Thoughts On The Dead

Musings on the Most Ridiculous Band I Can't Stop Listening To

Tag: jerry garcia (Page 4 of 139)

Special People

October 22, 2019 / / 8 Comments

One of the best things about the Dead is how little clothing the members owned. Bobby wore that shirt, like, every other day in ’72.

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Where’s you get that guitar. Bobby?

“It was handed to me as I took the stage.”

Sure. But it’s not your usual axe.

“Huh. Guess not. But, uh, like I said: I’m handed a guitar as I take the stage. I don’t get into the logistics.”

Okay. Hey, Mrs. Donna Jean. Whatcha doing?

“Trippin’ balls, sugar.”

Professionalism at every turn.

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That is a Les Paul Special, which was also available with a single-cutaway, but looked cooler in the double-cut configuration and coolest in the so-called “TV Yellow” finish. (That shade was believed to look fabulous on black-and-white teevee sets.) Gibson only made ’em from ’55-’60, when they were replaced by the far-less-cuddly SG.

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Anyone know of any other shows when Bobby played that guitar? Scholar Michael Clem informs us that Garcia played an identical instrument during the Summer ’71 tour:

Is it, in fact, the same guitar that Bobby is wielding in the picture above, which we are told is from 10/18/72 at the Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis? Go ask your families, Enthusiasts. Demand answers from those parasites, and meet me back here around midnight. Bring sandwiches.

A Mexican, A Jew, And Jerry Garcia Walk Into A Bar…

September 27, 2019 / / 4 Comments

Men shouldn’t wear white pants. Jeans, slacks, sweats; whatever.

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Holy shit, Garcia’s not smoking.

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People often forget that Santana is 5’3″ at best.

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Oof, fruit plate.

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Wait. I think that’s a health salad. This is Marin County in 1978, and that was ground zero for health salad.

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When the Nazis orphan you at the age of five, you’re allowed to be pissed off the rest of your life.

On The Whole, I’d Rather Be In Colorado*

September 14, 2019 / / 7 Comments

Precarious?

“Yo.”

Just piled up the blankets and left ’em there, huh?

“Looks like it.”

Question.

“Shoot.”

What the fuck is that box?

“An ice dispenser shaped like W.C. Fields’ head.”

Obviously. Why?

“Why did we have it, or why is an ice dispenser shaped like W.C. Fields’ head?”

The first thing.

“Margaritas. We also had a blender shaped like Carmen Miranda.”

Sure.

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You fuckers thought I was kidding, didn’t you?

It’s not that I don’t know how to do research, it’s that I can’t usually be bothered.

 

*One would assume that this shot of Garcia is from Red Rocks; I am unaware of any other venues the Dead played where their backdrop was shale.

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes Of The World

September 7, 2019 / / 7 Comments

You weren’t really a church in Medieval Europe unless you had some relics. What was the point in sending all those belligerent rich kids to Jerusalem if they weren’t going to yoink some merch? (For those of you keeping track: yes, that is the first time the Crusades have been referred to as a “merch yoink.”) Bigger the cathedral, the more important the souvenir, too: locks of His hair for county parishes, knuckle bones for the city venues. Pilgrims would come from miles away, and they didn’t mind a two-indulgence minimum, either.

Anything to be closer to Him, right?

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I need someone who knew Garcia to explain this shit, because I cannot live in a world where Jerry Garcia was one of those psychos who don’t have a brand. Were the Merits (which were filtered) the “snack” cigarettes, and the Camels and Pall Malls (both unfiltered) the “meals?” Were the Merits the downstairs cocaine, and he handed ’em out to randos and bummers? Why the fuck would you have Camels AND Pall Malls? Why the fuck would you buy hard packs AND soft packs?

That is my question here: Why the fuck? To all of this, I say: Why the fuck?

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They didn’t sell. Guess Shapiro was saving his money for Lot 49: “A Jerry Garcia wad of crumpled-up tin foil with brownish residue on it.”

On Your Left

September 7, 2019 / / 1 Comment

Takes a couple seconds to realize what’s wrong with the picture, right?

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Opposite Day, as always, was a complete disaster.

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“Hey, uh, guys? We wearing our enormous glasses today?”

“Obviously, Weir.”

“Yeah, man. Biggest you can find.”

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If you don’t like 9/1/79, then you don’t like the Dead. And if you don’t like the Dead, why are you reading this bullshit? Who am I even addressing here? Ah, screw it: life is pointless.

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Which band had the most lefties in it? I can’t think of any with more than one southpaw player. (Not counting natural lefties who learned to play right-handed because left-handed guitars were tough to find and/or more expensive.)

If One Good Dose Of Thunder Don’t Get You, The Lightning Will

September 5, 2019 / / 0 Comments

“Found yourself a new band to have a crush on, man?”

You ever listen to them?

“The Placemats?”

The Replacements.

“Never heard of ’em, man. They play that snarly-type music?”

At first. They got mellower as they aged.

“Happens to the best of us.”

Do the beard and the hair both get shampooed at the same time?

“How else would you do it?”

Just wondering.

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