Grateful Dead

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Thanks for your post, AntoniBro it was very thought provoking! However, with all due respect and gratitude for you offering your truth (Day 3, Stranger>Bertha) , I really have to differ with you on a number of points.

Jerry's decline in 1995 was steep and precipitous, and it was clear in '94 that he was having issues. However, this show (10-19-94) was a rockin' show with the boys in good form! Go listen to So Many Roads from that show - Jer's voice is clear and strong. Aged like whisky, but plenty strong. So I hate to differ, but I just don't understand how you can call this entry or show something that you "would not release or celebrate". Frankly, that's a bit hyperbolic and against the band's philosophy of letting it all hang out. (Besides, thanks to the Tapers, it's been "released" for over 30 years at this point).

I think Jer would want it all on record to be heard. He was an emotional performer. Some of his most compelling late performances were from a place of pain and the burden of years. He could reduce every fan to a puddle when he did that. So I differ - I'm glad every performance was documented.

Yes, they should have taken a break. Their organization needed shows to survive. The fans were more over the top than ever, and something had to give. Part of what burdened Jerry was the endless fan deification of him. This leads me to your Medicine Man characterization. Yes, he was a shaman. Yes he was at the heart of things. But the entire band were (and continue to be) Medicine Men/Shamen! And the point of the entire exercise is that WE ALL ARE MEDICINE PEOPLE! It's up to all of us!

That's what Jer found so burdensome about the over the top fan worship - having it all put on him. We were all responsible for that, to some degree. As a student of indigenous wisdom, certainly you realize that while the tribal shaman is important, being your own shaman is the main principle.

He told Hunter one time in the 70s that he would not be around that long and that the scene would have to carry on without him. The band had the vision of creating something built to last, and most of us fans/tribe members did as well. We've survived the loss of many tribe members, from keyboard players to us fans. When Jerry left, the biggest gauntlet was down - could the scene/tribe/our thing carry on? Could the other band members and the tribe keep this going?

I think those questions have been answered resoundingly.