06-30-2015, 07:40 PM
(06-30-2015, 02:04 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Have not seen the current version of the Dead, but I saw them about a dozen times between '84 and '94.
Last time I saw them was in the fall of '94 in Denver. This was just a few moinths before Jerry died. the first set was a complete train wreck. They sounded like an out of tune high school band and they were screwing up the lyrics of songs they had been performing for 20 years. At the break my buddy who had seen them almost 100 times said it was the end. He said they were finished as a touring band. Then they came out for the second set and crushed it.
I was never the type of Deadhead who knew all the lyrics to all the songs. And I rarely listened to them except at live shows and at parties my friends would throw. But I had some of the greatest times of my life at dead shows. They were the ultimate party band. I would dance myself into a mystical trance and their music was just perfect for the mood.
Haha, we were at the last few Denver shows as well and they did leave something to be desired there in 94. It seemed as if when someone or something was not clicking right with the band, it was made up for in so many other ways. The crowd, the lots and even the security had a way of smoothing out the wrinkles on a bad night. Then the band would come back the next set/night or city and they would simply drop musical bombs on the crowd till everyone in the building was having the time of their lives.
