Ever have one
of those nights where you are reminded of the brilliance in simplicity?
Last night was one of those nights. Over the last couple of years
I've looked hard for certain things at shows. Trying to explain and
understand what is happening and why we are doing what we are doing.
Last night though was a reminder of what shows were like when I just sat
back and listened to the music.
Now, I am one
of those unlucky few who decided, back in the summer of '95, to wait until
fall to see my first Dead show. So, if you are looking for a review
from someone with experience, may I recommend rec.music.gdead. This
is my take on the evening though.
I got to the
venue just in time to make the hike from the over flow lot to the spot
across from will call where I was to meet up with my friend Karen.
We made the meet and I was introduced to her friend Mike. We made
our way into the venue in time to hear Rusted Root's set while we checked
out the different vendor's wares. Finally, Karen couldn't take it
anymore and we all decided to head in and get some dancing done.
Root's set was
strong. A lot better than the last time I saw them at Nissian on
the '96 HORDE. I'm definitely going to need to give these guys another
shot. They seem to have really figured out how to handle the big
venues, though I still hold my memories of smaller venues closely.
Next up was a
great set by Hot Tuna. A little warning though. Set breaks
are at neck break speed. This break was about 10 to 15 minutes.
Hot tuna pulled out a couple of choice songs and played some nice blues.
I used the set as a little breather before the main event and was very
satisfied.
After another
short set break out came the boys. Immediately they started to flirt
around with the opening to Jack Straw and after messing with it for a couple
of minutes the words fell out to a huge roar from the fans. They
had changed their name, but the Dead was back, or at least we thought they
were.
Next up was a
great Sugaree, with Bruce on vocals. The band seem to have hit the
stage in mid stride. Both of these songs contained great jams and
everyone was in great form. Steve and Mark handled the guitar needs
perfectly. The bluesier tunes got a great work over by Mark, and
Steve laid down leads that would have made Jerry proud. As the show
progressed though, the differences between the Other Ones and the Dead
started to appear. Where the Dead might have used a subtle approach
to handle some of the songs, the Other Ones used power. The "lead"
instrument during any jam laid down it's notes on top of a complex layer
of sound that would have cushioned the fall of an elephant and left any
musician hours of fun picking apart the different sounds and layers.
The sound just rolled over you and enveloped you in perfect musical bliss.
After Sugaree,
Bobby took over for a great Minglewood, with another great jam right in
the middle. After Minglewood came Easy Answers. The jam in
this one was one of those jams where you forget what song they were playing
when they went into it. Finally, though the jam went back into Easy
Answers, and you had that realization of what's going on.
After Easy Answers
came one of the cruelest moments of the night. Pure evil came from
Bruce as he played around with the opening of Terrapin on solo piano, only
to drop into China Cat when the rest of the band joined him. Not
to say the China Cat wasn't amazing, and the jam from China into Rider
was one of those jams that just got intense. But, the idea of getting
a Terrapin at my first show would have been amazing. Then again,
after the next couple of songs I had no room to complain.
After I Know
You Rider came the distinct sound of Box of Rain, and when Phil started
to sing the place again erupted into ecstasy. Phil was definitely
on all night, playing well, and solid in the mix. Somewhere during
the course of the night he even pulled out a really nice solo that pleased
more than just a few of us. Box of Rain though was a treat.
That's
for sure.
After Box came
a rocked out version of Rainbow Cadilac. It took me until Bruce started
singing to realize what was being played, but when I realized it, it was
definitely a good thing. And what came after it was beyond a good
thing.
After they had
finished Rainbow the band was noodling around, tuning up and trying to
figure out what was going to be played next. Then Mike turned to
me and asked if I had just heard Dark Star. I wasn't sure and listened.
Phil started messing around on the bass, getting as close to playing the
signature riff as he could with out actually playing it. And then
he put us all out of our misery and hit it. My first show and I got
Box Of Rain and Dark Star. Let's just say I was a happy camper.
They took apart Dark Star during the Jam. After the first verse the
whole song disintegrated into Space and just really got wild. After
awhile I decided to sit down and just sit back and let the sounds roll
over me. It was sure bliss, let me tell you. I never understood
the fascination with this song, but now I do. I do, and I now share
it as well.
The Space ended
up slipping into Estimated Prophet with another great Jam in the middle
of it. This one though was a complete leaving of the song.
Suddenly, though, the Jam disintegrated, and there was Estimated again.
Almost like it had been there all along.
Estimated slipped
into a great Drums. And as Karen would later say, the look on Mickey's
face looked like he was having sex or something. He was in complete
bliss and the crowd didn't mind listening in. The drums ended up
slipping into Only The Strange Remain. The only song of the night
I could have done with out. It was a great song, but didn't lend
it self to the kind of playing that the rest of the night was. Out
of Strange came a return to Dark Star, but before they could finish it
they segued it into Wharf Rat. God, this night just couldn't get
any better. After Jack Straw I had turned to my friend Karen and
she had a big smile on her face and was wiping tears from her eyes.
After this set I could imagine why.
The Wharf Rat
then gave way to Good Loving, Bobby was having a blast on this one and
so was the crowd, who were playing back up singers. Before completion
though, the song segued into One More Saturday Night. Another song
I could have done with out, but definitely a fun song to hear since it
was Saturday night. One of those songs that you don't realize they're
going to play until their playing it, and then you can't figure out why
you didn't realize they were going to play that.
After Saturday
night the set ended. It was exactly 11pm, which, apparently, is the
curfew for Nissian because we didn't get an encore. Not for lack
of trying though. I've been to many concerts in my life time, but
never have I heard a louder crowd. And they didn't stop. The
lights came up, and we kept cheering, ads for future shows started popping
up on the video screens, and we kept cheering, the house music came on,
and we kept cheering, they started unplugging guitars, and we kept cheering,
once they started to take apart the drums though, we started to get the
idea and slowly made our way to our cars.
I walked over
to Karen's car, to borrow a Dead tape for the ride home and just before
I reached my car the rain broke. Soon it was raining hard, but by
that time most of us were on the road heading home. It was almost
as if Mother Nature was cleansing us of the last couple of years to allow
us to make way for the coming of the new generation. On some aspects,
the Other Ones are like the Dead, at the same time though, they are their
own band, doing things their own way. The songs are the same, the
music though, is the next step in the evolution. The Dead were always
about pushing forward. Well, they've done it, and they've done it
well. Here is to the Other Ones, may they tour forever.