Fillmore:The Last Days

I'm not a big Grateful Dead fan but I think I picked up on the 'magic' while watching them churn through Casey Jones in this documentary. The first thing that grabbed me was watching how Jerry Garcia sang this song. His is a very clean, sweet-toned voice, delivered in a relaxed but crisp manner. But the 'magic' came as the song drew toward it's finale as the chorus is repeated over and over, well past the point I would have expected it to end. When the build-up finally broke and they eased into that last "..and you know that notion, just crossed my mind" I knew I had just run head-long into what every dead-head has experienced. That was the highpoint of this disc for me but all of the footage of Bill Graham taking phone calls, interacting with band members and public and bonding with his young son I truly enjoyed too. QuicksilverM.S. with Dino singing Fresh Air was a real treat and speaking of great to watch, we get two shots of Lydia Pense and Cold Blood showing there was more than just one Janis Joplin in town. I didn't think Hot Tuna really needed the services of Papa John Creach but they obviously wanted to embellish their sound with some violin so you get two samples of that line-up. It's a Beautiful Day render a flawless rendition of White Bird and Lamb, a group I sure never heard of, provide two excellent songs and yet another gal lead-singer busting the pipes ala miss Joplin.        6/1/09