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Dead & Co. Summer Tour 2017


DesertDead

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I disagree. Jerry wanted to be a member of Bill Monroe's band. Bluegrass is very structured and I think he modeled his style in that genre. He probably wanted the tight jamming. Hunter says he had definite opinions about lyrics too. I think Jerry was first and foremost an authentic guy who know what he wanted. Unfortunately, what he wanted - to reach minds through the music and feel it and commiserate with it-  became lost as the band's fan base grew. I'll never forget the kind, bright curiosity  in his eyes I saw up close at the Warlocks show. 

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1 minute ago, PoetryGirl said:

I disagree. Jerry wanted to be a member of Bill Monroe's band. Bluegrass is very structured and I think he modeled his style in that genre. He probably wanted the tight jamming. Hunter says he had definite opinions about lyrics too. I think Jerry was first and foremost an authentic guy who know what he wanted. Unfortunately, what he wanted - to reach minds through the music and feel it and commiserate with it-  became lost as the band's fan base grew. I'll never forget the kind, bright curiosity  in his eyes I saw up close at the Warlocks show. 

 

I can't tell what you're disagreeing with exactly?   By Warlocks you mean the '89 shows, right?

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I hear you PG.  What you say makes sense. 

I was driving around a little while ago thinking about the post from JJ3.

 

Jerry was so exact in his lead guitar playing.  His leads are so melodic, as opposed to a lead guitar player who just noodles around the scales.  Every note had a place.  No waste and very few random notes in his written lead guitar melodies.  True craftsmanship.  It makes sense that he would have parts in his head for other instruments and ask them to be played that way.

 

The other thing I was thinking......In retrospect, I can't really picture Bobby telling Jerry to play a particular lead guitar line.  I imagine that would not have gone over very well.

 

My hypothetical was more based upon Jerry's stated reluctance to tell anyone what to do, and Bobby just seeming like an anal guy.  But that didn't really pertain to the music.

 

I suppose my original hypothetical was not very well constructed!

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5 minutes ago, Mojo Hand said:

I suppose my original hypothetical was not very well constructed!

 

I was surprised to hear this too when hearing it - it's why it stuck in my head for all these years..  Another thing Jerry mentioned in that same interview was something about how his approach to soloing was typically to play the melody of the lyrics.  Obviously we've all heard this in the songs, but it was interesting to hear him say it and if I recall his desire to learn and play the basic song perfectly was tied to that melodic playing.  Like it was very important for the basics and foundation of the song to be set in order for them to be able to expand on it.  Makes sense to me.  

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4 minutes ago, jj3down said:

 

I Another thing Jerry mentioned in that same interview was something about how his approach to soloing was typically to play the melody of the lyrics.  

My favorite example of Jerry using the melody of the lyric as a the basis for his lead guitar is "Loser".  I love that Jerry solo.....especially the part where he gets real down and dirty with it!

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Either the two dead Co shows I caught weren't very good it I just don't like them. Based on videos I've watched in leaning towards the latter. Enjoy it... I'm gonna focus my energy towards a band I love seeing. Some of you might have heard of them.

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I guess it's the black licorice thing, right?  It couldn't have been black olives since those things are universally terrible and everybody hates them cuz their nasty - I wouldn't eat 'em with Rudes mouth.

 

Anyway - It's not a fair fight in my book.  Not even that close when I look at what I really love about this music - but I ain't changing anyone's mind.

What I will do is encourage the unindoctriated to catch DSO and let them decide if they even care who's better.

All I know is that we all need more joy in our lives - get it however you get it.  I just hope there's more and more talented musicians who get swept away with the tide of this music - then we all win!

 

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I watched/listened to my first Dead & Co last night, having been roped into a scene where the stream had been purchased.  (My pulled pork sliders were out of this world, but that's another story altogether. Ultimately one's sliders can only be as good as the slider roll, despite the long preparation that is pulled pork...)

 

For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised.  There was an interesting acoustic take on Dark Star (fortunately for Mickey since he's already using brushes no need to change equipment), Oteil did excellent justice to Comes A Time, and for the most part the tempos were nice and upbeat. This show did not have a case of the "Bobby drag".  He even facilitated a super speed Casey Jones.

 

Mayer and Oteil seemed to have a great time, and that energy was palpable.  They just seemed to be having fun, which can't be overrated. There's gotta be joy to this music or it won't work.

 

One thing that struck me is the inability to close a jam.  Many players of this music don't have the good sense to know when a jam has played its course and more will not equate to better.  I'm thinking specifically of the Althea jam.  It was smoking hot until it finally collapsed under it's own weight. If there's one thing that can be said about Jerry, that shit never happened on his watch. Get in, rage, and get out.  Even a jam that goes off the rails has to have a tidiness factor to it.

 

Another take, seemingly bizarre on the face of it: this is so much better than it would be if Phil were in Oteil's spot.  Sure, he'd contribute bombs that were missing (Oteil's playing, while quite good, seems overly sanitized), and one would groove more on his phrasing probably. But all that would be more than countered by the war of egos and the beyond comprehension atrocities of his lead vocals.  Such is the sad status in the world of 2017 Grateful Dead.

 

Now, who wants to pay $110 to see Bobby sit in with the Terrapin Family Band at the Mt Tam Sound Summit later this summer?  :o

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4 hours ago, crazy digits said:

In my opinion, this is the best post Jerry band yet, outside of dso...but, I am hoping everyone understands what I'm saying? Don't want to get anyone britches in a knot.

 

Cool man......enjoy!

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This is a funny topic because we all love DSO and last week at Citi field was  such a good time...outside. I was sitting next to a car with a DSO sticker and I kept getting into convo about this band with people who have seen them and we had suck good talks about them.not a bad word spoken..shocker...Inside Citi was awesome too BUT the music was ok, the vibe was very fun...Love Bobby still rocking and Mayer was ok, he's feeling it.. There were DEF good jams...very good party.  TOO>morning dew  was a highlight. Just love the fact of so much GD music to rock my soul... 

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We had a blast in Chicago. There were probably 1000 unsold seats in 3 sections behind home plate so of course we see other DSO friends there who want the space. It was by far the best area in the stadium b/c the people who went there all wanted space to dance and weren't worried about getting booted from the area.  Since there were 0 ticketed people in this section, ushers weren't an issue like where we started the show. Dancing with 50k people is super fun and dancing with 3 seats per person let you get down as much as you needed to.  On Saturday a big group hit the green mill after and heard amazing jazz. Pat mallinger was playing sax and he's just fantastic. Hope to see him join DSO in the future at the Vic. They even did an eyes>UJB in a true jazz style. Fantastic night. Got home as the sun was coming up. Met a lot of new friends and hung out with many old ones.

 

You just can't beat the crowd at any Dead type show.  When you let go and fully embrace everything the scene has to offer, you are filled with so much love.  I don't think anyone on the planet had more fun Saturday than we had. 

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I enjoyed Dead & Co a lot at Wrigley.  Even impressed with John Mayer.  I had no idea he could play guitar as well as he does. Doesn't sound anything like Jerry in my opinion though. Not that I'd want him to, just saying it's definitely not copycatting.

 

From Dark Star v2 through the end of the 1st set was pretty rockin'.  Casey Jones was played surprisingly at proper tempo and even sped up several notches at the finish, maybe as fast as I've ever heard it., but I agree that Althea started dragging after a while.

 

The late 70's style Dancin in the Streets was the highlight of the show for me - JM was having a ton of fun with that effect on his guitar which is the same Jerry used.   Comes a Time was really beautiful.  Oteil has a way of singing that makes it feel very personal and from the heart.  Scarlet>Fire was fun but I had a hard time getting back into it until NFA.

 

Most certainly worth seeing them again, although I doubt I'll be doing more than my locals.

 

I'll reiterate from earlier in the thread... the world needs more deadheads. 

 

Have to mention that the vibe was really great too.  Everyone seemed to be having an absolute blast!

 

 

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On 7/5/2017 at 0:24 AM, jj3down said:

....  Even impressed with John Mayer.  I had no idea he could play guitar as well as he does. Doesn't sound anything like Jerry in my opinion though. Not that I'd want him to, just saying it's definitely not copycatting.....

 

 

 

After hearing D&C at Saratoga Springs I totally agree about Mayer.  I was impressed by the freshness of his jams.  His guitar playing shined a new light on some of the music.

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Here's an interesting interview with Oteil.  Nice list of songs he says he'd like to sing.

http://liveforlivemusic.com/news/oteil-burbridge-reddit-ama-recap

I also heard a piece on Sirius XM with John Mayer.  He said the band members were still exchanging group texts about how much of a blast everyone had this summer, and how they look forward to doing it again. Then he related something that I've never really thought about - how casually the band comes onto stage by just nonchalantly walking up the stairs.  He loved that, and contrasted it to how a "pop star" is expected to make some sort of grandiose entrance and how ridiculous that is. The little things we Deadheads take for granted!

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I heard some of that interview and in typical cosmic fashion he said once he decluttered his life of what didn't serve his higher self, Dead and Company entered his life. He said he could relax now- "He got the gig." Which that is interesting because I felt like at times it was the "John Mayer Show"  with the way he'd takeover the jams. Maybe that'll change and they will be more of the hand instead of a Sissy Hankshaw thumb. 

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