I don’t know how to try to recommend this to fans of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead. That’s because I can’t recommend it enough. I can’t imagine a better tribute to Jerry Garcia. To celebrate the seventieth birthday of Garcia, Bob Weir assembled an all-star cast to put together a concert. This video is the documentary of that concert. It’s an incredible concert and we get some great interviews in the documentary, too. For my money, one of the best things about this is that you can watch the film start to finish, or you can pick a “songs” menu and go to just the songs. I’ve been so frustrated with so many DVDs that don’t let you do that. It seems like a simple thing, but they got it right here. The musicians include various Grateful Dead alums, but it doesn’t stop there. Member of Phish, Black Crowes and more are featured in this show. If that wasn’t enough there are some songs included here that didn’t make the documentary, as bonus features. My favorite part was the live rendition of “Terrapin Station,” but it seems every Dead fan will probably have different favorite moments. This is just such a classy production.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2013  Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.