Bobby watched the photo shoot, and when he saw Pig put his fist to his chin as if he were thinking, Bobby knew that his attitude towards getting his picture taken would never be the same.
Also: Billy’s coat? About two grand now, right?
Musings on the Most Ridiculous Band I Can't Stop Listening To
Tag: Pigpen (Page 9 of 20)
I always liked when you can see the strings. When the whole set shakes when someone closes a door. When the camera pulls out and you can see the boom mic and the script girl and all those canvas chairs.
How tough can you be if you showed up on time for the photo shoot?
I used to be in a band; we weren’t good, but we were loud and we had a basement all to ourselves. We didn’t win the Battle of the Bands. Never got any chicks, man.
But, Jesus, we were loud.
Me and the drummer never got along, which is typical, but we were both teenagers and teenagers are fucking typical. If you had mean-mugged him, I would have cold-cocked you. He was my drummer and being in a band means something. It’s a tribe and you have to pick sides and I picked the side playing The Ramones, poorly, loudly.
We didn’t play Soldier Field for our 50th Anniversary. Singer’s in Louisiana, he’s an entomologist. Guitar player’s in Boston and he works in a recording studio. Drummer’s still a drummer.
And I’m here.
But I used to be in a band.
“Weir! You and me is having some man-to-man words about this here television program!”
“Goddammit.”
“I wanna be played by a man of poise and prestige! Someone who’ll get the Pig’s highs and lows! Capture me as a person of character adrift among the reprobates! Not just some drunk kid playing the blues, y’know?”
…
“Don’t make the Pig no joke, Weir.”
“You know I wouldn’t do that, Pig.”
“Nah. I know. You gonna do me right with this fiasco. You just let ’em all know who I was. People done forgot about the Pig.”
“I didn’t. I couldn’t. Promise.”
“Well, if I got your word and a dime, then I got me a cup of coffee! The Pig is goin’ to Hollywood! What channel we on?”
“Yeah, there aren’t really channels anymore.”
“Is there Captain Kangaroo in the morning and horror flicks late at night?”
“If that’s what you want, I suppose.”
“Then TV is still TV! Future ain’t so fancy, Weir!”
“Yeah, maybe.”
…
“Jer, do you have any notes on the–”
“Leave me out of this, Weir.”
“–TV show? Okay, sure.”
1971 was the last time there were this few Grateful Deads. They were briefly placed on the Endangered List until someone realized the Endangered Species Act wouldn’t be passed until ’72, and by then there were either one or two more Grateful Deads depending on what month you’re talking about.
Also: Billy’s deaf, too, now? Right? You’re not allowed to be a young man that close to giant amplifiers without being an old man who leaves the closed captioning on his TV at all times.
Also also: Billy’s monitor may or may not be propped up with a hardcover book. Good job, Precarious. That’s some fine stuff-proppin’.
Hey, Pig. Whatcha doing?
“Being backlit from the front!”
Sure.
Hey, Pig. Whatcha doing?
“Being scandalous, hat-wise!”
Oh, yeah.
“Scopin’ out the crowd fer dusky darlings!”
I gotcha.
“Holdin’ down an A for ten minutes while these baboons tune their axes!”
No doubt.
Keyboardist sitting on a stolen kitchen chair? Check.
Phil rocking the Prince Valiant? Yes.
Barefoot, unsupervised child with no hearing protection feet away from the largest amplifiers the Dead could afford? Also, yes.
We can confirm that this picture of is of the old days.
Another pic from this mystery show. I do believe the 6/22/68 date from the site; the estimable Dead Essays says this:
A newspaper review: “”Last weekend’s Grateful Dead concert was a smash. Too bad not everyone knew it. The further the Dead got into their music the quicker some people got out to their cars.” [deadlists]
I believe this photo bears out the review: our heroes have assumed, in Mr. Completely’s wonderful phrasing, Jamming Formation with Lonely Keyboardist (Pigpen is off to the left somewhere), and the crowd is sitting down and bored-seeming. Phoenix, Arizona, not getting the Dead in 1968 sounds right as hell.
The Boys, when they were boys, and clearly not ready for New York City. All of them were mugged before and after this picture was snapped.
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