I've been a fan of the Grateful Dead since the mid-80s. But it wasn't until 1994 that I first found myself heading to a Dead show. With great enthusiasm, we packed the car for a long weekend and headed off to Orlando. We knew we were getting close to the venue when we suddenly noticed the heads dripping like lice from motel balconies, vending trippy tye-dyes from the backs of vans and trunks of cars, and prowl cars roaming every block.
My heart dropped, though, when we pulled into the stadium parking lot and were handed a flyer -- SHOW CANCELLED! One of the band member's family members was ill and he had to fly home. So we drooped on back to Sarasota.
Jerry was dead a year later.
Although the other band members eventually moved on, touring as The Other Ones, Ratdog, Phil Lesh & Friends, and even as The Dead, I never found the inspiration to check 'em out. Without Jerry, I figured, the magic was lost.
But in 2009, the newly formed Dead announced another tour, their first in 5 years. And they were coming to Los Angeles. Without a second thought, I bought a pair of tickets for Saturday, May 9 at the funky, old Inglewood Forum (the same classic venue where Jim Morrison gave one of his epic performances in December 1968).
The day finally arrived, and so did we. The parking lot was already filling quickly when we showed up 3 hours before doors opened. Folks spilling out of trunks, Dead shirts by the hundreds, 'Truckin'' blending with 'Terrapin Station' blending with 'Cosmic Charlie' across the vast parking lot. A fun and beautiful scene.
...fast forward to the show!...
(Set 1)
The band started into a 45-minute Viola Lee Blues>Bertha>Viola Lee Blues>Caution>Viola Lee Blues that was pure majesty. Next came Black Peter (never one of my fav's), before closing the hour-long set with good ole Cosmic Charlie. I was transfixed.
(Set 2)
Aaah, Shakedown Street got the groove going for the sweet second set. New Speedway Boogie came next, followed by, followed by...Scarlet Begonias>Fire on the Mountain. After a mind-blowing, extended Scarlet>Fire, Drums (I loved it!) and Space (a poor, self-indulgent version) gave folks a chance to sit down and recuperate.
Next came Dark Star>Wharf Rat>Dark Star. This was the first time for Wharf Rat on the tour, and I was stunned to hear it sandwiched between masterful sections of the Dead mega-classic Dark Star. Not quite the same without Jerry (of course) but Warren Haynes did a great job on both guitar and vocals. And it was great to hear Phil Lesh lend his vocal cords for a couple lines of Dark Star.
After Dark Star, the band kicked into a very nice version of the Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction'. I'm not much of a Stones fan, but this version was terrific (and very lively).
Then the lights went down...for a few minutes.
(Encore)
One More Saturday Night! They closed the show with One More Saturday Night!
The guys put on a great show. I was stoked!
All-too-soon, I dragged myself out of the venue and into the car, then headed up to the mountains to sleep. Come morning, it was into the mountains I went yet again to play.
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