The Good Old Grateful Dead Blog

"Who'd have thought that forty-six years after playing their first gig together, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh would still care so much about their music? It would have been forgivable if after so much time, their live show had ground down to a well-rehearsed routine or nothing more than a workmanlike celebration of their greatest hits; there are plenty of classic rock acts on the road that give their audiences just that and still manage to send them home happy.

But, simple crowd-pleasing has never been the forte of anyone associated with the Grateful Dead. From the very beginning, they've asked more than that from their audience. Being a Deadhead has always been more of a back and forth two-way conversation between the artists and fans. It's never been simply about consuming pre-digested entertainment that can be carelessly disposed of and forgotten as easily as a fast food wrapper. There's always been lots of gristle to ruminate over and chew on as the music Bob Weir and Phil Lesh are conjuring these days continues to demand so much of the listener. In the public imagination, The Grateful Dead may always remain as little more than a psychedelic band - a throwback to the summer of love who lull their soft-headed fans with utopian ballads about peace and contentment. Fortunately, that's only the tip of the iceberg as anyone who's followed the music's nearly fifty year history knows..."