Jerry Garcia Band: Live at Shoreline
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Movie Reviews of Jerry Garcia Band: Live at Shoreline
Movie Review: Excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
For DeadHeads this is a real treat. If you're a hater, don't bother. If you're curious - this is a great place to start. Steve Urbauer Stephen UrbauerMovie Review: A study of Garcia
Summary: 5 Stars
A lovely dvd, connecting the viewer with the artist. I'll give it as a gift to my Dead Head friends, Quality was excellent. Keep on truckinMovie Review: Top-notch live performance
Summary: 4 Stars
The Good
Jerry's weathered vocals compliment the bluesy feel of "How Sweet It Is to be Loved by You". His improv soloing is sure to please the most finicky of guitar revelers. The tone he's using is a perfect match for the Hammond organ tones. On "Dear Prudence", Garcia pours all of his heart and emotion into his vocals as well as his guitar playing. Although the main lick is repetitive through most of the song, Jerry cuts loose from the song's confinements with some impressive guitar runs. The emotion is only enhanced by the female back-up singers.
"Run for the Roses" mixes soulful gospel melodies with twangy guitars and funky bass lines from John Kahn. Drummer David Kemper really shines on the changes. If the main riff of "Deal" doesn't cry out the blues, then I don't know what does. Garcia helps his guitar weep with melodic tones that are pure aural enjoyment. The band puts their own unique spin on "I Second That Emotion". "Think" combines blues and country music styles with a whole lot of soul.
Is anyone surprised that there's a song on here called "And it Stoned Me"? It's John Kahn's time to shine on "Waiting for a Miracle" as he lays down some bass dominant licks. "Tangled Up In Blue" brings the house to it's feet with it's up-tempo rhythms. It works so well because most of the other material is on the down side of things. Bonuses on the DVD include and interview with Garcia's longtime songwriter, and an interview with members of the Jerry Garcia Band.
The Bad
The interview segments are not very interesting. The lighting for the show is kind of poor.
The Verdict
The only song I know by the Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia is "Touch of Grey", so I probably can't do this DVD justice. I can say that Garcia and company play tribute to R&B, gospel, and blues during this top-notch live performance. You wouldn't know that this show was put together on-the-fly. There are plenty of jam sessions to please Jerry's loyal following. I discovered that one of the best aspects of Garcia's music is that it all has a positive message. That's always a good thing.
Movie Review: Terrific music if only OK video production
Summary: 4 Stars
Maybe four-and-a-half stars. The really good news is the playing is spot-on and inspired - the band and Jerry are ON and razor-sharp this night, good enough to justify a CD release as well. This is the latter-day JGB in top form. The set list is definitely first-rate, as you can see. We get lots of at times brilliant Jerry solos (so much for the lame pronoucements about "1989 was the last great year," and the like we're hearing these days. Nonsense.); Melvin is playing really well, and even John Kahn is playing well. David, Jackie and Gloria are all at top form, too. From first note to final, the singing and playing are consistently fine. My favorites (of the moment) include a great Waiting for a Miracle, Dear Prudence, I Shall Be Released, a really soulful And It Stoned Me, an even more soulful Lucky Old Sun, and a killer show-closing, fervent Tangled Up in Blue.
The camera work and editing are merely OK, although at least nowhere nearly as frustrating as, say, some of the Vault series. The best part is there are lots of camera shots on Jerry's playing. But the overwhelming majority of this entire dvd are of face close-ups, way, way too many close-up's - pretty much most of this entire dvd. There are only a handful of group shots and only at the beginning and end of the songs, which is too bad. C'mon. Why do folks think bootleg videos are so popular? And, unpleasant as it is to report, we do get a dose of that hideous split-second, jerk-action effect during - sorry to say - Deal and Don't Let Go (which are otherwise great versions, although the Don't Let Go is a little truncated). Ugh!
A question for the producers: Isn't Jerry's playing riveting enough without these needless, awful effects? (At least we get this only during part of Deal and Don't Let Go, and that's it.)
But on the whole, this is an undisputed first-rate effort, and I'm glad I purchased it. We were once told there were no Jerry Garcia Band videos at all; what luck this proved untrue. It would be wonderful if there are more lurking in the vaults.
Movie Review: In Between Tours...
Summary: 4 Stars
Dead fans consider Jerry Garcia to be the de facto "leader of the band." The perceptions are unshakeable, even though Garcia shared singing and songwriting duties over the band's storied career with Bob Weir, Pig Pen, Phil Lesh, and Brent Mydland.
Enter the Jerry Garcia Band, an "in between tours" project for Garcia that enabled the singer and guitarist to abandon the weight of being the ringleader of rock's most prolific touring carnival.
A-list musicians like Melvin Seals (organ and piano), John Kahn (bass), and Jackie LaBranch and Gloria Jones (vocals) joined Garcia to barnstorm the U.S. with a repertoire that featured originals and covers culled from Motown, Stax/Volt, the Beatles, reggae pioneers, Dylan, and blues masters.
While the Dead filled football stadiums with tens of thousands, the Garcia Band played to smaller but no less enthusiatic crowds in hockey arenas. These shows seemed to relax and energize Garcia, and "Live at Shoreline" showcases the JGB at the top of its game.
First set highlights include an extended jam of Lennon's "Dear Prudence" and a slinky, bump and grind of Peter Tosh's "Stop That Train." The light show bathes the band in muted reds and oranges, replete with closeups of Garcia's fingers nimbly taming his custom Irwin axe. A rolliciking "Deal" closes the set with an authority that rivals any version played by the Dead.
Set two is no slouch either. "Think" burns with Memphis soul and Gospel-blues fervor courtesy of LaBranch and Jones. "Lucky Old Sun," a favorite of Ray Charles, is a perfect ballad for an emotive Garcia, punctuated by a B-3 break by Seals that threatens to cave the roof. "Tangled Up in Blue" is read faithfully by Garcia with guitar heroics that enhance Dylan's epic vision.
Even though about fifteen thousand witnessed this punchy show, this DVD seems like an intimate club show. Enjoy the JGB in your living room for the first, and hopefully not the last, time.