Heart of Town
Grahame Lesh hosted a star studded party to coincide with the GD 60 shows being held across town in Golden Gate Park Aug. 1-3. The “Heart of Town” shows, as they were being marketed, kicked off on Thursday July 31, the day before the Grateful Dead took stage for their run. Thursday was a warm up for the weekend with the Friday and Saturday bills playing as after shows once the Dead wrapped up in the park those days, so Friday and Saturday turned into reeeeaaaaallll long days/nights. Phil Lesh’s son brought an array friends and current and former collaborators to play three days covering the Dead’s music catalog. Stephen Stills was probably the biggest name on the bill and that was a big thrill for me because he was always my favorite of the CSNY crew. Robert Randolph, Karl Denson, Duane Betts, Jennifer Hartswick, John Medeski, Aron Magner, Neal Francis, Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, Reed Mathis, Eric Krasno, Peter Rowan, Bill Nershi, Melvin Seals, Ivan Neville…I mean the list was long. The shows were great and in addition to the Sunday Grateful Dead show I caught, really turned my ear back on again to the music of the Dead and how important it is to the fabric of American culture.
