“Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile,” Bob Weir lead, and the whole venue joined in.
This accurately summed up my night at the Dead & Company concert at the beginning of September. It was my first concert since COVID-19, and boy did it not disappoint. Maybe during the pandemic I forgot about the thrill of live music, or maybe John Mayer was having a killer night on the guitar, but in the end, even with the rain, Dead & Co. was nothing short of incredible.
That nervous excitement you feel as the stage lights dim and the show is about to start, the crowd community as you sway to the same beats and shout the same lyrics with complete strangers, the curiosity in the first few chords as you try to figure out what epic song they are about to play next: they were all experiences that COVID-19 took away from us. But they are familiarities that are beginning to come back.
If you aren’t familiar with Dead & Company, they are a remake of the Grateful Dead, a popular rock, blues band throughout the 60s all the way to the 90s and “the psychedelic era’s most beloved musical ambassadors,” according to Spotify. Dead & Co. has three original Grateful Dead members – Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann – as well as three new members – Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti, and of course, John Mayer. The original songs, guitar riffs, and chords mixed with modern voices and solos make this Grateful Dead do-over a masterful performance and one of my favorite bands.
I was first introduced to the Grateful Dead by my dad, a long-time “Deadhead” and Jerry Garcia fan. I would be lying if I said I was hooked from the first time I heard them. In fact, I actually found all the guitar jams boring, and felt frustrated when the songs would barely have any singing. However, as I got older and began to appreciate the music a little more, even getting my own guitar and trying to understand how the band is so talented, I quickly became a Deadhead.
I can never get enough Grateful Dead music. I listen to them when I run, when I cook, and even now when I am writing. However, it’s not just the songs that I loved during the concert, it was the whole experience. True Deadheads know that the concert actually starts two to three hours before the actual show, as the parking lot of the venue fills with tailgaters and the infamous “Shakedown Street.” The lot fills with many vendors selling art, t-shirts, food, posters, and basically all other Grateful Dead paraphernalia you can imagine. From that point on, the ambiance is uniquely positive. Music is blasting to excite the fans for the show, and connections are made as people introduce themselves or say hi to ones they have seen at previous shows.
These vibes stayed as people began to enter the venue and get ready for the show. Everybody was dressed casually in their tie-dye and “steal your face” logos, and they swayed and danced like nobody could see them. Even though most people in the crowd didn’t know each other, there was one thing we all shared: we came for the music.
Especially after COVID-19 and the difficulties our society has felt for the past 18 months, getting to experience the strength of live music bringing a bunch of strangers together was a powerful moment.
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