12 July 2023

BISS List 7.12.23: Spotlight on Dead All Day + Best of BISS this Week

Fare Thee Well Dead & Co!

Before we get into that… #LastWeek, I finished up my working my fourth festival of the season and I am finally on a break! I am officially back until Sugar Pine Music Festival 2023 (previously Hangtown) in October. Phew! It’s been a long few months of more time away than home, more hours awake than asleep, and all of those hours on my feet! Thank you to Jenni for writing the weekly BISS (and updating the website) and thank you to Phillip for keeping the calendar full of music!

The High Sierra Music Festival was epic as always. Lots of good music to be seen and heard. Learned of some new bands to watch out for here on BISS. I saw, out of the corner of my eye, most of the bands playing on the Main Stage each day since that’s where I was working. However, I stole away for just a few minutes to catch the Classic Album Hour: Houses Of The Holy (Yes, Led Zeppelin) + Dumpstaphunk & Nth Power’s tribute to The Gap Band + the annual 420 party at Camp Happiness. I looked through my friend and hard-working crew member Ken Pordes’ incredible photo albums to relive some of the festival! Check out all of these smiling faces!! Good times were had by all for sure! Thank you to our fearless team leader (and my mentor) Theresa, plus my management cohorts, Joey and Henya plus the FestivALL volunteers for making up an incredible team I would be happy to work with anytime! Thank you Rebecca, Roy and Dave and all the artists and all of you in attendance for making it another fabulous HSMF!

#OnToTheDead… I kicked off my week of The Dead by attending the launch party for the photo exhibit “Between the Dark & Light: Grateful Dead 1965-1995” at the Haight Street Art Center. This exhibit features amazing photos by some of the most well-known GD photographers.

#ThisWeek, the Bay Area will see people coming from near and far to catch these final three Dead & Co shows at Oracle on 7.14, 7.15 and 7.16. I finally started my search for tickets for these final Dead & Co shows but it is really hard to swallow $150 dollars for third level nosebleed obstructed view “reseller” tickets. But I will keep looking! (hint hint)

Aside from the Dead & Co shows here in the Bay, there are a ton of pre & post shows to keep you busy with The Dead all day and night. Check out the spotlight below for our picks for your pre & post shows here in the city!

#NextWeek, the show not to miss will be The Disco Biscuits (*WIN*) on Thursday, July 20th at The Fillmore! #seeyouthere!

But wait, there’s more! This week’s #ListenToThis is “Bird Song” from Jazz Mafia’s Grateful Brass. Be sure to check it out below!

#seeyouattheshows,
~ Pamela aka Miss BISS

SPOTLIGHT ON DEAD ALL DAY & NIGHT

Dead & Co – Pre & Post

July 14th – 16th in San Francisco

There will be no shortage of shows to keep you busy with the Dead day & night. Here are a few of them with some BISS List faves.

Pre-Parties

7.14 Harmonic Jam @ Thrive City at Chase Center (*free w/ RSVP*) featuring Reed Mathis, Matt Hartle, Ezra Lipp, Murph, and Jordan Feinstein
7.15 Harmonic Jam @ Thrive City at Chase Center (*free w/ RSVP*) featuring Sunshine Garcia, Jeannette Ferber, Anna Elva, Mike Meagher, Alex Jordan, Byron Rynes, and Jordan Feinstein
7.16 Harmonic Jam @ Thrive City at Chase Center (*free w/ RSVP*) featuring Grahame Lesh, Elliot Peck, Nathan Graham, Burt Lewis, and Jordan Feinstein

After-Parties

7.14 SF is Dead Allstars + Chill Clinton @ Boom Boom Room featuring Reed Mathis, Matt Hartle, Ezra Lipp, Jordan Feinstein, Murph, and Rich Egan
7.15 Tracorum & The Known Associates + Oakadelic @ Boom Boom Room featuring George Smeltz, Ben Andrews, Paul Sounder, Fletcher Neilsen, Jason Beard, and Joe Cohen
7.15 Matt Hartle & Friends + Grateful Disco @ The Foundry featuring Matt Hartle, Sofranco, Anna Elva, Jen Rund, and Little John the DJ
7.15 Midnight North & Sam Grisman Project @ Great American Music Hall featuring Grahame Lesh, Elliot Peck, and Connor O’Sullivan
7.16 Dead & Disco @ Boom Boom Room (*Free*) featuring funky playlists of Dead, Disco, and Soul
7.16 Matt Hartle & Friends + Grateful Disco @ The Foundry featuring Matt Hartle, Sofranco, Anna Elva, Jen Rund, and Little John the DJ
7.16 Midnight North & Sam Grisman Project @ Great American Music Hall featuring Grahame Lesh, Elliot Peck, and Connor O’Sullivan

Between the Dark & Light:
Grateful Dead Photography and Poster Exhibit

July 12th – Sept 3rd @ Haight Street Art Center

Curated by acclaimed rock photographer Jay Blakesberg, with exhibition text by Grateful Dead historian Blair Jackson, “Between the Dark & Light” follows the Dead from the halcyon days of the Haight-Ashbury through the untimely death of Jerry Garcia 1995. With photographs from a variety of Dead photographers such as Herb Greene, Susana Millman, Baron Wolman, Bob Minkin and others, including never before seen photos of Bobby Weir behind bars and other rare images, as well as some iconic catches.

***Check out all of our Featured Shows.

LISTEN TO THIS

Listen to “Bird Song” by Jazz Mafia’s Grateful Brass featuring Adam Theis, Josh Jones & Tommy Occhiuto, from their self-titled debut EP.

I spoke with Adam Theis about this song and he told me “this unique version of ‘Birdsong’ draws inspiration from an arrangement by our fellow Bay Area musicians the T Sisters, who we have collaborated with in the past. Under the direction of saxophonist and arranger Tommy Occhiuto, we stripped the song down to it’s bare bones, giving it a fresh interpretation as a New Orleans Brass band infused with Afro-Cuban production.”