August 23rd – They’re not a band; they’re a
commodity, a sales point, a warehouse and marketing opportunity all rolled into
one, odd for a, seemingly flower-power-generation incarnation. Some would also
say they’re an institution; not me, but some would. What I would say about them
is that, as a touchstone for the environment and social change they've rolled
over a stone or two.
Formed in 1965, the Grateful
Dead (GD) have developed a loyal following of fans; Dead Heads as they are known who, some of them at least, follow the
band for months…sometimes years. When Dylan deviated from his expected output to
embrace electric he was called a Judas yet with the GD the alteration of their
set on tour is part of the gig, it’s what their fans expect. You could go to
five consecutive gigs and be treated to five different shows; value for money
right there. Their live shows are, like a Ken Dodd gig, renowned for their
length. I mean, they even overplayed at Woodstock
As I've mentioned before in this chat, GD is the band with probably
the most personnel changes (13) and incarnations (12) in the biz. They have a reputation
for extended solos (noodlings) as part of their studio reproductions, and these
can go on a bit. To date there have
been five losses to the band and the majority of the members are/were committed
drug users, so no surprises there about potential personnel losses. However,
what has to be acknowledged is their other commitment; to the betterment of
society. Various sums were spent by the band on rain-forest purchase, community projects
(making available free food, lodging, music and
health care to all) and the unselfish inclusion of their die-hard fans
in all aspects of the band; it has been written that;
They were the first among equals in giving unselfishly of
themselves to hippie culture, performing more free concerts than any band in
the history of music.
Not a bad legacy, huh? The total reversal of the
many and varied charidee sessions the slebs 'give their time' for 'for the people' when we know, all along, it’s also and mostly about and for themselves. And yet, even
given GD’s professed peaceful, caring and open credentials still the nutters gather.
I've also touched on the fact that it only takes
the unrequested participation of an arse in any sensible gathering to bring
what was a peaceful gathering or social change organisation to its knees. On
this day in 1987, at the Summer of Love
concert, which featured a set by the GD, a man who had escaped from a drug rehab
facility sneaked into the peaceful and well-chilled gig. No doubt he thought his drug-using past gave him automatic entry into the gig, and GD gigs were renowned for
their laid-back ease, in fact Police Det. Rick Raynor once famously said;
I’d rather
work nine Grateful Dead concerts than one Oregon
I think the amount of weed smoked at GD concerts
might have had something to do with it. Pill-busters, coke-heads,
speed-merchants are all on the edge but you’ll never hear of a pot-smoker
slaughtering innocent folk and that's usually because they’re too busy admiring the
chrome toaster in the kitchen or the intricacy of a small, wind-up toy someone found. On this day there was a volte face and this one
unhinged, hard-drug user amongst a sea of benign grass-users shot a policeman. It
has to be said he was then shot dead also, so one less cock on the planet, one more
cock in the ground; but the fact he had to shoot someone else to get there sort of
spoils the outcome, I mean, if he’d been sent on his final mission before he’d had chance to take out someone else then he would've been dead and we would've been grateful.
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