Feel like a Stranger
Alabama Getaway
Ramble On Rose
Dear Mr. Fantasy
Hey Jude
Dark Star 1
Cumberland Blues
Casey Jones
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Here Comes Sunshine
Scarlet Begonias
Viola Lee Blues
Spanish Jam / Dark Star 2
Fire on the Mountain
Drums
Space
I Need a Miracle
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
U.S. Blues
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Ripple
Just the other night I went to see the Dead and Co. for one of their final tour shows. Of course many of the wacky things that often happen at Dead shows happened this night. One of the memorable ones involved this old timer we will name Cali Scott.
It was a hot night. Hot enough to make the devil sigh. We got to the venue an hour or so before the doors opened and went to the end of the already long line of folks waiting to get in. We met this old timer sitting on a walker and he informed us, of course, that he was just sitting there minding his own business and the line came to him. As we chatted we found out that he and some young fellow he met on line were gonna tour with the band this year. Totally on spec of course. i.e. no tickets. As it turned out the people we were meeting, who had just arrived, had a spare that they gifted to the geezer. Seeing that he was using a walker one of the staff patrolling the line said that he (and get this… all of his party… us) needs to be in the ADA line. How cool is that? Old boy Scott was a slow mover, but we finally made our way up to the very short ADA line. Everything was going swell, until, crash, boom! Old boy’s walker collapsed and he ends up ass over teakettle on the ground.
There is a flurry of activity as we and helpful bystanders assessed the situation. Scott was a bit shocked, confused, and bleeding a bit in a few places, but no other noticeable damage, except for the busted wheel on the walker. Whilst I was fixing the walker, the para’s arrived and whisked him away. So now we’re selfishly thinking the jig is up as far as the line goes, but no.. we are told to stay in this line and also where we can find our new friend inside after they have patched him up. We actually did find him later, and he was chuffed to blue lights because they took him ‘backstage’ to treat his wounds.
So… what else happened? A happy couple near us got married between sets. Helped to relocate a lost kid to parents, who didn’t seem to think there was an issue. Lots of weed. Lots of hippies, real ones, and dime store hippies. Young, old, and everywhere in between. Did I mention… lots of weed? All in all a typical show.
Now, I’m not going to say that I didn’t enjoy myself, because I did. I was there with my lovely daughter. I love this music. The playing was stellar, as one would expect with the level of these guys. But… and I’m sure you could sense there was a ‘but’ coming…but, something was missing. The whole affair seemed more than a little canned. John Mayer may be an amazing musician, but his style has moved into a decidedly non-dead direction. And… what’s this? Billy no longer in the band… citing ‘artistic differences’. Yeah, I can see that.
That being said, there were some really nice moments: An amazing jumping Cumberland Blues, A two part Dark Star, and an acoustic Ripple. Plus when Oteil busted out his banjo bass was pretty cool as well. And for me the highlight of the night was Mickey slipping into alternate realities or dimensions during drums / space
If you live long enough, you’ll end up saying things that you thought you never would, and this next statement falls directly into that category, but…
I think I would rather listen to the Dark Star Orchestra