Friday, April 21, 2017

GDMUATM 2017

Not a very original selection for the annual Grateful Dead Meet Up At the Movies for 2017, but a really good one nonetheless: on the 40th anniversary of its release, the original Grateful Dead Movie, that had been recorded in 1974 and released in 1977.  I was there back in the seventies when it was released (possibly on one of my first "dates" with my wife, whom I had just met), and I've seen it maybe five times since then.  But one more time, in a movie theater with great seats, a great sound system (as always, I could have used a bit more volume), and lots of GD people had me very psyched.

Oh, and it was 4/20 too!  I cruised into the city at the end of the afternoon, probably getting to Alewife or so by 4:20, though I did not celebrate.  Got a great parking space right on Brookline Ave. and waited a short time for Sarah and Dave at a really dark Yard House.  We got dinner there, dumped stuff in the car, and then walked the couple of blocks over to the Regal Fenway Stadium 13 complex for the picture.

The crowd was late arriving but I believe all seats were full by soon after the start of the pre-features, which included a documentary on people recalling the Cornell (May 1977) concert, which is about to be released, and a teaser for the Long Strange Trip documentary, which is also about to be released.  A very busy anniversary for the Dead world!

The movie started and was as good as ever.  I've avidly seen it enough times that I can recall many, many details, and there were no fresh insights or criticisms that appeared in my mind.  I just enjoyed it!  The music is fantastic, great camera work, great production, and great crowd interludes.  Garcia really nailed it; check out the Wikipedia article for details about the cutting edge he was dancing on.

I actually got a little tired at the end, on a Thursday of an exhausting week.  I love the second disc of the movie but they didn't show it (the production was well over three hours anyway) and it may have been wasted on us.

Walking out I spied a young hipster with a *great* GD jacket, covered with album cover patches, dancing bears, snatches of lyrics, etc.  I complimented him on it outside and realized he was very young, perhaps Dave's age.  He was glad someone complimented him on his jacket and delighted to meet someone who had been there for the original release back in 1977.  I recalled that I'd seen it somewhere around that area of the city, but I'm not sure where.  He's a recent convert and probably a good one!

Jumped in the car, no problem getting Dave down to Charles, and then back home for a slightly delayed bedtime.

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