Dead & Company: The Grateful Dead Is Resurrected (Again), This Time With John Mayer *

The question lingers: why the hurry?

 

Cash in on all the FTW hype and media coverage.

 

Because as one gets older more things get in the way, it's called life.

Right now everyone is on board.

 

Yeah, Trey does not carry Garcia's world-weariness in his singing at all.

 

Right, but this is also going to dilute the brand... How much media coverage are they going to get this time around? Granted, Mayer's participation is going to generate a couple of clicks... but apart from the novelty of that?

 

I kind of hope they get just enough interest to keep doing it, and to bring the shows to CA. I don't want there to be FTW-level media coverage (and I doubt there will be, anyway, that "last ever shows with the Core 4" phase is happily over). And, if I like what they are doing musically with "Dead & Co.", I don't care if 50 percent of the Deadheads aren't into it. I doubt anyone save the promoters wants the crush on ticketing and venues, anyway. Ideally, there will be just enough interest to fill a venue like Shoreline (or hopefully even a smaller venue) to near capacity. I just want to see the music played live in a way that makes me feel good about the proceedings.

 

I agree: it's just too soon. Had this announcement come 18 months down the line it might have been welcome, but everyone (including the musicians) needs a pause for reflection after Fare Thee Well.

 

I don't understand the concerns about the timing. Jerry and the Grateful Dead died 20 years ago. FTW was a marketing ploy more than an ending, or some solemn occasion that must be given a proper mourning period. I say, get out there and let it rip!

 

Thank you. I couldn't have said this better myself.

 

Thankfully, Trey got back home where he belongs, to his band. The payoff has been good for Phish phans. Trey has been playing with renewed vigor on the current tour, and Phish unexpectedly (at least to me) rolled out several new tunes as well, some of them very good.

There were lots of folks expecting Phish to play at least one GD song following FTW, but so far at least that hasn't happened. But it seems like they more often than not, Phish deliberately defies expectations, so I shouldn't be surprised about that! Could still happen, of course.

One nice takeaway from GD50 is Trey's now frequent use of Jerry's Mutron guitar effect (or something very close to that like the Tru-Tron). Here is "Seven Below" from the other night in Tuscaloosa (Alabama Getaway not played ). Trey leans over and flips the Mutron switch at about 5:23 and doesn't look back...

 

I'm with you except for "marketing ploy". It was the last time the Core Four will play together, as far as we know. Not that marketing and ploying weren't part of the strategy, but it was indeed an end (again, as far as we know).

But now that we can clearly see the lines here, we could have called it Fare Thee Phil.

 

Absolutely! Nobody is replacing Jerry. Nobody expects this to be a replica of (insert your favorite GD era here). Fare Thee Well was a blast. Let it kick off a period of added interest in touring. It won't last forever (or for very long). Get it while you can!

 

Big +1.

 

I would have been a little more interested in this venture if they had got what sounds like their first choice for bass, Mike Gordon. But Mike said no.

Says Weir: "Mike has way more stuff on his plate than he can manage now. Oteil was a natural go-to and he’s more than up to the task."

 

It's like no one actually watched the posted show featuring Mayer playing with Phil Lesh and Friends.

 

Maybe the 'core three' were just psyched enough about FTW that they wanted to keep going. Apparently John Mayer is really into it. I saw a clip of him playing Sugaree or Althea or something and was kinda impressed.

If they're having fun doing it and think they have something special, might as well strike while the iron is hot. Get as much exposure as you can early, then show folks the goods. If it's just a 'cash-in' thing it will show.

The 'Grateful Dead' died with Garcia. If people still want to play and listen to the music every damn day, that's cool with me.

 

I just watched a bit of it. He is a flashy player and has chops, but doesn't have much groove or feel, and I am not loving his tone. What I will say, is at least he is bringing something of his own to his table, I prefer that any day to the slavish Garcia imitators; the problem is, his playing is just not to my taste. Also, not that it matters as much as the music, he is humping that guitar way too much.

I am fine with the guys going out to do this, and it was practically telegraphed betweej Phil said last year that he doesn't want to tour and the FTW announcements saying this is the last time the core four would all play together. The problem is Phil (despite his vocals) and Trey were the two members who made FTW the most interesting to me, and I have zero interest in seeing the other surviving members without them. Adding Mayer to the mix takes things into negative interest territory. (It was, by the way, cool to see the drummers do their thing during the Drums sequence in person one last time, I am glad that others who couldn't go to Santa Clara or Chicago will get a taste of that).

But I am coming at this from the perspective of someone who has had little to no interest in general in the post-Garcia configurations of the remaining members -- there is just too much other excellent music to listen to and see live. And more power to the rest of the guys for wanting to play more shows, I hope people who are interested in going enjoy these shows.

 

John Mayer is a way better musician than any musician that ever played under the Dead moniker. Probably, one of the top modern mainstream guitarists. Every great blues player alive embraced him. Only the grumpies at Steve Hoffman don't.

 

What a bunch of old whores! Let it die already.

 

Mayer's style often reminds me of Stevie Ray Vaughan, not there's anything wrong with that, just not what I'm looking for in GD music. I watched bits and pieces of that show, and I thought all the stand out guitar parts were played by Scott Metzger, not Mayer. And if I want to hear Scotty play Dead music, I will listen the real thing - JRAD

 

John Mayer a way better guitar player than Jerry Garcia? Really?

 

Make It Stop!

 

That's fair, but I thought he sounded great and I'm not big John Mayer fan outside of that performance. If his biggest issue is aesthetically then that's okay - his actual playing I found understated when necessary and really explosive when necessary too. Basically blew me away because I had preconceived notions of him.

 

I don't agree with this at all, but at least there's a lot of unabashed honestly here.

This is basically how I think of him. I think he'll even improve and be pretty good, but, again, I'll have more of a final opinion after I hear what happens on Oct. 31.

I have to say, after what I saw at Phil plays '77, Scott Metzger is not right for Dead music. That night, his tone and attack was better suited for Steely Dan. I have seen JRAD live, and he didn't annoy me at all then, but Mayer to me is a much more interesting guitar player, and potentially better for this music. I'm not a big Stu Allen fan either.

That said, I'm gonna see JRAD again at Peach Music Festival and I'm sure it will be good. But I really like Joe Russo, so that probably has a lot to do with my view of JRAD.

Edit: I'm going to amend this to say Metzger may not be right for Dead music, because he was kind of filling the Bobby role a bit, and he was alright I guess. Don't ask me why I'm OK with John K. basically doing Jerry but so-so with Metzger doing Bobby. It may be my history of seeing DSO three times before John K. made the leap.

 

I don't like The Grateful Dead (except some of the In The Dark album) but if three of them want to keep moving on I say fine. Do it.