Where the 60's Never Sleep Pt. 1

To visualize the never ending allure of the "Hippie Generation" of the late 1960's, one must visit 2 of its steadfast representatives, The Grateful Dead and Woodstock, New York. Minus the iconic lead singer and guitarist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, the remaining members just re-united, (now under the mantle of The Dead), for the first time in 5 years and hit the road on a mini-tour which brought me to Albany this past weekend. Although the fan base crosses all cultural and economic barriers, the one element that is a driving force behind the band known for its extensive tour calendar and ever-changing set list is the legion of "Deadheads", also known as "The Family" that paint the landscape of the event. Marked by generations and numbers of shows attended, the Deadhead in the purest form is a rare breed that consider a Dead tour as a lifeline and a reason to "go on tour" for months at a time, when the band where playing full seasons, as they did for 30 years, up until Jerry's death. Although the shows are fewer in number now, the following is no less compassionate. A traveling sideshow of dreads and flowered skirts, those "on tour" form a snapshot of the communal and experimental 60's a la Ken Kesey. A tailgate party, when at its best, is ripped from the pages of some hedonistic novel, with a natural, earthy beauty and euphoric youthful optimism wrapping you like a big group hug.
It is this time capsule tapestry that makes the live show what is is. A swirling mass of bodies becoming part of each extended jam that is signature Dead. Legendary guitarist with Government Mule and The Allman Brothers and the only man big enough to attempt to fill Jerry's shoes, Mr. Warren Haynes, puts it best in his lyrical tribute to the man he emulates in Patchwork Quilt:

But there's a banjo moon in a tie-dyed sky
Hippies dance and babies cry
Church bells ring as a silver-haired angel look down
And the blood of his music runs through the veins of our guitars
Bright lights, Dark Star

It's a patchwork quilt of a life
Can't stop the river
Just let it roll



STAY TUNED FOR PART 2 WOODSTOCK VISIT