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Why I Dance


Pete

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The band is currently the best there is at what they do.  They are also in the best shape they've ever been.  On a deeper level, the music is as relevant now as it was in the past because the historical context that gave rise to the songs mirrors our own to a surprising degree.  

The Grateful Dead were a cornerstone of 60's counterculture and the overarching themes of the 60's resonate now more than ever.  We're still fighting surrogate wars because we can't fight the real enemy.  We can't trust the government that we elected because it insists on lying to us for our own good.  Half the country still thinks that some Americans are more equal than other Americans, and the war on poverty has given rise to the war on universal healthcare.  No one knows what Russia is going to do next and humanity itself could still be annihilated in the blink of an eye.

Buried in this context is the fundamental nature of the music.  It's American music in the purest sense, a strange combination of good old-fashioned folk songs and eclectic improvisation, tunes from the hills and hollows of Appalachia and blues from the Mississippi delta.  It's rock and roll, bluegrass, country, jazz, ragtime, all thrown in the melting pot and served hot.

Democracy, like Dead music, is inherently improvisational. There is no rule book and no safety net. The cold war was won by the idea that everyone working together can do a better job than a few men in a smoky back room.  However, it only works when everyone plays their part.  The band can't play to an empty room, and I can't stand back and listen without shaking my bones.  As long as the music is playing I've got to dance.

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perfectly stated!

 

i love dancing, but since dancing in the malibu living room to the boulder night 2 show my right toe is in A LOT OF PAIN and I don't know why and every night of tour by the end of second set it is hurting so bad that i sometimes want to cry but….

 

what? am I gonna sit down? am I gonna NOT DANCE?!?! um, I TRY to slow down, but I can't slow it down!!!! so I just push through it and know nothing lasts forever and it will work itself out and in the meantime, at least I am dancing.

 

works every time.  (walking to the car later is less fun lmao)

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If u aren't exhausted during a DSO show u are either not dancing hard enough or one of those healthy types. Mike is obviously one of those healthy types. As I crashed and burned New Years, he was hopping around like he had springs on his feet. I miscalculated badly.

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perfectly stated!

 

i love dancing, but since dancing in the malibu living room to the boulder night 2 show my right toe is in A LOT OF PAIN and I don't know why and every night of tour by the end of second set it is hurting so bad that i sometimes want to cry but….

 )

Could be liver toxins....try traditional medicinal liver detox tea. Arnica is a good anti inflammatory. And so is turmeric, especially with black pepper; so belly up to some good Indian food. ;o)
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Once there came to the court of the Prince of Birkasha a dancer and her musicians. And she was admitted to the court. And she danced to the music of the flute, the lute, and the zither.

She danced the dance of flames and fire, and the dance of swords and spears; she danced the dance of stars and the dance of space, and then she danced the dance of flowers in the wind.

When she had finished, she approached the prince and bowed her body before him. The price bade her to come nearer, and said unto her, "Beautiful woman, daughter of grace and delight, whence comes your art? And how is it that you command all the elements in your rhythms and your rhymes?"

And the dancer came near and bowed her body again and said, "Gracious majesty, I know not the answer to your questionings. Only this I know: The philosopher soul dwells within his head, the poets soul dwells within his heart, the singers soul dwells about his throat, but the soul of the dancer abides in all her body.

Gibran

 

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dancing makes the music sound better, the magic come alive. Why  dance? Because it hurts the back and knees to stand still. Because why contain that primal fire within?

 

just one man's viewpoint...

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