Deadhead Cyclist Archives
Deadhead Cyclist Archives
There’s nothing you can hold for very long
I don’t believe in aging. But before you misidentify me as a wingnut, “chronology change denier,” allow me to define the term “aging.” Within the context of aging as a biological fact, there is no “belief” involved. We all age and eventually die. That is an undeniable fact. However, there is more to “aging” than that. So, let’s drill down a little deeper, shall we?
The Thin Line Beyond
I don’t believe in aging. But before you misidentify me as a wingnut, “chronology change denier,” allow me to define the term “aging.” Within the context of aging as a biological fact, there is no “belief” involved. We all age and eventually die. That is an undeniable fact. However, there is more to “aging” than that. So, let’s drill down a little deeper, shall we?
All I Know
I don’t believe in aging. But before you misidentify me as a wingnut, “chronology change denier,” allow me to define the term “aging.” Within the context of aging as a biological fact, there is no “belief” involved. We all age and eventually die. That is an undeniable fact. However, there is more to “aging” than that. So, let’s drill down a little deeper, shall we?
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 1 – December 31, 1978
The storyteller makes no choice
The Grateful Dead were famous for their New Year’s shows, and played twenty-one times at the stroke of midnight on December 31, at six different venues, all in the Bay Area. Six of those shows took place at the Winterland Ballroom, an erstwhile ice skating rink which became a storied rock music venue with a capacity of some 5000. Sadly, Winterland was shuttered in 1979, but not until one final concert had taken place. For reasons ranging from its eight-hour length, to the line-up that included the Blues Brothers and the New Riders of the Purple Sage, to the almost-six-hour DVD – The Closing of Winterland – that was made to commemorate the event, this was easily the most famous of the Dead’s New Year’s shows, and the Deadhead Cyclist’s choice for T.W.I.G.D.H., as well as the best New Year’s Eve show of all time.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 16 - April 12, 1978
Is there anything a man don’t stand to lose
I was first exposed to bigotry at the age of five when my family unwittingly became the only Jewish residents of what proved to be a passionately anti-Semitic neighborhood in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The year was 1960, and the hateful echoes of the Holocaust were still plainly audible, particularly among the already settled Scandinavian and Protestant Anglo-Saxon population, which made no effort to conceal their displeasure at the significant influx of Jewish families to the Twin Cities.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 17 - April 23, 1977
Without love in the dream
Ask any Deadhead what period represents the apex of the band’s touring career and the Spring, 1977 tour will inevitably be cited. Much like references to the “seventh member” of the six-piece band being present during a particularly outstanding show, there was a seventh member quality to the magic of the 30 shows the Grateful Dead played in the spring of 1977.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 18 - May 1, 1977
I don’t trust to nothing
As we continue our focus on the Spring ’77 tour, we run head-on into five shows at the Palladium in New York City, April 29 – May 4 (with a well-deserved night off on May 2). The 3000-capacity Palladium played a storied role in rock music history during the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, when the property was purchased by New York University and converted into a student residential hall, affectionately referred to as Palladium Hall.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 19 - May 8, 1977
Take a step back
Accepting the premise that Spring ’77 was the apex of the Grateful Dead’s history, which one of the 30 shows the band performed during that period was the climax of the tour? The third week of the tour – which included stops in Boston, Ithaca, Buffalo, St. Paul, and Chicago – may provide the answer, although choosing any one of these shows as the Dead’s best show of all time may be as futile an endeavor as trying to choose the most beautiful national park, the best full-suspension mountain bike, or the greatest athlete ever.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 20 - May 11, 1977
If ever I return
With all of the attention given to the Boston/Ithaca/Buffalo trilogy of shows, it’s easy to overlook some of the other gems of the Spring ’77 tour. During the week of May 11, Deadheads were treated to 5 wonderful shows by “Uncle John’s Band,” playing by the riversides (or lake, as the case may be) in the Midwest cities of St. Paul, Chicago and St. Louis, before heading south to Tuscaloosa, Alabama. While every show this week was first-rate, the May 11 show in St. Paul shines above the rest in T.W.I.G.D.H. (This Week In Grateful Dead History).
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 21 - May 22, 1977
My time coming
During the ’70s, a member of the Grateful Dead family, Dick Latvala, heard “them voices,” and began collecting recordings of Grateful Dead shows. But unlike the rest of us Deadheads who built private stashes of concert tapes as a hobby, Latvala felt compelled to make a career of it. He maintained a catalogue of his ever-growing collection that went far beyond the set list, including such details as the date and venue, who made the recording, what equipment was used, and extensive personal critiques of the performances.