As is by now cliche, the Grateful Dead’s career can be sorted into chapters: Baby Dead, Single Drummer, Double Drummer, Brent, Vince, John Mayer; even the noobiest of noobs knows this. These chapters can be further broken down: Baby Dead can, like the years that followed–be sliced into Single/Double Drummer, and then Vince be split into Bruce/No Bruce, but the Brent Years can be shaved the finest. There’s Pre and Post Coma, obviously, but there was also a magical and mostly forgotten period towards the beginning of Brent’s tenure: That Time Phil Was Fatter Than Garcia.
We can eyeball it to Fall of ’80, but exact dates for TTPWFTG are unknown as of now.
It couldn’t have lasted more than one tour. This shot’s from 9/6/80 in Lewiston, Maine, which for some reason I thought was the Dead’s only trip up to Massachusetts’ vestigial tail, but they went there a lot. As you can see, Phil had been indulging in Maine’s signature dish, which is a deep-fried plaid hat slathered in mayonnaise. (Phil also broke into Stephen King’s house after the show, as he did at least once during each of the Dead’s visits to the state.)
Speaking of plaid:
We see that in October of the same year, Phil is still a huffalump.
By March of ’81, however, the Lord has reasserted His hand on the wheel, and normalcy reigns once more over the lot, as Phil and Garcia retake their appropriate positions on the Axis of Dead Chubbiness.
Lo, do you hear the winds a-winding? Feel the earth ‘neath your feet, or knees, or whatever you’ve got pressed up against the earth? Are you reeling in the years? Will you one day dandle your tyke ‘pon your knee and teach the old stories, the cruel stories, the lost jewels of birthright? Will you tell your child about That Time Phil Was Fatter Than Garcia? Will you do that for me?
Stop typing.
Okay.
Do something useful with your life.
Don’t wanna.
Also known in the lore of yore as the Heineken Daze.
That show was a big deal to Lewiston from what I’ve read, who’s biggest claim to fame before that was the second Ali/Liston bout. The so called phantom punch.
Phil and Jerry were playing matching-ish guitars. Such cute lil’ Grateful Deads…
And… I went looking. Take a look at this shit… the fourth photo features Fat Phil, flannel Phil, bowl-cut Phil, and Irwin playin’ Phil…
and whatever the hell he is in the second pic:
https://www.dirwinguitars.com/the-guitars/phil-leshs-doug-irwin-bass/
I saw 10/31/79 at Nassau and have seen photo evidence to corroborate my memories that TTPWFTG was underway, even then . . . .
Eh, Phil wasn’t reelin’ in the years so much as he was stowin’ away the Hein’.
The Lewiston show is fucking amazing.
This was the same era that Jerry would just solo in a cocaine sort of way no matter what the band played, and it was great.
Not 73 great, but great for the time.
And so Phil penned the dear sir and friend letter telling him to listen to the other musicians.
So Phil was asserting himself in some way in regards to Girth and Influence.
Or perhaps his chub was for some other psychological reason, just trying to correlate the timing.
Sorry I rambled..
—
Tor