ZONE
OUT with the ROLLING
RIDER
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' if you hear that same sweet song, will you know why? ' -
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7-6-01
Red Rocks Ampitheatre
Morrison, CO
The goddess literally rests amongst the planets, wearing the stars on her shoulders, the very sequins of her heavenly robe. Couched in stellar pillows, her slighest movements create the constellations we observe.
When Phil and Friends took the stage for the first of two nights on the rocks, you could feel the cosmic wheels begin to spin ever so steadily. Here at this mecca for our music, carved out by the elements over eons of time, awe-inspiring mahogany, red, and purple behemoths of rock, we truly were in a vortex seemingly designed, by nature, for our very purpose. A transcendental playground, which conjured up almost unthinkable nostalgia.
In 1999 during the Summer Sessions run, I recall climbing the seemingly endless steps into the ampitheatre, panting all the while, I noticed an excited father and his wonderously curious son, understandably mesmerized by his surroundings. the father gave the son a playful shake on the shoulder and explained joyously, "...it's his FIRST TIME !!!".
and he was right....
Sure the Dead had played here before. Jerry pulled an 'If I Had the World
to Give', right?!?'. That 85 'Ship of Fools', remember? But for Phil and
Friends, this would be the *first* time. Anyone who was there will
tell you: it was one of the ultimate moments, GD, P&F, or otherwise.
Flanked by familiar friends Warren Haynes and John Molo, Phil said: "The show is dedicated to the memory of Dick Latvala", mere milliseconds before launching into the most flat-out blistering version of 'Viola Lee Blues' I've ever experienced. From there, it only grew more emotional, as Warren showcased 'Dupree's Diamond Blues' and Brent's 'Just a Little Light' before something transpired that was part out-of-body experience, part sheer-unadulterated love, in the form of BIRDSONG.
I can remember a good friend grabbing me be the arm and squeezing it during the pinnacle guitar jam and stuttering, 'Th-th-that's Jerry". And you know what, the old man was 'in the house' that night, as breathtaking as the morningsong of birds. Tears flowed as through my mind as fast as an Oliver Stone montage, was every BIRDSONG that ever sent me to THAT place: 92 Cal Expo, 94 Oakland, {insert yours here}.... whatever happened that day was experienced by each person in their own way.
BUT, one thing is for sure... when Phil and Friends began this year with a BIRDSONG opener, we collectively harkened back to that experience. Phil's booming voice questioned, "...if you hear that same sweet song again, will you know why?". WHY? Was it reminiscing about the glorious Dick Latvala BIRDSONG? A reminder of the lovely oracle reached at the end of the first set at the Berkeley Greek? Or was it something else?
No other song can bring us closer to that point we get so far away from (how it feels inside). BIRDSONG always signaled the dawn of something magical. BIRDSONG was always Jerry's signature on the most brilliant and redemptive evenings. How fitting that now, Phil would sing the song with such beauty, power, emotion, resonance.
(Review
of the remainder of the show to follow -- B.P.P.)
Rolling Rider
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