i went to last saturday+sunday's shows, and everything seemed just like
another dead show, except that david lindley and los lobotomies were
opening. The thing i really want to mention is that during the dead's
lengthy intermission on both days, beneath the gnarled shady trees under a
dreadhot sun a few hundred people hung out and grooved into a mass tribal
rhythm section. all forms of gourdish things that go "bonk" in the night
were being played, bells were rung, flutes laid out staccato birdcalls.
people clapped, whooped and whistled. golden-skinned girlz danced free and
wet. eyes bulged out. shafts grew firm and ready. a wang fandango.
i fully understood what all those preachers had been talking about in their
warnings about "it's that tribal beat" and "the devil's music", because
face it, this was better than sex, drugs, rockandroll, religion AND
pistachios! i've never seen anything like that happen anywhere -- so
spontaneous and yet so rhythmically grooving. sure, i've been to a few coop
parties at stanford where politically correct pseudo hippies walk about in
jesus sandals and get together and play bongos.
but this was much more complex, there were lots of people playing, lots of
people dancing, a huge dustcloud raised from kicking feet hovered over us
and made this event seem like a dreamy and primal scene of primitive
ritual. And nobody was in control -- it was just a free-for-all call and
response of the language of rhythm. i've never seen as many people
communicate all at the same time and understand what was being said. i felt
like a transexual nymphomaniac at a love-in. an existentialist at a be-in.
a historian at a has-been. like china in a bull shop. like wow!
both days, this frenetic activity lasted the entire intermission (which is
quite long at dead shows), and only came to a sighing halt when the dead
were back on stage for the second set. so the dead played and the kids danced
and shook their bones. after the show ended, i rode my burly mountian bike
down the dark and long downhill highway coming down to Monterey. Highly
recommended.
-- Niels.
