Monday, 6 July 2015, CHICAGO - The Grateful Dead with original band members including Phil Lesh and others surviving Jerry Garcia's death in 1995 this past weekend played to enthusiastic and patriotic crowds at three days of Fourth of July concerts at Soldier Field Chicago in numbers which daily set consecutive new attendance records for Soldier Field of over 75,000 people. (Trey Anastasio of Phish filled in for Jerry Garcia for these 50th anniversary shows.)
The New York Times in the first article linked to below does a creditable job of a preliminary rough attempt to place the work of the Grateful Dead in America's musical history while also dutifully providing the essential song list of all songs in what order played during Saturday 4 July's concert a practice which is of course de rigeur not even for someone who falls necessarily within the loose definition of "Deadhead" but just about anyone who attended the concert unless either having been in a condition or rendered one unable to speak, hear and/or think.
The article does not even attempt to begin to touch the profoundly psychic psychedelic transcendental spiritual, mystical and/or so much more here uncapturable in words experiential component that many people have felt the music has released with a previously unknown freeing in their minds inextricably wound up often with a legacy back to the times of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters traveling the country in their bus "Further" and when played live music for the band's listeners often at the time ingested legal "Owsley" quality lysergic acid diethylamide or a placebo drink in what came to be known in Tom Wolfe's book chronicling that time "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test".
Before changing their name to the "Grateful Dead" the band was known as the Warlocks. In the years which ensued the band developed a significant and staunchly determined following essentially of faith in one another and the world in which they existed that all would work out which over time evolved to somewhat of a travelling market with many supporting themselves or trying to by following the Grateful Dead and selling various wares (not just drugs) that complemented the style and environment that developed into the Grateful Dead culture which truly could be deemed a sustained "counter-culture" that has had widespread and deep influence in the U.S. and worldwide which is not well understood by the "Establishment".
As to that culture the article just touches on it in a brief mention of the "tapers" as in cassettes (remember those why did we not just stick with them?) a near fanatical group long known for methodically chronicling every Grateful Dead concert possible with the band's permission in a specially designated area provided the recording was not for commercial purposes. As for the rest of us there have been who knows how many mediums since. However one thing is sure and that is that there is nothing many would trade for those live Grateful Dead shows they thought would never end and perhaps never do held in the hearts and the fiber of their being. The ashes of Owsley Stanley were placed and kept on the soundboard at the Grateful Dead 50th year anniversary shows in Chicago, on July 3-5, 2015.
Readers interested in more information about the above can go to the first below. Those readers interested in the attendance and related information at Soldier Field can go to the second link below. Those readers interested in more information about Owsley Stanley can go to the third link below. [UPDATE] Finally a new link has been added last below for interested readers to the "Reporter's Notebook" from a New York Times insider who was in attendance at the concerts up close and personal with the Grateful Dead.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/on-july-4-the-grateful-dead-show-pride-in-being-an-american-band/?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/grateful-dead-breaks-soldier-field-records/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley
http://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2015/07/07/live-with-the-grateful-dead-in-chicago-reporters-notebook/?_r=0
Copyright 2015 Martin P. All World Rights Expressly Reserved
The New York Times in the first article linked to below does a creditable job of a preliminary rough attempt to place the work of the Grateful Dead in America's musical history while also dutifully providing the essential song list of all songs in what order played during Saturday 4 July's concert a practice which is of course de rigeur not even for someone who falls necessarily within the loose definition of "Deadhead" but just about anyone who attended the concert unless either having been in a condition or rendered one unable to speak, hear and/or think.
The article does not even attempt to begin to touch the profoundly psychic psychedelic transcendental spiritual, mystical and/or so much more here uncapturable in words experiential component that many people have felt the music has released with a previously unknown freeing in their minds inextricably wound up often with a legacy back to the times of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters traveling the country in their bus "Further" and when played live music for the band's listeners often at the time ingested legal "Owsley" quality lysergic acid diethylamide or a placebo drink in what came to be known in Tom Wolfe's book chronicling that time "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test".
Before changing their name to the "Grateful Dead" the band was known as the Warlocks. In the years which ensued the band developed a significant and staunchly determined following essentially of faith in one another and the world in which they existed that all would work out which over time evolved to somewhat of a travelling market with many supporting themselves or trying to by following the Grateful Dead and selling various wares (not just drugs) that complemented the style and environment that developed into the Grateful Dead culture which truly could be deemed a sustained "counter-culture" that has had widespread and deep influence in the U.S. and worldwide which is not well understood by the "Establishment".
As to that culture the article just touches on it in a brief mention of the "tapers" as in cassettes (remember those why did we not just stick with them?) a near fanatical group long known for methodically chronicling every Grateful Dead concert possible with the band's permission in a specially designated area provided the recording was not for commercial purposes. As for the rest of us there have been who knows how many mediums since. However one thing is sure and that is that there is nothing many would trade for those live Grateful Dead shows they thought would never end and perhaps never do held in the hearts and the fiber of their being. The ashes of Owsley Stanley were placed and kept on the soundboard at the Grateful Dead 50th year anniversary shows in Chicago, on July 3-5, 2015.
Readers interested in more information about the above can go to the first below. Those readers interested in the attendance and related information at Soldier Field can go to the second link below. Those readers interested in more information about Owsley Stanley can go to the third link below. [UPDATE] Finally a new link has been added last below for interested readers to the "Reporter's Notebook" from a New York Times insider who was in attendance at the concerts up close and personal with the Grateful Dead.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/on-july-4-the-grateful-dead-show-pride-in-being-an-american-band/?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/grateful-dead-breaks-soldier-field-records/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owsley_Stanley
http://www.nytimes.com/times-insider/2015/07/07/live-with-the-grateful-dead-in-chicago-reporters-notebook/?_r=0
Copyright 2015 Martin P. All World Rights Expressly Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment