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The Grateful Thread

C

crank

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Funky_Catskills said:
I have a gig tonight too.. So no Phil.. :(

I used to put American Beauty on in the car with my Dad... I didn't tell him it was the Grateful Dead..
He loved it..

The Grateful Dead exposed me to the "Bakersfield Sound"... Which I freaking love now..
It's my favorite "country" genre..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakersfield_sound
Click to expand...

I also like the Bakersfield sound. Used to like Dwight Yokam a lot too. A lot of that was his guitarist/producer Pete Anderson and I believe they are no longer together.
 
Funky_Catskills

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Watching the feed from last night..

I think what bugs me about Mayer's playing in the context of Grateful Dead music is his blues dynamics..
His tone is great but it's constant.. His licks are great but they are constant.. Grateful Dead music(at least to me) needs some light touches... Soft and sweet as well as crazy and experimental... Not just blues licks played at the same forceful level. Buddy Guy is a great player... But he's not someone I'd put in the driver seat for the Grateful Dead...
 
spring_mountain_high

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Funky_Catskills said:
Watching the feed from last night..

I think what bugs me about Mayer's playing in the context of Grateful Dead music is his blues dynamics..
His tone is great but it's constant.. His licks are great but they are constant.. Grateful Dead music(at least to me) needs some light touches... Soft and sweet as well as crazy and experimental... Not just blues licks played at the same forceful level. Buddy Guy is a great player... But he's not someone I'd put in the driver seat for the Grateful Dead...
Click to expand...

the band is pretty rough in general...just about every song has a missed lyric, change or cue, they are apparently not too concerned with vocal harmonies, limited repertoire leading to pedestrian set lists, mayer needs to constantly be reined in...lots of newbies with tucked in shirts at the shows too :-?

and i'm going to see them as much as possible...i've not felt this type of energy flowing out of these songs since the late 80's...it's incredibly obvious john mayer is in love with the music and the enthusiasm is contagious-the band is clearly having a blast onstage...and thank g-d he doesn't try to be fake jerry, the songs are far more interesting with someone in that spot who's not just aping jerry's licks...to say he plays blues at a constant intensity throughout every song implies to me that you haven't been listening much...tons of nice quiet moments and he's been deferential to the music while bringing his own flavor and energy...sure he gets too enthused at times (cumberland in philly, mayer couldn't contain himself, weir just sat back and let him run...waited him out and when mayer finally looked at bob like a kid in trouble and bob smiled and said "you're ok" and jumped back into the rhythm, was pretty funny)...great problem to have imo


as far as dynamics i guess you have to be there, but one of the things that really amazed me was how well they are taking it up and down in a way that belies the fact that they've only played together 6 times...i'm a musician myself and it is apparent they are listening closely to each other...and to my surprise they are really owning huge rooms...in philly here comes sunshine opened and was tentative, and then just erupted...all the talkers shut up and every song after that there was just a bunch of people looking at each other like 'damn'...doesn't hurt that the sound has been pretty dialed

just like in the old days, set lists are meaningless...it's how they play, not what they play...but then again, i was never a huge fan of things like themed sets, playing albums or re-creating shows like they were museum pieces etc

one more thing, as much as i love phil's sound and understand his reasons for not being involved, oteil IS the bassist in this band...i hope they keep playing together as-is for a long time
 
Funky_Catskills

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And I've heard a couple of the shows and watch the webcast today...

This cracks me up how people defend this stuff... haha...

I've been seeing the GD since 79.... I know my Dead...
 
deadheadskier

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11bn250.jpg
 
deadheadskier

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The best music news I've heard in 15 years dropped today.

Percy Hill reuniting for two shows in March.

IMO Color in Bloom and After All are the two finest albums made in the "jam" genre in at least the past 20 years. So psyched they are putting aside their differences and hitting the stage again.

Cannot wait!
 
WoodCore

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deadheadskier said:
The best music news I've heard in 15 years dropped today.

Percy Hill reuniting for two shows in March.

IMO Color in Bloom and After All are the two finest albums made in the "jam" genre in at least the past 20 years. So psyched they are putting aside their differences and hitting the stage again.

Cannot wait!
Click to expand...

Just saw that on FB! Super pumped!! Would love to do both shows but it might not be in the cards, which show do you think you'll go see??
 
deadheadskier

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We will be going to the Portland show. We'd love to do both, but I'm sure you're right there with me with #parentproblems. Our son will have just turned one. He's been good so far in spending one evening overnights with Gramma, but we don't want to push it.

Or I should say, my wife doesn't want to push it. :lol:
 
deadheadskier

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Hopefully they enjoy playing together and this becomes a semi-regular thing like the Old School Strangefolk and God Street Wine reunions.

Back in the late 90s my Phish touring slowed way down in favor of seeing the likes of Moe., Percy Hill, Strangefolk and God Street Wine.

I always felt Percy Hill to be the most talented of those bands and destined for the most commercial success. If they had kept at it, I'd think they'd be at least as big as Moe is today if not bigger. I know Nate simply doesn't like to tour that much.

Can't blame him. I don't want to tour anymore either and I'm jus a fan. :lol:
 
Last edited:
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My take was the first set was a little slow and muffled a bit. Reminded me of Ratdog with a good Guitarist, like Steve K.

Love the song selection of Rowjimmy and Peggy O in the first set. RowJimmy had timing issues. One of my favorite songs, but It did not work for me. Late in the first set the sound cleared up. John played well and inspiring. My view is its worth catching a show, but not a tour. Most people I talked to were blown away. Must just be me. This has a Furthur, Rat dog pace and feel. Not on par with the summer Reunion shows.
 
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