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HIGH ADVENTURE

PRS OS

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Sunday, May 23,

a

Journeying into the heart of the American

But the man who comes back
through the door in the wall will
never be quite the same as the,

man who went out. Aldous Hux--

ley, from Doors of Perception.

By A.P. NicCredie
News Reporter

CALLING A Grateful Dead
concert just another rock
’n’ roll concert is like call-
ing Las Vegas just another
‘ American city.

“Both deal in eliminating the
confines of reality.

And both were dealt up in a
single three-day hand fast
weekend under a hot and windy

» Nevada sky.

The door was open. -

With a High Adventure
deadline steaming down the
tracks, | fabricated an ailing-aunt
fable for my. editor, cashed out
my vacation time and pointed the
Chief south.

More than 20 years ago, Hunter
‘§. Thompson’ described his own
visit to: the.jewel in the desert as
“a ‘savage journey into the heart
of the American Dream.”’

Little has changed in two de-
cades, 2 .

However, had the good doctor
taken along 17,000 Deadheads (an
affectation for fans of the Grate-
ful Dead), the fear and loathing
that fuelled his every move would
have been tempered with the tribal
goodwill of the faithful.

NG THIS SUMMER?

Beng

GOING TO

A feverish 28-hour drive depos-
ited the High Adventure crew high
and dry in the Sam Boyd football
stadium on the campus of the
University of Las Vegas.

We had missed the opening act
— Sting — but with two more
shows to follow we would have
ample opportunity to see him.

It was time to get down to
business.

A Grateful Dead concert at-
tracts the faithful from all points
of the continent. A stroll through
the parking lot — or the circus, as
it is called — reveals licence plates
from Alaska to Maine, Florida to
Mexico.

The question most asked, of
course, is: Why?

We'll let the lead guitarist and
cultural icon Jerry Garcia shed
some light.

In a 1989 inierview in Rolling
Stone, Garcia said of the concerts:
“It’s an adventure you can still
have in America. You can’t hop
the freights anymore, but you can
chase the Grateful Dead around.

“It gives you something that
lasts throughout your life, an
adventure, the times you took
chances. I think that’s essential in
anybody’s life, and it’s harder and
harder to do in America.”’

The Dead sprang to life in the
crucible that was San Francisco of
the °60s, where their diverse
backgrounds of beat poetry and
music blended with One Flew
Over the Cuckoo’s Nest author

Ken Keésey’s acid tests to create a--

living sound to the experimenta-
tion and boundary-stretching of

PRCT LTS

4
jcCredia

THE SURREAL Nevada desert acted as the perfect backdrop for three sold-out concerts by the
Grateful Dead in Las Vegas last weekend. The High Adventure team road-tripped to tha shows,
seeking, and finding, yet another adventure.

the times.

The stoned spectre of the ’60s
still haunts the Dead.

Under Ronald Reagan in the
80s, the '60s were recalled as a
brief. moment of temporary in-
sanity in the life of a nation.

The Dead were passed off as
another aging dinosaur that was
cynically fleecing Generation X’ers

trying to recapture the peace-and-
love ’60s.

Closer to the truth is that a
Grateful Dead experience attracts
those searching for “some form of
spiritual connection.

The band has never walked’ on
stage with an inkling of what
songs they will perform.

It just happens, with the band

and the audience joined in a pro-
cess of discovery through music.
This 'is what attracted Sting to
open for the band. ;
Before he lefi the stage the final
day, he told the audience he was
honored to have given them a
dance,
Because the crowd at a Dead
See Looking page 24

Starting this Sunday you'll find
Super Valu’s weekly specials
prominently displayed in our centrefold.

Good choice, Super Valu!

THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVER

,

eromes mr

980-0511

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