There are two kinds of people in this world: those who love The Grateful Dead and those who don’t. Heck, there’s probably a third kind, and that is: those who are too young to know of The Grateful Dead. In any case, “Sunshine Daydream,” which ran at Cinemark 14 and other theaters nationwide on Aug. 1, is a never-before-seen concert documentary that has moments of greatness, but is mostly filled with scenes that will take the non-Deadheads completely out of it. And, yes, this reviewer considers himself a “non-Deadhead.”
Prior to the showing of “Sunshine Daydream,” there was a documentary that featured recent interviews from band managers, people who ran the Springfield Creamery in Veneta, Ore., and people who attended the concert in that town. Those people, whose names were displayed, were given the title “Was There.”
This documentary, which lasted only about 20 minutes, had people like Ken Babbs, Sam Cutler, and others talking about their experience with the Dead, as well as how it felt to be at the concert. Everyone who was interviewed talked about how great of a concert it was, and if there was one Grateful Dead concert that had to be seen to be believed, it was this one.
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Sure, “Sunshine Daydream” features some great concert footage from the 1972 performance. The people working the cameras got some incredible close-ups of the band and shots of the crowd of people at the show. A lot of the scenes consisted of audience members dancing completely nude, while others would pass around some weed. Then there was a cute moment where a toddler is eating some ice cream on a car tire. His face is covered in chocolate. As the camera pulls out, we see a dog right next to him, trying to get the ice cream. After a few minutes, the dog eventually gets the ice cream, and the child’s reaction is priceless.
But the documentary feels like it is much longer than necessary; there were multiple walkouts during the presentation in Chico. One song goes for nearly 32 minutes and as we see shots of the Dead performing and the audience enjoying the show, the people watching the documentary are subjected to an endless PowerPoint presentation of kaleidoscope images; pictures of tie dye; and bizarre animations. Unless you’re a serious Deadhead, or you are on some serious drug trip, it’s this point when it all just starts to go by slowly.
There are many concert documentaries that can be appreciated by those who may not consider himself or herself a fan of the singer/band. “Sunshine Daydream” is not one of those. This may have been more enjoyable if the person was actually there when it happened. Watching this collection of concert footage from different angles doesn’t seem to capture the energy that might have been felt by those in attendance.
Thanks to Fathom Events for providing passes to this event.
