The Grateful Trek Grateful Dead Fans Gather for Annual New Year's Festival
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2 _ a ms -- ._ . .......- ..... i"-- r" .. * v i I | | Iu| The Grateful Trek Grateful Dead fans gather for annual New Year's festival Higham by Scott ter. Most others who milled the same sized styrofoam bowls. After making my way past onds. Among nearly fifty around the Auditorium's "Excuse me, but where did people both sleeping and celeb- When the New Year's Eve sun mountaineering tents set up in a grounds, however, had no place you get that?" I asked a gentle rating, I arrived at the tent and, began to slip behind the park's small city park last month, to be, at any particular date or spirited woman sitting five feet sure enough, received a bowl of trees, we began the search for a friends embraced and exchanged any particular time. They were away. soup, Italian bread, coffee and motel room, a shower and a recent stories. Jugglers whirled truly on the road, a place where "Oh, right over there under carrot cake from a guy who good stiff mattress. We needed a their multi-colored balls and a many people - from Jack that blue and yellow tent. It's didn't ask for any money. My rest before the show and scraped three part harmony filled the Kerouac to, perhaps, one of free!" she replied. friends and I went back for sec- up $20 for a room at a place foggy Oakland air. your friends - had discovered a called Lakeview, a motel which, After learning to despise a bus subtle secret to life during a ride incidentally, was invaded by which transported us deliriously from Denver to Seattle or in the hippies, vans, busses, backpacks, across the states, we reached serenity of the Appalachian booze and the like. Every room Oakland, the first destination of Mountains of upstate New York. was occupied by those going to our intersession journey from Many had come to Oakland the show and, although only two Stony Brook. By the time we displaying long frazzled hair, people were permitted in each had arrived, hundreds of young glass beads and beat-up back- room, we had about fifteen in people from all across the packs which probably had a ours while others were compari- country had already staked out story all their own - of a rainy lively packed. their homes near the Oakland evening in the Cascades, a box Leaving our home for the Auditorium where the Grateful car ride to Cheyenne or of a evening we made our way back Dead were performing five blue-grass festival in Alaska. By to the Auditorium, kidding each shows, ending with their tradi- 3 a.m. New Year's eve, many) other with, "'So, you went an tional New Year's Eve concert. had laid themselves and their the way to California to see the Some had trekked from Alaska, packs to rest. Dead and didn't get in, huh?" others from New Jersey. But A damp, dreary fog which None of us had tickets and the everyone had come to a unique frequents the Bay Area woke us a show was sold out. reunion, a gathering of 10,000 up at around 9 a.m. Cold, we $ Truckin' around the Auditor- friends, soul- 5 old and new cursed our sleeping bags. ium, my buckaroo, Allan and I constantly travel -mates who Crawling out of our tent, a park echoed an increasingly familiar sometimes around the country, strewn with mummy bags, packs phrase early that evening. a Gratefuld Dead tour following and tarps lay before us while an "Who's got an extra ticket?" and oft times a whim. During early morning haze of pot and seemed to be on nearly ev- adventures we our intersession cigarette smoke distorted our eryone's lips. An array of knew Stony Brook had yet to vision. People all around were many began on the highway. (continued on page 3) entertain us for another semes- slurping minestrone soup from Bits and Pieces 1980 Music: Euphoria and Nausea by Jeff Zoldan and Larry Feibel It's back to the books for most of us now that the aissance album that firmly embeds them into America's long intersession is over. And it's also back to the presses mainstream music culture. The band is in top form, for the overworked and much underpaid staff of the S.B. striking out with the precision of a diamond cutter on all Press. With the start of the new term, Picking Up the the LP's ten cuts. Put this one on your turntable and Pieces. will become a fairly regular column that will have yourself a house party. report on the many events of the music world, with an Emotional Rescue - The Rolling Stones occasional excursion into the other genres of the arts. Although I was initially disappointed with what I And now back to the music. .. thought was a dismal release from one of the finest rock At the end of every year dilligent music critics all over bands today, it seemed to grow on me as the album wore N pull out their notes to finally bury the hatchet on all the down my cartridge. Most likely it was the hot summer albums of the year gone by. This writer is certainly no nights dancing away to "She's So Cold" that finally sold exception. While 1980 was a better than average year for me. Too bad these guys are burnt, otherwise this one good records, it was an easier task picking the worst of would be more than just plain fun. the lot than the best. So, in no particular order, here are Kittyhawk - Kittyhawk the 10 best albums of the year: The finest debut album of the year, this Californian The Swing of Delight - Devadip Carlos Santana quartet utilizes the much novel Chapman stick, a ten- This fine solo album from Carlos furthers his already well stringed instrument that can play bass and rhythm at the known reputation as a guitar playing genius. With some same time, to generate one of the most exciting sounds splendid keyboard arrangements from Herbie Hancock in modern jazz-rock. Richard Elliot is superb on sax and and the strong accompaniment of Wayne Shorter (sax) lyricon. But to appreciate them at their finest, catch and the rest of the Santana lineup, the very best them live next time they're in town. elements of jazz and rock rise smoothly to the surface. A Empty Glass - Pete Townshend must albums for all jazz and rock lovers. espeiaItv Townshend's most definitive solo work to date. Santana fans. Here he brings his vocal abilities to their maximum which, sur- Two bad apples that almost spoiled the bunch. prisingly, is damn good. From listening to Empty Glass, it's easy to see from whence comes the panache of the (Pat Metheny); The Up Escalator (Graham Parker anu Who. the Rumour); Zenyatta Mondatta (The Police); Argy- bargy (Squeeze). London Calling - The Clash nAl hm ! The worst albums of the year, as I stated before, were Packed with some fresh sounds - some reggae, a little a lot easier to choose and a lot more fun. It can be un- rockabilly; and a touch of brazen rock and rooll - the equivocally stated that the following poor excuses for Clash don't mess around. Immediately attacking the pol- musical taste render up horrible images of people endur- itical structure of the Western world, armed only with a ing torture, having to go to school, and taking awful handful of bright witticisms and a few dangerous riffs, tasting medicine. But, better yet, picture a person step- these guys almost pull off a successful coup e'etat. ping in a big pile of dog shit with a brand new pair of Snakes and Ladders - Gerry Rafferty $150 boots. At last, here they are: Recorded at George Martin's studios sans Martin, none- Panorama (The Cars); Go To Heaven (The Grateful theless, its 12 songs and 52 minutes of catchy Rafferty Dead): . but the little girls understand (The Knack); originals which grow on you as fast as the rate of infla- Pleasure Principle (Gary Numan); Narry Goodreau (Bar- tion. Clever lyrics and a touch of humor round out this ry Goodreau); Freedom of Choice (Devo); Mouth to thoroughly biting LP. Mouth (Lipps Inc.); Saved (Bob Dylan); Glass Houses Hawks and Doves - Neil Young (Billy Joel); Tenement Steps (The Motors); End of the This schizophrenic album shows us two different moods Century (The Ramones). of this very capricious song writer. Side one's slow, al- The J. Geils Band is working on their next album most haunting tempo - very reminiscent of Ending the first year of the decade on a good note. Comes A which is due out next month. While this is nothing new, Time-era Young - hits you right off The River-- Bruce Springsteen, with Young's lead singer Peter Wolf's set of braces - that's right, earthy flat picking. On side two, Certainly not the Boss' best-Born To Run is--it still is an he incorporates country braces - is. According to Wolf, the braces are a tempor- swing with his brash exciting rock and roll package. "Point Blank," "The River rock sound, a total contrast in ary measure to insure that the present gaps in between sounds. Lyrically, er"' and "Independence Day" are his best ballads to date. Young presents us with two his teeth don't expand. The gaps, Wolf says, are "from conflicting And "Crush On You" and "Cadillac Ranch" have an ener- views of modem America, thus the title gettin' knocked about in my confused past.".