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On February 14th, 2016 I drove down to Burlington, Vermont to see Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, or JRAD as they are most commonly referred to.
JRAD is essentially a Grateful Dead cover band, featuring well-known and well-connected players from the quite prolific (if largely anonymous) jamband scene casting their own particular spell upon the great catalogue. In an environment quickly filling up with Grateful Dead/Phish/etc. tribute acts JRAD certainly stands out as one of the premier Dead-related bands going. They play prestigious venues and draw a large, vibrant crowd at a pretty healthy ticket price.
I’ve long been critical of tribute acts on the whole and I’m especially hard on Grateful Dead-oriented bands. It’s something I’ve long struggled with and an opinion that often isolates me from my peers. I’ve always had a hard time articulating my feelings on the subject but I was fairly consistent in my enjoyment (or lack thereof) of such shows when I found myself at one, so I knew one thing for sure: how I felt was how I felt whether I could explain it or not.
This show at Higher Ground proved to be no different. As the sold-out crowd swayed and sang and cheered and had a great time I stood in the corner mystified, and wondering what I was missing. The first person I spoke to after the show asked what I thought and I replied that I thought the musicians were great and so was the material but I found the playing on-the-whole to have been uninspired. He looked at me in horror and quickly turned his attention away from me, and I don’t blame him.
Across the street in the La Quinta I found myself in a room with a bunch of Ottawa friends who were raving about the concert (of course). I tried to share their enthusiasm but when people ask my opinion of a musical performance I feel compelled to be honest. I asked my friend why he thought it was so good and he explained that we all need catharsis. While I disagreed with his main point I asked why these songs in particular were automatically cathartic, to which he responded, “because they are Holy.”
And then it hit me. To Deadheads the music of The Grateful Dead is essentially religious; the songs are hymns. And like most hymns the meaning is in the music, not with the singer. To the true believers even the simplest strains of a Grateful Dead song elicit feelings they have long invested in the band and in the lifestyle; the healing, the hope, the community, and especially the memories and nostalgia of the whole scene, their whole way of living. No wonder they love this stuff so much.
To me Grateful Dead songs are just songs. Sure, they are some of the best songs in the history of popular music but they are still just songs, and to me each performance of each song stands on it’s own merit. So while a true Deadhead will close his eyes in reverence and start his hippie shake on the first recognizable notes of any Dead song I have to be won over, and I rarely am. (Unless Phil Lesh happens to be playing the bass, then all is forgiven. Phil Lesh was not playing the bass on this night.)
And while I wasn’t won over at this show, the revelation I had during the after-show discussion made the trip to Vermont well worth it. Now I know why I feel different, and knowing is half the battle.
Todd Man Out 