#166723  by nuthatchwinters
 
i love bobby. how can you not. tried watching some of the news years show. just cant get into it. aint happening. all terrific players , good song selection etc but just too darn slow. there is no pop to the songs. no swing to them. just the same lagging pace, song after song. you would think the rebellious and incorrigible Kreautzmann would try to to assert himself being the drummer and take the songs up a few notches but not happening. i love em and I'm thrilled they are still at it and i feel somewhat like who the f am I to criticize but thats how i feel. but i digress. MK
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 #166726  by joshq
 
I feel ya man, on all fronts. Both from the appreciation that it's still happening to the really laggy tempo. I notice it myself when my mind starts wandering mid-show, because the energy isn't stimulating enough. Or, noticed it when I went to shows, haven't gone in a couple years, didn't even make it to Foxboro last summer (I see you're also in MA). I'd find myself thinking about taxes or some other mundane stuff... or just nodding off rather than dancing, lol. But again, still appreciate that they're out there doing it, and lots of folks seem to enjoy.
 #166744  by hotasaPistol
 
I respect your opinion but if that is the only thing you can complain about then you are doing yourself a disservice

You cant tell me that there were never dull predictable uninspired moments with Jerry at the helm

the fact that they are still playing at such a high level and breaking out songs that havent seen the light of day for years or that Jerry would not play and that they are up there still taking chances and creating magic is for me a testament to the music and the players

I think that for pure entertainment and showmanship they cant be beat

Name of band that has lasted this long and is still playing live that you would rather see....

Flame away

Nothing personal just my 2 cents and we all have our own set of ears

Respectfully
 #166745  by nuthatchwinters
 
Yes. There were many uninspired moments in Jerry's days. True,. But I think my comment was trying to argue that everything, all the songs have been taken to a lagging , slow pace that for me anyway has lost the spark and groove(?) . Has been a trend with Bobby since his ratdog days. So Phil and friends I would go see in a half a second. Phil has no problem getting it cranking when necessary, and Furthur may have been the best incarnation yet. Great stuff from both those bands. But d and c dials everything way back and if that's doing it for you, have at it!
 #166746  by lbpesq
 
"Name of band that has lasted this long and is still playing live that you would rather see...."

The Stones, perhaps?

Of course, I’m assuming you mean The Grateful Dead. Dead & Co. has lasted a total of four years.

But the question really begs another question. At what point does a band stop being a band? Is the Who really the Who without John and Keith? Is CCR really CCR without John Fogerty? Would the Allman Brothers Band be the Allman Brothers Band without any Allman brothers?

I like Dead & Co. They are an excellent Dead cover band. I just can't see myself laying out $200+ for a ticket and parking to endure a crowd of 17,000 people to see a Dead cover band. I mean if Bobby and Billy were to sit in with my band, "The Jerry@trics", can we call ourselves the Dead? Are we the Dead?
 #166751  by aiq
 
People that grew up with that guy are fine with it. Others have come around. A bridge too far for me.

Doesn’t matter I represent the Old Guard and we are thinning out, brothers and sisters. I am an “elderly gentleman” now and after Kimock’s thing in NOLA I will likely be out of the show going business save local music. Even in that sphere I have not had a gig other than Madison Square Bedroom for over a year now. Never say never but...

I get my goods from Steve Kimock, prefer the SKF stuff over Dead stuff but will take what I can get, and jazz these days.

As Jerome once said, “When I’m done with it they can have it.”

Ya’ll can have it. Enjoy yourselves.
 #166752  by TI4-1009
 
I was just re-reading a Golden Road interview with Jerry from 1988. The subject of the interview was talking through "a show day"- what he does through the day, how he warms up, what thought process goes into picking his next song, etc. When asked what he does during the break, Jerry said "What the break is for is really just to rest. Playing Grateful Dead music is not easy. It can be really hard. It's physically hard. We all need a rest. It used to be we could play all night long, but it's just not that way anymore. That's really time showing its... It's grim death gargling at you from every corner! [Laughs]".

That was 1988- 32 years ago!
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 #166753  by strumminsix
 
I don't blame Bobby, I'm unsure who sets the pace. Can't imagine them all not discussing this.

My problem is that I've been listening to them since 91, playing guitar to them since 93 and when I think of the music, I have an approximate BPM in my mind where the songs should be and diversity of speeds between songs. When that BMP is way off and songs have similar speeds, it throws me off and it's not enjoyable.

Maybe that's some offshoot of something like cognitive dissonance or something.

I wish I could enjoy it. I really do. Love Bobby, he's my musical inspiration. Think the entire band is amazing. But it's just not moving me.
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 #166754  by NeilG1
 
I can’t remember who said it, but in The movie Long Strange Trip, someone says that when you listen to around 150 different versions of a song, you develop a Platonic idea of what the ideal of that song is in your mind.
I think that when you later hear something that really deviates far from that idea, it’s jarring. That’s how I feel with D&C sometimes. I went and saw them once. Loved the feeling of being in the lot again, seeing Bobby on stage, hearing a recognizable voice singing Bobby tunes. Even standing in an arena and hearing Dark Star begin was a bit of magic, although mostly magic through my memory not my ears.
But having been there once, I don’t feel a huge need to return unless it was close to home and not too expensive. And it’s certainly never gonna be something I listen to at home instead of the “real thing”.
But that’s just me. I can totally get why others dig it more.
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