In honor of the anniversary of Music Mountain, here chapter two from my latest work, The Grateful Pilgrimage:Time Travel with the Dead. TWO: MUSIC MOUNTAIN             In search of an abandoned stage…The gold standard for Jerry Garcia Band excellence…Something was happening here…Air-guitar in Jerry’s footsteps… Gong Hay Fat Choy...Preservation of historic stages...               My friend, Perry, suggested we should visit Music Mountain on the 40th anniversary of the Jerry ..read more

Me and Jerry’s Travis 5/8/23   Last year on May 8, I was the only Deadhead in Barton Hall. On that day I came up with the concept for a new book: The Grateful Pilgrimage, Time Travel with the Dead. My goal was to finish the book by May 8, 2023. The book’s done, Dead and Company are in town, and the sacred site will be packed with Deadheads, and thousands more will be partying outside. Here’s the history of how the book evolved.   On May 8, 2022, I was scheduled to be on Tales from the Golden Road. I decided to take a road trip to Barton Hall and do the interview on my new book E ..read more

              Accompanied by a friend who was also at the 6-16-82 Jerry Garcia Band show at Music Mountain, I returned to the stage where the legendary performance took place on its 40th anniversary. There were seven shows played at Music Mountain over the course of two summers. The final concert there was by Ted Nugent on 9-18-82. Last year I tried to find the Music Mountain site, but I had no luck. This time I had the precise GPS location.   Backstage             ..read more

  The grand last show of the tour: May 26, 1972, Lyceum Theatre. Here’s an excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited:                  To finish off the legendary opening set, the Dead unroll a pair of monumental combos, China Cat > I Know You Rider, and NFA > GDTRFB > NFA. The grand last show of the tour, May 26, 1972. Here’s an excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited: The crowd starts to clap out a “NFA” beat and the band obliges them. Why they started to clap at that time is a mystery, but the Dead rewa ..read more

  May 25, 1972 is the next-to-last show of the Grateful Dead’s immortal tour. Here’s an excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited:             Four standalones, “Me and My Uncle,” “Big Railroad Blues,” “Chinatown Shuffle,” and “Ramble on Rose,” start the second set. “Rose” was the darling of this group. At this juncture, one might believe this is an off night by the standards of this tour. But to give up on any show from Europe ’72 is foolhardy. “Uncle John’s Band” commences a stunning, three-song segment of Garcia tunes. Jerry deli ..read more

One of the highlights of a memorable second set on 5-24-72 is Pigpen’s final performance of Turn On Your Love Light. From the pages of Europe 72 Revisited:      “Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu” is the infectious second-set opener. After a trip across the border and a case of the “Mexicali Blues,” Jerry serenades London with the first “Black Peter” of the tour. The instrumentals are brief, but it’s a pleasure to hear the band dig deep into their catalogue for London.             Prior to masterp ..read more

  Opening night of the Dead’s immortal four-night Lyceum stand began fifty years ago today on May 23, 1972. Here’s an excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited:             “Ramble on Rose” kickstarts the second set of this Garcia-dominated show. Starting with “Casey Jones,” seven of the next eight numbers are Jerry tunes. Following “Rose,” hypnotic tuning and noodling leads to “Dark Star.” Sprinkle the pixie dust! The jam arises smooth and dreamy. The jazzy improvisation ripples forth as Bobby and Keith add tasty brushstrokes. Around the se ..read more

  The Grateful Dead played their last of five shows in West Germany fifty years ago today (5-18-72). Here’s an excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited: It’s been a week since the last “Dark Star” in Amsterdam, and the Munich voyage to the stars ascends like royalty. Four minutes in, Jerry turns up the volume and heat. Along the way there’s a loud pop and crackle; a blown amp perhaps. The jam recovers as Phil, Bill, and Jerry bring the up-tempo jazz—it’s boogie time. The jam bubbles and flows deliberately to the melody line. When the time’s right, Jerry lets it fly, “Dark star crashes…” On the o ..read more

  On the eve of May 16, 1972, the band received an enthusiastic and gracious introduction from Radio Luxembourg DJ David “Kid” Jensen: “For the second time in the history of Radio Luxembourg, a three-hour live broadcast. Tonight, with one of the pioneer groups that have changed the whole course of contemporary music over their last seven years of existence. Originally a jug band in 1964, they are today rated as America’s finest…Radio Luxembourg welcomes THE GRATEFUL DEAD!” Here’s an excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited: Set two of Luxembourg opens with Truckin’ > Other One, and closes wi ..read more

  Lille Fairgrounds May 13, 1972. An excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited: Set two brings more symmetry as classic Dead combos open and close the set. “Truckin’” kicks off the festivities. Jam one steps out, plateaus, and then explodes. The next instrumental leads us to an inspired drum break. As this tour rolls along, the second jam in “Truckin’” has become more contained. The madness unveils itself in “The Other One,” and the 5-13-72 performance is quite mad. Phil’s earthquake blastoff rumbles and crumbles Lille. Nothing is grounded as the sonic boom whirls the band’s sound round and round ..read more