The Grateful Thread

We were thinking about going to the Citi Field show but the ticket prices are just way too high...unless you want nosebleed seats. If people are dumping infield seats for cheap closer to the show we may check it out.

Going to see Anders Osborn at the Cap next Friday!

Anders!!!! Sweet!!!

So you're not springing for the vip $850 seats?

wait - you can almost hear Jerry laughing...

Funky_Catskills said:

Watched Dead and Company on Fallon last night...
And the other clips...

Reaffirmed me decision to not see them and spend my $ elsewhere... just not into Mayers voice and playing style...

Staying with friends in CT - and saw 3 commercials for Dead and Comp at Citi field.. Seemed like a lot...

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Just watched it. Not bad, but not great either. Well rehearsed, but fairly vanilla and lacking grit.

Here's something that came to mind while watching. Billy was fairly critical of Further. I remember several interviews with him lamenting how Further wasn't pushing the envelope, being creative etc. and how he loved doing his thing with Seven Walkers so much more.

It would appear to me that Dead & Co. are everything he was railing against. At least with Futher, Phil tried to push the band into improvisation, psychedelia etc. Without Phil there, the shows seem like they'll always be predictable. D&C shows might be better rehearsed and more "mistake" free, but I just don't see a lot of risk taking.

I'm going to take Crank's approach. If cheap Fenway tickets show up, I might find myself down there. Otherwise I'm with you D; other more compelling music to spend my money on.

Stadium shows just plain and simply suck. Except for a few SPAC shows over the years I used to always pass on them when Jerry was alive for $20/tix. I am certainly not going to do any different and start going now at these prices for JM.

Plus, to me Furthur, Dead & Co. are Dead Cover bands. I'd much rather see Phil and Friends or JRAD take the music to new and different places. Just MHO after seeing the Grateful Dead about 60 times and Jerry Band another 1/2 dozen times.

This came across my Facebook feed this weekend. I hadn't seen it prior. So good

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0g3jrW0wp0A

deadheadskier said:

This came across my Facebook feed this weekend. I hadn't seen it prior. So good

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0g3jrW0wp0A

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that's pretty amazing...
Perfect voice for Stella Blue... I usually don't like other people playing it... but this is good...

Interesting that Willie covered the Dead, but the Dead never covered Willie. Actually kind of surprises me considering they covered Johnny Cash , Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams....

crank said:

Interesting that Willie covered the Dead, but the Dead never covered Willie. Actually kind of surprises me considering they covered Johnny Cash , Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams....

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I guess they didn't like his songs...
He did cover most of the cowboy songs the Dead covered....

West Texas Cowboy music is part of the GD.. Can't wait for Bobby to come out with his new record or it..

I'm surprised there was no collaboration when they played Willie's 4th of July picnic

https://archive.org/details/gd78-07-01.wagner.unknown.7355.sbeok.shnf

deadheadskier said:

I'm surprised there was no collaboration when they played Willie's 4th of July picnic

https://archive.org/details/gd78-07-01.wagner.unknown.7355.sbeok.shnf

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they played together a bunch on the 2003 'the dead' tour...i was less than whelmed

as far as the deadco on fallon, shakedown was an odd choice, but brown eyed women was spot on

looking forward to seeing these guys again...they kept getting better through the end of the year and i hope the momentum stays

spring_mountain_high said:

they played together a bunch on the 2003 'the dead' tour...i was less than whelmed

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RIGHT.... I walked out on that show..

Just saw this posted on r/gratefuldead. Real cool idea. All GD original song debuts.

BeanoNYC said:

Just saw this posted on r/gratefuldead. Real cool idea. All GD original song debuts.

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So cool!!!

Sat at two outside at South Ridge at the River.... . Good Phish tribute band Pardon me Doug is Playing and after that, Band Beyond Description plays. Battle of the bands. Fun afternoon in the sun... Phish v Dead. Support local live Music.

Bob R said:

Sat at two outside at South Ridge at the River.... . Good Phish tribute band Pardon me Doug is Playing and after that, Band Beyond Description plays. Battle of the bands. Fun afternoon in the sun... Phish v Dead. Support local live Music.

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Local live music covering other bands...
This whole cover band thing concerns me..

It's fun but there seems to be a new one every day..

Don't you play in a cover band?

On a side note. I somewhat owe my marriage to A Band Beyond Description.

Spring 2003 I traveled to Portland and interviewed for a job. I had only hung out there once prior for a Phish show in the late 90s. After my interview I spent a night in town and ended up seeing ABBD. It was a Wednesday night, I was drinking at Gritty McDuff's and asked the bartender if any live music was going on. He said a Dead cover band plays at the Ale House every Wednesday night. The Ale House is now closed, but it was this funky basement dive bar that had hosted some really good bands over the years for a venue that only held about 150 ppl. Anyways, didn't get the job, but had such a good time hanging in Portland that I decided I'd keep an eye for opportunities there in the future.

Fast forward to December 2005, that opportunity presented itself and I moved to Portland. I went and hung out at the Ale House pretty much every Wednesday to see them play. They literally played something like 300 Wednesdays in a row there not stopping even for holidays. In Summer of 2006 the Ale House didn't have their lease renewed and ABBD played the final night the bar would be open. Everyone was pretty bummed. That night a buddy introduced me to this cute brunette while everyone was milling about in the streets after the show and reminiscing about all the good times over the years seeing the band. I got her number, asked her out on a date the following week and the rest was history.....

One of my bands is a cover band.. But we are not a Dead or Phish cover band specific..
We play songs that we liked growing up.. I do sit in with a couple bands as a dead style drummer... Which is fun..

It's just strange to see full on cover bands of bands that are actually touring..
I did catch Pink Talking Fish the other day - they were good.. But to be in a totally GD or Phish band is not my thing..
It takes a good effort to learn Phish.. I'd rather use that effort on original material personally..

I get pissed when I see musicians in their 20's wasting time on covers..
Your 20's is the time to make awesome original music!!! So much creativity..

Funky_Catskills said:

One of my bands is a cover band.. But we are not a Dead or Phish cover band specific..
We play songs that we liked growing up..

..

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While they do play probably 70% Dead, A Band Beyond Description also mixes in a fair amount Allman's, Phish and The Band. The drummer Chris founded the band in 2001. He's a regular dude and never set out to be a professional musician and still is not. He's probably in his 50s now.

Pardon Me Doug are all guys in their 30s who have regular jobs in the Portland area. The keyboard player Kevin (also in ABBD) has had original projects in the past that were pretty good. His most successful original band 26 North would play Thursdays at the Ale House. So, I used to see ABBD Wednesday then 26 North Thursday.

I'd say these guys do what they do probably for similar reasons as you do what you do. Though Pardon Me Doug is indeed all Phish.

PMD is starting to play the local club in my town every few months or so. They're pretty good. Sometimes I'd rather drop $10 and walk down the street to enjoy them in a 125 person venue than travel hours away to spend $75 on Phish, plus hotel room and be in some giant stadium serving shitty beer. I do have tickets for Portland though, so I'm excited for that.

Just my observation.. Makes people happy... All good..
There's certainly a market for it..

Personally...
I prefer real bands playing their music over the cover bands - always!!!
BUT - I live in NYS and we are constantly surrounded by Phish shows..

When I was a kid there were only a handful of GD cover bands..
We used to go see Max Creek because they were GD like...
Saw them Friday night actually...
After a Kimock Ramble at Levons we ran dow to catch MC at the Rock and Roll resort..
Crushed it... Murawski is soooooo good...

Love music...