SHARING THE SHOWS
Grateful Dead Meetup at the Movies - Landmark E Street Cinema - Washington, DC - November 5, 202211/6/2022 I was talking shop with William, a colleague I’ve grown fairly close with (on a professional level) on the phone Friday. He asked me about my weekend plans, and I mentioned I was going to see a concert film. He asked which one, and since we’ve worked closely together for the last two years, and I’ve proven myself on a professional level to him, I confessed I was a Deadhead and was seeing the Grateful Dead concert performance that would screen this weekend. “I know,” he replied.
He went onto say he saw me on campus wearing a Grateful Dead T-shirt and Birkenstocks. That’s impossible because I don’t own Birkenstocks, and I would never wear a Grateful Dead T-shirt to my worksite; I try to keep that part of my persona muted. I’m sure he wasn’t messing with me, but the fact that he poinpoint me as a Deadhead makes me wonder: do I project vibes? After a Saturday spent grading journals, sending emails to advisees, and napping, I hopped the Red Line to Metro Center to see this Meetup at the Movie, the first one scheduled since before the pandemic started (my last memory is when Gary, Maggie, and I went to the AMC at Virginia Beach's Lynnhaven Mall). Since it’s the 50th Anniversary of the boys’ legendary Europe ’72 tour, the screening was one of the shows from that run: April 17, 1972 at Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark. I would’ve loved to backpack across Europe for that tour. I was “grateful” (get it) that my first performance in nearly two weeks would be at a movie theater. It would build me back up for the next two weekends, both of which contain shows (JRAD and Billy Strings). I love the Landmark E Street Cinema, which shows mostly documentaries and independent films; I had seen documentaries on Tom Petty and the Velvet Underground last year, and the sophisticated look contrasts with the corporate vibe I get from most other theaters (Regal, Cinemark, etc.). I seated myself in the back and was surrounded mostly by elderly-looking folks who had no doubt seen the Dead in the 70s. There was one father who brought his son, a mother who brought her daughter, a few group of friends, and by my count, five other solo travelers. The old-school heads conversed during that time leading up to the show. One person had seen the Dead twice back in the day, another commented on how he couldn’t handle the big venues that hosted groups like Dead & Company, the mother said, “It’ll be your last chance.” At one point, the conversation of Phil shows came up, and one person didn’t even know Phil Lesh still played. I brought up the sheer awesomeness of the shows at the Cap, and said person said with a slight sneer, “What’s the Cap?” Without missnig a beat, I said, “The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. Phil plays there every October.” “Oh, that’s an intimate venue, right? It must be real easy to get tickets,” he said with sarcasm dripping from his tongue. “It was very easy,” I responded. That whole exchange surpised me; the side club is named Garcia’s. Oh well. The show started with some advertising for all the shows on Nugs.net, as well as merch for sale from this year’s Meetup. No thanks; I own enough Dead-related paraphernalia. Before the concert, we saw some “talking heads” interviews with some of the people who were around for that tour, including Donna Jean Godchaux and Mountain Girl. They talked about wearing Danish sweaters during their jaunt in Denmark. We also got an interview with a Danish Deadhead. The setlist (rearranged for the purpose of the movie) went as follows: It Hurts Me Too Ramble on Rose El Paso Big Railroad Blues Truckin’ Me & Bobby McGree Chinatown Shuffle China Cat Sunflower I Know Your Rider Jack Straw He’s Gone (debut) Next Time You See Me One More Saturday Night Credits: Big Railroad Blues I was transported back to my senior year in college, when I had gotten heavily into Phish and was discovering live Dead. I had purchased the Skull and Roses album on CD and had fallen in love. “Big Railroad Blues,” a staple of 70s Dead shows, was on that album, as was “Me & Bobby McGee,” which I didn’t know had been played by Janis Joplin until a couple of years after I heard it (upon further research, I learned it’s a Kris Kristofferson tune). One other thing: Weir missed a verse on “Truckin’” (“Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street”) to great laughter from the heads surrounding me. I can be hard on myself when I mess up; if Weir can do that and still maintain our adoration, then maybe I don’t need to be so hard on myself. It was one more lovely Saturday afternoon. Shout-outs to members of my tribe who grooved out to this in other places: Pete (Baltimore). Shana (Haddonfield, NJ) Johnny Mac (somewhere in VA) Wherever we saw it, we were all united. Weir everywhere.
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