Legendary Banter

It is 2016, as we’re so often reminded, and people are now allowed to be named LoloYodel; what’s more, said Yodels are furthermore permitted to make supercuts of all the Grateful Dead’s tuning songs, band introductions, bad jokes, and stage banter (from a ’64 Mother McCree’s Jug Band tape to 1989) and post it to YouTube. What a world.

If you don’t have the time or inclination to listen, then here’s a quick rundown:

• Ten or twelve renditions of Take A Step Back, half of which had musical accompaniment, which in hindsight seems a bit self-defeating.
• One rendition of Take A Step Inward that Bobby gave after attending an Esalen seminar.
• Bobby lying about the drummers’ birthdays.
• Bill Graham’s semi-veiled hostility.
• Phil’s blatant hostility.
• John Scher’s adenoids.
• That show in ’82 when Bobby started yelling “OMAHA! OMAHA!” before all the songs until Mickey tackled him.
• 6/1/87: Brent performs the St. Crispin’s Day speech. (“We few, we heady few…”)
• Bobby’s deer joke.
• Bobby’s bee joke.
• Bobby’s dog joke.
• Bobby’s other dog joke. (I didn’t realize this before, but Bobby loves animal-related humor.)

And, of course, Billy’s jokes; I will not repeat them in whole out of fear of being sent to the Problem Attic without supper, but I can reprint some of the punchlines without context:

• I put pee-pee in your Coke.
• Velcro on the ceiling.
• To keep her ears warm.
• You’re scared? I gotta walk out of here alone.”