ZONE OUT with the ROLLING RIDER
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OTHER ONES - FALL TOUR 2002
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'They're a band beyond description
Like Jehovah's favorite choir
People joining hand in hand
While the music plays the band
Lord they're setting us on fire...'

Phriends and Phamily, like many of you, I TOO have been running on that old familiar exhilarating combo of both exhaustion and bliss these days. Having just caught my share of turkey dinners and the Other Ones, it has been indeed a time to give THANKS, and to be GRATEFUL.

What an appropriate season for the Other Ones to perform their first tour. A time when Autumn blows into Winter, ending a seasonal cycle, invoking change; a time when families all across the land come together to celebrate their blessings, to remember, and to give thanks. And once again, through the union of our timeless band, our entire extended family and community has been brought together to also give thanks and experience another CHANGE, another rite of passage.

And it seems 'THANKS' and 'CHANGE' have been the theme of the REVIEWS lately as well. Both the fans and the band (Hunter | Mickey) have been raving! The Rider was lucky enough to catch NJ, Philly, and NYC, and what can I say? First, nothing beats the excitement of receiving the golden tickets, then planning the journey, and then finally arriving at our old stomping grounds.

To once again walk the hallowed halls of these coliseums that were our second homes for so many years, running into old friends and meeting new ones. Seeing heads who've seen 670 shows or heads who have never even seen Jerry. Seeing Ratdog fans co-mingling with die-hard Phil and Friends phans.

To enter the coliseum, see the lights dim, hear the roar of the audience envelope your ears.. to see the Boys take formation, lights swirling over head... to once again catch a smoking MUSIC NEVER STOPPED in Jersey at the 'ol Brendon Byrne, or an electrifying ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT at the Spectrum in Philly, or to be entranced by a thick, spacey DARK STAR or OTHER ONE in NYC at Madison Square Garden!!! YES, these are days to be GRATEFUL for my phriends, and CHANGE, although difficult, is most often necessary.

We are blessed to have witnessed this music evolve for nearly 40 years. Each of the members have given so much to the community, serving the music and keeping it alive. And we TOO, the community, have been there to receive it, which is just as important. Our eyes, ears and hearts - the necessary receptor to complete the cycle.

I sat in the upper 300's section in Philly just for kicks. So that I could take a moment to see through those 'lenses' again. Well, much to my surprise, just like riding a bike, when I looked in, thar SHE was, like SHE had never left. The band with their instruments on stage blending in with Candace's mastery, the BIG DRUMS, the '93 screens, all forming the helm to some great Spirit presence. The surrounding audience completing the body to this magnificent Beast. And when it roars, IT ROARS!

From the moment I heard PLAYING> SHE BELONGS TO ME> NOT FADE AWAY in Jersey, I felt the magic again. This band is a necessary step in the evolutionary process of the Grateful Dead phenomenon. Truly bridging all generations, and paying respects to the greats, with such pairings as KING BEE> VIOLA LEE BLUES> THE RUB> VIOLA or a set that opens with LIBERTY and is followed by COSMIC CHARLIE, QUEEN JANE!

Each night, the Spirit of Jerry was felt throughout any song lyric, any note, any smile passing by. The instrumental Stella Blue...enough to bring tears to any set of eyes.

The addition of Susan Tedeschi was very well received as she honored the soulful lost blues of the great Ron McKeran, with tunes like HOG FOR YOU BABY and MISTER CHARLIE. But the icing on the cake perhaps, was the intermission featuring ROBERT HUNTER. As the Rider has said before, 'Hunter's playing was deep, raw, and uninhibited. A true Bard. One of the last Sages who lets us visit his magical lair'. His sets, although short and sweet, are highly energetic and emotional. Chances are if you missed something from the Other Ones set list, Hunter would surely deliver the goods, like BLACK MUDDY RIVER, SO MANY ROADS, RIPPLE, and DAYS BETWEEN. These classics all beautifully interwoven with other Hunter jewels, such as CRUEL WHITE WATER, AIM FROM THE HEART, and BOYS IN THE BARROOM (a tune the Rider never tires of... Hunter pours his heart out with this acapella, drinking in LIFE and intoxicating OUR KIND).

Each evening with the Other Ones and Hunter is like having your own key to the treasure box in the magic garden. And energy and alchemy were not for lost, with moments when Phil, like a curious child, picked up drum sticks and joined Mickey and Billy to once again become a RHYTHM DEVIL. At one point we even noticed Phil, not playing any instrument, but leaning his head in the direction of the audience and actually cupping his ears to hear the energy reverberating in the coliseum, like so many of us in the audience listen to the band. It is clear that these are some special times.

And for the die-hards who haven't gotten off the bus yet, well, we've seen this coming, right? From all of the different band incarnations, to the more recent times, when the playful CRUSADER RABBIT first entered the picture, or when the mysterious wizards unmasked themselves at the magical midnight hour of 2001-2002, or this past summer tour when all the tribes came together, including Phil and Friends, the Trichromes, Ratdog, Robert Hunter and Bembe Orisha, and then finally to the grandiose unveiling of TERRAPIN STATION at Alpine Valley in August.

Now for those neysayors, who are still unsure of the future, I guess it's like Phil said at NYE, 'Unity is possible', as evident when brothers Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes joined the Other Ones to help raise the roof on Lovelight at MSG. And let me tell you, they let it SHINE SHINE SHINE! Although we all wanted JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE of this magical moment, we have to be patient and let nature take its course. Let them grow into their shoes, because these truly are the days...in between.

still grateful,
Rolling Rider

STAY TUNED FOR THE WEST COAST WRAP UP....

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read the - Anticipating the Other - Rider

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