Graham Nash isn’t convinced about the Grateful Dead reunion: “It’s a shame”
There’s a knack to reunions that most bands fail to have. Sometimes, the magic can only be contained through real nostalgia, through the mythology of something long lost to the past, imagination running wild about how they’d emerge in the current landscape after such an immense cultural impact. Sometimes, especially if a member passes away, things are better left where they are and a perfect version of what they once were. This is the issue Graham Nash once experienced.
Weirdly, some acts seem immune to the rule. Fleetwood Mac, for instance, though their peak very much coalesced with a specific moment in time, and they’ve since lost crucial members Peter Green and Christine McVie, the intrigue is still there, the appetite never wavering for the band that soared to new heights against all odds, thriving on the dramas of love, loss and heartbreak with music that carried through the ages.
The same could be said for many of the other quintessential leaders of youth, like Oasis, and how, sometimes, the passion is so strong that it never goes away, never dispelling even after years of waiting and wondering to see if it would ever feel the same again. And then, the moment they do appear on stage after so long, the connection only feels stronger, like it’s hard to believe they hadn’t been doing this all along.
And then there are the exceptional ones, like Queen, who, obviously, will never hold the same power they did when they had Freddie Mercury, but everything after, from new material to touring with Adam Lambert, seems shrouded in a different kind of magic, like less of a reunion and more an eternal homage to someone who once changed the game forever, and still does. But what about others where it’s not so simple, where things have changed too much, making any reunion not just impossible but sort of disrespectful, too?
When Jerry Garcia passed away, most could not by any measure imagine a world where the Grateful Dead continued on. It was obvious; Garcia was Grateful Dead, and a few months after his death, the remaining members announced there was nothing left; the band were to break up, their major heart and soul no longer able to keep together what was once one of the most mystical bands to ever exist. However, in the years that followed, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart formed other groups with reunion projects that sought to keep that inexplicable magic alive, to varying degrees of success.
According to Graham Nash, however, all of this brings about mixed feelings. Discussing the farewell concerts in 2015, celebrating 50 years of the band, he told Connecticut Public: “I think two things. I think it’s a shame that they’re doing it because it’s not the true Grateful Dead without Jerry, but at the same time, I know that the Dead have a lot of fans who will clamour to see any representation of the band, so it’s both good and bad in my view.”
It’s easy to see Nash’s point of view: there’s no denying how much Garcia embellished their entire legacy, and without him, there’s no doubt it feels like something obvious is missing, the piece that brought it all together and made it make sense, even at its most mythological. But it was also a celebration of all of that, too, Garcia’s presence felt among everybody who was there, like without him, they wouldn’t be in the first place.
Even then-President Barack Obama honoured the milestone and Garcia’s achievements, saying, “Here’s to 50 years of the Grateful Dead, an iconic American band that embodies the creativity, passion, and ability to bring people together that makes American music so great. Enjoy this weekend’s celebration of your fans and legacy. And as Jerry would say, ‘Let there be songs to fill the air.'”
