This group does not pretend to be the Grateful Dead. Hence the name, The Dead. No one is forcing anyone to see this band but if your like me no one has to. I started to see the band live in the early seventies, Pigpen was still alive and Keith and Donna had just joined. For me the Keith and Donna years were the most satisfying, musically and personally. I admit to losing interest in the nineties version of the band. I never felt Brent Mydland was a particularly good addition and it was obvious that Jerry's drug use was having negative effects on the bands performance.
When the band first reformed after Jerry's passing as The Other Ones you could hear the pleasure they shared in finding a new outlet to bring to life the music which we had grown to love so much. Not the Grateful Dead for sure but something viable at the least and welcomed at the most.
I was at the Other Ones shows at The Garden when it became crystal clear that this band is still the Grateful Dead, the magic had returned and everyone there had felt the new vibe including the band who changed there name to The Dead after these shows. I remember saying to my friend during the show " There back!!! This is the Grateful Dead." Now we all know without Jerry Garcia there is no Grateful Dead, he was the heart and soul, the spirit of the band.
One could look at this touring band the same way you could look at Jerry's right hand. It started out with 5 fingers but after an accident ended up with only 4. Can anyone say that Jerry or his music truly suffered from this? The band can and will and deserves to carry on missing one finger.
As long as their willing to play the songs I'm willing to go see them play them.
There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.
