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The Cineplex movie theatre at the AMC Forum 22 was filled with Deadheads on Sunday, July 5th for the simulcast of The Grateful Dead concert in Chicago. The sixty or so fans were joining, if not in person then in spirit, with the 71,000 in attendance at Soldier Field for the final night of the Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of The Grateful Dead tour.

To mark the golden anniversary, the four remaining members—percussionists Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann, bassist Phil Lesh, and guitarist Bob Weir—decided to take to the road and share the experience with their fans. Joining them for the ride were Trey Anastasio on guitar, Bruce Hornsby on piano, and Jeff Chimenti on keyboards.

For five nights, the first two in Palo Alto California, and the last three in Chicago Illinois, the band was able to turn off the noise from the outside world and let the music play. For an all too brief moment they created an oasis of sound and light where the only care was what The Dead were playing, and what they were going to play next. The shows afforded one last opportunity to hang out with friends in the park near Atwater during intermission, and run through the mental list of songs played during the last four and a half shows and try to figure out was was left for the final set of the final concert.

They opened that final set with a repeat of the opening song from the first night in California, "Truckin'", which features their most famous lyric, what a long strange trip it's been. A long strange trip, back to a time free of robocalls, secret trade agreements, and the obligatory pat down upon entry to a concert. Yes that happens, even in Canada, we ain't so different after all. I saw Trey's band Phish at Exhibition Place in Toronto, and the fans were forced the indignity of a body search as a right of entry to the show. Fortunately, like stormtroopers and all weak minded individuals, concert security is very susceptible to the force, "this isn't the bottled water you are looking for," but don't forget to wave your hand. 

Then came an empowered version of "Cassidy", a song that eludes to the early days of The Grateful Dead with Ken Kesey, The Merry Pranksters, and the driver of The Furthur Bus, Neal Cassady (speaking of Ken Kesey and The Grateful Dead, why not listen and read? That could be so much better...)  Up next was one of the highlights of the evening, the much-anticipated opus "Terrapin Station", which featured some great improvisational jamming.

The emotions were running high throughout the evening, but they reached their peak during the closing song of the second set when the band broke into the Buddy Holly classic, "Not Fade Away". As is the tradition, the fans got to sing along with the audience repeating the lyric, know our love will not fade away. Only on this night the chant went well past the end of the song and into the encore, "Touch of Grey". The verse was then picked up again during a pause before the second encore. A moving version of "Attics Of My Life", with Bob Weir on acoustic guitar and the rest of the band singing a cappella, and pedals unfold in a dreamland conjured by the singer or by the one to whom he is singing.

Unlike their fans, The Grateful Dead were never ones to live in a bubble (not that bubbles are bad for they climb, drifting on air currents floating from show to show) and that was made clear when Bob Weir shouted out during the band's one protest song, "Throwing Stones". "You can buy the whole goddamn government today!" I'm thinking the evil, we are not worthy enough to know the details of, Trans-Pacific Partnership is not only on this reporters mind but also that of Mr. Weir's (for a full breakdown of the trade agreement and all things evil, listen to New Media & Politics 2.0 with host Karl Knox, Mondays 8-10 AM on CJLO 1690 AM), and this was after President Obama congratulated the band on Twitter.

The shows were progressively getting better and given more time the newest configuration of The Grateful Dead could have reached in some measure the musical heights they scaled in their youth (Trey is fine and all but he's not Jerry Garcia and you cannot reach the stars without your guiding light). But as it stands, the five shows offered glimpses into what was a real good time. But that is what one should expect, for good or bad, The Grateful Dead were always in the moment. And this moment was really about closure to what was a very abrupt and sad end back in 1995 (although some think, this reporter included, the band should have called it a day when keyboardist Brent Mydland passed away in 1990, but by then it was all about The Grateful Dead Incorporated, and like all corporations they had kids to feed and private schools to pay for).
 
It was obvious by the end of the weekend that the band had enjoyed the experience as much as the fans in Chicago and around the world. The final words of the evening were those of hope, "The feeling we have here remember it, take it home and do some good with it," percussionist Mickey Hart said in closing. "I'll leave you with this: Please, be kind." This in stark contrast to violent July 4th weekend in the windy city that saw ten people killed and fifty injured.

If you care to listen to the Fare Thee Well concerts, they are available for steaming using the following links:

http://www.panicstream.net/vault/grateful-dead-07032015-chicago-il/
http://www.panicstream.net/vault/grateful-dead-07042015-chicago-il/
http://www.panicstream.net/vault/grateful-dead-07052015-chicago-il/
http://www.panicstream.net/vault/grateful-dead-06272015-santa-clara-ca/
http://www.panicstream.net/vault/grateful-dead-06282015-santa-clara-ca/

--Don't Fret! Brave New Jams is on the air every Saturday at 10:00 PM to midnight with your host Clifton Hanger, only on CJLO 1690AM in Montreal.

LOCAL
by Patricia Petit Liang

Montreal’s first official homelessness count has found that there are 3 016 homeless people living the city.

According to CBC News, more than 800 volunteers- led by the Douglas Mental Health University and the YMCAs of Quebec- discovered that more than 76 percent of the homeless people in Montreal are men.

The results of the survey were released Tuesday morning by Mayor Denis Coderre and several people representing the Montreal Homeless Count.

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NATIONAL
by Saturn de Los Angeles

In it's first review in ten years, the Canadian government is dodging questions from the UN concerning human rights.

According to CTV News, the federal government had its first chance to address the 24 questions asked by United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva on tuesday.

However, none of the questions were addressed in senior Justice Department official Laurie Wright's six-page opening statement. 

The investigation comes after the committee received multiple complaints concerning the treatment of aboriginals, the oil industry, and measures to fight terrorism.

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Meteorologists say the next chance of rain for the southern coast will be early next week.

I am not the biggest Nirvana fan but Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck hits all the right notes, and takes you on an emotional roller coaster. The perfect documentary must inform, entertain, enlighten and possibly move the audience. The documentary is the most authentic and intimate portrait of not only the band Nirvana, but also the frontman Kurt Cobain: it is one of the best films of the year so far. Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is directed by Brett Morgen (The Kid Stays in The Picture) and is produced by Kurt Cobain's Daughter, Frances Bean Cobain.

The film focuses more on Kurt’s childhood than his career, bringing together interviews with family, girlfriends and childhood friends. This is juxtaposed with super 8 footage of Kurt Cobain's childhood that has previously been unreleased. Diary entries and animated sequences bring us into his mind, reflecting his emotional state during various ventures of his life. As a rebellious teenager he would be tossed around from family to family, discarded as soon as he became unwanted. All he wanted was love, but he was unable to find it during his teenage years.

Next came the forming of the band, where we see them form, rehearse and finally start performing at small venues. Their first record, Bleach finds moderate success but Nevermind would become one of the most influential albums in rock history. Amidst all this, he would meet Courtney Love, who he would marry. In the home videos it seems Kurt and Courtney had found love, but they would be also each other’s  demise. Kurt seems to turn a new leaf on life when his daughter, Frances Bean is born as he tries to show her all the love he never felt in life.

The band also records In Utero while the relationship between Kurt and Courtney becomes increasingly tumultuous. A series of articles expose the drug-addled habits of the new parents, and also hints at possible infidelity on Love’s part. Home videos reveal Kurt at his very worst as the drugs have taken over, a disheartening video shows him losing consciousness as he cares for his daughter. The film ends with footage from Nirvana’s performance on MTV Unplugged. A title card follows stating "One month after returning from Rome, Kurt Cobain took his own life. He was 27 years old." just before the end credits roll.

This is the most authentic and intimate portrait of Kurt Cobain. The documentary moved me the most through  home videos, especially the one where we clearly see the drugs have won and taken over Kurt Cobain right before his life ends. I had to ask myself as I was exiting the theatre why I was moved by this man's life when I was not his biggest fan. Maybe it is the fact that his human spirit that can be found is his music finally touched me as I better understood what motivated him to make the kind of music he did.

5/5