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JPrisco
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« Reply #4 on: June 13, 2006, 04:41:49 PM » |
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What we see here, of course, is the difference between an event and the act of memorializing that same event -- anyone who attended would have their own specific "Closing of Winterland" experience, and therefore movie. Clearly, the DVD can't capture all that (although it certainly tries).
Really, this is a DVD (and CD) presentation for those who were NOT in attendance -- specifically, those who arrived too late to enjoy the glory days of this most rabidly mythologized of bands. It can't really replace the experience of being there, in either time or music; in fact, no show can be properly recreated (a fact well-known to any who share a tape of a show they've been to). A better time-machine for this purpose was the GD movie, but that had only so much footage of the band [since addressed by the re-release]; COW comes closer to providing the beginning-to-end experience, though one from after the heyday.
For those who were there, COW provides some reinforcement of fading memory, and an alternate perspective to the one they personally experienced. In some ways, this is not such a service; as remarked above, the performances aren't generally outstanding.
But this is irrelevant; speaking as one who has had the COW poster on my wall for the past quarter-century [and a bootleg on my record shelf], I accepted and anticipated this release without reservation. While neither the best or most typical show from this era, it is without question a major event in the band's history. And we cannot overlook the simple duration: the band may burn brighter elsewhere, but rarely so long and consistently. And no one could doubt that they end on a strong note.
As they try to tell us repeatedly throughout the movie, Winterland was not just a gig but a place, an event, a space unto itself. Of course, simply saying it doesn't really convey what made that place special; this is the part the viewer must fill in for themselves. Those who weren't there -- who never could have been there, in 1978 or any other year -- have only the music to judge.
For me, who played that bootleg over and over through the summer of my 16th year, it became the standard by which I would measure my own experiences to come. For those who were there, and had been regular or long-time fans, it was the goodbye kiss to a fond venue & all the eras that didn't have drums splitting the second set. For those who came even later than me, well ... it's a well-filmed valentine from an era they can't really understand. But it is full of fine performances, and signifies the end of something for the band.
I admit it: I rarely watch it (or any other Dead show on visual release; they're not much to watch). But when I do, I genreally watch the whole thing. Obviously, it still works -- even though so much of the music is long since familiar to me. This long-term staying power is what we need in official releases, and not always apparent on first listen.
Meanwhile, we can ponder Bobby's wacky glasses. What were you thinking, Bob?
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