Furthur!

This is something I thought I'd never see.  It's only a partial clip, but still pretty awesome.
Also more good news - Furthur will tour this summer.  Great!! If you live in the Northeast...

She Belongs to Me

This is a video for Backstage Pass, a 1992 video directed by Billy's son Justin. It is an excellent clip, with them playing the Dylan song She Belongs to Me acoustic. Enjoy

"Not a whole bunch..."

Cool Percussion (Octapad)!!!

Check out the Foolish Heart opener on this. It's the archive stream of October 26, 1989 at the Miami Arena. Very good stuff. Great sampling of the Octapad cycle: test in warm-up > use gently the first two verses > let loose > settle in...

Also, a very good show that follows - especially if you're into late Dark Stars

'94 El Paso

Best thing about this video:

JERRY DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO CHANGE GUITARS

What I miss about the 80s

I was born in the middle of the 80s, so I don't remember them much.  But listening to the Grateful Dead has highlighted a few "memories", if you will, for me. 

- Bob Weir and CIGS

Something inspired Bobby to indulge noticably more in his tasty Camels in the early-mid 1980s.  Whether it was the repetitive setlists, the inclusion of more and more Las Vegas tour stops, or just a general interest in strong tobacco, these babies give Weir tunes a distinct (and not necessarily good) tinge.  Check out this One More Saturday Night, paying particular attention to the screaming sections.  And it's not just the voice.  It's the way of life that was obviously being lived. 

- Stadium Tours:

There is something astounding to me about the Grateful Dead playing in 100,000+ capacity stadiums where pro football games are played.  And with Bob Dylan!!! 

-  Brother Esau
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r0GdQ5Vrdc
This is a fantastic song, and it's unfortunate that Bob decided not to play it anymore.  In my opinion, it encompasses all that is great about the 80s.  Especially the drumming.  Which leads me to my next topic...

- Heineken

 

There is a certain indescribable quality to the 81-86 era that is summed up pretty nicely by the thoughts and smells of Holland's favorite beer.  One can imagine seeing the guys grind through "Stagger Lee" at a dark, smoky indoor palace with Heineken spilled all over the floor.  Accompanies Camels well. 

 

Graph of Sizzness

This is a graph that represents the level of sizzness (Y axis) by the year (X axis). (Please click on the graph for a more clear picture.) As you can see there are many peaks and valleys, with a mega climb from the beginning until 1977, and then the resurgence of the Dead in the late 80's and early 90's the hiatus in 1975, as well as the heroin years (1978 - 1986 and 1991 - 1995) being the valleys.

Look forward to sometime soon, when I will go into my top 5 and worst 5 years of the Grateful Dead.