Archive for the &;Grateful Dead&; Category
The Dead: SoOver
July 24, 2009
Sadly, it probably is for The Dead and me, after 30-something years. Some friends insisted on our getting tickets with them for The Dead at the Forum in May.
I had last seen the (then) Grateful Dead in 1994, at a show at the execrable Sports Arena that was nonetheless memorable. The concert was great, but I got moved none too gently by the LAPD because for some reason the area I was ticketed for was closed. Later, the Sports Authority that runs the Sports Arena and Colisseum apologized and gave me a pair of LA Raiders playoff tickets&;fun, but the second scariest experience of my life after the LA Riots.
Fast forward to 2009, when admittedly it would be hard for the Jerry-less Dead to compete with the spectre of the past.
We got stuck in hellacious traffic for an hour and a half, and arrived half an hour late&;this version of The Dead, apparently, goes on and off promptly.
The aisles were jammed with jamming twirlers, so we had to force our way to our seats. Once there, further force was necessary to remove the uncool people who had bogarted our seats.
I wouldn&;t agree with DivinePossum&;s Tweet &;Fuck, the Grateful Dead are sooooo bad&;, but I didn&;t feel transported, or even involved. At least it wasn&;t a really bad scene&;and we didn&;t end up dead like this poor guy 20 years ago.
Further observations:
Sadly, the Forum, home to Laker glory and so many great events, has become a dirty, run-down aging facility
The Forum that night was the only place in Inglewood with no black patrons.
Probably no connection, but they didn&;t bother to mix bass into the audio mix.
I have no patience for rich kids begging for a &;miracle&; free ticket.
The Dead is a guy thing; at least twice as many males. Is it the stoner vibe or the lack of truly danceable tunes?
There is nothing like a Dead show, perhaps, but I am not writing a set list.
Every other concert venue has TV screens to see the &;action&; on stage. Not the Forum; the picture below is a much better view of the concert than I got for my hundred fifty.
Run by a church, the Forum is filthy and has enormous lines for the toilets. I didn&;t appreciate the 20-something throwing up in front of us either. High-end indoor concerts are not Woodstock re-creations.
Call me old, but I like my fire exits unblocked.
The Dead, formerly the Grateful Dead, perform at the Forum in the Inglewood section of Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday May 9, 2009
Tags:Inglewood-Forum, rock-concerts, The-Dead Posted in Grateful Dead, Music | Leave a Comment &;