Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Mini T joined us for the first time in over a year and the music we played with her felt comfortable and easier, more so than our previous engagements.  It was lots of fun and sounded great.  I especially liked the Going Down the Road and the Good Lovin'.  It was nice, she came in after we had a few songs to warm up and and she left where it gave us a good hour and one-half to cool down on which made for a very pleasant evening.

John and I had two good working Twin and Coffee-Boy had the good black kit.  Scott was as fortunate in his kit selection but was nice enough to leave the good one for Coffee.  kev said he hated his amp, place sideways on the Anvil case but I thought it presented some really good solid low notes.  I was also located right next to the piano which had no cover, so I was hearing the piano better than ever and I stood above it.  Good stuff.

It was a very nice night out, not warm but a prelude to the spring that is approaching.  In the world Terry Shiavo is still hanging onto life without a feeding tube force feeding her as the news media hangs on to her very last breaths and a big earthquake hit Sumatra killing hundreds.  Baseball season is just a few weeks away and with that we all have hope that the Mets will be a contended this year, with Pedro Martinez on our squad..  Lets Go Mets.  Finally, in a Deadstein historical note, Dave Schwartz got married last week as Kevy and Poisey both attended the wedding.  Congratulations to Dave and his wife!

Name: MiniT
Date: 30 Mar 2005
Time: 08:38:42

Comments

You guys sounded and looked SO great...a sight for sore eyes. Thank you for inviting me back to sit in! I could hear myself a lot more than ever before, which is very helpful. Guess it's the new space. I hope to see you all again soon.

Name: Brotpen
Date: 30 Mar 2005
Time: 09:24:58

Comments

The pleasure was ours and what great sounding pleasure it was. I'm sure the tapes will bear witness to that perception. Special thanks to John for stepping up to the plate. The future sounds good.

Name: KEVIN
Date: 30 Mar 2005
Time: 14:38:03

Comments

A week off can kill you. It almost did me in, so I was more than ready for some good 'ol fashioned Deadstein this week. Then I get the Email that states we are to be Tristerless...MiniT in, Trister out, I didn't know if I was coming or going. TheGind calls up John, a replacement from our farm team, Carpetstein, and we are good to go. Me and CoffeeBoy drove in with modest expectations. Unfortunately, CoffeeBoy had a bad cheesesteak experience on the way and I think that set the stage for a nite of discomfort for him. I loved my cheesesteak and wish I had 5 more right now. When we got there the room was filled with good vibes and they continued throughout the evening and the music was a reflection of that. I had a pretty good nite of concentration, if you don't count the premature go-to the 'B' in the China Cat. Damn retardism. The MiniT setlist came with built-in tightness, due to previous practice. ScottyBoy seemed to really enjoy the Terez thing and visa versa. MiniT reminded us, Deadstein, of our super-freaky ability to evolve, adapt, survive and thrive. Sometimes it is nice to be reminded.

Name: Coffee
Date: 30 Mar 2005
Time: 20:44:14

Comments

Sets up!

Name: MiniT
Date: 31 Mar 2005
Time: 07:03:18

Comments

Oh, I forgot to tell you guys that if you're ever looking for a cab after the jam, don't walk to 12th Ave., walk up to 11th. There are no cabs on 12th, just lots of "well-meaning" gentlemen stopping to offer their services. Took me about 5 minutes to figure out I was in the wrong place. Felt like the 80's. Congrats to Dave on his marriage! What great news!

Name: Scott
Date: 31 Mar 2005
Time: 13:58:55

Comments

Hey John, thanks for sittin in. Your rig sounds quite good. Been hearing lots about MiniT for quite some time, it was truly a pleasure to have finally met. Were some of the vocal harmonies as good as I remember them? Would love to dew it again. Thanks

Name: John Carpetsteen
Date: 31 Mar 2005
Time: 15:26:23

Comments

Thanks again for lettin' me sit in. Had a great time, and made some good music too. Love the two drummer set up and the thumpin' bass. The Terez vocals are awesome.See ya'soon.

Name: Scotty Boy
Date: 01 Apr 2005
Time: 09:03:23

Comments

The Grateful Dead Come to Broadway with Musical 'What a Long Strange Trip' Fri April 1,10:48 AM ET By Mark Porter NEW YORK (Reuters) - After years of lavish spectacles reigning on Broadway, a musical based on a film made up of comedy sketches about Haight Ashbury might seem like a hard sell. But "Long Strange Trip" is proving naysayers wrong. Turning the 1969 Summer of Love into "Long Strange Trip" took Grateful Dead member Mickey Hart three years of work. And it looks like that hard work is paying off, with the show proving a critical darling in its pre-Broadway run and a box-office smash before it even opens. The current Broadway season has seen several new musicals disappoint, including "Good Vibrations" and "Brooklyn." Both are hovering near 60 percent capacity at their theaters. But "LST," which is scheduled to open on the Great White Way on Thursday, could be the savior. The show has been filling more than 90 percent of the seats at the Shubert Theater in previews and taking a weekly gross of more than $750,000, rivaling such smash hits as "The Lion King," "Wicked" and "Mamma Mia!" And advance ticket sales have been spectacular, approaching $18 million. Along with the Dead draw, the musical features a top-notch cast of stellar actors led by Leonardo DiCaprio, best known for his Award Winning role in "Titanic," as a stowaway. DiCaprio has been cast in the role of showman Bob Weir. DiCaprio is confident that he will recall 95% of his lines and bring a realistic feel to the stage with his recently discovered rithym guitar talent. A small feud put other cast selection on hold or nixed them all together. The Garcia Estate fought hard against the choice of Cat Stevens in the role of Jerry Garcia. Instead, the role of the Dead patriarch is being played by hugely acclaimed Tom Hanks. Charlie Sheen is cast in the role of Mickey Hart. Sheen has been quoted as saying he loves the hippie Star Trek twist. In the role of Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Steve Buscemi, spent months preparing by living as a "lot rat" during last summer's "Return of the Dead" tour. The Role of the band's anchor, Phil Lesh was originally cast with Courtney Love, but troubles in her personal life prevented her from accepting the role. Lesh is now being played by none other than Joni Mitchell. Cher will make a brief appearance during the second set, along with Woody Harrleson as Keith and Donna Godchaux. BROADWAY PARODY "Long Strange Trip" follows the travails of a young exuberant Jerry Garcia as he gathers band members to join him on his quest for the sweet spot. Suddenly the members realize that where they belong is on Broadway. Hilarity reigns as spoofs of past free concert triumphs such as "Winterland October 25, 1969," "Bickershaw Festival," "Roscoe Maples" and "Cow Palace" are thrown at the audience. "Long Strange Trip" opened in Chicago in January and the critics were enthusiastic. The Daily Herald called it "very, very trippy and entertaining," while The Chicago Sun-Times lauded its "lysergic" script, "delicious lyrics" and "impeccably cast actors" under the direction of Oscar winner Mike Nichols, who has won six Tonys for his stage work. Dead work "is very 'sketchy' writing" which leads into songs quite naturally, Idle told Reuters. "It was a perfect property. At any point in the play you could put in a song," he said. The script lends itself to song, according to Hart, with lines like, "Iko Iko," "Not Fade Away," or, "Uncle John's Band," screaming out to be musical cues. Before Hart could embark on making a musical of the life of Garcia and his band mates, he had to get permission from the other four surviving members of the Dead. "I did an adaptation of the book," Hart said. "When Dennis McNally (who co-wrote the script) and I recorded about 10 or 12 songs, we sent them a CD. That's what got them. They laughed very much. ... They saw that it was possible. It gave them enough to see that it could work. They said, 'Off you go. You can do this with our blessing.'" FROM BILL GRAHAM TO STAGE "Long Strange Trip" is the latest in a rash of "Rockicals" storming the Broadway stage. One of the biggest hits in the genre has been Mel Gibsons' adaptation of "Jesus Christ Superstar." The success of this venture made it easier for "Long Strange Trip" to get financing, Hart said.

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