And The Music Never Stopped..
From the title of this Substack you get the idea, I am talking jam bands.
Jam bands are those bands that have a reputation for extended performances and improvisation. Where live shows can last four-plus hours and not one person in audience has left.
Admittedly, this is an area I don’t know a whole lot about but I have been trying to listen and learn more about them. Another thing to keep in mind is that I have never seen one true jam live, everything I have learned is from family and friends and Sirius Radio.
I guess I should start with the grandaddy of all jam bands, The Grateful Dead. I came very late to the party and I can almost give you the exact date I actually started listening to them with a different ear, August 6th, 1995. Three days before Jerry Garcia passed away. One of my partners at work loved the Dead and had seen them multiple times and I always fought the urge to listen but he ended up give me one of his Dick’s Picks Cds and I was hooked. I tried comparing their studio stuff to the songs on this CD and there really was no comparison and now I got it, too late I’m afraid but I still listen to the Grateful Dead Channel on Sirius and have around 150 songs on my Apple Music account and I still can’t get enough. Of all the bands that have come and gone, I think not seeing a Dead show sticks out as my biggest miss.
Phish would have to rank up there as one of the greatest jam bands ever and maybe the most talented as well. Again, another group that has a library of mediocre studio albums and a plethora of live recordings that are sensational. Ask me if I could name one song and I would have to tell you no but whenever I hear one of their shows I keep listening. The instrumentals are superb and while Trey Attanasio may not have the strongest rock and roll voice he uses what he has very well. One thing I do believe is that there is not a song from any artists catalogue that these guys can not play.
Widespread Panic has never really been my cup of tea but they have an incredible reputation and like Phish, they have a musical virtuosity that has few equals. They lean a little closer to that Southern Rock Boogie than the other bands on this list.
I am going to put two groups out there that have been around for ages and have dedicated followers, Moe and Umphrey’s McGee, but I don’t think I have heard more than a dozen songs that they have done so my experience is limited here.
Another jam band similar to Moe is String Cheese Incident. SCI is a festival favorite and they do all of their own material. No covers here. There are traces of pretty much every type of music throughout their performances and every set is different and almost every version of every song they do is a little different as well.
A group I had never heard of and now I can’t seem to get enough of is Lettuce. They do a sort jam band funk that could draw from Herbie Hancock or Earth Wind and Fire while also creating a funk of their own. They are equally tight with covers as they are with originals. Just listen to “Move on Up” from their Rage album and you will see what I mean.
There are others and I know people will say “What about the Allman Brothers? or “Hey you fool, what about Dave Matthews?” and you know, they both would be right but it’s my column and this is my short list of great jam bands. The Allman Brothers are a great jam band but they are soo much more.