he Grateful Dead meetup // (Scott Johnson).
I took a break from the news and attended the 2022 edition at the suburban AMC multiplex, Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The Meet-Up featured a screening of the Dead’s April 17 1972 concert at Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen, Denmark. This footage was taken from the broadcast of what was claimed to be the first ever Danish live concert broadcast.
After a three-year absence due to plague hysteria, last night’s event marked a resumption in annual Meet-Ups. Last night, I didn’t see one mask.
The Meet-Ups attract an older audience. The show’s audience had the largest median age across all 18 multiplex theaters. The audience was not only the oldest, but also the happiest. Contrary to the 2019 Meet-Up, no one danced in the aisles, but the audience cheered after each number. We would have been happy to have been there, even if it was only in an existential sense. But we were especially happy about the resumption and growth of the Meet-Ups. David Lemieux gave an opening message promising more.
A three-album set was the first to document The Dead’s European tour. This year’s Meetup celebrated the 50th anniversary the Europe’72 album. It’s a great live album featuring Keith Godchaux and the original Dead lineup. The film’s final minutes featured the godawful Donna Jean Godchaux, who only dared to dance onstage. (I believe that was Donna. We only saw her from behind.
The Dead’s Europe 1972 tour saw the band return to the Tivoli for their sixth show. The footage has been restored in high definition and color corrected using audio from 16-track analog master tapes. However, the film contains less than 90 minutes of a longer concert.
The show featured an overview of 1972 Dead touring repertoire including versions of “China Cat Sunflower”, “I Know You Rider”, “Big Railroad Blues”, as well as “He’s Gone,” and other new songs, including “Jack Straw” (the great “One More Saturday Night”). He was in top form when he covered the three songs in the film.
The film doesn’t follow the original order in which the band performed that night (setlist here). The film only captures a fragment of the Dead’s concert. Is there any other footage? You will find the answer somewhere. I wish Lemieux could have offered an explanation.
The film also shows only a glimpse at the band stretching out, Dead-style. This surprised me. The glimpse was provided by “Truckin'”. It was wonderful. Bobby missed the first line of the opening chorus.
Although it wasn’t the final number at the concert, the film ends on a positive note with “One More Saturday Night.”
In my comments about the 2017-2019 Meet-Ups, I lamented the band’s drug-related death. I was struck this time by the survival of core members such as Bob Weir and Phil Lesh (Donna Jean Godchaux is also still with me). They will continue to run.
Next year in Eden Prairie
