Fillmore West 3.2.69 We Bid You Goodnight

Fillmore West, March 2, 1969 late show

Alligator--->

Drums--->

Jam--->

Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks)--->

Feedback--->

We Bid You Goodnight

It's the end of this long, strange trip here at Pound for Pound, as we bid this Grateful Dead week farewell. March 2, 1969 was the final day of the run at the Fillmore West for the Grateful Dead, although they would be back many more times in the next few years until Billy Graham's club closed forever. That timing vaguely corresponds with the rise and fall of the hippie movement or whatever you want to call it. By the early 70s, the scene had been infested with poseurs, addiction and death.

This set has dark overtones in the lyrics and sounds, a sorta of end-of-the-world feel, if you will. As much as I enjoy the Dead at their most psychedelic, it is the darkness that really drew me in. This is not hippie-dippy music, as I am sure most people imagine when they see pictures of the concerts, replete with girls in peasant dresses with flowers in their hair, the spinners dancing in the halls, and the unwashed masses sharing and camping on the road. The Dead came and thrived in this scene, but they always seemed drawn to ugliness, the darkness that exists on the other side. Their lyrics are about murder, death and loss, their sound often bordering on dissonant and ugly.

I hope that this helps explain why I am highlighting this band and this series of shows. I know that it might not seem to make much sense-- how could I constantly discuss booty music, and suddenly talk about Jerry Garcia? I'm not sure that it does make sense, but that's part of the fun of music, isn't it?

-In case you think I was overbearing and pretentious about the song "Dark Star", the good people at the Deadlists Project catalogued and listed every single one the band ever played in their 30 year history and which ones are circulating on tape. Simply awesome. Make sure to scroll to the bottom where the evolution of the song is detailed.

-Princeton, we bid you goodnight as well. Another Ivy League title in sight, another first round loss in the Tournament for the Quakers.

-Glenn Greenwald takes on one of the most troubling aspects of current times: the cult of George W. Bush. It's a great look at the times, where being a liberal requires only "a failure to pledge blind loyalty to George Bush."

-I may have a few more Dead-related posts through the weekend, as we are putting the finishing touches on moving this site off of blogger to a dedicated server. Yeah!