should i give the grateful dead a chance?

I'm trying to think of the most I've paid for tickets, or who I would do that for. (There's probably a thread for this.) I don't see a lot of big name shows. I think I paid $60 for Bryan Ferry. Sparks are coming next year and I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but I think balcony tix for that are about the same. $220 for the guy who wasn't really even a vocalist in the Dead plus some ringers is outrageous imo.

It was for arguably the "best" seats, but I'd be paying $135 even for GA floor tickets.

I also generally speaking don't go to big production/big name shows. I don't see a lot of shows period, but when I do I usually like smaller venues and non-major artists better as an experience.

Oh, ZZ Top was the last show I saw pre-Covid. Nosebleed seats, but $40.

$220 for the guy who wasn't really even a vocalist in the Dead plus some ringers is outrageous imo.

Yeah, I didn't even pay this much for three actual Dead guys and ringers when I saw them, though not appreciably lower by most standards. I could justify it this time after not having spent a penny on shows between March 2020 and September of 2021 though.

imagine paying $200 to hear John Mayer noodle on his guitar at a 'dead' show

imagine swinging into a thread to inaccurately describe something to feel like a cool guy on the internet.

Tried with the Dead again this morning while doing laundry; listened to about a third of the Fillmore West 1969 3CD set before giving up and switching to the Allman Brothers' At Fillmore East, which it turned out was what I wanted all along.

Depending on which third that was, I get it. The first disc is meh, the magic really shines on the second two discs, imo. But I'm not sure it'd still be in your wheelhouse.

Allman Bros at Fillmore East is going to scratch a very different itch than Dead at Fillmore West, so that makes sense. I also come back a lot to the fact that the Dead were about the entire atmosphere at and around the shows, and I'll just never experience that (whether or not I would have liked it, which I'm not sure).

That's a good point, the atmosphere is a huge contributor to it (I know, cue the 100 jokes about stinky hippies). But it really does make a difference.

xxxp You shoulda at least skipped to St. Stephen->The 11

I was halfway through "St. Stephen" when I bailed out. I've owned the set (and had downloads of the expanded set with all the concerts in full) for years. It's really the only Dead thing I can even get close to liking. Every couple of years I get the urge to listen to it, but it fades quickly.

Finally getting around to Wake of the Flood after 30 years. I always lumped it in with the other limp mid 70s albums but I guess it’s the first of those and was made not soon after Europe 72 so..yeah it’s ok, better than I thought. I love Half Step and Eyes. No use for the 1-2 punch heroin hangovers of Jimmy and Stella. Haven’t made it past the first minute of Weather but was dismayed when Bobby started singing…

That’s a great album; that one and the two after it are my favorites of theirs.

Gotta defend Row Jimmy, imo one of the greatest Garcia/Hunter songs. Enigmatic, world-weary, and stoic in the most beautiful way. And rhythmically tricky in the verses. Full of evocative imagery, e.g. "grass shack nailed to a pinewood floor." There are lots of great live versions, but I treasure the studio version because Keith gets to play both Rhodes and Clavinet via the miraculous technology of overdubbing

Stella is beautiful, too

Listened to American Beauty today zzzzzzzzz

I like the studio Eyes of the World a lot. Some days I enjoy Stella and Jimmy. Here Comes Sunshine is one of my favorite live tunes and the studio one is pretty good.

American Beauty I kind of waver on, some days it feels right. I love Box of Rain and Friend of the Devil and Ripple. Til the Morning Comes feels kind of dated and icky. Other songs are mostly solid.

I’ve never liked American Beauty or Workingman’s too much, guess that’s unusual, I have tried to get into them but it’s just not my type of material or performances.

I don't love Workingman's Dead outside of "Black Peter" and "Easy Wind" and maybe "Dire Wolf" but American Beauty is one of those albums where I look at the track list and shake my head in disbelief at how utterly stacked it is.

Gotta defend Row Jimmy, imo one of the greatest Garcia/Hunter songs. Enigmatic, world-weary, and stoic in the most beautiful way. And rhythmically tricky in the verses. Full of evocative imagery, e.g. "grass shack nailed to a pinewood floor." There are lots of great live versions, but I treasure the studio version because Keith gets to play both Rhodes and Clavinet via the miraculous technology of overdubbing

Faux reggae part?

Yeah I'm not a super Dead fan but American Beauty is just a great album

xp Row Jimmy always had a reggae-ish feel rhythmically, but in later live versions they tended to play up that element of it more (there's a specific little "faux-reggae" arpeggiated guitar riff Jerry would play in the outro of 90s versions that I think tobo73 is alluding to). At least in early versions of the song I think they incorporated a reggae feel in a subtle and organic way

Grateful Dread

lol I'm sure there are dozens of reggae Dead cover bands called that. Not googling to confirm

Listening for the reggae part here; mesmerized by the peak fashions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTEDpckHqk0

Uncle Jah's Band

I and I Need A Miracle

What was the word Billy Joel liked to use for overpriced concerts of his? A “gouge”.

I don’t foresee myself being willing to buy any super expensive concert tickets in the future but would probably make one exception: Nine Inch Nails. Never seen them, want to.

irl lol at Uncle Jah's Band.

Speaking of Dead cover bands, I know Steely Dead got shit on over on the Dan thread, but a friend had an extra ticket last night so I checked them out. I have no huge interest in Dead or Dan, and a high tolerance for stuff like Dread Zeppelin, and I liked them fine. They're great musicians (especially the "Jerry") and had some interesting arrangements (Help>Slip>Green Earrings) that go beyond just being clever mashups. I smiled a lot, and I'm sure got as much out of that $15 ticket as I would from any "real" $200+ Dead show.

some amazing eyebrow dancing by Mickey Hart at about 9:19 in that video.

good christ i'd forgotten all about Bob's wall street mullet/ponytail abomination

NIN are absolutely amazing live, i've not really listened to them much but was gobsmacked by them. this was during 'ghosts' era xxxp

I saw them on the first lollapalooza, had never heard them, had no idea what to expect and it was kind of mind blowing especially in broad daylight at like 3pm

Haven't seen them since the Downward Spiral tour, which was amazing.

I’ve always wanted to do a “Guess if Real or Fake” game with Dead cover band names.

I’ve always wanted to do a “Guess if Real or Fake” game with Dead cover band names.

I've never seen NIN less than great live. I made it through about six seconds of that Dead clip. Needs more dry ice and fishnets.

The Dead's 'Super Dads Having A BBQ' period.

What do we think of Go to Heaven? (Besides the cover being awesome)

Feel like a stranger is like chubby Phil showing up to the Saturday night fever disco joint two years late, plugging in his bass and laying down some fat octave lines

I like Lost Sailor and Althea

Yeah I love Althea and for me it’s easily top 5 best things they ever did in the studio.

Feel like they did a fun version of Getaway on SNL

I bet the Meat Puppets are big Althea heads

feel like a stranger fucking owns. love the version that opens without a net

I like Go To Heaven! "Alabama Getaway" and "Don't Ease Me In" for sure

https://vimeo.com/279972896

Half step
Mississippi uptown
Toodeloo