Buffaloed in Buffalo
V113...@ubvmsc.cc.buffalo.edu
authors, any typos are mine. I wish they had chosen someone who could have
been a little more objective in their analysis. Feel free to hit "n" if you
had a rough night :-)
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DEADHEADS ARE GRATEFUL
But the music fails to challenge non-fans
By Eric J. Morse
News Contributing Reviewer
One thing must be established right off the bat: I am not a Deadhead.
It isn't that I dislike the Grateful Dead; I just never found their music as
interesting as the offerings of many other artists.
That said, I must add that the Dead's performance Monday in Rich Stadium did
not make a convert of me.
Of course, with the Grateful Dead evaluating the music by itself is about as
useful as judging the Moscow Circus on "its" music; sure some of it might be
good but whether good or bad, it's only part of a much bigger thing.
The vast majority of the 80,000 or so people who turned out for the concert
seemed to enjoy it thoroughly; in fact, for them the concert was an event, a
chance to lock consciousness with tens of thousands of other people all brought
together by this band of aging hippies.
The precise key to this phenomenon is elusive; the music itself-though it is
object of a great deal of scrunity by Deadheads who memorize the seemingly
hundreds of songs in the group's repertoire - is mostly dull and all sounds the
same. The Dead's music is a mishmash of psychedelic rock, progressive rock,
fusion jazz, country, blues, reggae, Southern boggie and whatever else gets
sucked into the stylistic vortex.
Part of the secret of the Dead's allure may be the hypnotic drone of the
music. It doesn't generally challenge the listener, but merely provides
something half focus, half backdrop for the experience of the concert.
While the first set was made up almost entirely of the more unexciting
(for the non-fan, of course) material, the band launched its second set -
now after dark, with the added bonus of a light show and giant video screens -
in genuinely promising fashion with "Sugar Magnolia," one of the group's
near-hits. (Another interesting part of the dead phenomenon is that the group
has built an enormous following on minimal radio airplay.) The band rocked
out convincingly and had the entire stadium literally shaking under the
enthusiastic dancing of the Deadheads.
They followed with the catchy New Orleans rhythm-and-blues-flavored
"The Women Are Smarter" and the soulful (but slightly too long) "Ship of Fools."
Then came another (relatively) successful single "Truckin'."
The group really seemed to have hit its stride as "Truckin'" eased into a
Santana-like jam. That, however, dissolved into "Space," the Dead's marathon
tribute to dissonance and self-indulgent noodling. This number is apparently
intended as an accompaniment to hallucinogenic trips, but it is utterly
unlistenable to those without altered consciousness.
Crosby, Stills and Nash, one of the premier folk-rock groups to emerge
from the '60s, started the day with a set made up mostly of their early and
mid-period hits. Though they, too, are aging, the three singers were helped
out by a tough backing band that pushed them through songs like "Deja Vu,"
"Woodstock" and "For What It's Worth" with a good deal of spirit - enough, in
fact, to make up for a few foibles in acoustic material like "Our House" and
"Almost Cut My Hair."
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The above review is in no way connected with my views, it was there, I read
it, then I quickly ran to the bathroom before another review started :-)
Mark
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V113...@UBVMS.BITNET V113...@UBVMSC.CC.BUFFALO.EDU (Mark Cooper)
Take one they are free
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Mike Gagnon
> But the music fails to challenge non-fans
>
> By Eric J. Morse
> News Contributing Reviewer
>
>
>(the music)- is mostly dull and all sounds the
>same. The Dead's music is a mishmash of psychedelic rock, progressive rock,
>fusion jazz, country, blues, reggae, Southern boggie and whatever else gets
>sucked into the stylistic vortex.
>
This makes real sense! It's all the same, but it has 7 plus different styles
contributing to the sound ???
Oh well I guess that's why I never read reviews. I usually like my own opinion
of the concert over the opinion of someone who obviously didn't want to be
there in the first place.
Mike.
p.s. I had a blast at Buffalo! :)
"Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who
can't talk for people who can't read." Frank Zappa.
Peter Clark
|.....the music itself.......is mostly dull and all sounds the
|same. The Dead's music is a mishmash of psychedelic rock, progressive rock,
|fusion jazz, country, blues, reggae, Southern boggie and whatever else gets
|sucked into the stylistic vortex
Sounds to me like this guy must be mostly dull if he can't appreciate a
mix of so many diverse types of music....
Cheers... pwc