Bob Weir, one of the co-founders of the Grateful Dead, died yesterday at the age of 78. For those who aren’t familiar with Bob Weir, he was the rhythm guitar player, co-founder, and one of the lead vocalists of the Grateful Dead.
Consider this: I never met Bob Weir…but I spent hundreds of hours listening to him play live music.
I admit- Grateful Dead music isn’t for everyone. They played improvisational music, also known as “jamming”. They were one of the first bands to play a different set list (different songs) every night, and many times the song arrangements changed night to night. Their fans (known as Dead Heads), were attracted to the novelty of different shows every night. I certainly was.
I was taken to my first show in May 1978. Before I attended, my friends explained the following to me:
- The Grateful Dead almost never played the same song in consecutive shows.
- Some songs were played every 3 shows, some songs every 4 shows, some songs were played once a tour, and some songs might be played once a year
- The Grateful Dead usually played shows of (approximately) 15-20 songs. Usually two sets per show, with the first set 8-10 songs, and the second set would include a “drums>space” segment. The second set would be followed by one encore song.
- Songs tended to alternate between those sung by Jerry Garcia and those sung by Bob Weir. Occasionally their bass player (Phil Lesh) or their keyboard player would sing a song. But mostly their shows were two set shows with songs alternating between Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir.
- In any given year, they played about 75-100 different songs
- None of this was a “rule”. It just happened this way. A song might not be played for three years, and then it might be played twice in four shows, just because the band felt like doing so.
- Most interesting to me- none of this was planned or written down, including their setlists. In other words- they did not write their setlists out in advance. They made their shows up as they played them. They sometimes had no idea what song they were going to play next. I didn’t know what they were going to play next because they didn’t know what they were going to play next.
- They did not introduce themselves to the audience, and they rarely were introduced by anyone else. They didn’t need to be introduced, because their fans knew who they were. They didn’t wear special clothes onstage- they wore the same t shirts and jeans onstage that they wore in their daily lives. They rarely spoke to the audience, other than a brief “thank you” at the end of a show. They didn’t tell stories on stage. The point of their concerts was the music. They loved playing their music for themselves, and for like-minded people who were up for an adventure.
They were not interested in fame or fortune. One of their managers noted that they tried to avoid fame and fortune for many years, because they knew that fame and fortune could ruin their scene. They weren’t interested in promoting their music. They didn’t advertise their shows. What they were interested in was playing live music. They weren’t interested in making big money. They were interested in making fun.
[While they were not interested in fame and fortune, fame and fortune found them in 1989, 25 years into their career. Unfortunately, that fame and fortune changed their scene. Brent Mydland died in 1990, and Jerry Garcia died in 1995].
They were obsessed with creating high quality sound. They spent millions of dollars upgrading their concert equipment. They weren’t interested in selling records. They were interested in what the music sounded like. They allowed their fans to tape the shows, and exchange the tapes freely. I learned about Grateful Dead music by listening to those tapes.
By their own admission, most of their studio records were just ok. They had a sound in concert that they struggled to replicate in their studio albums.
They did not like to rehearse, especially as they got older. Which meant that their live shows could be inconsistent. Some of their live shows were spectacular, and some of their live shows were just ok. If you were a Dead Head, you had to accept that as part of the package.
*****
Bob Weir was not the focus of the band. Initially (1964-1970 or so), Ron McKernan (Pigpen) was. After Pigpen’s death in the early 1970’s, Jerry Garcia became the focus of the band for the fans.
My first Grateful Dead show was on May 13, 1978. A friend took me to my first show, and….I didn’t like it. After the show, he tried to convince me to go to another one, and explained that this was an acquired taste. I did go to another show later that year, and I enjoyed it much more.
I saw about 130 shows before Jerry Garcia died, and about 100 shows in the 30 years since then with various other lineups.
*****
The Grateful Dead scene required a certain sense of adventure. It is hard to explain- but the Grateful Dead scene was like an underground club. Most people want to go to a concert knowing all of the songs that they are going to see, and knowing that the band is going to play their favorite song. The Grateful Dead were not interested in what your favorite song was, and they were not interested in hearing song requests. It takes a sense of adventure to be willing to listen to songs you’ve never heard before, or have only heard once or twice. It takes a sense of adventure to be willing to hear a concert that is “just ok” in search of an adventure.
[I have used the word “adventure” several times. I struggle to explain what an unusual scene this was. Words fail me in explaining this].
The Grateful Dead, and their fans, evolved into a “cultural scene”. Both the band and their fans were a group of people who loved to travel (or “tour”), seeing America and connecting with other Dead Heads. I saw them all over the U.S. Realize that in the late 1970s, going to see a concert in another city involved some risk. There was no internet, there were no cell phones or GPSs. Driving to another city to see a show meant driving on roads we had never driven, into places we had never been, without the aid of technology. We became accomplished at reading maps, and we accepted “getting lost” as part of the adventure.
*****
The Grateful Dead, and their fans, accepted being different in a time when there was a pressure to be the same as everyone else. Their fans had a sense of “weirdness” (or ironically, “Weir-dness”). The band, and their fans, learned not to care what was “socially acceptbale” or “culturally relevant”. It was more important to have fun. Our kind of fun.
*****
I love Grateful Dead music. I can listen to it for hours (I work out to it, and listen to it in the car), and I can talk about it for hours with my Dead Head friends. In addition to the music- touring with the Grateful Dead has been one of the great adventures of my life. There is an attitude of curiosity, of questioning authority and convention.
That sense of adventure has carried over into other areas of my life. I have travelled to 45 countries with my family, a total of about 140 times. In the same way that I have attended Grateful Dead shows 200 times without any idea of what was going to be played, I have entered countries 140 times without any idea of what adventure was going to occur. When we travel, we make up our fun as we go along.
*****
I will end with a couple of stories. Bob Weir noted in several interviews that he wanted his song “Cassidy” played at his funeral. He wrote the song Cassidy with two people in mind, his friend Neal Casady (featured in the book On the Road), and a baby Cassidy Law, who had recently been born to a friend of his.
Cassidy is the last song on Bob Weir’s solo album “Ace”. Cassidy is the last song on the album, and ends with Bob Weir singing.
*****
When Jerry Garcia died in 1995, there was a memorial held at Golden Gate Park. After the memorial, Bob Weir was asked by one of the Grateful Dead biographers if Jerry Garcia’s death meant the end of the Grateful Dead. His response was “we are just getting started”. That was a bold statement, coming at the time of Jerry Garcia’s death.
Bob Weir was right. Since 1995, Bob has played with bands like Ratdog, Furthur, The Other Ones, The Wolf Pack, The Campfire Band, Dead and Company, and has performed live with several other bands in guest slots. All of those bands play the music of the Grateful Dead. Bob wasn’t done with Grateful Dead music in 1995. He played it up until August 1-3, 2025 at Golden Gate Park, at a celebration of the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary. I am thankful that I was there.
I don’t think Dead Heads are done with the Grateful Dead. We aren’t done with this music and it isn’t done with us…we are just getting started.
With Love,
Hal
