Chauncey and Chumley's Dad

Every once in a while, a song that aptly fits the moment pops up on the radio or music streaming service. Such was the case yesterday while playing golf. The weather conditions were a bit imposing; hot and humid, dark cloud cover with the prediction of rain, and smoke from the Canada wildfires. By the time we got to the back nine, a breeze had picked up and the smoke lessened, making for more comfortable conditions. However, the skies grew darker.  As we walked up to the 18th tee, we saw a crack of lightning, heard a thunderbolt, and then rain came albeit lightly. At that point, getting wet was of no concern but lightning on a golf course is always a little unnerving. At the very moment we were teeing off, my Spotify started playing The Wheel by Jerry Garcia with the appropriate line, “If the thunder don’t get you then the lightning will.” What a perfect coincidence. Or not. Maybe St. Jerry was giving a warning from the heavens above. Either way, we safely finished the round and as a memento to that moment, I’m kicking off the weekend with Jerry Garcia and The Wheel.

I’m kicking off the weekend by celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Jerry Garcia (August 1, 1942).

I’m going to have to miss Meet Up At The Movies this year as Jerry Garcia’s birthday (August 1) is on a Thursday, one of my racquetball nights. However, I kind of made up for it a couple of nights ago when I watched the documentary The Other One: The Long Strange Trip of Bob Weir. It was released in late 2015, but this was the first time I had viewed it. The documentary is excellent, covering, of course, Weir’s life and career with the Grateful Dead. Much of it also focused on the wonderful friendship he had with Jerry Garcia. One of the highlights of the film is a video of Garcia and Weir scuba diving. Jerry introduced Bob to scuba diving. Seeing the stout Garcia floating weightlessly under water and interacting with marine wildlife is a wonderful sight to behold.

For those of you around the world going to Meet Up At The Movies, enjoy the show!

Tonight!

Immigrant Union using a little photo shop trickery to promote their t-shirts. The trip ain’t over!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgzK1bQ_Blk

Grateful Dead 7th Annual Meet-Up At The Movies – August 1, 2017

I attended this event on what would have been Jerry Garcia’s 75th birthday. The concert was at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on July 12, 1989. It was terrific! I particularly enjoyed it because I was going to a lot of Dead concerts at that time. I had seen them twice in the 70’s, but from the early 80’s to the early 90’s, my wife and I saw them 1-to-2 times every year. Most of those shows were at Alpine Valley Music Theater in Wisconsin. They opened this show with Touch Of Grey, which was a song I heard them perform live before it was released on their 1987 album In The Dark. Some of the highlights for me included Black Peter (done a bit more up-tempo than the original studio version), Phil Lesh singing Bob Dylan’s Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, Traffic’s Dear Mr. Fantasy (which I had forgotten that they covered in their shows), Man Smart (Woman Smarter), the old Calypso song that we always enjoyed at their shows and at this show, featuring a rousing piano solo by guest Bruce Hornsby, and Black Muddy Water which is a beautiful song and a great choice for ending the show. As I watched the film, I thought about how the Grateful Dead did not pander to anyone by playing all their popular songs at their concerts. Their shows typically featured many “deep tracks” and cover versions. No flash, no stage costumes. Just pure music. And virtually no speaking to the audience other than through their music. You can hear a cheer arise from the audience during Black Muddy Water when Jerry sings the line, “When it seems like the night will last forever.” At 2 hours and 40 minutes, I thought it might be a bit long to be parked in a movie theater seat. But as I listened to Black Muddy Water, I wanted the night to last forever.

Here’s the set list from the show/film:

I just read Phil Lesh’s autobiography, Searching for the Sound: My Life with the Grateful Dead (2005). The book included a wonderful photo (above, top) of Jerry Garcia on stage playing to Phil’s older son, Grahame. Phil explains that as Grahame became a little older, instead of playing back stage with the rest of the entourages kids, he became very interested in the music and wanted to always watch the show. Grahame musically bonded with Jerry Garcia and would become elated when Jerry would play to him. Jerry, in turn, would respond to the affection with some of his best guitar playing of the evening. The photo was taken in 1993. Jerry passed away in 1995. Phil’s sons are now both musicians. (Family photo L-R: Brian, Phil, Jill, Grahame.)

The Rock World has lost another great one with the passing of Paul Kantner. As a founding member of Jefferson Airplane, he was a pioneer in the San Francisco Folk Rock and Acid Rock sounds. He later formed the band Jefferson Starship that had tremendous success in the 70′s. I was able to see Starship perform twice in the mid-seventies and still have fond memories of those shows. Paul Kantner was the driving force that kept the Airplane and Starship going as members splintered off to pursue other projects. He has left behind a wonderful legacy of music.