With Lockn coming up this weekend, it is time to start the chatter. What songs do we want to hear? What guest sit-ins are we trying to see? Well we’re going to start this with the way it ALL started: with the Grateful Dead. Here are the 5 songs we hope Furthur blesses us with in Arrington, VA.
“Looks Like Rain”
“Looks Like Rain” is definitely one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs. The most vivid memory I have connected to this tune was immediately following a crazy accident I was in. About an hour after leaving Camp Bisco, our van spun out of control and we nearly tumbled in to a ditch. The trailer flipped, cops came…it was all crazy. When my friends were talking with the police, I went in to the van, where we were listening to the Grateful Dead XM station. This song was on and it was a really surreal situation.
Wouldn’t it be something if this song ushered in a light drizzle? Nothing to disastrous, but maybe a light rainfall to increase the intensity of the show.
“Scarlet Begonias” -> “Fire on the Mountain”
I was tempted to leave Jerry songs out of the mix, but this jam is too good to not hope I hear it. This is one of the Grateful Dead’s seminole jams, and I think Weird, Lesh and co. can do it justice. Plus I got to cheat and add two songs into one!
“Jack Straw”
I really dig “Jack Straw” because it starts real slow, with a sing-along and gradually builds up in to a full-throttle jam sesh. The final burst of “Jack Straw from Wichita / Cut his buddy down!” is something I wouldn’t mind hearing a few thousand nostalgic voices singing. So let’s do it.
“Box of Rain”
This song was written by Phil Lesh about the passing of his father. It ended up being one of the Grateful Dead’s most accessible hits, with MTV and VH1 picking up the video as a part of their rotation.
But more importantly, this is the last song the Grateful Dead ever performed together on July 9, 1995. Jerry would pass exactly one month later, and this song took on a whole new meaning. I think it would be a really nice way to remember Lesh’s father, Garcia, Pigpen and anyone else who we have lost along the way.
“Minglewood Blues”
This song is just too fun! It is definitely one of Weir’s finer moments and I’d honestly be shocked if I didn’t hear it this weekend.