Last night I attended my 2nd Grateful Dead Meet Up at The Movies event. This year’s enticement was a live show from 7/7/89. And what a show it was.
It’s a delightful feeling to pull up to a local movie theater for a Grateful Dead concert rather than the more typical fare– say Ant Man. You can tell from the parking lot that the Dead Heads are in town.
When the lights go down and the band comes on, you have all the relative comforts of a state of the art theater, including LOUD music. The camaraderie is immediate and strong, and the whole experience is truly a pleasure.
Watching 7/7/89 unfold I was struck by a couple of things:
1) The Dead, at their best, remain unparalleled.
2) Each player in the band offers something unique and important. Last night I was struck by Brent’s incredible musicality, his on-demand solos, his intricate playing at all times, and the passion with which he sang “Blow Away.” I was also struck by the uniqueness that is Bob Weir. When you watch a live show, he really presents as the front man for the band. With his short shorts and his screeching enthusiasm, he’s one of a kind. And his guitar playing is so essential to the proper functioning of the band. Kreutzman is a machine on drums, hard hitting, always there. And Mickey Hart is a mad scientist of percussion. While in many ways the spirit of the band, Phil is kind of in his own world: stage left, doing his thing, completely engrossed in the music. And Jerry. Just watching the subtle shifts in his facial expressions, not to mention the way he moves up and down the fret board. It’s spectacular to be confronted with Jerry’s guitar playing for a few hours. I think, of all the musicians, he’s got the greatest alignment between what he wants his guitar to do and his ability to make it go there.
3) Set list highlights– I thought Hell in a Bucket and Iko were great openers. Ramble on Rose and Stuck Inside of Mobile brought a lot of meat to the first set. And Brent’s singing on Blow Away is something I’ll never forget. Not my style, but an undeniable passion and emotion there. 2nd Set opened with Box of Rain and the vocals were spot on. Scarlet and Fire both reached the highest of heights. Estimated and Standing on the Moon made the pre-drums/space portion of the set truly epic. Coming out of drums/space the show ended with a raging Other One- Wharf Rat and Lovelight. E: Knocking on Heaven’s Door. Great songs, great playing, great show.
Last night I sold at least 1 buddy on the merits of Grateful Dead Meet Up at the Movies. If you’re a skeptic, give it a try and I promise your ears and heart will thank you.