Grateful Dead Music Forum

Just curious. i have been listening to the shows on archive. I have my opinion, but am curious to everyones here. How does this tour stack up against every post Jerry lineup?? My personal favorite was 04; with Herring and Osbourne. The reason I ask any post-Jerry is because they aren;t the same band without Garcia.

For the same reason I went to see the Dead in the 90's (annually) as I'm seeing them this tour, it brings back memories, it's a social gathering and you never know who's number might come up next to kick the bucket.... then there's the regret of not seeing or doing something just one more time before it's too late...

Thoughts so far.....Hmmmm? Knowing that all the busniness and personal strife has largely been resolved makes this band TOTALLY different from any post-Jerry line-up! They're having fun!!! Last time I saw them they had three guitarists on stage, Joan flirting with Weir, it was all a bit too much! This band is hugging each other after sets!

At Roseland, I saw and heard a tight, rehearsed band! Vocals sounding sweet, tempos on the money,
sinature Grateful Dead licks from Bobby and Phil! They each play the GD songs so differently w/ their own bands, that it's beautiful to hear the original licks played even tighter! Back to Roseland, powerful music coming from a powerful band with the MOST powerful audience! Yes, some serious speedbumps, Clams, warts, and people falling on their faces, but that's the way it's always been! These guys are pushing it, exploring, and when they hit it, when they mine it, Oh man, they still got it! Apparently in Hartford the other night, they mangled Bertha, Row Jimmy etc.. so bad that they took a 5 minute break after Warren walked off stage? Then came out in second set and ripped it!

Nassau I heard the soundtrack of my life, Jack Straw, Brown Eyed Women, Lost Sailor>St. of Circumstance, Masterpiece, Looks Like Rain, Touch of Grey.......During the transition of Sailor to Saint is when it was painfully obvious that Jerry was missing, but then Warren just shredded on Alabama, GDTRFB etc... so it kinds eased the pain, ALOT! Saw tons of old friends, all in all a fun night!

Off to MSG i was thinking that it'll be hard to top Nassau based on song selection. Boy was I wrong! These guys came out and KILLED it! After Cosmic Charlie that is. First set was flawless! Bobby wasn't standing there scrathing his head, shaking his head, blowing lyrics, he was pumped! Busted out the pink Modulus for the occasion! It was one of the best shows I've seen in 10 years! Phil singing a really creative, new, haunting Cryptical, almost spoken word. St. Stephen had me twirling in the aisle with 100 others!!!!! I've seen Ratdog and Phil do it, this song was home tonight! Pure bliss!!!!
They did right by the Grateful Dead legacy at MSG , so much so that I'm going solo tonight to IZOD to see them w/ Branford, after all 3/29/90 was the best show I ever saw! This could be the last time, so I'm going for one more ride!

If the band is coming your way, it's worth the trip!

I agree with the sentiment of both posters above....great to see them digging it so much and it does translate to the ear.

I saw NC and Buffalo so far. Saw many post-Jer shows. 4-5 each tour.
I'm not sure if I think this line-up is, say "better" than 1998. 2000, 2002, 2004, but it is definitely different. It seems to have higher highs and lower lows than some of the previous incarnations. It may just be that as they age, they become more forgetful (especially Weir), but I do think that when they're "on" they are putting out some very serious jams---check out PITB from Buffalo. Absolutely outstanding.
But, of course there's some low spots too (Maggie's for Buff). I love the setlists in general and really think that if they stay together and play together more, they will get to Terrapin more consistently. I mean, how do you really "practice" a PITB jam---I think it's all about becoming more familiar with each other, etc....I think it's great that they're breaking out some really old tunes and trying to freshen up just about everything in one way or another.

Back to line-ups, I liked when Kimock was there as I thought he did the very best job on lead...I did not think it was smart to have 2 lead players as it seemed to invoke too much confusion. I did like Dave Ellis and think it'd be cool if they had Kenny Blake do some shows/songs too. I wouldda loved to've seen Branford! I can do without the chick vocals but I thought Susan was the better of the 2. There were pros and cons to each line-up and all choices of guitar players.


I'll be at Philly this weekend and am expecting those shows to be the 2 best ones for me now that they've played a few more. NC's list was sick, but they just weren't as "on"
all night as they could be I think. For the record, they couldda picked any number of guitar players and all would have had their pros/cons. I think their pick of Warren is a good choice. He's singing really well and his playing is a better fit than it'd been before IMHO. See yinz in Philly!

BTW---strong rumors of Donna on Friday night as she's playing a gig AFTER the show basically across the street!

I'll be in Philly Saturday as well, and I truly expect that show to be good, based on what I've heard so far. There have been some lows, to be sure ( all of DC sounded like a train-wreck to me ), and there have been some very high highs. I second tourpro that they need to just play together more to get that group mind-meld thing going.

I do think that this particular post - JG incarnation is my favorite; the other ones just all had too many people on stage at any given time. Once you get past a 6 piece band it's just too muddy.

I'll ring in on this ...
Having seen at least one post Dead show in each incarnation, I am stoked about this tour. First time I've actually been excited about a post Jer tour. Most of the other shows (other ones, further fest, phil, ratdog, et. al) left me feeling like it wasn't all there. This time, I am feeling it. The setlists look good, the stuff I've heard on archives sounds good and the fact that they practiced and seem to be in good spirits makes me rather happy. Due to family and cash, I am only going to get to see the Gorge show and I'm a huge ABB fan as well. I can't wait!!

Well said Amyjared. There's a slight chance I may meet you at The Gorge. Jck_strw and I are really tight and he's really selling me on the roadtrip from Denver. But a week from tomorrow I'll be checking the boys out at the Pepsi Center. Next week I'll post an invite. Im going to make a big ass RUKIND sign (cardboard and paint) and pop the top on the camper and WAVE THAT RUKIND FLAG! Come one come all! Our own RUKIND shakedown. A few cases of Sierra will be on ice for any Rukinder out ther.

Peace,

Gil

Just an opinion here, but I think that Warren's slide playing is far superior to his picking leads. He seems to play with much more melody when he's using the slide.

The band has done an awesome job rehearsing the music and being innovative with the set lists. And it is so much fun to be in a large venue with fellow dead heads singing the old favorites, like "He's Gone" at MSG. We went to Nassau and MSG and it felt like a high school renunion (for me, not my 11 yr old).

I left the shows very happy, but not certain in my mind that I would catch them on another tour. And after downloading the two shows we attended and listening closely, I doubt that I will be listening to the shows too. The music is okay-to-good overall, great in spots, and not so good in others. The music is great when it's a Bobby tune and Jerry's guitar is not as needed, such as in Paint My Masterpiece. Plenty of songs were truly, truly wonderful. Others were less compelling. For me personally, I am favoring Grateful Dead bands like Dark Star Orchestra and Splintered Sunlight (Philly) which have more of that magical, liquid feeling.

What do others think of the music after listening to the downloads? All this above is just my opinion and I totally respect those who are loving The Dead in 2009. I think the band did a wonderful job with the tour and thank them for all the happiness they have brought to my life.

Peace

Dan (C's dad)

They've been spotty for sure but i think they're really playing well lately and will keep getting better as they play more. I reccomend downloading both Philly shows as i think you just might listen to those ones a few times. Easily the best 2 of the 4 I saw...much tighter and more X-factor than Greensboro--the energy in Philly was through the roof--Phil even said "you guys are INTENSE" before his rap.
My friends were raving about first night IZOD too.

Its great to see the boys having fun, playing tightly and gaining back some sincere enthusiasm. And Warren is certainly a great guitar player, though to me still generally sounds more "Allman Bros", than "Grateful Dead" in his approach.

That all being said, for me Jerry left a huge hole to fill. And though the effort is admirable, the "Jerry Hole" is not being filled for me. The songs are tight but most are missing that "Good Ol' Grateful Dead" feel, the bouncy bopping result of Jerry's guitar riffs and constant noodling on the low notes, the "roll" that the boys usually acheived. As good as Warren is and as much as I respect that he doesn't want to be a Jerry clone, he is missing too many "signature" riffs that held most of these songs together. I hope to hear more of these. You don't have to be a Jerry clone to impart the Jerry feel. There's just some essential riffs to keep the songs from sounding like Ratdog or Phil and Friends (both of which I enjoy but are just not the Grateful Dead).

Also, what the heck is up with Bobby's lyric phrasing?? One of the great things about a Dead show is dancing and SINGING along with the band. Bobby's current "lilting", "punctuated" and "abrupt" phrasing are milking the fun out of the "singing along" part.......but his guitar playing is still fantastic.

But the great surprise in this department is certainly Phil! I've been seeing the Dead since '78 and I've never heard Phil sing SO well, its startling really. Phil can hold a tune now. And often he sings better than Bob, go figure.

So, I enjoy the Dead, and I'll keep listening and enjoying the brief moments that occur, but to me, there's still nothing like a GRATEFUL Dead concert.....

Think Peace!
Best Regards,
Andrew
http://andrewsongs.com

Any other feedback - I'd enjoy reading what other people think...

Guardian wrote:Also, what the heck is up with Bobby's lyric phrasing?? One of the great things about a Dead show is dancing and SINGING along with the band. Bobby's current "lilting", "punctuated" and "abrupt" phrasing are milking the fun out of the "singing along" part.......but his guitar playing is still fantastic.

Phil can hold a tune now. And often he sings better than Bob, go figure.

I hate that Bobby does that and he's doing it more and more. Almost making me dislike Ratdog. But if he wants to do it there fine - just please stop doing it with the Dead!

However I disagree that Phil sings better than Bob

From what I heard the singing has been great. Real tight. They need to let Warren sing more.I could nit pick about stuff but I think they sound pretty good for a bunch of old guys !

Tennessee Jedi wrote:From what I heard the singing has been great. Real tight. They need to let Warren sing more.I could nit pick about stuff but I think they sound pretty good for a bunch of old guys !

I went to the Shoreline show last Sunday and I thought it was pretty damn good. Certainly not as good as the shows I saw in the 80s or 90s, but WAY better than Ratdog! Maybe Bob is trying to discourage the sing along stuff? Warren, IMHO, sings better than any of the others, although Phil is doing better than 20 years ago, he still should not sing much... maybe only his songs.

Check out the encore from Sunday: St. Stephen>Eleven>Touch of Grey, nearly 35 minutes worth!

I can't wait for the Gorge Saturday!!!!