Missives from Samsara

On Easter Sunday this past Spring, I celebrated with my family and friends by seeing Phish at the Moda Center in Portland. Natch. It was the first home town Phish show I had seen since 1999. The show was super fun, especially because I could sleep in my own bed afterwards and because I got to hang with a lot of my crew.

One of my buddies wore a shirt admonishing ‘chompers’ to be quiet during the concert. Someone behind us snapped a picture at set break and posted it on Facebook and it kind of went viral. A month later when we saw the Dead & Co. in Vegas, he wore the shirt again and people commented on it, making it clear to use that they’d seen the post from April. The usual reaction to the shirt is ‘right on, cool shirt!’ Two days ago, scrolling the Phish subreddit, I saw the picture again: More than 6 months later the message is still making the rounds.

The message on the shirt resonates because there are often so many people at concerts who basically talk through the show. Now, I get it. People are often out friends who they maybe don’t get to hang out with a lot, they are probably drinking, and the music is loud. They figure no one can hear them, that it’s no big deal–it’s a party, right?! However, the fans of the bands I tend to see are often obsessed with the band and the music. Jambands also play different shows every night, so the songs are often not always played and people who can only see a few shows a year want to hear the music. Some people are chasing particular tunes that are not often played. Phish, for instance, is not like a typical Top 40 band, rolling out the same set list every night.

In the end, I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments on my friend’s shirt. If you want to yap, go into the hallway and have at it. Let those who want to hear the music, hear the music. Tickets aren’t cheap these days, you know?

Growing up in the 70s and 80s as I did, I came to appreciate album covers. Of course, the music on the record mattered, but often my first impression of an album or a band came from the album cover. I think any Gen Xer can related to this perspective. Of course, oftentimes the music didn’t meet the expectation of greatness created by the cover. However, every once and a while a great cover introduced a great album’s worth of music. As I have gotten older, certain album covers create a sense of nostalgia for me, bringing forth the period of my life when that album got a lot of playing time. In those days, we listened to albums, not songs.

Here are a few album covers that I still love that are also great albums.

• Steely Dan: Countdown to Ecstasy

I started listening to Steely Dan in college and haven’t stopped. During my junior year abroad, when I lived in a tiny dorm room in Tapton Hall in Sheffield, England, I listened a lot to this album along with their Katy Lied album. Seeing the cover brings me back without fail to being 20 years old again. If I could have this cover hanging on my wall, I’d have it. Hard to pick a favorite track, but Your Gold Teeth is up there. Hat tip to Phish for playing Showbiz Kids as walk out music after the show I was lucky to see in 2023 at the Hollywood Bowl.

• Rush: Permanent Waves

This album cover was shocking to me when I first saw it in elementary school. It is risque and has a lot going on beyond the obvious. The music on this record is sublime. My favorite track growing up was Freewill, but after seeing Rush live, Natural Science is the new number one in my book.

• Grateful Dead: Terrapin Station

I love the red framing of this cover image. I also love the dancing terrapins. It is unique and its pure Grateful Dead. My favorite track is the first Dead song I fell in love with, Estimated Prophet.

The Grateful Dead lost another band member this week. Donna Jean Godchaux joined the band in the early 70s when her husband Keith became their piano player and left the group in 1979. Her contribution to the band was her singing and it was polarizing. I think most fans would agree that she added some beautiful vocals to some of the great tunes from the 70s (Scarlet Begonia and The Music Never Stopped come to mind), but her performances live could often be a major buzz kill. More than one Playin' in the Band was tanked due to her wailing. Nevertheless, she was in the band and is tied karmically to all the world’s Deadheads.

RIP Donna

I came across this systematic review of how music impacts motivation via Arnold’s Pump Club newsletter. The gist of the review is that music very much does increase human motivation, which in turn leads to better outcomes for people. I think most of us know this through personal experience. Throughout my life I most often deploy music as a tool to increase motivation when it comes to exercise, which I normally don’t find fun. Not surprisingly, this list is heavy on the metal.

Here are some of my go-to tunes to get me going. In the case of these songs, it is definitely a combination of the both the music and lyrics that fire me up.

• Unchained by Van Halen

• Feel Like a Stranger from Without a Net

• Breadfan by Metallica

• Riding on the Wind by Judas Priest

• Steeler by Judas Priest

• Tom Sawyer by Rush

• Solid Rock by Widespread Panic

31 years ago today I may have seen one of the last great Dead shows. This show was the fourth night of a six night run at the old Boston Garden. My friend JC scored tickets to the shows on the 1st and 2nd of October. He managed to get us seats center stage about 12 rows back. The were the best seats I ever had for a Grateful Dead concert. The night after, we were behind the stage! The Dead ticket folks must have figured since they gave us top tier seats for the first night, we could rough it behind the stage for the next show.

This was my first time on the east coast, too. A good friend that I had known since middle school was attending law school at Boston College so we had a free floor to crash on. When we got to our seats, we were blown away. Little did we know that the show would be top notch as well. Not only was the set list packed with great tunes, but the So Many Roads was one of the best performances of the song ever, with Jerry singing his heart out at the end. His passion was made all the more poignant because he looked so frail and old and 1994 was not a very good year overall for the Dead’s playing. Jerry, typical of that era, flubs some lyrics throughout the night, but his guitar sounded crisp and clean and being so close, the night was one I won’t ever forget.

The next night was super fun too. It was the first time we’d ever seen a show from behind the stage and we got to have fun watching the audience, which was extremely entertaining. Another high school friend was there with her future husband, and if memory serves we saw them briefly before the show. Pretty sure that was their only Dead show.

From the land of the midnight sun

Where the ice blue roses grow

Along those roads of gold and silver snow

Howlin' wide or moaning low

So many roads I know

So many roads to ease my soul

I live in Portland and love music. Here are some songs I like that mention the Rose City or the beautiful state of Oregon.

1. Operator by Grateful Dead This is a Pigpen tune from the timeless American Beauty. The song’s character is riding a bus “out of Portland, talking to the night.”

2. Portland, Oregon by Loretta Lynn and Jack White Strange combo, great song. Apparently Loretta Lynn’s family didn’t like this album so it is a bit hard to find, or at least it was.

3. Cinnamon and Lesbians by Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks The lyrics to this song are pretty wild and the guitar is an ode to the Dead’s St. Stephen. Me likey.

4. Oregon by Clutch This song rules. Grimey, sludgy, and weird. “It wasn’t weird enough, so I went west to Oregon.” Yes, sir!

5. The Portland Water by Neal Casal The late Neal Casal wrote this quirky tune.

6. Don’t Take Me Alive by Steely Dan Why the hell hasn’t Phish covered Steely Dan? That’s what I want to know. ‘Oregon’ isn’t pronounced right, but we’ll let it slide in this case.

7. Oregon by Briston Maroney Catchy alt-rock. “Don’t let this town get ya down.”

8. Portland by The Jauntee Another quirky tune, paying homage to Portland’s ever present rain and weirdness.