dziga's blog post - Ahh...great show last night.

Dark Star Orchestra played great. First time I have seen them, the technical ability, energy and free spirit of play were pretty remarkable. Those who don't know, they tour around playing Grateful Dead stuff...usually set lists based off shows that were played by the Dead but this was a case where they played their own set list.

The thing I probably appreciated more about the Grateful Dead than anything else was their free interplay. The different musicians really going off of what each other are doing while really being able to vary what they are doing individually. As many have noted, the complete opposite of a "tight" performance. By far my favorite music to dance to as there are so many things to follow...so many things to feel...dancing to things beyond merely rhythm and melody makes it such a more sensual experience to me. Besides Jazz and some Classical, not much other music that I find myself able to close my eyes to and feel the music and of those clearly the Dead is the most dance-able!

Also so nice to see such a varied age crowd all dancing in their own way. Less self-consciousness and show making to everyone's dancing than just about any show I've ever been too. Watching the 60+ crowd dance just as freely as the 30- crowd in the same space...awesome.

And even though I'm sober, I got a lot of enjoyment from watching the hippies carry on. A few flasks, lots of pot smoking and a few people walking through the crowd offering acid for sale. So much screwing of convention going on there.