Tag: 4/22/79

This is from Brent’s first show, 4/22/79, at UC San Jose State. (Go Banana Slugs.) It was so nice of the other Grateful Deads to dress up for the occasion.

Assorted thoughts:

• Two clean-shaven, two full beards, two mustaches: that means something, I’m sure of it.
• Phil’s monitor was chilly.
• Speaking of mustaches and Phil: while we do have a firm grasp on Garcia’s mustache timeline, we haven’t quite pinned down the start and end dates for the rarest period in all of Grateful Dead history – the brief moment when Phil was the fattest guy in the band.
• The only other photo I know of in which Garcia and Phil exchange places on the chubometer is this one:
• 
• This must be from ’79, too: Phil got larger than this, peaking in the mid-80’s when he cut back on the Heineken, but from ’80-’82, Garcia put on at least a hundred pounds and was never challenged for his title again.
• Bobby looks like he is starring in the direct-to-video feature American Gigolo 2: On The Gigolowdown.
• How involved is Mickey?
• Actually, there’s two questions nestled within that larger query:
• How involved does Mickey think he is?
• How involved is he really?
• All of us–all us adults–know that the Wall was a ludicrous invention, and it broke the band’s back, but God it looked grand.
• It was a feast for the senses.
• The Dead in 1979 was not a feast for the senses.
• Bunch of mangy dudes and Peter Potato Salad over there.
• Although in defense of Bobby, he was the only thing to look at, so he felt like he had to put in extra effort.
• “Drum store? What’s the biggest drum you got?”
• …
• “Bigger than that.”
• …
• “Bigger than that.”
• …
• …
• …
• “Bigger than that.”
• And so on.
• Look: it’s Brent.