he yanks the souls out of those criminals. Oh... sorry... Was this a thread drift...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 The last 4 or so exchanges kind of reminds me of the conversation Fex and I had about Snoop Dog. Ahhhhh, for the old days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 http://www.snoopdogg.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Speaking of the "Real" Jerry, has anyone ever figured out why he is a national hero in France? Uh, because he's a FREAKIN' GENIUS?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 I like the Dead. If they had a concert near me, I think I'd go see them. American Beauty is a great album and one of the very, very few that I can just put into the player and listen to it ad infinitum. Like BE says about 16 Horsepower "its not for everyone, but what is? If you don't like it, don't rain the parade of those who do. Really, does the fact that some here like and enjoy the Dead really upset you or bug you to the point you have to make a snide remark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Right Flex If I still had enough hair to talk about I would get me one of those black things to go over my head and let a few twisted strands of hair hang out. No that is the Zenith of style. Makes you wonder how many of the Shooting Trivia questions Snoopdogg would have gotten. You know all those guys in that part of the music industry are REALLY into guns... I must confess, Napster and I downloaded all of the avaliable Rap songs...oh the humiliation of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 If you don't like it, don't rain the parade of those who do. Really, does the fact that some here like and enjoy the Dead really upset you or bug you to the point you have to make a snide remark? Simply put, my answer is "Yes." It really does bug me that much. Spend four years living among a huge concentration of deadheads and you might feel the same way. I should clarify, though, that my reaction is primarily to the subculture and not the music, per se. The music I find to be unremarkable at best. There are many worse and many, many better (of the same status). The problem is, when someone mentions the music, I am reminded of the people and the culture. Thus, my reaction. Given that, if someone likes the stuff, why in the world should it matter what I or anyone else has to say about it? If someone's professed preference for something is affected by a few snarky comments, I would suspect either they are insecure about liking it or they don't like it that much. I hear a lot of negative comments about the things I like, but I still like those things. People are entitled to their opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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