Parris and I spent the weekend in Chicago (one of my favorite cities), hanging around Soldier Field for the last three performances of the Grateful Dead, the Fare Thee Well shows
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great weekend in Chicago for sure! Every stop I made on the road yesterday back to New England I ran into more deadheads.
I must say as I've read a lot of your works I find dead references scattered throughout. Sometimes subtle, the way Robert Hunter has scattered common folk refrains throughout the songs. It may be me reading to far into it, but it always brought a smile to my face.
I took my brother and his wife to one of the shows in Santa Clara. (I didn't get tickets, I'd never been much of a Deadhead but they were both big fans.) I admit that 'Fare Thee Well' always makes me choke up a bit, no matter the context. My brother liked the show a lot.
What made it almost surreal -- in that wonderful Grateful Dead way -- was that during the second song, here in hot, dry, drought-ridden California where it hasn't rained for weeks (and even then it was a weak drizzle) a rainbow appeared over the stadium. I'm not one for superstition, so I'm comfortable leaving that as a mystery, and a nice tribute to Jerry.
I did not know you were a Dead Head! How lucky for you to attend the last shows. It was a bittersweet weekend for sure. If you haven't already, check out the documentary on Bob Weir called "The Other One." It's available on Netflix and well worth a watch.
I know the band won't be performing together again, but it seemed by the end of this past weekend they were truly connecting and getting in tune with each other, and they sounded as if they could do a full tour. Trey was a wonderful addition. I only wish they'd brought him into the fold earlier when they were touring as Further and The Dead. And thank you for posting the "Ripple" video. It seems like only yesterday when I was watching Jerry sing and listening to the fluttering notes of his guitar, and Bobby looked like a kid! :-)
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I must say as I've read a lot of your works I find dead references scattered throughout. Sometimes subtle, the way Robert Hunter has scattered common folk refrains throughout the songs. It may be me reading to far into it, but it always brought a smile to my face.
Reply
What made it almost surreal -- in that wonderful Grateful Dead way -- was that during the second song, here in hot, dry, drought-ridden California where it hasn't rained for weeks (and even then it was a weak drizzle) a rainbow appeared over the stadium. I'm not one for superstition, so I'm comfortable leaving that as a mystery, and a nice tribute to Jerry.
Reply
I know the band won't be performing together again, but it seemed by the end of this past weekend they were truly connecting and getting in tune with each other, and they sounded as if they could do a full tour. Trey was a wonderful addition. I only wish they'd brought him into the fold earlier when they were touring as Further and The Dead. And thank you for posting the "Ripple" video. It seems like only yesterday when I was watching Jerry sing and listening to the fluttering notes of his guitar, and Bobby looked like a kid! :-)
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