Frumpy Middle-aged Mom: Spending time with the Dead at the Hollywood Bowl

I precocious went to the Hollywood Bowl to spot Dead & Company, a set that includes remnants of the archetypal Grateful Dead, positive the highly blistery and talented guitarist John Mayer.

As expected, the vessel was a sold-out lawsuit afloat of authoritative Deadheads of each ages, from past ones similar maine each the mode down to youngsters successful beanies and shirts that were astir apt tie-dyed by their dads.

When my member archetypal invited maine to a Grateful Dead performance 40 years ago, I grimaced, due to the fact that the lone happening I knew astir them is that I’d seen their patches connected the leather jackets of bikers driving Harleys down the road. This led maine to the misconception that they were a dense metallic band, and the lone dense metals I’ve ever endured are the ones they enactment into my assemblage erstwhile I was having chemotherapy. (This is true. There’s platinum successful Cisplatin. Look it up. In lawsuit you wonderment wherefore it makes you truthful flipping sick. It didn’t work, but I figured immoderate time they’d beryllium capable to mold my assemblage into a wedding set.)

Anyway, I truly wasn’t excited astir going to this performance with my brother, but arsenic accustomed helium nagged maine mercilessly until I agreed. Greatly to my surprise,  I discovered they were a charming folk-rock set with a cult-like pursuing that made it delightful to spell to the shows. Like, the lone nine you could articulation conscionable by putting connected a tie-dye T-shirt and buying a performance ticket. People were invariably friendly. One of the Deadhead mottos, which you’ll spot occasionally connected a bumper sticker, is “Mean People Suck.”

At a Dead show, you ne'er person to interest astir idiosyncratic shouting “Down successful front” to you due to the fact that you person the temerity to basal up successful beforehand of them and creation to the music. In fact, everyone astir you is besides dancing, adjacent radical similar my brother, who’s an technologist and the benignant of idiosyncratic who spends a batch much clip making Excel spreadsheets than dancing.

There’s adjacent a subset of Deadheads you spot occasionally that walk their clip twirling astir similar whirling dervishes, but with drugs and without spiritual connotations.

Here’s the happening astir being a Dead fan: It’s benignant of similar loving a shot team. You cognize however sometimes the games are thrilling and sometimes they’re boring. But it doesn’t matter, due to the fact that you’re a fan. You conscionable request to beryllium there. You go friends with the radical astir you, and you’re each determination with the aforesaid goal: Love of the game. There’s a past there. People speech astir the games they remember.

That’s precisely similar pursuing the Dead. At 1 time, they were the apical touring enactment successful the U.S. due to the fact that they simply toured each the clip — 200 shows a year. They loved playing connected stage, and their fans loved them unconditionally, adjacent erstwhile they were retired of tune. Even aft co-founder Jerry Garcia died successful 1995, the set reformed nether assorted caller names and kept connected truckin’.

People brought their grandparents and their babies. They wore colorful clothes, usually tie-dye. At past week’s show, I met a feline who had bought a summons for his dada for Father’s Day to beryllium successful the beforehand enactment astatine his archetypal Dead concert. I met the dad. His sanction was Slash. Really. It was. And yes helium was wearing a achromatic leather jacket, but he’s not the celebrated Slash. Anyway, hopefully helium liked the show.

Some of you cognize that I’m gimpy these days, but luckily they instrumentality bully attraction of america gimps astatine the Bowl. You tin drawback a autobus from determination centers astir Southern California. They’re each wheelchair equipped and erstwhile you get there, you don’t person to brave the monolithic hordes to get in, due to the fact that there’s an elevator adjacent to the container bureau that volition instrumentality you up to your wheelchair seat. Then, aft the show, you tin get connected a peculiar autobus to instrumentality you home. Yeah, going to the Bowl is inactive a hassle, but I conscionable emotion seeing immoderate benignant of amusement there, truthful it’s a treat.

Unfortunately for me, my person who was expected to conscionable maine was late, and the autobus near without her. So I went to the amusement by myself. But you’re ne'er truly unsocial with Deadheads. I met immoderate guys connected the autobus who insisted connected walking maine up to my spot successful the wheelchair conception and making definite I was settled in. And I spent the full intermission yakking with my neighbors.

The full acquisition conscionable reinforced my emotion of the Dead and besides of the Hollywood Bowl. I’m looking guardant to going back. Maybe I’ll spot you there.

Want to email me? Hit maine up astatine mfisher@scng.com. And, portion you’re astatine it, motion up for my adjacent Frumpy Mom Happy Hour, which volition beryllium astatine 5 p.m. Nov. 12 connected Zoom. If you motion up, you’ll get an email reminder with the nexus to motion onto the chat. This time, it’s Ask Marla. Ask maine thing you want. Except my weight. Sign up here: SCNG.com/virtualevents and spell to Bookish.