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- Mardi Gras With The Meters
- Hey, la-bàs, crawfish étouffée!
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- Philly When It Sizzles
- They'll be rockin' on Bandstand In Philadelphia, PA.
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- The Electric Kool-Aid Acid List
- In the words of Dr. Timothy Leary, “turn on, tune in, drop out.”
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Watch the Dead perform a perfect version of ‘Lost Sailor/Saint of Circumstance’ at Radio City Music Hall.
Happy Halloween! Hear the Grateful Dead and Dead & Company cover Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves of London.’
With the overload of information that comes at us from all directions today, is discovering new Rock-N-Roll on the radio still possible?
Altamont – the end of an era, as it has been unceasingly ballyhooed – is seared onto the world’s mind. But it was a blip, not an apocalypse.
4 Classic Songs: The Grateful Dead vs. Dead & Company
Just like that, The Grateful Dead were no more. The loss left a big hole in the hearts of fans around the world.
Fast forward to the summer of 2015. The 50th anniversary of the band’s formation brought five very special shows under the banner of “Fare Thee Well.” The concerts in Santa Clara and Chicago (the site of Jerry’s final show) featured the Core Four – Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart – with Trey Anastasio playing lead guitar and Bruce Hornsby and Jeff Chimenti on keyboards.
The ticket frenzy surrounding those shows – billed as the Core Four’s final act – was a shock to pretty much everyone, including the band members and mega-promoter Peter Shapiro. The lightning-quick sellout of “Fare Thee Well” proved the once-legendary draw of The Grateful Dead was still very much alive and well. (I had the good fortune of being in Chicago for all three shows, and it was a celebration for the ages!)
The momentum and good vibe from the shows in Santa Clara and Chicago spurred Bob Weir to put together yet another splinter band, Dead & Company. This latest iteration stars Bobby, Billy and Mickey with bassist Oteil Burbridge, keyboardist Jeff Chimenti and super-talented lead guitarist John Mayer, who has introduced the Dead’s music to younger generations.
Dead & Company continue to sell out venues across the country with audiences heaping praise on the new band, calling Mayer the best thing since, well…Garcia.
It seems that a significant number of old-school Deadheads were at first skeptical of Mayer, who became famous singing bubble-gum pop songs to teenage girls, but the 39-year-old guitarist won them over (or at least most of them).
The success of Dead & Company is a testament to the musicianship and marketing of Weir, Mayer and the rest of the band, but it’s also a reminder of the enormous impact made by Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead as their music and spirit still enthrall fans, young and old, from sea to shining sea.
Remember, it’s been some 50 years since The Grateful Dead formed and some 20 years since their final show in Chicago. Kind of remarkable if you look at it right.
Here are four classic Grateful Dead tunes to compare and contrast original performances (with Garcia) to new Mayer-fueled versions. Don’t forget to turn it way up!