94. The Grateful Dead Movie (1977)
The Grateful Dead Movie, released in 1977 and directed by Jerry Garcia, is a film that captures live performances from rock band the Grateful Dead during an October 1974 five-night run at Winterland in San Francisco. These concerts marked the beginning of a hiatus, with the October 20, 1974, show billed as "The Last One". The band would return to touring in 1976. The film features the "Wall of Sound" concert sound system that the Dead used for all of 1974. The movie also portrays the burgeoning Deadhead scene. Two albums have been released in conjunction with the film and the concert run: Steal Your Face and The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack. In this episode, Jason is joined by...well...another Jason, his long time friend Jason Blumklotz, for a discussion about the Dead and the various eras of their music and performances. We detour into offshoots like Dead a Company, the Veneta, Oregon Dead documentary 'Sunshine Daydream', the Wall of Sound, Phil's giant 50-lb bass, and much more. Not just a clubby discussion of the band, this episode presents the Grateful Dead Movie as an amazing time capsule of 1970's fandom.