Wednesday, July 22, 2015

The music never stopped

Sauntering through the sea of people at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara I noticed a common denominator between each; ear to ear grins.  Nostalgia. Anticipation. Intoxication. Whatever the impetus, it didn't matter. This crowd-more than any amalgamation of people I have been among-represented every walk of life, there, together, as one community, created by the sights, sounds, ideals, and antics of one of the most influential bands of the last half century; The Grateful Dead.

The  roars of the crowd brought a rush of adrenaline through me as I scrambled to find a seat, any seat, so as to catch a glimpse of this historic moment. Billy, Bobby, Phil, and Mickey stepping out onto stage for the beginning of the end of their long, strange musical trip together.

I can still feel the electricity of that audience as the opening notes to Truckin' rang out into the evening. An apt choice, with lyrics recounting tales of the band's adventures together, and a metaphor for anyone persevering after simply being shit out of luck.

Sometimes the light's all shining on me. Other times, I can barely see.

It made me realize how life is kind of just one big concert. At times the tallest guy in the crowd is standing right in front of you and others your riding the rail. There are so-so setlists and the kind of runs that leave you spinning. You can overpay scalpers and get miracled in.  But really, it's all what you make of it. There is always room to move your way to the front if you want it badly enough, it just takes patience, kindness, and time...and if you play it right you might make some friends along the way.

The cards ain't worth a dime if you don't lay em' down.

One of most impressive aspects of the Dead's music for me is how it can evoke both the ethereal and the everyday. In lyrics and tonality. A single tune can have you mindlessly gyrating one minute and pondering your place in the universe the next.

As the night, and weekend, continued I was continuously catapulted to each of these mindsets, and drug through every emotion in between. Pinballing between ecstatic and emotional, introspect and angst; the gamut of sentiments experienced through a show is almost exhausting. But exhausting in an exhilarating way; a way that makes you feel alive.

Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.

That, my friends, is why the Grateful Dead are one of the most influential, and quintessential American bands. They embody the essence of the American dream. A quirky group of misfits, refusing to fit neatly into a specific genre and instead created their own genre, and with it a subculture. Who knew that by embarking on this musical adventure they would inspire generations of musicians and fans alike. Rather than submit to the demands of financially driven record labels they chose to focus on the heart of the music; the live show. The first truly independent musicians.

Maybe Jerry knew.

It only seems suiting that these 50th anniversary shows not only coincided (nearly) with the dates of their last show together in 1995, but also America's birthday and in 2015 the observance of a landmark Supreme Court case which legalized love, and freed so many oppressed by an antiquated and narrow-minded law.

And now, reminiscing on these shows, with the recordings ringing through my headphones, I feel that electricity all over again. I will forever be able to close my eyes and see that rainbow shining over the stadium in Santa Clara and feel the power of what it represented. Musically. Politically. Socially.

A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through.