The Great Speckled Bird Nov. 22, 1971
I guess it isn't easy to be a living legend. I mean, what do you
do for an encore? Since the early days of the movement thenัand it was a
movement thenั the Grateful Dead has been known as a people's band. The free
concert given by the Dead here in Piedmont Park in 1969 is something that
nearly everyone who was there remembers fondly. I just finished listening to
the first three Grateful Dead albums in an attempt to gain inspiration for this
article. "Anthem of the Sun"ัthe second album-ั -is probably the high
water mark of psychedelic music. It is also the finest example of improvisation
by a rock band available on record. Unfortunately, Jerry Garcia, the lead
guitarist and spiritual symbol of The Grateful Dead would probably dismiss all
that I have said as a lot of pseudo-nostalgic clap trap. In answer to the
numerous requests for old Grateful Dead numbers, Jerry was heard to say,
"That was two years ago, man. If you can't pick up on what we're doing now,
I guess we'll have to leave you behind." Allow me to add that soon after
saying this, the band played "Johnny B. Goode," a Chuck Berry song
that is fully ten years old. Just who is living in the past. Jerry?
But I digress. Let me give you a blow by blow description of the
concert.
The Grateful Dead was proceeded by the New Riders of the Purple
Sage, who are a country rock derivative of the Dead. If you've never gotten
into the Byrds, the New Riders are a real knock-out with a clear almost
piercing guitar sound and a fine, down home, country beat. Somehow, they lack
the dynamics and simple beauty that makes the Byrds one of the all time great
bands in popular music.
On the positive side, Spencer Dryden, formerly of the Jefferson
Airplane, performed brilliantly on drums with the New Riders and gave the best
individual performance of any of the fine musicians on the stage that night. It
was only then that I realized what a great loss his departure was to the
Airplane. In all, though, most of the New Rider's material had an
all-too-similar sound, and they had to rely on oldies like "Willie and the
Hand Jive," "Down in the Boondocks," and the Everly Brothers'
"Mary Lou" to really excite the audience. This was a trend to be followed,
much to my disappointment, by the Grateful Dead.
Pigpen, the mysterious organ player of the group and the first
person in the world to play that weird, was not with the group on this tour.
This was also the Dead's first appearance in Atlanta with only one drummer.
Mickey Hart has left the group. Keith Goshow substituted for Pigpen and played
some excellent piano though it was bearly audible to most of the audience. Even
for a band noted for their extremely informal stage presence, the Grateful Dead
seemed to be very indifferent to this job. I found this to be truly the case
when I met the band on their way out of the auditorium. Even their refusal to
play with police present on the stage in the aftermath of the usual Municipal
Auditorium crowd control hassle seemed to be a superficial matter of routine.
The action looked as if it had been rehearsed.
Relying mostly on material from their new live album,
"Workingman's Dead," and "American Beauty," the group moved
listlessly through a repertoire of songs of pretty much the same tempo,
structure, and of the same instrumental arrangement. Improvisation was at a
premium, and the diehard Grateful Dead fans kept hoping for the band to take
off on one of those legendary hour long numbers that used to leave them numb
for hours after the show was over, but that kind of Grateful Dead music never
came.
The only member of the band who played with anything resembling
the brilliance and intensity of past performances was Phil Lesh, who is
unquestionable one of the finest bass players in rock music. His intricate,
flowing bass patterns and pure, sonic poetry.
If someone was going to write a book on how to be a hot shot band,
he would have to recommend closing out the set with a Chuck Berry song because
it is a sure fire crowd pleaser. By now, though, it's also an A-l cop out. The
Grateful Dead finished the show with "Johnny B. Goode." Draw your own
conclusions.
It was good to see the Dead just for old time's sake, but I think
I'll just be content to listen to their old albums from now on. On the way to
his limousine, Jerry Garcia muttered, "Total Bummer." It wasn't that
bad. But it wasn't any too good.
-joe roman