Cosmic Mike Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Hey everyone, My roomate and I are writing a review of DSO's 2 night run in Buffalo for our college newspaper. I've always felt that the experience one has at a show is quite difficult to describe, but completely unique by all means, and it is something that many of my fellow students are unfamiliar with. I just wondered if some of you guys could briefly sum up what the Grateful Dead/DSO mean to you and/or what the experience of being at a show is like? I'd just like to get a general idea of how certain people feel, not just for the article, but also out of curiousity to hear everyone's thoughts. Thank you, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudds94 Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 The experiences from DSO or GD have always made me feel happy, comfortable, thrilled, calming, peaceful. I always feel "at home" at a show and let the music take me places that only the music can bring with the feeling of safety and love. Basically DSO is now my drug that I am highly addicted to and can't seem to get enough of. Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Mango Posted November 27, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 For me its all about the shared creation between the band and audience. Sure they are the ones playing the notes but I believe that every thought and desire in the room gets balanced and expressed through the music/dance. To me it's all about everyone bringing their all, we have the same responsibility/obligation as the band to show up and do our part. Everyone participates, forget the separation of band and audience- wont you try just a little bit harder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Island Bro Posted November 27, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Pretty tricky stuff to put our finger on ('Love is a rose, but you better not pick it, it only grows when it's on the vine') but it sure can be fun to attempt to speak the unspeakable. Mango And Sudds already nailed it beautifully but I was going to say that the whole thing is a strange opportunity to warp into another time's forgotten space 'til things we've never seen will seem familiar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Tea Posted November 27, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 They're a band beyond description, like Jehova's favorite choir. People joinin hand in hand while the music plays the band, lord they're settin us on Fire! The poetry of this music was the soundtrack of my life as it was happening while on tour with the GD. While the lyrics were wonderfully descrptive of my life at the time, the music had a language all it's own that could describe what words simply could not convey. Obviously, this music becomes very personal when it is woven into the fabric of your life. Something about about the GD and now DSO - it has created a level of serendipity in my life that is simply unparalelled. I have met people and discovered new things/ideas that I am not sure I would experience were it not for this music. Although it was just a little more pronounced when Jerry was still with us, this music and all that surrounds it is freaking M-A-G-I-C! Period. DSO are masters of their craft who have devoted their lives to interpreting and expressing this music in a way that is uniquely 'theirs' while still having a profound appreciation for how the GD did what they did. The fans get the wonderful opportunity to plug into this expression and share it with the band and everyone around them. Too heavy for a Tuesday moring....more coffee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Teacher Matt Posted November 27, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 Buckeye Lake '91 Atlanta '94 Eugene '93 Richfield, Birmingham, Miami, Las Vegas, Buffalo, New York City, Soldier Field, Louisville, California, Las Vegas, etc etc etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sudds94 Posted November 27, 2012 Report Share Posted November 27, 2012 They're a band beyond description, like Jehova's favorite choir. People joinin hand in hand while the music plays the band, lord they're settin us on Fire! The poetry of this music was the soundtrack of my life as it was happening while on tour with the GD. While the lyrics were wonderfully descrptive of my life at the time, the music had a language all it's own that could describe what words simply could not convey. Obviously, this music becomes very personal when it is woven into the fabric of your life. Something about about the GD and now DSO - it has created a level of serendipity in my life that is simply unparalelled. I have met people and discovered new things/ideas that I am not sure I would experience were it not for this music. Although it was just a little more pronounced when Jerry was still with us, this music and all that surrounds it is freaking M-A-G-I-C! Period. DSO are masters of their craft who have devoted their lives to interpreting and expressing this music in a way that is uniquely 'theirs' while still having a profound appreciation for how the GD did what they did. The fans get the wonderful opportunity to plug into this expression and share it with the band and everyone around them. Too heavy for a Tuesday moring....more coffee That is pretty much exactly how my husband describes this ride as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamminOnThe1 Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Its one thing to experience a show......I think it takes a special person to appreciate the experience Appreciating the experience has changed me, and made me a better person I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP chuckvegas Posted November 28, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 No dissertation from me this time. I've done that too often in too many posts for too many years. You guys have said it well. "A handful of thorns and you know you've missed it." For me it has been like midnight on a carousel ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerrapinJen Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 this question makes me think of so many things.. Love, spirituality, the journey, joy, and on and on. I don't know if its answerable without an essay But to sum it up.. To me it means family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerrapinJen Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 They're a band beyond description, like Jehova's favorite choir. People joinin hand in hand while the music plays the band, lord they're settin us on Fire! exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamminOnThe1 Posted November 28, 2012 Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Family.....I like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advisory Board Herdygerdy Posted November 28, 2012 Advisory Board Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Family... that's the word for me.. Throughout my 35 years on this planet, I've met alot of people, and have made beautiful relationships with most of them. The people I grew up with, went to school with, ect, ect, ect.. are still apart of my life, but the people I've come to love deeply from my experiences through The Grateful Dead, and/or DSO have become more-so then just friends for life... They are my family.. There isn't ANYTHING I wouldn't do for those people.. The music is something we all have in common, and something we all cherish. It's so very hard to describe the emotional feelings that I have for these people because you have to be apart of it to understand it. In my opinion, you either get it, or you don't... plain and simple.. Also... Some people go to church for their spiritual release, I go to DSO for mine. The shows to me are like being wrapped up in joy, as if joy was something tangible.. You can't have that feeling without the music, and you can't have that feeling with out the people you see at these shows. They both go hand in hand, and one does not work without the other. I've tried many, many times to describe to those who do not understand the lifestyle that I lead, because of the music.. I gave up many years ago trying to explain what the music means to me to those who aren't in the "know".. I LOVE my DSO family.. you all know who you are... fans, crew, certain band members, without you my life would be incomplete... I don't know how my life would be without all of you... I do know that I'd be ALOT richer financially have I not gotten on the bus so many years ago, BUT the wealth I've gotten in love and friendship over the years is worth a hundred fold what I've spent in money.. Which if I calculated the past 20 years of spending money to go to shows, I KNOW that i'm over half a million bucks... no shit on that number.. worth every fucking penny... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Mango Posted November 28, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 it's nothing they explain, it's like a diesel train roll away the dew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP chuckvegas Posted November 28, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 A chance to spend time with people we love, and wonder where the nuthatch winters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic Mike Posted November 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Thanks everyone for all your help. You all have some really great thoughts that I sought to incorporate into the article. When it gets printed in the paper, I'll be sure to post a link to a scanned copy of the article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP dsostar Posted November 28, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 If not too late… I like using the word “Tribe”, or tribal experience in my explanations. Unlike ethnic “tribes”, you don’t need to be born into it; unlike gangs – you can come or go as you please; and unlike mainstream religion – there are no prescriptive rules or overbearing master. Group conscience prevails in a colorful carnival/musical mecca. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP gr8fulpair Posted November 29, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 You said in your topic title. The GD/DSO experience. You never hear people say "tell me about your Brittany Spears experience" or "what does your Men Without Hats experience mean to you?" This is not about being a fan of one thing (the music) it's about loving all that the hippie lifestyle represents. The music definitely brought us together, the experience KEEPS us together. If I had gone to a GD show and all the fans were douche bags I don't think I would still be as obsessed with the music as I am today after 26 years of listening to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP found Posted November 29, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 It's about loving all that the hippie lifestyle represents. I resent that statement. I think everyone takes different things from the experience and everyone comes from different walks of life and therefore have different lifestyles. I think at it's most basic core, the experience as about going to hell in a bucket and enjoying the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP chuckvegas Posted November 29, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 You said in your topic title. The GD/DSO experience. You never hear people say "tell me about your Brittany Spears experience" or "what does your Men Without Hats experience mean to you?" I'm going to be honest to the point of recklessness here. Much as it hurt, I felt like I had to move on from my Britney days after "Baby One More Time" and "Oops!...I Did it Again." I mean, sure, some of the videos were still hot but it never felt right, never had that rush of love at first sight, psychotic wanton abandon, unchained libido, highway to hell feel after the schoolgirl jailbait thing. Not to mention the (oh my God!) red latex/mission to Mars motif. Sex on a stick! Guess she had to follow her muse after that and I just couldn't take the ride. I did respect her for copping the Sinead look there for a while. That took balls. As for the Men, well, I know the whole Haight ethos was inclusive and all that, but they have a bit of a point... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Timmins! Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 First and foremost, it's the music, man. GD tunes are challenging and relaxing. Easy and alarming. Upbeat and strange. And aside from that song by MC Rob Bass n' DJ EZ Rock, it's the only god damn music that gets me up and shaking my ass like a 20 year old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP gr8fulpair Posted November 29, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 I resent that statement. Maybe you misunderstood my point - or I didn't express it succinctly. Hippie lifestyle to me means loving each other, respect, tolerance, care, music-centered, peaceful, etc. it's not all about wearing Birkenstocks and growing dreads, but nothing wrong with that if its your thing. I bet if I'd said GD lifestyle there you wouldn't have resented it. Well in my pea brain they're the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP FunkyBass13 Posted November 29, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 . Some people go to church for their spiritual release, I go to DSO for mine. The shows to me are like being wrapped up in joy, as if joy was something tangible.. You can't have that feeling without the music, and you can't have that feeling with out the people you see at these shows. They both go hand in hand, and one does not work without the other. worth every fucking penny... Couldn't have said it any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Posted November 29, 2012 Report Share Posted November 29, 2012 Amen, Herdy: "You either get it, or you don't... plain and simple." "I gave up many years ago trying to explain what the this music means to me to those who aren't in the "know"." (Not to edit, just expanding on the sentiment). "Worth every fucking penny." x10 "Family." Joy requires no explanations...the more you get it, the more it gets you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Supplicated Velvet Thunder Posted December 6, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Pouring their light into ashes Wouldn't have grateful dead or be dropping my tour mom at the airport so I can watch her teenagers for the week without this band. I have my whole beautiful life bc this band showed me the light. Thanks AGAIN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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