Summoner's Tales: 1993/95

Deadheads groove, the band is blah... 

Sting's gamble of opening for Grateful Dead may not have paid off he wasn't asked to do even one encore.

Grateful Dead Groove time can't stop it, nor can rain, clouds or fog, though they all tried at Giants Stadium Saturday night.

Despite the dismal weather, some 55,000 Grateful Dead fans turned out for the band's summer stop-off in New Jersey. Deadheads danced and sloshed through puddles, never letting the rain dampen their spirits or, more importantly, their emotional bond to the music.

Too bad the Dead didn't rise to the occasion the way its fans did, though, as you might expect, few wet souls at Giants Stadium seemed to mind, or even notice, for that matter.

Instead of working up a first set that stressed sunny rhythms in songs that pushed the energy level beyond the band's ordinary limits and washed away some the day's grayness, the Dead, with Jerry Garcia's solos snaking through every jam, seemed oblivious to the foul weather. They played, the Deadheads danced, and that was that.

The Dead's second set, sparked by a rousing version of 'Fire on the Mountain', contained a bit more punch, but not nearly enough for most Deadheads to find true salvation in the music.

However, anyone who's been to just one Grateful Dead concert knows well that the music is often secondary to the experience of just being there. For the legion of young, neo-hippies who religiously follow the band, what's most important is the sense of community that the Dead's music inspires.

The scene stretches from the parking lot to the stage, and through it all, the tribal vibe, the tie-dyed shirts, the peace signs and the wafting scent of marijuana are at least as important as the music. That was the case Saturday night; most likely it's the case every night the Dead perform.

Talk about loyalty to the Dead. Sometimes you even get the feeling that Garcia and the rest of the band could play a psychedelicized version of 'Taps' and Deadheads would still dance and roar their approval.

And why not? The Dead do what Deadheads need them to do, namely, keep the music steady and set deep in a trancelike groove so that songs like 'Sugaree', 'Stella Blue' and even a version of the old blues chestnut 'Wang Dang Doodle' keep people's feet moving and heads swaying.

Sting, who opened the concert, wished it was as easy for him to connect with the drenched audience as it was for the Dead. Not only did he have to deal with the bad weather, but when he stepped on stage a little after  6pm., fewer than 5,000 fans were in the stadium.

Sting played for about an hour. The first half of his set got lost in the evening's gloominess and the cavernous space that is Giants Stadium as he and his band, which includes former E Street Band keyboards player David Sancious, concentrated on songs from his new album, 'Ten Summoner's Tales'.

Though his latest songs are far more poppish than the moody material off 'The Soul Cages', 'Summoner's' predecessor, too many of them are softly textured and introspective and demand the kind of intimacy and warmth normally found in a much smaller and indoor-venue.

But when Sting changed course and unleashed a battery of Police songs - 'King of Pain' and 'Roxanne' being the best of the bunch - the growing crowd responded with a bit more enthusiasm. However, it wasn't enough to warrant an encore, which had to be a disappointment for Sting since he hopes to reach a brand-new audience by touring with the Dead.

Somehow, Sting must find a way to get Deadheads in the stadium during his performance instead of out in the parking lot partying if he's going to come close to achieving his goal. It may be an impossible task.

(c) The Asbury Park Press by Robert Santelli