Bob Weir Collapses Onstage during Unbroken Chain (Furthur, Capitol Theater, 4/25/2013)

Bob Weir longstanding rhythm guitarist and rhythm vocalist for the Grateful Dead collapsed on stage with the post-Grateful Dead ensemble Furthur (with bandmate Phil Lesh and various members of top-tier Dead cover bands) at their engagement Thursday night at the Capitol Theatre. 

While playing one of the rarest and most coveted songs in the Grateful Dead repertoire, also a rare strong vehicle for Phil Lesh's distinct singing voice, the band seems not to mind whatsoever while Bob Weir stumbles, then falls (about 0:56).  Uncannily the band just tallies forth while various stage manager and roadie types scoop him up and have a quick chat then shockingly put out a chair for him where he manages (perhaps not shockingly given his collective history for playing beyond what any reasonable person would call 'impaired') to reinsert himself (relatively speaking) into the improvisation (around 2:03). The thing about it is if you were just to listen to the recording itself without the footage you wouldn't really think anything untoward had happened- the version sounds solid if not a touch inspired.

This incident along with what was billed as an inadvertent dosing incident at the Nokia Theatre (7/28/2010) have raised questions about Weir's health, whether alcoholism (which Lesh has battled successfuly in the years since his Hep C diagnosis), or a combination of drug addictions has contributed to his ill health.  Relix magazine is reporting that:

Weir had been experiencing issues throughout the night and during “Unbroken Chain” a chair had been provided for him. Then after a brief break the show resumed, with Lesh indicating that Weir had injured his shoulder in a workout. It is believed that the guitarist took a muscle relaxant which ultimately inhibited his performance. Following his departure the group closed out the run with a pass from “Stella Blue” into “China Cat Sunflower” and then “I Know You Rider” before a "Built To Last” encore.

What's telling about both episodes is how the band seemed perhaps unfazed is not the right word but they seemed to have a contingency in place - suggesting the behaviour had become not unordinary.  Also in both instances known Psychonaut Phil Lesh - who has after all consumed Herculean amounts of LSD and was once described by Warner Brothers records as impossible to control- suggested prescription drugs were to blame.  At the Nokia it was a 'prescription drug reaction on an empty stomach' at the Capitol it was 'shoulder injury and a muscle relaxant'.  Historically the Dead as an organization, who has made a giant money spinning enterprise out of hundreds of thousands of individuals drug experiences, have spun their own (often drug and alcohol induced) health problems to their liking; when Garcia slipped into a diabetic coma in '86, it was chalked up to exhaustion and undiagnosed diabetes- not alcohol, opium or a stroke. Spin control is understandable but treacherous and more than just a little bit Machiavellian from a band that once thought nothing of dosing unwitting record executives to say nothing of a thwarted plan to paint the walls of a hall with liquid LSD in advance of a Republican convention.

Bob Weir

The National to curate Grateful Dead compilation

In news that (NorthernHeads is reporting) that Pitchfork is reporting pulled from Spinner Canada: The National is working on a new compilation record (similar to their Dark Was The Night albums benefiting AIDS research) of Grateful Dead covers.  Solicited involvement is coming forward from New Weird American groups like Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes.  Also minimalist avant garde composer Steven Reich is involved, who is an old chum of Dead bassist Phil Lesh from his earliest days as a classical trumpet player, composer and early producer of Electronic music. Regrettably Devendorf is also quoted as saying "we're also trying to think of unusual [acts]. (Electronic-douche-scream-prats) Crystal Castles would be awesome." 


The National's bassist Scott Devendorf who is 'shadow curating the record' is quoted as saying "we're just figuring that out right now. Matt Berninger has got to sing it, so we're thinking a Phil song, 'Box of Rain' or 'Unbroken Chain,' something like that," he says. "For us, the frontrunner right now is 'Box of Rain' I think, but we'll see."  Despite being the only true musical equal to Jerry Garcia in the Grateful Dead, Lesh sings a limited number of songs in their catalogue owing to his distinct voice- of those Unbroken Chain which re-emerged in the last years of Garcia's life is a rabid fan favourite both for it's rarity and the depths it's improvisations often plumb.